[o] [Training] bottle it all up then break the glass

Thalassa

Standing there, killing time,
Can't commit to anything but a crime

It shouldn't surprise anyone that Thal is itching for a fight. Her emotions are raw and there's never a time she doesn't want to draw blood, but this time feels sharper, a need pulling at her thoughts after nearly being decapitated. The slit of her blue gaze is deadlier than any blade, sweeping the bar as she precedes Colt. Her finger taps demandingly at the wood. "Bourbon."

With the Hanged Man gone, she's had to downgrade to the dingey bar down the road, and she's still trying to decide if she's willing to put up with the disapproving glare of the bartender. Maybe he notices the way she's always searching the crowd for trouble - or for someone to start trouble with. At least he doesn't say anything, popping the cork to pour her a glass along with whatever Colt wants, even if he slips back to the corner, putting distance between him and whatever hell they plan to unleash, just waiting for the spark to catch.

COLT

Well life's got a lot of sticks and stones
And a blade that'll cut you to the bone
But if you're doing what you love and it kills you
Well, you can live with that all day long

Having retrieved her sorry horse and all the belongings there, their trip to the fountain was no enjoyable one. In fact they walked in silence for large parts of it, Colt just doing her best to avoid bitching and moaning the whole way, although a few choice curses and groans certainly made an appearance. The horse had also needed a drink, and then after she left the mare with an Attuned in town, because the fountain wouldn't fix all the psychic damage Biscuit took today. Colt likes that horse, but she doesn't have the time to work her back from all this trauma, and certainly not in a day to ride her home, so she'd be here for a while where someone who could reach her mentally could massage her back whole. Cost a pretty penny, which she's also sour about, on top of her busted saddle, but she'll make do.

She's still limping as she enters the bar behind Thalassa, although it's not from her injuries any longer. Instead she heaves her broken tack onto the ground, and her assortment of goods, though she keeps the valuables on her like her coin and her bow and arrows. "What a fucking day," she mutters, shifting the quiver on her back with a roll of her shoulders as she slides up to the bar top, practically melting onto it. "Double blanco, and keep it comin'," she says with a tap of her fingers on the counter.

She leans onto the fold of her arm over the bar, forehead pressing against her hand for a moment, fingers rubbing at her temples. The shock of the whole event has faded, but the headache of it all has not. That's what the tequila's for. Her gaze lifts as she hears the shot glass click down beside her, and with little ceremony she lifts it up with a nod to Thalassa and then throws it back, exhaling heat as she sets it back down firmly. "So what exactly, did you mean by that bastard?" Colt's gaze rises to the blue of Thalassa's, a 'brow arching in expectation.

So, if you got a fire, don't lose it
If you got a do-or-die dream, do it
If you got somethin' to prove, go on and prove it
If it's in your blood, fallin' down ain't enough
Gettin' back up, that's the only backup plan you need

Thalassa

Standing there, killing time,
Can't commit to anything but a crime

She doesn't sip on the bourbon, downing it to wash the recent pain and fear from her system. The initial burn isn't enough to sear it away, and she indicates sharply for the bartender to pour her another while she scoffs a heavy breath at Colt's comment. "An understatement." After all, she'd almost died. Luckily, the fountain has patched up the blood and physical injuries, but it doesn't change that Vesper had almost killed her. 

Thal's eyes are still scanning the bar, content to find something to distract her until the opportunity lands like lead against her ears. She looks away from the pile of nonsense the woman had brought with her to the raised brow that's thrown her direction. It's an innocent enough question, but it immediately has her wishing for more alcohol to dampen the flood of emotions that come with saying his name. "Vesper?" There are a million and one things she'd love to say, the tender emotions eating at her. 

At that moment, her savior appears, refilling the amber liquor in her glass like liquid courage. She reaches for it, a forced nonchalance as she shrugs her shoulders. "Just that, he's a bastard, an asshole, whatever other expletive you want to give him." It'll take a lot more alcohol for her spill more than that to a stranger, but she's already taking another long swig of her drink, a bitter curiosity eating at her. He'd said her name, had come when she'd called. It makes her wonder, "You know him?"

COLT

Well life's got a lot of sticks and stones
And a blade that'll cut you to the bone
But if you're doing what you love and it kills you
Well, you can live with that all day long

She can feel the heat of the drink course all the way down and curl in her belly, the feel a familiar one that's like putting coals up to cold and weary bones, just waiting for the warmth to spread all the way into her fingertips and her toes. Her next shot, as ordered, is placed beside her, but she doesn't reach for it. Her focus is wholly on Thalassa now, interest cutting her features into a sharp concentration. She'd thought about a lot their whole walk over here, like why the fuck she chose such a colorful jungle to practice in, why she didn't just rope the mudtiger's maw and drop the rest of it then and there and gallop down the coast, or why she didn't just not rope a mudtiger to start with. One thing her mind kept circling back to though, is the way Thalassa spoke about Vesper. She could understand being pissed, she almost died and Colt might have a few choice words of her own in the same shoes, but it's the way she said it. There'd been a certain weight to the words, and most importantly, a grim disbelief that he'd missed her intentionally.

As Thalassa clarifies who she means, Colt nods. Her fingers tap idly on the bar top next to her in an outward display of the churning in her mind, especially when Thalassa continues with her clear disapproval. It's interesting, to say the least, because here it looks like she might have found one of his ugly sides at last. She's been looking for it, once in a while, not quite able to believe the fairytale she's made him in her mind, the one he's created for her time and time again. It's in part because Colt hasn't known men to ever be as good as him, and while he's given her no reason not to trust in what he offers, she doesn't trust herself enough. Every other time she's wanted someone, or thought she found something real and happy, it turned around and bit her. If she's fallen for him, then history tells her she's tripping over someone that's about to make everything hurt.

"Yeah," she says with a quiet blink, still trying to fit this version of Vesper that Thalassa's talking about next to her own brand of midnight she's come to know. The pieces aren't quite aligning. "I called him because I knew he'd get it done." Which is perhaps the simplest truth to her relationship with Vesper—reliable, capable, proven. He's been there, many times for her. "He's always dependable." Maybe he's an asshole in Thalassa's eyes, but surely she can agree to that? Afterall, not everyone gets along, and though he's always been crooked smiles and sparking glances for her, Thalassa is no peach, so maybe they had a conflict. She can't blame a man for that.

So, if you got a fire, don't lose it
If you got a do-or-die dream, do it
If you got somethin' to prove, go on and prove it
If it's in your blood, fallin' down ain't enough
Gettin' back up, that's the only backup plan you need

Thalassa

Standing there, killing time,
Can't commit to anything but a crime

The answer doesn't surprise her, having guessed as much, although it leaves her with the question of just how close they are. There's not jealousy per se, at least not yet. The regrets are still stronger, the self-blame and self-hatred too overwhelming to leave any room for others, Vesper included. It doesn't mean she'll ignore how frustratingly strong his is, how he's managed to prove just how easily he can stand against her wrath with barely a blink. She can't argue that he's capable, an understandable choice when Colt had been facing down two tigers on her own. 

With a begrudging sip of her drink, she nods a reluctant agreeance. "True enough." Although she couldn't disagree more with the second statement and she pauses midmotion with the surprise of it. He might have been justified, but it doesn't change the fact that when she'd needed someone - anyone - to help her, he'd decided to leave her to suffer. And yet this woman seems to have had different experiences with him, ones that make her think Vesper would come to her aide. 

This time she lets out a huff of breath that's too hollow to be a laugh, disbelieving and frustrated all the same. "'Dependable.' I guess that's only when he doesn't believe you deserve whatever shit you got yourself into." She doesn't say any more, cleaning out her second glass in a fluid motion that summons the bartender without her needing to ask. Her eyes don't turn to Colt, not wanting her to see the ache that lives there now.

COLT

Well life's got a lot of sticks and stones
And a blade that'll cut you to the bone
But if you're doing what you love and it kills you
Well, you can live with that all day long

Colt's gaze tracks the small flickers of unspoken responses that appear with each drifting thought that rises at her words. She doesn't know Thalassa well enough to have a normal baseline to go off, but most people's features tilt in the same way, and these shapes speak of a bruised familiarity. It's the same kind she's worn plenty of times herself. She doesn't act on it, still isn't totally sure, especially since Thalassa hides it well, but Colt's prone to paying attention to the things that the body says without permission, because those are the honest ones. It's one of the annoying things about Vesper that leaves him like an itch in her mind so often, he's so damn hard to read and she revisits old scenarios again and again as if she might find something new and sure in the memory.

Colt's finger tapping slows, her hand taking her head instead as she leans further into the bar, the ghost of a smile edging in. "Guess it all depends what you got yourself into I reckon." If she warns someone a bull's in a field, she's not gonna hurry to their help when they brush her off and think they're faster than those horns. Maybe some days they are, but one day they'll get caught by the edge of them. Sometimes the lesson doesn't stick until they know how bad the horns hurt. "Sometimes it's better to let a horse untangle themselves, or you end up making it worse trying to help." She hopes she doesn't need to clarify for Thalassa that people can be stupid, panicking animals too, and that a shitstorm has a way of dragging in people that get too close, whatever their intentions.

Her lips purse with continued curiosity though. "Why, you call on him once and he didn't answer?" The call in this case not being a channel, given Thalassa can't, but the meaning doesn't have to be so exact. Colt certainly didn't mean his dependability and abilities in her experience have been just channeling anyway, given that'd been the first.

So, if you got a fire, don't lose it
If you got a do-or-die dream, do it
If you got somethin' to prove, go on and prove it
If it's in your blood, fallin' down ain't enough
Gettin' back up, that's the only backup plan you need

Thalassa

Standing there, killing time,
Can't commit to anything but a crime

She doesn't know Colt well enough to know whether she'd take her side in it all, and she's not drunk enough to find out yet, but she can understand the reasoning. She can't count how many times she's had to do something distasteful after giving a clear warning, remembering the lack of remorse once she'd done her part and needing to follow through with the threat. That doesn't mean she'll leave her crew to suffer long after making a dumb mistake or choosing to pick a fight with someone they didn't know would destroy them, and no matter what Asta did - deserved or not - she would pull him from the depths of hell to keep him safe. 

Swirling the refill of bourbon inside her glass, Thal stares for a moment, distant and thoughtful like she's picturing herself as a black stead writhing amongst barbed wire that's cutting deep into her skin. It doesn't quite fit and she shakes her head, seeking comfort in another sip of her drink. "That's only because the horse is trying to fight the restraint as much as you." But she hadn't wanted to - couldn't - fight the infection, she'd clutched it close like a secret, refusing to let anyone see it let alone touch it no matter how much it dug into her fingers; and if Asta hadn't come to cure her... Thal shivers at the thought, her face turning more pale than it already is. 

Her head dips, not quite hanging, but lowering under the weight of the memories and all the regrets that continue to taint her emotions. "Not exactly, but when I needed him most, he chose to turn his back." She told him she understood and she did. She gets it, and she can't imagine what position she'd put him in, but she doesn't agree and that still leaves a bitter taste in her mouth, a sourness that curls in her stomach when she thinks of how even a single kind word might have changed it all - and how he couldn't give her even that much.

COLT

Well life's got a lot of sticks and stones
And a blade that'll cut you to the bone
But if you're doing what you love and it kills you
Well, you can live with that all day long

If Thalassa means to make it clear that you should approach a horse fighting you as much as the wire, Colt doesn't see the sense in it. "Right—so sometimes you gotta wait. It'll either fix itself, or get tired enough to accept the help without hurting everyone around it." Of course the metaphor gets wispy if you delve into too many details, like how badly it's tangled, in what, how likely it'll be it kills itself if you don't risk some of your own hide to save its dumbass. The point remains though, sometimes the struggle is the lesson, and learning doesn't always pair with rescuing.

She rolls a shoulder in a small shrug at this fictitious horse. One way or another, it's free now, if the improvement she sees in Thalassa is any indicator. Hard to know the possibilities of an outcome—even herself, could she have managed without calling on him? A little more time, she might have gotten her knife, cut the rope off the mare and let the horse stand, and Thalassa could have made the mudtiger into a corpse too. Could always have died instead too, just takes a well placed hoof from a panicking mount, especially when you're under them while they get up... Well, guess they'll never know.

Her 'brows knit in tighter as Thalassa lays it out clearly, if vaguely. Again, it doesn't match her experiences, and she's surprised that something like a defense for him rises up in her chest. He must have had good reason. She doesn't set it free though, because what little she does understand about Thalassa suggests this isn't a woman that finds herself in need often. Colt realizes she's about to ignore a blatant warning just because Vesper hasn't bitten her yet. Thalassa's wearing the marks of his teeth clearly. The same damn pattern, so easy to get lost in it again even when she's trying to avoid it. I can fix him and he'd never, not to me are the favorite mantras of her heart. How many times does she have to get stuck in the same fucking wire before the lesson sticks?

"S'why it's better not to need anyone," Colt affirms instead, features grim with the bitterness of it all.

So, if you got a fire, don't lose it
If you got a do-or-die dream, do it
If you got somethin' to prove, go on and prove it
If it's in your blood, fallin' down ain't enough
Gettin' back up, that's the only backup plan you need

Thalassa

Standing there, killing time,
Can't commit to anything but a crime

The metaphor is falling apart at the seams, quite certain she's more complicated than a trapped horse. It would all make sense if she just told Colt the details, laid it all out for the woman to judge herself, but Thal isn't in the mood to be reprimanded again so soon, not when she still hasn't come to terms with it all. Shrugging her shoulders, she decides to discard the metaphor entirely. "Guess I haven't worked with enough horses to know, but sometimes asking for help isn't an option - and it's not always offered." 

She can guess at Colt's involvement with Vesper already, but she doesn't want to know, doesn't want to acknowledge what she might feel when she finds out, doesn't want to find out that they might be a lot more alike than she knows. Instead, she glances up from her drink, a resolve built on pain and stubbornness clear in her eyes as she nods her head. "Exactly." Finally, someone else who gets it. 

Sighing like a burden has been released from her back, Thal straightens from the slight bowing of her miserable form, rolling her shoulders as she looks to the edge of the room. "How do you feel about letting off some steam? Showing those guys that we don't need anyone to save us?" A fighting ring was starting to appear, the men obviously drunk but still big enough to be a threat. It seemed like a great distraction and way to build her confidence back up after nearly dying.

COLT

Well life's got a lot of sticks and stones
And a blade that'll cut you to the bone
But if you're doing what you love and it kills you
Well, you can live with that all day long

Glad to know they could agree on some things at least, starborn demi-gods aside. Though the offer Thalassa extends does require a bit of thought, because though the fountain has healed her, mentally she's still torn up. This recent conversation aside, she keeps running her choices back around, bullying past Colt, the one who landed her here, without mercy. Still, she slides her eyes across the bar to group that Thalassa's watching. It's not Colt's usual place to step in and get involved if she doesn't know anyone in the toussle, usually would just watch a bit while she finished her drink. The idea of letting off steam though is one she can grab onto, needing a distraction from this constant disapproval in her thoughts.

"Bet if we fight each other, we'll scare them all straight," she muses with a bit of a grin slipping in, her body starting to straighten up. "Plus, I kindra wanna see how tough you are sugar." Might help her understand what sort of trouble Thalassa got herself into, the kind Vesper wouldn't help her with. She looks strong enough, but nothing tells it quite so true as an honest fight. "Only serves me right anyway, since I got you involved in my mess, just try not to trade off killing me too, yeah?" The torchline fountain only works if you're still alive, she's pretty sure.

Kicking up off the bar, her shot remaining like a victory she could reclaim once she'd bled a bit more today, she steps towards the edge of the room where the burly men look poised to clash. "Pardon me lads, lady and I have a dance." She flashes a smile their way, tipping her hat in greeting before reaching back behind her to fish a knife out of the quiver still strapped on her shoulder. The freshly sharpened blade clicks to life, glinting in the bar light as she rounds to face Thalassa. "Ready when you are, Peach."

So, if you got a fire, don't lose it
If you got a do-or-die dream, do it
If you got somethin' to prove, go on and prove it
If it's in your blood, fallin' down ain't enough
Gettin' back up, that's the only backup plan you need

Thalassa

Standing there, killing time,
Can't commit to anything but a crime

The curve of her lips is sharp and eager as she pushes away from the bar, winking to clear any negativity that might weigh them down. "Or set their hormones racing." What man doesn't like a little girl on girl action?

She takes another sip of her bourbon before setting the glass aside, a similar trophy for her to retrieve later. "Try not to be too surprised when I put you on your ass." There's confidence in the subtle shift of her muscles, the way her tail flicks slowly behind her, a stubborn cockiness that comes with having proved herself in just about every arena. It's a lazy kind of tension that dares people to underestimate her. 

Following Colt through the growing crowd of people, she moves like smoke, black and hinting at danger when she brushes enticingly against someone who catches her attention - her opposite in many ways that she wouldn't mind indulging in. Sure she's draw his eye, Thal is close at the woman's back, readjusting her thoughts. "Heard. Death is off limits." But the sharp edge of her gaze says that everything else is fair game. The fountain is pretty strong, and she's willing to take as much as she gives. 

The men look intrigued by the new contenders, quickly closing the circle around them to make room for the growing observers, not that Thal minds. She's focused on the opponent in front of her, planning out what lines she probably shouldn't cross. Of the eight daggers strapped in various places visible and hidden across her body, she skims past the obsidian blades at her hips for a simpler pair sitting at the bottom of her thighs. They slide from their sheaths with a wicked glint of the silver metal, nearly matching the flash of her fangs as she grins. "Don't make it too easy for me." 

Then she's moving, quick as a whip to slash her knife at Colt's ribs. 

---

1/4

COLT

Well life's got a lot of sticks and stones
And a blade that'll cut you to the bone
But if you're doing what you love and it kills you
Well, you can live with that all day long

She might not have nearly the experience Thalassa does in the ring, but in the arena she's dodged a number of injuries. She's sustained plenty too, but here's to hoping her heart's the only remedial student and she's learned something from a few of those past lessons to at least save her skin a bit. Though, Thalassa doesn't move like a pissed off cow does - there's very little bluffing, just a smile, and gods hasn't that always been warning enough?

A breath out, gaze flicking to the danger that's glinting closer, and Colt's in motion. She tries to time it, to give Thalassa less room to chase her, space granting opportunity. It means she has to be accurate - too slow and she'll be caught, too fast and Thalassa can pursue her, and that's just assuming the Ancient doesn't already have another trick up her sleeve.

Colt twists abruptly, sucking it in as she pivots on her boot, one hand driving down at Thalassa's wrist, shoving it away hard and fast, same as she might roll around the thrust of some angry horns. Colt's other other hand is the one with her quiver-sharpened knife, and she means to return fire. She slashes it toward's the woman's arm, a quick jab of metal and intent that she hopes will make a bit of room between them for a moment.

---

1/4

Colt shoves Thalassa's knife hand away and stabs at her arm with a knife sharpened in her quiver.

The Pencil Sharpener | An earthen quiver that sharpens any arrow placed inside.
Type: Dark | Style: Offensive | Level: Basic | Cost: Action

So, if you got a fire, don't lose it
If you got a do-or-die dream, do it
If you got somethin' to prove, go on and prove it
If it's in your blood, fallin' down ain't enough
Gettin' back up, that's the only backup plan you need

Thalassa

Standing there, killing time,
Can't commit to anything but a crime

Despite the alcohol warming her system, Thal moves with a surprising amount of control, precise and calculated in how she shifts her weight and guides her body through the attack. Still, she's not surprised when Colt pushes her blade down, gliding into the adjustment like it was part of her plan the entire time. She slips under the incoming knife, trying to use her speed to get within the rancher's defenses.

It would be a thousand times easier to use the 'tricks up her sleeve' and dart around the ring, but where's the fun in that? She's just getting warmed up. 

Thal lets her knees hit the wood, spinning in a deadly whirlwind of dark hair and glinting edges. Her arm cuts through the air in an attempt to slice her dagger across a thigh or outer leg before she's already shifting back out of range with an impressive display of maneuverability, trying to get behind Colt to make it harder for a counterattack. 

---

2/4

COLT

Well life's got a lot of sticks and stones
And a blade that'll cut you to the bone
But if you're doing what you love and it kills you
Well, you can live with that all day long

There's the difference - Thal's more than one step ahead, planning for the possibilities of her opponent's reactions while Colt is focusing on just the one she can see. The similarities to her experiences with steers ends the moment Colt's shoved Thalassa's knife hand away, putting her in unfamiliar water with her own returning jab (which fails) and the quick way Thalassa drops and spins on her knees. It leaves Colt grimacing, a red line blooming on her pants where the blade snarled through denim and flesh alike.

A curse hisses out between her teeth, the pain an ignition for anger. She expected nothing less when she agreed to this and had figured she'd lose out to the wily Ancient, but it's one thing to think about losing and bleeding and another entirely to feel it happening. The Colt on the other side of this would be fine, but the one right now, she's hurting and that makes her frustrated.

Twisting on her boot heel Colt slings the dagger in her hand towards Thalassa's side, not much bothering to aim. She's already reaching back into her quiver to pull out something else, but honestly she isn't a ship captain assassin with blades a plenty - that one has mostly murdered baling twine and stuck leather, and she only needs the one for those foes. That's why the incredibly sharp and impressive she manages to gran hold of next, is a pencil. Shit.

---

2/4

Colt's cut by the dagger and flings hers at Thalassa. Pulls out another 'weapon' from the quiver.

So, if you got a fire, don't lose it
If you got a do-or-die dream, do it
If you got somethin' to prove, go on and prove it
If it's in your blood, fallin' down ain't enough
Gettin' back up, that's the only backup plan you need