Sayuri & Kiernan: AIN'T NO PARTY LIKE A KILLER MANTIS PARTY CUZ A KILLER MANTIS PARTY DON'T STOP.
Sayuri might have been a woman who had been pouring tea for one of her father's esteemed customers, her smile demure, earlier this morning - but when the call went out, she ditched the expensive kimono and immediately put on her more appropriate battle outfit. Flowing was exchanged for skintight; she slipped on what little armor she used - she wanted flexibility for her style of battle - grabbed her hammer and went out to where the action was. She did not run - she wanted to conserve her energy for when she really needed it - but she walked briskly, not even looking at the civilian who ran away towards the action she sought.
It didn't take long for trouble to find her. She wasn't that far into the zone of action when she felt something deposit itself heavily on the ground near her, like dropping an enormous package. She turned over one shoulder, face-to-face with something really ugly and really big. She felt her heart quicken, but she grabbed her hammer, ready to engage.
Slipping into the trance was always a strange feeling. It was one of those things that Sayuri was not sure she would ever get used to. She felt it sweep over her, like falling into a pond of cool water, except this water was made of fire and her nerves tingled and sparked; it swooped up her legs, up her arms, and into her head where it clouded and sharpened at the same time. She could never explain it to someone who had never experienced it themselves. How the trance both removed and gave. Sayuri's mouth bared teeth and she slipped into a low battle stance, both hands wrapped around the thick metal handle of her hammer. Her arms pulsed with new energy and strength.
She did not think about the tea getting cold at home or how angry her father was when she had politely excused herself from company - male, single company in particular, which would normally make her eyes roll.
She didn't think at all.
Sayuri leaped, her agility amplified thanks to the trance, and brought the hammer swinging down. It landed right on the head of the mantis, knocking it down and back momentarily, but Sayuri knew that was no where near enough to bring it down. She landed on all fours and backed away quickly.