Back In Town

Jay got off the helicopter, sighing in relief. She was back in Amestris after about a year away in Frostdeath. Her friend, Darky had been adjusting her automail. It was now by automail standards, virtually the best possible. She had also taken a vacation. But she was back which was what mattered most. She figured she would hit up the towns a few nights, meet some people, drink underage again. She only knew that she would enjoy her time for maybe a week, then do something unimaginable to her.

She would rejoin the military. Not Delta again, no that was enough of her time on those missions. But she wanted a nice little job, maybe positioned in New Optain or heck, Central. But all that was for later. For now all Jay wanted was to ease back to her life of vendetta and war. She was finally enjoying life again, so maybe she could go easier on the cold act. Ever since she had met Lexi, she'd changed. She even considered apologizing to that girl she had injured in that fight when Kana became human... As she contemplated these thoughts, she tripped and fell facefirst on top of someone walking by...

{[(xD This is your cue to join in, random reader. lol Duh.)]}

For once in her life, Tala-Layla Eroqua had been minding her own business. And what happens? Some nimrod falls on her. The dark haired girl let out a yelp as she slipped to the pavement, head striking the gray concrete. Honestly, this was just her luck. She decided to relax, take it easy, sip from the stash of blood she had collected as opposed to killing, and she gets ambushed.

“Get off!” Tala huffed, wriggling away from the person and jumping to her feet, smoothing out her eccentric layered clothing. A frown graced Tala-Layla’s face, coal-rimmed eyes glaring distrustfully as she placed a hand on her hip. “What was that for?” she added, uneven hair being brushed from her face. For someone most likely wanted, you’d think she’d dress less… eccentric. But no, Tala was Tala and Tala was crazy. Her frown deepened upon finding a rip in one fingerless glove and dirt smudging her pants leg.

Jay rolled clumsily off of her victim, and jumped to her feet with about as much grace as a drunken walrus. "Oh, sorry! Daydreaming, heh... Aw, crap..." She muttered to herself as she dashed to her set of .45's and her Jadestone katana, which had slipped away from her as she fell. As she collected herself, she allowed herself about a minute to look over the person she rammed into. She looked a bit odd, with clothes that seemed a bit out of place, but Jay couldn't say anything, what with her own outfit, which seemed a bit more revealing than most. She figured she should try to make it up to the girl, so she tried to help her up, but by the time she got there, the girl was on her feet, and most obviously angry as a bull in a cherry tree.

"So, are you okay? I'm not usually that much of a klutz..." She was embarrased now, seeing the girl's clothes roughed up. Then, she remembered to check her own clothes and equipment for scratches and stuff. Her miniskirt had a small tear in it, but that was fine with her. She also found a little scratch in one of her pistols. "Piece of crap..." She then scanned her laser staff vigorously, as if it were a precious diamond of sorts. "Good, it's safe..." She wouldn't let a single scratch touch it... It had been way too hard to steal for damage... But she didn't even touch her katana, as it was, like her automail, virtually indestructable by normal means. "Oh yeah, by the way, I'm Jay. Jay Furor."

Tala sighed taking a step and wincing. One of her concealed weapons had stabbed her, she could tell the much. Hissing softly, she reached into the bandages binding her legs –ankle to knee- and pulled free a sharp knife. Sighing, she tucked it into the wraps on her other leg. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She muttered hesitantly. She briefly eyed Jay, rather wary looking.

“Tala-Layla Eroqua. A pleasure.” She responded, slowly holding out a hand before dropping it back to her side in a hurried manor. “It’s fine, I overreacted. My apologies… Jay.” She said after a moment, fingers tugging nervously on her blue and black hair. Nervous habits. Not something Tala generally had, but she couldn’t help it.

“Most pistols are crap.” She agreed calmly, thinking of hers, which was always getting jammed. It was why knives and swords were so appealing, honestly speaking. Why use something liable to get stuck when there was such an array of other items to practice with.

"Nice to meet you Tala-Layla. Yeah, pistols suck. I think my katana's at least 50 times better..." Jay shook the girl's hand, as she finished reholstering her weapons.She examined Tala-Layla more closely. She seemed to have some weapons of her own, based on the knife. And Jay could scent the faintest trace of blood in the air around her. Jay assumed she was no stranger to killing, but she would see if she was right later. She just put on her smile, which often contradicted her icy cold eyes, giving her the appearance that she is faking the smile.In truth, she was really trying to be friendly for once. Friendliness was certainly not Jay's strong point.
She decided to herself that Tala-Layla would make a good ally, or perhaps even a friend, for the future. If she had learned anything while she was in the military, it was that bonds were important to success in a mission and in life. She determined now that she would add a new bond to her list, if possible.

(([[{{Sorry if it's short. XP mind block...}}]]))

Tala smiled in a calm manor. “Feel free to call me Tala.” She stated. Obviously Jay was someone Tala should at least watch out for. Being a murderer, you always had to watch your back. But Jay seemed nice enough, and if this peculiar person was out to get Tala, well, she would’ve been recognized already. Tala knew full well she wasn’t inconspicuous.
[colo=red]“So what are you doing in Central? You don’t strike me as one to party or hang around the snobs here.”[/color] Tala said brusquely, a good natured smirk set on her face. “Not to be rude, I mean.” She added for good measure. Moving with reserved grace, she retrieved her metal flask from her pocket. Smirk turning to grin, Tala uncapped the flask and took a long slip, cool blood washing down her throat. She had put a chemical in it, a decoagulent to keep it fresh. Smile turning back to smirk, Tala returned the flask to her pocket, licking her lip briefly.

Jay laughed at the comment about partying and hanging with snobs. "No, no, no... I was hoping to hit the lower parts of the town and get a couple beers, but I'm not prissy enough to enjoy the fine prestige of Central City's finest. Or stupid enough. So what brings you here?" Jay felt a little more relaxed now, and she was confident that Tala wouldn't kill her. But the smell of blood was still strong on her. Maybe it was just Jay's sense of smell that could detect the slightly noxious aroma flowing from Tala. After all, she had been subject to more bloodshed than most people she knew. Then, as she looked back up, she saw the faintest flash of crimson in the flask as Tala drank. A grin crossed her face. "Well, I guess I'm not the only killer with a weird habit in keeping a part of the victim with me. Though I thought mounting heads was a bit much." So, she had been right. Apparently Tala was a literally bloodthirsty killer. Jay had figured it anyways. Her instincts were reliable, as always. "Don't worry, it can be our dirty little secret if you want." She smiled again. So it seems everyone has skeletons hiding in their closets. She muttered to herself, "She reminds me so much of myself... Who knows, maybe we will share a kill one day..."

Tala glanced appraisingly at Jay. “Wow, quick to figure out what I do.” She smiled much more genuinely than she had in a long time. “I would much like this to stay a secret, I’ve avoided the military to long to get caught now.” She laughed softly, running fingers through choppy blue and black hair. “And I like blood, it reminds me that I’m the one who won, and they say those who drink blood are meant to live longer and fair healthier than those who don’t.” Tala replied in a highly relaxed manor. She was confident, if Jay turned, Tala would not hesitate to fight back, and if it looked like she was going down, certainly it would not be alone. Tala-Layla smiled slightly. The crazed young woman had always planned to bring down her killer with her, were she ever to be murdered. It sounded romantic, in a twisted and vulgar kind of way. “So I take you know your way around a fight.” Tala stated offhandedly.

Jay grinned. "I so happen to be good at figuring people at. Natural talent." She then thought over Tala's next comment, about hiding from the military. "So you're on the run from the government, eh? Used to be, myself. But I guess they forgot me enough to let me join the army. But I'm not after you, and quite frankly, after about 5 minutes knowing you, I'd gun down the whole military if they were attacking you." She smiled again, as the statement was completely true. Then again, it wasn't much, because Jay didn't like half the military anyways.
Jay laughed at her speech about drinking blood. "I actually heard the same thing from someone else once. But I don't think it's my style. The people I kill have filthy blood anyways." Her voice took on a slightly iced tone in her last sentence, as she thought of the 12 gang members she'd killed, the people who slaughtered her family. In reply to Tala's last statement, she said, "Well, I should. Hehe, I've been a special forces operative in Certa, a hired assassin, and a pretty good hunter. But I'm better with my katana than my guns." She unsheathed the Xerxian Jade weapon from her back, letting the forest green blade glimmer in the light. "It's my most prized weapon, the only one of it's kind..."