On the sandstone slabs old nets and broken boats can be leftover art. Or a drunk seaman's droppings. Maybe both. Look closer for the brands. It’ll be hard to see on such a night. Sniff the air and a whiff of burnt hazelnut will be there. Its the old man in a rocker. Smoke billowed from his long gold pipe. A white beard hid his lips. The turban kept his hair a secret. Shades protected his eyes. Sheets cloaked his body. Sandals revealed his toes and a long used fishing pole is gripped from blowing away as the westbound wind wheezed by. The swing door behind the man shook. The building he rocked against was tall and built like a chapel. Why anyone would build so close to the waterbank baffled any onlooker. Muted drums & riff beats came from within the structure. Strings and horns flowed out a pitch louder. Laughter interpolated. Hurried footsteps pitter-pattered outside the door. Guzzles echoed from the incoming traffic’s throats. Desperate last slurps of the crowd’s pre-game rituals, allowed with a half-hearted waves by the elderly doorman.

Above the town, the crescent moon glared. Beyond the town, coyotes howled. Snakes hissed like harmonicas. Owls hooted. Trees stretched out like scarecrows and casted shadows. Their prickly green splashed well with the night cold tropic floor. For on the other end of the villa there was only rocky burgundy shorelines and blue. It startled the eye. But, it flared the nostrils. The last entre of the night took to the air and the hair on the back of Rei-Rei's neck stood. Her own pole wavered in her hands and a bit and sat back up at attention, refocusing on her own efforts to catch dinner. Handwraps gloved her palms. Life had kept those hands busy. They had touched, grabbed, torn, ripped and held. Now, idle, they held a stick with a string attached into the deep blue. It had been a whole six hours since she enjoyed her last paid for meal and she was itching for supper. The sea was her last resort. Nevermind the shappy little inn behind the old man. She was so disperate to try and steal a meal... or was she?

When her eyes opened to the old man, he was staring over at her with a small and a nod. How dare he?! She turned her attention full blown to the waters out before her, determined to catch something and prove her self-sustainability. Although she could not see his eyes behind his dark shades, he had the look of someone who liked to lecture and render sagely advice; two things the skypiean wanted nothing to do with.

“Not a whole lotta bothering goin' on with the fish tonight, eh,” the words dripped like lava from his lips.

A reassured nod and sigh was returned to him. The man - the innkeeper as far as she could tell - had heavy feet. He lifted the girth of him and turned and trotted in. The thud of the swing door echoed night in return. The abandoned chapel was haunted with the stench of fun. Smokes swept over the seating area. Dropped pills were crumbled by footsteps along the floor. Darkness swept over, only interrupted by flashes of neon lights from above. A disco ball swirled about and illuminated. Within the clutter of young flesh sprawled from wall to wall was the mummed smacking of lips for sloppy kisses. A bartender set up by the old confession booth smirked at his limping customers. On stage a karaoke set up rocked. But, over at the ledge of the water Rei-Rei was as quiet as a mouse.

She was here for food.

"Tch... asshole."

Hell-bent and mind set on this, Rei-Rei gave an affirmative nod and bounced lightly on her the balls of her feet in time to the pulsating beats of her mental music: she was ready! Except…well, except she wasn’t, you see, because at that very last moment, she noticed something out of the ordinary that she hadn’t quite remarked before: a yank. Yes, a bite on her line – shed got a few of those from lately, she noted – but this one, it was a pull. No, a yank, although she could tell, even from where she was standing on the edge, a few yards away from water, that there was something evidently wrong with it. That much was obvious, by the scowl on her face, the way her eyebrows were knitted so tightly. Silent as the grave, she pulled the bandages on her forearm taut with her teeth , jammed her heals into the rough dirt, braced her stance to counterbalance the pull of the fish, and mentally steadied herself, all so that she could catch this son of a bitch and finally put something in her stomach.

Sharp, white incisors bit down on her bubblegum-pink lips as she pulled against the tugging of this fish, tried, tried and failed – miserably. It was too much for her. She was lifted off her feet instantly and her faced went crashing into the mud and then drug through it and every other patch of grass or mold earthworm nest that lay between her and the edge of the water. This mega sized fish had met her her match, and it was the match, or dare she say, superior in this bout of strength and wits. Rei-Rei plunged into the water, all swirls and bubbles and purple dyed hair (she swore instantly that if this water missed up her dye she would hunt this fish to the ends of the earth, filet it and then toss it into the trash...

Her balance and sea legs finally coming to she steadied her self in the bubbly blue and opened her eyes underwater, despite the fact that Mama Sciwalker always told her that kids who dont use goggles in water get pink eye. This knowledge handy and accessible from the back of her little cerebral cortex and ready to be used however was for not as she scanned the waters for the...the...

It was a man, no, a fish, no... a fishman. An inaudible scream tore from the girl's water filled mouth and not but bubbles came pulsating out like a nerf gun meant to bring amusement to a little toddler's party. Rei-Rei flapped her arms back and forth, pushing her backward and backward as far as she could from the beast of nightmares, those hellish creatures of the deep. She finally turned and came up to the surface, flapping and splashing and doggy paddling until she finally touched that brim of dirt and began to frantically pull herself up...

A shark...a shark... a boy-shark... a shark-boy... Words no longer worked apparently.

Maybe…she should go help him. Granted, she knew absofuckinglutely nothing about sharks or shark-boys, but hey! Every deserves a hand, yes? Hells yeah. Empathetic as she slowly began to approach him, just baby steps taken on ballerina pointe – a skill she’d gained courtesy of ten years’ worth of lessons as a child - and Reinaka was downright set on giving the guy a hand, to the best of her abilities. Only, well, a bad case of Schadenfreude struck the girl, and she got the giggles as she saw him grow increasingly frustrated, calling out for help until....

... hurt you yet?

She couldn't stop herself, a rage came over her and before she knew it she was launched into the air with a large branch she'd found laying next to her in the mud. A fire raged in her eyes and a her teeth looked sharp and fang-like in her roar.

"HAIIIIIIII YAHHHHHHHHHH"

The branch came plummeting down with her and snapped with a loud thud and crack as it connecting with the top of the fishman's skull, snapping in two and falling to pieces in the girl's hand. Her loud roar continued until it was just there steady gasps escaping her open mouth, her body in some kind of angry bear pose and her breathing sounding as though it was a roar all its own.

"Take......That......Fishman! That'll....Teach you... to threaten... a lady....."

Along with pinball high-scores, Strawberry Shortcake stickers, and vintage designer dresses bought at discount prices, a midnight showdown on the banks of the ocean with moon high in the sky, in the humble opinion of Miss Reinaka Sciwalker, was more than enough reason for some kind of celebration. Such a momentous occasion, she firmly believed, was deserving of at the very least a little bit of festivity, preferably in the form of laughter, glitter, and many hugs and kisses. There might possibly even be a drink, or two, or four - maybe more - all to be consumed in good company, naturally. Much to her dismay, however, Rei-Rei's company appeared to be unavailable for such foolhardy activities. The fishman looked pissed at her wily assault, but it wasn't Rei-Dear's fault! She seldom could control herself when men, even ones with scales and sharp teeth, threatened her! Even those, to her parent's dismay, that were much stronger, faster, older and more experienced than our little teenage femme fatale.

A fishman! Of all the creatures in the world, Reinaka had been called out by a fishman. Really then, that was just incredible, now wasn’t it – especially considering she'd never even been properly introduced to one before? Indignent as she was at present time, she told herself that this was going to have to be her loss concerning her fishing exploits, because she would not let this opportunity pass her by tonight. A fishman raining on her parade? No way, José. This wasn’t even really rain, after all; it was more of a light shower, or better still, a sprinkling of water. Mist ! There: it was mist, soon to be cleared away, because she was going to go all out despite her hunger pangs, and it would be absolutely splendid, thank you very much.

In fact, she was completely positive that she was going to have a wonderful time, even though she would she might have been severely outmatched in terms of strength, which was really only a minor setback in her mind. After all, although she hadn’t any reason to suppose she could beat a fishman's karate (which they apparently all knew very well) she had to believe in herself and her own strength. It was practically a rule that as long as one has the willpower and a fabulous motivation song to play that nothing would go wrong for them; it happened in all the movies, didn’t it ? In all the good ones, anyway.

She giggled, furociouly! "I've never fought a fishman before, yo! Ohhh MMmm Geeeee! It's so exciting!"

She jumped up and down vehemently screaming and squealing until a look changed in her eye and it was officially go-time! Her finale jump seemed to bring to life some sort of purpose and her little wings seemed to respond to this jolt of energy, bestowing her leap a sort of boom that rocketed her upward and over the distance between and the baseball swinging shark! She squashed to the ground in front of the shark on both her hands and feet, crouched like a little monkey ready to strike. A devilish grin appeared on the girl's face as her tongue stretched out and at the shark!

"Loser. Swing already! Fluuiiiiddd Foot!"

With the shout and a stiffing of muscles, as though a spring coal was being wound and wound and wound, Rei-Rei burst forward and cartwheeling at him, or rather in the direction of his opposite swing. He seemed right-handed, and even right dominant, and would obviously swing from the same direction. Rei-Rei only had to be faster than his swing, which she should be with the addition of her fabulous technique. Hmm Sharks aren't that fast are they?

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Skill Name: Fluid Foot
Skill Type: Hand to Hand
Skill Range: 3m
Skill Cooldown & Duration: 3 Post/ Instant
Skill Description: The Chi Blocker must be able to attack the correct and specific pressure points of an opponent if they are to incapacitate them quickly. This requires the ability to sometimes be at all sides of the attacker before they have time to react. Using Fluid Foot, a Chi Blocker to move at their highest speed to get behind an opponent and follow through with an chi attack. While it is not an instant movement, when dealing with an opponent on equal standing with the Chi Blocker it can be all the advantage one needs.

Reinaka's cartwheel worked as she zipped right by the swing of his wood beam, only she was was not expecting the sheer force behind the fishman's swing. His makeshift bat blew through the swinging motion so fast that she actually missed the act movement of it, leaving one to see the simple ramifications of his attack. The wind picked up and the force of the swing sent gale force wind shifting through the down in the direction of his curve.

Rei-Rei stood behind the man, dazed at what she was seeing. Were all fishman like this? With just a swing he caused all of that? She gulped as she realized that she might have been a goner had that beam struck her with that much force. She stepped back a bit, ending her general follow-up chi strike and putting a little more distance in between them. He turned back to her glaring with a look that she wasn't quite sure she'd quite deserved just yet...

Finally the man seem to collapse and fall to the ground! From the sound of his stomach she'd say he was dealing with the same issue that she was , only much worse. She'd not eaten in maybe half a day. How long did it take to make your stomach sound like that?

"Yoo... you okay? Man, sounds like you've got a engine under that shirt. You should really eat something....just....not me!" The girl laughed and plopped down next to him in Indian-style, interlocking her fingers behind her head and giggling.

"You gotta name, Fish Face? I'm Rei-Rei."

Reinaka laughed as he continued to shot at her, despite the fact that he was now in a very vulnerable position. All that strength or not, it counted for nothing if he couldn't even stand up to yield it. Not to mention he couldn't take a joke, let alone a punch at this point in the game.

And then he managed to somehow pick himself back up. Rei's laughter faded out as she watched him struggle against his own exhaustion to stand. Was this the strength of Fishmen or was this the strength of his own will.. Damn, this kid was...

“That’s some strength you have there kid,”

Oh? Rei-Rei followed the voice a few yards to see the old man from before walking towards them. The inn-keeper? She looked back and forth between the two men before realizing what was happening. He was getting all the credit for completely being beaten by her... sorta. Not to mention he was definitely going to hurt himself if he kept trying to stand in this state. His chi was completely off-balanced and very weak. Hmph.

....."Obbbbstructionnnnn"....

Before they could even react to her shout, Rei-Rei propped up on the balls of her feet and began to jab at the man's leg and side. The taps were so swift and so light that she doubted they actually hurt the man at all...only...their point wasn't exactly to hurt him. There. Last one. She'd sealed the pressure points all around his right leg and side just enough to immobilize enough of the right side of his body to bring him crashing down to the ground.

She quickly jumped up and placed her foot on the man's fallen chest, bellowing loud laughs and poking her chest out in triumphant posture!

"HOO-HOO-HOOOOO-HOOO-HOO!!!" The inn keeper began swooning over the show of force that brought down such a powerful foe as this fishman, Tai. Hmph. Little did he knows she'd simply paralyzed an already tired man, not outright beaten him.

"Oh myyy. I see you're the champion of this duelll!!! Ooh. You both are perfect! I'll need you both immediately! Bring them both in and put them in a spare room!"

Huh? Rei-Rei didn't know who he was speaking to exactly, but several men burst from the inn entrance and grabbed Tai and carrying him into inn, up a flight of stairs and into a freshly prepped room. Rei-Rei followed behind and the man instructed her that he would have some food and drinks brought up for them as well. Not caring what he required from them in return she simply smiled and nodded and entered the room as well. She looked over the fishman as he lay there in the new bed. What could have possibly tired him out like this? She placed a single finger at the center of his chest, pressed down and she could feel his chi return to normal. Well, not normal but he'd be able to move all his limbs now.

She stepped back and held up her hand in a mock display of surrender....

"Ooohh... don't be upsettttt! Hehehe. I did it for your own good. Your body has had quite the beating... you probably shouldn't stand anymore...and eat. A lot. He's coming with food sooo... just stay there! HEehhe."

Reinaka sat on her bed and prepared a plate of food from the different selections as well. Ahh, it felt so good to eat food that other people prepared again. She'd been missing out having to fish and cook her food. She savored every bite, allowing the pieces of filet fish or lobster to salivate in her mouth, the fruit to spread its sweet juices throughout her cheeks and the potatoes to fill her stomach with a heaviness that promised she wouldn't have to eat for at least a few more hours. She was not a big eater, but she was a frequent eater. Proper diets consisted of smaller, well timed meals throughout the whole of the day. Goggled up huge portions once or twice did havoc on her body and figure. She'd not let it all go anytime soon.

"Bandits? How many? Are they really as bad as to hire guards?"

"Well... yes, I'm afraid. The Banditiers, as they call themselves, have been pillaging the town for weeks now. They broken into several nearby inns and I've got a feeling that we're next. Ooh...I don't know how we'll manage to stay open. We don't get much business as is. Please help. You two could take them easily from what I saw..."

"Hmm. Fine with us, sir! We're your guys for this job! Just leave it to us."

The man bowed in relief and exited the room quickly, not wanting to have to offer up much else in return for their services. But that didn't matter cause Rei-Rei was thinking ahead. She stood up and posed with her hands on her hips as if to say she had it all figured out.

"This is perfect, Tai. We get free room and board for however many nights it takes for them to strike her, then we clean them up and turn them in for a bounty! If they'd been harassing the town for weeks then there's bound to be a bounty on em! With me as the brains and you as the muscle, we'll make out like bandits!.... No pun intended"