Leslie turned and smirked at Heidi's remarks on training and etiquette. "Heh, that doesn't matter. I'd be a crappy host to have a hot spring and not give you the chance to soak! And normally, there's a whole bunch of crap you'd have to get in...but this is a private one, so the rules are really whatever the hell we want them to be. And me and my father aren't really big into that, so here's what you do. Step 1, strip down. Step 2, hop in. Step 3, enjoy! That's the Battle hot spring ritual!"
"Now, towels and such. Doesn't look like there's any, does there? But..." The martial artist walked over to a wooden wall (which thankfully for her was covered by the roof), and took a look at one of the boards. "Once you're out here, you really don't wanna go back in, because that's a pain in the ass, right? So, if you do this..." She pressed her finger in a knothole, causing it to move back, and moved her finger a bit, causing the board to open up like a locker door. Inside were a few towels, and some soap and shampoo. "Pretty great, isn't it? My grandfather made it himself. He was really good with this sort of thing. Anyway, you're welcome to all this. ...And uh, don't take this the wrong way, but I think you kinda need it. Bad."
With that, Leslie returned to the control panel, and pulled a level to the side of it, causing an awning to cover approximately a third of the heated water. "There. Well, that about wraps up the explanation. I think I'll take a dip too...a hot spring bath's better than not a hot spring bath, am I right?" Without any additional warning, she reached over and pulled her sports bra off, revealing the contents within. She took a moment to stretch her arms, then set her hands over her hips to start with her shorts...but stopped. "...Oh, right, here I am being a crappy host. You don't mind if I come in too, right? Or did you really wanna be alone?" Yep, that was the only problem she saw. People didn't freak when relative strangers started stripping in front of them, right?
The Legendary Battle Dojo
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Nodding along with Leslie's instructions, Heidi followed behind, tracing the hostess' footsteps. She continued smiling even as her current state of hygiene was insulted, but raised her hands defensively. "I-It's just the rain making me smell... It hasn't been that long since I bathed," she defended, but it was hard to take her at her word on that, given how difficult of a time she'd probably have had finding the opportunity in the recent past. Her eyes turned up to watch the awning extend over the portion of the water she'd been designated to go into. "Oh? Alright... Do you want to go after me or before-?" she began to ask, while slowly bringing her eyes back down to level. As it turned out, the answer was neither; Leslie was already most of the way out of her clothes. Heidi looked momentarily shocked, but recovered quickly enough. "Uh, okay... sure, if that's normal," she laughed awkwardly, waving one hand to indicate for Leslie to go ahead while she set her PET down. "We should keep these close to us... B-But, er, if you turn on a screen to the outside, try not to show off to Incognito too much, okay? He sometimes doesn't react too well to this sort of thing and... uh, it'd be a little awkward for him to see me naked," she coughed.
As little as Leslie normally wore, Heidi was wearing less; after she turned her back to Leslie, reaching her hands beneath the nasty, damp article that covered her, and lifted it up and over her head, she was left with only the checkered pattern boxers. She'd always been pretty obviously lanky, that was no secret, but her back did have a graceful curve and slenderness to it that was ordinarily hidden by men's clothing. Her breasts still weren't much to look at, barely meeting B cup for her height, such that none of their shape would show from the back and barely any once she turned to her side. Her eyes had momentarily closed as she crossed one arm across her chest and reached the other into the back of the wet boxers. There was a sticky, wet noise as she peeled them away from her bottom, down to her thighs, then began stepping her long legs out from inside. Leslie may have questioned if she wore something more woman-appropriate beneath, but the answer was no.
Up for the double bath but not necessarily for standing around naked in the open air, Heidi quickly submerged herself into the water. The first order of business was for her to dunk herself under once, to start getting rid of the oiliness that had started to make her hair so gross... once she came back up, the thick bush of her hair had turned into a mop-like covering over her entire head, hiding her face. She shook her hair this way and that, then mussed it up with her fingers, until it was away from her eyes. "That feels wonderful," the bounty hunter sighed, leaning back over the bath so that her shoulders were out of the water; she ought to be scrubbing something, probably, but for now was too caught up in the atmosphere. "This is a dojo, isn't it? Do you have students who also use the bath sometimes, or is it just for you and... erm... it seemed like you lived with someone else?" she asked, turning to look over her shoulder.
As little as Leslie normally wore, Heidi was wearing less; after she turned her back to Leslie, reaching her hands beneath the nasty, damp article that covered her, and lifted it up and over her head, she was left with only the checkered pattern boxers. She'd always been pretty obviously lanky, that was no secret, but her back did have a graceful curve and slenderness to it that was ordinarily hidden by men's clothing. Her breasts still weren't much to look at, barely meeting B cup for her height, such that none of their shape would show from the back and barely any once she turned to her side. Her eyes had momentarily closed as she crossed one arm across her chest and reached the other into the back of the wet boxers. There was a sticky, wet noise as she peeled them away from her bottom, down to her thighs, then began stepping her long legs out from inside. Leslie may have questioned if she wore something more woman-appropriate beneath, but the answer was no.
Up for the double bath but not necessarily for standing around naked in the open air, Heidi quickly submerged herself into the water. The first order of business was for her to dunk herself under once, to start getting rid of the oiliness that had started to make her hair so gross... once she came back up, the thick bush of her hair had turned into a mop-like covering over her entire head, hiding her face. She shook her hair this way and that, then mussed it up with her fingers, until it was away from her eyes. "That feels wonderful," the bounty hunter sighed, leaning back over the bath so that her shoulders were out of the water; she ought to be scrubbing something, probably, but for now was too caught up in the atmosphere. "This is a dojo, isn't it? Do you have students who also use the bath sometimes, or is it just for you and... erm... it seemed like you lived with someone else?" she asked, turning to look over her shoulder.
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Much to Leslie's delight, Heidi was perfectly okay with team baths. "It's hardly unusual! Soaking in a hot spring together is considered by Electopian traditionalists to be a great way to bond!" ...Well, that was actually not really wrong. She went ahead and walked over, and set her PET next to the other woman's. "Eh, they're supposed to be in like, a Net area that acts like a personal dream world, right? Maybe we should keep our distance from them. Don't worry, Martia'll have everything back to normal in no time! If she can help look after me, helping out your Navi oughta be a walk in the park!" Not one for wasted time, she punctuated this by lowering both her shorts and panties at the same time, leaving behind nothing the outfit her Navi feared having to show off. She stretched for a moment, then got in under the awning. "Oh yeah, that's the stuff...~" Despite her obvious enjoyment of the water, she still had the good sense to turn to Heidi. Granted, she would've anyway, as the sound like a giant tongue licking some cotton candy, only to get caught by the stickiness, reverberated through the air. The reward was a good look at the girl's butt, and just a little bit of sideboob. She quickly hopped in, and worked on looked less like a drowned rat, and more like just a soaked one, followed by wondering about the hot spring's rate of use.
"We do. ...Well, actually, let me rephrase. We did. Business has been super slow lately, so it hasn't gotten nearly as much use as it normally would. We'd let any student use it after a training session, but when you don't have any students...yeah, it's kinda hard." She half expected her stomach to perform a timely yet untimely growl, but perhaps precisely because she saw it coming, it didn't happen. "So, until we get more, it's just me and my father. And a lot of the time, he isn't even around. It's probably been...nearly a week or so, since anyone's ass other than mine has sat in here. And lemme tell you something. It's nice to soak by yourself every now and then, but when it's happening 90% of the time, it sucks. Hard. It's honestly just nice to do this and have someone besides Martia to talk to, ya know?" It helped that Heidi was hardly undesirable, but even if she had been some big, hairy man, she probably would've said the same thing. "But yeah, I think you can see why these are such a big deal to Electopians. They're great, aren't they?"
"We do. ...Well, actually, let me rephrase. We did. Business has been super slow lately, so it hasn't gotten nearly as much use as it normally would. We'd let any student use it after a training session, but when you don't have any students...yeah, it's kinda hard." She half expected her stomach to perform a timely yet untimely growl, but perhaps precisely because she saw it coming, it didn't happen. "So, until we get more, it's just me and my father. And a lot of the time, he isn't even around. It's probably been...nearly a week or so, since anyone's ass other than mine has sat in here. And lemme tell you something. It's nice to soak by yourself every now and then, but when it's happening 90% of the time, it sucks. Hard. It's honestly just nice to do this and have someone besides Martia to talk to, ya know?" It helped that Heidi was hardly undesirable, but even if she had been some big, hairy man, she probably would've said the same thing. "But yeah, I think you can see why these are such a big deal to Electopians. They're great, aren't they?"
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"I wonder... Incognito is like a kid sometimes. It can be hard to trust him to carry out his missions on the net every now and then, to be honest. I'm wondering if he's really up to the challenge of bringing whatever he learned back out of his memory, even if Martia is there to help him," Heidi sighed, in response to Leslie's confidence that Martia could lead him in the right direction. She noticed that Leslie was staring a bit as she undressed, but managed to avoid taking offense, although she was trying not to do the same in return, keeping only loose eye contact. "Slow business, huh? I can definitely relate... the times where I can't get any work are just as bad as the times where I have to sell everything just to chase a lead. Not that it's ever been this bad before," she murmured, punctuating her sentence with another very long sigh. "No students and no dad... That sounds pretty lonely. Well, I guess nobody's really lonely with a navi to talk to," the bounty hunter reflected, staring upward to see the sky but instead spying only awning. That was probably a good thing, since otherwise, she'd likely be looking into rainfall. "But yes... It's nice to talk with another girl every now and then. Sometimes, it's just... oh man, super awkward talking with Incognito..."
The subject turned back to the greatness of the Battle family hotsprings; Heidi nodded again enthusiastically, creating something of a wet dog effect, splashing water this way and that from her thick hair. "Oh, absolutely! I'm glad you're the one who accepted my mission posting... I don't think anyone else would have treated me to a private hot springs," she laughed, sinking back down into the water until her chin was submerged. She took a look back to the entrance and lowered her eyebrows. "Do you think I should take up martial arts? I don't know any, but I've heard that hand-to-hand combat is a good skill for a bounty hunter, or even a detective, to have. What kind of martial arts do you think that I should look into? Karate? Maybe judo?" she inquired, only knowing the most popular ones to ask about. "Then again, I don't want to fight guys all the time either... If I'm disguised as a man, they won't go easy on me when they fight, will they?" Then again, Martia could probably testify better as to whether people tended to go easier on female fighters or not.
The subject turned back to the greatness of the Battle family hotsprings; Heidi nodded again enthusiastically, creating something of a wet dog effect, splashing water this way and that from her thick hair. "Oh, absolutely! I'm glad you're the one who accepted my mission posting... I don't think anyone else would have treated me to a private hot springs," she laughed, sinking back down into the water until her chin was submerged. She took a look back to the entrance and lowered her eyebrows. "Do you think I should take up martial arts? I don't know any, but I've heard that hand-to-hand combat is a good skill for a bounty hunter, or even a detective, to have. What kind of martial arts do you think that I should look into? Karate? Maybe judo?" she inquired, only knowing the most popular ones to ask about. "Then again, I don't want to fight guys all the time either... If I'm disguised as a man, they won't go easy on me when they fight, will they?" Then again, Martia could probably testify better as to whether people tended to go easier on female fighters or not.
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"Don't worry. I know Martia better than anyone, and I know she'll find a way to make it happen." Especially if it involved having her clothes torn up or otherwise removed. But that didn't happen during their last mission together...did it? "I know it's hard, having something out of your hands. But that's when you need to have faith in the ones that do, and right now, that's Martia and Incognito." Hopefully that would give Heidi a little more peace of mind...uh-oh. She was staring too obviously, wasn't she? Yeah, she could tell she'd been busted. Crap. Leslie looked away, not getting in any more glances before they were in the hot spring. Just because she liked what she saw didn't give her the right to make her guest uncomfortable, after all.
"Honestly, I'm not sure how you did that. Giving up everything just like that, I mean, if I tried to sell the dojo, I'm pretty sure centuries worth of my ancestors would rise up as zombies just to kick my ass! ...Wait, I've had this conversation before, haven't I? Only it was the other way around...how I couldn't just up and leave everything behind. Electopia and Netopia must be totally different, I guess." And just like then, she certainly saw the appeal of dropping everything and traveling all around. But with her father frequently out, even leaving Yoka for more than a day trip would be pushing it. She let out a big sigh, and adjusted her positioning, though luckily for Heidi, she didn't end up exposing anything.
"Well, my father's around sometimes. But he is gone a lot of the time. I dunno what he does out there, really...or if he's doing anything that one of these days he won't be coming back...although he knows better than to do anything stupid like leaving me all alone, so I guess I should give him a little credit. ...Well, not alone alone, of course. I'd still have Martia. But it's a little different, having another human to talk to. Someone you can reach out and actually touch. Martia's my best friend, but we can't exactly spar or anything." She snickered at the awkwardness comment, as someone that had no idea what that was like. "Ha, I bet! ...You know, I almost had the same problem. The guy that created Martia for me almost made me a male Navi instead. Apparently, the original design was going look somewhat like a headless martial artist, with two eyes on the chest. How the hell does that even work?! But I found out and shot that idea down. That really annoyed him, so he made Martia super curvy to spite me. Too bad for him I really didn't mind, huh?"
She smiled as Heidi continued enjoying the hot springs. It was probably something she really needed, for relaxing purposes as much as actual bathing. Unfortunately for that relaxing, the inquiry into martial arts lit a fire in Leslie's heart. She at least had the decency to wait for the other girl to finish, before suddenly rising and standing up before her, with her hands on her hips. Even more unfortunately for the bounty hunter, she ended up standing in a somewhat shallow spot, and everything from her lower thighs up was on full display. "If you ask me, everyone should take up martial arts! Even if you don't use them to fight, you get fit, you're mentally sharper, and...and...I probably shouldn't come on so strong, huh? But yeah, you definitely should! But what one would I recommend...well, you definitely don't look very strong. But there are some kinds of martial arts that don't need that. Whazzapian jiu-jitsu, for instance, actually is built on the philosophy that a weaker person can defeat a stronger opponent with superior technique and leverage. It utilizes joint locks and choke holds to force the opponent into submission...that might be a type worth looking into. There's also jujutsu, which is what judo is derived from, which emphasizes using an opponent's force against them with throws and pins. I think one of those would suit you well, especially because, since both are more reactive martial arts as opposed to proactive ones, they're well suited for self-defense. That sounds more like what you're wanting, right?"
"Oh, and the thing about men going easy on women? It's true a lot of the time...right up until you kick the first ass. Then self-preservation kicks in and they stop caring what gender you are. Trust me, I've done the research on that one!"
"Honestly, I'm not sure how you did that. Giving up everything just like that, I mean, if I tried to sell the dojo, I'm pretty sure centuries worth of my ancestors would rise up as zombies just to kick my ass! ...Wait, I've had this conversation before, haven't I? Only it was the other way around...how I couldn't just up and leave everything behind. Electopia and Netopia must be totally different, I guess." And just like then, she certainly saw the appeal of dropping everything and traveling all around. But with her father frequently out, even leaving Yoka for more than a day trip would be pushing it. She let out a big sigh, and adjusted her positioning, though luckily for Heidi, she didn't end up exposing anything.
"Well, my father's around sometimes. But he is gone a lot of the time. I dunno what he does out there, really...or if he's doing anything that one of these days he won't be coming back...although he knows better than to do anything stupid like leaving me all alone, so I guess I should give him a little credit. ...Well, not alone alone, of course. I'd still have Martia. But it's a little different, having another human to talk to. Someone you can reach out and actually touch. Martia's my best friend, but we can't exactly spar or anything." She snickered at the awkwardness comment, as someone that had no idea what that was like. "Ha, I bet! ...You know, I almost had the same problem. The guy that created Martia for me almost made me a male Navi instead. Apparently, the original design was going look somewhat like a headless martial artist, with two eyes on the chest. How the hell does that even work?! But I found out and shot that idea down. That really annoyed him, so he made Martia super curvy to spite me. Too bad for him I really didn't mind, huh?"
She smiled as Heidi continued enjoying the hot springs. It was probably something she really needed, for relaxing purposes as much as actual bathing. Unfortunately for that relaxing, the inquiry into martial arts lit a fire in Leslie's heart. She at least had the decency to wait for the other girl to finish, before suddenly rising and standing up before her, with her hands on her hips. Even more unfortunately for the bounty hunter, she ended up standing in a somewhat shallow spot, and everything from her lower thighs up was on full display. "If you ask me, everyone should take up martial arts! Even if you don't use them to fight, you get fit, you're mentally sharper, and...and...I probably shouldn't come on so strong, huh? But yeah, you definitely should! But what one would I recommend...well, you definitely don't look very strong. But there are some kinds of martial arts that don't need that. Whazzapian jiu-jitsu, for instance, actually is built on the philosophy that a weaker person can defeat a stronger opponent with superior technique and leverage. It utilizes joint locks and choke holds to force the opponent into submission...that might be a type worth looking into. There's also jujutsu, which is what judo is derived from, which emphasizes using an opponent's force against them with throws and pins. I think one of those would suit you well, especially because, since both are more reactive martial arts as opposed to proactive ones, they're well suited for self-defense. That sounds more like what you're wanting, right?"
"Oh, and the thing about men going easy on women? It's true a lot of the time...right up until you kick the first ass. Then self-preservation kicks in and they stop caring what gender you are. Trust me, I've done the research on that one!"
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"Well, sure, I don't have any trouble seeing Martia as reliable," Heidi agreed; her eyebrows tensed a bit and she seemed, visibly, a bit jealous. "You're right though... I guess I have faith in them. Incognito's a goof, but he's also a good person, so I don't think he'll give Martia a hard time..." The bounty hunter didn't look like she was checking Leslie out in the same way, but she was keeping her eyes on her new acquaintance. The next topic made her laugh again, but it trailed off in a way that sounded vaguely miserable, as perhaps her reaction to anything regarding selling all of her worldly positions for a tip that was ultimately ripped from her grasp when her navi lost his memory must. "Well, it's not so hard to give up everything when you've got a low starting point to begin with, you know? It's all about making it big one of these times so I can get out of the cycle where each of these is a gamble." That sounded a bit like she was saying she had to keep gambling until she no longer had to gamble, the logic that entrapped so many in debt. "And I don't think I have to worry about my car having any ghostly ancestors or anything..."
The consecutive mentioning of reaching out and touching a human friend and preferring the company of a female navi still didn't seem to have triggered Heidi's awareness that her courteous host was interested in anything more than a gal-pal relationship, so Heidi relaxed further, allowing herself to come out of the water a bit to reach for the soap she'd seen earlier. Doing so again revealed her slender features, although this time, she came up enough for Leslie to catch a glimpse at her hind quarters, if Leslie wanted to. Heidi wasn't exactly graced with the curviest body, however, and most of what she had, including the breadth of her hips, could be described as plain, average, or a little underwhelming. Still, Leslie might not be one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and there was plenty of time to look at this gift horse, as Heidi struggled to decide which soap she ought to choose. Finally, she settled on whichever looked the cheapest (hoping not to offend her hostess) and settled back down.
She did so just in time to see her new friend leap from the water, revealing even more than she just had. For a moment, she resembled her navi a bit, shrinking backwards into the water as though cowering in fear from the show of enthusiasm. "O-Oh, I could do something like that, I guess," she answered briefly, staring at Leslie in spite of herself. "You're right, self defense is important... Especially with all of the psychos I keep ending up going after. I guess the reward wouldn't be big if they weren't dangerous," she murmured. Heidi nodded her bushy head as Leslie asserted that gender wouldn't mean much if Heidi was kicking ass. "That could be handy, then... I could conceal my identity even better if I was good enough that people recognized my Clyde disguise as being a man! That's useful," she added. The upkeep of her disguise practice seemed to be one of the topics she was enthusiastic about. "You know, one of the hardest things to part with was my Clyde disguise... I'm so used to wearing it, but then, it's got some baggage that goes along with it too. I've mentioned it before, but Incognito is a lot better at disguising himself normally than I am. He's very devoted to his craft, in that aspect... he can even act a bit, when he wants to. He's just too weak around women... But not me, really," she continued, rolling her eyes with an irritable expression. "W-Well, except that one time he saw me at Cornelia's fashion show... So, er, I should say he's jumpy around half-naked women."
There was a small awkward silence as she glanced back to her PET lying nearby once more, seeming suddenly nervous. "What do you suppose Martia will do to try to influence his dreams?" she asked, as if she was starting to form a theory about what Incognito was most likely to dream about when alone with Martia.
The consecutive mentioning of reaching out and touching a human friend and preferring the company of a female navi still didn't seem to have triggered Heidi's awareness that her courteous host was interested in anything more than a gal-pal relationship, so Heidi relaxed further, allowing herself to come out of the water a bit to reach for the soap she'd seen earlier. Doing so again revealed her slender features, although this time, she came up enough for Leslie to catch a glimpse at her hind quarters, if Leslie wanted to. Heidi wasn't exactly graced with the curviest body, however, and most of what she had, including the breadth of her hips, could be described as plain, average, or a little underwhelming. Still, Leslie might not be one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and there was plenty of time to look at this gift horse, as Heidi struggled to decide which soap she ought to choose. Finally, she settled on whichever looked the cheapest (hoping not to offend her hostess) and settled back down.
She did so just in time to see her new friend leap from the water, revealing even more than she just had. For a moment, she resembled her navi a bit, shrinking backwards into the water as though cowering in fear from the show of enthusiasm. "O-Oh, I could do something like that, I guess," she answered briefly, staring at Leslie in spite of herself. "You're right, self defense is important... Especially with all of the psychos I keep ending up going after. I guess the reward wouldn't be big if they weren't dangerous," she murmured. Heidi nodded her bushy head as Leslie asserted that gender wouldn't mean much if Heidi was kicking ass. "That could be handy, then... I could conceal my identity even better if I was good enough that people recognized my Clyde disguise as being a man! That's useful," she added. The upkeep of her disguise practice seemed to be one of the topics she was enthusiastic about. "You know, one of the hardest things to part with was my Clyde disguise... I'm so used to wearing it, but then, it's got some baggage that goes along with it too. I've mentioned it before, but Incognito is a lot better at disguising himself normally than I am. He's very devoted to his craft, in that aspect... he can even act a bit, when he wants to. He's just too weak around women... But not me, really," she continued, rolling her eyes with an irritable expression. "W-Well, except that one time he saw me at Cornelia's fashion show... So, er, I should say he's jumpy around half-naked women."
There was a small awkward silence as she glanced back to her PET lying nearby once more, seeming suddenly nervous. "What do you suppose Martia will do to try to influence his dreams?" she asked, as if she was starting to form a theory about what Incognito was most likely to dream about when alone with Martia.
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Leslie raised an eyebrow at the implication of a car having 'ghostly ancestors', but shrugged it off as a quirk of the PET translation program or something. She kept it up as Heidi got out of the water enough for her to get a good view of her behind, though while she didn't not enjoy it, she found it odd that the other woman was taking so long. It was just a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo, it's not like that required a whole lot of thought.
The resulting staring didn't bother the martial artist a bit, but ironically, not because she didn't mind being checked out by another woman (which she didn't), but because she was too wrapped up in her analysis to properly notice. "You really should. You can't always rely on someone else saving you...so you should save yourself when you can!"
With that, she sat back down, having all her features obscured by steam and water once more (probably to Heidi's relief). She let out a sigh, then cradled the back of her head with her hands, very nearly, but not quite, re-exposing her breasts. "Disguises, huh? I know I couldn't do that. This probably isn't very shocking, but I'm terrible at acting. I'm only good at being me. So in that regard, I kinda admire what you do." The whole 'pretending to be a man' thing didn't really do it for her, but that aside..."I don't do the whole sneaking thing, so I have to go in, fists flying. But you can get your man without throwing a single punch, if you play your cards right. Although I still think you should take up a martial art, in case you get a crappy hand or something."
Upon the remarks about Incognito's tendencies, Leslie did something a bit surprising...she frowned. "Huh. Given Martia's track record with missions, she'll end up being half-naked at some point...if she's lucky. I guess that's one way to shock Incognito's memory, huh?" ..Hmm, what Martia would do. "Well, she's in that outfit, so maybe she'll relive some of the things they did on the other mission? I'm not really sure what that'd involve, though, since I was kinda preoccupied." Yes, in her world, fighting off giant octopus robots and punching out wannabe supervillians only qualified as 'preoccupied'.
"So! Changing the subject!" Normally, a shout like that came with some sort of dramatic movement...but Leslie didn't budge an inch. "I really don't know that much about you, now that I think about it. I know you're a bounty hunter, and I know all the crap that led up to you being in my hot spring, but that's about it. So, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself? Like, what do you do when you're not working? You don't need money to have a hobby or two." Spoken from true experience.
The resulting staring didn't bother the martial artist a bit, but ironically, not because she didn't mind being checked out by another woman (which she didn't), but because she was too wrapped up in her analysis to properly notice. "You really should. You can't always rely on someone else saving you...so you should save yourself when you can!"
With that, she sat back down, having all her features obscured by steam and water once more (probably to Heidi's relief). She let out a sigh, then cradled the back of her head with her hands, very nearly, but not quite, re-exposing her breasts. "Disguises, huh? I know I couldn't do that. This probably isn't very shocking, but I'm terrible at acting. I'm only good at being me. So in that regard, I kinda admire what you do." The whole 'pretending to be a man' thing didn't really do it for her, but that aside..."I don't do the whole sneaking thing, so I have to go in, fists flying. But you can get your man without throwing a single punch, if you play your cards right. Although I still think you should take up a martial art, in case you get a crappy hand or something."
Upon the remarks about Incognito's tendencies, Leslie did something a bit surprising...she frowned. "Huh. Given Martia's track record with missions, she'll end up being half-naked at some point...if she's lucky. I guess that's one way to shock Incognito's memory, huh?" ..Hmm, what Martia would do. "Well, she's in that outfit, so maybe she'll relive some of the things they did on the other mission? I'm not really sure what that'd involve, though, since I was kinda preoccupied." Yes, in her world, fighting off giant octopus robots and punching out wannabe supervillians only qualified as 'preoccupied'.
"So! Changing the subject!" Normally, a shout like that came with some sort of dramatic movement...but Leslie didn't budge an inch. "I really don't know that much about you, now that I think about it. I know you're a bounty hunter, and I know all the crap that led up to you being in my hot spring, but that's about it. So, why don't you tell me a little more about yourself? Like, what do you do when you're not working? You don't need money to have a hobby or two." Spoken from true experience.
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"I do get dealt a lot of crappy hands, that's for sure," Heidi responded, looking relaxed once again. "As for disguise, if a person like me can learn to defend herself with martial arts, then you can definitely learn how to disguise yourself if you want to! They say it's all about expectations. The minute details aren't nearly as important as affecting a first impression," she explained, gesturing out of the water with one hand. She ran one finger across her upper lip to indicate a moustache. "A convincing fake moustache makes appearing to be a guy easy. Nobody will look much farther after seeing the moustache. On the other hand... Er, it also helps to be taller than other girls and... well, there's other physical attributes that can also make it easier. Then again, you're pretty macho, for a girl, no offense. You could probably pull it off, if you wanted to!"
The subject matter had gotten pretty idle, until Leslie began describing what Martia was probably doing, based on Leslie's past experience. "Oh wow... That's gonna be super awkward..." she groaned, sinking even deeper into the water until all that was showing was the mop of her hair, floating at the surface. "I mean, I don't know if that counts as a good dream for Incognito or a nightmare. He always looks like he's going to have a heart attack whenever he sees that kind of stuff... Which happens with bizarre frequency."
The topic swapped back to Heidi, who stared uncomfortably down into the water. "Um... Bounty hunting is kind of me... It's really a full time job in the biggest sense of the word. Without fancy equipment or anything like that, basically all of my time and all of my money goes into chasing my leads. When I do have spare time I... use my PET to read and write. On... You know, BBS, and stuff. Nerd stuff," she murmured, looking somewhat guilty. It was worth questioning how anyone could be a nerd without any money, seeing as they'd theoretically need money to feed the habit. "Well... Let's just say that one needs to have a certain enthusiasm for Red Nova comics if one's going to work around Cornelia so often." One might also question if having a fondness for the fairer sex helped with that, but it was hard to tell whether Heidi did or didn't.
"I always thought, I dunnno, if I got my big break in bounty hunting... I might try to get into the business and draw some myself," she mused, looking up at the few stars that showed through the rainclouds for real this time, being at the edge of the canopy. "I don't think I could actually sustain myself on it though, so I haven't ever devoted my time to trying it out. Anyways, it doesn't really matter," she sighed. "Besides, that's just a hobby. Bounty hunting is my real passion. Do you want to know about the latest mark? Sort of like Wilhelm Jacques used his resources to create octopus machines that brainwash people, Dora Quaid uses hers to create memory wiping devices. If the two shared notes, it could be real trouble, but luckily, Will is in jail. But anyways, the devices she makes don't just make memories, they also can implant false ones! In our tussle earlier, she escaped, but Incognito was brainwashed by her navi, Recall... Wait, no... You don't think...?" she murmured, slowly placing one hand to her head. "Wait, wait, wait! What if something happened to me then? I could have been affected during that incident and not even remember it!"
The bounty hunter had begun wringing her hands, worry evident on her face as she tried to figure out if there were any holes in her memory, but inherently, it was impossible to do so. "Oh dammit! What can I do? Should we try to shock the memory back into me as well?" she asked, but then lowered her eyebrows skeptically. "Wait. I'm not really sure that's even going to work for Incognito. It's probably even less likely to work for someone who isn't in a crazy, lucid dream world."
The subject matter had gotten pretty idle, until Leslie began describing what Martia was probably doing, based on Leslie's past experience. "Oh wow... That's gonna be super awkward..." she groaned, sinking even deeper into the water until all that was showing was the mop of her hair, floating at the surface. "I mean, I don't know if that counts as a good dream for Incognito or a nightmare. He always looks like he's going to have a heart attack whenever he sees that kind of stuff... Which happens with bizarre frequency."
The topic swapped back to Heidi, who stared uncomfortably down into the water. "Um... Bounty hunting is kind of me... It's really a full time job in the biggest sense of the word. Without fancy equipment or anything like that, basically all of my time and all of my money goes into chasing my leads. When I do have spare time I... use my PET to read and write. On... You know, BBS, and stuff. Nerd stuff," she murmured, looking somewhat guilty. It was worth questioning how anyone could be a nerd without any money, seeing as they'd theoretically need money to feed the habit. "Well... Let's just say that one needs to have a certain enthusiasm for Red Nova comics if one's going to work around Cornelia so often." One might also question if having a fondness for the fairer sex helped with that, but it was hard to tell whether Heidi did or didn't.
"I always thought, I dunnno, if I got my big break in bounty hunting... I might try to get into the business and draw some myself," she mused, looking up at the few stars that showed through the rainclouds for real this time, being at the edge of the canopy. "I don't think I could actually sustain myself on it though, so I haven't ever devoted my time to trying it out. Anyways, it doesn't really matter," she sighed. "Besides, that's just a hobby. Bounty hunting is my real passion. Do you want to know about the latest mark? Sort of like Wilhelm Jacques used his resources to create octopus machines that brainwash people, Dora Quaid uses hers to create memory wiping devices. If the two shared notes, it could be real trouble, but luckily, Will is in jail. But anyways, the devices she makes don't just make memories, they also can implant false ones! In our tussle earlier, she escaped, but Incognito was brainwashed by her navi, Recall... Wait, no... You don't think...?" she murmured, slowly placing one hand to her head. "Wait, wait, wait! What if something happened to me then? I could have been affected during that incident and not even remember it!"
The bounty hunter had begun wringing her hands, worry evident on her face as she tried to figure out if there were any holes in her memory, but inherently, it was impossible to do so. "Oh dammit! What can I do? Should we try to shock the memory back into me as well?" she asked, but then lowered her eyebrows skeptically. "Wait. I'm not really sure that's even going to work for Incognito. It's probably even less likely to work for someone who isn't in a crazy, lucid dream world."
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"Nah, you're not the first person to say something like that." One think no one ever said about Leslie was that she acted too girly. "First impression, huh? Hmm...I really wonder if I could do that. I think there's a Netopian saying about it? Something like 'you can put makeup on a pig, but it's still a pig', I think. Granted, I think I look a lot better than a pig, though." And if Heidi disagreed with that, she was getting slugged. Even she wouldn't get off the hook for something like that.
...Huh. She wouldn't have had her pegged for a nerd. The martial artist nodded along, and closed her eyes. "Yeah, I get having something take up most of your life. I'm kinda the same way. Even when we don't have students, my family's always been big on helping the community, so I do that a lot." Though it wasn't every day that involved treating another girl to her hot spring. "Didn't think you'd be into Cornelia's stuff, though. I mean, I'm not a comic book reader, but based on what I know, I'd think only one kind of girl would be into Red Nova stuff...ya know, the kind that's into other women." Of course, if it turned out she was, that was perfectly fine with her. But eh, maybe there was more to it than super curvy women that looked almost identical to her Navi.
Her train of thought was interrupted as Heidi started to freak out about having her memories tampered with. Leslie looked nervous herself for a moment, but eventually shook her head and went back into default confidence. "Well, if you don't know, don't overthink it. Just sit back and see how things go. I mean, I can think of a few ways to shock you if you really want..." Mostly involving touching her in certain places covered in water. "But I'd say sitting back and relaxing is as good as anything right now. Not much we can do."
...Huh. She wouldn't have had her pegged for a nerd. The martial artist nodded along, and closed her eyes. "Yeah, I get having something take up most of your life. I'm kinda the same way. Even when we don't have students, my family's always been big on helping the community, so I do that a lot." Though it wasn't every day that involved treating another girl to her hot spring. "Didn't think you'd be into Cornelia's stuff, though. I mean, I'm not a comic book reader, but based on what I know, I'd think only one kind of girl would be into Red Nova stuff...ya know, the kind that's into other women." Of course, if it turned out she was, that was perfectly fine with her. But eh, maybe there was more to it than super curvy women that looked almost identical to her Navi.
Her train of thought was interrupted as Heidi started to freak out about having her memories tampered with. Leslie looked nervous herself for a moment, but eventually shook her head and went back into default confidence. "Well, if you don't know, don't overthink it. Just sit back and see how things go. I mean, I can think of a few ways to shock you if you really want..." Mostly involving touching her in certain places covered in water. "But I'd say sitting back and relaxing is as good as anything right now. Not much we can do."
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Thankfully, Heidi didn't step in to offer any pig/Leslie comparisons, so that danger came and went easily enough. Leslie's comment on the Red Nova comics caused Heidi to cast her eyes aside bashfully. "Well... I mean, I hear that those kind of girls make up a large part of the fanbase, but there's so much more to Red Nova. You talked about helping the community, right? Red Nova is all about that: helping people in need, even when it gets her into trouble! There's all kinds of tough decisions and dilemmas she has to face, but she keeps on, for the sake of bringing joy to all of Earth's people, even though she herself comes from outer space!" she defended, sounding enthusiastic. "Now granted... I don't necessarily understand why that means she wears skintight briefs or why her creator thinks she should serve as the basis of a lingerie show... But uh... Happiness is different things to different people and all that," she murmured, sinking a bit further under the water so that her mouth was submerged and tiny bubbles formed. Her face had become a bit red, perhaps from fielding that question.
Speaking of dilemmas, after coming back up from the water, Heidi had entered one of her own, growing worried that she could have lost a portion of her memories that she had no means of recollecting. "Y-You're right... but it's still hard not to be worried, you know? After all, you were there with Wilhelm Jacques... evil scientists are no joke. You can get into some life threatening situations. And um... I mean, even if I'm not actually in danger from memory loss... I am already suffering monetarily from all of this. If there's anything that could pertain to the case that might have slipped out of my mind, then I need to remember it, not just for myself, but also for Incognito who's... dealing with trials of his own now, I'm imagining," she panicked. "I hate to ask you to do more, but I need you to shock the memory back into me! Hit me, if that's what it takes!" she suggested. "You're a martial artist, so I'm sure you could do it just right!... W-Without hurting me too much, I mean," she added as an afterthought, seeming not 100% committed to the being hit idea.
Leslie would have to decide whether it was wiser to shock Heidi or to continue insisting on taking it easy. For her part, Heidi seemed pretty persistent about the idea. If Leslie had read a lot of science fiction, Leslie might start to think that Heidi had been brainwashed, with how paranoid she was feeling.
Speaking of dilemmas, after coming back up from the water, Heidi had entered one of her own, growing worried that she could have lost a portion of her memories that she had no means of recollecting. "Y-You're right... but it's still hard not to be worried, you know? After all, you were there with Wilhelm Jacques... evil scientists are no joke. You can get into some life threatening situations. And um... I mean, even if I'm not actually in danger from memory loss... I am already suffering monetarily from all of this. If there's anything that could pertain to the case that might have slipped out of my mind, then I need to remember it, not just for myself, but also for Incognito who's... dealing with trials of his own now, I'm imagining," she panicked. "I hate to ask you to do more, but I need you to shock the memory back into me! Hit me, if that's what it takes!" she suggested. "You're a martial artist, so I'm sure you could do it just right!... W-Without hurting me too much, I mean," she added as an afterthought, seeming not 100% committed to the being hit idea.
Leslie would have to decide whether it was wiser to shock Heidi or to continue insisting on taking it easy. For her part, Heidi seemed pretty persistent about the idea. If Leslie had read a lot of science fiction, Leslie might start to think that Heidi had been brainwashed, with how paranoid she was feeling.
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"...Ah." That was all Leslie really had to say to Heidi's reasons for liking Red Nova. Kinda disappointing, but oh well, not the first time that happened. "Guess there's more to it than I thought. Though, now that I think about it, even giant breasts probably only get you so far...you need more to really appeal to people." That was something she knew thanks to Martia. It'd be one thing if she was just busty and nothing else, but she was a pretty nice Navi as well, always willing to lend a helping hand, or just an ear to listen to someone complain about their life.
In the meantime, the bounty hunter went on to do exactly what she told her NOT to do, which made her sigh. "Well, it's true that it can get dangerous, but I still don't think...ah, screw it, I don't think you're gonna ease up until I do it. Fine, but remember, you asked for it..." Leslie hopped up and walked over to the other woman, taking a moment to stretch a little. She looked Heidi straight in the eye, as she started to rear back just slightly to prepare for a strike. "...Can you close your eyes? I don't want you flinching at the last second. Even someone like me needs reaction time, you know?" Once that was taken care of, she took a deep breath...and without lunging forward and giving away that she was going in that direction, grabbed the other woman's breasts. She fought off the urge to give them a good squeeze, since it was pretty clear she wouldn't be into that...and besides, her true purpose of giving her an actual shock, and not something she'd expect, would already be a success. ...She should probably let go, though. She didn't want to make things TOO awkward.
In the meantime, the bounty hunter went on to do exactly what she told her NOT to do, which made her sigh. "Well, it's true that it can get dangerous, but I still don't think...ah, screw it, I don't think you're gonna ease up until I do it. Fine, but remember, you asked for it..." Leslie hopped up and walked over to the other woman, taking a moment to stretch a little. She looked Heidi straight in the eye, as she started to rear back just slightly to prepare for a strike. "...Can you close your eyes? I don't want you flinching at the last second. Even someone like me needs reaction time, you know?" Once that was taken care of, she took a deep breath...and without lunging forward and giving away that she was going in that direction, grabbed the other woman's breasts. She fought off the urge to give them a good squeeze, since it was pretty clear she wouldn't be into that...and besides, her true purpose of giving her an actual shock, and not something she'd expect, would already be a success. ...She should probably let go, though. She didn't want to make things TOO awkward.
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"That's exactly right," Heidi agreed, regarding Leslie's critical analysis of giant breasts. "Breast size is just a number! Heart and character- those are things that can't be measured in terms of 'numbers'," she reiterated. "So a person whose mission is good and works hard enough will see her good deeds rewarded again some day!" Now it sort of sounded like Heidi was just wishing herself out of the hole again.
No amount of heart and character, or breast size for that matter, was going to stop Heidi from thinking about the possible falsehood of the things she thought she remembered, however. For that reason, she closed her eyes and awaited a firm, martial artist's punch to the face, which would be the only above-water place to punch Heidi at the moment and thereby, presumably, the most reasonable place to pick. Her eyelids and lips twitched as she kept a tight frown; it looked like it would be quite a chore to turn her into a disciplined martial artist, if anyone ever got the idea to seriously try to train her. Heidi was way ahead of Leslie on the closing her eyes part.
She wasn't way ahead of Leslie on the idea of Leslie groping her breasts, however, and cried out in shock once Leslie had her hands on them. They weren't all that much to play with, but did still fill the hands and seemed at home with the rest of her body, which, while lanky, was still a woman's physique. Her eyes opened, although not all the way, and her face became notably redder than the hot water alone had been making it. The trembling in her lips picked up just a bit and her eyes flickered between open and closed for a brief moment, before she finally shut them again, perhaps out of embarrassment. "O-Okay, you got me, that was pretty startling," she admitted, only relaxing once Leslie had let go. "I didn't remember anything extra, though, so I guess that's a dead end... Thanks for trying," Heidi murmured, very quietly.
Leslie hadn't wanted to make things TOO awkward, but apparently, they now were, at least as far as Heidi was concerned. She didn't look like she was upset with Leslie... quite the contrary, she was actually smiling, perhaps to ensure Leslie that what she'd done was okay or perhaps relieved that she hadn't been punched in the face... but she seemed utterly incapable of offering another conversation topic. The blush still hadn't left her face and she found herself averting her eyes now, whether intentionally or not.
No amount of heart and character, or breast size for that matter, was going to stop Heidi from thinking about the possible falsehood of the things she thought she remembered, however. For that reason, she closed her eyes and awaited a firm, martial artist's punch to the face, which would be the only above-water place to punch Heidi at the moment and thereby, presumably, the most reasonable place to pick. Her eyelids and lips twitched as she kept a tight frown; it looked like it would be quite a chore to turn her into a disciplined martial artist, if anyone ever got the idea to seriously try to train her. Heidi was way ahead of Leslie on the closing her eyes part.
She wasn't way ahead of Leslie on the idea of Leslie groping her breasts, however, and cried out in shock once Leslie had her hands on them. They weren't all that much to play with, but did still fill the hands and seemed at home with the rest of her body, which, while lanky, was still a woman's physique. Her eyes opened, although not all the way, and her face became notably redder than the hot water alone had been making it. The trembling in her lips picked up just a bit and her eyes flickered between open and closed for a brief moment, before she finally shut them again, perhaps out of embarrassment. "O-Okay, you got me, that was pretty startling," she admitted, only relaxing once Leslie had let go. "I didn't remember anything extra, though, so I guess that's a dead end... Thanks for trying," Heidi murmured, very quietly.
Leslie hadn't wanted to make things TOO awkward, but apparently, they now were, at least as far as Heidi was concerned. She didn't look like she was upset with Leslie... quite the contrary, she was actually smiling, perhaps to ensure Leslie that what she'd done was okay or perhaps relieved that she hadn't been punched in the face... but she seemed utterly incapable of offering another conversation topic. The blush still hadn't left her face and she found herself averting her eyes now, whether intentionally or not.
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"I dunno if I'd go that far..." While there was more to a woman than breasts, that didn't mean breasts were useless...at least, that's what Leslie thought. This was proved as Heidi's provided a perfect opportunity to shock her without risk of harming her. And shock they clearly did. As a bonus, well...free grope.
"Guess not." The martial artist sat down next to her guest, instead of going back to where she'd been...mostly out of laziness. It proved fortuitous, however, as she heard some beeping behind her. She knew that beep, too. "Oh, crap. That's mine." She hopped up out of the water, making zero effort to cover herself afterward, and walked over to check things out. She shook her hand a bit to make sure she didn't get any water on it, and grabbed her PET to check.
'So uh, another of Fancy's customers popped into the dreamscape, and long story short, now she's trying to fight me. Not BattleChip fighting, but martial arts fighting. I don't really want to return the favor, but if this keeps up, Incognito's going to figure something out that we don't want him to. The DreamScope says I should check first, so can you check with Heidi to see if it's okay if I subdue her? Thanks! -Martia'
"Well, that's just great." She let out a sigh, and turned to Heidi. "So, someone else popped into the dreamscape, and now they're attacking Martia. Can she fight back? She'll try not to beat the crap out of them, but if she's gotta, she's gotta." Much as she had to stand there, naked and dripping wet, until she got an answer. And while she certainly had no problem with that, it also involved not sitting in a hot spring next to an equally naked girl, so it wasn't an ideal situation, exactly.
"Guess not." The martial artist sat down next to her guest, instead of going back to where she'd been...mostly out of laziness. It proved fortuitous, however, as she heard some beeping behind her. She knew that beep, too. "Oh, crap. That's mine." She hopped up out of the water, making zero effort to cover herself afterward, and walked over to check things out. She shook her hand a bit to make sure she didn't get any water on it, and grabbed her PET to check.
'So uh, another of Fancy's customers popped into the dreamscape, and long story short, now she's trying to fight me. Not BattleChip fighting, but martial arts fighting. I don't really want to return the favor, but if this keeps up, Incognito's going to figure something out that we don't want him to. The DreamScope says I should check first, so can you check with Heidi to see if it's okay if I subdue her? Thanks! -Martia'
"Well, that's just great." She let out a sigh, and turned to Heidi. "So, someone else popped into the dreamscape, and now they're attacking Martia. Can she fight back? She'll try not to beat the crap out of them, but if she's gotta, she's gotta." Much as she had to stand there, naked and dripping wet, until she got an answer. And while she certainly had no problem with that, it also involved not sitting in a hot spring next to an equally naked girl, so it wasn't an ideal situation, exactly.
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Heidi was still sort of out of it; she was difficult to get any kind of response out of until the beeping started and knocked her back out of La-La Land. "Is it an emergency?" she asked, although she was casting her eyes down to the water and away from Leslie, either out of good-natured courtesy or out of newfound bashfulness. Leslie took a moment to read the message from her navi, then relayed it to Heidi, whose eyes widened at the revelation. "Darn... That's bad luck," the bounty hunter murmured; that line could well be her catch phrase. "Yes, they can fight back. As I said, you're really capable of injuring or fighting or whatever you feel you need to do in there. The DreamScope might have warned Martia to be careful about engaging, but remember: most of those messages were for Fancy and her original actors. A lot of it won't apply any more, now that the dream world isn't functioning entirely correctly. If Martia needs to fight, then yeah, definitely let her," Heidi agreed. "Who has dreams about beating other people up, anyways? That's a pretty lousy thing to dream about..."
Leslie was free to stay outside the bath if she wanted to, but it was pretty apparent she was getting no further eye contact from Heidi unless she either submerged herself again or otherwise demanded it. Still, the new situation seemed to be helping Heidi, who was gradually refinding her voice after becoming momentarily breathless from the shock therapy she'd requested. "I should mention, Incognito's not good with combat or violence himself. He's um... pretty weak, even if I'm helping him with chips. That said, it won't stop him from trying to get in between Martia and whoever is attacking her to stop the two of them from fighting. He has an inflated sense of chivalry, which sometimes seems admirable, but most of the time just leads to more screw ups," Heidi chuckled. "I guess what I'm saying is, if you're going to hit the attacker for real... Make sure Incognito isn't in the way when you do, okay?"
Leslie was free to stay outside the bath if she wanted to, but it was pretty apparent she was getting no further eye contact from Heidi unless she either submerged herself again or otherwise demanded it. Still, the new situation seemed to be helping Heidi, who was gradually refinding her voice after becoming momentarily breathless from the shock therapy she'd requested. "I should mention, Incognito's not good with combat or violence himself. He's um... pretty weak, even if I'm helping him with chips. That said, it won't stop him from trying to get in between Martia and whoever is attacking her to stop the two of them from fighting. He has an inflated sense of chivalry, which sometimes seems admirable, but most of the time just leads to more screw ups," Heidi chuckled. "I guess what I'm saying is, if you're going to hit the attacker for real... Make sure Incognito isn't in the way when you do, okay?"
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Somehow, the concept of Incognito being terrible in an actual fight entirely ceased to surprise Leslie. Though, she almost pointed out that, as a martial artist, dreaming about beating someone up wasn't a terrible dream to her...but she managed to barely hold her tongue. "Yeah...I'm not going to lie to you. If you ask me, he comes across as kind of a pussy. A well-meaning one, but still a pussy. But don't worry, Martia can handle it. She probably won't even try to hurt anyone if she doesn't absolutely have to." A little watching proved her point, as the other Navi was sent packing without a scratch. "Yup, called it! Point, Martia!"
She walked over to Heidi, and sat on the edge next to her, letting her legs get some extra time in the hot water. "I'm gonna just watch the mission for a bit. You do whatever you want, though." Soon enough, the hot spring turned out to be the less steamy of the areas, which made even Leslie raise an eyebrow. "...Huh, didn't see that one coming. You, uh, might wanna see this." If the bounty hunter was anywhere near her, she'd show her what she meant, as she turned the PET face just in time to catch the Navi pair right after the mission's climax. "That area looks really clear, though. What's it called, NetVegas? That spot look familiar to you? And if it does, are there any towels nearby? I think Martia really needs one right now."
Incidentally, another message popped up, which the martial artist quickly opened up.
'I dunno if you've been watching the mission, but, uh, we've made a lot of progress in this mission, I think. The area's really clear, and I think it's an actual NetVegas location. And we also know how to get into Recall's base. And, um...I might've ended up giving Incognito a boobjob...but anyway! The DreamScope says he needs to wake up, but it also said it was a failure, and I'm pretty sure we just got the intel we needed. Ask Heidi what she thinks, okay? - Martia'
"Well, what do you think? Anything else they need to do? ...Aside from Incognito, because I really don't think he's got another one in him."
She walked over to Heidi, and sat on the edge next to her, letting her legs get some extra time in the hot water. "I'm gonna just watch the mission for a bit. You do whatever you want, though." Soon enough, the hot spring turned out to be the less steamy of the areas, which made even Leslie raise an eyebrow. "...Huh, didn't see that one coming. You, uh, might wanna see this." If the bounty hunter was anywhere near her, she'd show her what she meant, as she turned the PET face just in time to catch the Navi pair right after the mission's climax. "That area looks really clear, though. What's it called, NetVegas? That spot look familiar to you? And if it does, are there any towels nearby? I think Martia really needs one right now."
Incidentally, another message popped up, which the martial artist quickly opened up.
'I dunno if you've been watching the mission, but, uh, we've made a lot of progress in this mission, I think. The area's really clear, and I think it's an actual NetVegas location. And we also know how to get into Recall's base. And, um...I might've ended up giving Incognito a boobjob...but anyway! The DreamScope says he needs to wake up, but it also said it was a failure, and I'm pretty sure we just got the intel we needed. Ask Heidi what she thinks, okay? - Martia'
"Well, what do you think? Anything else they need to do? ...Aside from Incognito, because I really don't think he's got another one in him."
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Heidi tilted her head and adopted an awkward smile, though it would be hard to imagine the insult to her navi hadn't annoyed her at least a bit. "Y-Yeah... But I guess it's a good thing if he is, right? It's a lot easier for him to pose as a little girl if he doesn't come across as masculine," she added, taking the glass half full approach. She was relieved, regardless, when Leslie told her the intruder had been driven off without injuring Incognito. "Phew..."
The girl cast her eyes back down to avoid staring at Leslie, as Leslie continued to enjoy nakedness within her own home. Heidi decided that what she wanted was to relax and thus sank deeper into the water, leaving the mission to the navis. She was nearly dozing off when Leslie spoke up again. "Hmmm..." she murmured, forgetting herself as she stretched her arms over her head and her torso out of the water, down to the navel. As she turned, seeing Leslie naked again and the two of their navis engaged in an impromptu boob job, she found it hard to tell whether she was still dreaming or not. "Wait... Oh gosh.... Oh God," she gasped, covering her hand with her mouth. "I-I didn't mean they were supposed to do that! Sheesh... Just because Incognito wants something in his dream doesn't mean you should give it to him!" she hissed. "Any boy of his, er, apparent age, wouldn't be able to think about anything else if Martia flashed those at them. Well, that's not really fair... It does look like it worked. That area does look rather specific... it does not, however, look like a towel is lying around."
Martia's question came next; Heidi was glad at that point that at least they weren't communicating through viewscreen. "The failure on the dream scope only refers to what the faker, Wake or Fancy or whatever you want to call her, was using it for. At the 100% point, she's supposed to 'wake the navi up', since that would be the dream's climax and naturally where you'd snap awake. It's not important for us though; it sounds like we've got the location and the details we need. I'm sure I'll learn more once I talk to Incognito," she reasoned, putting on her bounty hunter cap for a moment (metaphorically; physically, she was still naked). She lowered her eyebrows at Martia, still not seeming particularly enthused that her navi had just taken his first steps towards manhood under the guise of a dream. "Yes, let's not... I'll go ahead and jack him out. I can hand you your reward after we get dressed..."
The girl cast her eyes back down to avoid staring at Leslie, as Leslie continued to enjoy nakedness within her own home. Heidi decided that what she wanted was to relax and thus sank deeper into the water, leaving the mission to the navis. She was nearly dozing off when Leslie spoke up again. "Hmmm..." she murmured, forgetting herself as she stretched her arms over her head and her torso out of the water, down to the navel. As she turned, seeing Leslie naked again and the two of their navis engaged in an impromptu boob job, she found it hard to tell whether she was still dreaming or not. "Wait... Oh gosh.... Oh God," she gasped, covering her hand with her mouth. "I-I didn't mean they were supposed to do that! Sheesh... Just because Incognito wants something in his dream doesn't mean you should give it to him!" she hissed. "Any boy of his, er, apparent age, wouldn't be able to think about anything else if Martia flashed those at them. Well, that's not really fair... It does look like it worked. That area does look rather specific... it does not, however, look like a towel is lying around."
Martia's question came next; Heidi was glad at that point that at least they weren't communicating through viewscreen. "The failure on the dream scope only refers to what the faker, Wake or Fancy or whatever you want to call her, was using it for. At the 100% point, she's supposed to 'wake the navi up', since that would be the dream's climax and naturally where you'd snap awake. It's not important for us though; it sounds like we've got the location and the details we need. I'm sure I'll learn more once I talk to Incognito," she reasoned, putting on her bounty hunter cap for a moment (metaphorically; physically, she was still naked). She lowered her eyebrows at Martia, still not seeming particularly enthused that her navi had just taken his first steps towards manhood under the guise of a dream. "Yes, let's not... I'll go ahead and jack him out. I can hand you your reward after we get dressed..."
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"Yeah, that's true." ...Really, Incognito acted more feminine than her. Leslie inwardly shrugged, then kept watching the mission. Upon presenting her PET to Heidi, she found herself rewarded for sharing by getting a view of the other girl topless...she was a bit preoccupied with the mission to really register it, though. And even if she wasn't, the other woman's comments soured her enough that she would've stopped enjoying it anyway. "Hey, don't give me that! I'm pretty sure there's more to it than 'oh hey, you have really nice tits, mind if I put my cock in them?' 'Sure, and if you're a good boy, I'll let you go all the way!'! Martia's not that kind of girl!" ...The kind that sexually pleased others just because they asked, anyway. The really nice tits part was 100% accurate, based on observations. "And yeah, it definitely worked. My Navi was willing to completely give up her dignity to make sure things went well. So less judging, more gratitude to her!"
At any rate, it seemed like they were done in the Net. Incognito was out cold...in terms of consciousness, anyway. Martia was kinda just standing there, messing around a bit with...the mission's aftermath. She probably didn't want to stick around in that state, so initiating jack out routine...there. She walked over to the towels, setting her PET down while she grabbed one and dried off. Once Heidi was out, she'd toss her one, too. Something was weird, though...Martia was being kinda quiet. Before grabbing her clothes, she grabbed her PET again to check up on her. "Hey, you all right?"
Her Navi was fully dressed, though she was also holding a towel, with...stuff on it. The towel was white, so it was hard to make out exactly what it was, but the context of the mission made it really easy to guess. "Yeah. It's just..."
"Just...what?"
"Never mind, I think I need a little time to process this before I can talk about it..."
"Oh. No prob." She should probably give her some space right now. So, where was she...oh, right, the bath was over, so time to get dressed...or at least, as dressed as someone who considered the sports bra fully functional upper body attire could be. She kept her gi, belt, and hand wrappings off, though, since she was probably going to do some training once she was by herself. From there, she'd just wait for Heidi to get dressed, and hopefully not have to bring up the whole rewards thing herself. Even for her, that'd feel just a bit awkward.
At any rate, it seemed like they were done in the Net. Incognito was out cold...in terms of consciousness, anyway. Martia was kinda just standing there, messing around a bit with...the mission's aftermath. She probably didn't want to stick around in that state, so initiating jack out routine...there. She walked over to the towels, setting her PET down while she grabbed one and dried off. Once Heidi was out, she'd toss her one, too. Something was weird, though...Martia was being kinda quiet. Before grabbing her clothes, she grabbed her PET again to check up on her. "Hey, you all right?"
Her Navi was fully dressed, though she was also holding a towel, with...stuff on it. The towel was white, so it was hard to make out exactly what it was, but the context of the mission made it really easy to guess. "Yeah. It's just..."
"Just...what?"
"Never mind, I think I need a little time to process this before I can talk about it..."
"Oh. No prob." She should probably give her some space right now. So, where was she...oh, right, the bath was over, so time to get dressed...or at least, as dressed as someone who considered the sports bra fully functional upper body attire could be. She kept her gi, belt, and hand wrappings off, though, since she was probably going to do some training once she was by herself. From there, she'd just wait for Heidi to get dressed, and hopefully not have to bring up the whole rewards thing herself. Even for her, that'd feel just a bit awkward.
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Heidi recoiled slightly when Leslie chastised her... probably not a good trait for a bounty hunter, but in this case, it seemed to be like navi, like operator. "Sorry! It's just, you know, I was worried that when someone like Martia... someone hot, I mean... entered into Incognito's dream, that's where it would end up. He was definitely a little smitten with her after their first meet-up, as I'm sure you can imagine," she murmured in response. "I guess I just think of him a little like a child some times... I can't really do that now that he's had his first... um... boobjob." She sighed and sank deeper into the water. "I am grateful! But now it feels like I've got an even bigger debt to pay... and as you may have noticed, I'm in a lot of debt already."
While she was sinking down, Leslie was preparing to towel off. Heidi thought it would be rude to stay in the bath after the bath's owner had already gotten out... and perhaps as though she'd overstayed her welcome a bit already... so she got out and accepted a towel as well, wrapping it quickly. Heidi's means of getting dressed were about as simple as Leslie's, being mostly just an outer shirt. "Thanks again for the bath... that was more than I could have asked for," she thanked Leslie again. "You wanted chips, I remember, so I've got some to offer. As you saw, Incognito's not one much for fighting regardless, so he won't mind. I wasn't sure what you wanted, so... you can either have..." she murmured, reaching into the elastic waistband of her boxers, which was unfortunately the only place for her to hide anything. "These three... or this one." In one hand, she held three chips: RingZap1, MeteorKnuckle1, and Pillow1. In the other hand, she held one chip: Footstomp. "I could either give you a bunch of chips or I could give you this one chip that's pretty rare, whichever you think would be best. I wish I could pay you too, but uh... you know."
Leslie could either pick a hand, take the chips herself, or, if she was feeling squirrely, try to use her leverage as gracious host and savior to make Heidi sweeten the pot.
While she was sinking down, Leslie was preparing to towel off. Heidi thought it would be rude to stay in the bath after the bath's owner had already gotten out... and perhaps as though she'd overstayed her welcome a bit already... so she got out and accepted a towel as well, wrapping it quickly. Heidi's means of getting dressed were about as simple as Leslie's, being mostly just an outer shirt. "Thanks again for the bath... that was more than I could have asked for," she thanked Leslie again. "You wanted chips, I remember, so I've got some to offer. As you saw, Incognito's not one much for fighting regardless, so he won't mind. I wasn't sure what you wanted, so... you can either have..." she murmured, reaching into the elastic waistband of her boxers, which was unfortunately the only place for her to hide anything. "These three... or this one." In one hand, she held three chips: RingZap1, MeteorKnuckle1, and Pillow1. In the other hand, she held one chip: Footstomp. "I could either give you a bunch of chips or I could give you this one chip that's pretty rare, whichever you think would be best. I wish I could pay you too, but uh... you know."
Leslie could either pick a hand, take the chips herself, or, if she was feeling squirrely, try to use her leverage as gracious host and savior to make Heidi sweeten the pot.
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"Don't worry about it. Just remember, it's all a dream to Incognito, right? As far as he knows, it was just a really good, really wet dream. ...Granted, it wasn't, but...well, you know what I mean." Leslie shrugged at herself, then got out. Honestly, if Heidi could figure out what she meant by that, she'd love for her to tell her about it.
Once the ladies were redressed, it dawned on the martial artist just how much better she had it than her mission requester. She might be dirt poor, but she had a roof over her head, (usually) had food on the table, and a complete outfit. That the bounty hunter had to hide her chips in her boxers just sealed the deal. When presented with a choice of hands, she just crossed her arms and shook her head. "Nooooope. Robbing the poor isn't exactly my idea of a mission reward. You go bring that woman in, get paid, and then we can talk about it. Until then, I'm not taking a thing. ...And you know, I don't have a whole lot in that department, but I bet I have some old clothes that're closer to your size. I can go take a look, if you want. They're probably kinda musty at this point, but considering what you smelled like when you came in, that'd still be a net improvement." She'd probably say no out of politeness, but it didn't hurt to ask anyway.
Once the ladies were redressed, it dawned on the martial artist just how much better she had it than her mission requester. She might be dirt poor, but she had a roof over her head, (usually) had food on the table, and a complete outfit. That the bounty hunter had to hide her chips in her boxers just sealed the deal. When presented with a choice of hands, she just crossed her arms and shook her head. "Nooooope. Robbing the poor isn't exactly my idea of a mission reward. You go bring that woman in, get paid, and then we can talk about it. Until then, I'm not taking a thing. ...And you know, I don't have a whole lot in that department, but I bet I have some old clothes that're closer to your size. I can go take a look, if you want. They're probably kinda musty at this point, but considering what you smelled like when you came in, that'd still be a net improvement." She'd probably say no out of politeness, but it didn't hurt to ask anyway.
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Heidi seemed momentarily hurt to be reminded of how smelly she'd been when she wondered in, but seemed to appreciate both the offer to keep her chips and the offer of other clothing. "Well, I'm too poor to refuse charity... But I'm going to e-mail you the reward and a bonus once I bring the perp in! Yeah... It's an investment for us both," she resolved, sounding as though she was trying to talk herself out of feeling guilty for mooching off Leslie's hospitality. "If you'll bring me those clothes, I'll get Incognito... freshened up," she coughed, sounding like she wasn't especially looking forward to dealing with her navi at this point.
If Leslie did as she said and left to go grab things, she'd find that Heidi was waiting near the door out when she got back. "Thanks again for everything you did, Leslie... If you'll just give me your e-mail address, I'll make good on the promise. Chips for Martia and some of the pot from the arrest as well. Then we'll both know feel good, knowing justice is served!" the bounty huntress claimed again, accepting whatever Leslie felt fit to give her with clear appreciation. "You're a good friend... Martia too! It's going to be hard not to tell Incognito how much she helped... he's resting now. But... I have a feeling he'll feel, er, gratitude to her all the same. Maybe I shouldn't have said that... A-Anyway, I'm off to NetVegas!"
Heidi would finish with a handshake if Leslie was feeling professional or offer a hug if Leslie was not. Either way, that would be the end of the physical affection for now; the professional was off for her next bounty... Hopefully.
((Martia gained 29 Incognito FXP))
If Leslie did as she said and left to go grab things, she'd find that Heidi was waiting near the door out when she got back. "Thanks again for everything you did, Leslie... If you'll just give me your e-mail address, I'll make good on the promise. Chips for Martia and some of the pot from the arrest as well. Then we'll both know feel good, knowing justice is served!" the bounty huntress claimed again, accepting whatever Leslie felt fit to give her with clear appreciation. "You're a good friend... Martia too! It's going to be hard not to tell Incognito how much she helped... he's resting now. But... I have a feeling he'll feel, er, gratitude to her all the same. Maybe I shouldn't have said that... A-Anyway, I'm off to NetVegas!"
Heidi would finish with a handshake if Leslie was feeling professional or offer a hug if Leslie was not. Either way, that would be the end of the physical affection for now; the professional was off for her next bounty... Hopefully.
((Martia gained 29 Incognito FXP))