Graceful Ways

((From -> Mikhail's Room))

While it may have been late night in Mikhail's world, the net rarely slept, and the DenTech netspace was about as active as it ever was when Pirouette jacked in. any looking on saw first a small glow beneath her touch-down point, followed by a small flurry of crisp, white swam feathers that burst outward and fell away after a moment to reveal the ballerina herself in a standard commencement pose, one toe point in front of the other with her arms back to the sides and hands spread. Her wings mirrored the pose, arched upwards and spread out as well, and as the visual effects cleared the girl opened her eyes and drew a breath.

"I'm down, Mikhail, I do not think I will be too long." her voice was a quiet murmur as she glanced about the space and got her bearings quickly. It wasn't a long jump to get to the book depository, but long enough that she knew to expect a few confrontations at least. It was something that continued to offend her sensibilities somewhat; this was a place of education, and learning. It ought to be a place of safety as well, but even day to day runs between different parts of the network involved a surprising level of contact with viral elements. She wanted to blame the computing department, for not keeping a tighter rein on its students, and the sheer number of damaging little things they wrote, for practice, but it didn't really do to point fingers of blame in the end. In her mind, Mikhail's response soothed her thoughts.

"No rush, dear one. Take care as you go, I am watching in case anything comes up." The young lady nodded, both to him as well as to herself, then set out, running lightly across the pathway on her toes. Each step was gliding and long, and she smiled for the joy of it, for however long it might last before things got more serious. It wasn't as though virus busting was alien to her, exactly.... moreso it was just something that she had avoided for the most part. As much as her experience was limited, it also wasn't an important part of her, or Mikhail's life, so that didn't matter much. She could always run if she had to, after all.

(Ready for Battle 1)
Pirouette found herself in a school hall, lined with traditional blue lockers and closed, wooden doors on either side. It stood to reason that there were classes going on behind some doors, while others might be unoccupied. Either way, their activities were low-key, giving the Navi an impression of being alone.

Fortunately for her, she knew what she was trying to get to, so she was able to move along the checker-tiled halls of the Net quite speedily. Eventually, however, her path took her to a pair of double doors that was evidently intended to separate two "buildings" of the NetSpace. Opening the doors would reveal a trio of dangerous-looking characters.

Two Metools with headphones over their helmets and comical-looking shades stood in the hallway, hitting random lockers on either side with bats that stood out of their helmets in the place of pickaxes. Accompanying them was a Bunny, plaid-patterned instead of pink, and with bright gold trim and ears in lieu of the typical metal, giving it a tacky look.

The trio seemed to be taking up a bit much of the hallway to simply walk around. Furthermore, while the Bunny had simply been lounging around before, it turned to the new arrival with disdain in its eyes.


=Enemies=
MetoolA: 40HP (wailing on Locker D)
MetoolB: 40HP (teaching Locker G a lesson)
Bunny: 50HP

=Terrain=
100% Normal (Floor Tile)

=Allies=
Pirouette.EXE: 100HP

=Special=

Right Side:
Locker A: 80 HP
Locker B: 80 HP
Locker C: 80 HP
Locker D: 70 HP
Locker E: 80 HP
Door A: 60 HP
Wall A: 300 HP

Left Side:
Locker F: 80 HP
Locker G: 70 HP
Locker H: 80 HP
Locker I: 80 HP
Locker J: 80 HP
Door B: 60 HP
Wall B: 300 HP

=BATTLE #1: BEGIN!=
As she'd feared, the peaceful dash through the halls of her local net didn't last for very long. It was only a small cluster of viruses that she ran into, but the sight of them, so cutely deviated from the more 'standard' formation niggled at her. Almost in response to her earlier train of though she caught herself thinking that these particular ones were likely some student's idea of a joke... and as much as they might possibly be someone's deliberate little creations, they were now in her way.

The girl's brows knit and she frowned, coming to a halt and pausing on the ball of her left foot, idly resting her raised toes in the back of her left knee. In her way, and damaging property. When one of them looked in her direction, Pirouette folded her arms and returned a displeased frown. In truth, she wasn't terribly good at projecting seriousness or authority; those were roles player by fiercer dancers, usually, but the trio had still agitated her, and it would be awkward to simply try and brush past them now that she'd stopped. The leotard and wings, not to mentioned the traditional frilled tu-tu, didn't really help her image at this juncture, but that much wasn't a thought that crossed Pirouette's mind.

Rather, the young lady was light and loose in her stance, ready to glide aside if they got violent towards her as well as the lockers, but for now she drew a deep breath and tried her first check; they were loose and damaging public property, yes, but if they were actually some student's project, and could identify as such, then she oughtn't simply delete them. Best to at least give them a chance, before that.

"Are you three going to stop being destructive and let a lady pass..." She took another long breath and let it out again, focusing herself, then lowered her other foot and rose to the toe points of both. She opted for the seventh pose of commencement with left point forward and right turned out, as she watched them. Her hands adopted a complimenting fifth pose, though if it came to using battle chips, the ballerina ultimately actualised most of them with her toe points anyway. She knew that her request was likely a formality, and that the answer would almost certainly be a negative, or more likely, attacks thrown in her direction. Pirouette was alright with that, and let her tone grow harder. "Or must I impress upon you each some manners?"

Summary

P1) Dodge
P2) Deep Breath (20 Strengthen)
P3) Intimidate?
The bunny made a lazy saunter towards Pirouette, still looking none-too-amused. Few were those who had ever seen a Bunny moving so slowly. One of the Metools was still wailing on his chosen locker with a weapon, but one had turned its body to face the Navi, letting its bat fall momentarily.

The bunny cast its eyes up and down the lady before it, appraising her. Pirouette witnessed a bubble emerge from the slit between the Bunny's rings, pop, then get sucked in again for further languid chewing. The Bunny still didn't look impressed, and when Pirouette exercised the authority in her voice, the Bunny made a swift-but-predictable sweep with one of its tiny feet.

Such an ineffective attack was easily and gracefully avoided by the ballerina Navi, but it was clear that the viruses were drawing battle lines. The Metool whose attention had been caught moved in closer, raising its bat on the moving target this time.

The other remained blissfully unaware, still damaging school property. Well, school Net property, anyway.

=Enemies=
MetoolA: 40HP
MetoolB: 40HP (teaching Locker G a lesson)
Bunny: 50HP

=Terrain=
100% Normal (Floor Tile)

=Allies=
Pirouette.EXE: 100HP

=Special=

Right Side:
Locker A: 80 HP
Locker B: 80 HP
Locker C: 80 HP
Locker D: 70 HP
Locker E: 80 HP
Door A: 60 HP
Wall A: 300 HP

Left Side:
Locker F: 80 HP
Locker G: 60 HP
Locker H: 80 HP
Locker I: 80 HP
Locker J: 80 HP
Door B: 60 HP
Wall B: 300 HP

=BATTLE #1: THE REBEGINNINING!=
"Hmph!" Pirouette darted back nimbly from the trip that really looked more like it was intended to dump her on her behind unceremoniously, rather than being actually dangerous. It did serve to make her brows draw into a more serious look of displeasure, and she scowled.

"Fine. If you are going to be like that, then I have no patience for you." Her voice, as it did whenever she grew agitated, held a more pronounced overtone of her Sharo origins, the accent making her words shorter and more precise. Mikhail understood the signs well enough and was already slotting her a chip, and Pirouette processed it through as soon as it arrived. As much as she stood calm and still, the image of poise, her eyes darted swiftly to make sure she was gauging the positions of her targets correctly before beginning her motion; once you started a motion, your eyes often wouldn't help, so it was always important to make sure you were on target before beginning.

She didn't expect the seemingly lazy bunny to stay still once the actual conflict began, so Pirouette did her best to act swiftly; the RageClaw that Mikhail had sent began to actualise itself as a series of curved pin-quills down the back of her left leg. it was a subtle effect, and not overly visible from the front, but as soon as they were formed, the girl let her right leg buckle suddenly. Her supporting leg dropped to the ball of her foot for balance as she curled down, while her left swept out and around, stretched out at first as she turned leftwards, until it circled to present the back hollow of her knee, curved claws and all, to the Bunny in front of her. With the broad reach of her leg, her goal was to scoop the virus up, then swiftly bend her working leg in to lock position again, securing and slightly impaling the virus on the grappling claws. Just in case it struggled more than expected, she channelled a portion of her focus towards locking the poor critter in good and hard.

The rest of the movement saw the young ballerina finish her spin, rising up to toe point again on her supporting leg, left leg curling up and out to the side. the momentum of the motion gave her another half turn, but her back was only to the other viruses for a second. the girl lifted her arms as she came upright, forming a neat oval above her head, before bending herself backwards and reaching down to place the fingertips of both hands on the panel at her foot. As she put her largely insignificant weight over her fingertips, Her right leg lifted, moving out to a sideways point and perfectly straight as her left leg, still curled, took the prime vertical. For a ballerina, this wasn't a stable or holding pose but one of transition, and the girl moved through it swiftly, completing the turn and uncurling her leg as it came down, in a way that ought to free the virus from the ensnaring quills, if she had indeed snagged it, and fling it directly towards the closer of the two metools.

Whether any part of her intended actions connected with their goals, it wouldn't change Pirouette's actions; her movement was smooth and graceful, and she passed through the motion in its entirety, regardless. He second leg touched down a moment later and she sprang off the toe point forward and to the side of where she had spun the first time, taking quick stock of the results so she could plan her next move.

Summary

P1) Take Aim
P2) RageClaw(As Grab/Throw: 20(30), Impact, B(A)) Grabbing Bunny, Throwing at MetoolA
P*) 10 Strengthen applied to the Grab of RageClaw (If successful, throw collision will still only deal 20/20)
P3) Dodge


Cooldowns

Deep Breath: Cooling

The irascible Bunny made a scoffing gesture in response to Pirouette's threat, blowing and popping its bubble again. In spite of its attitude, its reflexes were good, as Pirouette had expected. As soon as the Navi's leg was out, the Bunny had already hopped, bouncing through the air to land just out of reach in spite of her best efforts.

The threatening Metool, meanwhile, took this as a chance to slam its baseball bat on the floor tile ahead. While the sound was the reverberating THONK one might expect, the effect was both unusual and entirely predictable: a shockwave tore across the ground towards the ballerina Navi. Her movements were on-point, however, and an elegant spring took her out of harm's way.

The Metool that had been knocking on the locker gave it another good bash, before turning and finally realizing there was a fight going on it could be part of.

None of the surrounding doors budged, and no noise was made. Either the place was empty, or the classes around them were quite used to ignoring these types of scuffles.

=Enemies=
MetoolA: 40HP
MetoolB: 40HP
Bunny: 50HP

=Terrain=
100% Normal (Floor Tile)

=Allies=
Pirouette.EXE: 100HP

=Special=

Right Side:
Locker A: 80 HP
Locker B: 80 HP
Locker C: 80 HP
Locker D: 70 HP
Locker E: 80 HP
Door A: 60 HP
Wall A: 300 HP

Left Side:
Locker F: 80 HP
Locker G: 50 HP
Locker H: 80 HP
Locker I: 80 HP
Locker J: 80 HP
Door B: 60 HP
Wall B: 300 HP
She knew she's missed the grab even while her leg swept around, but Pirouette continued the turn regardless and landed neatly from her spring. A quick glance as she came down revealed that the bunny had jumped back, but her own nimble leap had brought her forward as well, and she struck out again swiftly, hoping to give the petulant virus little time to respond.

Slightly side on to its new position, Pirouette swept her right arm down and inwards, creating momentum with her upper body and curling straight downwards. For a moment, her forehead was by the knee of her supporting leg, while her left arced back, out, then over into a full turn that brought the rest of her body with it, making a full split that aimed to drop the wicked quill-spikes on the back of her calf onto the evasive bunny. She put what was left of her extra focus into the action, to make up for her previous miss, but that was all she had; the girl knew that she'd need to resettle herself again before she could put any more excessive force into her forms.

If it actually held still, the bunny would get a pretty nice view before it died; the thinness of her leotard did little to hide details, but Pirouette herself never even considered such a matter. Her mind was solely focused on the shift into her next pose as the fight continued. Contact or not, the next form was a simple one, but it gained a surprising amount of power if she performed it quickly; many young ballerinas often bruised themselves while performing it, such was the unexpected gain.

From her split, she lay forward, forehead to her left knee and pressed her fingers to the ground by her ankle, then crooked her right leg out and around and pressed up. Between the pressure from her fingers, the strength in her leg, and her own light weight, Pirouette felt her body lift and roll. Her wings flared high and her left leg swung outward as she turned, and for a briefly moment there was a clear space of about a foot between her and the ground, before she swung her left heel over, now at a right angle to her first strike, and aimed to crash down onto the nearby metool this time instead.

The double manoeuvre had taken only a second or two at most, and Pirouette put both hands to the tiles long enough to pull one foot under her and rise smoothly again, uncurling to her full, if still unintimidating, height and raising her hands in complement to her stretching wings. Her plan had been to encompass all three targets in this set of forms, so it didn't matter whether either of her first blows had connected; the white-clad girl darted a quick step on her toes towards the last virus, beginning with an en pointe arabesque spin that swiftly dropped low with the bend of her right leg, to bring the spines of her left to bear on the low-to-the-ground virus. As she completed the spin and rose up again, Pirouette paused for a moment to see what else needed doing next.

Summary

P1) RageClaw((As Attack) 40(50), Slashing, B) @ Bunny
P*) 10 Strengthen applied to first attack. 0 Remains.
P2) RageClaw((As Attack) 40, Slashing, B) @ MetoolA
P3) RageClaw((As Attack) 40, Slashing, B) @ MetoolB

The Bunny may have been quick, but Pirouette was a skilled ballerina. Regardless of her actual fighting prowess, by integrating her attacks into her dance routine, the Navi was able to carry through proactively, rather than re-actively. Without heeding, Pirouette's limbs continued to move where they wanted to, leaving any viruses that happened to be occupying that same space to suffer the consequences.

Pirouette had already cut down the Bunny before moving on to the Metools. Well aware of what had just happened to their apparent leader, the first she attacked ducked under its helmet, protecting it from Pirouette's strike from above.

The second, unfortunately for it, was just joining the fight. It made one messy attempt to throw its bat at the Navi, which flew completely wide and dented a nearby locker. Pirouette's own attack was on point, and took care of the virus in a single stroke.

There was one virus left, still hiding under its helmet. On one hand, nothing was blocking the hallway for Pirouette anymore: she could probably just continue on her way. On the other, she had no reason to suspect the miscreant virus wouldn't attack when her back was turned.

=Enemies=
MetoolA: 40HP (Hiding under helmet)
MetoolB: DELETED
Bunny: DELETED

=Terrain=
100% Normal (Floor Tile)

=Allies=
Pirouette.EXE: 100HP

=Special=

Right Side:
Locker A: 80 HP
Locker B: 80 HP
Locker C: 80 HP
Locker D: 70 HP
Locker E: 70 HP
Door A: 60 HP
Wall A: 300 HP

Left Side:
Locker F: 80 HP
Locker G: 50 HP
Locker H: 80 HP
Locker I: 80 HP
Locker J: 80 HP
Door B: 60 HP
Wall B: 300 HP
A short pause for breath saw Pirouette's arms slide out to one of the more common finishing poses, left arm crossing her body at chest height and fingers stretched, while her right arm was raised, curved upwards so that the tips of her fingers made a true line with the top of her head. Her wings stretched out, creating a counterbalance of symmetry to the pose, due to the way her back was twisted. Her eyes darted to the one remaining virus in the area, hiding away, and she contemplated simply walking away from it. But no... a small sigh escaped her. If she left it would probably just keep damaging things. Her book could wait just a little bit longer.

The sharp feather quills extending from her left calf were beginning to lose their edge by now, and she knew the limit of how many times she could press the chip was about up, but it was probably enough to finish off. So long as the remaining vandal stopped hiding, at least. Still, as long as it was hiding, the dancer decided that she might as well set up for finishing it off, while she waited.

Turning her body towards the hidden metool, Pirouette stepped once, then flowed smoothly to the floor again, arching backwards and she lowered first to her knees in front of the virus, then rolled her hips over, lifting one foot over her target then straightening both legs out completely to either side while her hands touched to the tiles in front of her for support.

It was another floor pose that, to someone more prone to adult oriented thoughts, would probably end up looking highly suggestive when it was done placing another entity directly between her thighs, but Pirouette never considered such; this particular floor pose was one that always felt joyous, stretching her body out as it did. Though she technically had her back to the opponent, the girl was still keenly aware of it, and she had picked the pose deliberately; the press of her feet, flat tops against the tile and heels up, rolled her thighs inwards naturally, and the most common transition out of it was the one she prepared to make, with slight modification.

Her left leg bent in, curling around the metool, quill-spikes presented. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back, listening carefully for the sound of it peeking out again. As soon as the virus did, as well as being greeted by what must surely be a wholly unexpected sight of the little lady's lower regions presented directly in front of it, Pirouette intended to finish the curl of her knee, grabbing and crushing the encircled virus with the failing spikes and squeezing it tightly in the crook of her knee as she rose up to kneeling, then to the point of her right leg after that. A slight spin accompanied the shift, that would let her straighten the ensnaring leg and release her catch against the nearest blank space of wall... Provided there was one close enough. Elsewise, one of the lockers was probably going to get another dent in it.

If the little hooligan survived, the ballerina was quite ready to finish up her set with a second low spin, shattering off the last remnants of her RageClaw's data against the virus... especially if it had deigned to actually take another pot shot at her during the short routine.

Summary

P1) Feint for positioning and, once in position, to wait until the metool stops guarding.
P2) RageClaw(As Grab/Throw: 20, Impact, B) Grabbing MetoolA, Throwing at nearest patch of clear wall, if there is one. If not, then some poor locker is probably going to get another dent.
P3) RageClaw((As Attack) 40, Slashing, B) @ MetoolA, if it survived the first.
To the unaware observer, Pirouette might simply have been opening herself up for a paddling by turning her back to an enemy in the middle of a fight. In reality, the Navi was trying the tricky practice of sensing out the opponent's movements by listening to their motions.

In the end, the point ended up being moot. Pirouette waited until she thought she heard something, scooped up the virus, and chucked it at a nearby wall above a locker. The thing hit the plaster helmet-first, and while addled, looked like it was still in fighting shape thanks to its helmet. The Navi quickly put an end to that, finishing off the nuisance with what remained of her weapon.

=Enemies=
MetoolA: DELETED
MetoolB: DELETED
Bunny: DELETED

=Terrain=
100% Normal (Floor Tile)

=Allies=
Pirouette.EXE: 100HP

=Special=

Right Side:
Locker A: 80 HP
Locker B: 80 HP
Locker C: 80 HP
Locker D: 70 HP
Locker E: 70 HP
Door A: 60 HP
Wall A: 300 HP

Left Side:
Locker F: 80 HP
Locker G: 50 HP
Locker H: 80 HP
Locker I: 80 HP
Locker J: 80 HP
Door B: 60 HP
Wall B: 280 HP

=BATTLE 1 CLEAR!=

=GET: GUARD1, 400z=

Pirouette could hear the shuffle of something approaching from the hallway beyond that seemed to coincide with when the Metool had hit the wall. It stood to reason more viruses were about to show up and see what was going on...

If Pirouette wanted to, she could stand and prepare for a fight, but she'd probably simply choose to head for her book and be done with it.
As she came to a stop, Pirouette held her pose a moment long and took a deep breath, then settled. Everything was clear now and she nodded softly her herself. It sounded like the hall wasn't going to stay quiet long and she really didn't want to keep Mikhail up any longer than she needed to, so the girl made one more quick spin on her toe, leg extended, and drew in the small bits and pieces of useable data that the viruses had surrendered, then ran on swiftly, dashing through the halls.

That one scuffle was all she ended up needing to deal with before arriving at the main scholastic archive and book depository for Dentech, and quickly began to scan through their romance fiction section for the series she wanted. A small exultant grin crept onto her features as she found the right entry and located the first book in her author's new series, then quickly reserved and checked it out. In direct digital form, the e-book realised itself as an actual replica of its physical world counter-part; a tome about three inches thick, with a hard brown cover, and the lettering picked out in gold on the front and spine. It looked positively massive in Pirouette's small hands, but she hugged it to her chest anyway, for a moment, then turned her face upwards slightly.

"I have got it, Mikhail. I am ready to jack out again now." Her voice was light and pleased, and her operator's tone in response was amused as well, if more tired sounding.
"Alright, little one. Back you come then."

A few moments later, a small globe of swirling light expanded to envelope the ballerina, before bursting into a small scattering of white swan feathers, and leaving the net space empty again.

((Pirouette, Jacking Out and returning to -> Mikhail's Room))