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Post by HungryHunter on May 8, 2017 2:51:56 GMT
Josefina looked blankly at Kate's small torch. She stood up and walked towards Kate before crouching again and reaching out her hand. With her pointer finger and thumb she grabbed the end of the torch, snuffing it like a candle. She reached out the other to gently take Kate in her palm. Her every movement was achingly slow as she attempted to grab Kate.
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Post by Vapovile on May 8, 2017 9:57:03 GMT
As soon as she saw her torch get snuffed out, Kate leaped backward to avoid being grabbed by the giant golem's palm. It was benefit that she was in soccer, as now Kate had better reflexes and endurance to deal with sudden situations such as this. "I uh...bye!" Kate called out as she sprinted around the outside of the couch and tried to get to the purple portal behind Josefina. The golem had walked forward to snuff out the torch, so there was now a large enough gap for Kate to hopefully sprint through. Kate had never run faster in her life than right now; weaving around the couch and ducking down to avoid any potential grab as she tried to enter the portal.
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Post by HungryHunter on May 8, 2017 15:47:04 GMT
Josefina's fist closed around air and she turned her head to follow Kate. She was barely on her feet by the time Kate made it out. She stood staring at the door while a few other dolls poked their heads out of their doors in response to the noise. Outside, Kate ran onto sand. She could see her house just up the hill and the tree Cosmina knocked over earlier. A huge man in a tattered pink gi looked away from a book he was reading when he heard her footsteps in the sand. "So we really do have somebody friendly in the kaspa." He muttered, jumping off the rock he sat upon to land behind Kate. "Stay behind us, but stay close."
He fixed his eyes on the massive earthen fist that extended from the hole in reality Kate had come from, followed by the entire giant doll. She stood overhead, looming huge. She seemed more interested in the sand of the beach than catching Kate for the moment. Behind her came a girl in pink, recognizable to Kate as Chelsea. "Oh, great. Get ready, Josefina. You two, get out here! We've got trouble!" She yelled and a grin came to the ponytailed man's lips. Looked like this was going to be fun after all.
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Post by Vapovile on May 8, 2017 20:55:59 GMT
Sitting on a nearby chair that looked to be made from leather, a tall woman looked up from her laptop and spotted Kate running out of the Kaspa. She was dressed immaculately, wearing a thick orange sweater with tight black pants that had seemingly dozens of pockets. She wore a red scarf with rose patterns stitched into it, with a black vine pattern flowing downward in the scarf. On her feet she wore a pair of black boots with several pockets along the side holding various types of ammunition, and on her head she wore a stylish rimless grey cap. The woman's hair was light brown, extending down to her shoulders and slowly becoming a lighter shade of brown at the hair tips. She glanced at Kate and closed her laptop, the device folding up into a small rectangle that she places in one of her back pockets.
"Bonjour. My name is Leone Fleury, I'm a friend of your mother's. She called me asking for help finding you, and what'dya know it, you found us!" Leone's french accent was unmistakable as she spoke, Kate sprinting behind both her and Dan as the other dolls arrived on the scene. Out of the portal came a tall blond woman wearing a white cowboy hat and having several guns strapped to her side and back. Right behind her was a strange woman with long blond hair wearing a white button-up shirt and black pants, a long katana inside its sheath at her side. This one seemed much more nervous at being in this location, darting her focus around rapidly.
"What's this, help? Senorita has some friend in low places. I remember when I was kidnapped by a cartel; managed to escape when an old native american man shot an arrow over a mile away to cut my restraints. Sorry pardner, but yer no expert bowman." The woman wearing the white hat said, pulling out two revolvers from her holsters and pointing them at Leone. The stylish mercenary merely looks on with amusement, tilting her sunglasses down slightly. "Quite the story, madame. I'm a pretty good shot though." Reaching down, Leone picks up a large briefcase that soon transforms into two sub machine guns. "I must say...they are sending a child to fight us? How cruel." Leone comments while looking at Chelsea. Raven had already chosen her target, training the sight of her right pistol directly at Leone.
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Post by HungryHunter on May 9, 2017 4:39:44 GMT
"Glad somebody noticed." Chelsea grumbled, drawing her single edged sword from her side. Dan grabbed his phone out of his pocket, revealing a pink cover with little red fists in yellow impact shapes all over it. "Haruko, she's here. Huh? Oh, where she vanished from. She's fine, Haruko, just get down here." He dropped it back into his pocked and stepped towards the golem and the cat girl. A pink aura began flowing from his body, lighting making his grin downright sinister. He ducked under Josefina's first slow swing and threw a punch at her leg, shifting it slightly. He eyed Cally with curiosity in his stance. Another sword user. He was ready for any sudden movements from her. Weapons took some effort to defend against. Meanwhile, Chelsea hung back, waiting for Raven to make the first move. She didn't like the looks of this. Gunfights weren't her thing.
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Post by Vapovile on May 14, 2017 19:11:24 GMT
Cally watched as Dan ducked under Josefina's punch and punched her in the leg. This one clearly knew how to fight, and was adept at close range. She had to keep him at a distance until she figured out his weak points. Sprinting forward, Cally readied her sword at her side and sliced forward, trying to cut Dan's throat. Regardless if it is a success or not, Cally follows it up with a sharp kick to Dan's chest to launch herself away from the martial artist before he could counterattack.
---
Time seemed to have slowed down in the standoff between Raven and Leone. Both fighters trained their guns upon the other, but neither wanting to take the first shot. "Someone's gonna have to break this mexican standoff, pardner. I could keep this stance for a week if I have to." The cowgirl doll said as she looked on in determination. Before Leone could respond though...two rounds were fired from Raven's revolvers that arced a large amount of electricity between then. Leone responded by firing off dozens of rounds from her sub machine guns as she dove out of the way of the bullets. Leone then rolls across the ground and puts away her two SMGs, pulling out a grey shotgun from her back and firing a wide scattershot at both Raven and Chelsea. The scattershot was tailored specifically to HW targets, the pellets becoming 20x heavier should they hit someone and get lodged in their skin or body.
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Post by HungryHunter on May 16, 2017 0:44:22 GMT
Chelsea rolled as well when Leone fired off an arc of bullets from her SMG. This was the worst place to fight a gunslinger! There wasn't cover at all! She had already rolled far enough that only the very edge of the spray of fragments that flew from Leone's shotgun, enough that only a few fragments came her way. With a single swing she deflected most, but one nicked bit into her side, resting between two ribs. She felt it grow heavy in her, topping a few pounds. Even with her superhuman strength it was far from comfortable. She hissed through her teeth and rushed Leone, swinging her blade for the shotgun's barrel. "Don't ya fuckin' shoot at me." She grumbled as the blade came down.
Dan saw Cally approaching out of the corner of his eye and raised his aura to defend against her. He realized at the last moment the sword she was swinging for his neck and threw up his arms in defense. The blade was slowed in his aura like it was swinging through water and only bit a little into his flesh, drawing a line of blood from his skin. Cally's kick pulled the katana out of his arms, freeing him just in time to dive under Josefina's next slow swing.
He wasn't going to survive a hit from the big one he knew, but this new one was no slouch either. But even from their few motions so far, he could tell they were inexperienced. They also weren't working together to their best extent he could tell as Josefina stomped and pillars of sand rose all around him. The sand blocked Cally just as much as it did him. More so in fact, giving her less room to swing around her sword. Dan rushed to meet her among the pillars, closing in to limit her swings further and throwing an elbow at her forehead to bleed her.
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Post by Vapovile on May 17, 2017 20:38:00 GMT
Raven skillfully rolled forward to avoid most of the SMG rounds, though three of the shotgun pellets managed to embed themselves in her right leg, torso and left shoulder respectively. While the little pellets didn't add much weight, it was still enough to be an inconvenience. Before Leone could fire her shotgun more, Raven pulled out a small pocket knife from a pouch on her right leg and dug it into her leg, pulling out the pellet and letting it clatter to the ground. As Chelsea ran at her, Leone noticed her lack of technique and pulled her shotgun out of the way of the swing, twisting her body to kick Chelsea hard in the face to send her back a few meters.
"Cowboy theme...bullets covered in electricity...you wouldn't happen to be a fan of Crow Cementero, would you?" Leone asked, Raven looking confused at the mercenary. "Crow? Senorita, I am one of a kind. No mere copycat could sit in a viper-infested pit for three days straight while staking out a target. I have never heard of this 'Crow', but he sounds more like a sparrow." Leone chuckled at the response. "You should write a novel! These stories are fantastic." The mercenary said with a smile on her face. Raven frowned in annoyance and took off toward Leone with lightning speed, shooting another bullet covered in electricity at the mercenary as Leone dove out of the way. Raven clearly had the speed advantage here.
---
"..." Cally looked on in surprise as Dan slowed her blade down to nearly a crawl. It was fortunate that Kate had upgraded her katana to be near indestructible, so she didn't need to worry about breaking it. Cally glanced around to see that the sand pillars were blocking her ability to fight as well. "Josefina! Attack his legs please!" Cally asked as she placed her katana up to defend against his elbow. Cally was soon sent flying into a nearby sand pillar. The pseudo-samurai gasped for air as her lungs emptied upon impact, but quickly recovered and leaped up the sand pillar, peering down. Once Josefina trapped his legs, she would swoop in and try to slice his neck.
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Post by HungryHunter on May 18, 2017 1:02:06 GMT
Chelsea's head jerked back when her face met Leone's boot, at the expense of the face. She stumbled back, swearing up a storm. She could feel the impression of the sole all across her forehead. She felt her damaged head and found nothing broken. Well, there was that. She was about to close in again when Raven charged Leone herself. "What are you-you fight with guns! Guns for fuck's sake! Why are you charging her!?"
She yelled, trying to get around Raven so she could attack Leone. Black flames raced up her arm, casting no light but instead shadow. "Don't get burned." She raised her arm and from it came hellfire. Any limb burnt by it would be wracked with searing pain, and while it suffered no physical harm, cease to operate. Less importantly when she wasn't operating in a team, Leone would become more callous and less altruistic until the burns healed.
Dan drew in his breath when Cally slammed into the sand. His aura flowed to his heartbeat, moving in and out in rapid pulses. Blood dripped from the elbow he struck Cally with, evidence of her attack gracing the weapon he used to return the favor. His delight was raised further when Cally called upon Josefina for help. They were quick learners. Here's hoping that's not enough. He thought as he raised his head to see Cally atop the pillar. He crouched, ready to jump up and knock her down.
Unbending his legs, instead of launching him up to smash the pillar and dump her on her face like he wanted, just jerked him upwards a little while his feet remained firmly planted. He looked down and saw the sand clustering around his legs, holding him tight to the floor. He squirmed, but the earth was getting packed tighter around his feet than a car compactor. He grinned as Cally came down and pulled a fist back. "A note for the future..." He threw his fist to deflect the sword, earning himself another gash down his arm. "Don't fall at an enemy from a position they know!" He threw his other hand at her falling body, stuck on a predictable trajectory she couldn't change.
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Post by Vapovile on Jun 3, 2017 23:15:53 GMT
"Its a strategy, pardner!" Raven yelled at Chelsea as she bolted around on the battlefield trying to shoot Leone, who dive rolls out of the way of the electrically-charged bullets and returns fire with her shotgun. Two pellets entered Raven's left leg and expanded, nearly causing the cowgirl to trip as she skids to a stop. Leone didn't have time to celebrate though, as Chelsea's fire came racing toward her. The mercenary attempted to dash out of the way...but her left arm grazed the flame and became enveloped in searing pain. Leone grit her teeth tightly as she then felt some of the nerves in her left arm go numb.
"Quite the trick there...missy." Leone said as she looked at Chelsea. This kid was dangerous. It was lucky the fire only grazed her arm, or she might have lost the ability to fight with her left hand. Reaching into her pocket, Leone subtly pulled the pin out of a grenade behind her back and waited a few seconds...then tossed it directly at Raven. Raven was taken aback by this move and dove down before the hailstorm of shrapnel began pelting her body. With Raven distracted, Leone placed her shotgun in its holster in her waist and pulled out a jet black revolver. She then fires 2 rounds at Chelsea, the bullets containing a magic spell that causes them to home in on the nearest target the barrel was pointed at.
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Cally's eyes widened with surprise as Dan deflected her sword with his arm, sending herself off course and toward the stone pillars Josefina made. With inhuman reflexes, Cally twisted her body and grabbed the pillar just in time before Dan could grab her. This man was durable...too durable. "...I know how to fight." Was all Cally softly said to herself as she took out a bow from her back. He was too dangerous to fight up close...so perhaps ranged would work. She readies a sharpened arrow that Kate created into the bow and quickly fired it down at Dan's neck, hoping to sever his spine.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 4, 2017 3:38:20 GMT
"What kind of strategy!? Seriously, get back and we'll just cook her!" Chelsea yelled, trying to position herself so she wouldn't catch Raven in her fires. She was open to Leone's shots, relying on her sword to deflect the bullets in a quick sweep. She cut through both cleanly, turning away their trajectory. But with the tracking function, she wasn't entirely safe. One of the bullets managed to turn enough to plunge through her body, drawing out a scream of pain. "Being shot fucking sucks!" She gasped as she collapsed to her knees. And Raven was still in the way! She couldn't flame her that way!
Dan's fist just barely missed Callie's body with an audible rush of wind. He noted her escape and worked to free himself at once. He pulled his feet free of the sand before she cocked her bow, leaving him open to move. When the arrow moved, Dan was already running forward, ducking low to make himself small. The arrow hissed right overhead into the sand, earning a jump from his heart. He continued right at the dune where she had planted herself, pulling his fist back. Josefina loomed over, beginning to raise her foot, but Dan had time for a single punch before it began to drop. He threw it hard for Callie's neck.
They were dolls, so he knew she wouldn't suffocate, but it was sure to sting. Hit or miss, the next second he dashed away as Josefina's foot came down, pushing up a wave of sand. Dan stopped at the edge of the water, mentally hitting himself when he realized he had left the pillars for a disadvantageous enviornment. Still, it was a change in terrain. Wet sand felt different underfoot than dry, and for once his bare feet gave him an edge. He could feel it move better than Callie.
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Post by Vapovile on Jun 12, 2017 18:59:23 GMT
Being told to get away wasn't exactly something Raven wanted to hear...but she begrudgingly nodded her head and leaped away from Leone as the mercenary loaded 2 rounds back into her revolver to make it a full 6 shots once more. "If you don't like being shot...how about running away?" Leone suggested, tilting her sunglasses down at Chelsea. This kid clearly wasn't an experienced fighter at all. And judging by Raven's fighting style, she didn't have much experience either. She had no problem hurting Raven...but attacking a kid wasn't exactly something Leone took pride in.
Over to the side, Raven was busy refilling her own weapons with ammunition. "Ya know ma'am, yer tough. Reminds me of my old rival Barry. He was a crafty one, that Barry. Could fashion a bomb with nothin' more than a tin can, some beer and a toothbrush. Us two were meetin' in Dallas to take down ol' One Tooth John, just had one of his front teeth and that's it. Barry tried ta burn the hideout down, but One Tooth jumped out tha window and stabbed him in the eye. One Tooth and I had a shootout that lasted for and hour straight, and I was on my last bullet." Pulling the top of her pistol back, Raven looks over at Leone with confidence. "Ol' One Tooth was about ta stab Barry, but the crafty little weasel took a knife out of his leg and cut One Tooth's hand off! So I fired my last shot and took him out at the kneecap."
Leone looked on with only mild interest. "...so what was the point of that story? Some moral you wanted to tell me about?" The mercenary asked, Raven looking back with annoyance. "I was simply telling ya about my old rival! Sheesh." While Raven was busy telling her story though, Leone was preparing her next attack. She fired 2 shots at Chelsea's hands to try and disarm her, and tossed a grenade at the young doll. The grenade would detonate in midair and send down a large net weighed down by several steel balls. Leone was trying to pin Chelsea down to reduce the amount of threats to just one.
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Dan's punch was slow enough that Cally was able to dash out of the way...but the resulting force behind the punch knocked the catlike doll backwards and through one of Josefina's sand pillars. She came out on the other side clutching the arrow she had fired earlier...looking at Dan with surprise. How did he have that much force behind his fist?! Standing back up, Cally looked over at Josefina. "Josefina...trap him! Leave an opening for me!" And with that, Cally took her bow once more and loaded the arrow back into it. She then pulls the string back even more than before and fires the arrow at Dan once more, followed by another directly to his right. She wanted to anticipate his dodge and counter it directly.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 12, 2017 20:47:32 GMT
Chelsea yelped when her hand was shot through, forcing her to release her sword. Her vision spun when she realized she could see the sand on the other side of her hand. Staring at the hole, she was taken off guard by the net, pushing her to her knees with its weight. She did an undignified flail, but all it did was tangle her more. Her sword lay outside of the net, menacing illusory spikes doing it little good.
She glared up at Leone through the holes in the net as black and white flames began to crawl up her arms. "Very well, you have forced my hand! I did not want to give in to my inner darkness, but you give me no choice! To free myself I must also free the demon within!" The flames erupted outwards like Chelsea had exploded, creating a burning black cloud for a second, obscuring Chelsea. When it cleared, the net was utterly intact, a confused Chelsea covered in dark fire. "Ah dammit! It only burns people!" She complained. "Raven, get me out of this thing!"
Dan glanced to his sides as a hill rose up on one side, Josefina stepping to block his path on the other. Neither was going to let him through quick enough to dodge an arrow. He really only had choice then. He charged forward, wet sand quickly giving way to dry, terrible for running. Her fingers slipped away from the string when he was half way there. Dan let his feet slip out from under himself on the loose sand, momentum continuing to carry him forward, just under the arrow she loosed.
He slid on his knees right up to Cally and rose with one hand thrusting up for a brutal low blow, the other reaching to pull her sword out of its sheath. He had no idea how to use this, but it was good for his next move. His aura spread up over it, making it a blunt instrument. The target he intended it for came ambling up behind him. Josefina stomped up the beach, legs soaked from standing in the surf. As she lowered her hands to catch him, Dan spun, swinging the sword right at her leg. With the advantage of leverage, he smashed through the earthen pillar of a leg. Josefina wobbled on her single leg like a tree chopped halfway through before entirely toppling. Slowly she tilted over until she slammed into the sand. Dan looked back at Cally, readying the sword to batter her as well if need be.
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Post by Vapovile on Jun 18, 2017 19:38:09 GMT
Raven almost laughed once she saw the impressive display of fire from Chelsea do absolutely nothing to the simple net holding her down. "I'll be there as soon as I can!" Raven called over as Leone chuckled at the display of 'power'. "I thought it was weird how there was no mark when I got hit, so had to test that out!" One down, one more to go. Leone took her shotgun and fired 5 rounds at Raven, who dove past the first two...but the third hit her square and 4 pellets went into her body, wighing her down more. The next 2 shots sailed overhead as she kneeled down to the ground. "...crap."
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Cally was knocked back by Dan's low blow, leaping away like a cat to ready herself with another arrow. She managed to pick up the arrow she shot at Dan earlier...but saw how he stole one of her swords and how he managed to fell Josefina so easily. "...retreat." She said to herself as Cally sprinted at Dan and dove forward at the end, kicking upward to try and knock her sword out of Dan's hands and grab it out of the air. She then tumbled toward Josefina and grabbed her, teleporting both of them back into the Kaspa.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 18, 2017 21:34:45 GMT
Chelsea pouted and sat in the net. "Stupid Raven. Can't even shoot guns right and that's what she's made for." Her tune changed when Raven was shoot through. "Oh crap! Raven! Come on, let's get out of here! Chelsea grabbed something in her pocket and moved forward in the net, vanishing into empty space. If Raven didn't similarly vanish, she'd find herself approached by Dan. "You're alone now. I'd suggest leaving as well." Damaged as she was, there wasn't much of a fight left. "I mean, I'll still stomp you if you want." He grinned.
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Post by Vapovile on Jun 18, 2017 22:23:50 GMT
"...you know what, I think I am going to take an IOU on this fight, 'madam'. Catch y'all later!" And with that, Raven grabs her Kaspa key and teleports away. Leone smiles to herself, noticing Dan had gotten rid of his two as well. "Well done. Kaaaaaaaaaate! You can come out now!" Leone calls out, Kate peeking out from behind a palm tree. She quickly runs over and looks at Leone. "Are...they all gone?" Kate asks, Leone nodding her head. Haruko should be here any minute now.
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 19, 2017 5:18:03 GMT
"Yeah, they're gone." Dan grabbed his gashed arm to slow the bleeding, but it wasn't doing much. "Got bandages? And speaking of first aid, are both of you alright?" He looked over Leone and Kate for injuries. They seemed totally fine. It seemed Marika wasn't interested in cutting Kate up. Dan winced at the thought. Children were so vulnerable. At least it turned out okay this time. Dan felt very old for a second. Normally he felt very adolescent, wiling away his days fighting and pining for relationships that would never happen. Taking care of kids was such an adult thing.
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Post by Vapovile on Jun 21, 2017 1:11:13 GMT
"Got some right here!" Leone said as she reached into the intricately-designed purse she had brought with her, tossing a roll of antibiotic bandage wrap at Dan. Kate nervously nodded her head in response to Dan's question. "Y-yeah...I'm fine..." Kate was happy she didn't have to spend any more time in Marika's grasp...they probably would have killed her soon! Leone gave a thumbs up. "I'll be fine, just a little pain from that little one's fire." The mercenary stated. The moment was soon interrupted by a familiar pink-haired seamstress running into the group and hugging Kate.
"Kate! You aren't hurt, right? What did they do to you?!" Haruko asked, eyes clearly red from worry. Kate nervously hugged back. "Uh...they didn't do much...some black haired lady helped me escape..." Haruko frowned slightly at the description. Could it be the same woman she fought trying to rescue John? Regardless, she looked at Dan and Leone. "What happened here? Who attacked you two?"
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Post by HungryHunter on Jun 21, 2017 17:28:34 GMT
"Thanks." Dan wrapped the slash wounds as best he could. He had to learn a lot of first aid over his years of fighting, so the patch up should hold. He was just finishing tying the knots when Haruko appeared. He looked away to pretend he was still working on it. What could he say to her, even now? This was her moment with her child, not his to intrude upon. "Kaaaaaaaaaate!" Cosmina screamed, running up behind Haruko. "I'm so sorry, it's all my fault! I couldn't stop them from taking you!" The desperately sobbing doll practically tackled her sister. "I'm so glad you're back! I'll never fight with you again!" She clung as tight as her arms could muster like she was trying to fuse herself permanently to Kate like a barnacle.
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Post by Vapovile on Jun 22, 2017 2:52:17 GMT
Haruko let go of Kate so Cosmina could have her moment as well, walking over and offering her hand for Leone to shake. "Thanks for arriving on such short n-" Much to Haruko's surprise, Leone took her hand and pulled the tiny seamstress into a hug, lifting her off the ground. "Don't be so formal! We're friends, right? I was already in the area taking my vacation, so it was no trouble at all!" Leone exclaimed as Haruko dangled in the air by a foot. She then let Haruko back down after a few seconds. "...heh...thanks. I needed that." Haruko said, now smiling. She then turned to Dan and offered her hand to shake. "Thank you so much as well, Dan. I was in the middle of a conference in Belgium...and had to call anyone I could."
Meanwhile, Kate hugged Cosmina back, face turning slightly blue. "I'm so...glad to see...you..." She stammers out between breaths. How could she hug this hard?!
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