Author's Note: Hey y'all. I've had a great week, trying and failing to ask my crush if he wanted to hang out on Valentine's Day. Joy. So I spent today doing homework I've been putting off. Also joy. Anyway, I made a thing called Chicken Soup? so go see it if you like the cliches this thing is riddle with! Also, some information on who alternate universe Tabby was before Calliope.
As the blade came slicing towards Tabby’s throat, she had a mini-panic attack. I’ve never been in a single fight before coming here! Now I’ve been in two, and now a third? Calm down, that’s just life for ya. I hope.
Tabby reacted without a second thought; her body-well, not really. Spirit?-flickering out of existence, just in time. Tabby’s scrunched shut as she prepared for a deadly injury, only to feel a cold tingle move across her neck. What the hay?
Tabby’s eyes fly open, just in time to see the attacker lose his balance. Tabby didn’t stop to think, she acted. Her left hand swung up with the knife, while her right went up defensively to cover her neck. It felt solid. Why didn’t the knife touch me? That should’ve at least hurt!
Tabby, distracted by her thoughts, failed to notice the fact that the guy in question had parried her blow and and landed one of his own. The swiftness of the action left Tabby with little time to jerk her head back, but this left her with an understanding of her opponent.
Tabby swiped at her cheek, blood rubbing off onto the back of her hand. She laughed at the audacity of the guy in front of her. She might not have ever been in a fight before in her world, but how hard could it be for her to win in this one? Seems to me, the not being able to touch me thing only works when I’m focused. That should be easy.
“Seriously? You went for the face? I watch a lot of movies, so even I know that a gut shot to a distracted person would have guaranteed an injury. You barely grazed me. Ya know, my friend, Katrina, always said, ‘if you play with your food before you eat it, you give it time to plan its revenge’. Kitkat was a weirdo, but I see her point.”
He smirked. “I like to play. And you underestimate me. I still can catch you off guard.” His hand, the one not holding the knife, the one Tabby wasn’t watching, came up to smash into her stomach. She doubled over, sticking a finger up- wait a sec. He chuckled at her reaction.
Nodding to his goons, they strode forward, each one grabbing one of her arms. Straightening up, Tabby bared her teeth in a parody of a smile. “You really think you can handle all this?”
“You’re the one backed in a corner here.” He brushed non-existent lint off the shoulder of his failing to ever be cool leather jacket. Tabby just rolled her eyes and scoffed at this.
“Oh, am I? I hadn’t noticed.”
With that, Tabby focused on the hands gripping her arms, and just like that, they weren’t there any more. Her arms became intangible, the hands unable to grip the transparent limbs. She rolled her shoulders and grinned, stepping forward. “Not too shabby, am I right?”
He growled. Again. What is with that? Does he have a problem with words or something?
“Seriously? Again with that weird thing. What are you?”
Tabby cocked an eyebrow, then tilted her head. “You really think I know? As far as I can tell, I’m a ghost- or maybe a spirit?”
He paused, mouth opening and closing like a fish. Then he threw his head back and laughed. “You think I’m a fool?”
“...Maybe. I’m not the one who got distracted by simple chit-chat. You let me walk right up to you. And I’m the only one still holding their knife.” Tabby now had a knife in each hand, twirling them around her fingers like she’d seen him do before.
She crouched down low, just like before. Only this time, she didn’t look like the harmless kid they thought she would be; she looked like the assassin princess they had been warned she was.
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