Curiosity Killed the Cat (Fury's)

[Lainey Fury]

Okay, yes, Lainey had gone out of her way to make the guy squirm tonight. But the whole running part… Was just to catch up before he left. It’d be difficult, if not impossible, to find him once he was back out into the crowds. Was she aware that he thought her annoying? Not really, but it wouldn’t surprise her. Her family thought she was pretty insane as is, so of course strangers would too. But hey, at least you’d never be bored with the girl around!

It took Asia a few moments to finally give a response, which Lainey was slightly grateful for, if only because it gave her time to catch her breath. The act, before her tweaking had been hard enough, with it… Had left her almost totally exhausted. Near the end, while no one had seen, her limbs had started to tremble a little exertion. While most people would say it proved how difficult the act had been, she thought it just meant her stamina needed some work…

His answer was short, simple, and to the point, which made her grin a little. That grin grew even brighter when he added on that it was not only impressive, but unique and interesting as well. ”Ye think that’s impressive? Ye should come another night! The show changes. Sometimes, if they’re up ta ih, we’ll even have some pretty mind bogglin’ ones!” She looked right and left then, as if to check if the coast was clear, before quickly looking back at him, opening her mouth to speak again when…. He beat her to it.

For a few, short seconds, the girl’s face went blank in that “Wait…. What did he just say?” sort of way. Until the first time he’d seen this look, she recovered extremely quickly, smirking wickedly. ”Yup, ah am. Glad ye noticed.” She chuckled after her comment, before skipping (not really, just energetically walking…) back to the ring, still looking right and left for eavesdroppers. ”Ye got anywhere important ta get ta, Asia? Or would ye be willin’ ta have a little wager with me? Ih’s easy. If ye win, Ah’ll show ye all the acts we didnae do tonight. Ah win, and ye have ta promise ta come ta one show, everyday fer the next week.” She turned back to face him, still grinning. ”Sound fair?”

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[Jun Lee]

Many people in the audience had seen Blondie's arms tremble just a little, Jun was one of them. Though, to him it didn't show weakness, it actually proved her strength. You see, when most people started exerting themselves to the point of exhaustion, most people would quit and rest. Those that would work so hard that they would start to shake, and then keep working, that was impressive. Jun was definitely in that number, growing up he was always pushed well beyond the limits of his body and it taught him quickly that what true strength was... Perhaps this girl had a little of that.

Regardless, it proved how tired she was when she got to him and was struggling to catch her breath while Jun spoke. Though, as seemed to be her nature, she couldn't keep herself from flapping this lips around for too long and was soon talking blindingly fast once again. Not to mention she was talking fast WITH a strong accent... Which was quickly getting on his nerves. Once again, something he said made her pause and stare at him with a funny expression, this time though she didn't lash at out him.

Jun stayed silent as she looked around, saying how she knew she was impressive... Quite the arrogant little fly. Though he said nothing as she began walking back to the ring, which was devoid of life besides the two of them. Jun couldn't help but think good riddance, she was finally leaving him alone.

Just as she started speaking again, Jun began to turn to leave, "Yes, many places I need to be, little time to be there as well." Jun said curtly, continuing for the exit, trying to get away from the annoying fly, before what she said next made him pause.

The word 'wager' is what made him stop orginally, but the several minutes of silence after she finished speaking was both from translating what she had been saying, and then mulling it over. After several long minutes, Jun slowly turned back toward her and took a few steps closer, eyeing her up and down. While Jun could get excited over a few things and then talk non-stop about them, largely he was a man of few words, only speaking when he really had something to say, and always thinking before speaking. This was evident in the silence.

Slowly he began to take a few more steps toward her, stopping just outside the ring she was standing in, as if afraid that if he stepped any closer, she'd pull him in or something. Jun was curious what their other acts were, if only because these people probably didn't realize how much martial arts influenced many of their acts. So if he got to see more acts, he'd get to perhaps see more styles of martial arts that he hadn't seen, that would be amazing! However, if he lost he'd have to come back to this mad house... every day... for seven days, and no doubt be cornered by the annoying fly every time... Even though she was quite attractive in that leotard and with all that make-up on, having to see her bubbly, talkative, annoying personality every day would be close to a hell for him.

Finally, Jun looked into her eyes once more, "Wager?" Was the only word he said, it was very obvious that Jun was not going to agree or disagree to a bet until he knew EXACTLY what he would be betting on. Slowly he folded his arms, making it clear he wasn't going to step into the ring until she explained everything. Sadly, the fact that he was even entertaining the idea and hadn't left yet meant he was obviously curious...

[Lainey Fury]

Lainey had a problem. A very serious problem. You see, she couldn't help but 'con' customers. All the time. ALL. THE. TIME. She couldn't help it, to be honest. It was like she had to, otherwise she went a little insane (well, more insane.). So, it had been inevitable that she'd try to pull the stunt on Asia at some point tonight.

At first, she didn't think he'd be interest. His reaction was slow, and not just his usual have-to-translate slow. His back was to her the entire time, and just when she thought he might refuse... He finally turned back, giving her, what she thought, was a slightly suspicious look. Quickly she forced that grin to turn into an innocent smile, as if silently telling him there wouldn't be any harm in the wager.

It took him several more minutes after that until he finally, finally, gave an answer. Or, sort of. It was more like an interest in the wager. Of course he wasn't stupid enough to agree with out knowing the rules. "Ih's easy! Nothin' ye've never done before! All ye gotta do ta win, is do somethin' ye can do, that ah cannae." She paused, shrugging softly to reassure him it really was that simple. "There's only one rule though. Ih cannae be physically impossible fer me. So... Fer example. no weight liftin'. Stuff like that."

Planting her hands on her hips, she grinned again. "Other than that, ye can do whatever ye want. Even if ye know fer a fact ah have no idea what ih is." Another short pause. "If ah can do ih, ah win. Easy as that." There was just another pause as she held out one of her hands to shake. "Deal?"

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[Jun Lee]

Jun eyed her suspicously as she began to grin in a very innocent manner. Though Jun barely knew this girl at all, he already knew that innocent and her were two words that didn't ever get used in the same sentence. Though, as he looked over her he had to admit, despite his extreme annoyance in her, she had yet to do anything to make him think she was untrustworthy. She was annoying, bold, and talkative, but so far she had not lied to him, or been two-faced to him, or done absolutely anything to make him think she was not trustworthy. In fact, of most people he had met, she seemed to wear all of her emotions where everyone and their dog could see them, not the kind of person to hide something. That being said, Jun paid close attention to what she said next (even closer attention when he remembered how hard she was to understand).

Once again there was absolute silence as she explained the rules, then offered her hand to shake. Jun looked at her hand, then back into her eyes, staring directly into those violently blue orbs as he both translated and mulled over what she had said. So all he had to do to win was do something she couldn't do and she would be forced to show him more tricks that had a base in martial arts, teaching him more about his beloved way of life without realizing it. Then again, if he lost, he had to... The thought almost made him shudder, dealing with her tonight was insane, dealing with her seven nights in a row would be... suicidal for him.

Slowly Jun began to reach for her hand, pausing just before their hands touched, and looking into her eyes again as if trying to find a lie. He was also thinking of what he could do. The man had seventeen years of martial arts experience, and had started his training when he was old enough to walk. Surely he could think of something to do she couldn't. After all, when he was growing up and other kids were outside playing games or playing with each other, Jun was beating the crap out of someone twice his size and breaking blocks of concrete with his head... Wait, that was it! It was something that required very little strength, but years of mastery to do, even with all her acrobatic prowess she shouldn't be able to do it. Not to mention it was a common test of skill among martial artists, so it was perfect.

With a bit more confidence he grabbed her hand and firmly shook it, "So I only need do something you can't?" Jun asked once more, confirming the game before letting go and glancing around for the materials he needed.

Over the next few minutes, Jun moved around quickly and in total silence grabbing a few concrete blocks that were laying just outside the ring, and a few logs that they had used in the animal acts. Then after a few moments, Jun had a small stand set up with two logs and the concrete block (which was about half a foot thick) was sitting on the two logs, balanced between them.

"Game is simple, looks like test of strength, but it test of skill." Jun said with the slightest smirk, the saying would sound familiar to Lainey; after all, they had the that machine that ruined Jun's night. Jun had two of these stands set up, he motioned to one of them for Blondie, then stood behind one, "Just do what I do."

Then, without hesitation, Jun bent over, putting his hands together as if praying. Then with an almost lightning fast motion, he split his hands apart and slammed his forehead into the concrete block, splitting it perfectly in half. A loud crack, almost like thunder, echoed in the tent as the rock cracked and the two halves fell between the logs. Jun slowly stood up, dusting his forhead off to brush away some of the rock bits, then turned toward Blondie and folded his arms, staring blankly at her. He nodded toward the rock, as if urging her to start. This was going to be interesting, if she did it right he would be impressed, if she did it wrong.. well... he'd have to wait here for a while until she came to...

[Lainey Fury]

Lainey waited, for several minutes, as he mulled things over. He'd almost taken her hand to shake, almost... Before hesitating. She still couldn't understand the language he was thinking in, so she had no idea what he was thinking about specifically, but if she had to guess she was confident in the assumption that he was actually considering her offer. He must have just realized what he'd have to do if she won.

Finally though, he reached out, and firmly shook her hand. That small contact was all she needed. Instantly she copied his skills. Everything she could. And, she quickly learned there was a lot. Holding back a flinch at the flood of skills, she grinned. "Exactly."

She stayed where she was as he moved, gathering the materials needed. For those minutes, she seemed to forget about his presence, instead focusing on sorting through his vast amount of skills. She was particularly interested in the language he spoke and thought in, which as she quickly learned was Mandarin. She'd keep that one for sure, and as soon as she decided this, his thoughts came in loud and clear, the girl finally able to understand them. Next, she started her extensive sorting, figuratively tossing anything she was convinced he wouldn't use, or that she already had something similar.

The guy was a hard core martial artist, as she quickly discovered. Lainey had copied martial artists before, but none at this guy's level. He was what you'd call a master. She stopped sorting when he spoke up, returning the girl to reality. Okay, he was about to demonstrate the skill, and she'd know what one in particular she needed to keep.

As he mentally prepared himself, she quickly took in the set up... And realized instantly what he was going to do. She'd seen people do this before, but never with concrete. Well, this would be interesting. Holding her breath, she waited... He moved quickly, almost at a blinding pace, and slammed his forehead against the block. Literally SLAMMED. And, to her amazement, the concrete block actually split.

Lainey couldn't help but whistle, voicing her surprise... and just how impressed she was. "Ah jezz. How am ah supposed to compete with that?" She sounded rather carefree, but deep down, she was almost worried. This 'stunt' required intentional head trauma. Her mortal enemy. You see, hitting her head was like an instant erase button to this girl's powers. Depending on how hard she hit her head, she could only forget her most recent copied skills, to everything (to the point where she couldn't even move because her 'skill' to move had been wiped.). Hell, there was one time she'd fallen from the high wire, missed the net, and hit her head hard enough she forgot how to breath. You could only imagine the panic that caused...

She stared at the second block he'd set up for several moments, debating. She was going to lose these skills she just copied from him if she tried this. But, if she won, he'd be forced to come back, and she could easily recopy the skills... "Ah, what the hell, ah'll do ih. But if ah die, ye take full responsibility for ih.... My family will probably throw ye a feast or somethin'...."

She took a few steps forward, and stared intently at the block, as if daring it not to split. With a deep breath, she focused on the skills necessary to pull this off. If only she'd been smart enough to check the instructions, she'd learn that this was a futile effort. Instead, with absolutely flawless technique, she followed each step, each motion, as if she'd done this for years.... At least until she actually tried to break the rock...

The girl didn't hit her head against it quite as hard as Asia had, which was probably the only reason why she hadn't knocked herself out, but that didn't mean she was consequence free. The block of concrete didn't break, obviously. Instead, of the thundering crack of rock, there was an extremely loud rant of swear words in a strange language that Asia probably wouldn't recognize. She stumbled back, before completely losing her balance and landing on her butt. "Dammit, that hurt!!" Her accent had gotten much thicker, and both her hands were covering the spot she'd hit.

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[Jun Lee]

Out of all of this, the one thing he hadn't been expecting was Blondie to be impressed. When she whistled he glanced around a bit, trying to figure out who she was whisteling to, or that it might be some kind of song. It wasn't until she started speaking (and after he had translated it) that he realized she was complimenting him. He also didn't understand at all why her family would throw a feast if he killed her, that was just wrong. Regardless, Jun didn't say a word and judging by her posture, she seemed confident that she could do it. Jun slowly shook his head, maybe this was a bad idea. Sure he wanted to see the other acts pretty bad, just to see if they had any martial art base to them, but was it worth hurting this girl for a chance to perhaps see some new martial art technique?... Well, it was too late to stop her now (not like he was trying to.)

As Blondie stepped up to the concrete block, Jun watched in silence. Though as she began to prepare something caught his eye... Her feet. Whether she knew it or not, her feet were positioned perfectly to be able to do, in fact, her entire posture was absolutely perfect. One strange thing about it though, everyone had a different technique, everybody did it differently. In the case of Jun, it was Jun's master who personally taught him how to do this, and as far as he knew, he had never shown anyone else his technique except for Jun. That meant that Jun was the only one alive that used that particular stance to do it... THe same exact stance Blondie was using. Now, this girl had never been to China, and as far as he knew, his master had never gone to a circus of Fury's... So how in the world did she know to stand like that?!?

Every motion as she dropped her head was flawless, and though Jun was stoic, inside his mind was racing trying to figure out how she was doing this. Then, as her head connected with the brick as if in slow motion, then came that deafening... Thud... Despite her flawless technique, her body was not prepared for the impact, but the concrete block sure was! It sent the girl reeling backwards as she grabbed her head and stubbled around, speaking loudly in some unknown language.

Despite him not understanding a word she was saying, it didn't take a genius to figure out that it was probably things that you didn't want to translate. As she fell backward onto her butt with another thud, Jun unfolded his arms and slowly walked over to her, again she spoke and though he recognized it as English he still couldn't understand a single word that came out of her mouth. Jun carefully knelt down beside her, leaning in close to look at her head between her hands.

"You have large red mark, but it ok, it blends with make-up. You ok." Jun said bluntly, leaning away from her and watching her for a moment as she continued to hold and rub her head. There was no blood, and the red mark was not too bright, so she would be fine. In a few minutes the pain would go away, but tomorrow it would feel like she had been hit by a train.

After watching her for a few moments, Jun spoke up once more, "Hitting a rock with yor head hurt, yes?" Jun wasn't going to tell her where she went wrong, because it wasn't about teaching her kung fu, and telling her where she went wrong would practically be a life lesson. So instead, he just got straight to the point, "This mean I win right?... Well, technically rock wins, but because rock won, I win. So you show me more tricks now, yes?" Jun's face was stoic, but the slightest hint of a smile of excitement tugged on his lips; which was almost unheard of.

Slowly Jun stood up... Sure, he cared that she got hurt, after all, he didn't want to hurt anyone. After a few moments he grabbed her by the arm, the leotard was incedibly soft to the touch, but what surprised him was how much muscle tone she had. With a small jerk, he easily lifted her to her feet as if she weighed absolutely nothing. Then making sure she could stand, he let go and took a step back. The best part about all of this? That uncracked brick behind him meant he didn't have to come back and be annoyed by her ever again! This was a good night!... Well, except for Blondie attacking the rock with her head... and for her head being shown something that was more dense than it... But besides all that, it was a good night!

[Lainey Fury]

As expected, Lainey didn’t walk…. Er wobble away from the attempt unscathed. As stated, she did have a large, bright red spot on her forehead, telling the whole world exactly what she’d attempted. All the skills she’d copied the past couple days were gone, just like that. Even dazed, her power gave her the ability to know almost instantly what skills were gone, and what ones weren’t. She’d lost everything she’d gotten from Asia, (which wasn’t surprising, but sucked, since she couldn’t understand Mandarin anymore.), along with some of the smaller acts that she rarely performed and only copied when the person was out, but, she was most upset about one specific skill she’d copied from a particularly nerdy customer, mad gaming skills.

She didn’t respond for several moments, her thoughts all a jumble as she tried to sort through the suddenly vacant spots in her power. ”Eeeh…. Fine. Just a little scrambled.” She only spoke because he had, asking if she was okay. The second time he spoke though, she look at him through her fingers, giving him a ‘No kidding’ look. Of course hitting your head on a rock hurt!! How the hell had he managed it?! ”How did ye do ih?”

Wait… This did mean he won. Damn. ”Well, that’s a first. Ah donnae think ah’ve ever lost…” Suddenly, she realized what he’d said. ”That’s the first time you’ve joked all night.” She looked a little puzzled, as if unable to believe what he’d said.

His mind seemed made up though, he wanted his prize right now, to the point he even pulled her to her feet, not letting go until he was sure she wouldn’t try to reacquaint herself with the ground. Shaking her head a little, which still hurt terribly, she smiled a little. ”Yeah, yeah. More tricks. Ye won after all.” She’d definitely need some pain killers later. ”Now where ta start….. Pick a direction, left or right?” There were so many acts at the circus, it really was important to pick a direction, it would give her somewhere to start.

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[Jun Lee]

Watching Blondie bash in her head like that reminded Jun of all the many times he had done almost the same exact thing. Through all his years of training, through all the intense work outs he had to do, often Jun's only reward were scars and broken bones. Scars if he was lucky, broken bones if he messed up. So while he did feel bad that Blondie had gotten hurt because of all this, the only reason he wasn't fussing over her and didn't seem very concerned was because it was more of a 'been there, done that' sort of attitude.

After all, the only way a person could actually break a concrete block WAS by hurting themselves over and over and over. Over time, your muscles got harder, your bones built up more calcium and got thicker as you slowly hurt them, and eventually you could feel very little. Really, Jun could grab a cactus and wouldn't even feel the points because of how long his master had him stand there and punch a rock wall over and over.

Anyways, the time for reflecting was over, "I did it by hitting my head on rock. You hit rock with head... Big difference." Jun said, his voice almost painfully serious. As she began to stand up, she was still talking, even after bashing her head in. Was there any way to get her to stop?!

"There is first time for everything. Everybody loses eventually." Jun said matter-of-factly, when what she said next really made him pause and look at her with a slightly confused expression, "Joke? Joke about what?" As strange as it may have seemed, (or not strange at all if you knew Jun) he really hadn't been joking. In fact, he rarely ever told a joke. Though there was this one joke about a pair of chickens that always seemed incredibly funny to him... But that was for another time.

It seemed that when she finally got to her feet that she came to terms with the fact that he did in fact win, and better yet, she now had to show him more tricks; right now! This really was turning into a great night. Sure, he had to put up with the annoying fly a little bit longer, but it would be completely worth it if he saw even one thing that he could take home with him and use. Jun stood quietly and calmly as she spoke, giving him the option of left or right, "Left." Jun said sharply, pointing immediately to his... right...

Ok, so his grasp on English wasn't perfect, but we all knew that. Directions were always particularly difficult for him to remember for some reason. "Let's go Blondie." Jun said with an almost cheerful voice as he began walking toward the exit on the right.

[Lainey Fury]

”… There was some words o’ wisdom in there somewhere, ah know ih. Buuuuuuut, ah cannae see ih.” Lainey couldn’t see what this ‘big difference’ was, but that might be because she was a little scrambled at the moment…. But it probably wouldn’t surprise most people if she never figured it out on her own. She might be a big talker, but philosophy… And other cryptic ways of speaking were wasted on her.

It was normal for most people to lose from time to time, but Lainey? It was almost unheard of! So, no, her competitive nature did not like this turn of events. ”Yeah, everyone else. No’ me.” She pulled a face that could only be called silly, but cute at the same time. When he gave her that confused look though, her expression went blank, as if unable to believe what she’d just heard. ”Are ye serious? Ye donnae even know when yer jokin’?” She felt like facepalming, but barely held herself back if only because it’d heard her head more.

Left…. Right? Wait, what? She gave him another funny look, as if trying to figure out which direction he meant. ”left?” She pointed to her left… Which, happened to be his right….. So…. Was that what he meant? Or was he just having directional issues? Okay, NOW she was confused. Oh well, he took matters into his own hands, making his way with a…. well almost a perk in his step. ”Aye, aye, Captain!” She instantly matched that cheerful tone with her own, hurrying to catch up as he headed for one of the exits that would take them backstage. Quite a few of the acts remained back there until needed, or they were out back.

Lainey decided then and there what acts to show him. ”This way, Asia.” Back stage was…. An organized mess to put it simply, but it was easy to understand. One area was obviously used for prep, the racks were filled to the breaking point with costumes, long mirrors rested against the thick fabric of the tent, desks covered in make-up. ”Donnae go over there. Ye’ll get lost, and we’d never find ye.” In the other direction, there was quite a ruckus of noise, obviously animals. ”And donnae go there either, Rowan’s always tryin’ ta eat me, and ah’m pretty sure his eyesight sucks as much as his choice in women, so if he smells me on ye, he might mistake ye fer me.” That probably wouldn’t make any sense to him, but she didn’t really seem to care.

That left them with the space between the two sides. A wide variety of training equipment could be seen, along with several of the equipment that was dragged in and out each night. For example, there was the black silk she’d personally used, all folded up ontop of a table, that was absolutely covered in other aerial silk of all colors. ”Alright, Asia. Ah’ll let ye pick where ta start. Point at anythin’, and ah’ll show ye what ih’s fer.”

The reason she left it up to him again was because of the sheer amount of equipment there was. She wouldn’t know where to start. There were giant stilts, mostly used by clowns along with anything else they might use. There was a wall of throwing knifes and other weapons. There was a strange looking table covered in lightbulbs. There was golden, standing hoops. There was tall, balance act supports. Basically, anything and everything you could imagine….

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