The Thread

Jay ran down the sidewalk, a bag of food from an all you can eat down the street clutched under her jacket at her side. A man was chasing her and yelling about a theif but he was alot slower then Jay, who was used to having to outrun people. She quickly ducked into an ally and zipped down a few turns to be sure she lost anyone who was chasing her before sitting on the ground to catch her breathe.
She looked around her and then pulled out the bag and opened it revealing a foam leftover box and and opened that. Inside was some sweet and sour pork, fried rice and sweet rolls. Jay smiled to herself. Finally a good meal.

A second pair of eyes followed that chase. And a third, and a fourth, and a fifth. The Kishi had been busy securing his own meal through honest labour. Some people didn't have the luxury of stealing. He'd been hired by a guy to help shift some furniture up seven flights of stairs. The brick-a-brack wasn't heavy, just bulky. Onyekachi was wiping the sweat off his brow when the yell to stop reached his ears. He glowered. The guy who'd hired him had gone off to pick up more belongings from his previous place of residence. If Onyekachi left to deal with this robbery then he might be thought a runaway. Or at least unreliable. And thus not get paid.

If we ignore it the curse will set in again. His brother spoke of the headache that would start to throb if the Kishi did anything deemed wrong. A cry for help could not be ignored. No matter how selfish the f'worder had been by shouting it. Even heroes had more important s'word to do than tend to the grievances of the public every waking minute. But nooo. This twerp had shouted and now the Kishi must respond.

Keen to finish up quickly, Onyekachi dashed after the pair and caught up to the victim at the end of the first alleyway. "Where did she go?" The reply was unhelpful, and delivered between gasps of breath. The gentleman was clearly winded and unable to continue. Which meant now the Kishi would have to waste time relocating him once he'd whupped this thief's a'word. "Typical. Only a fat man would chase after groceries. Just wait at that end of the alleyway, you useless twerp!" Despite his restricted use of cursive, the victim was suitably offended.

The demon didn't give a flying f'word. Removing his shirt, three identical Kishi would jump out of Onyekachi's chest, startling the man. Individually, they were termed Geraldo, Adriano, Ernesto, and Bernardo. His brothers. Without trying to figure out where the thief had gone, the four split up.

-----

"When I'm done with ya, you're gonna need to eat it through a straw."

Geraldo had been the first to stumble across something of interest. The rustle of a plastic bag had caught his attention. He had followed it to a natural niche in the brickwork, finding the little sneak. His first intention was to appear intimidating. Steal though she may have done, the Kishi was forbidden from using violence unless it was first done in kind. He would try to crowd her if distance was not maintained. After all, where was there to run?

Jay had just taken a bit of the sweet and sour pork and then this guy showed up. She looked up at his threat and moaned in annoyance, muttering to herself how she would just love to enjoy one meal in peace without something coming and ruining it. She had put a bit of emphasis on 'something' since her last meal had been desturbed by a strange alien spawn of some sort. She jad stoppedfeeding stray cats after that.
"Seriously would rather not fight with you over a meal from an all you can eat. You do realize they throw out about half they cook any way right?" She lifted her fork again but leaned over her food protectivly, and let her worn grey jacket slid down her shoulders a bit, prepared to take it off and defend herself if needed. She did not want this meal to go to waste like the last- seven, ten.... when had she last eaten?
"So you can just go away now."

The trick was to make your opponent believe you could actually hurt them. The foil was them not acting on that belief. After Geraldo had advanced as close as he could to the girl, there was no longer any way to enhance his threat. He could loom menacingly but until she hit him he couldn't hit her. This chivalry in combat jargon was excruciating. Whoever invented it must have had a need for suicide without the guts to see it though themselves. A good thing the Kishi was super durable, else this curse would have killed him a long time ago.

"Wish I had a choice in the matter..." Let there be no mistake. The demon did not want to be here. His sole prospect to this encounter was that he'd get to beat someone up. And there was no sport it smacking around little girls. Oh it was funny. But even that humour waned after the third or fourth suplex. If she wouldn't attack then he should at least bring this confrontation to a boring conclusion.

"You may not wanna fight for your food but I'm not so picky. So choose your next move carefully. Go ahead and sing me a sob story if you want. It'll do you no good. We're all hungry doll. And I don't need no court to hold you accountable for stealing." Geraldo would try to grab the food container, keeping one eye on that fork. It wasn't what you'd call a formidable weapon, but it could still hurt if the girl was stupid enough to us it against him.

Jay listened bored as he told her about how he wouldnt need a court and blah blah blah... meanwhile she was wolfing up as much food as she could before the inevitable fight to keep her meal. And sure enough, he went and reached for the container, and Jay quickly grabbed it with one arm and pulled it away from him and to her side, the other arm slid out of her jacket and exposed her wings. They unfurled and wrapped around her quickly and changed to a firey red color as fire spread along them, burning the guys hand if he didnt move it away fast enough. She grumbled and closed the styrofoam box, not wanting to spill any of the food if it could be helped. She was still sitting at this point, wings wrapped halfway around her and on fire and she glared at the guy.

There was a surprise. Geraldo reeled away from his encounter with the little girl sporting first degree burns on his upper torso and second degree burns on his hand. Proximity had worked against him. Before the abrupt ignition the Kishi could have sworn he saw a wing. But he didn't dwell on that fact right now. He roared in agony, nursing his burnt hand. Tears came to his eyes and the need to kill was only offset by his current inability to reach the perpetrator.

On the bright-side. She had attacked him. Self-defence it my have been the result spoke louder than the intention. It was time to make good on his threats. Geraldo found himself a cinder block and threw it low at the fireball with some measure of power behind it. He couldn't risk hitting her head but didn't think it could do lasting damage if it hit elsewhere. Killing the girl was unforgiveable, maiming her another impossibility, but anything short of those extremes was fair game. Time to incapacitate.

(You keep saying little girl, jay is 19)

Jay smirked in success, he had been burned. She quickly graabed up her food and was getting up when she felt something heavy hit her in the side and cried out in pain, "WHAT THE- Grrrf.." she grabbed her side in pain. She would be feeling that for a while. Probably would leave a nasty bruise. All this for a little take out? Come on!!
She glared at her attacker and flicked her firey wings in his direction sending multiple fireballs ranging in size in his direction. She then ran toward him and flew over his head, still clutching her food to her. She made it a short distance down the alley before the pain in her side from the block made her land and take off again on foot.

((OOC: Humans statistically live to be about 80 on average. A quarter of that age, from an outsider to the species' perspective, is young. Not to mention I would happily refer to anyone younger than 21 as a boy or girl. Teenager is just a term you use when you're that age to make yourself feel older.))

"Oh sh-" A cramped alleyway was not the best of dodging places. All Geraldo could do was cover his eyes with his forearm as the fireballs struck. Some missed, setting alight pieces of trash. Others left large welts across his bare legs and torso. Geraldo would have to live with the pain for now. The burns were worse than before and thus he was in no position to stop the itty bitty teeny weeny girly whirly from soaring over his head. Nor did he had the state of mind to pursue her immediately.

Jay had avoided one Kishi. A second appeared around a corner ahead of her. Adriano had been drawn to the location by Geraldo's cries of anguish as he was burned. It didn't take a keen eye to see that he was almost identical to his brother. The Kishi stood sentinel before the thief and crossed his arms to present an imposing obstacle. He didn't care how his f'wordwit brother had f'worded this up. He wouldn't make the same mistakes.

The Kishi gave a predatory smile, "Ain't ya glad to see me again so soon." Adriano threw a punch, its strength regulated to knock down a regular person without making their body go splat. Humans were hopelessly fragile creatures. The Kishi had to treat them like fine china while he was kicking the s'word out of them.

Jay had back peddled to a stop and looked behind her then back at the guy now in front of her, her mind to busy rearing with questions to avoid the punch and she fell back. In doing so the leftover box fell to the ground and fell open, spilling rice and pork on the ground. Jay groaned when she looked over at it, "couldnt just leave me to enjoy a nice meal. No, had to have it get dumped on the ground!" She glared at the guy standing in front of her, "ya happy now? Huh?" She got up and then braced herself to put up a fight, now pissed off at this guy.

If ever there was a more satisfying noise than a fist meeting its intended target. Adriano laughed in triumph as he sent his foe sprawling to the ground. He had no scruples about hitting women. Repeatedly. What made this moment truly priceless was the spoiling of the food they had been sent to rescue. It didn't hurt Kishi that the rice was now mixed with dirt. He was still going to scoop it up afterwards and drop it in the hands of the lard-a** who roped him into this.

"Happy? I'm f'wording ecstatic! The look on your stupid face when that lunch spilled." A hyena laugh erupted from Adriano. But not just him. Geraldo joined in as he was hoisted to his feet by Ernesto. The third Kishi brother had arrived. And if Jay was watching, she would observe Geraldo apparently vanish into thin air. In reality the first Kishi had taken refuge inside his brother. It put his body in a sort of anatomical limbo, thus he wouldn't have to experience the pain of his burns until he healed.

The thief may not have wanted her prize anymore, but the demons had no obligation to stop their onslaught. She had attacked them. They were in their moral right to beat her bloody. Until she either passed out or called for mercy. Sometimes it really paid to be a superhero. Being far closer than Erneato, Adriano went for the first blow. He launched another fist at her gut.

Jay growled and looked around her now noticing there were three twins. The one she burned and two others. She glaredat the closest, and as he made to puch her she threy a flaming wing infront of herself as a sheid. If he wentthrough with the attack all he would hit were feathers and fire. She kept an eye on the second butit seemed the burnt one had vanished. Jay swore under her breathe but figuredhewasto burnt to do much.
"Really? Cant even cuss? You know how stupid you sound? 'F-wording ecstatic'? Really?" She chuckled to herself.

Adriano drew his fist back when the fireworks started. It was odd enough the girl having feathers to pluck, but he hadn't expected them to spontaneously combust. Probably the reason why she had gotten the jump on his brother. But that didn't matter now. They had her surrounded. They would just have to be careful in their approach. If need be the Kishi would use each other as shields to get to their prize.

Having been gifted a moment of respite, the girl began to trivialise the by-product of Onyekachi's divine handicap. It was like mocking an invalid for being unable to walk. So he couldn't swear good and proper like a regular person; that was no reason to make fun of him. It took a real insensitive jerk to just up and ridicule folk right to their faces. Adriano gasped, "It's a condition! Like your insults are so great! You... You..." The Kishi's face coloured, "Ya know what, never mind! You know what you are! I don't have to say it!"

Ernesto coughed pointedly, "It alright if we kick her a'word before you embarrass yaself much more?" His brother was less than appreciative, flipping everyone within eyeshot the bird before grabbing a hold of some canvas sheeting. The sheet was harbouring puddles of old rainwater and protected an ill furnished pallet probably belonging to some homeless guy.

As a scrunched up bundle, the sheet was chucked towards Jay, billowing out before reaching her. The reason for this was distraction. In his other hand Adriano had grasped the rim of a trash can. The bin and its full contents were launched directly at the thief intending to strike her through the cloth. And if this didn't work, then Ernesto was prepared to grapple with the girl if she was forced to move in his direction. Flames were always an issue, but then again, he was fighting as a pair of demons now, not just one on their own.

Jay laughed at the guys pitiful attempt to insult her, "yes I do know what I am. I dont look like I came out of a cookie cutter," she laughed, pointing back at his twin brother and wondering where the third went since he would only add to that joke. She smirked and then glanced behind her as she heard a whooshy sound and stepped back a little. The dampened canvas fell over her head and arms but her wings were left out, flapping wildly in surprise and catching the canvise alight as she ripped it over her head only to be hit in the back by a trash can.
"You guys are fond of throwing things aint ya?" She snarled, still holding the slightly burning canvas and whirling it towards the far twin who had thrown it as she raced towards him with the intent to fly over him to escape. The sheet wasnt on fire much but enough to get a normal person to get out of the way, along with her flaming wings, she figured it would be enough. Hopefuly.

Nuts! The girl had directed her attacks at Adriano, currently their weaker half, in an effort to break free of their encirclement. All Ernesto could do was sprint after the thief crying out a litany of helpful advice to his brother, "Stop her!" Hearing this, Adriano would know exactly how to conteract several tendrils of searing flame lashing out at his bare flesh. He would also know to give that dumbass a noogie later.

Loathe to be the one to sacrifice, but fully aware he was required to take one for the team, Adriano resigned himself to stopping Jay. The Kishi ducked the canvas strip as it whipped passed his head and stayed clear of her wings as she barrel-rolled through his defences. But as it looked like she would get away, Adriano leaped upon the burning canvas and grabbed ahold. The fire scarred his hands and arms, pain forcing him to release his grip after only a moment. He had used that moment to deliver a sharp tug. With as much of his three tons of strength he could muster.

If the girl had been pulled back or in any way stalled in her flight, then Ernesto would close the distance and try to throw her to the concrete floor, one hand all that being necessary.

Jay had not expected them to put up so much of a fight, and when she had lost her flaming tarp and then been slammed into the ground she flapped wildly and tried to bite at her capture. Anything to escape right?
"First you make me lose my lunch! Then you make throw me around! I oughta cook you all like marshmellows!" She yelled, punching, flapping and kicking to get lose. She had no intention of staying down.