#noevilisheard

“You’d think that after a while, you’d get used to his little disappearing act but really, you don’t.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose for a moment, hesitating to break eye contact for fear of not catching any words. “Well hey, maybe we could look for him together? Two sets of eyes is always better than one,” she offered hopefully. I swear to god when I find this man I’m gonna have to kick his ass in sparring. Repeatedly.

Blaze grinned.  The woman looked just as exasperated as she was.  ”Seriously.  Ya’d think…well, I dunno.  Ya’d think he’d be easy t’ spot, wouldn’t ya?”  She chuckled a bit.  ”Lookin’ together seems like a great idea.  Maybe we’d have better luck, at least.  Couldn’ hurt.”  She smiled and extended a hand.  ”Th’ name’s Blaze.  It’s good t’ meetcha; friend of Clint’s is a friend o’ mine, an’ all.  Though I’m gonna have t’ give ‘im a good punch if we find him.”  And maybe a kick for good measure.

“It’s like he’s learned how to hide even while wearing such…” She had full intentions to say ‘obnoxious colors’ but decided to tone it down a tad, “…noticeable colors.” Maya grinned at Blaze, grasping her hand and giving it a good shake. “Please call me Maya.” Her brow rose slightly, “though I must say, Blaze is an interesting name. After we find that knucklehead you’ll have to tell me how you got it.” The woman paused and laughed. “I think when we find him, we may have to wait in line to give him a good one-two.”

Blaze chuckled a little as they shook hands.  ”Maya, nice t’ meetcha.  That’s a nice name.  Mine…yeah, I guess it is kinda interestin’, if ya ain’t used t’ it.”  She shrugged and smiled when she called Clint a knucklehead.  ”I’ll let ya have firs’ knock at ‘im, how’s that?  Ya look like ya need it more’n me.  Got somethin’ important t’ tell ‘im?”  She cocked her head to the side slightly, inquisitive.  She wondered if Maya was a part of S.H.I.E.L.D., like Clint was.

She smiled kindly, “I think it’s a nice change from the average-joe names. Makes you more unique, y’know?” A small laugh escaped Maya’s lips at Blaze’s comment. “That’s sweet of you, but I think I could just take it out on him when we spar…” She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of their sparring time, it was something she found to be incredibly enjoyable plus it helped keep her skills in shape.

Maya gave a nonchalant shrug, “it was nothing too important really. Which is good I guess- seeing as how he’s nowhere to be found.”

“I guess so.  Be worse if he wasn’ aroun’ an’ it was somethin’ like, I dunno, a meteor hittin’ Midga— ehm, Earth.”  Blaze silently cursed Loki in her mind; his way of speaking was starting to rub off on her.  She’d already gotten a lot of strange looks because normal people had no clue what things like “Midgard” referred to, leading to a lot of strange and embarrassed conversations.  

She perked up a bit at the mention of sparring.  "Oh, so are you sparrin’ partners, then?  You one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s?”  She’d had a gut feeling that this woman was a fighter of some sort, and now she had confirmation.  "Please tell me ya’ve managed t’ knock ‘im on his ass at least once,” she asked with a grin.

Her brow rose at Blaze’s curious name for the planet but she chose not to question it. We all have our quirks and if she wants to call Earth by another name, well, good for her.

She couldn’t resist the smile that appeared on her face at the girl’s questions. “Oh yea, we spar quite often. It keeps us both in shape and helps to keep him in-line on occasions.” Maya paused for a moment, “I don’t work for S.H.I.E.L.D. but I may or may not have bumped into a few of their folks on occasion.” The smile quickly turned into a grin accompanied b a laugh. “Oh don’t you worry, I’ve managed to do that quite a few times. But that’s not to say he’s a bad fighter or anything, I just happened to get the upper hand, you know?”  She wasn’t going to brag about the times she had bested Clint in sparring; it just wasn’t in her nature to do so.

“Tha’s good.  He can get a little outta hand sometimes, can’t he?  I don’ think I’ve known ‘im quite as long as you, but I can tell,” she laughed.  ”An’ I know what ya mean, even th’ best lose sometimes.  I like it that way.  Not sayin’ I’m th’ best, by far, but what’s the fun if ya win all th’ time?”  Blaze grinned cheerfully.  Even just talking about fighting was enough to lift her spirits.

“Say, wanna go get a snack ‘r somethin’?  Doesn’ look like he’s gonna show up anytime soon an’ I’m gettin’ hungry besides.  Might as well take a break an’ start lookin’ again with fresh eyes, eh?”

Maya gave a nod in acknowledgement, “out of hand is definitely a good way to describe it. And don’t worry that you haven’t known him as long, the years will pass by faster than you might think.” She paused, curious as to just how much fighting Blaze had done. She spoke as if she knew exactly what she was talking about. “Maybe we could spar one time. It’d spice things up a bit,” she added with a laugh.

Her stomach let out a soft rumble at the mention of food. Have I really been that distracted again? I need to remember to eat more often… “A snack sounds amazing right now really. It’ll give us a chance to sit and think too!”

“Ahh, I guess so.  I’m not th’ best at thinkin’ too far ahead.  Even thinkin’ ‘bout how next week’s gonna go’s a bit of a stretch.”  She chuckled a bit, running a hand through her hair sheepishly.  ”An’ yeah, I’d love t’ spar sometime.  It’d be a lotta fun, fer sure.  Maybe you could teach me some things.”

Blaze giggled at Maya’s rumbling stomach.  "C’mon then, let’s go find somethin’.”

“I’m sure I could teach you a few ways to kick Clint’s butt. It’d definitely be funny to see.”

Her eyes scoured the area looking for anything that might be interesting. She didn’t want to weigh herself down with a heavy meal, especially is she had to keep her eyes open looking for the archer. “Hey, how’s some ice cream sound? I hear this place is pretty good…” She motioned towards a very small ice cream parlor with a gentle flick of her fingers.

Blaze punched her hand gleefully, cracking her knuckles in anticipation.  ”That sounds more’n OK.  I always enjoy knockin’ a guy on his ass; they always look so surprised t’ be beat by a girl.”  She chuckled dryly as she walked along with Maya.

Ohhh, ice cream.  That sounds really good, actually.  "Ice cream!  Ice cream,” said Blaze excitedly, bouncing in spite of herself.  "I’m gonna get three scoops.  Three big scoops.  What kind of ice cream d’ya like best, Maya?”  Blaze was vaguely aware that she sounded like a child, but then again, ice cream tended to do that to people.  She rushed inside, nearly barrelling into a trio of small children exiting the establishment, and scanned the list of flavours contemplatively.

Maya couldn’t help but laugh in response at the younger woman’s enthusiasm. She would be lying if she said that she didn’t miss the days of her childhood. Her brows furrowed at the sudden influx of memories and she mentally battled them back into the corner of her mind- where they belonged.

“Three scoops? You sure you can handle that?” She teased Blaze with a grin on her face before glancing at the list. “Oh uh, I like…” Maya paused, clicking her tongue slightly in thought. When was the last time you had ice cream, anyway? “I think I might have to go with chocolate. Though I doubt I can handle three scoops.”

Blaze grinned as she pulled out her wallet.  ”I can eat a lot more’n that, trus’ me.  ’M pretty much a bottomless pit.”  She went up to the counter and pointed authoritatively at the menu as she ordered.  ”Two scoops of coconut, one scoop of mango, please.  Big scoops.  An’ put the mango in between the coconut scoops.  An’ a cup, not a cone.”  Blaze knew she was being overly fussy about her ice cream (if the slighly irritated look on the ice cream man’s face was any indication), but she didn’t care.  There wasn’t much she was particular about, so she felt justified in having this one thing that needed to be perfect.

“Chocolate’s always good.  I can never choose whether I like chocolate or vanilla best, though.  It depends on my mood, I guess.”  She grinned at Maya companionably as she paid for her ice cream, scooping up the change and putting it all in the tip jar to compensate for her nitpicking.

Her brows rose slightly in surprise at Blaze’s order. She had never thought of combining such odd flavors before, but she assumed that it must be good. As Blaze finished ordering and paying for her own ice cream, Maya fished out a few dollars of her own and smoothed out the crinkled edges.

As she approached the counter she let her eyes quickly wander over the list once more. “One scoop of chocolate please. Oh, and can you put it in a cup please?” She pushed the crinkled bills over the counter as the man slid the cup to her. Not wanting to carry a pocketful of change, she too dumped it into the tip jar.

“That makes sense. There are times where chocolate just doesn’t feel right.”

Blaze got them a good table near the window and brushed a few errant sprinkles off the top before sitting down.  ”Exactly,” she replied cheerfully.  ”That’s why I like that one ice cream that’s three flavours in one — strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.  Then ya don’ have to choose.”  She laughed and scooped up a big spoonful of the cold treat, humming contentedly as it hit her tongue.  Almost immediately, dull ache started up between her eyes, and she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Gah, brain freeze,” she said with a weak chuckle.  "Gotta remember t’ slow down when I eat cold stuff.”  She shook her head and dug into her ice cream again, going a bit slower this time.

Maya nodded knowingly, “it certainly makes things easier, that’s for sure.” She propped her elbows up on the table and one hand cradled the cup as she gingerly scraped off some ice cream, biting back a laugh as Blaze got the classic brain freeze.

“So, how’d you come about meeting Clint anyway?” She was genuinely curious to the answer as she shoved the spoon into her mouth. The sudden cold bite surprised her and brought a slight ache to her teeth but she disregarded it with ease.

Blaze tapped the plastic spoon against her lips as she thought.  ”Well, I didn’ make the best impression, I guess,” she chuckled wryly.  ”I got in a fight with some people I used t’ know, an’ got pretty badly hurt.  Knifed,” she added, holding out her left arm.  The long, thin, shiny-white scar tissue was clearly visible on her upper arm.  

“I went t’ Stark Tower t’ try t’ fix myself up, y’know, cuz it was close, an’ as luck would have it, I crashed a party.  Clint found me, patched me up, an’ took me to a hospital.  Managed t’ put th’ fear of God in the assholes who got me, too, if I ain’t mistaken.”  She giggled a bit.  ”Kinda panicked at th’ hospital, though.  But he made me feel safe, took care of me.  So that was good of him.”  She took another thoughtful bite of ice cream.  ”It’s embarrassin’, him seein’ me at m’ weakest on our first meetin’.  I try not t’ think ‘bout it.”  She turned a little red and laughed nervously.  ”But he’s a good guy, an’ he doesn’ seem t’ think too badly of me.  I like ‘im a lot.”

Blaze coughed and cleared her throat, a little self-conscious about her babbling.  ”So, uh, how d’you know ‘im, then?”

Her brows furrowed together in concern as she saw the scar and read the tale that came along with it. “I’m sorry to hear about the fight. But I’m sure you managed to get them pretty well too.”

Throughout Blaze’s retelling of events she had been carefully scooping small bits of the ice cream into her mouth, etting it melt on her tongue. “I wouldn’t be worried about him seeing you at your worst. If anything it takes away the fear of them ever seeing you at your worst. Sorta makes things easier from the get go.” She shrugged slightly, trying to ignore her memories from when she was Ronin.

“It’s uh, a long story I suppose. Short version is him and a few others helped me out when I needed it most.” She ran a hand through her hair, unwilling to touch upon those memories. They were hard to bear at times and she didn’t want to push them on the younger girl.

Blaze grinned.  ”Oh yeah, I definitely let ‘em have it.  Dislocated jaw, th’ works.  They probably woulda gotten off easier if they hadn’ tried t’ fight dirty.”  She still felt a little sore at those two; if she ever saw them again, she was definitely going for a bit of revenge.  She chuckled into her ice cream.

“I s’pose it would make it easier,” she mused, twirling her spoon.  ”Yer prolly right ‘bout that.  Don’t mean it’s any less mortifyin’, though.  But he was good ‘bout it.  So I guess that’s lucky.”  She rested her chin in her hand and listened to Maya’s substantially shorter and less specific story.  ”Ya know, you c’n talk t’ me if ya want.  I’ve heard some pretty fucked up shit in m’ life — no offense ‘r anything.  But hey, seems like Clint’s got good timin’, huh?”  She smiled gently at the other woman.

Maya nodded approvingly, “dislocated jaw huh? Not bad. I highly doubt he was a happy camper for a while after that.” She felt a strange sense of pride with the girl. The corner’s of her lips twitched upwards, “yeah, that’s the nice thing about Clint, he’s pretty good about things like that.”

Her expression darkened slightly. What kind of life has she lived to be able to claim that she’s seen some bad shit? Not that I doubt her claim but… She let out a weak laugh. “Yeah, it was really good timing.” She glanced around slightly and for a moment her eyes took on a faraway look. However, the look left as quick as it came. Maya let out an uneasy half-sigh and ran her hand through her hair.

“Have you ever heard about Ronin?”

“Bet not.  Serves ‘im right.”  Blaze caught the slightly perturbed look in Maya’s eye, but decided to let it go.  It probably wasn’t anything too important; it seemed like the other woman let herself get lost in her thoughts quite a bit.  Blaze waited patiently for Maya to collect her thoughts.

“Ronin?”  Blaze wracked her brain, trying to remember.  ”Can’t say I have, sorry.  ’M assumin’ this Ronin is an important part o’ yer story though, huh?”

She gave a slight nod. “Ronin was very important part of my life to say the least. I lived a double life sort of. I wouldn’t exactly say ‘normal’ during the day but at night, oh, that was a different world.” Her face split into a warm grin as she pulled out the memories. “I even flew the Quinnjet once.” Maya paused and gave a slight laugh with the shake of her head, “it’s a shame I don’t have the armor anymore but I’m sure Clint would be delighted to tell you the entire story, especially since I don’t remember all of it.” Yes you do.

Her spoon captured the remaining bits of the chocolate ice cream before depositing them into her mouth. She happily waited for it to melt a tad more before swallowing, not desiring a brain freeze. The plastic spoon dropped into the cup with a slight clatter as her face took on the most curious expression mixed with confusion. Watchful eyes narrowed as she studied Blaze, suddenly confused.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

Blaze nodded.  ”Huh, I see.  So you’re a hero, then,” she said with a smile.  ”An’ flyin’ th’ Quinjet, really?!  Tha’ sounds so cool.  Maybe I’ll do that too one day.”  She seriously doubted she’d ever do so, but it was nice to daydream about one day.  ”I’ll be sure t’ corner ‘im abou’ it soon enough.”  She pushed her empty ice cream cup to the side, wondering just how long she’d have to wait to hear the story from Clint.  It really had been a while since they’d last seen each other…

She started at Maya’s question, brows furrowed in confusion and concern for a brief moment before smoothing over; obviously the other woman was joking. “Wha…?  Maya, what’re ya talkin’ ‘bout?  Blaze, remember?  C’mon, yer memory ain’t that bad.”  She chuckled.

Maya blinked rapidly and she could feel the panic rising in her throat. She took a few moments to quickly assess her situation. Fingers and toes were all in working order and the same went with the rest of her body. The woman struggled in vain to control her breathing. Just play it cool. She’s already given you your name, just play it cool, act it off.

Maya let out a nervous laugh and half grinned. “I-I know. I’m just messing with you.” Just keep it cool, she’s already given you information. You can do this. Breathe. My name is Maya… My name is Maya… She struggled at the thought, trying to forced the rest of her name out but nothing was showing. Her brows furrowed in concern for a moment before she quickly made her face neutral once more. Her eyes studied Blaze’s face, and an intense look of curiosity came upon her own. 

Blaze looked familiar, like something from a dream. It was like she knew, somewhere deep down, who this person was but she couldn’t place her finger on it. It was the ultimate tip-of-the-tongue experience but with her mind instead.

“No offense, but you’re kinda bad at jokes,” she chuckled, shaking her head and leaning back in her chair.  Maya still looked a bit weird, though, and Blaze wondered just what was up.  Then again, she didn’t really know this woman, so it was entirely possible that this was just some strange nervous tic of hers or something.

A sudden sharp pain exploded between her eyes and she groaned, immediately pinching the bridge of her nose in an effort to relieve it.  Just as quickly as it came, however, it was gone; but Blaze was left feeling…strange.  There wasn’t any other way to describe it, until she looked up and saw Maya staring at her curiously.

For some reason, something inside her snapped.

“I got somethin’ on my face?  The fuck you lookin’ at me like that for, huh?” she bit out, leaning forward slightly.  She wanted to hit the other woman, for no reason other than to cause harm.  Part of her was stopping her from doing so, however; her hand was shaking slightly from the effort of not lashing out at Maya.

Maya’s eyes shot open in surprise at the girl’s sudden change in attitude. Though she had no recollection of how the girl acted previously, the sudden switch startled her. “Whoa, hey, easy there. I didn’t mean to offend you or anything. I’ll just..get going then.”

She gently scooted her chair back, all the while holding up one hand as if that would stay the younger woman with the sudden temper. Maya worried that even the slightest movement towards the girl would set off a cataclysmic reaction of events and did her best not to make any sudden movements. By now she had sufficiently backed the chair far enough that she could stand without getting her head or other appendages anywhere near the girl. “Easy now, I’m just gonna go my way and you go yours, okay?” Part of her wanted to glance around to see how the other customers were taking the scene but she could feel that their eyes were glued to them.

Blaze couldn’t care less about the other customers in the shop; in fact, she was probably gonna pummel them next.  She watched Maya stand slowly, a cruel smirk forming on her face at the woman’s obvious unease.

“What’sa matter?” she inquired, in false-friendly tones.  Her chair scraped violently on the linoleum as she stood, movements somehow both jerky and entirely too fluid all at once.  ”Afraid of me?  A scrawny kid like me?”  She let out ashort bark of laughter and advanced upon Maya, golden eyes glinting menacingly.  ”Runnin’ away from a fight?  Gonna turn tail like a fuckin’ coward?  An’ here I thought ya might be worth somethin’.  C’mon, fight me.  Fight me!”  Blaze’s fingers twitched, eager to release fire, eager to curl into a fist, anything destructive.

Her eyes narrowed at the girl’s remark. “I’m not looking for a fight and I’m sure these people aren’t looking for one either.” Her hand motioned towards the other people in the ice cream parlor. “But I won’t sit and watch you hurt other people.” It came out almost as a low growl and the threat was obvious. She wasn’t going to be the one to throw the first punch but she wouldn’t stand for hurting the innocents.

Maya’s knuckles turned white as one hand curled over the top of the chair. She had tested its weight when she scooted away. It was solid but not overly heavy, the woman had confidence in her ability to use it as a weapon if it came down to it.

“Perhaps some fresh air will help you clear your mind?” She offered hopefully, giving the girl one last chance to back down.

“Oh?  So ya won’ fight unless I threaten one o’ these useless things?” she asked, smirking over her shoulder at the obviously frightened customers.  ”I’ll do it, I’ll hurt ‘em, why not.  Ya know how easy it’ll be?  Like snappin’ a twig.  Or lightin’ a match.”  A ball of flame appeared in her palm, eliciting shouts of surprise.  ”Shut your goddamn mouths!” Blaze yelled, the fire jumping higher in her anger.  She turned back to Maya, arrogant smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

“So?  Ya gonna throw that chair?  Soon as ya do, those people turn int’ charcoal, mind.  Ya ever smelled burnt flesh?  Ain’t pleasant.”  Her head lolled to the side as she chuckled softly.  ”So what’s it gonna be?”

She scowled. “You lay a hand on these people…” Her voice trailed off as she hesitated. “You may have seen bad things yes but just remember, I have seen far worse.” Liar, you can’t even remember your name. How can you be sure that you have seen worse?! Her grip on the chair didn’t relax and her eyes never wavered from the girl. “You wish to fight, then come. We shall fight. But not in here.” Her hand twitched, fingers grasping the chair even tighter as the muscles in her arm contracted, lifting the object with relative ease.

The sound of shattering glass caused many people to flinch and shy away from the now destroyed window. The chair that Maya had been holding was now somewhere on the sidewalk outside of the ice cream parlor along with a large quantity of broken glass. A quick hand darted out to grab one of the long shards of glass and her fingers curled around the edges, drawing blood. She wasn’t about to go into a fight with a pyro barehanded, not that the glass would be much help anyway.

“Ya think?  Why don’cha tell me whatcha’ve seen, maybe we can compare?  Rack up some points, the winner gets a free toaster?”  Her hand twitched when Maya picked up the chair, but when it sailed through the window instead of at her she relaxed a bit more.  She watched as Maya picked up a long shard as a weapon and giggled crazily.

“Tha’s adorable,” she said with a grin, walking leisurely over to the broken window to inspect the damage.  ”Oh, no, your poor hand is hurt.  What a shame.  Maybe you should put it down.”  Blaze stepped casually out of the window, glass crunching under her shoes.  ”Comin’?” she inquired.  ”Hurry up, afore I burn the whole buildin’ down.”

The behavior of the girl was incredibly unnerving to Maya, especially now that she had been caught in her lie. Her lip curled slightly as her hand tightened around the shard of glass, the sharp edges bringing no pain. She watched as the girl left through the window that now served as a door before quickly addressing the occupants of the building. “All of you. Out. Now. And don’t go near us.” Brown eyes never left Blaze for fear of her turning and attacking at a moment of distraction.

Maya carefully stepped through the window, avoiding the random shards of glass that remained attached to the building. Her other hand reached out to one of these shards and snapped it from its base. Two pieces of glass. Oh you’re a smart one, what’re you gonna do with that. You get close enough to use them and you are toast. The woman let out a muted sigh and a slight shrug. Here goes nothing.

She pulled her arm back and then flung it forward, her fingers releasing their grip on the piece of glass. It shot through the air towards Blaze and she could only hope that her aim was true. Maya had no intentions of death but only wanted to dissuade the girl from attacking.

Blaze watched the customers file out quickly and fearfully from the shop with amusement.  She wanted to send a fireball their way, cause some screams and panic and maybe a few nasty burns, but decided against it. She’d have time.  Right now, Maya was a much more interesting target.

She wasn’t expecting the shard of glass to be hurled towards her all of the sudden and couldn’t move completely out of the way in time; it flashed by her, tearing a deep gash in her cheek and making her shout sharply in pain.  She put a hand to her face and her fingers came away bloody.  The girl looked from her hand to Maya, still clutching her second shard of glass and looking at her with a slightly fearful expression, and back to her hand.

And for some reason, she laughed.  Her body weaved to and fro, almost drunkenly, before settling into stance and facing Maya.

“Congrats, ya drew firs’ blood!” she yelled, almost happily, and charged at Maya, shooting two small balls of flame towards her to distract her before aiming a punch at her stomach.

Maya was confused as to how the hell she had managed to hit Blaze.Was I some sort of marksman? She shook her head rapidly to try and clear her mind of the distracting thoughts only to flinch when the balls of fire came zipping her direction. The woman doubled over when she felt the fist collide with her stomach, nearly winding her as she felt most of the air being forcefully shoved from her lungs.

Almost instinctively her grip grip on the glass changed, flipping the piece so that the point was facing backwards as her arm swung around to hook the blade into her opponent’s side. 

The fluidity of these motions almost startled the memory-less woman but she wasn’t one to question the sudden fighting skills. After all, she would need every ounce of them to try and win the fight against the pyro.

Blaze hissed in pain as the glass was driven into her side; she grabbed Maya by the throat and squeezed while wrenching the woman’s arm away, the glass pulling out of her body with a slightsquelch.  She tightened her grip on the other woman’s wrist, forcing Maya to drop the glass shard.  Blood dripped sluggishly from both her wounds, but the crazed spark never left her eyes.

“You’re good, Maya,” she said.  ”Real good.  Fuck, I haven’ had a fight like this in ages.  I don’ know why ya can’t remember shit all of a sudden, but at least ya know how t’ fight.  An’ ya better pray ya don’ forget anytime soon, cuz I ain’t holdin’ nothin’ back.  I been holdin’ back too fuckin’ long.”  The hand grasping Maya’s wrist began to heat up quickly, leaving painful red welts on the woman’s flesh and sending the slight smell of burning skin into the air.

The smell of burnt flesh and hair assaulted the woman’s nose and caused her to gag slightly. She twisted her hand away, cringing as waves of pain shot through her arm. But still, she could feel the tightening grip on her throat that was threatening to quickly cut off her supply of oxygen. Maya brought her leg up and slammed her heel into Blaze’s knee; she could feel the limb give beneath her foot.

Her relatively uninjured hand shot up and her fingers curled into the girl’s hair as she yanked her hand downwards. The woman was too focused on what her next moves would be to try and counter the girl’s verbal assault. Already she had slipped into some sort of zen, despite the chaos that was revolving around her.

Blaze buckled and pain shot through her kneecap from Maya’s blow; her grip on the woman’s throat weakened and was pulled away immediately when her hair was yanked sharply downwards.  She landed painfully on her knees but instantly launched a counterstrike, grabbing Maya’s arm and pulling her down to the ground with her.  She grappled with the other woman a bit, but it looked like she might lose.

Her face broke out in a grin, though, when an idea struck her.  She opened her mouth and sucked in a big breath of air, allowing the fire collecting at the back of her throat to be clearly visible to Maya.  She didn’t want to kill her necessarily; if Maya was dead then she would never get a chance to fight her again.  But she wanted to see the fear in Maya’s eyes, the fear at the possibility of having her head burned clean off her shoulders.

And fear is what shone through in Maya’s eyes. She was already pressing her luck trying to win this fight, what is the point of me winning? Would it make a difference in anything?, and really would rather remain alive. She gracelessly scrambled backwards on her hands and feet, trying to put as much distance between her and potential firestorm that was far too close for comfort.

Her burned wrist cried out in pain, angry at her actions that caused the tugging on the skin. “Okay, okay, okay!” She shouted breathlessly. “You win. I give in.” For some reason it pained her to speak those words but even without her memories, the woman knew that she should back down before a hospital couldn’t tend to her injuries.

Blaze swallowed the flames when Maya scrambled backwards, and she got shakily to her feet, the knee that the other woman had kicked protesting loudly.  She cocked her head to the side, slightly put out that Maya was giving up so easily.  Then again, people did tend to fear fire quite a lot.  Maybe threatening to burn her face off had been a bit much, but it hadbeen fun.

“Laaaaaaame,” she drawled, sounding every bit a whiny teenager.  ”An’ here I thought ya’d gimme a good fight.  Well, it was good while it lasted.  But runnin’ scared jus’ cuz of a little fire?  Weak.”  She advanced on Maya threateningly.  ”Whatcha gonna do now, then?  Gimme a reason I should let you go instead of pummellin’ ya into th’ ground.”

The woman pulled herself to her feet, one hand clamped over the burns. As long as she kept heavy pressure on them, they didn’t hurt but that meant she also was left in a very vulnerable position. Maya hoped that the girl wouldn’t attack but she remained wary.

“Fire is fire. You’ve no reason to fear it but for anyone else? We have every reason to fear it.” She sighed, “honestly, I was just going to make my way off into the sunset and find something to take care of these. Maybe figure out who I am. You know, nothing important.” She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice and was only mildly successful. “If you let me go then you can go harass other innocent bystanders. Maybe someone else will come and fight you and put up a better fight than me.” Maya shrugged slightly and tightened the grip on her burns.

“Hmph.”  Blaze twirled a tongue of flame between her fingers disinterestedly.  She considered just torching Maya, but there was no fun in that.  It was funny how gung-ho Maya had been about protecting the innocents in the ice-cream shop, and now she was practically throwing them at her in an attempt to save herself.  Then again, she had to give the woman credit.  Fighting anyone, let alone a pyro, when you had no sense of self, who you are or might be, couldn’t be the easiest thing.  She shrugged.