Well, it’s November again. Which means it’s that November writing thing with the acronym I can never remember.
In the spirit of writing in November, here’s me writing in November.
Of course, since this is the first month I’ve done this well having real-world job obligations, I’m confident this can only end well…
Though, honestly, probably better to just have to deal with a freelance job than that, plus Christmas, plus my birthday.
Stay tuned.
Kat walks down the street with the two girls from Yamatai. Tsuru is holding her left hand and Tsubame is holding her right hand.
She thinks.
The twins do like messing with her by pretending to be the other one…
As the three round a corner, a rough-looking man steps out from an alley. Another just-as-rough-looking man steps out from another alley. One leaps down from a roof. The last pops out of a barrel.
“Ugh,” Kat groans. “Bandits.”
“Boss,” the one in the barrel asks. “How did she know we’re bandits?”
“Because normal people don’t jump out of barrels to attack people just walking down the street!” Kat exclaims.
“I feel personally attacked,” the one in the barrel mutters.
“Bandits is such an ugly word,” the apparent leader notes. “I prefer to think of us as businessmen.”
“Uh huh,” Kat says sceptically.
“For, you see,” the bandit leader continues, “we’re in the business of offering our clients a chance to not be brutally beaten up and left in a heap. And our rates are quite reasonable.”
“Uh huh,” Kat says sceptically.
“Something in the neighbourhood of, say, everything you’ve got on you,” the bandit concludes.
Kat doesn’t answer.
“Now, my good man,” he says, inadvertently sealing his fate. “Do please cooperate. I’d hate for something to happen to those two young lasses of yours.”
“Oh,” Tsuru says. “They called Kat a man.”
“They’re in for it now,” Tsubame says. “She hates that.”
“Tsuru, Tsubame,” Kat says, letting go of their hands and stepping forward. “Stay back. I’d hate for you to get hurt.”
“Or,” the bandit leader says, “we could do this the hard way. I promise not to enough this too much. Oh, there’s nothing quite like beating your mark man-to-man and then stealing all his worldly possessions.”
“I’m a woman!” Kat cries.
“Oh, please,” the bandit says. “While I would be loath to raise my hand against a woman, as if such a transparent lie is going to be enough to save you.”
“Um, boss,” the bandit in the barrel says. “She’s telling the truth.”
The leader ignores him.
“Very well,” the bandit leader says. “Let us begin the —”
Kat aims a punch at his face. He manages to duck at the last minute.
“That’s cheating!” the bandit cries.
“Cheating?” Kat cries. “You’re the bandit!”
She sweeps his leg out from under him, then aims a stiff kick at the same leg as he tries to rise.
“My leg!” the bandit moans. “He kicked my leg out of my leg!”
In short order, all of the bandits are piled in a heap on the cobblestone street.
“And you,” Kat growls, pointing to the bandit still inside the barrel. “I’m going to cut you a break, because you’re the only one who can tell I’m a woman.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” the bandit says.
“Get out of here,” Kat instructs. “Go home, rethink your life, and stop being a bandit, and I’ll pretend we never met.”
The bandit lowers himself back into his barrel, pitches it onto its side and slowly rolls away.
“Among flowers,” Tsuru muses, “cherry blossoms.”
“Among people,” Tsubame concludes, “Kat Darkstone.”
There’s a proverb in Japanese that translates to “Among flowers, cherry blossoms; among men, warriors”, declaring that the two are the best in their respective categories, with the added implication that they’re also both impressive but short-lived.
A reminder that Tsuru and Tsubame are from Yamatai, which is Realmgard-Japan, so quoting the proverb isn’t as much of a non-sequitur as it may appear at a glance. Also, I decided it would make more sense for them to say “people”, rather than “men” while poetically complimenting Kat, due to being aware of the fact that Kat is sensitive to being called mannish and wouldn’t necessarily have enough knowledge of Yamatai proverbs to realise that “men” in this context means “humans in general” rather than “males”.
One day down. Hopefully I can keep this up for the rest of the month.
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