The Roar of Autumn[Amaranta, Arianda]

Another unfamiliar territory, another source of interest. America. Conversations held between fellow arrancar and sentient hollow. had painted her impression of this country to some extent, but Amaranta wished to confirm it with her own eyes, to observe these... americans. She had casually robbed a human of their motorcycle, driving toward Sierra Nevada. Or maybe she was already here? She didn't have a map, but frankly, she thought the concept of maps were stupid. Judging from her sense of smell and what her eyes revealed, her drive was successful. Arriving within a city filled with the hustle and bustle of civilians, Amaranta's eyes darted around in source of entertainment. Hm... what did those americans like to do? Oh yeah, something about stuffing their mouths full of fast food. Burgers, chicken, barbeque, the works. Where could she procure this food? The aroma stood out like a sore thumb.

Amaranta could smell the aromatics from a mile away, or rather, a few meters even. Gazing toward the source, she'd tilt her head with a curious grin. Jackelope, huh? The scent of grilled meat, burgers, and all sources of stuff was a little enticing. Hollow could get boring in the diet. Why not humor herself? Taking the equivalent of a casual drive, Amaranta would ride right through the door. She stopped her bike at a table full of civilians ready to enjoy their meal, leaned over the table and with menacing eyes, she simply said one thing to cause chaos at their table.

"Boo."

And like that, they exited their table immediately, some running off terrified, others going up to the register to request assistance.

"Damn, you guys are a bunch of cowards. I wanted to test your mettle, and you're all running on me. Oh well, more for me."

Grabbing a burger, Amaranta would take a ravenous bite, almost devouring it whole. Huh, well wasn't this nice? It was a series of unfamiliar flavors. Unfamiliar but welcomed flavors. This burger was pretty good. What else did they have in here she could eat for free?

Amaranta didn't pay attention to Arianda at first. She was enjoying every part of the free meal she was indulging in. Burgers, steaks, birthday cake... the works. Finally, she would turn towards Arianda, noting the woman's killer gaze as she washed down the food with a large cup of soda. Satisfied, though far from full, Amaranta rose up, towering over Arianda. That was an interesting gaze. It was the sort of look that could lead to conflict if she played her cards right. To be quite frank, she didn't even register half of what she was saying. The scathing gaze as she inched forward was plenty reason to retaliate, throw in a sneak attack, and deck this tiny bitch out. On the other hand, maybe this might be entertaining. Her scent was inhuman. What was she? Patting her head, Amaranta chuckled heartily as she leaned in. The blazing lioness stroked her chin contemplatively.

"Nah. I'm not paying for shit, princess. I approached the table, they ran away like a pack of pussies, and I helped myself to what I earned. I could care less where I am, either. Hueco Mundo? I simply fucking hunt. Here? Well, I don't even know what paying is. And what type of shit are you goin' about me being beautiful? If you want to kick my ass for stepping on their turf... just do it."

"There you go, shortie. Now you're speaking my language."

In truth, Amaranta was intrigued by this woman who appeared before her. She couldn't get a read on her strength. There was no familiar emission of spiritual energy, but her aura was certainly eye-opening. Even so, she was far from one to back down from a challenge, and the only language she spoke with is crossing blade and fist. Any of that extra rabble didn't really matter. A grin formed against her lips as she was guided along by Arianda. Within a few minutes, Arianda brought them towards a clearing that providing ample space for them to move. There weren't any humans around to bother them. No one to interrupt their spar. They could fight freely, without nothing to hinder their dance. Amaranta roared in excitement, settling into a fighting stance as she waited for the woman to prepare herself. She wanted to dominate this battle. Face her head-on and shut her up. Last long enough? Heh, she'd show her.

"You're too kind for your own good, short stuff. Name's Amaranta Valeria. Let's see if you can get me excied or if you're just a short lady talkin' good shit'."

A single step of Sonido would carry the tall woman forward, vanishing before the demon's eyes. In a flash, she would appear behind the woman, executing a flurry of blows at her back to get a feel for her reflexes and her fighting style. She expected her to evade, them, too. Amaranta wasn't exactly striking with precision in mind. Always good to get a feel for the enemy's abilities before savoring the rest of the meal in a battle. It made one's victory even more satisfying, truth be told.

Deflecting her fist with a shield was a solid technique, truth be told. Perhaps this little lady really was more than just talk., Amaranta certainly hoped that was the case. Each subsequent strike was deflected in a similar fashion, albeit with a pair of scissors that diverted her attack well enough to create an opening for Arianda to soar in with a roundhouse towards the woman's jaw. Hierro lessened the impact of the strike enough to prevent her from soaring through the air, allowing the leonine woman to maintain her sense of balance.

"It's Blazing Lioness, stupid. Address me with my full title. It's cooler that way."

Quickly shifting her hips, Amaranta would turn towards the woman as she approached her, fiercely following up her first assault with, transitioning into the second salvo of their duel. To be certain, Amaranta had concluded one damning facet from her attacks. Her martial prowess was exceptional. Foolhardy pursuits would likely spell her defeat if she chose to rush her in without a gameplan. That suited her just fine, honestly. Amaranta had no intent of matching her in speed or technique. No, she was a behemoth in raw strength, one who favored incorporating a unique blend of speed and precision.

Pulling her zanpakuto forward, Amaranta would scrape the weapon across the ground quick enough to create a steady swathe of flame, swinging the fire towards Arianda, an effort to keep her locking her into a blow-for-blow dance. Slamming her Rebelion against the ground again, Amaranta would circle around the woman, scraping the sword around with each cycle of motion. Bringing her sonido technique and her natural speed to bear, combining the two would allow her to maintain a steady distance, sparing little in the form of speech towards the woman's reply. Well, maybe a little. Even against an opponent that might outmatch her, Amaranta spared no expense in the way of language.

"Yeah, I'm not excited at all, shortie. You hit and talk like a bitch. I'm not sensing any fire at all. Think your gonna get me to pay these cowards for their meal with weak shit like that? Fuck off, hoe."

To be certain, those blunt-force strikes packed something. However, the woman's pain resilience and stubborn will wasn't going to let her show that. What type of apex predator would she be if she showed weakness? To hell with that shit.

There it was - she could practically feel it in her aura. The slow burn of agitation, the subtle shift in her disposition. Amaranta simply couldn't stand all that graceful diction and being complimented on shit. Every moment she spent in this woman's company had frankly been annoying as hell up until this moment. Oh lion? Was she enjoying the battle or was she too boring? To hell with that. The battle just started, and any opinion of enjoyment could be measured after its conclusion. Indeed, that was always how the leonine woman handled battle. To be fair, Battle Commentary was fun, but hers was far from it at the moment. Amaranta's tall frame remained in perpetual motion, unwilling to yield any advantage to the demon trailing her in pursuit.

To her amusement, Arianda closed the distance almost instantaneously, appearing before the woman as she thrusted her sword towards the lioness' abdomen. Amaranta would evade the initial thrust by a hair's breadth, shifting on the heel of her backfoot to create a sliver of distance between them. However, that would be far from the end of her pursuit. Arianda soared in again, executing a wave of feints and diversions disguised as strikes before capping it off with a massive overhead to her shoulder. The strike landed successfully. Bringing forth all the Reiryoku she could bear, she fortified the hierro on her skin to lessen the blow of the impact. It did manage to cut through, yes, but Amaranta's arm wouldn't be compromised entirely. Her regeneration would quickly allow the wound to heal up while she worried about her enemy. As Arianda created distance between them again, Amaranta chuckled, mocking her voice as she finished.

" 'Now stop mewring rike a bored cat'. Wah, aporigize to th' owrners, blah blah blah.' I could imagine a thousand people who'd make me mewl, and spoiler alert, let's just say you wouldn't be one of them. Looking stupid and talking stupid, just like the average bimbo."

Finishing that statement, she'd give the woman the middle finger simply to mock her even more, as if she barely acknowledged her beyond anything other than a nuisance. An entertaining nuisance, yes, but one Amaranta would revel in defeating if she achieved victory.

"Let's just say you do kick my ass. What am I? A kid? I'm not waltzing back in to apologize for people who won't speak up for themselves. Good luck in that endeavor, dumbass."

Honestly, it was a bit reckless... but, why not just kick right into her ressurecion and turn this battle in her favor? If she really wanted to kick her ass, the woman wanted to see how much she could handle being burned in as she soared in and out for strikes. Charring her up sounded really fun at the moment. Even if she kicked her ass, she wanted to walk away from this fucking her up, too. That way, no one won.

Raising her Zanpakuto in an upward motion, Amaranta, with a mighty roar, uttered release phrase of Rebelion.

"Fan the flames, Rebellion!"

Subsequently, A golden orb of reiryoku enveloped her body in a fierce heat wave that enveloped her entirely as it spread out through a ten meter radius. When the heat dissipated, Amaranta walked out, her leonine appearance now taking on a far more fiery motif. Her hair was a sea of fire, her hands a pair or elongated claws, composed of fire. Her tail was longer and was now engulfed in fire as well. If it were an appearance change alone, that would be fine. However, within a forty meter radius, an intense heat wave would now dominated the area they were in. The Fiery Lioness peered towards the demon, bearing her fangs with glee. Arianda simply had no choice but to rush her down and end the battle quickly. Otherwise, all she'd feel is intense heat, dry moisture, and sheer discomfort. There were some fun tricks that came with this release, too, but she'd let Arianda have a first hand taste. Beckoning her forward with her claws, she growled in excitement.

"Let's Dance!"

"Your insults are hollow and without heart... I have heard better from a child..."

It was impossible to not be annoyed with Amaranta's insults and rude gestures. Frankly speaking, they were what fueled the fires of Arianda's rage to a point where the demon had reached a calm rage; one born from experience with taming her anger. Of course, it was not a perfect art, as her face wasn't all that calm; her eyes blazing with an intense fury. However, Arianda was briefly distracted from her anger by what Amaranta was doing. She was raising her Zanpakuto, and shouted what was clearly a release phrase; borne form her at the top of her lungs. Arianda simply watched, feeling the wave of intense heat roll over her. She tilted her head at the now fiery cat woman, new claws, fiery hair, a fiery tail, and what seemed to generally imply a melding with her theme of fire. Arianda nodded gently, calmly switching her scissors back to their normal form; once more holding the giant pair of scissors by the blade.

"Oh, now you want to dance? Very well, if you insist~"

Arianda raised her right hand, snapping her fingers. The sound was oddly nebulous in the sense that it was far louder than any snap should ever be. There was no change in energy from the demon, but the ground around her suddenly crackled with red lightning before Arianda was suddenly surrounded by that shower of red lightning; and then what appeared to be a different woman stood in Ari's place. She held a magnificent, and oversized, spear in her left hand, and her now crimson eyes stared at Amaranta with a deadly intent from around golden curtains of hair that framed her face. A rather unique outfit clothed her skin, no longer tarnished by burns, but there was something quite off. No matter how one looked at this demon, it was definitely the same woman. But she carried herself... with more pride, more strength, and far more determination to kill.

Without saying a word, Arianda raised her right hand, and four cages erupted from the ground; crimson petals dancing around the base of the constructs before two forks of red lightning jumped between the four cages before before they shot towards Amaranta at surprising speeds. Immediately after, Arianda arched back her left arm and hurled her spear at Amaranta with even more ferocity and speed than she had ever generated during the early phases of their conflict. Even if Arianda had to wait to hurl more lightning at Amaranta, the cages she could create at will would still be of great use.

Whether or not her first two attacks landed, albeit the likelihood of them landing was high thanks to her heightened state of power, Arianda would close distance with Amaranta with speed and ferocity, her crimson eyes flashing with a sadistic fury as she threw a punch at Amaranta's abdomen, immediately following up with an uppercut, a punch to the throat, and then a headbutt hard enough to easily cause fierce damage. Then, Arianda seemed to recall her spear to her side, slamming Amaranta with the blade in the intention to throw her back and away from Ari; possibly forcing her to crash into something if Ari was able to throw her back. If not, they would simply be briefly locked as Arianda continued to try to push Amaranta back in a show of pure force; one that was likely only effective thanks to her release. Otherwise, it was quite likely Amaranta would easily succeed in that regard.

However, even though every wound, every attack, and every single bit of pain that Ari inflicted on Amaranta, she was not aiming for vitals that honestly threatened her life. Then again, Ari knew enough of the principles on healing that she could take a bit of lee-way with blunt-force trauma. After all, blades were far worse for the flesh than one might think. Not to mention, Arianda no longer cared for words. She was going to make this fiery cat mewl for her at the end of the day. She cared not about her making an apology, not about her paying for the meal. She simply cared about making the woman pay and suffer just a bit for the harm she had done to Ari's pride. And that... that was not easily forgiven outside of such a contest of might. After the battle? Perhaps Arianda could like Amaranta... Perhaps.