Kitty's Got Claws [Priscilla/Amaranta]

Priscilla's smile flipped into a frown. She didn't particularly enjoy being insulted, especially by someone who seemed to not want to be her friend. Buuuut on the other hand, maybe she was just upset and taking it out on her. Her uncertainly was made clear on her face as she listened to Amaranta berate her, and a bit of surprise showed through as well as the latter pinched her cheeks like a disappointed mother. Her eyes met Amaranta's fierce and fiery orbs, Priscilla's mouth slightly open as she stood there frozen.

Amaranta earning her friendship? Huh? That was a strange thing she just said, Priscilla thought. Why would that ever have to happen? She's the one who wants friends, it's her job to convince Amaranta she's worth it. With her cheeks still being squeezed, Priscilla had a tough time sounding normal as she tried responding to Amaranta "Well I wanna be your friend so I have to convince you. Do you want me to bite you? I'm not really into it, but if that's your thing..."

Oh? Priscilla suddenly had an idea! Maybe by "a bit of bite" Amaranta just wanted her to do to her what she'd already done to...her. Her head hurt. Either way, the redheaded woman reached out with her hands, snaked them under and through Amaranta's arms, then pinched the Arrancar's cheeks as tightly as she'd done to Priscilla. "Wike dis?"

"Huh?"

Sapphire orbs blinked multiple times in steady succession. To say she expected to have her face toyed with would've simply been untrue. There was a mercurial nature to this woman that made her quite difficult to pinpoint. The exuberant willingness to endure anything to attain friendship was something she viewed as odd, but that was already established. At this rate, Priscilla seemed to be determined to secure a bond with her. What was it with people gravitating to her out of nowhere like this? A soft shade of red filled her cheeks as she paused, surveying the woman with raised eyebrows. What had she gotten herself into with this eccentric girl in blue?

"That's not what I meant. It's a form of expression, and I think your teeth would shatter trying to puncture my skin."

Removing her hands from her face, Amaranta chuckled heartily as she shrugged her shoulders in humorous defeat. Unless she darted away, there was no escaping this unyielding force in the form of a cute arrancar. As such, the only option left to her was merely allowing her to tag along now that she was here. Allowing Priscilla to drop neatly to the white sand, the burning lioness ruffled her hair as she observed their surroundings.

"Who am I kidding? No matter what I say, you seem like you're pretty deadset on doing anything to fulfill my requests. That tenacity of yours is endearing enough. Fine. I guess we're friends now. Don't go fallin' behind or relying on me for too much, though."

An eyebrow raised at Amaranta's comment about her teeth breaking. It wasn't the first time she'd been underestimated, nor would it be the last; but also, it just didn't really matter. She wasn't in possession of a big enough ego to be offended by such an offhanded comment like that. Especially not when her focus was on more pressing matters, like trying to convince this woman to be her friend, something proving more difficult than the red-haired Arrancar expected.

That was a quick turnaround! Priscilla sat cross-legged on white sand, her eyes big as saucers as she listened to Amaranta finally acquiesce and accept her request. In a flash she was up on her feet again, her arms thrown around the other Arrancar in a steel-crushing hug borne of Amaranta's previous rejections. "Yay!! I knew you'd come around!" Then, as quick as she'd leapt to her feet, Priscilla released the woman, threw her hands into the air, and fell backwards into a handstand.

Now turned and facing Amaranta, albeit from an upside down position, Priscilla realized she never really asked the woman anything about herself. Wanting to rectify that, she quickly got to work asking plenty of questions "So Ammy, what are ya doing here? Where do you usually live? You ever been to the Living World? Oh duh, I bet you have. That's where I've been living recently. Wanna go with me some time? I have a human fiance there, he's a cutie. I bet you'd like him! Though I don't know anything about you. What do you like to do? Can we do it together? Come on, lets have some fun! Oh! Do you have any other friends? Now that you and I are friends, they should be my friends too! Whattya say Ammy?"

"What the hell is up with this lady's energy?"

Amaranta expressed a playful exasperation at this woman's ability to shift from one subject to the other. What impressed her more, though, was the mighty grip present in Priscila's embrace. The unintentional display of strength elicited a wide grin. Choosing to explore her own curiosity at the moment, she ignored the woman's line of questioning in favor of posing something entertaining. Moving a few meters away, she turned her head to gaze at the arrancar as she clenched her fists. There was another way of endearing herself even further to the leonine woman, one that involved physical conflict.

"Any of those questions can be answered another day. Let's play a game. Do you want to make a great impression on me? Win me over for a long time? Let's see how far you can push me in a fight, Priscilla. Show me what you've got."

Just like that, Priscilla had forgotten she had even asked any of the dozen or so questions she fired rapidly at Amaranta just a moment before. Her attention was fully on the woman who just dashed away and came up with a different idea of how they could proceed. Her head nodded rapidly, red locks bouncing this way and that, as she agreed with everything Amaranta asked of her. Did she want to play a game? Of course! Sounds fun! And this game would win her new friend over for a long, long time? Maybe they could even become inseparable besties?? This all sounded wonderful to Priscilla.

"Oh. You want me to fight you?" In a show of flexibility, Priscilla bent her body all the way back until her feet and hands touched the ground and her tummy pointed up toward to never-changing sky of Hueco Mundo, came to a standing position, and turned back to face Amaranta. Her head tilted a bit as she considered the request. What if she really does a number on her? She didn't want to hurt her new friend too much, but maybe she was strong enough to be fine. Oh well, it's what she wants, right?

"Okay!"

A loud, familiar CRACK rang out as Priscilla eliminated the gap between them and brought her right fist up to slam into Amaranta's face at full force. Having never been the kind of girl to go half-speed, no amount of energy or momentum was wasted as she sought to strike her new friend with the explosive strength of a tank round.

An explosive strike roared through the air like a meteor shot forth from a cannon at high speed. An impressive display of force, but the bronze woman's reaction time allowed her to immediately discern and counter the blow with a thunderous strike of her own, swinging her fist forward toward Priscilla's in a direct clash.

Of course, the collective impact and strength behind her opponent meant she would suffer the physical feedback of momentum, her body forced back by several meters or so. Gazing at the small bruise in her fist, Amaranta grinned from ear to ear.

"Whoa... that was impressive! Show me more!"

Falling into her untamed state of battle lust, Amaranta thundered through the air, a burst of Sonido announcing her charge, returning within proximity of her foe, unleashing a blow to return the favor. If the force of her companion's blow was akin to a tank round, Amaranta thought it honorable to respond in kind with her pinnacle of might, each strike rivaling a battleship's main cannon when unrestrained. After all, Priscilla was her friend now, and anyone who considered themselves a companion of hers, knew full well how much she reveled in combat. To receive her at her peak was nothing short of an honor in her eyes.

The collision caused Priscilla to reel back, where she now observed smeared blood on her already-healed knuckles. It was readily apparent to the redhead beauty that they were a match in toughness, but she could feel the incredible strength behind Amaranta's fist that overshadowed her own. She wasn't given any more time to consider their similarities and differences as the air suddenly birthed Amaranta as she bore down upon her.

To block the incoming blow, Priscilla ducked her head slightly and raised her left arm to guard, her forearm taking the brunt of Amaranta's attack instead of her face or chest. Even as pain rocked her arm, Priscilla's other fist was already cocked back and aimed straight for her opponent's rib cage; only, it wasn't a mere punch coming for the stunning Arrancar. The air and space around Priscilla's fist distorted and warped as the blood that stained her knuckles acted as the catalyst for a full power Gran Rey Cero which bathed the duo in intense pressure from Reishi's density.

The torrent of crimson energy that accompanied her fist was impressive, the resulting explosion doubly so. A commendable fusion of offense and defense that eliminated any notion of a counterattack due to sheer ingenuity. Consumed in the explosive conjuration of energy, a violent grin tore across her bestial features. Fighting through the gravity of reishi, the burning lioness swung her arm forward like a guillotine, intending to rip through and cut her newfound companion's arm in half.

Whether or not this method of brutal offense merited the result, the bronze woman recognized that her crimson-haired opponent required far more effort and attention than she expected. That was incredibly invigorating, truth be told. Priscilla seemed exceptionally capable of matching her in battle. When the cloud of energy dissipated, telltale signs of damage were present across her body, remnants of the attack engraved through the burns in her ribcage.

No doubt about it. If she were of less sturdy constitution, her entire abdomen might have been consumed entirely within that crimson whirlwind of energy. At any rate, such a notion only served to excite her as she took a moment to unsheath her sword, joy painting her expression as she tossed her zanpakuto between both hands. Rushing forward like a murderous whirlwind, Amaranta used the momentum and friction she accumulated through the air to form and unleash a long crescent of fire at Priscilla.

"Most rarely make me admit to this, but... I underestimated you. The average arrancar doesn't hold a candle to you. Good. There's no regret in my decision, after all! Keep it up! Show me what you're truly made of!"

Dust and smoke consumed the battlefield from the space-distorting explosion, leaving naught visible. As time went on and the cloud began to clear out, Priscilla appeared from within; only now with a puddle beneath her as crimson as the hair hanging over her shoulders. Her left arm hung lifelessly at her side, clearly broken in several places with bone sticking through her porcelain skin.

Despite the ruinous state of her left arm, Priscilla didn't look too bothered at all. She was in pain, no way around that, but a destroyed limb? She'd suffered that particular injury more times than she could count. It began to slowly heal itself, the bones being pulled back their proper places in her arm. All too slowly for Priscilla, who saw a rapidly approaching opportunity to fix this problem much quicker.

Aqua-green honed in on Amaranta's every movement, an appreciative smile accompanying it as Priscilla was glad to hear her new friend was having a good time! She turned her focus from the woman to the fire crescent launched from her sword. Instead of moving to dodge or avoid it, Priscilla ran straight for the oncoming attack without fear in her soul. At the very least second she moved slightly to her right and sprinted at her frienemy, ignoring the left arm now flying through the air in the opposite direction. She blitzed Amaranta, throwing her entire body at the woman in a reckless tackle. As she moved to wrap tightly around Amaranta, black matter appeared where her arm was before rapidly forming a fresh new limb, unblemished and clean which also aimed to tighten around the Arrancar. Priscilla's goal was to keep the woman's arms pinned to her sides and limit her maneuverability, happy with her strategy as their bodies potentially squeezed against each other.