thefolder | The odds are never in our favor

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The odds are never in our favor

Who: Jinx and Hollyleaf
What: Sidelined from the battle, these two are going back to Tokyo
Where: On the road back from Millenniummon's Castle
When: Before the final battle, after Hollyleaf caused a dark evolution.

Luck was a fickle mistress.

Jinx had lived all of her life with that cloud of uncertinty hanging over her head. What did it matter if you planned every detail of something down to the letter when it could all be undone by a stroke of bad luck?

Was anyone really in charge of their own destiny when the unpredictable forces of luck could so easily upset the laws of probability? Already such odds were thrown upon their head given the situation they were in. Two girls from two different worlds, brought suddenly and inexplicably to a third world where they were expected to save it despite one of them losing a unique talent she had come to rely on...and the other being forcibly transformed into a human when she had previously not been.

The numbers were too staggering for even a genius level intellect. And while Jinx was no dummy, she was not smart enough to work out the exact odds of that happening to someone.

Her power over luck had more often then not in the past few years been beneficial to her. Only by force of will had she convinced herself to keep her other skills sharp on the off chance her powers failed her. And only because of those skills was she still alive. Lucky? Or just Being well prepared?

These were the sorts of thoughts that ran through Jinx's head as she kept pace with Holly leaf trudging through the woods back towards the closest station where they could pick up a Trailmon back to town. A large egg was resting against her middle held in place by a sling that went up over her shoulder like a messenger bag.

Sometimes all it took was a little bad luck to completely ruin someone's day. Noir had been on that end of the spectrum while luck had favored Jinx enough to keep her alive and have Black Wargreymon save them from Hollyleaf's rampaging partner.

More and more Jinx was starting to worry that fate may not have her best intentions in mind.

More and more she was hoping to get her powers back before she'd have to find out.

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Her uninjured ear flicks, and Hollyleaf dips her head, a gesture for Jinx to go ahead and apply the disinfectant.

"Of course. What else would we use?"

"For all I know? Magic." Jinx gently took Holly's hand in her own and gave the wound a spritz of disinfectant. It would sting at first but if Hollyleaf could hold out a tingly numbing sensation would cool the pain.

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She wrinkles her nose. "What?"

The sting she's expecting, so there's only a slight wince, but she soon feels the light hum of pain sink away.

"What's that?"

As Jinx bandaged up the wound she explained, "A force that causes things you can't explain. Once you learn how it works it becomes science."

It was more complicated then that but...well why worry Holly with all of that?

"Some worlds have magic, some worlds don't. It just depends on what you understand."

It's amazing how Hollyleaf can keep her face so impassive at the explanation.

"Oh. That. I understand magic."

"Well there you go then. What sort of magic did you have in your world?" Because Jinx was half convinced given the chance she could explain some of it with the teachings of a human school system. She might not bother because there would be no point other then education for educations sake.

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"It's not entirely something I understand," Hollyleaf replies honestly. "You just receive them, should you be lucky. It is...something that can't happen to normal cats."

Jinx nodded knowingly and packing up her gear.

"We have things like that in my world as well. Like me. I was just born with special powers." There was a flash of mischief in her eyes.

"Some call it a curse." She added.

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"An incredible responsibility comes with powers from the stars...or wherever else they come from."

Lightly, Hollyleaf touches her eye.

"Of course it could be a curse. Depending on how it's used."

"Sounds like you have personal experience with the curse aspect."

She was fishing of course. But everything Hollyleaf revealed was a weight off her chest that Jinx could share.

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"I don't." Her words are short and maybe a little sad. "Not myself, personally. But any sort of responsibility like that...the burden. Just imagining it can drive you to do unspeakable things... I've known cats. The sort."

"It's the classic tale." Jinx agreed, "People...or cats, taking on more responsibility then they can handle. In the case of powers in my power it can make people turn to wicked evil things, selfish desires. They go out of their way to use and abuse their powers."

Much like her.

"

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"Gifts should be used for the good of the Clan... ...group, I guess, here."

Hollyleaf studies Jinx, though, with a subtle frown.

"You did bad things, you said before. With those powers?"

Jinx met her gaze with an unflinching assuredness about her.

"I did. My powers brought misfortune, chaos and bad luck to anyone near me. It seemed my path was pretty clear when I started down it. And when the person who found me and started me down that path convinced me of it she promised me respect. Admiration. Everything I could ever want that I'd never had as a child."

There was a half a smirk.

"Seeing as I was alone and had no one that cared a shred for me, it was an easy choice to make."

A part of her wants to lecture Jinx, because that's going against the warrior code! ...But it's not like Jinx grew up with a code. She didn't have...set rules, like Hollyleaf.

And Hollyleaf would be a hypocrite, regardless, for calling her out.

"...A good mentor's what anyone would want. It's a shame you didn't find a different one before that."

Jinx couldn't help but smirk at the offered concern.

"Maybe that would have helped, maybe not. But I know this much, mentors aren't perfect. Dig too deep and you'll find all their flaws in glaring detail."

Thinking back to her disappointment at meeting her idol, someone she would have killed to be mentored by. Someone she almost killed for.

How true. How very true. She thinks of Leafpool, she thinks of Ashfur... Her brothers' mentors.

But how far is it to judge Leafpool?

"...I just wish you could've found something better than you did." She shrugs and stares into the tree. Nyaromon has fallen back asleep. "But you can have the best mentor and it can...still go south. Maybe it's all up to what the stars want."

"Hey." Her voice took a slightly more stern turn to it, "Don't pity me and how my life turned out. The fact is crime is alot of fun. It may not be morally right but it's a thrill to be faster, smarter and just plain better then everyone else. And to get what you want? What you feel like you deserve? What's better then that?"

She stood up and began stretching to keep the blood flowing in her limbs.

"The only bad part is when you lose."

"You don't have to break rules to feel like that," Hollyleaf says, her own voice turning firm. "Making something better, building it up, or coming up with ideas to help the whole can. Training, or bettering the group."

It's not like she's trying to lecture; she's messed up, she's broken the code, as have some she loves, but it's not like that means it has to be thrown away...and that's the same for the rules of others.

In contrast to Jinx, Hollyleaf leans against the tree.

"What's good about feeling like that if you're alone?"

"Well for one, people can't disappoint you if you don't expect much from them." she reasoned and then smirked.

"Everyone works differently of course. Some people need support, some people can rely only on themselves. What's important I suppose is being flexible." To demonstrate her point she brought her foot up behind her head.

"To adapt and evolve and be ready to change at a moments notice."

Hollyleaf watches Jinx move, fascinated by a Two-leg stretching like that.

"Yeah... I...tried, once, but living in a Clan, it's all I really..."

The flexibility distracts her too much.

"How can you do that? I thought all Two-legs-- er, humans, were bad at stretching."

"Practice." She answered proudly lowering her leg to the ground with precise control.

"If you want, when we get back to Tokyo we can do some yoga together. It's a form of training that helps you improve your flexibility and tone. It's also very soothing spiritually."

She gathered up her bag encouraging the idea she was ready to resume their walking.

The implication isn't lost on Hollyleaf. She stands and carefully lifts up Nyaromon, who stirs only a moment before drifting back to sleep.

"Of course! Anything to get my body back to what it used to be, even just a little bit."

She actually looks like she's looking forward to it.

Leading back out into the open she smiles and looks thoughtful.

"Let's see, flexibility, agility, climbing skill, I can help with those at least. I can't really teach you to hear or see better obviously."

The desert sun is hot...but somehow not as sweltering as before.

"Are you kidding? Just feeling like I can move again will be a blessing, compared to how my joints are now."

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badluckbabe - 2013-08-26 18:00 (UTC) - Expand

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