in my younger days [c]

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Mid-morning breeze rustled gently through hedges, over cushy fields of grass, through the verdant awnings of sparsely laid trees. One pallid giantess lounged beneath the shade of a sturdy old maple gradually renewing the greenery of its upper strata in the ongoing springtide; Claire Seychelles almost could have been passed off as an art installation of marble if not for her motion, which was peculiar unto itself, somehow steadier and more fluid than the comparatively clumsy, abrupt movements of the ordinary humans dotted about the park.

She lay with considerable latitude nearly horizontal against the ground, gnarled roots creating a crude bed for her; in amongst their sprawling lengths, Clarity's long wooden staff lay camouflaged. In the Jotunn's right hand, which was sheathed in a black gauntlet of chitin-like metalwork, an orange was clasped. It was a large enough specimen, but it still seemed puny in her clutch. With the other porcelain extremity, Clarity lazily peeled the fruit first by digging her rather potent nails into its skin for purchase, though delicately she never injured the flesh beneath. Plucking a particular segment from the exposed interior, she popped the morsel into her mouth and chewed absently, staring around at the frolicking children with a look of slightly distant contemplation.

Presently, from the west, a duo of siblings gigglingly approached, both little brunettes no older than six. Their father dallied not far behind, unease pulling his mouth taut. The girls were muttering something fervently to each other, pointing openly at the giant even as they were within lunging distance of her. Chewing her food, the marble woman stared at the infants, though, noting the concern of their parent, flashed him a benign smile.

Long past what was socially courteous, the girls looked up at Clarity with twin looks of excitement on their faces. "Excuse me!" the larger one spoke up. Claire smiled at her, as well. "We were wondering - what are you?"

It was a jarring question, and potentially offensive - but Clarity was not easily offended, and from the mouth of babes the inquiry had no bite. Besides, she had long become inured to such questions. Thus, she merely smiled more broadly and plucked another two segments out of her orange, outstretching her long arm towards the two, balancing the individual chunks between her fingers.

"Just a very tall lady... who wonders if either of you two might be fond of orange." Her voice was oddly resonant, as though her voice had bounced around in her throat before finally echoing out into the world. The younger sibling jumped with excitement.

"I am! I love oranges!" she proclaimed, leaping forward to fearlessly snatch both pieces from betwixt the giantess' digits. Clarity, noticing the slight twitch of dismay in the other sibling, twisted her hand up to form a chiding finger.

"Now, now. Don't you think your sister might like some as well?" she prompted, causing the munchkin to look towards her sibling.

"Here you go!" she offered. The two girls popped the pieces into their mouths more or less at once, which was a struggle for the little one.

Clarity chuckled. She saluted genially to the father as he led his children away.

"Thanks, lady!" they said almost in unison, without prompt. They waved back as they departed.

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[j]

FROM WHAT I HEARD
SHE GOT A BABY BY BUSTA

It was a particularly unfortunate series of events that lead to current circumstances. Those being among the lines of abuse and torture and persecution and the like. A typical night consumed by the horrors of past memories. Some nights Chiyo may recall being banished from her own family. Others she might recall being oppressed and victimized. She's since refused to tolerate abuse, but still awakes screaming occasionally.

She'd passed out on a pleasant looking bench in a park the night before. The park patrol attempted to force her departure but was physically incapable so he briefly conceded and excused himself. Currently Chiyo lay face down on the bench, somehow managing to not damage her sunglasses during her slumbering. Perspiration poured from her brow as she growled and muttered quietly to herself. Veins began to protrude from her temple, concealed behind her azure bangs.

The muttering began as a soft grumble, but momentarily grew into a noisy conversation with no apparent person. Initially unintelligible garbage spewed from her lips, but some acute attention would reveal this to be very real.

"I'll get even..." she breathed.

"I'll get even with all of you..." the muttering continued.

"I won't die from this!" she spoke up briefly, crying underneath her shades. Snot seemed to drip from her nose at this point.

"I'LL GET OUT OF HERE AND KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU BASTARDS!" She screamed vehemently.

At this point she jolted awake. Peering around to see all of the children and parents passed out around her. Rubbing her head tenderly she became aware of a freakishly tall woman perched next to a tree near her. Who...?

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CODED BY REM OF WW

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Clarity lazed around for a while thereafter, snacking idly on her fruit, amused by the acidic taste. Occasionally she glanced off to her right, where a teen trussed by her tall turquoise tresses rather audibly slept on a park bench, half enshrouded by the shade of the giant's tree. As the morning had passed, this shadow had gradually receded, casting light on the girl's slackened features. Eventually, she stirred, murmuring conversation with a figment of her unconscious mind. One of her limbs groped at the open air.

The Jotunn lay watching her, abstaining from the last two segments of orange. Passersby began to give the slumbering child a considerable berth as her fervent mutterings grew in volume. The ivory giant frowned and slowed her chewing to a halt, half concerned that the emphatic shouting could have been indicative of some sort of medical problem. But finally, the youngster positively screamed in violent fury, and her eyes flew wide open; she awakened properly with the sound of unflattering nasal congestion.

As the teen massaged grogginess from her head, Clarity collected her staff in her left hand and used the butt of it to push herself to a standing position, lifting to a ghastly height that one might have underestimated to witness her reclining. She was a fourth as tall as the brush she had been lazing beneath; the broad-rimmed hat upon her head blotted out the sun, making her base a somewhat viable resting place unto itself. She faced Chiyo with a kind smile.

"Some dreams you must have been having, my dear," she remarked. Claire bent at the knee and offered the remainder of her snack to the girl. "You must be feeling a little peckish," she genially supposed. "It's well past breakfast!"

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[j]

FROM WHAT I HEARD
SHE GOT A BABY BY BUSTA

Chiyo was rather bewildered at the moment. Not only had she never encountered a human individual quite as large as the fellow standing before her, but she'd also never met one quite so pale. Quite the frightening aspect if she were to be completely honest with herself. Like if you took the role from a horror story and then manipulated the features slightly so she's actually beautiful. A gentle melodic tone escaped her verbal orifice as if to comfort the horrored lad.

To be entirely honest it was disgusting. At least repulsive to Chiyo, in that she didn't trust the kind-hearted gesture. She couldn't help but reactively make that face. You know the face. This face. Chiyo is probably an awful person, wracked by experience mired in distrust and hatred. Perhaps in this situation a regular individual may find themselves accepting sympathy or even inviting reassurance, but Chiyo internally seethed with suspicion. The woman looked to be the sort that's older than she appears, and refused to even acknowledge her.

Chiyo fixed her face and then with a mighty scoff, huffed her way in the opposite direction; hands firmly planted in the pockets of her coat. What a weirdo, she thought to herself internally. But as she contemplated her situation a bit more, she came to a conclusion that she'd at least verbally teach this nosy woman a lesson. Promtly, having only paced about ten steps from her previous resting spot, Chiyo turned around and stomped back towards the stranger.

"Mind your own business, lady."

Chiyo spoke sternly, having reached a location close enough to speak to the woman threateningly. This action could perhaps be more intimidating if she were closer to the same height.

[insert fake intimidate check here]

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Clarity's offer was greeted with a wordless look of vexed displeasure, as though nothing could have been more repugnant than the prospect of accepting her gift. Despite this discourteous feedback, her kind expression did not waver. The outstretched orange merely tracked the girl as she got up from her bench, pocketed her hands and departed. The Jotunn clucked her tongue at the minor setback, that was all.

The light in her smile redoubled, however, when the teal-haired girl twisted on a heel and stalked back towards her, even if the teen's expression was awash with loathing. She jerked an accusatory finger up - way up - at Clarity and warned her as such:

"Mind your own business, lady."

Only then did the giantess' stance shift a little. She stood back up to her full height, an amused notch now hanging on one corner of her mouth. There was just the merest touch of smugness in her features, so subtle that its actual existence could easily be called into question. Her fruit-holding hand lifted to up to the crown of her hat and locked it in place; a second later, a particularly potent gust of wind blew through the scene, agitating her long ivory locks.

"My, my. Are you going to hit me, Chiyo?" she inquired, before regretfully shaking her head. "I'm not sure I'd survive."

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[j]

FROM WHAT I HEARD
SHE GOT A BABY BY BUSTA

The lady hoisted her height slightly just then. As if her altitude weren't already obscene enough, she wore a faint grin as she did so, and her hat managed to eclipse the sun perfectly as if she'd intended to be as ridiculous as she seemed.

"My, my. Are you going to hit me, Chiyo? I'm not sure I'd survive."

Astonishment. Astonished bewilderment to be precise. You could also add in a slight measurement of perverted pride if you'd like. Pride as in the sort of pride you feel when somebody you've never met knows of your name. Perhaps you're famous? But then you retract your feelings upon the realization that you couldn't actually be famous. It was upon this realization that Chiyo made the face again. You know the face. This face.

Chiyo was displeased again. Or rather it'd be more appropriate to say that her displeasure resumed where it had briefly refrained. It wasn't often that her intimidating aura and impression failed to at the very least unnerve nuisances. She instead chose to respond with a lack of reply.

*blink*

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CODED BY REM OF WW

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The Kamyuja was unresponsive, so Clarity descended towards the grassy ground, her long limbs mechanically collapsing like she was an article of portable furniture till she was sitting cross-legged. She effortlessly laid her long wooden staff across the two-pronged platform of her knees and plucked the two orange segments apart, popping one into her mouth. Only one remained.

"Mmm," Clarity reviewed the taste in an appeased murmur, briefly shutting her eyes to savour it before paying heed to the girl in front of her.

"Well, Chiyo," she said, the name that ought to be unknown rolling easily off her tongue, "if you're not too fond of oranges, there's a vendor a couple of blocks from here who always gives me free food." Her smile again flared up, bright and sunny, perhaps recalling some gleeful memory. "In case you didn't want to go home quite yet."

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[j]

FROM WHAT I HEARD
SHE GOT A BABY BY BUSTA

Chiyo remained slightly baffled as the woman sat down comfortably in front of her. Her apparent nature, highlighted by what can most simply be perceived as audaciousness was something Chiyo had not experienced many times in her life. She thought briefly about all the many individuals she'd met to this point and none had been quite so initially kind to her. The only reactive thought that seemed to prod at the forefront of her mind was that she could only be deceiving Chiyo.

"Well, Chiyo, if you're not too fond of oranges, there's a vendor a couple of blocks from here who always gives me free food. In case you didn't want to go home quite yet."

The lady kindly proffered to the angst-filled lad. But Chiyo promptly ignored the gesture once again and sat down on the ground before her, slightly less than a meter away from her. Without once breaking the eye contact that they'd established upon Chiyo's belligerence, Chiyo decided to make an honest attempt at establishing some form of sureness between the two.

"Oi. What's your plan lady?"

Chiyo asked. If she were to follow the lady to wherever she decided to lead her, it could depend crucially upon the response to this very query. Chiyo, being the charismatic young conqueror that she intends to be would prefer a figure that's genuine to her from the start.

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Chiyo remained cynically suspicious, a fact displayed by the dregs of disgruntlement present in her visage, yet she reciprocally sat on the grass directly in front of the giantess. The Jotunn supposed a certain measure of caution was only pragmatic (and she may well have been disappointed had the teal-haired girl displayed none), yet it was always a troublesome impediment to a trusting friendship. Clarity was scrutinized with a prying, narrow eye.

"Oi. What's your plan lady?" the younger woman inquired, displaying curiosity for the first time. That was a good thing.

"Oh, so many plans," Clarity responded, chewing and rolling her eyes skyward as she attempted to recall. "On Friday I have to go grocery shopping, for I'm running troublingly low on spinach and rice; once the Kage comes home, I have to ingratiate myself to her, for that's only pragmatic, of course; between then and now, I intend to find as many talented people as I am capable, for I'm woefully in need of close friends at present; and then in future, total world domination!" All of these items were listed off with the same exuberant innocence.

"But as for right now..." she lowered her eyes to the girl, and in grounding her vision, seemed to become somewhat more lucent. "I don't have much of a plan, my dear. I thought only that a young woman such as yourself who found themselves wakening in the middle of a park might appreciate a free breakfast."

With the totality of that statement, she popped the final piece of orange into her mouth and shrugged. "Supposing I'm mistaken, you can be freely on your way. I won't keep you." She flashed another smile the girl's way, her sapphire gaze already trailing off to a distant stranger.

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[j]

FROM WHAT I HEARD
SHE GOT A BABY BY BUSTA

"Oh, so many plans."

The lady declared. It was this whimsical statement that seemed to hook Chiyo. At least to the extent that she wished to hear more. The mysterious giant spoke further on current matters at hand. Particularly her plans to go grocery shopping, which seemed an odd article to mention at first; but then considering the vague and accusative nature of Chiyo's query she supposed it didn't matter so much.

She spoke of the Takikage, which was trivial to say the least. Chiyo had not seen of, nor heard of the Kage since she was a wee lad. In fact, Chiyo most likely wouldn't recognize the fellow if they happened to be sitting on the grass in front of her right now. Friends were the next item on her list.

For just a moment Chiyo zoned out, but was brought back to awareness by the mention of world domination. This was an option that Chiyo had never considered until just now. She nearly didn't catch the indication, and the way it was brought about so ingenuously surprised Chiyo tremendously. If it weren't for the continuation of the woman's speech, Chiyo would have surely requested elaboration.

But instead she changed her mind. despite nearing the end of the woman's indication, Chiyo interrupted her.

"-Should I go with you?"

Chiyo interjected quite rudely towards the woman's repeated offer for breakfast. Chiyo was entirely enthralled by this point. If the woman had offered the attendance of her own ridiculing she probably would've happily gone.

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Almost before Clarity was finished speaking, Chiyo cut across her.

"Should I go with you?" she asked, rather in the manner of a child demanding the end of a story before it had arrived. Claire smiled again. The teal-haired girl - capriciously, it had to be said - had done an about-face from disgruntled rejection to hanging off words in the space of a few short sentences.

"Well, I would certainly like to have you along," the pale woman opined, swallowing the last of her orange and thenceforth clutching her own begreaved shins. She briefly raised one gloved finger to her chin and lifted her eyes to heaven a moment, considering. "Yes, I can't think of a mealtime companion I'd rather have."

She paused briefly. "May I let you in on a little secret?" she asked more quietly, pressing forth without the need for affirmation. "You're the first person I've talked to in a long time, and there's a reason for that. I've seen you fight, Chiyo. I've seen the power you wield. It's truly a marvellous talent that you have, and at present, people are doing a poor job of recognizing that fact." Her smile had become a mousy, rarely-blinking look of utter seriousness; on the last sentence, she frowned to reprimand this foolish Other. "I do not make those mistakes."

Inhaling sharply, Clarity again sprung to her feet, pinching the brim of her hat as she was wont to do. "So! I say we find something nice to eat, for there are far more pleasant places to speak than cross-legged on the muddy ground, yes?" She flashed another sunny smile, as she was also wont to do.

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[j]

I WANT ALL OF YOU TO RAISE YOUR GLASSES
AND SHAKE YOUR ASSES

Well, I would certainly like to have you along,"

The woman replied. The lady that was initially perceived as sarcastic and insincere now had Chiyo hanging on her every word. Chiyo blinked impatiently, awaiting the continuation of her disquisition. Pausing briefly only to consume the last portion of orange, the woman spoke once more.

"Yes, I can't think of a mealtime companion I'd rather have."

While Chiyo was referring more of a broader scope of relationship, she was flattered that the interesting elder woman would prefer to spend an amount of time with her. But this wasn't nearly the ending of the praise the woman laid upon Chiyo's shoulders. Chiyo couldn't help but blush upon the mention of her abilities and the lack of deserved adulation she'd garnered formerly.

Chiyo rose slowly, following the towering character who once again, and probably for the final time offered food. She'd probably realized by now that Chiyo isn't often bribed by food, but still she followed. But upon dusting the muck from her garb, Chiyo visibly became aware that the woman she'd been speaking to knew her name, but Chiyo had never seen, met, nor heard of this tall figure. Was she even real? Cheerily tailing the woman, she questioned considerately,

"Oi lady, what's your name?"

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By now being addressed much more affably, Clarity was asked by the young teen: "Oi lady. What's your name?"

The ivory tower halted in her long strides, gasping audibly and placing a finger to her cheek as she rotated on her heels to lean down towards her - it was safe to say, by now - newly acquired protege.

"My goodness me, you're quite right," she breathily exclaimed. "Where are my manners?" She was positively incredulous at herself. She ascended to her full height. "My name is Claire Asgard Mirabella Seychelles," she regally announced, beaming. "But my friends call me... Clarity."

With a flare of the brows, she again turned towards her far-off destination. "But Chiyo, we must make haste! Ah, my friends pack up their stall at noon!"

[Exit]

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