Reserved Training

"Gotcha!!"

Her attack was fast, and with lady luck on her side, it was a successful strike! Unfortunately, luck seemed to favor them both, as the manner of her strike had placed her in the perfect position for Clove's counter attack. s her fist continued to apply pressure to Clove's chest, she would quickly find her arm grabbed by the man in question; and without nary a moment to react, without hesitation the man would fling her into the air with all his strength.

"Gah!!" With the might she could muster, Zuqetta would quickly flip herself as she careened upwards; regaining her balance just in time to take notice of the sudden accumulation of energy Clove had gathered, "Think ya can catch me off guard so-!"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Clove's blast would launch upward; catching her by surprise to see such power launched with such immediacy. While she couldn't sense the man himself, the energy he launched was clear to her. As she brought her arms before her, she would hesitate in her decision. She could have easily negated the attack by returning to her full strength... but this would have been cowardly, and hardly would have counted as training. Instead, she would merely brace herself and take the strike head on; pushing forth enough strength to mitigate the attack as the overwhelming display of ki enveloped her.

Clove's attack would take but a moment, yet felt as an eternity as her form disappeared within the blast. As the attack finished, and the smoke and dust began to clear; Zuqetta's form would begin to be seen once again, still frozen in her defensive position.

"He...heh..." She would cough as she attempted to lower her arms, "C-c-cool.... name!" She'd say with a sharp grin as the remaining smoke cleared.

Her body shook fiercely with blots of electricity dancing upon her stunned form. The majority of her cat-eared hood seemed to be destroyed, as the pieces of sleeve that held what little remained torn and fell to the ground below. Her forearms displayed the most damage, having become completely bruised purple with blood trickling. Her while body felt both numb, and pained; but strangely enough, she felt nothing at all from her arms.

"L-little short... of a galaxy... though..."

Her voice would fade as her arms fell, she had clearly underestimated the strength of the attack. Her consciousness would fade in and out momentarily as she dropped from the sky above; catching herself for just a moment, before proceeding to face-plant into the ground.

"Not... done..." She would mutter, as she rested on the ground; unaware of her current position as her consciousness faded once again for the moment.

Her body ached all over and felt as though it suddenly weighed a ton; yet still she desired to continue the fight. However, Clove would deny her; seeing the risk further combat would have. It may have been a rather stupid move not to raise her power further to mitigate the attack; but the stupidity was calculated.

"Heh... hehe, no -cough- apologies needed..." She would respond with a goofy smile; coughing a bit as she rolled over onto her back, "I wouldn't have been able ta suddenly raise my power in a REAL fight-" She would explain, "-so I kept it low, even against your crazy attack! Heh, so the faults my own!" She'd finish, hoping the explanation would bring Clove a bit of solace.

She would accept the aid of the provided bandages; refraining from questioning Cloves weird remark about... using a bean? There were some things that would simply never make sense, and this was probably one of them.

"Fun fight though!" Zuqetta would exclaim excitedly; wincing as a pain shot through her sides, "Hehehe, you're WAY stronger than I thought you were old man! I totally underestimated you, bleh!" She'd finished, sticking out her tongue at the end of her statement as she lamented her own short comings.

She had clearly lost this fight, but that didn't mean there was nothing to be gained from the encounter. Unfamiliar fighting styles, an opponent she couldn't sense; and most importantly, her own overwhelming arrogance. There were plenty of things to reflect on; and losing was the only way to realize these shortcomings. With the fight over however, and her body drained of the energy to move; she wondered what her next step was to be. She certainly wasn't about to continue her trip to the city in her current state; however, she also couldn't exactly just lay around in Saiba-Beast territory either. It was more to reflect on perhaps, as well as something that elicited a bit of painful chuckles from her the more she thought about it.

"You and my sister woulda really gotten along I bet..." She'd say softly with a sigh; almost completely at random. she wouldn't elaborate further however; shutting her eyes as she rested and played back the memories of her spars with Vennel in her head.

For better or worse, the mock battle was over; and having never been taught in life not to accept strange things from strange people, Zuqetta readily partook in the offered Senzu Bean. It was a strange little thing, and almost reminded her of a Saibaman. She'd laugh a bit at the thought that she'd just been given a saiba-seed, but she knew better. With a quick bite onto the surprisingly crunchy green bean, she'd cringe at the lack of taste, but swallow it back regardless.

"I unno how they used ta be, but if they tasted better before, then Earth shou-"

Before she could continue her complaint, Zuqetta would suddenly feel a surge of strength rush through her. Her eyes would widen as she felt her exhausted energy restore while the pain that ravaged her body rescinded. The burns across her arms would dissipate and while not perfect, she would feel almost good as new.

"W-wOAH!!!" She'd exclaim as she rolled over onto her back, only to quickly jump up to her feet, "Is this real!!? How the heck does this even work!?!" She'd question excitedly as she twirled her arms before stretching her legs, "Heheheh, I feel like I could go for round two now!!" She'd state with a sharp grin as she slammed her fist into her palm whilst her tail beat against the ground.

The sudden burst of energy she felt was exhilarating, but she knew to contain herself; the mystery item wasn't given so the two could have another go at it after all. While this Clove individual had seemed worrisome at first, it was beyond clear now that he wasn't a bad guy in the least. The opportunity to do harm had presented itself quite easily to him after all, but rather than the arrow, Clove had chosen the olive branch. With that in mind, Zuqetta's guard would lower; something that made it easier to open up as he asked his question regarding Vennel.

"What's she like, hm?" Zuqetta would state with a stretch, "Hehe, strong; WAAAY more than me!" Zuqetta would explain proudly; strength was the Saiyan way after all, making it easy to be proud of, "Heh, and strict..." She'd continue with a bit less enthusiasm as she crossed her arms and averted her gaze, "-and she is... or was..." She'd continue as a hint of disappointment leaked through her tone, "It's... complicated."

Zuqetta didn't want to allude to Vennels disappearance or possible death, it wasn't even something she had come to terms with herself after all. As time went on however, it was proving to be harder and harder to ignore though. Meeting individuals like Clove certainly didn't help; while she hadn't done it actively, her interactions with individuals in the military or previously in the military was few and far between. Clearing her throat as her tail twitched about, Zuqetta was quick to attempt changing the topic as best as she could while attempting to do so in a discreet manner.

"What about you?" She'd question nonchalantly, "Any military family??" She'd ask with a bit of redundancy; they were Saiyans after all, a military background was the norm. The truly rare to find were those who took no part in the traditional Saiyan way; having met and fought Clove however, it was quite unlikely that he or his brood were so far removed from such things.

Listening to Clove, Zuqetta thought she could feel a bit of melancholy from him; though it was a stretch to make such an assumption considering how stoic he'd been up to this point. As well, the feeling was quickly remedied as he continued on to mention his families strength and well being. If there was anything extra to feel from him, perhaps it was merely a momentary bout of 'home sickness', something of which Zuqetta was all too familiar of.

"If you're worried-" Zuqetta would begin; crossing her arms as her tail flicked about playfully, "Why not go visit 'em?" She'd state casually with a smile, "Hehe, I know I'd visit Ven if I could, so if ya get the chance, you should do the same! Bet they'd be happy ta see ya too!"

She was unaware of whatever background Clove may have had, as well as unaware of whatever reasons he may have had for not seeing his family in so long. As she could do was speak from the heart; expressing a light opinion on a matter that she herself could relate with. Sadly, while the option for Clove to visit his family was yet to be known, Zuqetta option to visit Vennel was an absolute impossibility. She wouldn't allow her feelings on the matter to cloud her thoughts however, at least not now, it was neither the time nor the place.

"Hmm, or if ya can't-" Zuqetta would include, "I could always deliver a message for ya! I'ma continue on my way back to Sadala after this anyways, so I don't mind!" She'd finish cheerfully; it had been a pretty enjoyable encounter after all, so a small favor was hardly an issue, "What're your kids names?" She'd ask, "Wait, you said they're in the military; are they even kids?? Hehe, how old are they?" She'd question curiously, laughing a bit at the humor she felt as she thought of small children garbed in battle armor.

Clove seemed hesitant to speak on the matter regarding his family, something that made Zuqetta feel just a tad nervous. She hadn't wanted to suddenly offend him, but knowing her own family situation, she began to question if it was alright to have asked him such questions. He'd said they were fine; but what it that was merely his own wishful thinking? Luckily, that awkward bridge wasn't one she needed to cross; as after his brief hesitation, Clove had opened up about the daughter he mentioned.

"Amara huh? Got it!" Zuqetta would respond, committing the name to memory, "Hehe, at twenty three though, she's less of a child and more like a big sister." She'd continue with a laugh as she compared Amara and Vennels similar age's in her head, "I can't promise nuthin', but if the opportunity arises, I'll pass along your message!" Zuqetta would say with a confident grin.

She never exactly made it a habit to go off searching for people, but she could at least remember a name and description. As well, she frequented enough back alley-esque locales of information that she felt confident in possibly stumbling upon a clue to finding her. With that, Zuqetta would take to re-capsuling her supplies and returning the case to her jacket before turning back to Clove. It was time to get back to her journey, and she was certain Clove may have wanted to do the same.

"Well then, it's been fun, but it's time for me ta head back home!" Zuqetta would say as she began to hover up into the air, "Hehehe, you'd better prepare yourself old man! 'Cause next time we meet, ima be WAY more skilled when we fight!" She'd yell as she slammed her fist into her palm before pointing in challenge at Clove, "I'll go all out next time, then you'll see how strong I really am!" She'd finished before taking off into the the sky in the direction of Sadala; stopping only momentarily to give a wide wave back towards Clove before continuing on with her journey.