When Life Kicks Your Butt... (Vennel)

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What could have possibly possessed her to give up her attack ball to that kid? Was she really losing her edge? Did that brush with death really affect her so much? These thoughts swirled about her head as Vennel was in uptown Sadala. She'd never step foot in this area of her own volition, if not for the fact it was the only place one could go to find a new attack ball on sale, that wasn't "lightly used," as so many merchants liked to so generously call them. 

She spent a long and boring time getting the necessary paperwork filed, the transfer of funds- not to mention sitting through a show room floor that had 19 identical looking attack balls and being told how intricately different each was. But she'd finally procured a new standard pod that wasn't going to crumple on impact and leave her stranded off worked, probably. Now her stomach growled with the hunger pangs she'd been expected for some time now. She'd had to skip lunch during her wait with the various activities of the day, so now that it was later, she needed something soon.

Spotting some sort of boutique food stall along the side of the road she half expected it to be like the ones in the raditsu district that had questionable food selections. But this one surely had to actually sell real food, right? And it was certainly better than getting home and cooking for Zuqetta on a full stomach. Popping into the stall she looked about and saw a pair of rather... interesting individuals. A tall woman, that was looking dotingly over the smaller girl, who seemed to be at least partly saiyan. It wasn't unheard of to see half breeds these days, but it was certainly far from the norm. Especially in this part of town. Noting that there were plenty of open seats she took one a few away from the mother-daughter pair.

She took another glance at the pair and also noted their lack of military appearance. Unsurprising as the older woman didn't seem very saiyan (especially the whole horns and cloven feet thing) But the young girl also wasn't, so perhaps they were from off world? As Vennel pondered, she caught herself staring and cleared her throat, figuring it was best to at least own up to her actions. "Sorry, I couldn't help but notice you two and... you're not from around here, are you?" 

Vennel had been so taken aback by the pair sitting nearby that she'd completely been oblivious to when her order was being taken, that she'd been completely passed over. Though her curiosity now piqued, she was mercifully distracted from her brewing hunger. It seemed her questioning had drawn the attention of the otherwise brooding young lady in addition to her motherly companion. They gave a rather secretive answer but she didn't mind, it wasn't like she was interrogating them or anything, and she was just a passing stranger so it wasn't as though  she was owed complete transparency or anything.

But without being too specific, the grown woman shed quite a bit of light on the situation. Enough so that the pouty lass retorted while also more fully illuminating her circumstances. "Ah, I see." Losing a fight, yeah, she could definitely understand the fire that puts in you. Her fist tightened as her mind appeared to drift for a moment, before the elder woman introduced themselves, and asked for hers in turn. Vennel's eyes widened as she realized she hadn't even introduced herself yet. "Oh, sorry about that. Uh, yes, it's nice to meet you Zriracha. My name is Vennel," she paused for a moment, before adding, "of the Shredder Corps." She'd need to get used to saying that from now on. At least, it felt like she did. After all, Vocado had introduced himself similarly when they fought together before.

Then, she turned her gaze briefly to the girl, "Zerori is a good saiyan name- you just going to lose to those guys and give up? Or you going to get stronger and get revenge?" One might think Vennel was better with kids, given how she was taking care of one, recruited another into her suicidal death pact of a crew- but no, she wasn't really all that good. It might have worked with a young child born and raised in Saiyan propaganda, but she had no way to know just how unfamiliar Zerori was with it, or if it'd even work.

"So," Vennel then resumed, as she gazed back towards Zriracha. "Mind if I ask where you're from? I could share where I'm from if you want, but I'm afraid my story won't be very interesting." She said with a slight sarcastic tinge to her words, as she gestured with her index finger by swirling it around in the air- pointing to the surrounding area.

Stifling a laugh, the elder Saiyan nodded at the younger one's fiery passion. "Good to hear it. Show 'em who's boss next time you see 'em." Seemed that her little 'pep talk' did the trick at least in confirming she was indeed a Saiyan, even if her elongated ears might convince one otherwise. But the motherly Zriracha reassured Vennel that she wasn't unwilling to hear her own life story, she shared a bit of hers.

They'd come from the "demon realm," whatever that meant- she was certain that they were being hyperbolic or something of the sort. But then, maybe they really were from some far off realm of super-natural beings. After all, she was eating her meat plate so daintily, it was eerie. But the summary of the women's tale was that they'd come in search of Zerori's father, which could have been any number of Saiyans on this planet, or even off of it. But given Zerori's age, her father may have even died in the fighting with the Tuffles at some point.

And speaking of Zerori, she'd already finished what she cared to of her plate, and got up, bandages and all, and stormed out, before issuing a steely eyed glare and some parting words to Vennel. Taken aback she quirked up her brow and nodded, watching the girl storm off into the city proper. Looking back towards Zriracha she chuckled, "you know- I had no intention of hitting on you," she said, looking the woman over- yeah, not her type. "But almost out of principal I feel inclined," she started, before shaking her head in dismissal. "Though I think I'll exercise some self control in that regard," she concluded.

Now noticing that she'd still not ordered, she turned to the server and placed her order for her own meat plate. Her initial curiosity was sated and so now her hunger reminded her of her original purpose for coming to this food stall.

"Though, I do have to ask: are you certain her father is still alive? Not for nothin' but we've been at war for... well, longer than I've been alive. Who's to say her husband hasn't already," she trailed off, pantomiming being hit in the chest by an energy blast before continuing, "y'know?" It was gruff and wholly insensitive, but then again, what low class warrior was overly concerned with etiquette? If Zriracha were an elite, maybe she'd have shown some sort of deference, but given that she was an off-worlder, Vennel figured there was nothing to lose with a brash question like that. 

As Venel finished asking her impertinent question, her order arrived and she began digging in with gusto as she awaited the other woman's response.

Vennel tore into her food readily, not looking too different than how Zerori had gone about it- her ravenous hunger eschewing the need for what most of the galaxy might call decent decorum. However, she was listening still as Zriracha almost encouraged Vennel's brazen remark, while still expressing confusion over her daughter's behavior. It wasn't hard to hazard a guess as to why she may have acted the way she did, but she wasn't going to concern herself with wondering over every half-breed saiyan she came across.

Instead the conversation took a turn at her own guidance. Zriracha confessed she didn't know much about the girl's father anymore, not since losing touch with him some time ago. However, she knew his name, Cress, and explained he may have been an atypical man among his people. The demon woman claimed however she could feel he was still alive, somewhere out there, and Vennel hoped for their sake she was right. However, it was hard to say for sure, the war has gone on for quite some time, so even if he wasn't on the front lines, there was plenty of time for something to have happened. "Well, then I wish you two the best of luck," Vennel managed between mouthfuls of her food.

But no sooner had Vennel returned to eating in full that she began to cough and nearly choke on some of it, in response to Zriracha's comment. Banging on the bar in front of her she struggled to swallow the food lodged in her throat with some difficulty, before finally managing it. She gasped for breath before trying her best to respond. "I don't think I've got anyone like that," she lied. She'd thought a few times of a particular captain she now worked for, since their shared struggle, not that she'd ever admit it to even herself, though. 

"Er, so," she started, trying to change the topic, "What happened between you and... Cress was it?" She said, taking a break from her food given the recent choking hazard it posed. "Why'd the two of you fall out of touch?"

Thankfully, the demonic woman was willing to shift subjects, though her gaze told Vennel she might not have bought her claim. But if she was willing to not press it, she wasn't going to complain. Though Vennel did notice that suddenly the servers were dabbing away her mouth like personal servants. Vennel's mouth dropped before she noticed and shut it. "Since when did street carts have this sort of service?" Her thoughts ultimately proved inconsequential as Zriracha explained a bit about what happened between her and her former lover.

It was quite a bit to mull over, everything considered. Sounded to her like a cheating man, but something about that didn't seem quite right. Zriracha wasn't giving off jilted lover vibes, which meant she wasn't likely the sort to even care if that were the case. The whole situation definitely seemed to have a mysterious air about it, and while intriguing, mysteries were rarely an exciting thing for Vennel. In this case, it was more of passing interest, seeing as she doubted she could have proven any use in the search for Cress. She'd certainly never heard the name before now.

But there was a sympathetic nature to the woman, as she explained she was doing this all for her daughter. Vennel could understand that on some level. Not that she was a mother, but she was sort of taking care of a young woman herself now. "Well it sounds like you've got your head screwed on right, and have your priorities in order. Wish more parents operated like you in that regard." She'd heard stories about how most families that stuck together ended up. And the parental figures never bothered to help their children in any way. Children needed to have some guidance, otherwise they turn out like Zuqetta did. "In a few ways, your daughter, Zerori, reminds me of my... uh, sister." She said, still getting used to keeping up the ruse. Or perhaps that was what she told herself, but it was certainly better than calling her 'the child that lives in my house.'

With a shrug, Vennel leaned back in her seat, pushing back the plate of food, now empty after Vennel got through with it. She listend to Zriracha's question and thought for a moment. It certainly sounded like Zuqetta, but a burnt down home? She hadn't heard anything about that. Maybe she'd have to look into it at some time, but for now she'll run along with it, as all signs pointed to that indeed being the rambunctious tyke. "Well, it certainly sounds like her, though I suppose it could describe half the teenage population of Sadala, to be honest." Her mind then turned towards Onnio, the other kid that lived with her, staving off the part of her that was screaming internally about how much of an old maid she must appear to be. This must be what Earthigans felt like when they began to own too many cats, at least, according to hearsay that seemed like a good analogy.

"Though I've only trained with her a little, I'm hoping she's learning the lesson I've laid out for her. She seems a bit hard headed, so maybe it'll take a while." She lamented the pace at which she was able to train the girl. Vennel would have loved to just get down to it and train her properly, but she had her own ambitions still- it wasn't as if she'd committed to raising a daughter. Just giving sisterly advice, yeah, that's it. "Say, how'd she do anyways? Er, I hope she wasn't much trouble." Her curiosity got the better of her, though she caught herself in time to try and inquire as to what Zuqetta had done this time.

The server came by and removed Vennel's plate for her, and weirdly she recoiled, half expecting him to try and dab her mouth clean or something. However he simply looked at her, perplexed with her reaction, before going back to his duties. Taking a deep breath, the saiyan listened as Zriracha as she praised Zuqetta's abilities. "Well, don't let her actually hear you say that," she thought to herself, knowing all to well how something like that would go immediately to her head. But Vennel could hardly contain the chuckle at the remark about the resemblance to Zerori, glad to know she wasn't the only one that thought as much.

But all this did not come without some sort of cryptic warning. Vennel wondered what the demon might have meant about dark places in her mind, or any of that really. Seeing now that Zriracha was getting up from her seat, the saiyan did the same, since she'd finished eating she didn't need to keep sitting. And that's when the horned woman said something that struck a chord with the warrior. She'd never thought about it, but yeah, she had a lot of responsibility riding on her, in rearing Zuqetta. She still seemed impressionable enough that a strong, guiding hand would be instrumental in shaping the woman she'd become. "Yeah," Vennel replied softly at first, before finding her voice. "I guess I am," she said, as if finally really accepting it herself.

"Oh, right, yeah of course." Vennel had lost track of the time and when Zriracha mentioned needing to find her own kid, she totally understood. Then with a particularly dramatic flourish, the demon produced a coin and another cryptic message, that if she should wish to strike a deal, she would come. "Just what kind of deal are we talking about here," she wondered to herself. "Well, thanks. I mean, same to you just," she said, mimicking Zriracha's coin production with fruitless results. "If you ever need something feel free to reach me." She said, tapping her scouter for clarity, giving the woman a wave as she bowed. 

With her business concluded, she left the food cart as well, heading back home, now that she'd gotten a much needed bite to eat. "Huh, weird day."