Wayward Daughters [Ophelia/Armor Hunt]

Ophelia had been wandering around in the woods for awhile now, on her own- messing with her D-Nexus. It'd been a little while since she had got it, and it'd been a little while since she'd begun learning all of its functions - and overall, Ophelia was confident that she had it from here! Sure, maybe she was very much unfamiliar with most technology, given that she grew up in the mountains her whole life - but she felt like she was getting the hang of this! She knew how to browse the internet and Tamernet, she knew how to use the calling and texting functions - given that it was practially a phone - and she even was learning to use the map!

In fact, this is what brought the little lioness out here; she was practicing using the mapping and scanning functions of the D-Nexus, to navigate her way around the forest! Instead of looking to and relying on more natural methods of navigating, like her sense of direction, landmarks, or the sun above - she was peering down to her D-Nexus, and the little map it'd draw out for her as she walked along. Where she was going was, well, anyone's guess - she was wandering, after all - but she was sort of hoping to find something interesting out here, with the map to help her out. Who knew what she couldn't see with eyes alone, but might be able to with the D-Nexus?

Well, so far, it was just trees, trees, and more trees; nothing interesting to note, really. Occasionally, Ophelia would pick up the scent of a digimon that had been thru the area, though most of the scents were a bit on the old side; certainly not recent enough for her to go track them down for a chat or a spar. Still, this was at least giving her some experience working with the D-Nexus; which was good, considering that when she first got it she knew jack-shit about it. Sovereigns only knew what she'd be capable of, once she was able to use this thing to its fullest potential?! (Likely not too much, given that it was more or less an informational device; but don't tell Ophelia that. It was still useful, at the least)

Either way though, it wouldn't be too much more walking until Ophelia realized that one of the scents she was able to pick up on was actually a fresher scent - carried on the breeze that occasionally rustled the leaves and boughs above. It took Ophelia a second to orient herself, to figure out which way the scent trail was leading... But once she had the trail, she'd follow it - tail swishing curiously at the prospect of meeting a new friend, and a new sparring partner! Fighting was almost always on the mind for her - she believed that sparring was a great way to get to know someone, and she also enjoyed being challenged, enjoyed getting to snuggle up and relax with a new friend after a spar. It all was fun and nice and comforting for her, overall!

And so, she'd perk up visibly when she saw a flash of golden-orange up in the branches in the distance - heard a faint voice in the distance. Her ears twitched, and she'd pick up the pace - carefully weaving her way amongst the roots and undergrowth - to approach the tree that Holly was perched in - seeing the Meicrackmon lounging up in the branch, leg swinging back and forth, and tail twitching. Though Ophelia never met a Meicrackmon before, she figured that they were likely an evolution of a Meicoomon - like the one that she once met, at the pizzaeria she and Kitt had gone to, those days ago - judging by the markings, the feelers, and the fur color. Jeez, recalling the pizzaeria was making her a lil hungry - maybe she'd go get something to eat later...

Her hunger wasn't pressing enough for her to go eat right away though, so for now - Ophelia's attention was on Holly. She'd call a "Hey there!" up to the Meicrackmon - waving a hand with a wide and cheery grin. "You look like a pretty tough 'mon, you wanna spar a bit?" She'd question - as eager as always.

The Meicrackmon had some scents that reminded her of Kitt, Ophelia noted. It was mostly just the smell of Luminas that tinged Holly's scent - being that Kitt lived in Luminas - but it still was something curious for the little Spadamon to observe. But indeed - many scents would be faintly mixed in with Ophelia's own scent; from her mother, father and siblings, to Ryouta and Karin, to Kitt and Eris - Ophelia was very much a cuddly Spadamon. And cuddling with them on a regular basis (or at least as regularly as she could) led to their scents mixing in with hers. Which, is what Ophelia liked - she enjoyed that mixed-smell of family. It soothed her.

But she'd also have a tinge of salt to her scent - from the Shining Sea, a faint dry smell of the Western Flatlands, and - more faintly - a bit of an older smell; the homely warm smells of Rosewood, and the mossy smells of the Eastern Timberlands in general. She indeed seemed well traveled - carrying the scents of various different places in her fur.

Ophelia blinked in surprise as Holly got startled, falling from the branch - Whoops, didn't mean to scare her! - but it seemed as though the Meicrackmon was able to land on her feet just fine, so the Spadamon wasn't too worried otherwise. Holly seemed quite flustered and shy - and Ophelia couldn't help a soft giggle at this, grinning widely. "Yeah! You seem like you at a higher stage than me - so you're probably would make a tough sparring buddy!" She'd chirp happily, her tail swishing.

At the question of introductions though, she'd pause a second, before nodding a bit. "I'm Ophelia! Nice to meet ya, Holly!" The little Spadamon responded eagerly, grinning widely. "Now c'mon, do you wanna spar or not? I'm down to chat, but I'm itching to stretch my muscles a bit!"

vSo this Meicrackmon could go even a stage higher?? Ophelia's eyes would light up brightly, curiously, her tail swishing with excitement as she pondered what that all could mean - if she could convince Holly to go higher, then this could be even more exciting! She'd yet to find a digimon who was willing to fight her in a significantly higher stage - beyond her mother, at least. "Show me 'em, I'd love to spar ya at your toughest!" She'd chirp excitedly, bouncing from one foot to the other. "I can't see why this other form of yours would be no good - I bet it's pretty strong too!" Ophelia would add - her tail was lashing side to side with her building excitement, it seemed.

Ophelia wasn't only looking for someone who could take more of a beating though - but someone who could dish it out too! The little Rookie was perhaps one to push herself maybe a little too hard - wanting to challenge herself against even the biggest foes. She wasn't so much doing this with the idea that she'd eventually beef herself up enough to fight bigger foes than herself, but more so with the idea that if she challenges herself constantly, that she'd grow bigger faster, and reach those next stages! She wanted to grow big and strong, to impress her parents!

With Holly's confirmation that she was down to spar though, Ophelia would grin even wider - following the other's lead and stretching her arms in preparation. "That's fine!" She'd reassure the other in regards to Holly having never sparred with other people beyond her immediate family, "Just go at it; 'slong as we get our blood pumping I'll be happy!"

Once she was done stretching though, she'd lift both hands into a boxing-like position as she took up a stance - surprisingly not using her sword. Admittedly, Ophelia had been tempted to use her sword, but she wanted to brush up on her hand-to-hand, too, before she brought the sword out - and Sovereigns knew it was more of a pain to tend to cuts and slashes than a few bruises without any proper healing abilities.

Nonetheless though, Ophelia let out a playful growl, her tail quivering - this and her muscles bunching being the only warnings Holly would get, before she'd call out "Alright! Here I come!" - and darted forward! Ophelia brought her fist back, swinging a basic punch at Holly - aiming for the midriff!

So that other form Holly mentioned took a lot out of her...? Well, Ophelia supposed that made sense - she heard that digimon tend to have a hard time maintaining their highest form, besides Fresh to Rookie, for long periods of time - even if she never experienced it herself. Still though - Holly's Ultimate stage was still enough; that was still pretty big and tough!

Thus, the sheer change between Holly's previous softer and golden-furred form, and this more vicious and dark-furred form, seemed to impress and interest Ophelia! Her ears perked, and her tail lashed with excitement in the presence of the Ultimate - this was going to be exciting, she decided! She was ready to see what this Meicrackmon was made of, if she was big n' tough enough to get this far! The little Spadamon looked almost like she could pounce without a moment's notice, almost like a little wild digimon - which might've not been too far from the truth, given her upbringing.

Ophelia was a little surprised, it seemed, that her punch had landed at all - was she expecting Holly to have dodged? Well, either way, she was likely more-so surprised at the sheer speed and ferocity that Holly retaliated with; assuming that she even had the chance to react at all! The punch would strike her sharply in the chest with no time for her to even register the incoming attack - and while her breastplate absorbed some of the blow, she'd still be sent tumbling backwards into a tree with surprising force!

"OOF-" All of her breath would be knocked out of her as she impacted against the tree, pain radiating across her chest and back. She'd slump against the tree for a second, coughing as she tried to catch her breath and regain her composure...

... But surprisingly, she'd begin to get back up, before long. She grinned, she laughed, Ophelia seemed completely untroubled by the fact that she just got thrown into a tree, nor was she troubled by the fact that she seemed a little unsteady on her feet; it was likely that she wouldn't be handle very many punches from Holly. But she didn't seem angry at all over Holly's punch. In fact...

... "Hahaha, yeah, I suppose that's what'd happen; but fuck, that smarts!" She'd laugh to herself as she rubbed her chest - hissing faintly to herself as she did. "That's going to hurt like hell in the morning, pftahaha..!" Ophelia remarked, her tail swishing side-to-side still, her excitement and energy seemingly to have not been abated. In fact, she seemed even more raring to go! Once she found her footing, she'd dart at Holly once more, swinging a couple more punches at the Meicrackmon and trying to steel herself for a retaliatory punch, in hopes that she'd be able to see it coming this time. "Keep at it, I'm having a fucking blast already!"

---

Ophelia gets MCFUCKING YEETED into a tree, before swinging a couple of basic punches at Holly!

Ophelia didn't seem to mind that her punches weren't hurting Holly much - she was quite visibly enjoying herself, with her wide grin and playful laughter. However, even in the midst of all of this, she seemed to be completely unawares of Holly's reaction to her cursing. Or, perhaps the better way to explain it was, she noticed that Holly seemed to be getting flustered over something... But she actually wasn't too sure what, and was too caught up in the spar to really give it much thought, or to think to ask!

Instead, Ophelia would be quick to chase after Holly's backwards retreat; keeping a close eye on her fists, as though to expect a punch. All the whilst, she'd make a soft, pleased purr at having landed a couple of the latter punches; she was doing pretty good, she thought! For an Ultimate, she didn't really seem to be having all that much trouble with fighting her, at least thus f-..

... But, then came the lashing tail.

Ophelia saw Holly's stance shift, and she saw the tail itself at the last second. She had tried to back off to avoid it - but she only ended up getting caught at the end of the Meicrackmon's tail, as she was indeed knocked onto the ground - "Oof!" - and fell on her back. She would act quickly though, rolling aside in anticipation of a possible strike - and to try and give herself the space to safely jump up to her feet, before hopping backwards a few paces of her own. Her tail would twitch and sway, as she eyeballed Holly - as though debating her next plan of attack. All the whilst, she'd call out to Holly, asking "Hey, you enjoying this, too? I'm having a damn good time here!"

After a moment of thought though, she'd come into close quarters once more; though instead of punching, it seemed instead, Ophelia would jump up to try and kick at Holly!

---

Ophelia is oblivious at Holly's aversion to cursing, and gets tripped up by the tail. But, in trying to recover, she attempts to retaliate with a kick!

Ophelia didn't notice Holly's nervousness and uncertainty, at first. She was starting to get caught up in the thrill of the spar; her tail constantly lashing, fur bristling, and a constant wide, toothy grin on her face. She was less focused on the little details, and more focused on trying to figure out what Holly was about to do, trying to anticipate any possible attacks as she swung out at her with the kick.

She'd make a pleased purr once more, as the kick landed - even as Holly seemed to be backing away. Was the Meicrackmon about to try something now though, now that she was in close range? Ophelia seemed to suddenly switch up once she saw Holly draw her arm back, and the little lioness was ready to bounce back and away-...

...- though being an Ultimate to Ophelia's Rookie, Holly was much faster than she was. Ophelia did make a pretty good attempt in dodging, though; the downward punch that Holly had swung was a glancing blow, on top of her trying to hold herself back. It still smarted though, Ophelia hissing a bit as the punch struck her shoulder; hopping back a couple paces as she rubbed at it.

At first, the Spadamon was ready to quickly bounce back in to the fight. It was about then, though, that Ophelia would notice Holly's uncertainty and nervousness; from the slight tinge in her scent, to her demeanor, to her recalling the tone that Holly had responded with before. The thrill for a fight seemed to temper out a bit in Ophelia, as she paused in place for a second, tilting her head in Holly's direction. "We good?" She'd ask. "You seem... A little off? Or maybe nervous?" Ophelia wasn't the greatest at reading people, but even she could see slight hints that something might've been off.

Ophelia would watch as Holly rubbed at her neck, would listen as the other explained herself - the Spadamon wasn't sure what had the Meicrackmon so nervous and off-tempo, but it wasn't exactly fun to spar if the other person wasn't enjoying it at least a little! As Holly explained her not being used to swearing though, Ophelia would make a... Rather puzzled expression. Swearing - Ophelia vaguely recalled her father using the term once when talking to her mother a long time ago, when she and her siblings were very little - though she never did quite figure out what he ever meant by that. Nor did she ever really give it much thought, then - but here it was coming up. "Swearing?" Ophelia couldn't help but ask - seeming quite confused. Was it possible, that the little Spadamon was never taught what swearing even was?

Before she could get an answer from Holly though, the Meicrackmon was now a Meicoomon - babbling nervously, and almost seemingly emotionally. Ophelia wasn't sure what to make of this - it was clear that the other was distressed about something regarding the fighting - though she wasn't entirely sure what Holly meant by 'not good stuff' and whatnot, but... As Holly talked, Ophelia would quietly approach - sitting down on a tree root next to Holly, letting the Meicoomon let it all out. Ophelia figured that the best way to go about this was to give Holly a chance to speak her mind, first of all.

Though, she'd then notice that Holly was crying. Ophelia couldn't help but focus on that fact - that the smaller (it was only up close like this, that Ophelia realized that Holly was much shorter than her) Meicoomon was upset, that she was crying. She couldn't help but think of her own siblings, how she'd comfort them whenever they were upset and scared - and so...

... She'd reach out to Holly, and pull the Meicoomon onto her lap. Holly had every chance to pull away if she didn't like this, but otherwise Ophelia would gently - surprisingly tenderly, given how roughhouse-y the Spadamon seemed to be just a few minutes ago - wrap her arms around Holly in a close embrace; even if her chest and shoulder were still feeling a bit sore. A soft, soothing purr rumbled up from Ophelia's throat, and she gently bunted her cheek against the Meicoomon's shoulder - she was treating Holly much like she would her siblings, whenever they needed reassurance. "Ya could've told me that you didn't wanna fight, at least not at that stage." She'd gently point out - adding "I just like challenging myself; if I keep challenging myself against a bunch of different 'mons - and a bunch of different tough mons at that - maybe I'll get big n' strong faster, y'know?"

"It's okay though, we ain't fighting if you don't want to. Snuggling and talking is fine, too."