A: She launched a counterattack.

Dripping wet, Jinny knew she had to act fast. She stepped carefully around him, always keeping the same radius of distance. Then, she struck. Once again, she leapt forwards.

"You're sloppy!" he shouted and shifted his weight back to deal the deciding strike.

Then she slid her foot hard and fast into a large puddle between them. Water shot up into the air, temporarily distracting his vision. He roared, and at the woman continuing towards him, he thrust the pummel of his weapon directly to her solar plexus. But where he thought he would meat flesh, it simply went through. The illusory clone faded into a dispersing glow, and that was when he knew he already lost. Jinny stood behind him with the point of her sword touching the back of his neck. In that instance of distraction, the shortcomings of her magical abilities were masked just enough to get behind him.

He sighed. "I guess that juice did you well." Then he slowly turned to face the victor.

She stood with glee. The drenched right sleeve of her top hung down, exposing her shoulder as well as a bit more of her breast.

He continued. "And maybe when fighting in the rain, pack some warmer clothes."

Before she could respond, she heard a voice coming up the road behind her. It was a sound the immediately calmed her. She felt her spirits lift, and her smile brightened somehow even more. The charr noticed this, and perked a brow. Then she turned to meet the source of the voice, which called her name, and it was a young woman about her age with a dark blue umbrella keeping her dry.

Her hair was black and to her shoulders, with brown eyes, a slim physique, and long legs. She was a bit taller than Jinny was, her skin was more pale, and she dressed in fancy, dark black and green clothing. She certainly wasn't as gifted in the chest, but she wore a short skirt that showed her thighs and below, with silken skin. Jinny eyed her up, and stared into her eyes. It was a human girl named Isabelle Bennett.

"Hi Bell," Jinny said energetically.

Unlike her companion, Belle was calm, less emotional, and a little bit shy. She also had an aura of grace, as if she was nobility, despite that not being the case.

"Hello, Jin. What are you doing out on the rain? You're going to get sick." More quietly she said, "And look at your clothes. You might want to fix yourself up a little."

Whether Jinny noticed it or not, pink started to appear across Belle's nose and forehead at such a sight. Thankfully for her, she was quite good at remaining composed, but on the inside, she was screaming. The woman she had fallen for nearly a month ago was standing before her, gorgeous as always, dripping wet with sagging clothes. It took a lot of resolve to not get flustered, or to not reach out and... I can't do anything weird. We're in public. Oh, Jin. You're too oblivious for your own good, but you're so adorable, she thought.

Jinny looked down at herself. A bit of colour came to her face for a moment as she pulled her shoulder sleeve back up, and readjusted her outfit. "Sorry. I got carried away."

"I saw the end of that." Belle looked to the man standing idly behind. "Hello there. My name is Isabelle Bennett. It seems like the two of you were having fun."

The charr watched the redhead move to wrap her fingers around the other girl's hand and stand beside her, beneath the umbrella. "She's not bad, I suppose. I'm Tadarok."

"Jinny, is my name. Thanks for the spar, but now I'm really exhausted. We should go rest somewhere, Belle."

Tadarok bowed his head. "Back inside for me. Good luck on your future battles. Enjoy your rest together." With that, he stepped slowly back inside, but at the door, he shook like a dog--water spraying out around him to soak the door frame.

"I missed you," Jinny said as she rested her head on the other girl's shoulder.

Belle smiled. "I missed you too. But let's go somewhere dryer."