Owner	Pose
Colleen Wing	It's been a minute or ten since Colleen and Danny had the breathing space to just ... walk. A flood of new students in the Dojo tied Colleen down for a while. Board room antics in Rand Enterprises had Danny run ragged. The slow-down was as welcome as it was unexpected. "If you want me to handle BioMedChemTech's board for you," Colleen jokes as they walk, "I can do a midnight visit and persuade them to stop being assholes?" It's a ha-ha-only-serious kind of joke. "Good to have you back in the neighbourhood, though," she continues, hands in the pockets of her white hoodie (and don't ask about the amount of work it takes to keep it white given her ... activities). "I missed you a bit." A brief shouldering follows, the kind that would send a normal person at least two steps to the left from the impact of it. Danny, of course, is not a normal person... "Just a bit though."
Iron Fist	"Or I could just appoint you to the board," he joked back, not missing a meat. He wasn't trained for the board room. Had he grown up in New York, he would have been. But he spent his formative years in a glorified Shaolin temple. Corporate politics weren't topics taught alongside how to walk on your hands across broken shards of glass, or hold the splits over a vat of boiling water. "It's good to be back," he had returned to K'un-Lun, through some magical mumbo jumbo, as there was some kind of issue with a giant gorilla. It wasn't King Kong, but it might as well have been. For a place that had a portal that was only supposed to be accessible in allotments measured by years, there were a surprising number of workarounds. He wore one of his green suit, this one looked like athletic gear, with yellow accents, and a yellow bandana covering his face. His colors were much easier on the laundry. The green didn't show marks as easily, and the yellow was fleeting. Less coverage, and thus, less to worry about. He echoed her view, "I missed you a lot." Danny did move in response to the shouldering, but only one foot left the ground. The other remained planted. He seemed to wobble, before he found his balance once more, and brought the raised foot back down. A mock look of concern, "just a bit?"
Colleen Wing	"Yeah. Just a bit. Like the river is a bit filthy." She doesn't need to say which river. You can smell it from everywhere here. "Like the mayor is a bit dishonest," she continues. "Like I'm a bit violence prone." She snorts and kicks a can on the sidewalk, the can arcing through the air in its off-balance trajectory to land in a trash receptacle on the other side of the narrow road. "And honestly, these walks through the neighbourhood aren't as ... nice ... as when I've got someone to talk to. Luke's too busy in his bar. Jessica ... her demons sometimes interfere with this kind of thing. Misty's busy. You're the most reliable person for me to go into the 'Hood with." She snorts again and smiles, though turns her head away so Danny can't see that. "So I guess I kinda like the company."
Iron Fist	Some of those went over his head. He was still a bit naive about certain things, like he did not know the mayor, so didn't think he or she was dishonest. But he did get her meaning through the numerous references. He was suddenly in awe of her kick, "impressive!" he said, even before it landed in the trash receptacle. He could tell it was going in, barring a last second gust of wind carrying the smell of that river, of course. He appreciated the turn of the head with her smile. Side by side, it was harder to tell when someone was smiling whilst wearing a hoodie. He returned it, though his was far more innocent looking, even with the bandana covering the upper part of his face. He leaned into her, not to push her as she had pushed him, but to brush his shoulder against hers, his head brushing her hoodie, "I missed you a lot," he repeated a second time.
Colleen Wing	A moment is building, it seems, as Colleen's face warms, not quite blushing yet, but preparing for it. She takes a breath to start to say something, turning her softened face Danny's way to deliver it. "Look," she starts, "this patrol is a waste of time. Nothing's happe..." Why does she tempt fate so? Does she not understand the universe exists solely to screw with people like her and Danny? Her voice cuts off as her ears catch that sound she knows so well. The sound of hard flesh on soft. The subsequent gasp of pain; the expulsion of air as wind is knocked out of someone's lungs by a strike to the solar plexus. The choked gasping as a human body relearns how to breathe after a wave of pain erases that knowledge from it. Shit. "Spoke too soon..." she mutters, murder in her eyes. (Literally, likely, given the fact that there's now a pair of kunai in her hands, pulled out of ... somewhere.) "Let's dispense with some justice quickly, K?"
Iron Fist	"-ning until you tempted fate," he finished her thought after the first sound of hard flesh meeting soft, while also slyly taking a little dig at her expense, that she had tempted fate, and caused the universe to lash out. He immediately assumed a defensive stance, scanning the area with his eyes and ears, trying to locate the source, so that they may deal with it. The gasp of pain, the expulsion of air, he knew these sounds well, and in the dead of night, they echoed and reverberated through the neighborhood. He could use weapons, but he was a weapon, and so he rarely armed himself. The biggest issue was that he didn't have a ranged attack, but he was very good at closing the distance when he wanted to. "There," he said, gesturing, as he believed he had been able to zero in on the direction, and he began moving swiftly towards his intended target.
Colleen Wing	Having done her own scan of locations it could have come from, and closing in on the same direction that Danny had pointed to, Colleen nodded and ghosted behind him. No, really, where the Hell is she? Of course it's easy for Danny to actually know where she's going, but anybody in the alley they're headed for is going to think Danny is alone. Because she's racing full-tilt down a parallel alley to approach them from the other side, knowing Danny would recognize what she's doing and slow his own arrival so they arrived at roughly the same time, spooking and dividing the targets right from contact. Hurdling over ground obstacles, she zips through the other alley, ignoring the wino sprawled out in sweet oblivion, and catches the corner of the building at the other end, turning her momentum without reducing her speed, arriving at the other end of the target alley, pausing until she can see Danny skylit at the mouth opposite, waiting for him to introduce his presence so she can follow suit on the other end. One... two... three... Three baddies on the immediate glance-over, and one victim, currently held by one of the baddies while the other two are working him over. Kunai are being prepared for launch. Just ... which end to land first? Blunt or sharp? Decisions, decisions.
Iron Fist	Stealth was not really the focus of his training. He could do it, he could investigate, keep to the shadows, it was part, but it was not where the emphasis was placed. He was the Iron Fist, a man whose fist literally glowed like a flashlight. A glowing yellow fist did not make for a stealthy approach, even if he could summon it at a moment's notice. He thought that Colleen was behind him, but she had seemed to disappear on their approach, no doubt to some advantage. While he didn't know exactly where she was, he guessed at her plan, and did as she intended. They were used to fighting together, and the bond they shared carried a great deal of weight. Part of being the fist was the intimidation factor. In the dead of night, only illuminated by the moon, the skylights, a few windows, and the like, it was still dark. And as the masked man approached, his fist began to glow. It started with his palms, lighting up, fingers extended, and as it slowly closed into a fist, so too, did the light become brighter, and more intense. "I am the Iron Fist, I defeated Shao-Lao the Undying, I am the defender of K'un-Lun, and the sworn enemy of the Hand. It would be wise of you to surrender... Now."
Colleen Wing	Two kunai fly out of the darkness from the opposite end of the alley. One strikes the back of the neck of the baddie holding down the victim. The other strikes the fist in flight of one of the other two. Dull and sharp ended respectively. The man holding the victim experiences an explosion of pain in the back of his head that causes light to explode into his vision from the intensity of the screaming nerves. That light vanishes along with his consciousness as he slumps to the alley floor. The other kunai embeds itself, sharp-end first in the wrist of the one about to punch the victim, interfering with the punch unnecessarily as the victim also slips to the ground atop the unconscious one. "And if that's not enough to scare you, though it should," Colleen says acidly from her end of the alley, "I'm the Daughter of the Dragon, defender of this neighbourhood, and I don't mind getting a bit bloody." She's having to project that over the sound of the screaming guy staring at his impaled wrist. Idly she adds up the physiotherapy bills facing that one and nods. Justice has prevailed. "You, back away from your victim or the next one goes sharp end into your neck." Really this is one she could have handled without Danny. It's just nice to have Danny around. Nicer than she realized, however, as silently, behind her, in Danny's sight, but not (yet) noticed by her drop two black-clad, beweaponed figures. A similar pair drops down behind Danny at his end of the alley.
Iron Fist	Already, Colleen was showing off her more violent tendencies. Danny had no problem with violence, but he wasn't really the type to strike first, even against obviously bad actors. If Danny had a voice recorder on him, he'd have made a note right now to get Colleen some kind of speaker system. Maybe the costume designer that Daredevil uses might know a trick to make a voice project without her having to scream anything out. And then, seeing the beweaponed figures drop behind, he calls out loudly, "Watch out!" He didn't need to say the direction, he knew that Colleen would immediately check and go into a defensive, or let's be honest, playing defense by having a strong offense, stance.
Colleen Wing	An ambush. Did they think she was an amateur?! It's almost insulting. Most people would turn in place to scope out the danger. That would get them lightly killed with the likes of The Hand. Colleen instead tumbles forward, vacating the space she was inhabiting only moments before the viciously sharp blade occupies the space she once occupied. Twisting mid-tumble, Colleen bounces back to her feet, facing the attackers. "Ditto for you, Fistie!" she calls out on landing. No need to say where. If they were in front he'd see them, so he knows already. Don't waste time. "Look at you two sad sacks," she says, facing her two, sword-beweaponed opponents. "Bringing swords to a fist fight."
Iron Fist	"Fistie?" He repeated, standing in place, and shattering a blade that came his way with his fist. Okay, that was impressive, that he was able to punch an incoming blade, and that he was able to shatter it with his fist. He wasn't like most people. He took out the two guys who dropped down beside him, in one fluid motion. Arm to one's jaw, foot to the other's jaw, all during one spin, where he kept one foot firmly planted on the ground. It was harder to maintain his position while doing that. He was always training, even when the competition weren't up to it. "Now, would anyone like to reconsider?"
Colleen Wing	This is a Colleen trigger. The gangsta wannabes? She could indulge them with just pain. Hand? Different. Story. Danny cows them by attacking their blade, then casually taking out the attackers without even bothering to look at them. Colleen, by contrast, sees red. This is The Hand. The organization that betrayed her. That made her a murderer. There's not going to be an opportunity for them to surrender. Danny's attack is a miracle of stately, precise, showy moves, designed to cow the opposition by just the sheer display of his skill. Colleen by contrast is a honey badger, going straight in for maximum damage and ire. The sword that swung where she was standing gives her an opening she steps into, reaching into her training for a little Wing Chun glad-handing to keep those arms locked in a motion against her, one of the infamous close-in punches of the discipline snapping an elbow, giving her control of the sword blade. That blade, although still technically in possession of the Hand's minion, now sweeps according to her will, and her will drives it into the throat of the other, blade angled upward. And then she does it. She really does it. As the now-dead weight of the other's compatriot drags the tip of the sword down before sliding off with a squelching sound that leaves the front third of the blade covered in red, she says it. "Stop hitting your own people you putz!" She really did it. The grown-up version of "stop hitting yourself".
Iron Fist	Colleen Wing may have acted like a honey badger, but Danny Rand would have fit in perfectly with Hufflepuff, the Hogwarts House whose mascot was a badger. He valued hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play. One of these days, he would have to ask her which House she was part of, assuming of course she had read the books, or watched the films, and if not, well, that was their future Netflix and Chill moment. He was trying to end this with a minimum of violence. He had studied and trained for practically all his life, so that he would not need to use most of his training. Still, he was shocked at how brutal Colleen Wing could be. He was not opposed to people dying in combat, but he always took the view that they would cause their own death by opposing him, not that he would take their life so... violently. He knew that line was supposed to be funny, but he was more shocked. "Co... Dragon," he caught himself, even if she didn't wear a mask, and as if to demonstrate just how little concern he had for these, he would move forward, a flurry of blows, sweeping motions, trying to take them all out, yes, through violence, but so that they would live, in the hopes that no one else must die tonight.
Colleen Wing	Danny's actions saved one life. The man who "hit his own people". Because that's where the sword blade was going next, despite his best efforts, and as the deadly blade whirled in tighter and tighter spirals working toward his own body, suddenly, out of nowhere, Danny ends the game and takes down Colleen's victim. She whirls to face him. "I could handle him!" she says, misunderstanding the motivation for a moment. Then it dawns on her. "Oh, shit, Danny, I'm so sorry!" The sword, now in her hand, drops from her fingers to clatter on the pavement. "I know this bothers you. I..." She gulps. "I'm sorry," she says again, lower voice, eyes downcast.
Iron Fist	Most of the time, Danny Rand was easy going. He was remarkably chill. In danger, in life, he was just that funny, a bit naive, guy, who made friends easily, and never seemed to really resist the flow. He was like water. Most of the time, he was soft, and would bend, reshape himself, to whatever he needed to be in that moment. And then there were times like this. When water could break stone. "I know you could handle him, you could handle this, you could handle so much more. But you don't have to, and not like that. The Hand kills. I... try not to." He wasn't against killing. He was against killing when he didn't have to. And the same went for others. The apology, the recognition, and the drop of the sword, it was enough for him. He had said his piece. She knew where he stood. He wasn't going to dwell on it. And when she gulped, head going down, he brought a finger to her chin, gently pressing to encourage her to look up. He was about to lean in to kiss her, but then, the moment was interrupted by sirens. "We better go," he said, and soon, he was heading in the direction she had entered through.
Colleen Wing	There's a million thoughts going through Colleen's head, evidence of which flickers in her eyes as he raises her chin to look at him. This is the Hand, they don't deserve mercy. I'm sorry. I am what I am; flaws and all. Amitabha. They mill and fight with each other, forming warring, fluid factions in her brain while she stares transfixed at Danny's gentle, deadly water flow. "I'm sorry," she chokes out again, a tear escaping one eye. A faction briefly won. Contrition. She stares like a fawn in headlights as he leans in, her mind willing him closer. For that physical sign of forgiveness. Just a little more... The sirens make themselves heard. An expletive partially forms in her mouth and briefly escapes before being choked off. "I'll try to do better." No promises she can't keep. She's disappointed him enough. But she can try.