Cruach is perched on the edge of a roof, staring intently at the second floor window of an adjacent building. It's late, closing in on midnight, and while the street lights in this area are more often broken than not, she has no issue seeing. A number of moths flit through the dark, landing on the observed building briefly before repositioning themselves.

With a satisfied nod to herself, Cruach takes a couple of steps back, and then sprints forwards, launching herself off the roof. Her trajectory is such that her fingers catch the lip of the window she was looking at, her legs positioned so she can dig her toes into cracks and crevices in thew all tog et further purchase. The whole action is smooth and almost practiced, but she still takes a second to make sure her position is stable. Satisfied, she moves a hand over so that it's aligned with the middle of the window. Tendrils extend, out through the fiber of her glove, worming their way through the slight gap under the window. The come together, mass pumping through them to be deposited as muscle and chitin. It's a quick and dirty solution, minimal artistry and maximal utility. Small spurs of chitin provide bracing and leverage, and the muscle works at the latch. The window opens, the tendrils withdraw, and Cruach hoists herself up, looking around and listening intently before she goes any further.

The homeless girl had been walking around the city at night, dressed in her costume but really more in thought than with a particular purpose. She was broken from her troubles however when a sudden movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye, turning just in time to see some strange figure climbing through a window.

What where they doing? perched in the windows ledge after doing something to open the window....were they a hero or villain? what even was this building?. Walking over to the street she glanced from the figure to the building itself trying to assume just where they were breaking into.

The sound of footsteps and the following scent of floral soap and blood all let Cruach know someone is there, someone who's likely to have seen her. Her head turns quickly, slightly further than it should be able to, if Walker were aware of that sort of thing. The rest of her body quickly follows, feet and hands placed carefully but with speed and precision to allow her to turn herself around and face down into the street while still standing on the lip of the window. What little light there is catches her mask, revealing the stylistic similarities to the face of an owl.

With Walker now in full view, she registers that the other individual is likely a cape. The dark and the loose nature of her costume obscure it to a degree, but she tenses significantly. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?" She's not particularly loud, but her voice carries well, such that it's clear what she's asked even from this distance. She has some sort of accent, though it's faint and not immediately identifiable.

Walker's observation of the building would tell her that it looks like it might have once been work space, maybe a shop or office space of some kind. The lack of signage and other small clues point to it having been repurposed in some manner, perhaps storage, perhaps apartments, perhaps something else, it's not immediately clear.

The girl blinks her one visible eye when confronted, seemingly not expecting them to simply approach so quickly and start accusing them. This did put her on the back foot somewhat as it almost made it feel like she was the one in the wrong.

"I...I was...trying to Patrol i guess? I mean...thinking to but....." she stops taking a breath, remembering that she was supposed to be trying to be a hero so she needed to act like it. She really did want to just be a Hero that was a deterrent though rather than just starting fights, and beside she had to confirm what she had seen first

"I mean what are you doing here? I mean action-wise..the whole entering from a window does look suspicious like your....trying to rob something?" It came out as more of a question, the Cape seemingly not wanting to bring a false accusation, but the suspiciousness of the whole thing did seem to lean that way.

Cruach cocks her head, as though in thought. She's doing her best to match this other cape to the description of any local heroes or villains she knows, and coming up short. Her outfit doesn't match the aesthetics of any particular gang either.

"You're a new indie, then?" There's the hint of a question to the tone, but it sounds as though she's pretty much sure. She's still balancing on the lip of the window, and now that she's talking she's gesticulating slightly. It seems as though she's keeping her balance with no issue whatsoever.

"I'm doing my job." She leaves it short and simple for now, watching intently to gauge the response of the other cape. "You employed?" There's a more prominent hint of curiosity in this question.

She looks confused as he mentions the terms "Huh? I....I mean i guess I'm a new hero, still picking things up and yes i have a....wait no, What are you doing? How is your job breaking into random buildings?" she clenches her hands as she keeps her eye on the other woman

"You're new, I can cut you some slack." She bends her knees a bit more, her bearing shifting towards the more aggressive in a sort of mirror of Walker's own. She takes a deep breath. "You get one chance to leave and pretend you didn't see anything." She tilts her head just so, such that the light catches the owl mask again, making it clear she's focused fully on Walker. "If you call anyone, if you let anyone know, the next time you go on patrol I find you." She leaves the statement hanging, implication clear.

Swallowing hard she rapidly shakes her head "I...I can't do that, I am not going to find anyone else. I found you so...I have...I have to stop you. You can go elsewhere if you just stop, I won't chase...So please, I really don't want to have to fight if there is an alternative".

Her hands were gripped tight and trembling given this was her first time really encountering an actual villain, sure there had been the Artist but he had left on his own accord when he got what wanted.

She shakes her head, muttering something under her breath. If walker had any kind of enhanced hearing, she would be able to discern the words "Fucking rush jobs, definitely collecting that bonus." She focuses back in on Walker, addressing her directly again. "The alternative is you going to find a mugging or something, there are plenty of those in the area and you'd be doing more good besides." Her voice is back to the even sort of vaguely threatening professional tone, but there's a hint of anticipation.

The baggy parts of her costume seem to droop slightly, and there's a vague sense of motion from underneath it. A total sort of stillness comes over her following this, her eyes fixed on Walker from behind her mask, her posture tense but unmoving, waiting poised for the response, ready to fight, to dodge, to move however she needs to move in the coming moments.

She inhales before taking a firm step forward, clenching her hands as she steels herself further "That would involve turning away, and I'm....I'm not going to do that. I have to stand here and do something if that's....if that's the type of person i want to be."

Despite only her eye being visible it was clear she was scared, and the threats certainly were heard, but the rest of her body seemed to be doing the opposite of what a fearful person normally would, going towards it instead of away. There was the question of just how she was going to reach the person though, she didn't want to throw something since they would just duck inside, and besides she wasn't the type to attack first.

Looking around the area she noticed a few trash cans next to the dumpster, then the opposing wall, and then a ledge next to the window the villain seemed to be on. Nodding to herself she moved, seemingly somewhat clumsily and favoring her left leg. She hoped from the trashcan, onto the dumpster, across to the opposing wall and sprung back to grab the ledge of a window to try and pull herself up with one arm. She was closer at least, within range of the Villain but she hung there staring at them first.

"A clash of ideals, then." She muses.

As Walker moved forwards and upwards, clearly looking to close the distance, Cruach responds. The moths which were previously spread over the general area begin to converge on Walker, seeking to land on her, to distract, to obscure senses and so on. Being, or at least strongly resembling, moths, they can't really do much in the way of damage, but they can definitely be a nuisance and a surprise.

With her opponent hopefully at least somewhat occupied, the extra weight which seemed to settle within Cruach's costume earlier reveals itself in the form of a deluge of dragonfly-like creatures which rush forwards far faster than the moths. Should any make contact they would begin biting and stinging any exposed flesh, or failing that trying to chew through Walker's costume. Their moth parts are sharp and larger than a normal dragonfly, and while stinging would usually be out of the question, they seem to be capable of it, though it's only about as potent as a wasps sting.

If Walker was still able to make it to the ledge, she would be able to smell something resembling mildew, rotting fruit, and moldy bread hanging heavily in the air. A fuzzy mess of fine tendrils poke through the fabric of Cruach's costume around her hands, going to work in a flurry of rippling motion. A ball of writhing fleshy tendrils bearing barbed hooks and tipped in what appear to be stingers of some kind forms in each hand, while the fine tendrils continue to poke through the costume fabric higher and higher up her arms, depositing a layer of greyish material which is undoubtedly some sort of armor.

She doesn't throw either of the tendril balls, yet. Internally, she's more focused on starting a change in her hands and feet, small glands and channels beginning to take shape, though they won't be ready for a while in the scale of a fight, hopefully they help.

Should Walker make a lunge or any further aggressive action towards Cruach, she would spring backwards through the open window and into the building.

The insects would attempt to bite away at the girl's skin, though whatever her costume was made of seemed to be challenging to get through, the stingers getting caught within the material after the first few times. Still, she attempted to swat them away while keeping hold with one hand. Suddenly those in contact with the red of her costume seemed to almost be grabbed by something and pulled in, the girl seeming to get ever so slightly bulkier below the layers. It would take her a moment, but she would fling herself across through the swarm to the opposing window and into the building to chase.

She shouted after them "S...Stop!", she tripped as she came through the window, but stumbled to her feet to look them over, there was that weird tendril thing they were doing but regardless they had to withstand and bare it, she couldn't fail her first real engagement.

The insects are persistent up until those attacking are sucked in, at which point those remaining immediately change tactics, starting to buzz Walkers face and head, looking to block vision and cause discomfort. None ever land for very long, if they do at all.

Inside the window is a hallway with a number of small rooms branching off from it. Most of the doors are closed, but a few show what looks to be either storage or unused office space of some kind. There's another closed door at the end of the hallway, presumably leading to either a larger room, stairs, or something else. Cruach stands a ways into the hallway, next to one of the open doors, having presumably never stopped facing the window.

As walker comes through the window, Cruach throws the tendril balls in rapid succession, one aimed center of mass, and one aimed at the legs. The throw is fast and accurate, and the tendrils unfurl slightly in the air to increase their area.

"Now why would I do that? You may have interrupted, but there's still a job to do." The same fuzz of tendrils begins at her feet, starting to work its way upwards to deposit similar armor on her legs. The armor on her arms reaches her shoulders, but slows as a larger orb-like thing begins to form in one of her hands, this one bearing a fleshy membrane, ridges and bits of chitin, and seemingly filled with some sort of fluid. Internally, the changes to hands and feet continue.

The first ball hits as she is standing, knocking her back slightly, before the next takes her leg from under her, causing them to fall with a bang. She really had no idea what was hitting her, and the insects were not exactly helping her vision. "Because you not supposed to be here and....and i know you up to no good!"

The girl coughs as she gets to her feet, the ten-drilled material seeming to suffer a similar fate to the insects as she pulls the remains off of her body. There were still the insects, however, as they continued to pester her there was a faint shifting in her eye from blue to green and along with it sparking from around her clothing causing each of the insects to combust on contact and fall to the ground.

Back on her feet she would run at them again, she needed to catch up with them but she didn't really want to hurt them, so her best idea was to find some method of tangling them up to restrain them. But for that she wanted to get closer, if she tried it too soon it would just give them notice it was coming and make it easier to avoid the next time.

Cruach throws the new orb, again fast and accurate, though with the bugs dying it may be easier to see coming, the width of the hallway would make dodging difficult. She aims slightly below center of mass. Should the orb make contact, it would pop. The fleshy membrane and chitin bits would wrap and tangle whatever they could before freezing in place, and the released fluid would begin to rapidly harden.

"You're not supposed to be here either. If anything, you have less of a reason. I'm not here to hurt anyone, but that will change if you keep this up."

Cruach springs backwards, doing her best to maintain distance. The fuzz of tendrils continues, armor plating forms over the rest of her body, thin and flexible for now, but rapidly thickening and hardening. It doesn't seem to slow her movements, at least not noticeably. Slightly shinier whorls and patterns begin to emerge on the surface. From her hands, the fuzz increases in density, and a haft of bone and chitin grows, tipped with a barbed point and a cross guard that looks to be made of mandibles of some sort. While the haft appears to be a similar greyish material to the armor, covered in the same slightly shinier patterns. The tip is a darker black, and has a noticeable more fibrous texture. Slight gaps around the tip and cross guard reveal the deep red of muscle. She levels the spear at her opponent, the stance practiced and fluid, adjusting easily to any changes on Walker's end.

Internally, the changes to her hands and feet are nearly complete, just the last few connections, the last few biochemical pathways, remain.

Going low, the woman would notice more of the balls coming and swipe at it to try to knock it away, though not expecting the pop as her hand was swiftly encased in some form of tendrilled mass. "I...wait no, your trying to trick me. You broke in here and you shouldn't be here. I am not going to let you steal or do whatever nefarious thing you have in mind!"

Keeping up her pace, her next action was perhaps far more unexpected. She made no sign to stop as the tip of the spear would connect and drive itself through her by her own force, and attempt to grab the Villain after moving along its shaft. The girl would cry out in pain as it happened with her eye clenching closed, but still despite this her free hand would reach out to try and grab Cruach with surprising strength and push them to the ground.

As Walker impaled herself on the spear, the mandibles of the cross guard would clamp down, small points hopefully improving its grip. She would likely be able to feel the tip break off inside her flesh, followed by a strange bubbling sensation as it began to dissolve. This would ideally dump quite a large does of muscle relaxants and sedatives into Walkers bloodstream. The mandibles should hold for a bit, giving Cruach the opportunity to wrench the spear sideways, attempting to throw Walker's balance off. The resistance from the mandible cross guard would cause the haft of the spear to bend significantly, before the mandibles would snap and allow Walker to continue forward. Cruach would use the moment afforded to her to spring sideways through the open door next to her and into a moderately sized room with a few piled boxes, and a notable lack of windows.

The attempted grab wouldn't be completely unsuccessful, managing to catch a segment the greyish armor on Cruach's leg, though this wouldn't provide a solid enough grip as it would slough off with a rather disturbing meaty sound. This would leave Walker holding a segment of armor, a seam having opened to allow it to slip free, the inside covered in a spongey sort of flesh-like tissue. The exposed section of Cruach's leg teams with the fuzz of tendrils as they go to work replacing the armor panel, the cloth of her costume only briefly visible underneath.

"I was hoping you could see reason, that this could be resolved without going too far, but this, this proves you're beyond reason, that there's no point trying to convince you of the truth.*

Adrenaline pumps through her veins, among other chemicals tailored to act as stimulants. She'd have to be far more serious about this if her opponent was so readily willing to be impaled, and still able to make such an effective attempt at an attack afterwards.

The armor on the rest of her body fills in entirely, including the replacement of the missing segment on her leg. The last channels, pathways, and glands finish forming in her hands and feet. She puts distance between her and the doorway, moving closer to the center of the room, her steps quick and well placed. Everywhere she steps, a flurry of fuzz and tendrils follows, depositing a carpet of chitinous, fleshy, something on the ground. Bladders swell and deflate on said carpet, and a faint hiss fills the air as a cloud of thick white vapor begins to form. The smell of must and decay only grows stronger as with a similar flurry of motion a light blade resembling a scimitar of bone and chitin forms in one of her hands, small sacks filled with some sort of fluid line the back of the blade.

As the vapor fills more and more of the room, she takes a practiced fighting stance.