"What you need isn't a trick, it's a counter," Machia said. She peeled herself off the ground with your arm as support. She stretched, then started moving, fatigue forgotten as her mind took over. "Gata, classic example, the girl by which we are all measured. Her secondary weapon wasn't her contender pistol, though she found use for that - it was the glitterdust. Sticky, multisensory baffle, eclipse compounds - she throws a handful of it in the face of a ranged fighter like Lunah or Bill and they couldn't see anything for the rest of the round. So she could outrun anyone who tried to chase her and disable anyone who tried to shoot her from a distance. Two moves, between them they encompassed the whole world."

She noticed her limp and frowned. She was trying to rest her organic leg, leaning more heavily on the cybernetic - and it was clear that bothered her. She stomped a couple of times like trying to shake it off, then forced herself into a more even gait.

"But I haven't fully worked out what you need to counter yet. It's not ranged fire, like Gata - you are much bigger and tougher than her and you're capable of wearing hits she couldn't. I don't know if I'll really know until I see you against more varied opponents. Friday is going to be very important..."

She trailed off, then abruptly exited the conversation by putting her headphones in and resuming work on her soundscape. She only took them out when it came time to order the coffee. She paid the extra nine dollars for two reusable thermal cups that'd maintain the coffee's temperature at scalding heat for prolonged periods of time. Then she gave neither of them to you - just continued to walk back to the apartment in silence, one cup in each hand, wireless headphones glittering white up in her equine ears.