As though serving a reminder to her past life, Neo gazed upon the thugs who so blatantly mugged the poor man trying to get home after his long shift at work. This was what she used to do, albeit on a much larger scale, to the same kinds of people. Despite lacking her usual appearance, opting for one which was more inconspicuous, the woman could relive and feel the emotions she held during such things. It was all so numb, as though she was doing it automatically without any thought put into it. Perhaps that was the case after all.
In any case, she closed her parasol - the exact same one she had been using her whole life - and walked on over to this robbery. Feelings of regret surfaced, but most of all, Neo was disgusted by what was happening. She was never a purely good person, but this just crawled on her nerves, like a wound festering and teeming with maggots.
Her parasol made contact with the first thug, knocking him away from the poor man, though without her Semblance, the short woman wouldn't have such an overwhelming advantage. She backed up a little, as though already knowing of her own limits, before she began to run away. Hopefully, these thugs will follow her, and they'll leave the poor man to go back to his humble abode.
The alleys of the city were thin, and easily one could get themselves lost. Luckily for Neo, she had known these alleyways since she was a child, and frantically mapped out a route within her mind, where she could effectively fight the two thugs. Her combat boots were much better for running than her heeled boots, although naturally she missed her style and sense of flair when it came to combat. Looking back with her grayed-out eyes, she smiled lightly seeing the two forms chasing her.
After a minute or two, she finally arrived where she needed to be, and quickly unsheathed the blade hidden in the handle of the parasol, using the other part as a shield, of which it was very effective against magic. The two thugs charged at her within the somewhat wider alley, before she took them on.
They both had swords, big enough to be exploited with her unmatched speed. Despite her lack of power, Neo had this agility which was both graceful and elegant to behold, even if it seemed a little unfair to any close ranged fighters. She employed hit and run, charging in to slash at one of the thug's legs before backing off, parasol shield raised and poised for any magical nonsense the thugs may come up with.
Neo met steel with steel while she flourished her limited range of skills in the most effective way possible, not willing to concede defeat just because she was alone and without her true power. While her style was most definitely cramped, she was still able to perform some acrobatic manoeuvres which gave her an advantage over the blades. Finally, she slashed one of them across the face, a fierce line of crimson swelling from the wound.
They fled quickly, in a completely different direction than they had come, after seeing the frightening accuracy and moves of the short ice cream. Sighing softly, Neo knew that this was a victory, gulping a little and sheathing the blade into her parasol, which she promptly opened to shade her from the sun somewhat.
Though, inside, she really wanted to pursue them both, hunt them down like the prey they were, and slaughter them. Her eyes pulsated with pinks and browns, though the colours did not stick, returning to the gray which she was now living with. Neo had a lot of work to do if she wanted her Semblance back, but even then, it would be impossible alone.
Leaving the White Fang as she did may not have been her best decision, but for the things she was putting up with, it was probably for the best. The way Cinder and Torchwick treated her - the latter only when he was drunk - terrified her to no end, and alas, she had to get away. The crimes she committed were great, but not great enough to consider spending another minute in that kind of company. It was hard keeping up the smiles and lack of care for so long, but now, she could just... Express herself in the way she wished it.
She seated herself against a closed dumpster, sighing to herself once more and placing her parasol on the ground. In truth, without her Semblance she didn't have infinite stamina and endurance, and thus looked exhausted, mainly from the running but partly due to fighting and her sudden other-side urge. The short woman hugged her knees to her chest, closing her eyes, and then thought of a certain blonde haired woman while she dozed off for the moment. No White Fang meant no comfy bed for the moment, and this sleep was going to be dark and long.