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 Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 11:54 am
The world was an unreliable, dreaming thing, wrought with hallucinatory things and tricks and mockeries and -- it didn't matter the specifics, anymore. Everything might well be a trick to entice Roka into letting their guard down, leaving their throat unguarded like a lamb to the slaughter, and often it was; and they --
They hadn't given up. But if the ocean hadn't treasured them, they weren't in the business of caring what it would've done instead. They weren't sure how long they'd spent in that half-sleep, even more outside of time than their unaging self had normally kept to, but it hadn't healed their aches or pains. They'd been only aware enough to grab onto that bright shining spark of energy, that promise of light, and pull --
and it had brought them here, to some foreign brick-path thoroughfare, with shining streetlamps not too far away.
Instantly, it seemed cause to doubt. Roka had barely been half-awake, almost in a dream, almost unawares; perhaps some other creature had made its way to the heart of their world under the waves and trapped them in some other nightmare. They weren't a child. There was no need to assume everything was real, and everything was true, simply because things seemed moderately new and the smell of ocean salt and rust and decay was gone. Why would some other world call them, now, after a thousand years of abandonment and nothing? They'd been left to die twice-over, and it was far too late for apology. Nobody would have brought them.
(And they were dripping onto this unknown ground, too, soaked to the bone in a way that would take more than one wringing-out of their hair and clothes to fix, and they didn't quite have the energy or desire to desummon their uniform and their power and bring it back good as new. It was armor. The line between their identities had always been nonexistent, but the strength and speed being Roka gave them, even weakened as they were now -- it was invaluable. If they ever let it down, they hadn't been sure it'd even come back at all, either.)
There was still murky blood on their fuku they hadn't ever cared enough to scrub out, on the torn-ragged edges of their overskirt and smeared across their gloves, dried into the fabric. More likely than not it was theirs, but none of their truer injuries were recent enough to account for it; maybe a nosebleed, maybe not. (It'd been a long time since Roka had put their power down.)
And it was hitting them, now, how exhausted they still were, away from the heart of the world's half-stasis. But this was no place to let their guard down. Even if it was real and true, there was no guarantee it was friendly.
And there were footsteps, too, coming this way, and they were getting faster; Roka straightened up, dead-eyed and dead-faced, and kept an eye out.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2022 10:54 pm
Encke had been feeling a bit off-kilter since their unintentional adventure into space onto the home of the robots. And it wasn't necessarily anyone's fault--except for that one robot in the midst of desperation, perhaps, maybe his own because he should have listened and wished too hard to help, maybe Kurma's for not better warning what that planet was considering he seemed to know Astraya, maybe Home Helper's for not being more explicit, maybe his own for being overprotective and willing to help and--but it had left him feeling uneasy for the better part of the last month, and it was why he appreciated that Basiluzzo had agreed to patrol with him. Encke wanted to hold his hand, but paranoia that someone might know what they were to each other prevented him from taking that grip. Instead, he murmured, quietly, "I love you," leaning in a bit closer but not quite leaning close enough to make it seem intimate. He distanced a bit afterward. Could he prevent their further relationship being known by everyone in Chaos forever? Probably not. But the fact that he had nearly gotten Basiluzzo murdered out of his stubbornness to make sure that Faustite didn't know almost made him more committed to the ruse. The quiet of the patrol thus far made him tempted to lean in and tease a little bit further, maybe hint that they could cut it early if Basiluzzo was interested and head to his comet instead, but the sudden sensation of another aura at the distance interrupted him. His brows lifted. "You feel that?" Probably. Basiluzzo's aura sense would be a little more refined now that he was leveled up, even if it wasn't as wide as his. Encke gestured for Basiluzzo to follow him as he headed toward it. Felt like a basic level senshi. Could at the very least offer some assistance and help get them adjusted to the war. And maybe Encke could put some homeworld seeds into their mind. Work on heading them toward that close homeworld relationship and transcendence-- "Hey! Someone there?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 5:30 pm
Basiluzzo did sense it, and it pulled him from his own thoughts. It hadn't escaped his notice that Encke was off his game, but he had the sense of discretion not to mention it to him. He knew Encke was most likely aware. He'd pushed his own uneasiness down into working at his mother's studio during the week and working at a couple of his usual clubs over the weekends. It didn't leave much time for anything else, much less thought. It left him tired enough to fall directly to sleep when he got home, and that was the most that Basiluzzo could ask for. He needed a vacation. They all needed a vacation. But the vacation would have to wait, as would his response to Encke's flirting. "I do, yeah." But he was already following Encke even as he gave him his answer. Basiluzzo listened for an answer to Encke's call, but took a few steps toward a corner just ahead of them. Peering around it, he saw a senshi standing there, soaking wet and expressionless. How was he wet? Why was he wet? There wasn't a body of water anywhere near here for miles. Wait, did he have finned ears-- Was he like Dagon? "Hey, hey are you alright?" He turned to gesture to Encke. "There's someone over here!"
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 7:54 pm
Two of them. Not recognized. One an Eternal, which made Roka's fingers itch; that had been theirs, they'd lost it but it had been theirs - doubtful they could take him down alone, then. Not with the sharp biting glow of his power, obvious even to their dazed sixth sense; that was the only thing they could be sensing at this range. He was powerful, in a way they couldn't match, not as they were now.
Accompanying him was one Uranian Knight. They couldn't try and feel out the vagueries of his power. Not like this. They recognized colors, symbols - unless Sailor Uranus looked quite different now (& had also broken all strictures of how fuku were identified, how Senshi were identified), a Knight. Always good at memorizing identifiers.
Both of them were tall, and fairly built, and weaponless as they were Roka harbored almost no hopes of defeating the others. Oh, but they missed their knives. Where had those gone? No point in wondering. Not here.
It was unlikely their mind might've called up these two in their entirety, so this was -- it leaned more towards the chance of being real. But that wasn't certain. Yet.
"...I," Roka conceded, "have been better," which was an understatement if they'd ever made one; it took them a second to wrestle their voice into working, into being the front they'd presented to others (no use with their natural accent; always caused assumptions, had to remember how to speak to other people again), but it still came out raspy. (From a human perspective, it was closest to Received Pronunciation. Certainly nothing American. From Roka's point of view, it was their choice of accent, assumed to stand out less.)
Their eyes flicked between the two men, sizing them up, taking them in. "...Who's asking." It was barely a question. It was barely anything, dead-voiced and steady as it came out.Seiana_ZI roka, who is 5'5": ah, hells. tall people. plaguing me at all turns.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 9:22 pm
Encke followed Basiluzzo's gaze and movement to the source of the aura -- a shorter person, standing at probably about a half-foot shorter, with finned ears that reminded him of Dagon, but perhaps what he noticed first was that their fuku was not as white as he would have expected. It looked like they had bled, or someone had bled on them, and it had happened more than once. Were they injured? Basiluzzo was pretty good with first aid if necessary and Encke had gotten better over the years. "I'd imagine." Encke figured that whatever they had been through, considering their appearance, it had been a lot. And if he factored in the experiences he knew from Dagon, from Caedus -- the space outside of Earth was filled with chaos and just as desolate as his comet had seemed eleven years ago. "Are you alright? He and I are fairly good with first aid." He moved a bit closer, but cautiously. The who's asking wasn't exactly friendly. "Encke, Transcended Senshi of Plasma." He said this with an easy smile that he could summon no matter his mood. Concentrating on someone he could help distracted from the residual pain in his chest. "And you?" And how long had he been here-- Daekie encke, at 5'11": and we're not even the tall ones,
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 10:49 pm
'Who's asking' was a fair question, and Basiluzzo offered, "Basiluzzo, of Uranus." He also moved closer, a bit closer than Encke had, but not too close. "Are you actively bleeding? Anything broken?" Sure, names were important, but Basiluzzo could get that while making sure he was going to make it. "Like he said, we're pretty good with first aid. We can help you." Only half a second pause. "Can I approach?" Daekie Basiluzzo, quite cheerfully, at 6'3": I'm the shortest in my family!
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 12:50 pm
"Alright enough," Roka said, which was as much of an answer as they necessarily wanted to give. They were functional. Nothing festering, nothing raw, nothing bleeding; little that could be done for old wounds. They were exhausted and aching, but who would admit that to strangers? Saying that was as good as telling Encke and Basiluzzo that they were defenseless and almost meaning it. "Nothing first aid might fix."
New aches. Old aches. It didn't matter. They hurt, but they had hurt every day for who knew how many years, their body taking offense to the wild exploits they'd taken as a youth and all the dark situations they'd found themself in.
He wanted to approach? He -- that was normal. That was a reasonable inquiry, a reasonable question; Roka wrestled down that wild fight-flight-freeze emotion before it could define itself in any further capacity than their fins flaring, slightly. "...You can."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2022 6:24 pm
Nothing that first aid could fix. Assistance. Help with a homeworld, maybe, if it was in a similar state as the others'. A support system. People who could understand, maybe connections to others like Dagon, like Alastor, like the Velencians. Probably all things that would be more effective than attempting to treat the cause of the blood on their uniform. It explained why it didn't seem bright or itself wet even if they were. How long had they been henshined? How long had it been since they had gotten those stains? Encke cautiously moved a bit closer, being easy with his steps. He noticed the way Basiluzzo was acting, and while it was nothing unusual, it keyed Encke into something he should do, too. Careful. Gentle. Don't spook them, they seemed uneasy enough. Some bits of that hesitance felt familiar. "Is there anything we can help with?" Encke's voice was gentle but friendly, hints of brightness while not turning up the dial beyond appropriate. "How long have you been here?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2022 4:14 am
Basiluzzo glanced to Encke. Nothing that first-aid could fix? That was not a ringing endorsement for the state they found themselves in, but Basiluzzo guessed he could understand and appreciate their caginess. Speaking of, Basiluzzo had been told he could approach. Approach he did, keeping his hands clearly visible and making no sudden or dramatic movements. If he noticed Encke following his lead in that regard, he didn't indicate as much. "And have you noticed anyone following you?" Aside from them, he supposed. He just hoped no one from chaos had noticed a bedraggled basic senshi wandering lost.
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2022 10:27 pm
"Not long." They straightened up a fraction more, almost swallowing down the bitten-back hiss of pain from their side complaining about it, eyes still flickering between Basiluzzo and Encke for a bit before they decided Encke was the higher priority the closer he got. What kind of glow was -- it had to be power. He felt different, Roka was sure, or they would've categorized it as miscellany; glowing markings were not so uncommon they always meant something. Maybe it meant nothing. They didn't know a Sailor Encke, not that they remembered, but their memory was... faulty.
They didn't think about when that had started, anymore. There was no reason to. There was never any reason to. Sometimes things became lost or blurred, in the corridors of their mind, and that was that. He didn't seem to recognize them, so the odds were high they weren't forgetting, but they'd looked -- different enough, back before everything.
"No," Roka said to Basiluzzo, with a noise that might have been a hoarse, strangled laugh preceding it, the first real bit of anything they'd put in their voice that wasn't dead, dead, dead, "no. I was not followed." Because if anything was behind them or anything had followed after them, then that meant their sanctuary had been breached, and they were helpless in the face of that. It meant any number of things from corpses and tides and other misappropriations could follow them here, wherever here was, and they were so tired; they no longer had the weaponry or the vigor to continue that fight as they had been.
They had already given up on it once. To find the resolve and disappointment to do it a second time -- in front of others, who could know them a coward -- no. Impossible.
What Roka needed was a place to rest safely, but gods willing, they would not admit that to strangers. They leaned back against the wall, trying to displace some weight on it in a way that didn't hurt, but the hard line of their neck and shoulders gave it away: it was painful.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2022 3:27 am
Not long. That told him a few things about the senshi's origins. If they hadn't been there long, they likely hadn't met anyone beyond them yet. It backed up the concept of the fact their outfit looked so torn, that they had seemed uneasy about speaking, and the fact that they seemed hurt but ... not. Not hurt currently, at least in no way that was easy to help with. It was good to hear they were not followed, and perhaps even better because they had no interest in finding out what could have followed them all the way from out in space. If their planet was similar to Dagon's or Alastor's, it was filled to the brim with chaos. If anything had been powerful enough to follow here, it could have only been bad news. Encke hid his wince when he saw the way Roka attempted to rest. He shot a glance toward Basiluzzo, but didn't quite wait for his initial response before offering, "You got a place to rest yet?" Knowing his husband, Basiluzzo might fill in the rest of that gap himself.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 2:56 am
Basiluzzo was already on it, immediately following Encke's question with, "if you need one, my family has plenty of room. Let us at least give you a place to rest and regather yourself." Sure, he wasn't hurt currently, but he was currently hurt ing. If he wasn't going to let Basiluzzo try to administer first aid, the least Basiluzzo could do was give him space for a hot meal and a warm bath. It'd also let them get him off the street before a youma or some other part of Chaos found him. "Are you hungry?" 'Not long' probably meant no real resources, no place to stay, nothing yet to eat. Basiluzzo would need to ask if he had any special diet needs-- He needed to not get ahead of himself, first of all.
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2022 10:08 pm
"...you are," Roka said slowly, hating the weight and the shape of it - as much as they could hate anything, which wasn't terribly much - "the first people I have seen in... a very long time. I wouldn't turn it down." Weakness. Weakness, weakness, weakness; they hated it, it made the parts of them that still felt turn to knives, turn to glass and ice and stones in their stomach -- but what else could they do at all?
They wouldn't go back to their world -- it would kill them, to be there. That wasn't even in question. If they returned, they would die, and it might be their own fault or it might not; it wouldn't matter, if nobody saw it. Their starseed might sit there in their ribcage and rot, with their blood on the black sand; certainly they wouldn't be around to care.
In the state they were in, Alexis might survive on unfamiliar streets -- they'd done it before; easier to go unnoticed, when they didn't bother with official channels -- but taking that option, when they were being provided with seemingly-free shelter and supplies... it was a fool's errand. Even they, notoriously always a stubborn fool, could admit that to themself. They could reevaluate their options from there.
"Yes." Of course they were hungry. Roka had always been hungry, it felt like. Every day they wanted to sink their teeth into something rich and red and raw and gnaw; they were, as they had always been, a creature of appetites -- but they could keep those banked. If these two were going to be their hosts, they oughtn't make any moves that would be out of place on most worlds.Seiana_ZI roka internally: do NOT be a freak. i KNOW i have spent the last one thousand years being a freak to various degrees. this does NOT mean i FORGOT what 'normal behavior' averages out to across the galaxy JUST because i had a psychotic break and then spent nine hundred years fighting for my life. Amasis if they keep telling themself this, maybe one day it will come true (it won't.)
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Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2022 1:33 am
A very long time. Encke wondered how long their world had been two steps short of entirely dead. It wasn't a word he spoke, but he did glance at Basiluzzo and nod minutely when he caught his attention. He knew Basiluzzo was on the same page as he was. If they needed food and shelter, Encke was confident that was one thing that the duo of them was quite good at providing. (And Safira and Luke had just rolled with it, anyway.) "Then it's settled," his smile was easy, even if the one they faced was uncertain. "We'll take you back to our place, let you get some food, and get you settled in. Earth is probably a whole different arrangement compared to what you've been used to. "I only ask two things: what are your names, and could you dehenshin? The chaotic presence here is able to track us in our powered forms and will root us all out if we're not careful. My Mauvian can get you set up with a guise that makes it a bit easier to get around on Earth once we get back." And she had already worked with an aquatic senshi, so perhaps it would be easy on top of all of that. Not that Viatrix would ever say anything technological was hard. Daekie it's all about believing it until they make it!
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2022 5:47 am
"We'll power down, too." It would be rude not to, if whoever this was was going to do so. Plus, if he was going to be living in their house, there wasn't much of a point to trying to keep up a powered guise around him. Only one of Basiluzzo's parents was powered, and none of his siblings and their assorted familials were. To say nothing of the other people they had living at the house-- While Encke asked his questions, Basiluzzo was on his phone texting his parents. They should probably know of an additional house guest, after all. His mother's response was immediate. 'We have the room. It's fine. On the way home with pizza anyway.'His father's came a moment after. 'I assume your mother said yes so will be home when I get off of work have a meeting with one of my accounts at his house so will be home late'Luke's talk-to-text made Basiluzzo chuckle quietly under his breath as he put the phone away. "Anyway, my parents are on board with the idea."
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