Welcome to Gaia! ::

“We live in a world that is beyond our control, and life is in a constant flux of change. So we have a decision to make: keep trying to control a storm that is not going to go away or start learning how to live within the rain.”
― Glenn Pemberton, Hurting with God

Mintaka's face rose to the growing clouds in the night sky, mottling the stars and moon from view. Once upon a time, clad in the white moon's aura, she'd look to the stars and the homes they housed. Her planet was there, she thought, but like the clouds that made the bright lights disappeared....it was gone and faded into the mirrorspace.

If she could offer the mirror more then she already did, she would. Beyond her life, Mirrorspace had taken and demanded and returned. Like today, It demanded her attention. Energy to gather. Wraiths to feed in their own way.

She was less controlled by the madness tonight, already Hydrus drained and returned the energy back to the space it came. She was the epitome of serene in the night. Who knew what Mirrorspace wanted tonight? Thunder rolled in the background and she smiled.

Perhaps something interesting would happen tonight.

Getting stuck out in a storm was really the last thing Reven wanted, but it was beginning to seem more and more likely as she raced along the sidewalks towards Rory and her dad's apartment. It'd been stupid not see about a ride home when she'd finished at HQ, but it was pride that kept her from doing it now. She'd made such a big deal about being more independent. About not needing as much help.

And now look where that got her?

A clap of thunder made her jump, hair standing on end as she put on an extra burst of speed to dart around a corner.

Only to come to a sudden, confused stop. "Wha...what is that?" It was almost familiar. Almost what she'd felt when she'd realized Hydra was her's, but not quite. It had her turning back around, head tilting as followed the feeling around another corner and right to a pretty young woman with pink hair. She looked...distraught? Something.

Pale features puzzled, Reven walked over to give the girl's leg a gentle nudging with her nose.

Lost in her head, in her own inner tempest, she jumped when something brushed her leg. Stormy fumbled for her keys but stopped once she realized it was just a cat. She wiped at her eyes, as if the animal could tell the difference from it or the rain that began to fall. It felt good, like little taps on her head from an invisible being. Someone else crying.

“You should be somewhere dry,” she said to the cat, unaware that she was being watched. “D’you need help?”

Stormy merely blinked when the cat started talking. Sentient animals were the least things of her imagination, to be honest. She blinked again when she felt several rain drops hit her head, and without thinking she moved to father the cat and shelter it from the incoming rain. It wasn’t so terribly strange, really. She’d almost hyperventilated earlier, and the lightheadedness was still lingering. She was a weak willed thing: of course reality would start to bend in her eyes at the first sign of turmoil. This was probably the beginning of a mental breakdown, actually. What an odd feeling.

It was easier to just think of the kitten.

The rain started to pick up, but while it felt good to Stormy, she didn’t want to let the animal suffer from her decision. She wasn’t as familiar with this part of the city, but there was an awning ahead they could take shelter in. She made a beeline for it, unaware that youma were gathering nearby and picking her trail up, anxious nonetheless. Being alone had been one thing, but securing the cat’s safety suddenly reminded her of the risks of not taking that bus in the evening.

“You don’t look like a stray,” she said to herself once under the safety of the awning. “Hmm.”

That was a little harder to shrug off to her imagination. Still, Stormy blinked down at the cat, processing slowly. Or perhaps too quickly. It was that weird, in between stage, in the way that the heat could make one feel cold after a long period of time. Staring down a talking animal, red eyed and owlish, made it harder to believe it was her own bruised emotional self trying to pep talk, but it certainly tried for a moment more. And then, just like that, Stormy accepted that this was real.

“I’m not anything,” she told the cat in a low tone, her voice hitching slightly. Maybe she said that to anyone who picked her up and quite possibly could get her a meal. Or at least out of the rain. Either way, Stormy couldn’t possibly be anything other than another disappointment. “I-I’m not—“

Something crashed against the dumpster across the street. Stormy jumped and clutches the cat closer, terror pooling in her stomach as she saw several glowing eyes in the rainy twilight turn to her. The creature materialized from those shadows, revealing a monstrous mix of a snake and a canine that was easily the length of a minivan. As it opened its mouth in a snarl, two fangs the size of her arm descended from the roof of its mouth.

A wordless cry left Stormy as she turned and hurled herself away, rain pelting them both as she did. The youma battered another garbage bin aside as it began half slithering-half crawling after her. She didn’t dare look back, but it sounded like it would gain on her in mere seconds. Oh God, oh God—

Youmas. The origami senshi sighed as her following of the pair had been interrupted by the sudden appearance of the wild beast that Negaverse called pets. Unlike the wraiths of the mirrorspace, Youma's ran with no leashes, no care. Some Nega, she though, had been a fool and couldn't handle the responsibility with their energy draining friend.

The Dmc moved from her spot of where she was watching, centering herself between Stormy, the guardian and the youma. A gentle smile played on her lips as she held out her arms.

"Origami Blizzard*" The paper fell at first like snow, before sweeping up and directly hitting the youma. Her attack wasn't strong enough to wipe the monster alone, but it allowed for her to turn and take Stormy's hand.

"Hello." Her voice was calm, with a sense of urgency. "Guardian, Can she be awakened?" Even now, she could see a mirror portal admist the alley way, probably left by another eternal for quick travelling. She moved Stormy and Reven through the alley, her magic quickly fading as the youma's howls became more acute.

"I don't have time for the whole spiel, if you can be awakened, then I will do it now." Mintaka turned her gaze to Stormy, "I'll give you the power to defend yourself."

Her gaze fell to the white kitten, "I apologize, We will give you the power to defend yourself, in the night, against these beast. It's either a yes or no..." She stopped in the mirror, her hand shoving into it to prepare for the awakening .

What was that?!

Senshi magic, that much she was certain of, but Reven had never seen or felt a senshi like the one that had just stepped in to defend them. Chaotic, she could say that for certainty, but there was something different about it. Something off. She didn't feel like Hydra did. Like the difference between regular and diet cola, kind of... A dark fuku, but instead of bat wings there were feathers, and there were no cracks at brow or chest.

Reven frowned up at her, puzzled, before the question snapped her back into focus. "What? Oh, yeah, she can."

The poor girl's broken voice had Reven butting her head up under her chin again. "Yes you can. You can totally do this." It also wasn't as if she had a whole lot of choice at the moment, but she didn't say that out loud.

She looked up at the senshi again, ears saddled. "What do you need me to do?"

Having never done the whole awakening thing Reven didn't have much of a scope of reference for how that all should work, but she was pretty certain mirrors weren't usually a part of it. Still, stepping inside of one had been interesting, to say the least.

On the other side, the girl no longer as she had been, the kitten flicked an ear at the order as she looked up. "Lorelei," she said quickly, glancing back towards the other senshi and the approaching youma. "Your name is Lorelei!"

Jumping down, Reven darted for the wall of the alley, jumped up against it, and kicked back into an argument him flip. When she landed a dark handled pen landed beside her. Grabbing it in her mouth she darted back to drop it at Lorelei's feet. "Take this, and be prepared to fight. You can do this!"