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Patrolling could be boring sometimes. It was one of those long hours where Sailor Taranis went without feeling even the slightest tremor of negative energy, not even a blip. He'd been out patrolling with Magellan until 1AM, but she had to head back to sleep. He said he'd go back soon too.

That was an hour ago.

Now, Sailor Taranis was sitting on the raised concrete surrounding a steam pipe on top of a roof near Meadowview. He let the warm air rise up the back of his fuku. Spring was on the horizon, but it was still cold out. He looked down to his gloves and adjusted them. Together, he and Magellan had stomped out a youma, another youma. Taranis kept a running count in his head. He wondered when the time would come when that number would be too big to remember.

In this quiet moments, Sailor Taranis let himself contemplate what he was doing in more abstract terms. What was the end goal, other than finding the Princess and taking down the Negaverse? What part would he play, other than a little muscle on their side? And worst of all... what if they lost?

The sound of someone behind him made Taranis leap to his feet, hands lifted in defense. He saw a senshi he didn't know, but quieted his mind long enough to feel the good energy coming off of her. She was not like Black Lady Serenity. She was not an enemy. He lowered his hands slowly.

"Sorry," he said, relaxing his shoulders. "The last person who snuck up behind me on a roof attacked me."

A frown touched his lips. "I'm Sailor Taranis. I'm... new." Was it just like that? A job. He was new to it, unsure. Maybe this girl was new too? By the way she approached him, he didn't think so. "I usually patrol with Sailor Magellan, if you know her."

Taranis looked confused. "We have meetings? Derp didn't mention that." He narrowed his eyes. "Or maybe she did. It's hard to tell. The cat talks like she is seizing." He shook his head, adjusting his tiara on his forehead. It had taken some getting used, but given the cool magic powers, Taranis was willing to accept his little headpiece.

After talking to Black Lady, it seemed like male senshi were a little bizarre. Taranis still didn't understand why, but she seemed confused to meet a male in glowing fuku. He knew he wasn't the only one, he'd met Thuban briefly. But BL didn't seem to know that.

"I don't know Pegasus or Lyra. Or Corvus. I only really patrol with... Magellan." Would she be mad if he went out with another senshi? Probably. But it was one of those things Magellan would need to get over. MuCephi was right; it was better to stick together. "I think I'll stick it out for another hour. Did you want to head toward the Hillworth side of town?" If they went that way, Taranis would get home quicker.

Questions he had too, but he could wait to berate her with them. Sailor Taranis didn't want to seem desperate.

As a person who was prone to monologuing rants, Sailor Taranis did not think Mucephi was monopolizing the conversation, not in the slightest. He'd only heard whisperings of this Astraea, but anyone who knowingly denied knowledge made his stomach twist. These were their lives that were at stake. They had a right to be informed. He might have had more conviction about these feelings if Astraea had been the one to awaken him, but she wasn't.

It was the cat that Parker thought was a retarded stray.

For all her ridiculousness, Derp seemed to try very hard. That didn't win her any pity or appreciation from Taranis. She was doing her job, and since he had little basis for comparison, the Senshi of Sand could only assume she'd done a typical job. "How long have you been... doing this?" he asked, leading the way across the rooftops toward the west. "It's been a couple weeks for me. So... I'm figuring things out. Trying to figure it out." Magellan was awoken in the Fall. But who was the first? How long had there been glowing schoolkids running around Destiny City?

Sailor Taranis slowed his walk. "Corrupted? What is that? How does that happen?" In his mind, the only bad end for a senshi was death. Derp had filled him in on starseeds and powers and saving the innocents, but there were many nuances that the little fluffy cat hadn't coughed up. Or maybe she had? It was hard to understand her.

The edge of the roof was ahead, another a few feet across the alley. Taranis scanned the alley below to check for civilians or youma. It was empty. He got a running start and then leapt to the other roof, arms flexed at his sides. His landing sent loose pieces of roof skittering away.

He turned to wait for her. "I patrol nightly. I set youma quotas. But nothing is ever as easy as it seems." Taranis shook his head. There was something calm and collected about this girl. Her positive energy told him she could be trusted too. That was nice. As a senshi, he didn't just have to go with his gut; he could actually feel the warm, good energy that said this one is on your side, this one can be trusted not to attack.

Perhaps this was why he had his guard down. After Black Lady, Taranis swore he would never miss the lull of dark energy ever again.

Sailor Taranis eyed MuCephi's hairpins. "If I don't take them out on the first blow, I try to throw things at them off of rooftops. So hair pins sound good to me." It was more effective than it sounded, though it landed him into some trouble when certain youma scaled the buildings and came after him. He'd survived those incidents, but had the bruises to remind him of his mistake.

Starseeds were a less comfortable topic. Taranis destroyed youma, but so far, he had never caught one that was in the possession of a starseed. Derp had explained this situation in bleeting terms, but a more in-depth explanation might be nice. "Do you just... feel the starseed in them? Or can you see it?" Despite having his own manhandled, Taranis had yet to see a starseed. Not that he wanted to. Seeing a starseed would mean that there was someone in the vicinity without one.

On cue, Taranis reached into his little fanny pack manly side pouch and pulled out the phone. "Derpraline gave this to me. She said I could use it to find other senshi." He flipped it open. "Didn't explain much beyond that. I've tried to fiddle with it, but it seems protected by something. Magic, I assume. Do you know more?" His joy over the gadget had been greatly reduced when Taranis realized he couldn't do his typical tinkering with it. And, to his knowledge, it had never rang either.

Taranis glanced down to his phone. The only senshi picture in it was Magellan. She made him take a few until she was satisfied with how it looked. "Should I take your photo and add you?" he asked, angling his phone to glance at the camera lens. It seemed pretty technical for what he assumed was a largely magical group. "I can try to call you. See if it pops up out of thin air. Like an experiment." A little magical experimenting sounded like fun to him.

The roofs were ending. They'd need to hop down and walk along the street next, but he'd wait until they sorted this phone stuff out. Taranis had no idea that he could call out with his senshi phone. It could be a nice money saver, but he felt weird about crossing his personal life into the senshi life.

Sailor Taranis lifted the phone, mouth flat. This encounter was pleasant, but no one brought the smiles pouring out of him like Dani. Well, Dani and roof-jumping. He snapped the photo and waited for it to process. Just like she'd said, Sailor Mucephi popped up in his contacts list.

A wind whipped over the roof, and Taranis turned to feel the breeze. He didn't sense any evil energy. "So now I'll call," he narrated, pressing send and waiting for the magic to happen.

In the ensuing silence, he glanced down at his hands and asked, "What's the worst experience you've had so far? As a senshi, I mean. What is the worst thing that has happened?" His phone was ringing, but Taranis kept his eyes low.