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 Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:33 am
Being in the rift was an unsettling experience that never got easier, no matter how many trips Alkaid took or how many times she saw the long corridor of trapped souls. Each time it brought the same sadness and discomfort and she still felt as out of place as she had when Tanzanite had opened the door and allowed the Negaverse to pass through it for the first time in hundreds of years.
It was for that very reason that she had decided to bring the senshi down to a room in the long forgotten castle. The room was not extravagant or elaborate. It was a simple stone room with chairs and a table, no decoration or windows to lighten the mood or make it more personal. It was just a hole in the wall, a small enclosure that made Alkaid feel like the walls were baring down on them all.
She wanted the Senshi to feel that, to be uncomfortable, to realize just how much they weren't wanted in this place. There was a black mark on their souls and the Rift could see it.
If she didn't know that Hematite and a couple of the other escorts were sitting just outside of the door, guarding it against youma that thought a gathering of senshi were a tasty target, she wouldn't have been there at all. As it was, she had steeled her nerves to the best of her ability and taken a seat to the side as she waited for the rest of the senshi to file in and take their place in the various chairs of the room.
She didn't want them to see her as a leader, she didn't want them to think she considered herself any better than they were. She just wanted to push them to be something, to prove themselves. She needed to light the fire in their hearts and make sure they knew how to carry the flame.
Her eyes passed from Azurite to Alunite and all the senshi that sat in between and around them, waiting until they were comfortable and in place before she began.
"I hope you all found your way here safely. Normally, this would be the last place I would want any of you to meet with me but I think you will all take this more seriously under the circumstances of the Rift's existence." Her smile was absent, crushed under the weight of the Rift, and her lips formed a thin line that barely showed a ghost of her normal optimism. If her expression said nothing else, it spoke the volume of the situation and how serious she thought this meeting was.
"Most of you were here with the Negaverse when they discovered what was left of their city, and you were here for Tanzanite's speech." Her hands came up and laced together, resting on top of the table as she leaned in to look seriously at the senshi gathered around it. "I don't have to remind me you of the words she spoke, but I think it's time we discussed what they meant." Her eyes swung to Azurite then and she gave her a small nod, "and time we shared our common knowledge with those that are still learning what our place means in this war."
She sat back then, leaning into the rather uncomfortable chair, and spread her hands out to encompass her view of the group before her.
"I am not the oldest or most seasoned of our kind, but I want to help guide you as much as I can in the absence of those more capable. We have to support each other if we will ever break the stigma that comes with our name. That support starts here, where that stigma gets its power."
"Ask me questions, ask each other questions, and share what knowledge each of you may have. This is not something that will happen over night, nor is it something any one of us will ever do alone." Then she dipped her head in a small nod, simply, dismissing herself from the floor. She had spoken her purpose, it was time for someone else to take the helm and speak up.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:56 am
During his very careful travel down to the Rift, Carnelian realized just how new he was to the whole operation. He was only a few weeks or so into his corruption (or cleansing, and he liked to call it) and had asked for an escort in the descent. It was a Negaverse captain, one he'd never met before, and the older man begrudgingly accepted. Carnelian was a polite senshi, one with manners and some dignity, which made him think that making friends would be easy. Actually, it was quite the opposite. Caleb though Zinkenite's invitation into the fray would have come with a support network, but he was quite mistaken. It seemed as though most of the Negaverse shied away from him for reasons Carnelian did not understand.
The redhead took his reluctant place at the table, surrounded by others of his own 'kind'. Euclase was there, but she was the only one he recognized. Apparently there were more senshi here than he thought. They came out of the woodwork when a meeting was called and somehow, that was very comforting.
Listening to Alkaid's speech, he realized he didn't have too much information to add - in fact, it was he who wanted the information since he was so new. It seemed like just yesterday that the woman called Tanzanite had reached into his chest and gave himself and Euclase the power they held today. He absently touched the hole on his chest, the same hole that united all of them at that table. Carnelian was about to try and lighten the mood with a joke about hair, but decided against it after seeing Alkaid's face. The seriousness in her voice and in her demeanor crushed any attempts at humor Carnelian would have tried. So instead, he curled his hands into his lap, listening as an almost dead breeze barely lifted the edges of his coat.
"Ah," he started after listening to the painful silence for too long. It was just too somber. Was he naive? "Why... why not introduce ourselves first? I mean, I'm afraid I don't know the vast majority of you." Carnelian didn't even know the one who called the meeting. It was rude to say, 'you' when one could ask for a name. "I'm Carnelian. And I suppose I want to know why they shy away from us like they do? Exceptions aside."
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:07 pm
The Rift was probably the last place Alunite wanted to be, but he had come all the same. How couldn't he ? No, he'd made the time for this meeting. It would have been simply inexcusable not to be here, even if he wasn't exactly a fan of the setting.
He'd looked on edge all the way there, startled by every growl and snap of teeth that had followed him to here. While the room felt claustrophobic in it's own right, the lack of youma made him calm down. Slightly.
Most of them had been there to hear what General Queen Tanzanite had to say - each did what they could of it, but Alunite had passed heeding it and went straight into overdoing. The dark circles under his eyes betrayed his lack of sleep. He'd spent all of his time gathering energy on his self-imposed quota, gathering information for Zinkenite, taking care of Gently, his internship, too...
Something had to give in, and it was sleep that had, through if he kept it up... Well, it was easy to see that more than sleep would eventually give in. The look that Fluorite had given Alkaid before she'd taken her place to guard the meeting was telling enough.
The captain was hoping she'd be able to get to her brother in a way she had been unable to.
Alunite hadn't taken a seat - he'd leaned against one of the back walls instead, almost as if an additional barrier against the youmas he imagined were lurking just behind the door. He'd been silent all the while, looking over the room and those gathered within. Some he knew, was extremely familiar with - like Ammolite and Alkaid - and others he had never seen before, much like the red-haired man who had just spoken up. New ? Newer then him, even ?
The thought seemed alien. There were so many in this room, so many of then, and yet at the same time, there seemed to be so little of them. An odd mental contradiction.
"My name is Alunite." He finally spoke, shaking his head - his long ponytail going back and forth behind him as his head moved. Should he venture into explanations ? "Some officers are more accepting of us than others, it is simply the way it is, and nothing short of us doing what we can to change that impression will change that. Some probably do still see us as... potential enemies." Being eloquent had never been Alunite's strong point. " "You will need to find an officer to attach to, someone who will help you. I've found that it helps immensely." He wasn't sure Fluorite could handle her quota AND training another senshi, or else he might have poked the redhead in her direction.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:31 pm
Hiro had not been about to watch Alkaid venture down into the Rift on her own. (The Negaverse officers didn't count, in Hiro's mind.) So the large Togyer cat had accompanied her, though he was content to let Alkaid run the meeting as she saw fit. Hiro was here for company today - and yes, okay, also to see the rest of the senshi on their side - not for training.
But if they were giving introductions... well, of course they needed to know who he was!
He pushed himself off Alkaid's leg, where he'd been resting, and walked forward so the others could see him. "My name is Masahiro, and I am one of the few Guardian Cats on our side. My job is to assist and train you as best I can. I've been assigned to Alkaid, but that hasn't stopped me from assisting some of the rest of you already. For those who haven't met me in the field yet, I look forward to working with you at a later date."
He gave Alunite a nod at his recommendation to find a regular officer to work with. Of course, Alunite had it much easier than most in that regard, but it was still a good idea. Weapons plus senshi magic combined had a better chance against the plain magic of the white moon senshi, or, in worse cases, the combined magic and weaponry of white moon senshi and those new page/knight things that had been cropping up.
"Please rest assured that even if the regulars shy away from you, the General Queen Tanzanite is very glad to have us on her side. If you're experiencing problems from the officers, please advise myself or Tanzanite." Neither of them were about to let the few senshi they had get bullied, used as cannon-fodder, or abandoned to the enemy.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 10:41 pm
Euclase wasn't sure how she managed to make in through the Rift in one piece, but she made it to the room just before the speech began. She kept quiet, just thinking over everything she had dealing with at the moment. She was still new to the place, knew very little about the negaverse other then what she been told by Zinkenite and Ammolite. To put it rather bluntly, she felt very small in a rather big place.
Turning her eyes towards Carnelian, she couldn't help but smile before she looks over each face. She didn't know anyone, so she kept in mind the advice Alunite had given. Find herself a negaverse to attach herself to? That didn't sound easy, but if it meant figuring out her role within the negaverse, she would do it.
Licking her bottom lip, she lifts her hand to brush a few bangs from her face "I'm called Euclase, and I too am very new to this group. What I want to know is, that even if we prove ourselves, will it matter? I mean, if they are shying away now, how do we know they won't even if we prove that we're not like the senshi? That we're different, that we didn't choose to follow all those who wish to destroy the negaverse's home?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 1:29 am
"My name is Alkaid," she said, once there was room to interject. She dipped her head again in a polite greeting and let her eyes rise to each of the Senshi that had introduced themselves. She only knew one, plus her own Guardian, but she wasn't going to show favoritism here based on simple familiarity. She did make a mental note to speak with Alunite after the meeting, however - she didn't like the condition he was in, no more than his sister did from the look they'd shared briefly.
"Alunite is right. Many of them do not yet trust us and may never do so, it is why we are afforded little say in the grand scheme of things and that is simply the way it is." Her eyes swung to Euclase then and she managed a small, sad smile for the new corrupt. "It doesn't matter that you chose to come willingly to the Negaverse. Once upon a time, in a life before this, you belonged to the Moon Kingdom. Then there are those of us," she brought a hand up and waved it very slightly at herself, "that have belonged to it in this one. Never doubt what Tanzanite says is true though, even I have earned respect from her over time. We may never be equals to them, but I know at least that we can be worthy of their trust."
She leaned forward until she could reach out and set a hand on Hiro's back. It wasn't a pet, or a scratch, just a simple brace for her to draw comfort from. "They do not have to be nice to you and many of them won't be, but what Hiro says is true. Tanzanite wants us to prove ourselves, but we are an investment until we do and that is part of what keeps us safe."
Her eyes swung to the door that was closed at the back of the room and she brought up a free hand to point at it, indicating all of the officers waiting on the other side that had come as escorts. "The other, like Alunite said, is finding someone that you can trust to be your commanding officer. Some of you are more lucky than others, in that you came into this war because of someone you already trusted. Some of us came into it alone." Her hand dropped from the doorway and fell to the table top, where the fingers curled until she was resting a fist against the old, dusty surface. "Some of them are far more understanding than others. There are two generals in particular that are set in the old ways and not.. even remotely approachable, so be wise." One of those generals was actually standing on the other side of the door, but if she had to guess, the expression on his face was probably not a pleasant one right then.
"Other than that, you just have to prove your faith with your actions. Some of us have already marched onto the battlefield with the soldiers, some of you have not, but that is our purpose. We are their weapons, they use us to fight magic with magic." She slid the hand from Hiro's back then and relaxed the fist of her other hand until she could lace them together in front of her. "One day, each of you will hold a Senshi's starseed in your hand, and you will watch as they die at your feet. That is the ultimate test of loyalty, killing our own kind for the cause." Her face was still calm, almost stoic, but there was a small tell-tale in the way her fingers clenched just ever-so-tightly around one another. "That comes easier to some of us than it does others, but you should not take it lightly either way."
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:35 pm
Carnelian wrapped an arm around Euclase. If anything was warm in the Rift, it was his eyes towards her. Carnelian knew he could easily forget everything if she were by his side, and she probably knew it. His fingers entwined themselves in locks of her soft hair and he smiled. While his energy pulsed with darkness like all the rest of them in the room, he couldn't help but see Euclase as his saving grace. His better half.
When the one called Alkaid explained that they needed to find a higher ranking officer to teach them, the young man's first thoughts went to Zinkenite - his half brother and guide into the depths of the Negaverse. Perhaps he wouldn't be adverse to the idea? But only if Euclase would go along with it. He spent too much time apart from her as it was. "Fighting magic with magic..." he repeated, as if to cement the idea in his head. Idly playing with his girlfriend's hair, he sighed. "I'm glad we have a few people on our side. I bet it can get quite lonely to be so openly ostracized."
In truth, he felt lucky enough to know there were others like himself, Ammolite and Euclase. He was glad there were other men in the organization too. Still, being distrusted and having to endure those looks of suspicion mixed with shame and utter abhorrence was starting to weigh on his nerves.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:54 pm
Azurite had been too busy contemplating her surroundings and taking everything in to really listen so very much to the conversation around her. It was probably not the best thing in the world to do but she couldn't help it. Everything down here was so dark, so massive, so dangerous. Even coming in had involved clinging to Alkaid's hand and hoping that she wouldn't be eaten by whatever those shades were.
It hadn't been a pleasant trip. Realizing that it was probably her turn to speak up, the white-haired African woman pushed one of her clinking braids away from her face and introduced herself. "Sorry, I was just...this place is amazing. Intimidating but amazing. I'm Azurite. Very, very new to this. I didn't even know what a senshi really was until Sailor Alkaid helped me." A nod to the blonde with a bit of a smile.
"Personally I think we should prove ourselves better. If they don't want to acknowledge us or work with us that can be their problem, but we're the ones going against everyone else like us to do the right thing. That has to count for something, doesn't it?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:59 pm
"If we do nothing to change the impression they have of us, then it will not change. Some will be more open than others, it's simply the way it is. I have managed to prove my loyalty to some." He'd seen it in General Queen Tanzanite's eyes, for the brief moment she'd looked at him in the first gathering in the Rift, through it hadn't made her next words any less chilling. "I see no reason you shouldn't be able to do the same.."
The two, Carnelian and Euclase, they cared very much for each other. That was evident in the way they looked at each other, the way his fingers played in her hair. He had a moment of gladness for them - that they were found before too it was too late, that neither of them had been forever broken.
But most of all, it made him long for Gently. For Painite. He did his best to bite back that longing and did his best to find his train of thought again.
"This is a gift, an opportunity. It is up to you what we do with it. And while I am loathe to speak for my si- handler." He corrected himself mid-word. "I doubt she would have the time to take another senshi under her wing, but I am sure she would do her best to help the both of you if you asked it of her. Her name is Fluorite. I also extend my help to all of you-" His eyes went over all those in the room, one by one. "If you ever need it."
Talking helped - staying still like this only made him want to curl up and sleep.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:27 pm
Euclase thought over everything that been said, her mind storing away the name Fluorite for now. She glance back towards Alkaid then to Alunite, which to her seem to be the well knowledge ones at the moment. This made her smile just knowing that they weren't all new to the negaverse. It gave her a small amount of determination that she would prove herself to the others.
Resting back against Carnelian the moment he touched her, she actually shifted her body so she was protected by his body just a bit. It wasn't the fact she was nervous, it was quite the opposite. She just belong within his arms, and it was a natural thing for her to move close to him.
"I will keep that in mind Alunite, thank you." with a small smile, she turns her head back towards Alkaid "So we are the magic front line for the negaverse, I like the sounds of that." she could help but grin at the thought of stopping those who just didn't understand.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 10:51 pm
She nodded her head softly at Azurite as she spoke up, returning the acknowledgement and smiling ever-so-slightly at the enthusiasm in her new companion. It pleased her to see so many of the new recruits so eager to prove themselves and fight the war, it was a far cry from the state of their being when she was corrupted.
"It's a long, hard journey to acceptance. What they want from you, from all of us, is the extraordinary. They want acts of faith and bravery." She shrugged a little, just a small roll of her shoulders that said 'this is life'. "Most of you have not been in the heart of this war, in battles where people are bleeding and dying all around you, but you will be. That is where you have to prove yourself."
Her eyes drifted over Euclase and Carnelian, then swept over to Alunite. Their numbers were growing so quickly. Soon they really would be a force to be reckoned with, but they still needed to be on the right path to be of any use.
"The every day things that you are expected to do are simply that: expectations. Energy gathering, training, assisting your ranking officers - that is just part of the job description. It's like Euclase said - we are the front line, that's where we are most important." She shifted in her seat and crossed one leg over the other in her restlessness. Just speaking to them all this way had her wishing she could do more, say more, help them more. She couldn't hold their hands through these things though. She knew that, like herself and the other before her, they would have to find their own two feet to stand on.
"Until then, like Alunite, I can also help to the best of my ability. I will share whatever experience I can with you and prepare you for this war if you want to learn directly from a senshi. The soldiers can train you, but sometimes it all makes more sense from someone that understands." Her eyes swept briefly back to Azurite then before they flickered out to look at the rest of them. She had no doubt that between their shared experience, the older members of the faction could guide the newer ones to be the very best.
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:33 pm
"If you can find someone to teach you." Azurite snorted a bit, reckless disregard of the fact that half of the Negaverse at least hated her on sight. "I think if nothing else we should band together and show them that we won't be walked all over." There was a pause as she thought about this for a few moments. "Though uhm, that doesn't meant that you should be rude or get up in their faces?" Her mouth twisted as she tried to figure out how to explain.
"So it goes like this. Where I come from, if you're not willing to stand up for yourself, then you'll never get anywhere. They don't have to like us but if they want to win this fight, they have to work with us. Don't let them think that they are doing us a favor. They need us. Why else would they find us?" Having been corrupted straight from human into the Negaverse gave her a unique perspective. She didn't know a damn thing about the White Moon senshi, what they did, stood for, any of it.
They were tools and you never bought a tool unless you had a use for it. They had a use, they just had to find it and use it. "I want to know everything there is to know about this, but I think you knew that Alkaid." Her rapid-fire questions had dominated their conversations and still she felt there was so much to know. So much to understand. But she was determined to be helpful and encouraging.
"...am I the newest one?" It occurred to her randomly. Was that why they thought so differently from her? The idea that it wouldn't go well to be the strong sort of person she was used to being didn't quite sit will with Azurite.
Not at all.
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 4:42 pm
Hiro spoke up again, from his position leaning against Alkaid's legs. "As far as I know, you are the latest senshi to join our side, Azurite. And General-Queen Tanzanite usually keeps me very in the loop on what happens regarding corrupt senshi."
Another reason to be grateful for their newest leader. Not only did she appreciate her turned weapons, but she gave Hiro everything he needed to better watch over them. They were both in full agreement about keeping the senshi as alive and as powerful as possible.
"If you need a hand with your senshi powers, I'm always willing to help. If you want physical or magical training, that's what I do best." A little smug, perhaps, but Hiro thought it was well-deserved. "I do recommend getting some practice in working with the regular officers - in a large battle situation, you will be working alongside them, if not on regular skirmishes and energy gathering as well - and it's best if we all get along. If you have trouble finding officers to work with, I know a few decent ones who would likely be willing to help out."
But hopefully they would be able to find allies of their own within the ranks as well. Despite the differences between senshi and regular officers, Hiro thought that too much of a distinction between the two would only lead to internal strife later on.
"I do have to agree with Azurite in that you should let people walk over you, though. You are senshi. You are strong. You are powerful. You were chosen. It's not something to be ashamed of."
And anyone who said otherwise would have the mother of all catslappings coming from Hiro (and his claws). He was damn proud of all his senshi and no one was going treat them like crap while he was around.
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