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 Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 3:43 pm
She stood in silence at the foot of a tall yew tree, ignoring the hustle and bustle around her. The easy answer to this was that she was recovering, having just brought a large group of people--six of them, plus two cats--to the Surrounding. However, anyone with sense would know that she was brooding. Over the invasion of her sacred place, over the fact that she had to brood about that, over Cancer's comatose body laying in the Prospective's bedroom: The reasons were quite literally a multitude, and sixteen-year-old Virgo had no idea how to handle so many conundrums at once.
Well, she did know one way. Cry.
She tugged the veil over her face and bit her lower lip. Now could not be a worse time for her to act like a child. Not with nearly sixty civilians needing medical assistance inside her Temple. She couldn't help it, though; it felt a violation, like desecration, to have people like that horrid Dannay girl in her temple, using things she'd used, holding things she'd held. She wanted them out, she thought, pulling the veil taut over the top of her head. She wanted them gone back home and safe. No one else needed to be sacrificed if the Zodiac was there.
Especially not civilians.
The blonde girl was so deep in thought that it would have surprised no one to know she'd missed the Knight making his way to her location. If she had, she might have dried her tears in time for him to pretend he hadn't seen them.
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 4:05 pm
Camelot was still getting used to the very idea that he was no longer on his planet. It seemed strange, walking on floors, seeing fauna, seeing people: things he recognized from Earth, but all the while carrying the idea in the back of his head that he was no longer there.
As a little boy, he had never dreamed of going to space. It was strange, and maybe ironic, that of all the children he grew up with, the ones who did always say they wanted to be astronauts, he had somehow ended up here.
He was busy helping as best he could, organizing and offering his patience and thoughts as they were needed. But he noticed a familiar senshi standing alone, and could not help but feel the instinct to go and see if she was alright. It was unlikely, no matter how much time or distance moved them apart, that he would ever stop feeling that protective, almost paternal pull.
Moving over to her, he cleared his throat softly. He didn't want to startle her, as he saw now that she was deep in thought and clearly troubled. He saw her sadness plainly enough, and gently put his hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright, Sailor Virgo? Uhmm... Elke?" He spoke very softly, as this was the first secret he had ever truly needed to keep, and he had never risked giving it away. Even now, he had no intention of betraying that trust. He watched her, knowing she would be confused but just not thinking of it in time to stop himself.
He was Camelot, not Tony.
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 4:22 pm
She looked towards the sound of a man clearing his throat, the customary yes, what's wrong dying on her lips as she turned to face the Earth Knight she'd brought up in the first group. Camelot, she remembered after a moment of thought. The friendly one. She didn't move away from the gentle hand, not after shifting her veil so it didn't get caught.
Then he said her name, and her eyes widened. "Don't say it so loud," she said, hushed, though she knew intellectually he'd said it very softly indeed. Quiet enough that only the two of them could have heard, but from the expression on her face, she still hadn't recognized her friend--her pseudo-uncle--from that hint. "How did you know," she whispered, green eyes betraying that her worry was giving way to fear. "I didn't... I didn't leave anything here, did I?"
They knew no Chaos being could go on the Surrounding like the civilians did. But that didn't mean that the Chaos side couldn't get hold of these civilians later and trade the information over.
Oh, please, Goddess. She couldn't lose her identity.
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 4:50 pm
"Because you told me. Well. Kind of," he smiled, shaking his head and waving his hands in an effort to calm her panic. He realized now what he had done, and that just saying her name, no matter how softly, was a bad idea. He had put her more on edge and, for the moment, made her even more stressed.
Not the intended goal.
"It's me. Tony," he said very softly, glancing around. "Ah. Camelot, now, but Tony Darrow by day."
For a moment he wondered if she would remember him. True enough, they had been very close, and he still considered her important to him, but they had drifted apart as of late. He wouldn't hold it against her if her life had driven him from her memory, as was wont to happen with many people and their local librarian.
Then she would just be even more confused about the whole thing. It was unlikely, but Tony was nothing if not a bit of a worrier.
"Your secret is still safe, I've never breathed a word of even knowing."
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:04 pm
His worries about her not remembering would be completely assuaged by the immediate reaction he got. This reaction was Virgo's frightened expression brightening immediately into a brilliant smile, and her throwing her arms around him. The moment he'd said his name, it had clicked in her head; the face, the voice, the mannerisms. Of course this was Tony. It couldn't be anyone else.
"Oh my gosh, look at you, you're all... knightly, and stuff!!" Didn't it usually go the other way, with the pseudo-paternal figure doing that over the child? Well, Virgo didn't care. Looking at her dear friend, she found herself excited, and happy, and proud. If he was here, that meant Lina had contacted him, and Lina was trusted by Castor.
She smiled for a long moment, and then leaned back in to hug Camelot tightly again. "Lina wrote to you, right? You're a knight..."
It was so fitting. If she had to pick any person to be a knight, it would have been Tony. "I wish we'd met again under better circumstances, though... it's been so long. Almost a year, isn't it?..."
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:18 pm
Camelot laughed, relieved and happy, when she hugged him, returning the warm gesture heartily.
"I can hardly believe it myself, sometimes," he said, blushing slightly as he often did whenever anyone commented on his Camelot attire. He felt so silly, because he did actually think he looked the part, and felt like he was acting like some child playing dress up. Knights had always been fascinating to him, he had spent a lot of time reading stories and playing the part in his head, anyway.
He was getting used to it, but sometimes he had to stop and wonder about the universe, and if it was all some kind of cosmic joke.
"Lina did let me know, and I came as fast as I could. I didn't realize... you have really grown up, Virgo," he avoided using her real name now, with a knowing smile. "Captain, was it? And you've changed! Upgraded?" He wasn't sure of the word of it, though he had seen it in other senshi and even his own knights.
Like she did, he felt very proud of her, and it was written all over his face.
"I know things have to be stressful for you. This whole thing... is very strange, for everyone. I can only imagine the responsibility... but if anyone can manage it, it's clear you can. And I'll help, as much as I can."
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:42 pm
She smiled, and tugged on her veil again. Certainly feeling much better, she looked off towards her temple again. Her expression fell, and she dug her toes into the dirt at her feet. What was she going to do now? So many people in her Outpost. It only ever had had the facilities for ten, tops. Knights and lovers and her protege… and no one else.
Now there were tens of people. Senshi swarming, knights swarming-- so many people. "Yes," she said, "My Princess made me Captain of the Guard because the original died. That gave me…" She flexed her fingers between them, looked at the bronze nail polish. "The rest of my power."
Strange, and stressful; good words. She blinked back tears and turned back to her tree, put a hand on its bark. For a moment, she pretended that she could feel a heartbeat through the wood, and then she groaned."This is where my mentor is buried," she said. "This tree was supposed to be a beacon for her soul. The Virgon people believed that in thirteen generations she would return, and be our senshi again." After a long moment, she pointed to a wide clearing. "And that, that's where I should have been. But I'm not."
It was a puzzle, one she didn't know the answer to as yet. She must have died, if she was reborn. "This place is sacred. It's pure, Camelot. This is where my predecessors are buried, where my cousins were born. And none of them--none of them respect that… Cancer is dying and they make jokes… Why are they like that?" She scrubbed her hands over her face and took a deep breath. "I know I shouldn't feel this way. They're scared. And I can protect them, so I will. But… what if…"
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:21 pm
"There's always a what if," Camelot said patiently, watching her as she moved through her thoughts. "There will always be doubt, and people will always find their own ways to deal with trouble, with stress and with sorrow."
He smiled at her softly.
"Don't give up on them, or yourself. And don't let doubt rule over you yet. Remember, we have to focus on the here and now, no matter what. You do what you have to do, to keep those you care about and those that are innocent safe. I know it's difficult. I don't know the details, obviously, but at the moment there are people who are hurt and confused. Your friend, these civilians."
He moved toward her again, standing near her and looking around the area as if seeking her point of view.
"We're all scared," he said softly. "Things can go wrong, but we both know our duties. To protect, even when we feel like we need the protecting. But you're not alone. You might not understand why people act as they do, but when you need them, they will be there for you."
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:38 am
Focus on the here and now? Easy enough to say, when her past was all around her, being violated. People in the third-floor bedrooms looting clothes! People skinny-dipping in the pools where she'd learned to fish! She pressed both hands to her mouth, though, until she felt that she could return Camelot's smile. "I jump-started it. The healing. When Soldier Virgo bleeds, the magic listens. Or, that's what Spica told me. That was my mentor's name, you know."
She smiled a little uncertainly at Camelot. "I wish what I had to do involved more fighting evil and less... of this. Whatever this is. I wish we could take them home."
Swinging her arms at her sides, the left throbbed a little. Healing, of course. But all the same...
"Do you think we'll be able to take them home? Ever?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:23 am
"Oh, don't say that," he said, shaking his head. Asking for fights would just jinx them. He didn't think it would go very well, getting into a fight when there were so many injured people around. Still, he understood what she meant. It was easier to deal with, in many ways.
They were all, the knights and senshi, used to fights.
"I do believe we'll get them home. One way or another, we'll find a way. We don't really know why they're here, do we? Or how they got here. Or at least, I don't. So we'll just have to discern what went wrong before we can figure out how to fix it. I think making them comfortable, first, is the right idea."
He looked around, as there was activity all around them.
"We'll get them out of here, as soon as we can. They don't mean to be here, and they don't want to disrespect any place sacred. They're just scared, lost people." And it was his duty, he knew, to protect them.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 4:40 pm
Jinxing people didn't really mean the same thing on the Surrounding. She knew how to fight Chaos; it was just a matter of getting back into practice. And also not having a horde of civilians appear to get in the way, and also Cancer not getting eaten. So really, it was all about luck right now. And their luck didn't look to be improving, not in any way, shape, or form.
Maybe soon, though.
"They made jokes about Cancer," she said. She worried about that. What if one of them decided that they should do something about the senshi of Protection? Her Zodiac comrade was resting upstairs in the Protege's bed for now, until they found someplace better. "I don't know. It just feels wrong to have so many people here, Camelot… we'll find out what happened and get them home soon."
They'd have to, or Virgo might go insane.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 11:00 am
Camelot put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed reassuringly.
"You need to rest, as well, I think. You're very stressed. Words mean very little: our actions tied with those words are what are most important. People say things they don't mean all the time."
He sighed, his expression softening and his words coming slower, warm.
"Virgo, you need to take care of yourself just as much as we need to take care of all these people. There will always be people who need us but we can't let that need, and our own to help them, overwhelm us. Or in this care, your need to get them home and set things back to normal. Don't take all of this onto your shoulders."
He watched her quietly, seeing how upset she was about her friend. He wished he could help, do something, but all he really had to offer was comfort and his company.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 8:54 pm
It always made her feel better to talk to Tony, and she supposed now she should be pleased that she had that opportunity in Camelot. Who knew what she would have done without his shoulder to rely on? She leaned into the reassuring touch, and rested the side of her head on his shoulder. "I'll go soon," she said. "I'm going to sleep at Leo Outpost... Flora agreed to watch Virgo for me while I rest..." She paused, and after a long moment she laughed a little despairingly, as if she couldn't believe she'd thought of whatever had occurred to her. Camelot found out soon enough, when she said, "I don't know how I'm going to explain this to my parents. I was really looking forward to graduating, too, you know?" Maybe they could tell the school it was just a family emergency... She didn't know. "You'll help us, right?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:07 pm
Camelot smiled, letting her lean against him.
He looked at her.
"You'll graduate still. We'll come up with a good excuse, don't worry. I'm certain things will work out, in the end, however difficult it might be getting there." He couldn't be sure of that, but it certainly sounded nice, and he said it with enough conviction to be believable. And anyway, it was what he wanted most, just as all the others did. for their own reasons, which were irrelevant as long as they remained united.
They had to get the civilians home, and keep them safe. They had to protect the Surrounding, though Camelot didn't know this place beyond what little he had picked up from this trip so far, and they had to protect each other.
They could manage.
"I'll help you. Everyone," he said, nodding his head. He turned a bit and took a step back slowly, so he could bow his head a bit. "You have my service, as a knight and as a friend."
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 12:27 am
She smiled at him, in a way that shared how she wanted to believe. The sadness around her eyes, though, betrayed that she didn't. Too much had happened recently for her to so blithely forget all the obstacles in her way; too much weighed on her thin shoulders for her to smile and be easy as she once was. She might think of Camelot as she'd always thought of Tony, but this Virgo stood less as a happy child playing at war and more as a warrior, battle-weary and ready to rest.
"I believe you," she said to him. "Thank you so much." After a long pause, she said, "I'm going to go to sleep..." Backing up a few steps, she waved a small hand in his direction. "I'll come see you again. Good night, Camelot. I missed you."
Someone called her name from the temple, and within moments she had run off to join them, leaving only the silence of the gravestone trees in her wake.
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