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 Posted: Sun Mar 04, 2012 3:19 pm
Today was a new day. Gwendolyn Caspian was determined that she wouldn’t allow recent events to drag her down, nor would she allow this damned flu to get the better of her. Despite the encounter with the Dark Mirror Senshi, Super Sailor Remarque, she was out and about, with an ace bandaged wrapped around her ankle and wearing long sleeves to hide the bruises that might have still been visible from the fight. In truth, she was lucky to make it out of there with her life, and while there was still the lingering doubt left behind in regards to the disappearance of the White Moon leader, there was little time to dwell on that now. Maddy’s birthday was coming up, and she needed to get her a gift. Getting a present for Maddy was always a hassle, not because Maddy had picky tastes, but because she liked ANYTHING she got and she often got a lot of things. And her tastes fluctuated every so often, and now she was into dolphins. Why dolphins? Gwen didn’t know… but she was determined to get something dolphin-themed for her. And at least she wouldn’t be shopping alone. She looked down at the “purse” she carried, seeing the little nose that wriggled and sniffed about, taking in all of the new smells that Destiny City had to offer. It had been awhile since she brought Micah along with her, and the rat, in turn, was more than happy to accompany her. It was a sure sign that she was feeling better… “Maybe some jewelry, something she’ll wear a few times and horde away for safe keeping?” Gwen said to Micah, ignoring the looks she received from the people she passed in the street, letting them think that she was merely talking into her Bluetooth. Micah didn’t offer much for suggestions, merely scooting about in the purse and keeping to himself. Neither one of them noticed the set of eyes that watched her from behind, and Gwen kept on with her merry way, not realizing that she would soon be a target… “I could go to an antique shop and see if there’s any dolphin-themed paraphernalia there. Seriously, why dolphins though? They’re jerks, last I checked…” Once again, Micah the rat had no comment, and Gwen heard a snapping noise just before her load suddenly became light. She turned her head and watched a man in a red baseball cap rush past her, and she looked at her side as someone was kind enough to shout. “Hey! He just stole your purse!” Gwen was livid, absolutely livid, and it reflected in her shout as she ran after the man, throwing caution to the wind and overcoming her cold and injury to her ankle as nothing but pure anger and adrenaline fueled her. They weren’t just taking off with her money and her henshin pen; they were kidnapping her Micah! “GET BACK HERE, CUT PURSE! WHEN I CATCH UP WITH YOU, I WILL END YOU!” Gwen’s angry yells could be heard for several blocks, alerting other pedestrians to be on the look out for a thief and a very, very angry young fifteen year old that chased after it. This was NOT how Gwen wanted to spend her day!
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Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2012 2:10 pm
Jett had not retreated from the comfort of home for any sort of action; he was only outside right now because he absolutely needed chicken noodle soup and he’d exhausted all the cans in his house. There had been a moment—a brief moment—where he resented Millicent for insisting they donate all those cans for the food drive in December. Back then he’d agreed without too much hesitation. Back then, he hadn’t shown any signs of being sick.
When he woke up this morning, to an ‘I love you, be back late tonight. Have a good day!’ note from his mother, he knew that he was going to be on his own. His girlfriend was sick, Candice was sick, Millicent was sick (and he didn’t really want her screwing around in his kitchen, anyway), Eric was…
Where the hell was that ‘semi-homeless’ friend of his, anyway?
Ah, it didn’t mater. Chicken noodle soup (and maybe some French fries) were all that mattered.
Until a scene developed right in front of him. He hadn’t really been paying attention—and had missed the man in the red cap snagging the girl’s purse. It wasn’t until he heard shouting that he drew himself out of his food-filled daydreams and realized the man was running towards him—and a very angry girl was following him.
Jett neither increased his pace nor slowed down, just continued as normal—until the man drifted too close to him. Jett himself hadn’t really been aware that he was going to strike at the male; it was an unprecedented, instinctual action on his behalf. His free hand—his right hand—curled into a fist and he swung at the male, hard.
There was the satisfying crunch of his fingers popping when his knuckles grazed the would-be thief’s cheek. It was an impressive punch, to anyone who might not have had the experience Jett had, though he found himself vaguely disappointed that the thief offered no resistance. It was understandable in that, sure, he probably wasn’t expecting some bystander to hit him hard enough to send him stumbling towards the wall, but still.
Jett expected so much more from someone gutsy enough to try and steal a purse in broad daylight.
As his fist fell from the male’s cheek, he hooked his hand around the purse and yanked it from the thief’s already loosened grip. He made no effort to attack again—what was the purpose? He had the purse the girl wanted, and—anyway. Judging by her shouting, that thief was in for a beating. And that was something Jett wanted to see.
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 10:08 am
By the time the kind civilian had clobbered the robber to the ground, Gwen was starting to feel the effects of her injuries returning, but despite how much her ankle screamed at her to stop, she kept on running until she had caught up with them. She saw the entire thing and was undoubtedly impressed, but any thought to compliment him was gone the moment her angered golden eyes looked down at the barely conscious thief. He had not only stolen her purse and had the nerve to run away, taking advantage of her injury, but he had taken off with Micah AND her henshin pen, both of which she'd be lost without, and all of this reflected as she stomped her good foot down on the thief's stomach. "That's what you get for running off with my purse! Thief! What the hell's wrong with you? You could have hurt Micah! If he's hurt, you're going to regret it!" She gave him a few more kicks before her injured ankle set in, and she wobbled for a bit, catching her balance and trying to contain her anger. Though he was a thief, she didn't want anyone to think that she was assaulting the man with no good reason, and she looked to the one that saved her purse, her pet rat, and knocked the cut purse for a look, her voice only shaky due to the adrenaline rush and the need to cough. "You got a fierce right hook... thank you so much for saving Micah!" The purse wriggled, the rat inside of it hearing his owner's voice again and shifting around to get a wiff of his savior. A tiny nose could be seen from the cross-stitched vents but nothing more.
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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2012 1:59 pm
Micah?
Jett had been quite keen to observe the girl’s anger-filled display and had been thoroughly amused. He certainly didn’t believe in karma (if he did, he’d have been utterly screwed) but damn, it was still good to see some guy get what he deserved. Still, he had been thanked for slugging some guy in broad daylight—outside of the ring—and that was interesting enough in itself.
Except, for some reason, this girl had named her purse? And named it Micah?
Jett’s mind had immediately drifted to the girl he’d been giving boxing lessons to. He thought of her determined expression, her enthusiasm—and her head full of cornrows.
“If you thought that was fierce, you should see my left hook,” he said, flashing her a relatively charming smile. Extending his hand, he held out the purse to the girl, only them seeming aware that it was moving of its own accord.
Which was just plain creepy.
His mother had often asked him to grab something out of her purse, and that was like getting a needle out of a haystack. Why women needed so much junk with them everywhere they went, he would never know. “You all right there?”
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Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2012 12:48 am
“You all right there?” "Well, minus the stupid cold I have and my bummed ankle, I'm alright. More pissed off than shaken..." Gwen said, wanting to give the thief another kick but deciding against it. He laid there on the pavement, moaning and groaning, but it was easy to talk over him and Gwen propped her ankle up, relieving the pressure for now. At least now her heart rate began to slow and she was finally able to catch her breath, though she had to admit that the gentleman that clocked the robber and saved Micah was doing a good job in trying to steal it away again. Damned teenager hormones! "Thank you so much for saving Micah- I'm sure he's thanking you too!" She motioned to the moving purse, reaching out a hand and eager to take it back before Micah got any bright ideas and tried to wriggle out of his hands. After such an experience, all she wanted to do was grab her little rat and hold him close. To think, she could have lost him!
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Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2012 1:55 am
He? She referred to her purse as a male again—it had a gender and a name?
Oh. Oh, no, wait. That wasn’t what she was talking about. There was something in her purse? The movement Jett had missed before was painfully obvious when held at length. It had been easier to assume that the purse was of particular value to the girl so she had given it some sort of pet name, now his mind could only wander as to what, exactly, was in that thing.
He was eager to return it to the girl, both because he could not fathom being seen with such a female-oriented fashion accessory and because he was rather intent not to be holding that bag when whatever was inside crawled out.
“I don’t blame you, I’d be pissed if some guy tried to lift something off of me.” He wouldn’t have suspected she had a bummed ankle given how well she had chased after the thief, so was already looking at the girl with a sort of slight admiration. That didn’t stop him from opening his mouth, though; curiosity was a constant motive for continuing an otherwise unnecessary conversation. “So…not to pry, but I have to know. Who is Micah?”
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Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2012 10:31 am
“So…not to pry, but I have to know. Who is Micah?” Unaware of Jett's thoughts or his girlfriend, Gwen took back her purse and wasted little time in revealing who HER Micah was. She unzipped the front end and immediately, a tiny head popped out but didn't move out of the purse, looking around the area and sniffing around. She held it up for him to see but didn't move it any closer to him, well aware of the stigma that came with owning a pet rat. "This is Micah. My pudgy little rat that almost got kidnapped today..." Micah the rat seemed to have been recovering from that fact well, looking around and then fixating his attention onto Jett, sniffing away and trying to get his scent. Gwen gave the rat a stroke on its elongated head, babytalking him for a bit before placing her damaged purse under her arm. "But it's okay. This gentleman over here gave that robber a good punch in the face for you... speaking of..." Gwen looked down at the robber, only to find that he was beginning to crawl away. She immediately wanted to chase after him, but her recent endeavors had agitated her ankle again, and she had gotten only a single step forward before her ankle gave out, forcing her down to one knee. She grunted, holding Micah close to her chest and yelled at the robber, as he crawled to his feet and fled. "HEY, get back here! You gotta pay for scaring Micah and stealing from me!" Gwen wanted to chase after him, but damn her ankle! 'I'll get that Remarque back someday for this... ow...'
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 12:29 pm
What.
…Whaaaaaat.
A rat?
Girls weren’t supposed to like rats—much less want to carry them around with them in their purse. He gave the rodent a disdainful look, more because of his preconceptions of the little critters than any actual hatred for them. He presumed they were disgusting creatures, digging through trash and plaguing the world around them with diseases, so the concept of a domesticated rat—a pet rat—made his lip curl just slightly.
Watching the girl baby-talk the rat (girls were so odd), he had kept his mouth closed and forced a small smile despite a sudden urge to go fetch some hand sanitizer. Sickness + Rat=Death?
Oh, God, it was inevitable. He’d have to pick up some hand sanitizer on the way home (and more tissues, unfortunately) but leaving just now would have certainly been awkward. He moved to Gwen, eyes following the thief as he fled, and held out a hand to help the girl up. “All right, all right. I think you got the point across. He’ll think twice about purse snatching for a while, I’ll warrant. Come on, up with you. Are you all right or do you need me to drop you off at the hospital or something?”
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 6:34 pm
Gwen scoffed at the very notion of it. "I'm not that hurt, and I can't afford a hospital. Not on Maddy's budget..." However, Gwen did not refuse his help, not when she knew she needed it. She didn't take his hand immediately, instead she reached into her pocket and pulled out a bottle of hand sanitizer, squeezing some onto her hand and giving it a vigorous rub before grabbing his hand. As Micah continued to sniff around, staying within the purse obediently, Gwen grabbed that extended hand, explaining as she tried to pull herself up. "Sorry... I'm used to carrying it around, in case people freak out about the rat. But I also have a bit of a cold. Don't need to tell you- you can probably hear it in my voice, stuffy nose and all." Using him as an anchor, she pulled herself up and to her feet, trying to balance her weight on one foot so that she could try to relieve the pressure on her bad ankle. But she didn't regret chasing down the cutpurse, nor the kicks. Well, maybe those last few blows were a bit much, but she allowed him to flee. He got what was coming to him. She knew she couldn't ignore her injury for long, but she tried to keep steady. She didn't want him to think she was weak, and she held out a hand, offering both a handshake and the hand sanitizer. "Name's Gwendolyn. You can call me Gwen, and I'll call you a hero. Or, would you rather Micah's savior?" The rat looked at Jett, little black eyes taking in as much details as he could though it wasn't much, given their poor eyesight. He must have smelled nice, though, as the rat stretched out its neck and nose as far as it could could to get a sniff without touching.
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Posted: Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:28 pm
The hand sanitizer was just what the doctor ordered, and Jett certainly didn’t mind making contact with the girl now that there was a slippery layer of germ killing ooze between them. He gripped her hand with a firm, yet painless hold, and offered a fair few seconds of time to actually shake before he retracted his hand, all the while eying the rat as it tried to sniff at him.
In a way, he found himself warming up to the creature. It seemed curious, but not obnoxiously so, not quite hideous, but not too cute. It was durable to still be in one piece after that tussle, and—hell. It was better than a cat.
“Not a hero or a savior,” he said, flashing Gwen another smile. She looked vaguely familiar, though not enough that he would have been able to pinpoint where—if ever—he’d seen her before. “That’s too flashy. Just ‘Jett’ works in most situations. And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Gwendolyn.”
He gave the girl another quick look over, as if trying to size her up and make sure she really didn’t need a quick run to the hospital. “You sure you don’t want to run to the police station and report it? Or, at the very least, get off that ankle for a while. I’m sure Micah wouldn’t mind, he looks a little over excited anyway,” Jett noted, nodding his head at the rat as he rubbed his hands together to spread the hand sanitizer. He was quite uneducated about rat behaviors, so for all he knew, Micah was acting tame for a rat. It was almost cute how he was stretching his little body so much, but Jett was still very much a dog person.
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Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2012 10:29 am
"I'm alright, but Micah might need the break..." Gwen didn't mind using her pet as an excuse to sit down, but she didn't want to give in to the fact that she had pushed herself too far again. She didn't like the thought of notifying the police, mostly due to the fact that one of them might have recognized her as a St. Mag hooligan and that'd lead to trouble, trouble that she neither had the time for nor wanted to drag Jett along with her. Instead, she looked to a nearby bench and began hobbling towards that, trying her best to stay balanced and not walk on that ankle. It'd do her no good if she fell over and squished poor little Micah. "He's not used to so much excitement, despite his many adventures with me." The rat keep its dark eyes and nose directed at Jett until Gwen got to the bench and took a seat. She set her purse on her lap, observing the damage with a disgruntled expression. "He cut the straps... now I'm going to have to get a new purse. So much for Maddy's gift." Now Micah's curiosity to explore the bench and Jett was getting too much, and not wanting to risk anymore mishaps, Gwen gently pressed the rat back down into the purse and zipped the mess back shut. The purse wriggled for a moment more before Micah grew disinterested and the purse grew still once again, and Gwen took the moment to completely take in Jett's details. He seemed familiar to her, and she was able to pick up on that. "I went to a Mardi Gras party recently. Did you happen to be there? Because you look awfully familiar..."
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2012 6:53 am
Oh, yes, of course. Jett entirely understood how the rat needed the break, it must be a hard life, being carried around in a purse all the time. Still, it wasn’t like Jett was judging Gwen; if he’d been injured, the last thing he would want to do is acknowledge such in front of a stranger. He made no effort to poke or tease her about the situation, simply followed her over to the bench and flopped down in a strangely dignified fashion.
“I was, in fact, there,” he noted, pleased that he could now solidly identify where he’d seen her before. He had eyed her purse one last time, disinterested in it when the rat stopped wriggling. “With my friend, Micah. Though, she’s quite a bit larger than yours, I have to admit. Just as excitable, though.”
He leaned against the back of the bench, sympathetic with Gwen if only because he understood being frustrated at being victimized (not that he’d ever been a victim, of course) though not quite understanding why she’d want to get another purse. Someone had already tried to steal this one, why not stick to a wallet? Sure, maybe you couldn’t carry a rat around in your pocket but, guaranteed it would be harder to steal a wallet than a purse. From the bag that hung off his wrist, he produced the half gallon of orange juice he’d been carting with him from the store, twisted the cap, and took a large swig. “Purses aren’t that expensive to replace, write? Or are you a trendy, high fashion, designer-only sort of girl?”
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Posted: Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:46 am
Now Gwen felt embarrassed, knowing now that Jett had known someone named Micah, and she couldn't help but give a rather nervous chuckle as her imagination got the better of her. Jett would likely go home and tell his friend Micah about the experience, and Gwen could only hope that the Micah he knew wouldn't get the wrong idea and get Jett in trouble. His question drew her attention back to him. “Purses aren’t that expensive to replace, right? Or are you a trendy, high fashion, designer-only sort of girl?”To that, she openly laughed, enjoying the conversation as it was at least taking her mind off of the pain in her ankle. She replied, as she carefully slipped off her shoe to inspect the damage. "Not really... it's more like finding one that my rat isn't going to just chew through. I can't get the cheap ones because Micah thinks they're delicious, and I can't get too thick of ones because I don't want him to suffocate. Besides, cutting into them for the mess is hard too, so there's that..." With a grunt, she got the shoe off, and she bit back her pained gasp as she noticed it was even more swollen than it was this morning. She was angry, and it was obvious in her huff, as she tried to situate the ace bandage again so that she was at least comfortable. "That was stupid of me..." She wasn't referring to chasing down the thief or the few kicks she got in, but more to her picking a fight against a Dark Mirror senshi that she had no business squaring off with. She had to get her mind off of the pain again, and her mind immediately escaped to the topic from earlier, flashing Jett a rather playful smile to hide the shame that gnawed on the back of her mind. "So, you'd think my Micah and your Micah would get along then? Micah's been needing a playmate for some time now- I can't take him out as much as I'd like and he gets rather lonely in that cage of his."
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 12:53 am
Certainly Jett wouldn’t argue that chasing after someone when already suffering injury might have been a little less than intelligent, though he wasn’t going to mock her for trying. He would have been more displeased had she just let the man get away and made no effort. Instead, she had pushed herself—hurt herself—but had warranted at least a sliver of respect.
He eyed the bandage around her ankle, mind filling with ideas as to how she could have sustained an injury as such, though ankles were a common injury and he supposed it wasn’t anything as spectacular as the scenes that briefly flashed through his head. “I imagine they’d get along just swimmingly. Her hair used to be a rat’s nest, but I’m afraid it’s just corn rows, now. Your ankle, there,” he pointed with a pinkie, still holding the neck of the oddly shaped bottle of orange juice. “Are you taking care of it? Probably shouldn’t walk on it,” forget running, that was a definite no, “Ice packs, keeping it elevated, not cutting off circulation with the bandage—all that jazz?”
He had his fair share of injuries sustained both from bad encounters while powered up, in the boxing rings, and from a few well thrown, well-deserved punches from his grade school years. He was—by absolutely no means—a doctor, though his liked to think he had gained a basic knowledge when it came to treating injuries, if only because he’d become so familiar with them in the past few years.
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2012 3:52 pm
"I've had my fair share of injuries before... gymnastics and P.E. can be pretty brutal, especially if you play too hard." Gwen said, diverting her head to cough away from Jett and thankful that her cold at least seemed to be taking a backseat during this ordeal. To be injured AND sick, double whammy to her ego. She wriggled her toes, enjoying the feel of air against them and laying back on the bench in some effort to relax. "But yeah, I've been doing all of those things..." Then, realizing that she hadn't spoken the truth, she shrugged. "Well, except staying off of it. As you can plainly see... I don't like being cooped up, and I need to get something for my sister for her birthday." Gwen's purse wriggled again, to remind her of her most recent ordeal, and her sigh was very heavy. She had no idea where the nearest antique store was, and now she couldn't even walk there! 'Failed as a Senshi, and a sister... when I find that Sailor Remarque again, I'll give him a good deck to the jaw.'"Speaking of, do you know where I could find a pawn, or antique shop? Something that might have dolphin jewelry or the like?" Gwen asked, looking at Jett and trying to get her mind off of Remarque. That just shook up all the wrong feelings within her, and she didn't want to take it out on Jett, not after how friendly he's been already. "I may not be able to get there today thanks to this-" She lifted her bummed ankle. "But I could at least try to get there again tomorrow or the next day, if I'm feeling better."
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