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The night was young, and yet, the Senshi of Tigers found herself in a place she had no business being after hours. But then again, since when did Eternal Sailor Tsui care about the rules? As a civilian, she constantly skipped out on school and was now facing the grim possibility of flunking out, she had also caused some pretty bad collateral damage as a Senshi. So, breaking and entering the zoo at night, to sit across from the tiger exhibit, really seemed like it was nothing, compared to all of the other many misdeeds she had done.

Tigers weren't known for being nocturnal, though these tigers seemed fine with her presence, enough to where they gave a friendly chuff and returned to their slumber. This allowed Tsui to take a seat, hopefully just outside of the camera's range, and contemplate on a lot of things.

Things that she thought she was over, but apparently, ever since her encounter with Carnelian and her upgrade, the inner demons had found a way to catch up with her. Now, here alone with nothing but slumbering tigers, she allowed herself to get lost in thought, trying to keep an active mind on her surroundings but not truly prepared for any sudden approaches or dangers that might have been lurking. After all, she had reached Eternal status, and perhaps that would be enough to keep the lower ranks of chaos away from her.

"Where the heck did everything go wrong?" She asked to the closest tiger, knowing that he would not answer but not truly caring for an answer. "Though becoming an Eternal would make things easier, yet here I am, just as confused and lost as I was when I was awakened here almost a year ago."

Tsui hated to be lost, yet it seemed inevitable. Perhaps it was fate?

Tsui wasn't quite expecting the sudden spike in energy she felt, nor was she expecting to see anyone else in the zoo, much less her. Oh yes, Tsui remembered her, and it wasn't often that the Senshi of Tigers was left speechless, yet here she was, sitting on a park bench, looking at someone who, the last time they met, they hadn't necessarily met eye to eye. Yet, like a tiger that's territory had been approached upon by another of its kin and not an enemy, Tsui held her ground, and she replied with the same amount of quip that Zia had given her. "Looking at the tiger exhibit, obviously. What are YOU doing here?"

Words always came out of her mouth, straight from the brain with no damn or filter, and that often landed the Eternal senshi into a heap of trouble from time to time. Obviously so, since their exchange during the meeting months ago still burned in her ears, and almost immediately, Tsui cleared her throat and tried to appear less aggressive. Never had she thought she'd see her again, but while she was here, why not try mending the issues between the two?

"Sorry, I come here to relax- things been getting a little crazy lately, so if I snapped, it's just because... well, I've been ambushed a lot lately, and you... didn't exactly give me the best warning before arriving." Tsui explained, feeling her aura and unable to fight the confused feeling within her. She knew she was part of the Order alignment, but she felt... different. She tried not to let it bother her; growing suspicious of her allies wouldn't do them much good. "I don't think we properly introduced each other. I'm Eternal Sailor Tsui, Senshi of Tigers."

She extended her hand for a shake, wearing nothing but a beaming smile and hoping to put off an aura of confidence, to not only convince her ally but also herself. She was the proud Senshi of Tigers; best to act like it!

Tsui wasn't quite sure what to make of her behavior, and she tried not to feel too offended when Zia didn't even take her hand in greeting. In truth, she couldn't blame her; after all, she was in the right during the meeting, so if this was her way of getting back at her, then Tsui would simply have to take it. Never one for subtly, Tsui simply brought her hand down and kept it occupied by placing it on her hip, subconsciously feeling the scars there and fingering them out of nervous habit.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Zia, Magical Bullshit Expert." Tsui couldn't help but smile at that comment. It was always nice to see someone else out there that was confident as she was; perhaps she could find a way to cipher some of her confidence and feed it into her own long enough to do her apology and get to moving on to do better for her Court.

She wasn't any good with apologies, but the best way to approach them was like she approached pretty much everything else. Boldly, brashly, without thought or consideration, like a damn bull in a china factory. So, she took a breath and decided now was the time to simply plow through it, like a trooper! She was suppose to be a fierce tiger; if she could conquer love, then surely she can conquer being humbled, right?

"Look, what happened at the meeting a few months back... I'm sorry. You were right, about pretty much everything, and... I didn't want to admit to that." The same awkward feelings of humility that had overwhelmed her on the Moon had returned, but thankfully, either she was prepared for it or perhaps becoming Eternal rank had suppressed them enough to where it was tolerable, without crying like a baby. That was something she didn't want to go through ever again... "I was a stupid little kid back then... well, still a kid, but hopefully not as stupid or naive, though I've made some, erm, questionable decisions."

Once again she fingered her scars, though that was only part of the reckless behavior and decisions she had made after the ambush. She wasn't quite sure what else to say, besides apologizing again, that is. "So, yeah... you were right. I'm sorry I got snippy with you."

Tsui, completely unaware of the unique circumstances behind Zia, was completely taken back by her behavior as well as her question, and if it wasn't already a blow to her ego to have been wrong in the first place, to have someone forcing her to remember what she was wrong about certainly didn't help. She tried not to get too angry- perhaps she simply had a bad memory? It wasn't that Zia was intentionally trying to ruffle her feathers, Tsui told herself, as she gave a huff and tried to remember the event.

"We were talking about how best to deal with the Negaverse and the Dark Mirror Court, and you were one of the many adamant about us not trying to talk peace with them..." Tsui said, but then, she had a moment of doubt herself. Was that what Zia said? Now that she was questioning the event and her own memories herself, Tsui hated to admit that she had lost a lot of her vigor, and it took a lot for her to not want to just drop the whole thing and just leave it at that. "Especially the Dark Mirror Court... we exchanged a few heated words, and then you sort of just... stormed out."

Maybe her own memory of the event was faulty, but that could easily just be how out of her comfort zone she was when she was humbled and in the wrong. Something that she had been experiencing much too often lately and was growing tired of it, but she fought down her pride as best as she could. "Look, I get it now. The Negaverse and the Dark Mirror Court can't be trusted as a whole and they are our enemies. I get that now... I think."

Tsui wasn't sure where the 'shut up' comment had come from, but she certainly didn't appreciate it. Here she was, trying to overcome her own Alaska-sized ego and do the right thing, and Zia was telling her to shut up? If she were a bird, she would have puffed out her feathers and simply huffed, but still, Tsui was trying to appear older, wiser and more mature than the naive child she had once been. Key word here was trying, and she felt that she was failing miserably.

What she wanted to do was snap, turn away and leave, and pretending their encounter never occurred. This was the last time she'd try seeking forgiveness from ANYONE ever again.

And yet, the way Zia had grasped her head and then completely dropped to the ground was enough to chase away the heated retort she was preparing in her head. And Tsui, though fierce and reckless and brave in combat, couldn't help but allow her fearful side show as she lowered herself to get at her level, to see if she could find what had caused her to whimper. "H-hey, are you okay? Did I say something stupid... well, of course I did, I'm always going to say something stupid. Are you hurt?"

'Surely my presence isn't THAT bad that it hurts others in my Court...' Tsui thought to herself, trying to think of a way to help Zia but uncertain as to how. Fighting off youma and the Negaverse was easy... fighting something she couldn't see? Not a chance! But she'd be damned if she didn't try. "Look, if it's something I did, I'm sorry! Zia?"

"Zir...conia?" Tsui felt like an idiot, which was a feeling she seemed to be growing familiar with recently but how no means of stopping it or rising above it. It seemed she was never going to rise above that naive and confused Senshi that she once was, though at least this time it didn't seem like it was completely her own fault. There was just something about Zia that made Tsui think that very few would completely comprehend, but that was neither here or there. Whatever strange spell that had overcome her seemed to pass, and Tsui couldn't help but feel confused, yet openly curious about the strange occurrence.

"Oh, well... if that's the case, then... I'm sorry for mistaking you for Zirconia...?" Tsui felt embarrassed to have made the mistake, though, it seemed possible that it was an easy error to make? If... Zirconia was a part of Zia, or vice versa. It was interesting, and it took much for Tsui to not want to jump right in and bombard Zia with all sorts of questions. Mirror people? Zirconia not picking up the phone? Just how much did Tsui NOT know, and how much would be better left alone? Would it be worth pushing her buttons to get the full story, or should the Senshi of Tigers made a more tactical retreat in this occasion?

Fighting the Negaverse and Dark Mirror Court was easy. Even when her momentary confusion on who her enemy truly was had hit her, she was still pretty sure she had the jist of it figured out. But... talking to someone who seemed to have two different personalities, or perhaps two beings shoved into one? Tsui was a fighter, not a philosopher, but she still couldn't help but feel curious.

"Anyway, can I leave a message for Zirconia, or does she not have an answering machine?" Of course, she suspected her attempt at playing along would be seen as insulting and it might have angered Zia, but... she was willing to leave a message for when... or if... Zirconia would return.

Tsui felt hurt, and while she had suspected that some of that anger she heard wasn't completely addressed towards her, it still did little to spare her from its sting. It seemed that she was facing someone with two completely different identities, and the one that she wanted to speak to was simply not available... it should have been a relief to Tsui and it would have offered her a way out of this already embarrassing predicament, yet she couldn't bring herself to immediately jump on it.

No, her words hurt too much and she wasn't even sure why, and Tsui's spat was one of frustration and personal bitterness. "Alright then, if she's listening, I'm sorry, but now that I've been dragged into her parallel war, I'm sticking through with it. I'm a fighter, through and through, and even if I'm on the losing side, I'll fight until there's nothing left."

She wasn't sure how much Zirconia could hear, but it felt great to get that off of her chest. She didn't want to go into the details, on how close she felt she came to wanting to step over into the otherside, but it wasn't Zirconia's business. She didn't want to waste anymore of Zia's time, so she turned to leave, not even waving or saying goodbye to the tigers that had watched them with clear interest. "Even with all the in-fighting, I'm still a part of White Moon, and I'm sticking there. Maybe I'm crazy, since I hate to lose, but... I know we're not wrong. Thanks for the chat, Zia. Sorry if I wasted your time."

Her words hit home, and hard, and it was definitely more than enough to stop Tsui from completely retreating. Those words hurt, but it was the truth behind them that reached the Tiger Senshi, and she fingered the scars at her side as she half turned, not looking directly at Zia but letting her know that she definitely had her attention.

She was right on all accounts, and that's what dug under Tsui's skin, finding a way past her cracked pride and hitting a raw nerve. She wanted to feel angry, but her anger didn't hold up. Instead, it almost made her humble, though she'd never admit to it. There was a hint of defensiveness in her voice, but it wasn't particularly strong, and her gung-ho mentality she had moments ago was simply gone now. "I got slashed because I did something stupid... which... sounds about right."

Now she turned to face Zia completely, just as she seemed to have situated her shoes and backed away from the bench. She didn't want to beg to her, nor to anyone, but what else could she do. Even as an Eternal, she was in no position to demand anything. So, she reluctantly pleaded with Zia. "I'm sorry I didn't listen earlier. You're right- I was thick headed and naive, and no one really taught me anything except that they're the enemy. How are we suppose to fight them? Fighting's the only thing I'm good at, so if there's something that -I- can do to help, tell me what it is. Please?"

She was grateful that Zia (and Zirconia) were the only ones to see her this way; anymore and maybe she'd be on her knees, and that hurt her pride more than either of the General's spears hitting her side. She was tired of not knowing how to fight the enemy... if she was doing it wrong, then she wanted to know how to do it right! So she kept her pleading eyes up at Zia, hoping that there was something, hoping that she didn't ruin her chance for a second time.