Welcome to Gaia! ::

No one came to Planet Nemesis, at least people who had a choice. Some worlds were great vacation places, filled with natural beauty and unnatural wonders. Planet Nemesis was not one of those places. The world was completely dark - sunlight had never penetrated through the thick clouds that hung overhead. The terrain was unpleasant, rocky and unforgiving, with sparse vegetation and not the kind that was nice to look at. Safe to say, if you were not born on Planet Nemesis and were not otherwise trapped there... you simply did not show up.

So when Seke'olath d'Slyannen was informed that the senshi of Alkaid was here. Here as in on her homeworld. The Sailor Soldier of Nemesis was not quite sure how to handle the arrival. The Nemesis that attended political meetings was vastly different than the Nemesis on her own world. She had a certain measure of composure when dealing with the Moon Kingdom... but then she usually had ample time to prepare for them.

Someone suggested she let Alkaid wander around the streets of the main city for a while, and Slyannen found it difficult to argue with the idea. Her mother would have scolded her, if she were still alive. The woman had always had a better head for politics... and generally more of a level head period. Rubbing her pale forehead, Slyannen took off from the main castle to meet her guest before she got herself lost.

It was easy to do in the city, and while Nemesis believed most of the people were fairly respectable and trustworthy... there was a fair amount that weren't. Alkaid was bound to attract attention - the woman would stand out like a beacon of light. She had seen and spoken with Khadija a few times, little more than idle chatter or political banter. No one really held conversations with her. It was the only blessing that came with being a bit of an outcast.

At least, in the end, it was easy to find Khadija. The group she had with her all stood out against the dark streets and people. Nemesis reckoned it even hurt a little to look at someone so bright. Nemesis herself did not stand out from her own people. As she lifted her blue glowstone, it reflected just barely off of her pale skin. Blue hair so dark that it appeared black rolled down to the small of her back. Most of her people had black eyes, but her own were a bright blue, a trait that could be found in a decent amount of her ancestors. Or at least it was recorded as such.

"Sailor Alkaid," she greeted Khadija properly and with only the barest bow of her head. For a moment it was difficult to determine where she was. It took her a moment to weave through a few of the civilians to directly approach the group. She lowered her glowstone, not necessarily needing it as much to see. "I was going to send a guide to aid you in meeting me... but I figured this would be easier."

"That," she paused, realizing that she was starting to drop down towards being more formal, "was what I was worried over." This was her home world, her turf, so to speak. She was naturally comfortable, and was far from used to having to talk polite and be respectful. Slyannen was about as far up in the hierarchy of her planet as one could get - she didn't have to be polite to anyone. She was far more tame when visiting the Moon Kingdom, but the people who worked closely with her on Planet Nemesis knew her affinity for cursing and talking roughly. No one had yet to garner enough confidence to actually tell her to tone herself down.

Slyannen had left her guards behind, mostly because it bothered her to be surrounded by a group of them, but it also had the nice dual effect of making her seem more harmless. If she showed up with a bunch of guards, it likely would have made Alkaid's own guards more uncomfortable. That would have been rude, and Slyannen was trying to avoid ruffling more feathers than she already had. She didn't blame Alkaid for taking a group of people with her - most senshi did not come to her planet at all, so if it gave the woman some comfort, she would try to ignore the slight insult that could be taken there.

It was as if everyone expected her to misbehave or do something ridiculously evil.

She was a senshi, and she was beginning to believe a lot of people forgot what being a senshi meant.

"Well, I definitely wasn't expecting anyone... ever," she answered drolly. Other senshi were to expect guests every so often - Slyannen expected them never. Her people were already in a bit of a tizzy over setting up proper accommodations for Khadija and her group. No one actually knew how to treat guests on Planet Nemesis, and she figured she should stall for some time to give her people a chance to make a decent impression.

Slyannen's expression smoothed over, likely an attempt to hide just how she felt when Khadija explained why she had stepped foot onto her planet. "No, you're not imposing." She deliberately avoided commenting on Khadija's reason for coming, which was as much of an answer as any verbal reply would give. Slyannen was a little at odds with the Moon Kingdom, despite being a member of it. They never saw eye to eye, and she was beginning to feel slighted and that her efforts were wasted.

"The city is really the only interesting place on Nemesis. You go outside the wall and there's nothing but dark rock and crystals. I'd be happy to show you around, if you'd like." The offer was made with a small, forced smile. Slyannen truly was off of her game. Hours of preparation would have made her feel better about dealing with a diplomatic senshi.

It was a bold move on Khadija's part. Slyannen would give her credit for that much, though she neither looked impressed or disappointed by the decision. Rather, she felt mildly concerned for how much Khadija's people would impose on her own. She suspected that they would know how to behave themselves, but her people were not used to outsiders. No one on this planet saw much outside of it. Few people were allowed to come and go, as if the weight of the planet's energy bound them there. Sometimes she suspected that the other worlds were not so great that she wanted her people to be influenced by them.

Slyannen was not eager to trust Khadija. The young senshi was bold, and seemed honest, but Slyannen had been caught off guard. She had learned long ago not to trust anyone who wasn't from her own world. There was always friction between herself and others where ever she seemed to go. As Sailor Nemesis, she was constantly hounded by negativity simply because she was associated with the planet. Khadija seemed to be giving her a chance that no one else yet had. "I suppose it is," she agreed at length.

This would give them a chance to talk without having to put up with anxious glances from Khadija's guard. Slyannen herself wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of leading Khadija along with a group of highly trained guards (probably). She had brought no one with her, because it probably would have been taken as an insult, or worse, as an attempted assault. Slyannen was confident in her abilities to defend herself, but she still did not invite such a mess.

"Come along, then. You're only at the edges of the market. There are more interesting things down this street. I can take you up to the castle later, but it's a bit of a walk." And apparently Slyannen was not going to offer up another mode of transportation, though she certainly had one. She couldn't quite trust Khadija's intentions in coming here, so she wasn't going to show her much of what would have any political value.