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 Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 6:09 pm
"I feel like I should be proud, but part of me feels the part of jealous mistress almost, just because of your stupid court and their involving you in shenanigans. Poor creature," Zia mused on the recent upgrade to super senshi for reluctant Sailor Orpheus while she walked in a half assed version of patrolling, and held up his new glasses she'd stolen over her face.
"You are very fancy, though."
She could appreciate some decent sparklepower.
"I would ask what our new power does but you won't even tell me your sphere."
While the two of them mostly patrolled for anomalies and oddities in Zia's never ending quest to research the universe and Orpheus' deep desire to cure his ailment known as senshi-ness, tonight Zia seemed more preoccupied with him and his upgrade, and the mixed feelings that came with it.
An influx of Chaos meant more power at his disposal-- and by extension she considered that her disposal-- but more unpredictability on where his loyalties fell.
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Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 6:36 pm
Jealous mistress? How true that was. Sailor Orpheus couldn't help but chuckle but was it at that or his fate? For so long he had fought off the Dark Mirror Court's hold on him but now the claws were digging in even deeper. He didn't like it and despite all his attempts it seemed like he was getting further and further away from his goal. It was frustrating, an endless frustration.
If he was honest with himself, a good part of him blamed Zia for all of this. Before she came into the picture, he never powered up and lived a lonely and bitter life of study as he tried to regain everything he'd lost. Of course, he liked the benefits Zia came with but everything changed once they met and youma came into the scenario. His desire to protect her had pushed his own goals back a notch and now he was constantly wrestling with his feelings.
Ever since the night Zia didn't come home and he ended up with an upgrade forced upon him just like his corruption, his feelings had been worse. He felt confused, and conflicted, and just angry. He was angry at her and he knew it wasn't fair. She didn't force him to do this, she didn't even know. However, a bitter part of him couldn't help it. Sometimes he couldn't help but look at her with regret. This night, this moment, as he smiled at her charmingly, was one of those times. Deep in his amber eyes, regret festered. Did happiness always have such a cost? For him, probably.
"I can't give away all my secrets, now can I?" He laughed but inside he felt like he was rotting.
"With those glasses on, people are going to mistake you as my woman," he teased while he died a little more on the inside.
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Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:22 pm
Kallichore was wandering in an even more half-assed version of paroling, or so it appeared. In actuality, she wasn't even scanning periodically like she used to, wandering to and fro on the second story of any buildings she could find. When she felt like it, she'd drop down to street level and wander listlessly. All powered signatures were virtually invisible to her and she didn't actually mind. Turning a corner, she caught sight of a very familiar head of purple hair. Zia looked to be returning to her old self, less disheveled than their previous meeting. Ah, how the tables have turned. Kallichore herself looked a fright - thrown through a metaphorical grinder and run over by a truck. She hadn't slept in, what, four? Five days? And it showed. The eternal squinted. Whoever she was with, it was Dark Mirror and somehow, the thought didn't make her skin crawl like it would have otherwise. Zia was, in some ways, Dark Mirror herself. No, not Zia. Zirconia. Same difference? With a heavy and weary sigh, Kallichore approached the pair from behind, more focused on Zia than her blue companion. She still kept a respectable distance of roughly ten feet. "Zia? Why are you out so late?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 8:55 pm
"It is you sphere of power, not your social security number."
Zia was getting increasingly annoyed with that super secret secrecy, and added an irked eyeroll to the combination when he said something about her being his woman and gave him a light shove to the side.
"No thanks. I have a boyfriend, Sparklepants."
But she jumped when she heard her name. It had been so long since she'd seen Kallichore that she almost didn't place it at first, but the senshi was hard to forget, really.
"KALLI!" She shrieked and sharply changed direction to close that ten feet and tackle the disheveled senshi in an uninvited hug. "What do you mean? I'm patrolling. See, this is my monster hunter get-up."
Well she couldn't very well go youma dusting and nega indexing in her prized Lanvin. At first glance, she wasn't exactly dressed to impress with the jeans and layered tank top ensemble. Second glance, those ripped jeans were clearly stylized and the top was probably from an overpriced label, and the updo she sported was less messy bun and more of an elaborate mess of curls she clearly spent at least an hour pinning into place.
Zia was still Zia, even when casual.
"Why are you out so late? You look exhausted. Your hair is so mess-- well it's always kind of messy, but you look dead! Are you okay?" She smooshed her cheeks with her hands, and then pointed back at the glittery mirror senshi.
"This is Sailor Orpheus, by the way." Introductions were important.
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Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:17 pm
"Well, when you have a sphere of power to exchange with me then maybe I'll tell you."
That'd never happen because Zia was a normal, human girl, and he loved her for that. If only she would be a little more normal and stop going out to pick fights in the middle of the night while a war went on throughout the city. He was going to die of stress at this rate, long before any one had the chance to kill him.
He didn't give a reply to her response about having a boyfriend and thankfully someone distracted her immediately after so she wasn't looking for a response or find it strange he didn't say anything. Well, she knew he was a creeping ******** who knew about her boyfriend any way, right? It was better than the creepy ******** being her boyfriend. It was the one thing he didn't want Zia to know, ever.
It was pretty much girl on girl when Orpheus turned his head to see who Zia had run off to. However, who he spotted wasn't anyone he was hoping for. It was better than a Dark Mirror senshi but the hair on the back of his arms rose under his fuku and he cringed outwardly, stepping back away from them. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want to associate with one of them. Senshi were terrible people, terrible terrorists.
Fists clenched, Orpheus turned to leave. He didn't want to start a fight with Zia here no matter how much it pulsed through him to do so.
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Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2013 10:34 am
Kallichore looked Orpheus straight in the eye and... nodded to him, almost respectfully. Such an out-of-character action for her but then again, life was not treating the eternal senshi very well. The unexpected hug was met with a tired and light hug in return. "What day is it, Zia?" she asked, having lost track of time, what, four? Five days ago? She couldn't even remember when she spoke to Paris last. "I haven't seen you in such a long time. Are you alright? And your friend here... is he safe?" What she meant by that, even she wasn't sure. Was Orpheus an enemy? Was he dangerous to Zia? If he was, Kallichore wasn't sure whether the lavender-haired woman would be seen with him. Or was Orpheus hanging around Zia and possibly being spotted with her more of a danger to him? What did the Dark Mirrors think about Zirconia? Did they even know about her? Kallichore swallowed and heaved a heavy sigh.
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:38 am
Oh, this was much more serious than a hangover. Kallichore's delirious question clued Zia in to that very quickly and seeing Orpheus turn to abandon her in the corner of her eye just elicited an awkwardly meek, "Please don't go."
If Kallichore was falling apart, she certainly didn't want to be alone for it.
"I'm fine. And he's... also fine." Not totally safe. He didn't know she was secretly a cat and he wouldn't even share something as simplistic as his sphere with her, but they had a mutual agreement and and even more mutually beneficial hatred.
"Why are you so messed up? What happened?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:44 am
Sailor Orpheus paused but his face twisted. Why was Zia being like this? He listened to her silently for a moment. He didn't turn around to face her but he could feel his fists tightening more. This wasn't how Zia was suppose to act, this wasn't who she thought she was. He turned around suddenly, closing the gap between them to grab her arm more desperately than threatening.
"What are you doing? I thought you hated them too?"
Them obviously meant senshi.
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 10:35 am
Kallichore had to chuckle at the hated part. "I guess I consider myself an exception?" And perhaps she was, being one of the only remaining former Blood Moon members. Birhan, Sirius, Nemesis, Albali... she hadn't heard from or seen them in so long. Serpentarius was the only senshi Kallichore had heard from and from what she understood, the Blood Moon was no more. Thanks to Ares. Turning back to Zia, the eternal senshi shook her head. Being drunk or in the middle of the worst hangover of your life would be more preferable to this. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, not with you. You deserve more respect than that." She then attempted to smooth out her disheveled hair and brush off some of the dirt from her fuku. How did that get there? Zia was always so prim and proper and put-together. It was almost offensive to be in her presence without your Sunday best. "I'm seriously considering switching sides, Zia. I haven't slept in... god, I don't even know what day it is. What street are we on? Everything seems so hopeless." A palm covered one eye, as if a bright light had been shone in her face. Kallichore winced. "Ever since Ares left, everything has been an uphill struggle and I don't know... how much longer I can do it."
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Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:19 pm
"Uh...um--"
Zia's arm went slack at Orpheus' pull, fluidly allowing it as much as possible without actively assisting.
Ugh, she didn't like conflict. This was usually the part where she politely excused herself. Kallchore was messed up and weird and she didn't want to be here for that, but she was caught up in the fact she had to, because how could she leave her?
I'm seriously considering switching sides, Zia.
Oh, there we go.
Zia made a hard shift from wimpy and meek attempt at playing the middle ground between the two senshi and came right around to serious and a little angry. She took her arm back, but she dropped the other from the affection half hug she'd scooped Kallichore up in.
"What?" It was flat, and almost forced out. It took a lot of effort just to push out the one word and not a deluge of rhetoric and confusion and anger. Kallichore had been so anti corruption at one point, and now she was considering it? Because things were too hard?
"Oh, well," The bitterness was evident right off the bat as Zia shoved herself away from Kallichore. "Sure, of course, since things are so hard for you."
The floodgates were opening. "You with your intact memories and family and homeworld and faction and your own ******** universe surrounded by comrades and friends. I'm sorry things are so ******** hard for you, Kalli," That last bit saw a sharp rise in both tone and volume.
"So things are hard fighting against the Negaverse so what, you gonna go take their leash and be a happy little slave? You didn't think they actually gave senshi rank, right? I mean, you'll be memory wiped so it's not like you'll care once they rot out your starseed and give you to a ******** handler. It'll be super easy! You won't have to think again in your entire life! And you can go start piling up civilian bodies like that carnival fiasco, it'll be a real party, and you won't even have the brains to care about who you're hurting or why you're fueling their war machine with all this death because of your free lobotomy!" She shrieked, and ended up kicking a nearby garbage can in some very volatile rage.
"Or were you going to go sell your soul to her?" That realization was probably worse, and she spat it out in disgust. "Just go ahead and die so her new puppet can wear your face and pretend to be her. How ******** dare you?! To me? In front of him--" One hand gestured behind her to Orpheus in her tantrum, provided she hadn't lost track of him. Complete rage fueled meltdowns were not good for spatial awareness. "He lost everything to corruption! His friends, his family, his whole goddamn life. To be a slave. And he wants out! He's trying... So hard... to get out of that bullshit and you're go dive in face first?!"
Her breaths cam out in sobbing heaves as she screamed the last bit. "Who the hell do you think you are to leave me like the rest?!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:35 am
Sailor Orpheus' eyes shot to Kallichore almost obsessively as Zia began to fall into his pull, as if he was saying this woman was his, until her mouth when and said something stupid. His reaction changed almost immediately as Zia's did. He didn't even seem to care that Zia grabbed her arm back, his arms crossing immediately as his face twisted. He fidgeted and he looked as if he was ready to ******** murder something.
Ares. He would like to murder her for all the wrongs she did to him. Simply being reminded of her this way made his blood boil and the emotional turmoil he faced earlier in the meeting about simply wanting to fight was grossly enlarged by Kallichore's admittance. Was this b***h stupid, or what? How the ******** did she ever think it would make things better? All it ever did was make his life worse!
"You think your—" he began to start a lecture but Zia had beat him by a second and was already on a roll.
Whatever. She knew her better than he did so instead he stood back and watched Zia's verbal assault. It was interesting to watch and listen to but many of the things Zia said left him stumped. What was she talking about? Given some of the point she hit, part of him thought she was talking about him but many of the points simply didn't apply to him. Perhaps Zia simply didn't know enough about Orpheus.
"They said Ares is gone—" he managed to slip out, a bitter taste in his mouth from simply saying her name. That is what they told him but how much could he believe was true. If... if it was true then he should be delighted, right? He would be but how much could he trust the words of Remarque? He had no reason to believe he was telling the truth after what he did to him but it would make sense. Their court had been so small but he just up and left without a word and she never came after him? He thought he was just really careful about mirrors but this would make a lot of sense.
It didn't make things better between him and the court but if she was gone then he could maybe sleep a bit more soundly.
The latter of Zia's argument brought a different expression to Sailor Orpheus' face. He hated when Zia spoke about the Dark Mirror court but it was even worse when she was insulting him by saying he was a puppet pretending to be the previous person. That was simply too ******** up! It was ridiculous to think that these feelings weren't actually the feelings of who he was but who he was pretending to be. Zia's words rung through his head as she brought him into the topic. It was true but why should he continue this life if he was living on with hatred of a whole other person who was dead now? It was simply too forgone, too depressing and his whole face fell with those feelings as he clenched his fists waiting for Zia to stop.
It definitely wasn't true. He remembered his whole life. It had to be his... it just had to be.
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 6:43 pm
"Who the hell do you think you are to leave me like the rest?!" That part was the clincher. However, Kallichore was listening, as intently as her frazzled mind would allow, to both Zia and Orpheus' story. Of course Kallichore should have considered Zia, the pseudo Den Mother of the Blood Moon Court, in her haphazard decision-making. If anyone was there for her in times of need, it was Zia, in her own aloof sort of way. The eternal didn't realize her own frustrations and grief would cause undue and undeserved harm in the people she remembered she cared about. With a sigh, Kallichore bowed her head, both to Zia and to Orpheus. "You're right, Zia. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I even let myself get to this point." It was embarrassing to be seen like this, to cause such harm to someone she cared about. "I wasn't thinking... I won't. I won't give myself over to---" It was then that Orpheus had mentioned Ares was gone. Was it true? Eyes widened and regarded Orpheus curiously. "She's... she's gone? Are you certain? Does this mean there are no more Dark Mirrors being baptized? Are you one of the last? Ah, forgive me. I should be considering your position instead. My apologies." The eternal attempted to straighten herself out and calm her breathing. "I won't leave. I won't... give myself to them. I still have so much to offer Order. I just... I have always hated being stuck, feeling like my actions haven't had an effect on anything... but hearing that the damned tyrant b***h is gone..." Another steadying sigh. "...there has to be some way to break her hold on you, if that's what you want, Orpheus. Zia, is this why you're with him? Acting as a guide like you did to us?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:45 pm
Zia sniffled hard and her breathing was still ragged and shaky in a very 'not-gonna-cry' sort of way while she tried to recover from her screeching fit. If she had enough time to sit here and process she might've even conjured the self awareness to realize how she had insensitively reminded Orpheus about her theory he was dead inside,
But he said something, and when it clicked, she was even too distracted to grab Kalli in the inevitable bear hug. That had to be delayed for a second.
Her face was still splotchy and flushed red from freaking out, but she whirled around and grabbed Orpheus by the sides of his face in her ostensibly usual face smoosh (a mannerism up until this point usually done with nothing but love and very annoying affection) but this had a bit of a restrained, almost threatening air to it, especially with how calm her speech managed to be, with on a hint of the repressed tears in the first syllable.
"Orpheus. Darling. Given our current arrangement of my help in exchange for your court information, don't you think maybe," Facepull/headbutt combo happened here, and the next bit was said through grit teeth and very, very restrained anger, "That might've been relevant to my interests before now?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:15 pm
The face. Something terrible was going to happen to his face! Orpheus pulled away from Zia, shaking his head back and forth in an unimpressed motion. Why was she getting so upset? Did she think that he was keeping this a secret all this time? He was a little offended by that, and as his body shifted back and forth, his hands fell onto his hips. She was clearly the only one allowed to be upset here, why was he so surprised?
"Don't you think maybe I had other things on my plate? Do you know what I had to go through to get upgraded? I mean it is not as if you care but I certainly didn't volunteer for the job! Considering I only just found out then, you should be thankful I told you when I did after you spent all evening shaking your a** in front of me. Seriously. That a**. I'd like to just grab it and," he stopped for a minute, made a face that ought to be kept in the bedroom, moved his hips forward and then finished with, "Unnnmph."
Momentarily, as Kallichore questioned Orpheus, his attention left Zia.
"She's with me for my amazing body. Come on, look at it," he said, unzipping the top of his fuku to reveal his pride and joy. He'd worked on his body obsessively for the two years since Ares stole his life and his abs were the show piece of the collection here. Rock hard and defined from hours and hours of workout. He ought to take things more seriously but why bother? Zia and him had made no progress with fixing his affliction. It didn't matter what he wanted, he'd never really escape.
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Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 6:53 pm
Apparently Ares being missing in action was news to Zia as well. Before Kallichore could ask any further questions, the Dark Mirror senshi started up a striptease and vulgar gestures to Zia and made the eternal uncomfortable. She slapped her palm to her face and turned around, determined not to see more than was strickly necessary, enemy or not. Instead, she spoke to the wind. "So... since everything's been cleared up, Orpheus clearly has some serious discussion to have with you, Zia..." Kallichore didn't regret their run-in; certainly Zia and Zirconia gave the eternal much to think about. The last thing Kallichore wanted was to selfishly abandon people who counted on her and who, in turn, she herself counted on. Zia was the den mother of the Blood Moon, one of the only constants during the first years of her senshidom. When Ares abandoned them and corrupted most around her, Zia stood strong and resisted. She continued to resist even to this day despite Ares' somewhat familiar relation. And Kallichore had a great deal of respect for that.
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