The Rift was something logically avoided, especially given what Galena’s first trip had entailed. Seeing Cinnabar nearly eaten probably should have turned her off the entire concept of youma and the pit from whence they came entirely, if her encounter as a civilian nearly being eaten herself didn’t already.

It didn’t, though, and she had made a small handful of trips since gaining the capability to travel on her own. Usually she didn’t travel too far, and stayed cautious. Each endeavor took her closer and closer, and it was more productive than simply watching their hunting from rooftops on the street.

There was little to watch, though, where she found herself this time. After a few paces she saw what might have been why. “Captain Cinnabar,” She crooned, “It seems they avoid you.”

Whimsical Blue
Red lips curled as Cinnabar looked up from where she crouched, her leather-clad elbows on her knees and the whole of her balanced by the scaled tail that stretched across the floor behind her. It swept back and forth once as she tilted her head, giving the woman who had found her a long once over.

“Galena! What a lovely sight.” She crooned as she rocked back in her heels and pushed herself onto her feet, taking a moment to stretch herself in a long, lazy reach of her arms up over her head and backwards. It strained her chest against her corset, but the leather and steel held up well. And it was all for show anyway, evidence by the way she grinned when the Captain paced towards her friend, hips swinging. “Look at you… growing up, hmm? I like the new outfit… Easier to move in?”

When she got close enough, she reached to drape an arm around the shorter woman’s shoulders, chains rattling around her biceps. “Congratulations on the promotion, sweetheart.”


“Thank you, I think it suits me,” Galena said with a small nod, running her hands over the front of her laced line shirt and then finding her fingers in the links of the chains as she turned on her heel. “More useful weapons, although I haven’t used them save for training. Changes of all kinds. Why do the youma keep away?”

It was hard to keep her original curiosity far from her mind. Youma and their various states had become a nearly all consuming study, along with her insomnia. Cinnabar’s presence was comforting, though. As her place in the Negaverse evolved and her quiet relationships with order had refused to stay in a safe stasis, Galena was relieved to find the taller woman’s affection remained constant and same. A warm welcome that some things were consistent and same and safe. She found her fingers gently running over the scales on Cinnabar’s flesh for as long as they were allowed. “Is it because you’re different? I’ve been trying to track some semblance of behavior from them.”

Whimsical Blue
The half-youma made a face, wrinkling up her nose as she glanced over at the crevice she’d been staking out when Galena had found her. The youma inside of it showed no evidence of even existing, but she knew it was there, as she’d seen it slide inside the moment it had gotten a whiff of her… but maybe there was a back exit to the crack and the dumb thing had escaped. That would be her luck, sitting here waiting to see if it showed itself again while it was long gone. Cat at the mouse hole indeed.

“You should show me your weapons. I never got anything useful until they grafted to my hands.” She said as she flexed one, black claws sliding out of the pads of her fingers. Cin shifted as Galena’s hands started to move over her, but she didn’t protest it, simply shifting to better enjoy the attention. Really, she could barely feel the pressure of fingers through whatever material the deep red scales were made of, but when skin brushed skin around the edges it was enjoyable.


“As for the youma…” Cinnabar shrugged as she frowned. “I can eat them. Word got around and now they avoid me like the plague. That, or they think they can take me on, so they try. None of them will take any orders from me now.”


Galena instead grabbed Cinnabar’s hands with both of hers like a curious child, inspecting the claws in a way she hadn’t before with a strange glint in her eye. “Do you regret it? Or do you enjoy it?” She asked, but she had to take a step back to comply with the request. She summoned the small knives, that fit neatly between her fingers.

The snake style stance was almost like breathing to her now, and even more so when she had fangs to show for it.

“Oh, that’s… interesting.” She had given some extensive thought to what made a youma, and the complete loss of a starseed to Chaos or being inundated to the point of becoming a monster, and their place in the food chain constantly seeking to feed on what they didn’t have. Cinnabar being a predator that turned around and consumed them was of particular interest, but in a way that made her silently retreat into her thoughts.

“I haven’t seen you on the surface since the masquerade… opera… tion.” Not that Galena had been particularly out and about in the immediately following weeks. She had lost Freia and gained Amphitrite. It had been a weird handful of weeks. “I’ve missed your ever watchful presence,” She said, the corners of her mouth managing to pull back in an uncharacteristic smile.

Whimsical Blue
When her hand was released from inspection, Cinnabar pulled it back to her chest with a hint of something on her face before it smoothed away.

“I regretted it at first, but not for long. Why bother regretting something you can’t change?” She said as she shrugged and dropped her hands, propping both on her hips as she gave Galena’s little knives a look over. “I’m learning to enjoy it, though there is a lot of it that’s hard to deal with. Losing the ability to power down, the constant hunger, the god damn youma thoughts in my head… I swallowed Baal, but he’s still in here, watching me and waiting for an opening.”

Reaching out, she caught hold of Galena’s wrist and gently pulled it closer, running one finger from her other hand along the edge of the knife. She made an appreciative sound at it’s sharpness, her head tilting to the side before she gave her fellow Captain a coy look and ran her teeth lightly over her bent knuckles before releasing the hand she held.

“I’ve been kept busy. I’m trying to be a better officer than I was as a lieutenant. I owe the General-Queen my life, the least I can give her is my loyalty. I don’t have any underlings assigned to me, but I have the same quota as before to make up for it. I’ve been meeting with lieutenants sort of on the side and teaching them how I gather energy, since I’ve been awarded for my performance in that… Less of any of that at the moment, since I’m on light duty after my run in with that senshi prince.” The half youma touched a finger to her chest, where the start of a nasty, partially healed scar ran across her chest from nearly her shoulder, down between her breasts to disappear under her corset.


“I’ve just… spent a lot of time, watching them. Thinking about…” About things Galena probably shouldn’t admit to someone on her own side she wanted to think well of her. She shuddered at the realization of sentience remaining in the youma half, in spite of being absorbed and devoured. She wondered if it was the same for full youma, or if one half of you died. That would make the most sense, an empty shell of Chaos and hardly different from the feral youma she had been studying.

She reached out and affectionately brushed her fingers along Cinnabar’s jawline, as if testing the way Antiope let her pet her, if Cin would allow the same sort of gentle touching. Her fingers trailed down, and stopped just short of the scar she gestured to. Galena didn’t pull back, but she stared, and then frowned.

“What happened?” She asked, brow furrowing in an actual facial expression for once.

“You had a run in with a royal? What were you thinking?”

Whimsical Blue
The half-youma turned her face as fingertips found her jawline, her expression turning decidedly warm as her lips quirked. It felt like an invitation, one she was more than ready and willing to pursue, but there were questions being asked she felt she should answer. After all… Galena had saved her life too, when you thought about it. She owed her nearly as much as she owed Schörl and the General-Queen.

“I was playing with a pretty little senshi girl. I was going to bring her back to Laurelite when she started to resist me, and then her watch dog showed up. She’d been claiming he was out and about, that they were just separated, but I wasn’t able to feel him… he burst in on us before I realized he was there.” She chuckled as she reached to slide an arm around Galena’s waist and draw her in, hoping to distract her from her impending ire. “I knew what I was doing… I weighed the risks as I knew them and I thought I had a chance to deal him some damage at the least. Swallowing a youma, which I did at the time, gives me an amazing boost in power… I should have been closer to his level, but I didn’t count on whatever it was he did with his ******** tiara. It burned like a mother… and its not healing as quickly as I’d like it to. But its fine… I’m still able. I can show you, if you don’t believe me.”

Cinnabar teased her as her tail swung lazily behind her legs, the other arm coming around to cage the shorter captain between them.


“Well then I suppose you didn’t quite weigh all of the risks, now, did you?” Galena retorted, and then seemed to promptly realize what she had said and turn on some shy, blushing act as she was drawn close. She had been mouthier than usual, since her promotion. Confidence came with less control over when mentally conjured barbs and sarcasm actually escaped.

She glanced around and realized that she’d become caged without her initial notice, pale cheeks flushing as she looked back to Cinnabar.

“Able to wh-- oh.”

Part of her wanted to remind herself that it might not be the wisest idea letting herself end up in a compromising position in the Rift, of all places, but it was easy to forget when she had spent increasing time there. More time than she had been spending at work or doing normal human things, and her mind kept distracting itself away from logic and back to Cinnabar.

She cleared her throat and tried to think of something witty to say in return, but nothing came to mind. Onl complaints. “Cin, you are always injured,” She huffed, “And the one real date you took me on turned out to actually be a capture slash torture operation. As a lady, I shouldn’t be letting you show me anything you seem to have in mind right now.”

She pressed in close, her nose nuzzling against flesh and scales as she pressed her lips just beneath Cinnabar’s jawline, purposefully leaving a mark with her dark lipstick. “But, I will. Do you really get that powerful when you consume youma?”

Whimsical Blue
The taller woman laughed at the sharp retorts and the blushing, enjoying the sass. It was fun, when someone pushed back. It felt more worthwhile when it was a challenge. And, of course, now it was hard to think much past the curvaceous woman in her arms and the things she’d really like to be doing which didn’t involve talking or youma that weren’t inside of her head. Talking was over rated anyway… and she never claimed to be terribly cerebral. She was better when she operated on instinct, even if it did end up with her injured more than other people.

An animalistic rumble rolled from her throat as she felt lips press under her chin and that was really all the invitation she needed to turn the pair of them and press Galena back against the wall. Gently, but insistently. If this wasn’t what she had wanted, well. She shouldn’t have been kissing her neck.

“Getting injured is part of being on the front lines.” She said as she lifted a hand to cup the side of Galena’s jaw and tilt her head back, her own red lips hovering close. “And unfortunately, I’m not very good at dates any more… Youma and all. But I can take you out again if you want to go. I’d do that for you.”

Cinnabar closed the distance for a real kiss this time, dark lashes sliding low over her eyes. The first time was light, questioning.

“I almost match Schörl after I swallow one.” She murmured when she pulled back, lips still close enough to brush.


“Oh… my…”Galena exhaled at Cinnabar’s insistent advances. She seemed to go with it, though, having loosened up a smidge from being a stiff lieutenant trying not to look. Instead, hands wandered affectionately. Cinnabar had always been safety, knowledge, and above all, protection. Likely an atypical source of lust, but that was Gal’s brand of lust, and the urge to please Cinnabar had always been there. When Cin moved her jaw and held her in place, she moved with expectant obedience.

One kiss, and her blush was uncontrollable. The deeper kiss drew out reciprocation and small noises, although what seemed to visibly turn Galena on was the way she talked about how powerful she could be, and how dangerous she was with her abilities. Cinnabar’s answer when she pulled back seemed to encourage the smaller captain to first gasp in response, and then push forward, hungry and excited. “Cin,” She almost pleaded against her lips. “Take me somewhere private and tell me more.”