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 Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 12:40 pm
It was a chilly enough night that Malcolm was dressed in two extra layers of clothes; it probably had more to do with the fact that it had rained all day than there was a cold breeze, but what did it matter? —It was cold.
He had been out at the library today; it wasn’t so much that he needed the books as it was that he liked a nice, quiet place to work, but he'd gotten so invested in his projects that he'd absolutely lost track of time. It wasn't terribly late, but the sun had set and that meant that the heat was already fairly well drained out of the air.
He pulled his coat closer to him; he had a scarf wrapped around his neck and his gloved hands were tucked into his pockets. His messenger back protected him—minimally—from the cold and kept thudding against his leg with each rapid step. He went to adjust it to be a bit more comfortable when he saw her—a beautiful, furry little cat out here in the night, all alone.
He watched her for just a second before he hesitantly approached her. He wasn't afraid of stray animals by any means—and to be honest, his jacket probably still smelled like cats. He hadn't yet washed it from yesterday when he was at the shelter, but he didn't think much of it.
"Hey," he said softly, crouching close to her. He didn't want to scare her away, but she hadn't seemed frightened when he approached. She didn't seem to have a collar but seemed well taken care of. "Come here, lovely. You're too pretty to be out here all by yourself. Someone's going to snatch you up."
…And then he, when she was close enough, very carefully scooped her up to check and see if she had a tag hidden under all that fur, or a chip in any of the usual places. He whispered soothing, "Shhs," and praised her for being such a good kitty as he searched.
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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 2:15 pm
Julienne loved cold nights. The summer was almost unbearable for her with her oodles of thick fur, but when winter rolled around and the cold came, she was one happy kitty. Tonight was just almost like any other, she was sitting out, enjoying the cold breeze, thinking about food when suddenly she was in the arms of a person!
The Siberian blinked and looked up at the human who had picked her up without so much as a hello. Well. Maybe there had been a ‘hey’ but that didn’t count…and she hadn’t’ been paying much attention. Still…
This wasn’t just any human…this was an unawakened senshi that had scooped her up. How great was that? Now she was doing more than just lazing about…she could do her duty.
“And what is it that you’re looking for? I have a hat, isn’t that identification enough for you?” She didn’t want to frighten him…but she very much preferred when people would just pet her gently…not poke and prod looking for goodness knows what. “My name is Julienne, what’s yours?”
At least she was polite. A polite talking cat.
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Posted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 4:10 pm
Malcolm froze when the cat spoke and slowly held the cat further away from him. He was gentle but obviously surprised. "Okay," he said slowly, debating for a long moment if he was imagining it, and then he just went along with it.
He spent enough time with kids that he could have convinced himself that he was just too sleepy. "My name is Malcolm. I was looking for a phone number. I didn't think you dressed yourself so I thought I might call to see if I could get you home before it starts raining again. But, if you can talk, maybe instead you can just tell me?"
He didn't seem like he wanted anything but to get her home, but now he seemed to be second guessing himself. His lips were pursed and his head cocked at her as though he should be chastising himself for talking to a cat.
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Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 9:24 am
“Well, that’s a rather complicated question. See where my home is I can’t really stay at…I mean I go there all the time, the girl who looks after me can’t really have me inside, since her mother is allergic to cats, and me having such fabulous fur makes her spending time with me next to impossible.”
Julienne was a little put out that he had stopped snuggling her just because she had spoken, and tried to nuzzle close again…just because she liked the cold, didn’t mean she didn’t like warmth too, especially when it was cold.
“Though…if you were so inclined to take me to your home and…oh I don’t know…feed me some delicious salmon, I might just have a present for you~”
Of course…even if he didn’t take her home, she would still have a present for him…it wasn’t safe anymore to leave an unawakend senshi…well…unawakened. That just made it all the easier for chaos to get them and keep on snuffing out the light…
And she couldn’t allow that.
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Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 12:39 pm
Malcolm was quiet for a long moment as he listened; things were barely coming together. He wore a quaint little smile, as though that was a suitable response. "I don't know if I have any salmon at home. I've got some salmon flavored treats, and maybe some canned tuna, but we don't eat a lot of fish in my house. But perhaps we can find something else?" he asked after a moment. He drew her close, like a precious treasure, when a cold wind blew through.
…If this was all in his head, he needed to be getting home all the same, so he started trudging off in that direction. He was careful with how he held her, and mindful of where he was going, but things just still didn't feel like they were making much sense. Taking an animal home was not uncommon—and he was used to commentary in the form of yips and mewls and barks. But words? Words?
He had never heard an animal speak like that, and it just kept nagging at him.
He asked, softly, "Are you really a talking cat?" There was a part of him that knew this was too real for him to just blow off as tiredness. So he asked a more important question: "…How?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 5:45 pm
Julienne huffed at the wind, happy that the boy didn’t toss her to the ground…though when he asked such a silly question as to why she was talking, she just raised a paw and booped him on the nose. “What do you mean how? I just talk, it’s just who I am.”
It was just magic…and that was all there was to it…she wasn’t asking why he was talking, was she?
“Anyway, one never reveals too much about magic, now…are you ready for your present? I’d rather give it to you now so you can try it out before getting too close to your home.”
The cat wriggled out of Malcom’s arms, doing a quite splendid backflip on the way to the ground, causing a small object to clatter, just as her paws touched the ground. “Ta-da! My gift to you, you’re a special boy you know, Malcom. I’m helping to really help you realize all that you can be…and all you can be is as magical as the setting sun! All you have to do is take this and say Adria Power, Make up!”
She picked the henshin pen up in her mouth and looked up at Malcom, her blue eyes bright with excitement.
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Posted: Sun Dec 13, 2015 5:56 pm
Malcolm watched, wide eyed and confused as she produced something…strange. "I…I have no idea what you're talking about," he murmured, taking the pen from her mouth at her request.
At first, he kept berating himself—this was clearly not happening and he was clearly an idiot falling for one of his stupid brothers' pranks.
Honestly, you'd think at this age he would have given up—Malcolm had taken to not speaking to his brother in almost all situations, so was Zack really so desperate to screw with him?
And yet, Malcolm couldn't see anyone, and…
Maybe there was a small, hopeful part of him that wanted to find some truth in what this cat was saying. So, he humored her—or whatever joke this was—and mumbled the words she instructed.
Except, he wasn't expecting to be filled with a strange warmth and see a burst of colors and feel differently.
He blinked, trying to clear his vision and then…
Looked down.
For a long moment, he was absolutely silent, and then red color spread to his face. "W-wait!" he blurted, reaching ah and down to try and cover his exposed midriff. "—Wait, what? You can't have been serious, that's impossible! How—"
How had she pulled off a trick like that? Where were the cameras, the laughing crew. Magic wasn’t real, it couldn't have been.
…Right?
"—What did you—what is this?" he asked, worried.
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 7:10 pm
Julienne purred, overcome with the pride she always felt when a new senshi was awakened. And this one, he was quite lovely indeed. “It’s not impossible, I’ve just helped you unlock the power that you’ve always had. Malcom, your normal, boring life is over now, it’s time to meet your other side, Adria, Senshi of Sunsets. It’s a quite beautiful sphere, if I do say so myself.”
The cat nuzzled against his leg, purring louder still.
“You have a mission now. You’re here to help spread the light and defeat the darkness. This city…the world, is at war, and you are one of the keepers of the light, so please…help to make sure it stays as bright as can be, okay?”
She had decided to really start hamming it up so that maybe the new senshi would really take things seriously. If they didn’t well…well at least she tried her best!
“Now, think about being Malcom, think about what you were wearing before this and you’ll change back, then take me home and feed me and I’ll explain everything in much greater detail! Everything is okay, you’re not crazy, I promise!”
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 7:32 pm
Malcolm—Adria—whoever he was right now, nodded.
"Feels like it," he mumbled somewhat absently, but he obeyed her again. It took a few seconds longer to calm his mind now that strange thoughts about talking cats and uniforms and magic were drowning him, but he slipped into his normal attire.
He felt dizzy, not from the power but from the blood rushing to his head.
Double checking that he looked normal, he hesitantly tucked the pen into his bag and then knelt down to pick her up.
He was shaking a little, not afraid but overwhelmed.
"…I hope you're ready for a lot of questions," he said.
He hoped she was ready to stick around his place for a while, because he was going to need a lot of help to understand this.
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