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[Postdated for after the Meta]


She didn't want to go hunting.

Her hands hurt, her shoulders hurt, everything still hurt and although the burns were significantly better than they had been, she was still of the opinion that she should instead be at home, nursing wounds and whining to anyone in the house that she could find. Everyone had already heard about her made-up story behind her burned hands, but she didn't mind telling it to them again. And again. And again.

Whining was much better than working, anyhow.

But no. She was out on patrol, searching for energy because that was the responsible thing to do and despite the fact she was feeling grumpy and bitter that evening, the evening was lovely and the soft fabric of her gloves weren't rubbing too roughly against her healing skin.

Her building jumping had led her close to an alleyway that had been convenient in past attempts at energy harvesting. Bums and drunkards were becoming more frequent as the temperature warmed up, so she held no concern for coming home empty-handed tonight.

Well... that is, until a particular aura caught her attention. It seemed faint, but familiar...but not enough that she could recognize it immediately. Piquing her curiosity, there was only one way to learn who it was - and with that, she altered her direction and headed East, following the aura's signature.

She giggled at the beckoning, the sound light and airy. Six months ago, she might have been frightened by the eerie call as a pedestrian wandering by in the street. But as Sailor Dia, it was a tease, a promise that at least this evening would prove interesting, at the very least.

Black heels clicked as she hopped from atop the building onto the concrete, still yards apart from the caller. The Negaversian aura kept her feeling comfortable, even more so when she recognized the dark, brooding figure.

He looked like a wolf tearing into its prey, only without the messy bloodshed that came with it. The elderly bum or whoever it was that he was preying upon stunk to high heaven, the smell wafting towards her, carried along by the gentle breeze that she normally enjoyed brushing through her hair. Her own nose wrinkled, the disgust evident in her expression.

Eyes widened as she noted the crystal in his hand, hovering dangerously close to his lips. She wanted to ask what he was doing - why he was looking like a demented little ghoul rummaging through the bodily remains of a hobo, but the words that escaped her lips focused on his current intentions instead.

"Really? Do you even know where that thing's been?"

One hand moved to rest on her hip, the edge of her lip curling. "That's just... gross."

Her free hand moved up and casually began to push her bangs back, a habit she'd grown to doing ever since her hair had grown capable of, well, growing. Having pounds of additional hair meant being prettier than ever, but it also meant an ungodly amount of time was required to keep it brushed and well-kept.

The lieutenant failed to seem to care about what she had to say, much less the fact she was even there. If anything, he acted indifferent that she was there to begin with. Well, tough cookies for him.

"Yeah but don't you ever wonder....like, where the guy has been? What he's been doing? What if his boozing or using has an effect on his starseed?"

Stepping forward, the toe of her stiletto moved to nudge the hobo's motionless head. The closer she drew, the smellier he became. Again, gross. It would only be a short matter of time before the man finally croaked and became one less problem for Destiny City's homeless population issue, but Dia had a feeling that Wolfeite wasn't attempting to do the city any favors.

"Yeah, I'm patrolling. Or was, until I ran into you. Now I'm talking to you."

She looked up from her hobo poking to give him a grin. It didn't matter to her that she wasn't wanted - she could care less about that. "So are you going to find a starseed to turn in now? Y'know, not eat?"

She wrinkled her nose at his commentary. Sure, they brought him energy, for now. To her, they didn't seem much different than ordinary energy drinks lining up the shelves on any grocery store. They gave a burst of energy, kept you powering through things and then left you crashing afterwards. A temporary effect with a lousy fall afterwards. Pft, he probably enjoyed those too. He seemed like a Monster kind of guy.

As he brought attention to her forehead, she welcomed the change in topic (after all, it was focused around her now). Hands moved up to gently brush back the bangs that half-hid the black crater that rest at the center of her forehead. It had bothered her at first, a large black crack across her flawless skin - but she now viewed it as a mark of honor, as opposed to a scarlet letter. She was a part of the Negaverse - a strong asset - and the cavity in her chest and forehead proclaimed her proud membership of the faction.

"No - it doesn't hurt." One finger gently probed into the emptiness, showing him as she tilted forward, giving him a better view. She was willing to show him her forehead - he wasn't worthy of getting anywhere near her starseed cavity, especially after his recent snackfest. "Just a mark, I guess. Do you Lieutenants not receive some sort of mark with your initiation?"

Was initiation even the right word for their sort of situation? No one had actually asked her to become a magical superhero, but she enjoyed the notion all the same. Did he have a choice in the matter?

She smirked at his answer, further finding reasons to preen over her advantage. Beautiful hair, beautiful dress, beautiful magical powers.

"Guess the normal recruits get stuck with the raw end of the deal, then. Poor things."

Pity was something Dia would pretend to feel for the less fortunate, knowing that without the lower class, there would be no higher class to dominate the hierarchy. Sure, Generals were intimidating and the General Sovereigns were absolutely terrifying with the amount of power they exerted...but what if a senshi reached those levels of authority? Why, she was fairly certain that if a sailor scout achieved such promotion, they'd surely be even better than their normal-corrupted counterparts.

What a thrilling thought!

"Why wouldn't I?"

Bending down, gloved fingers began to roam through the pockets of the soon-to-be-deceased transient. Maybe he had something of value or an interesting trinket to take home as a prize - that could be fun, collecting pretty trinkets from various catches. She'd have to remember that idea for later. "I have power. I'm magical. What's not to enjoy about the perks?"

Pausing, she glanced up at him and quirked an eyebrow. "Why - are you not a fan? I mean, I couldn't exactly blame you, not having magic and all. What did you get anyways, a stick? A toy? That mask?"

She failed to notice his displeasure, her attention turned back towards her plundering and giving him the opportunity to once again compose himself. A brown, tattered wallet appeared from one of the pockets, faded leather with frayed ends and stains patterned carelessly across it. Opening it up proved fruitless, nothing but a few dollars and a handful of cards. There were membership cards to anything these days - gas stations, convenience stores, grocery stores, pft. All worthless, just another wasted space in a billfold.

He was arguing some sort of point, trying to redeem the fact that he was corrupted without an especially sparkly starseed like herself. The senshi half-listened to his correction, some sort of prattling over how strong they were or something - nothing that she felt warranted her full attention - until he stooped to meet her at eye level. The icy chill of the metal brushing against her cheek forced her to instinctively jerk back, as if he had stung her.

Pink eyes widened slightly, watching as he grinned and flashed her both his smirk and his jewelry at her. The motion gave her an idea, the young woman moving down to twist the wedding ring from the victim's gnarled finger.

"Violent. How suitable."

The golden band was tarnished, the smudged surface revealing how little the man had grown to appreciate his sacrament. There was tiny writing etched into the inside of the band, but she'd study it later. For the time being, she simply pocketed it before rising from her kneeling position. "I should be glad that you're on our side then, hm? I can't imagine your pretties there would leave a very favorable mark on anyone they met."

He made her nervous, but she would never admit to it. The Negaverse had several unsavory characters within its fold and Dia was beginning to believe that Lieutenant Wolfeite was one of its newest members.

"Souvenirs." Her answer was brief - Mr. Creepy here didn't need to know any more than the basics, as far as she was concerned. His grin was unnerving, but she continued to do her best to pretend that it didn't bother her. She wouldn't let him bother her. She was more special, she was a pretty senshi and he was a plain-Jane Lieutenant.

Keeping the mantra repeating in her head, she gave her hair a haughty toss for good measure, glancing down to adjust her glove despite the fact the dark accessory needed no adjustment. Then, an idea struck her. She might as well have had a figurative lightbulb pop up above her head, judging from the way her face glowed with eagerness.

"You should show me how you use them."

Gaze returning to his wolf-like (how apt) grin, she smiled back smugly. One hand moved out, waving towards the city behind them. "Pick a target. I'll show you my tricks, you show me yours."

What better way to see what she was dealing with than to see it firsthand?

"Well, then..." came the coy response, her heels turning as she knelt down, "Let's find us a civilian, shall we?"

With that, striped leggings hopped up, sending pink hair and black lace flying into the air as the senshi landed gracefully on the roof of the building she'd appeared from. Glancing behind her, she playfully called out, "If you can keep up, of course."

With that, she was off. Typically with her building hopping, she was carefree and jumped with leisure - now that there was a challenge involved, she put more effort into her stride and leaps. There was no way she was going to let him get the better of her, not when she had so much more to offer their organization than some random nobody from off the street!

Eyes remained on the shopping center in the distance, still a mile or two off from where she jumped - surely an easy target could be spotted amidst the hustle and bustle of crowds there. Shoppers tended to be too self-absorbed with their own daily lives to notice a single citizen gone missing.

Perfect.