Das Tor
Sphalerite took a deep breath as she sat down in what she and Elpis had dubbed their 'usual spot'. It was out of the way, and they could talk without interruption, something Sphal valued. She was, after all, trying to bring Elpis over to her side. But now...she had a question for Elpis, and it wasn't going to be an easy one. Not with that feeling of WRONG that had entered her the moment her hand had wrapped around the star seed. The young woman sank a bit, sighing as she hid her face in her hands.

If only Buddy was around. Buddy would tell her what was going on [right?]. Buddy would sit her down, and answer her questions, and guide her through the rough bits. But he wasn't. Where he was, she wasn't certain, but she knew it had to be important...


NovaCracker
Elpis walked to check the 'usual' spot making her rounds calmly, her arms finally unbandaged and spear wounds and scraes only red - though the spear injuries seemed to be eager to scar, and Elpis wasn't whlly happy about it. Still, seeing phalerite, and so upset... She wondered if the agent knew she'd help charge in, or that she'd confronted a General. Elpis sighed, and walked over towards Sphalerite slowly, and looked down, face apologetic.

"Did I do something to upset you Sphal? Because I did try keeping my group's hands clean."

And utterly failed. Miserably, if Ferris' truama was a clue...


Das Tor
Sphal looked up, shaking her head. "No, no you didn't. I..." She chewed her bottom lip a moment, nervous before she finally asked. "I was ordered to do something today, and it was going fine, but..." She sighed. "Elpis? What's a star seed?"


NovaCracker
Elpis cringed, and sighed, sitting to look Sphalerite directly in the eye.

Starseeds are our souls' the very culmination of our being past and present." Elpis explained. She looked down, and sighed, frowning.

"Everybody has a starseed. If it's out too long, it will die. From what I heard on a recent excursion I was in on into the Negaverse.... A group found a large cache. Of those... Only five survived. Other than that..." Elpis swallowed. "The rest belonged to people whom passed... I'm going to guess it was from losing their starseed, since it's a soul."


Das Tor
Oh. Sphal stared at Elpis, eyes wide before she looked down, thinking. Why would her superiors order her to take a soul? That...why? "I didn't take it. I couldn't." The Negaverse wouldn't make her do that...but why else had it felt so wrong?! Her head went back in her hands as she thought, as she tried to process things. "Elpis...why would I be told to retrieve a star seed if they're people's...people's souls?"


NovaCracker
Elpis reached, wrapping her arms around Sphalerite warmly as she pulled her to her, rubbing her back quietly in concern as she thought hard, going over her own observations and thoughts. The Super half-pulled Sphalerite into her protectively, and sighed.

"I don't know. Punishment of some kind? Maybe energy?" Elpis frowned. "I know they tried slaughtering all of us... But... Genuinely, Sphal, I don't truly know."

She was quiet again, and leaned her head on Sphalerite gently, frowning a bit, before an idea clicked.

"....There's been cases of people coming over from Chaos, I think... Vice-versa if rumors are right.... Maybe they were afraid of you leaving? Or wanted to test your loyalty?"


Das Tor
The smaller girl squeaked at the pull, blinking owlishly. "But..." She frowned. "But I've been nothing but loyal! I've kept up with my quotas, even when other obligations kept me away for the sake of discretion, and I've been keeping up with making myself a better agent even when I'm not able to get where I can report. It's..." She looked sheepish. "I haven't felt ready for more responsibility yet, so I haven't...well, I can't go many places yet on my own, and..." And Buddy wasn't around.

"...Elpis...I can't take someone's soul. I'm trying to protect people, not kill them!"


NovaCracker
"It was probably our attack." Elpis sighed, holding her close. "You weren't there, so you might've been branded as suspect for that. It was... Bad. I was there, and my group and the smaller team I had stormed the Castle. I'd hoped to infiltrate and subdue, but it turned into an all-out battle on both sides for survival. I know at least one General-Sovereign went nuts, turned into something or started, and was killd. The problem, Sphal? We tried to leave and others kept coming. There was never a surrender. It... It was kill or be killed. One of the senshi I was working with killed someone trying to protect herself and... She's.. Not okay. She's not okay at all. And then we got attacked trying to escape, and another Sovereign tried to slaughter us all, and we almost were killed. There was no fair chance to surrender. There was no hope any time of a clean job - no, order didn't act perfectly, but neither did they. I saw senshi die, senshi who didn't do anything."

Elpis clenched her hands and looked down, biting her lip.

"...I tried to keep honor in my battles though. But we... Were not afforded that as a whole."


Das Tor
Sphal looked thoughtful, then chewed her bottom lip a little. "I...I need to think. Just a bit. There's a lot I need to think about." Had she...had she chosen the wrong side? Had she truly...had she ******** up? Been hoodwinked? She hated thinking it, but...it was starting to seem like she had been. And that fact hurt. "I'll talk to you more later, okay? Please don't get hurt more, okay? Or piss off people with bigger energy signatures than you..."


NovaCracker
"Shhhhhh. Breathe. Contact me - you know places to look." Elpis hugged Sphalerite protectively, worrying about the Agent as she smiled, trying to be soothing.

"I'll be careful if you are. And if you need help, find me, okay?"


Das Tor
Sphal nodded, a plan of action already forming in her head. She had always been like that; if the situation changed, she adapted for it. “I’ll make sure to find you. And I’m definitely going to be careful.” With that, she left, making her way for home. There were things she needed to do.

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Word Count: Elpis - 557, according to Google Docs | Sphal - 509, according to Google Docs