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A few weeks back in DC and Maggie was already feeling more than excited to get back to some senshi-business. She had been a mere duckling, nay, a chick, when last she has pranced across rooftops as the banal Senshi of Pestilence. But now? NOW? She was a SUPER Senshi. Like, the superest. She was feeling the mummy wrapping across her mouth -- no more transparent little veil -- and had more than once practiced swishing her skirt. Sure, she was like a mummy reboot skeleton or whatever, but it was edgy because she was the edgiest.

And it was with that joy in her heart that she was literally skipping across the rooftops in Chinatown, drinking in the smell of cooking soy sauce and working on her fitness, as Queen Fergie would say. With a deep breath, she broke into a run, catapulting through the air and landing on the next rooftop in a forward roll. "Newer senshier strength, LOVE it. This is EVERYTHING," she said out loud, to no one.

Auriga was twisting side to side, stretching out her hips, when she became dumbly aware of an aura sparking to life in her vicinity. But, oh, she had been out of commission as a senshi for a long couple years and didn't seem to focus on the particular flavor of the aura, and she was rusty. The sound of footsteps had reached her first.

The Senshi of Pestilence spun, hands up in pathetic looking karate chop action. "HALT!" she ordered, doing a little boxing two step. "For I am the SUPER Senshi of Pestilence, and in the name of Auriga, I WILL PUN-- hey wait a second!" Auriga skittered back a few feet, pulling her wrappings down off her mouth to unmuffle the sound.

"Do I know you?" Her guard was still up, but there was something about the hair -- very memorable hair -- and the tattoos -- very memorable tattoos -- that were nagging at the back of her head.

Auriga smiled triumphantly at the thought of the successful puke strike. "You were my first!" she announced, a bit too excitedly. Maybe there was some hand clapping. "I had never made someone puke before." The smile that spread across her face was nothing short of beaming, but when the smell of eggrolls hit her nose, her stomach grumbled loudly.

Still locked in a stand-off, the Senshi of Pestilence took a moment to feel out her opponent. She realized, way too belatedly, that something was... off. "You... feel different," she said, a bit stupidly.

Did Dark Mirror Senshi just say hi? Auriga doubted it, though it would be cool. Less people trying to hurt her, more friends to make and convince she was awesome. When Chariklo first offered the food, Auriga was certain it must be a trick, but her next words were a balm.

"Oh thank god," she said, dropping her hands and hopping to sit next to Chariklo immediately. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm like a boy scout -- always prepared -- but I haven't even been back in town two weeks and didn't much feel like having to unleash a can of whoop-a** while I'm still getting my senshi-legs back." Because obviously that is what would have happened. Obviously.

She grabbed an egg roll and munched happily, opening her mouth to talk with food still sloshing around. "Okay, cool, so you're, like, Team Good again, that's awesome. Welcome back! And wow, purification, what's that like? How did that happen?" Tact, Auriga did not have it. But she looooooved knowing things, and knowing what purification felt like definitely seemed tres cool.

Auriga paused her chewing, drinking in the information. "Fascinating," she said and began chewing once more. "The cat I met wore an adorable tiny little hat." It added nothing to the conversation, but the Senshi of Pestilence squished her fingers together to emphasize just how small. But it was easier to say that than what she thought: a Chaos aura was a Chaos aura was a Chaos aura. Nazis thought it was just differing ideologies too.

For once, she didn't say that out loud. Maybe because of all the chewing.

But when Chariklo opened the door for Auriga to talk about herself, she all but burst through it. "Well," she began, moving to flip a chunk of hair over her shoulder, "my family are the worrying kind. Despite my avid social life, making a big splash as a freshman at HITS, they decided to whisk me abroad." She paused, for effect. "Paris really is beautiful in winter, you know. People say it, but most people don't really know. And I thought I knew what a baguette was. But oh no-no, all the Sex in the City episodes in the world -- you know, the arc when she chases her Russian to Paris but then thinks about Mr. Big the whole time, what am I saying, of course you know! -- could not have prepared me for the joy of a proper crispy baguette. And the Parisians? Ugh, they just know, you know. They just are without even trying. I saw a woman in heels trip over a curb, and somehow it was still the most graceful thing I had ever seen. Seriously. Paris~" Pronounced Paree. Naturally.

Worried she was losing her audience, Auriga sat back from her reverie. She also chose not to mention that the Paris part had been just a couple months but the following years were all in suburban Canada outside of Vancouver. "What about you? What took you away from our fair city and brings you back now?" Auriga gestured idly to the skyline.

With a fresh napkin in hand, Auriga cleaned off the lingering grease from her fingertips, swallowing her last bite and preparing to ask if the jet Chariklo took was private. Friends in high places and all that, a good alliance to have, when the other senshi flipped her arms over to show the scars. Auriga got very, very still.

"Oh whoa... you did it the way Hannah did," she said in a small voice, inappropriate but the span of what her mind could summon. Her point of reference for suicide was 13 Reasons Why. She had been fortunate enough not to have had a personal brush with herself, family, or friends.

Auriga fidgeted with the napkin, turning it over in her hands. Her urge to babble was welling up in her and started to leak out. "Where did you road trip to? It's really good you're okay. Did you get up to Canada? I mean, that must have been super scary. And also, like, leveling with you, I was only in Paris for a bit. Most of my time was in Barnaby outside of Vancouver, which was a lot less cool, you know? Man, I am happy everything worked out for you. Also, who is your fiance?" It was possible that she may have continued but a loose piece of cabbage hit the back of her throat, and she sputtered a little cough.

"Not lying is so good," Auriga said, nodding vigorously. "I also think being honest is super important." Perhaps Auriga did not consider white lies... lies? It would seem. She paused. "I'm working on it." It was about as reflective as she was capable of presently.

Which was truly put the test when Chariklo asked her about Canada. She had imagined countless stories of her cuddling pandas alongside Justin Trudeau and auditioning for a speaking part on the reboot of Degrassi, but since she had just professed her honest nature... well. "Moose are basically like deer -- like, forreal, they cross the street and stop traffic, but are actually super deadly because they kick out when they are scared and can, like, totally shatter your skull." And then, because she was who she was: "No lie -- this one time my dad and his husband were driving, and there was an entire family just hanging out in the road. We had to sit there for two hours! And the tragedy of it all was my phone was dead so I couldn't even take a selfie with it." She pouted for a moment, but her eyes lit up almost immediately when Chariklo offered a photo.

It was a buff looking guy in a skirt. Tres chic! "Whoa, he's, like, lumberjack realness -- and that hair! Hashtag goals, you know? I think it is tres chic that you're bucking gender roles and stomping on the patriarchy. That's what I want to do too. Like, be a feminist with a capital F. It's a woman's world! How did you two meet? Tell me everything!" Auriga propped a hand on her chin and leaned in, ready to eat up a love story more beautiful that Kim and Kanye.

"Definitely not," Auriga quipped quickly at Chariklo's mention of controversial animal selfies. "A joke, hah hah ha..." Her future #goals as a young lifestyle brand entrepreneur would not be prematurely hacked short by an ill-thought self. Fate, it seemed, had intervened that day.

The tale of Chariklo's romance was, however, not a modern day You've Got Mail or Sleepless in Seattle. "A bouncer love story of a decent guy, chic!" she said instead. Auriga did her best not to reflect the disappointment on her face, and somewhere, in the back of her head, she could hear her mom chastising someone on television for making a big commitment decision just to prove something.

And being Auriga, her thoughts became words: "That's not the main reason though, right? To prove you're serious? You could do that without getting married." Young lady, a voice like hers would be in 25 years rattled off in her head.