Welcome to Gaia! ::

The air was turning cold as Samhain froze over into the Yule season. Her mother was beginning to hum Christmas carols -- despite not even had Thanksgiving yet -- and Heather was decorating the house for the first of the winter Sabbats and, in turn, the dying of the sun and the coming of the long night. Change was in the air and Heather could nearly hear the groan of the wheel of the year turning around her. This feeling, as day sunk into night, always made Heather somber and reflective. She'd been told the story of the dying of the God for as long as she could remember, and the Goddess, cradling the child now growing within her and mourning the loss of her husband. So many changes. As day turned to night, Mother turned to Crone, and Heather felt a similar stirring within herself, though she knew not the name of it.

Recently, she had been chalking it up to an overactive pituitary gland or something. Her adolescence was acting up and making her antsy but tonight... tonight as the winter winds chilled her spirit and the howling winds stripped her of her pretense, she was having trouble relying on that answer. It was the Goddess, she knew, stripping her of her blindfold, priming her for a new revelation, and though Heather, as always, had absolute faith in Her wisdom... she was frightened.

She pulled her coat harder around herself, tucking her frame into the downy surroundings. It offered sanctuary from the wind, but not the turmoil within herself. So she buried her confusion for now, rushing home from her shift at Miss Lee's market to escape the cold at the very least.

Heather noticed the kitty before it spoke, lamenting that such a sweet looking animal would have no place to go on a night like this. She wondered in passing if she might try and tempt the feline into her coat and bring her home... Max had been talking about wanting a little kitty or something around the house. The thought, however, was carried away on an icy wind that reminded her that if she did try and catch the feline, it would probably run away and it was too cold to chase after it. Besides, feral cats didn't make great house pets and having a cat was expensive, even if less so than having a dog. Better to get home where it was warm with Max and her mother who had one of her very rare days off.

And then the cat spoke and Heather froze in her tracks.

Sailor... Moira? Who was that? Heather looked around her, her surprised brain vacillating between the name that the cat had called and the fact that the cat could even speak in the first place. There was no one around her that she could see, and so the only thing Heather could think of to say was, "I... I'm sorry, but I think you have to wrong person..." as though she were talking to a person who had called her by the wrong name.

Heather's mouth made a very small "o" of understanding, though she didn't truly understand at all, and followed the strange talking cat dutifully into the bookstore into which she had vanished. Somewhere at the back of her head, Heather could feel her common sense tugging at her. Pulling her back outside and screaming at her to run. However, another, stranger sensation had made itself known since the cat had begun speaking. A feeling of deep longing and incompletion. Like this was something that she had needed for so long, but had never had access to, and this was the one chance the once chance that this part of her had at becoming whole again.

So it pressed a gentle finger to the lips of the screaming common sense and pulled Heather gently into the warmth of the bookstore.

"Um," Heather began, suddenly very aware of her current position. Longing or no, Destiny City wasn't exactly safe after dark, and it was possible that one or many of those terrorists could be lurking, setting a trap.

"You called me... Sailor Moira. Why?"

Heather listened, only barely understanding, as her mind whirled. It was all so much... and so outlandish... but it was also being told to her by a literal talking cat so... how outlandish could it actually be? Right? Still, she was fighting a swiftly losing battle with the logical part of her mind that was railing against this new information. A war? Magical space soldiers? And now you're one of them?

But then... was it so different from her belief that there was a woman in the guise of the moon who listened to her when she prayed?

That logical side of her mind stopped speaking and Heather was finally able to think again. No. This was not so different than her religious beliefs. No more or less outlandish than when she worked her magic with intent and saw it working in the world and in herself. It was simply another manifestation of the unseen world that thrived all around her.

Except for that now she was going to be let in on the big secret.

"Sailor Moira, Senshi of Roots..." she repeated, testing the feeling of the name in her mouth. There was a long pause before she finally worked up the courage the pick up the pen that had been given to her.

"Sailor Moira. Make-Up!"

Honestly, Heather hadn't been expecting much. There was some part of her logical mind that expected all of this to be a big joke, like a prank being played on her. And for a split second, while her words hung heavy in the air, she was worried that she had been correct.

But then her words sparkled like electricity and she could feel a deep shifting within her. Light surrounded her and tendrils, like roots, grew from the floor to wrap around her legs. She watched in wonder as that light became solid, replacing her flats with boots. More light encased her, continuing to turn her normal clothing into something else. Something that she, admittedly, wouldn't wear otherwise. After a long moment of transformation, she was finally standing before the cat, speechless, in clothing that was not her own, trying to understand the sudden surge of power that she had never felt before.