Welcome to Gaia! ::

Noctua had gotten the message while she was on patrol. She read the message again and again, trying to understand it through sleep-bleary eyes. For a moment she thought that perhaps Benitoite had requested to meet with her about something. But he would have just caught up on their weekly check-ins.
And then she wondered if perhaps it wasn't Faustite asking for her... but he'd just hunt her down as he always did. And then she read the name. Labyrinthite.
Another ghost of the negaverse with whom Noctua was familiar, at least in passing. His accomplishments were well documented, his extended visit into the rift a source of curiosity for Noctua.

Surely this was a mistake, right?

What use could he possibly have for her? Their paths had never crossed, she hadn't done anything particularly outstanding, and she wasn't even the best subordinate that Benitoite had.

And then the medal that Alkaid herself had given her tapped against her chest and she wondered if maybe... just maybe...

A split second of wondering if she should bring Benitoite with her ended in a decision not to. Regardless of if this meeting would be rewarding or punitive, she needed to do this on her own. She needed to show that she was independent and able-bodied. She was a super now, after all, and she wanted to prove herself.

She knocked on the door with bony knocked and cleared her throat, announcing herself in a crystal clear, if rather quiet voice, "General Labyrinthite, Super Sailor Noctua reporting."

Noctua did as she was told, even if her motions were jerky and stilted. The pain in her joints, though ever-present, always got particularly bad when she was nervous. Or perhaps her nerves simply caused her to notice the pain more. She rubbed a palm firmly over her bony knee as she sat, pale blue eyes watching Labyrinthite carefully. His aura was astonishing, but then again, Noctua was always taken aback by General. Even her own, Benitoite, sometimes bowled her over.

"I am, sir," she answered, nodding her heavy head, wishing more now than ever that she'd taken the time to save off her locs before she set off to Beni's office that morning. Maybe then her neck wouldn't hurt so bad...

She didn't however, receive an answer.

Sell yourself to me, the General commanded, and for a moment Noctua only stared at him, thin lips parted into a small "o" of surprise.

"Sell myself -- oh. Well, I have proven myself to be a highly effective field officer. My first group mission was to retrieve artifacts to resurrect Queen Laurelite. While I was unable to bring anything back myself, being so young and inexperienced, I did put everything that I was into that mission..." Noctua's voice slowly settled into itself, her hands slowing in their wringing on her lap.

"I always throw everything that I am into this place. It feels like the only sane thing that I have. I can't always tell the difference between nightmares and reality..." Like the way the General's eyes seemed to be growing darker as wickedly pointed claws slipped from the shadows behind him to wrap around his throat -- Gisela closed her eyes and swallowed hard. "But this... this is real. This uniform, these people this... place... it's my anchor.

"I don't... sleep... at all. So when I'm just Gisela, I feel fragile. I am fragile. Or at least I may as well be, the way people treat me. She's so thin, so tired, so... sick." She began picking at the hem of her fuku again. "but I mean here... no one cares that I look like... this. It doesn't matter anymore. And that means everything to me. To be treated like everyone else. To have the same expectations. To be pushed and..."

Was this selling herself? Would General Labyrinthite prefer stats? Noctua looked up suddenly, her browns in a dark line across her eyes as she recollected herself.

"I treasure and cherish the power and independence that the Negaverse has given me, sir, and the only way I can think of to repay it is with my life, it necessary. But until that time comes, I will always throw everything that I am into this place, these people, and this cause. I served under General Cinnabar until she went missing, and then..." She paused, glancing up at Labyrinthite as though wondering if she should include this next part, "I also served under General Churchhillite and my file shows some... insubordinence. But I felt that, during that time, I was not being used to my full potential. I requested a transfer myself, and now I serve under General Benitoite, and I feel that taking that action proves my... my willingness to take initiative, my devotion to the Negaverse, and a deep understanding of my own abilities and needs." Noctua cleared her throat then, suddenly very aware of how zealous she had become. Perhaps overly so.

"While I have served under General Benitoite, I aided him in his theater mission, helping to hold off a force of senshi from getting inside the building. I was also at Portunus, sir, where I followed General Uvarovite to the tavern. During the battle at the bridge, I was awarded the medal of highest honor," a medal that she still bore proudly on her fuku even now, "by General Alkaid herself."

And then she relaxed, glancing down at the small crescent moons that her nails bit into her palms.

"I've also been described as a... bit of a mad dog with a bone about my work here, as well," she finally finished, smiling weakly at her own joke.

Noctua's hands twisted in and around themselves as she waited for Labyrinthite's appraisal. Had she done wrong? Had she not done enough? Suddenly Noctua was very aware of her short tenure as a corrupted senshi, and how small she was, even as a super, compared to others. Should she not have mentioned her lack of sleep? Or would dishonesty have cost her more?

Overseas?

Noctua wondered how she would explain that to her parents. Certainly, the powers that be int he negaverse could help her, right? And what about Benitoite? Would he be okay without her? Nto that he hadn't been alright before she came along... worry twisted her nerves in iron-hot fingers as she manipulated the ends of her locs in her own.

Will that be an issue?

Would it? She'd been seeing Doctor Stevens for so many months now, and she'd made excellent progress, according to the good doctor. But how would life be without those sessions? If the negaverse made her a cover, then she could prepare with her therapist and be ready when the time came for her to leave.

"I'm not... positive... sir," she replied, eyes locked on Labyrinthite as she judged his reaction, however miniscule it might have been, "I'm a gamble, I know. But you called me, so there is something in my file that you think is worth while, and if you bet on me, sir, I won't let you down. I refuse. I'll die first. Gisela is a wraith, and I know that, but she has her strengths. She is silent where others speak. She sees things others do not or cannot. She goes undetected if she chooses. It's true, she is not without weakness, though... she serves a purpose for the moment."