Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Sidouer,” the white moon senshi picked up a broken chair leg and added it to the pile of scrap wood she was collecting by the hearth. They’d freeze to death if one of them didn’t start a fire soon, these uniforms they were not-so-blessed with were not suited for such cold temperatures. “Senshi of Static,” she added albeit reluctantly.

It was unusual for her to give out information regarding her identity but if push came to shove and that monster got in, it would be wise to know what each other was capable of so there weren’t any disillusions as to who would be doing what in a fight. “I can shock the s**t or blind whatever comes through that door.”

Her stomach growled.

Since her arrival, Sidouer hadn’t taken time to eat anything. Instead she scouted the area as best she could, looking in most nooks and crannies. Making sure there wasn’t a trap door or a hidden cave nearby. To her knowledge, there was none of either but she would have been a fool not to have looked.

The idea of sleeping while a Dark Mirror senshi stood vigil caused her anxiety to spike. However, for all the years she had been patrolling the city, the senshi of Static had never had an issue with anyone from their faction; only corrupts of the Negaverse Agents.

“I don’t mind taking the first watch, it’ll give me time to get a fire started.” She tossed another piece of broken wood onto the pile.

It was hard to hide the smile when Varda made a comment about their uniforms. “I thought the same thing when I first awakened.” Although it was several years ago she still acutely remembered trying to run in heels for the first time. “As someone who was used to running shoes, these,” she nodded at the golden heels she now wore. “Were quite an adjustment.”

“I’m honestly hoping that come tomorrow everyone can pick a role to help fortify this place so we all make it out of here alive.” A nice idea but she knew well enough that there was always that one dumb person that thinks their the exception and does something they shouldn’t and ends up killed. New Senshi, Knights, or even Negaverse Agents still running on the high of having magic and power, thinking they’re invincible.

“I know quite a bit about growing an edible garden; assuming the food here is like what we have at home, I should know what’s ready to be picked.” But the magical fog made her wary of many things, including the manner in which the vegetables were grown. Normal water, no problem; magically enhanced droplets or mist and rain, that unknown fell outside her knowledge or jurisdiction.

Confident that she had all that she needed, Sidouer filled the hearth with the larger pieces of wood with some smaller broken pieces and tinder. It would be nice if one of them had that magic to produce a flame, but it seemed like they were out of luck in that regard. And so, the Senshi of Static did what Tom Hanks did in the movie Cast Away. She held onto one piece of wood and applied a downward pressure while rubbing it lengthwise along a plank quickly. Thankfully she was powered so it didn’t take much time for the friction to build and a small flame begin to burn.

Sidouer blinked back in surprise at the comment Varda made about the meat. To be honest she hadn’t even considered that it might be human; former residents of this village freeze-dried from the fog and left out for the next wave of abductees to snack on.

“Umm,” she hesitated before taking a whiff, “I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’d be a good judge on identifying what kind of meat it is unless it’s fish or chicken.” Both had a distinct texture to it but red meat was red meat to her; didn’t matter if it was from a cow, pork, or Emu. Not knowing where this selection came from made her hesitant to try cooking, let alone eat it.

“I don’t think anyone has gotten sick from eating anything yet.” That, however, could always change. “If we cook it long enough it should be fine, I think. But at that point, I really don’t want to know what we’re eating.” Or who they were eating for that matter. “Did you happen to find any spices in the cabinets; salt, pepper, or even any dried rosemary by chance?”

Sidouer accepted the container and brought it to her nose, the contents of which nearly made her sneeze but she was able to press her tongue to the roof of her mouth until the sensation went away. “I think this, and the pepper will be fine. Let’s save the turmeric in case there is a medical need for it.” Unfortunately, Acrucis wasn’t here to help them if anyone got injured and without mingling with the other captives, she wasn’t sure if there was anyone who had the ability to fill that role.

“Tomorrow I can try to make a stew or something with the vegetables outside, but it’s dark enough I don’t want either of us going to get them now.” Confident that the fire wasn’t going to go out the moment she left the room, Sidouer finally rose to her feet and walked into the kitchen where she got a pot of water and then hung it over the open flame to warm.

“I’m just going to re-hydrate the meat then season it then cook it on a skewer,” at that point, it should be well and ready to consume.

“I’ll be honest, I’ve never had the chance to speak to a Dark Mirror Senshi before.” Sidouer paused, her tone rather soft as she held her hands over the open flame. “Can I ask why you chose to join them?”

“That’s… pretty much it, honestly.” Sidouer rolled her shoulder in a dismissive shrug. “A Mauvian senses our potential and gives a flowery speech about this being some duty of ours and throw in the word magic, just as your leader did... At some point after getting over the initial shock of a cat speaking, they do a weird backflip and summon a pen and phone.” She motioned with her hands with a flourish all the while seeming disenchanted by the whole process.

“If I knew then what I knew now, I wouldn’t have bothered with this. Most White Moon Senshi I’ve met are a bit elitist. If they don’t feel you’re up to par with their own skills or share similar viewpoints, they’ll be quick to drop you from a team before you spoil the lot.” It happened with Persephone, not even minutes after their first team meeting did she corrupt. It is less known on if it was done willingly or if she had been captured and force corrupted but the sentiments remained the same. Nobody in the team tried to reconnect, granted she didn’t even have a chance to get everyone’s name before the team crumbled.

It would be nice to believe that had been the only instance, but that was far from the truth. What happened with Phact still left a scar of betrayal that had not yet healed. At least Acrucis wasn’t alone in the abandonment feeling.

“They’re more like recruiters than actual mentors. Aside from sensing my potential as a Senshi and later with my upgrade to Super… they’ve had little involvement and play no leadership role.” It’s unrealistic to rely on Princes or Princesses when there were so few of them and they had no hand in upgrading the pens.

Sidouer hadn’t meant to slip into such a foul mood but her feelings towards how she was conscripted into such a shitshow of a mess were filled with numerous bitter memories. “I’m sorry, I guess I had more to say on it than I thought.” She smoothed out the back of her skirt and took a seat.

Lifting the ladle she stirred the pot absently. “It should be almost done.”

“I hope you’re right…” Sidouer replied, idly stirring the pot a few more times before filling the two bowls with what she hoped was edible soup. None of this was from her garden back home and thus she couldn’t vouch for the growing conditions. A fog-filled area with no sunlight for days was less than ideal, however, she was less than inclined to figure out where the nutrients were coming from then.

It’d be nice to finally belong somewhere… She mused silently to herself. Teams did not often work out in her favor, even securing a patrol partner was hard to find. Doubtful that things would change overnight, she pushed the thoughts of change aside and handed Varda a bow.

“To finding a way out.”