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The room was cute.

That was what Dahlia decided after taking a look around, letting her eyes sweep over the faux rustic decorations and the classic touches and the flowers. She was fairly sure the popular blogs would have referred to the style as Cottagecore or that Farmhouse Chic, though the shrines disturbed the ambiance of that slightly. Maybe there was an edge of maximalism, but it was something Dahlia could understand, desperately trying to cling onto interests until something meshed and made sense.

Her room, at Loren's house, was considerably less interesting. It was set as a guest room and it still was set as a guest room, Dahlia having trouble doing much other than going through the motions of what day-to-day life was supposed to look like. She had brought a small owl soap dispenser with her when she purified, at least, and while she had little context of why it was so important that Jade let her choose it now--well, other than that, The Ghost Delilah had told her so--it had been the one decoration she had really allowed herself.

Brielle's words brought her out of her contemplation and she offered a smile that was warm because what mattered more than how awkward her skin felt was the fact that Cybele--Brielle--had invited her to do this thing. "I admit, of all the things I recorded for myself, skin type wasn't one of them. I'm sure cucumber is fine. That's what you see in the movies, right?"

Dahlia finally took more than just a step into the room, following suit and slipping off her shoes. Daintily, she set them next to the door, before closing it behind her and following Brielle to the bed.

"Is it alright if I sit down?"

Dahlia delicately placed herself on the bed, holding her legs close together and placing her hands in her lap. Bit of a formal position, but she wasn't exactly sure how to hold herself. Did it matter? It probably didn't matter. She attempted to relax and focus her attention on the things in front of them, the assortment of little masks and tubes that signified something people tended to use to make themselves relaxed or to feel more refreshed--

"I think my skin is a bit dry," reflected Dahlia, as she ran her tongue over her bottom lip, "or my lips are, at least." Probably was the weather. Had been a bit chilly over the past couple of weeks.

Normal for the time of year she supposed--

Her lips lifted with that little twinkle of amusement. "Seems like we should use that one for sure." A purifying mask. Could that make her feel as light as she did in the moments after Cosmos had helped save her? That seemed silly. It wasn't like the charcoal mask was going to do anything like touch her soul and push away the bad thoughts--

This was about her skin. And her face. And relaxing with a friend. Focus.

She pulled her legs up off the ground, crossing them over each other and putting her hands back into her lap.

"What nail polish colors do you have over there?"

The joke seemed to land, at least, and Dahlia let out a small giggle at that. "Maybe we gotta get that Chaos out like we'd get out a stubborn blackhead, right?" To be honest, by Cosmos she hoped not. It was a funny thought, though, using a purifying mask to get rid of the remnant imperfections--

Her attention was taken by the assortment of nail polish in front of her, and she let her eyes follow where Brielle ran her fingers over them before happily accepting them as they were brought toward her. There was definitely a lot here, not just the underestimation of a bit, but it gave Dahlia a lot to consider and look through.

To be honest, she wasn't sure what her favorite colors were, yet. Considering her senshi outfit, maybe purple? Or lavender? Or blue? Something along that line seemed correct. There wouldn't have been another reason for her planet to have chosen to stick with that color scheme, right? Carefully, she plucked out a pale purple, observing it and placing it against her skin to make sure it would display correctly--

How have things been was a natural but heavy question, in a lot of ways.

"Alright," she replied, with a swallow. "Made it through all the videos I recorded myself. Got set up with an identity. So you know, all the important stuff. Getting to know the ghost and developing the new identity following." Dahlia set down the nail polish she had chosen and picked up a pale blue instead. "Loren's family is really nice. Enthusiastic, but. Nice. I guess it's nice to be living with other people."

Dahlia was definitely interested when Brielle said that she had been able to find traces of the first one in her life that had bore the name Cybele. Fleur Willis - she'd have to look that name up later, perhaps she knew it - was someone who was traceable. At the very least, they were knowable, even in the most shallow degree. She had to admit there was some amount of jealousy that followed. Nembus the First, whoever she was, was a very secluded person.

"Whoever I was before I was corrupted was either very secluded or everyone she knew died." It was an odd admission, and it was said in such a detached manner that it was hard to tell if it affected Dahlia or not. "I do know from my research that she once led a court. An Order Court, that is. I was the last survivor. We became targets after we orchestrated an attack on someone who was showing pro-Nega prop, I believe." She bit on her lip lightly as she debated the light blue and the purple nail polishes once again.

She made her final decision, keeping both in her hands.

"Feels weird to think I led anything, but," she chuckled gently, "thank you. I actually took the lead from someone else I knew who was forced and purified like I did. I knew I didn't want to forget everything again, so I spent a couple of days before finding Phaethon recording videos explaining what I knew of the Negaverse, going through the database, going through the intelligence database, talking about what I had done as a member of the Negaverse, talking about my teammates -- but I also made civilian ones to tell me who Delilah Samson was, even if she was just a myth. She was a friendly sort. Had a communications degree. Shy, but just wanted to fit in. Always interested in new experiences."

Her gaze went elsewhere for a moment before she shook her head out of it.

"I'm sorry the you who got force corrupted hadn't anything established that was worth tracking."

The thought drew a bitter laugh from Dahlia.

It seemed obvious that the word of the Negaverse was how horribly disorganized those of the White Moon were. Every time they managed to find some sort of "organization," even in small batches, they destroyed it, and then it fed back into their propaganda machine. Order would never have a chance to get organized in that way if Chaos kept getting in the way, and perhaps that was the point, wasn't it? An irony, really--

Perhaps they would need to find a different way to band together, and perhaps some of their strength was in that they were not forced to. Different teams, different philosophies, all united against one enemy--

She pulled herself out of the thoughts of the life that felt more relevant as Cyb-- Brielle, Brielle -- spoke, and found herself offering a gentle smile at the declaration that Delilah was sweet. Sweet, like she was. "At least that's carried," she murmured, as she picked up a face mask, agreeing that the most logical choice was to probably do the things that required hands before they could no longer use those. "I'm glad to hear she was nice to you. I think others thought I was sweet, too. I hope to carry that impression."

She glanced toward Brielle, tilting her head.

"I was in a rush when I got out, myself -- it was after that mass corruption, you know that -- but I had a few days of leeway because I think the Negaverse was too busy celebrating their ill-gotten gains. What drove you out so fast that you didn't even have that?"

Dahlia moved with Brielle into the bathroom, admiring the little space she had for herself. It was fancier than what the Malinowskis had available, but she had gotten the impression when she walked in that whoever the Gallos were, they had a decent amount of money. She wasn't sure if she would have known what to do with that kind of money.

"Strong?" Dahlia couldn't quite help her soft laugh of surprise at the concept of it, never having seen herself as particularly strong. It was hard to be with so few experiences and memories to form her. It was hard to find ground to stand on that didn't wobble and leave her on her knees sobbing-- "Don't think I've heard that one except in relation to me being an eternal senshi. Or maybe in the sense of being something like a den mother."

That was how Albite had seen her, hadn't it?

She took one of the hair ties and put her hair up, creating a tiny poof of a ponytail at the back of her head. As Cybele--Brielle--spoke, she started the work of wetting her face so the mask would adhere well, glancing up to her to signify that she was listening-- "Sometimes you just need the words of the right person to break you out of it, right?" She let out a quiet chuckle. "I'm glad they got through to you. This is the side you belong on, right? Even if it was a few days of hiding and crying."

Words of the right person was something she had gotten repeatedly and yet complacency had left her where she had been. It was good that Brielle had listened, and that those words had made it through to her.

"I think you're strong too, for what it's worth."

Strong for leaving. Strong for not giving up.

They were funny things to think about, though Dahlia could see the truth of them. It took something strong to break through the kind of complacency that had grabbed her. It took something, even just terror and a belief she couldn't just keep abiding by it, to leave. And that was the same for Brielle, really. The Negaverse did a good job of making themselves seem either inevitable, inescapable, or perhaps both.

"Chaos warps. You may have been a good hunter, but that was under the influence of Chaos without remembering who you were and the truth. It's something you did, but it's not truly who you are." Dahlia lifted her head from the water, spitting a tiny amount out of her mouth that had managed to make it in and chasing it with a giggle. "I made sure to tell myself everything I had done before I purified. I'll carry those lives forever. But we made it out. We made it back. We broke out of their influence. And we're fighting on the side of good again."

The smile she gave Brielle was gentle as she took the towel from her. "And that's something to be proud of. To honor. To encourage. I think those of Order are happy to encourage our movement away from the things we used to do rather than focus on those things.

"I know we were probably in the Negaverse at the same time even though we never met during that time. I'm proud of you anyway, for breaking through that and getting out."

She opened the charcoal mask, getting to work on applying it.