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Raksha should be running around right now- if anything, the run-in with that Negaverse agent, what they had done, had drilled into her head that these people must be stopped, that they had to be, before any more lives were broken. Before any more people died. But that meant one thing and only one thing- Raksha had to get better at being a Senshi, which created a sort of conundrum- Encke was powerful, probably too powerful to effectively train against. Viatrix was a cat. Sylvite and Fulgurite- well, neither of them were probably on the table for teaching her how to fight them. Encke’s sister was also likely powerful enough for it to be a problem. Which meant she had to find someone new and also fairly close to her level of ability as a senshi- something that probably wouldn’t be terribly easy anyway.

She wasn’t doing any of that, though- looking for Negaverse officers, youma, or other Senshi. Raksha was lounging on a roof, listening to music and just kind of hoping she would get pinged by someone or something on the mental energy radar, or someone would stumble upon her for a change.

🎶Toupee, or not toupee, that is the question🎶

Oh! Convenient. Lay there thinking about meeting other senshi and they will appear. Tristan wasn't entirely unexpected; Raksha had felt the other senshi get closer, and approximated a vague direction they were coming from- given that they were approaching her, though, it meant she could chill and listen to music for just a bit longer.

Raksha startled for a second, then switched off her music and returned Tristan's smile with her own. "I was chilling, but- I was actually thinking about finding someone to spar with? Seems like a pretty neat coincidence."

Raksha took Tristan's hand in her own, shaking it. "Raksha. Of Epicyon." She seemed rather proud of that, for a second, before realizing that that was nowhere near as much of a straightforward sphere as trust, and Tristan probably had no idea what it was. "...It's, uh. A type of canid? Basically a giant wolf. They're called bone-crushing dogs, and they're extinct on Earth. They're neat."

"We can definitely spar, though- how rough do you want to get? The Negaverse-" A pause, where Raksha figured out how to say what she wanted to say. "If they're going to try to kill people, we need to know how to defend them. With as much force as is necessary."

"...Also, I can show you what my magic does before using it in the spar, if you like."

Amusement and pride wrote themselves clear across Raksha's face. "I'm the senshi of death puppies, yeah. At least I like it- my magic makes things look cool. I tried it on the cat who awakened me- she liked it. Hold on-"

Raksha reached out to tap Tristan on the arm, then hesitated. "Fighting isn't easy, but we can win. Even without huge amounts of training. You just have to be careful and observant and quick on your feet. We might not be as strong, and getting in close is a huge risk, but it still hurts if you bash someone with a rock or something." She sounded, at least partially, like she was trying to convince herself- but they could win against the Negaverse. They had to.

"I'm gonna put my magic on you, and I want you to test yours, but- when I put mine on you, try and hit me, okay? And I'll try and avoid you."

Raksha tapped Tristan on the arm.

Raksha gave Tristan a bright, cheerful smile- the excitement her magic had created was wonderful. It was offensive magic, sure, but- it was good, to see it make someone happy.

Raksha was, in fact, so thoroughly distracted by Tristan's obvious joy that she completely forgot to do the whole dodging thing until the last second, Tristan's punch clipping her shoulder. The punch itself didn't hurt that bad, but when it connected-

Raksha gasped sharply at the sharp, immediate pain of teeth, of sharp fangs sinking into her shoulder. Her reaction to the flood of adrenaline and pain and dread was simple and instinctual- move. Raksha jumped away like one might jerk away from a hot stove, getting to the other end of roof before she stopped and sucked in a shuddering break.

She knew how her magic worked, it was fine- her shoulder really hurt, and there was this crawling sensation of dread, but it was fine. She should try and say something, though. She had asked the other Senshi to punch her, and Tristan had succeeded.

"Good job!" It was half-choked, but Raksha put as much enthusiasm into it as she could. "It gives you ears, too. And makes it hurt more when you punch things."

"...I'm okay." It hurt, but she'd be fine. It was good to know exactly what her magic did from personal experience, anyway.

"It's okay! I'm okay. My magic just does that." It faded- Raksha's shoulder still hurt with some residual pain, but it was less than before. "Makes you punch better. Feels like being bitten? And it makes people- scared. When you hit them. You did good. That was- good. Now I know how it feels, so I can use it better."

Raksha gave Tristan an encouraging smile- and then immediately turned beet red at the compliments, looking away. It definitely flustered her.

"I don't know about the strongest…"

Raksha definitely wasn't the strongest senshi out there. Encke was almost definitely stronger. Others, too. But it was- sweet, and flattering, and she was absolutely sure that Tristan meant it.

(This would, incidentally, be a very good time to attack- Raksha's guard was completely down, and she wasn't even really properly looking at Tristan.)

...That was a kind of terrifying magic to have. "You could also use it to create openings. To hit someone. Tell them to stand there and close their eyes because you have a fun surprise and then hit them with a brick." It was an underhanded tactic, but it was also viable.

Raksha shook her head to clear it, then smiled back at Tristan. "I'd like that. …You're actually one of the first other senshi I've met? Aside from the person who was there when I got awakened. I'd love to do this again- anytime."

"Uh- hold on, I think I can put you in my phone by doing this-" Raksha pulled out her phone and took a quick 'picture' of Tristan. "There. Now I can contact you again, I think."

"Also- be careful, okay? I-" Raksha bit her lip, for a second. Tristan seemed nice, and she didn't want to scare the other Senshi, or crush her or anything. "I met a negaverse agent. Like, middle aged? Long brown hair, nice coat. She's a murderer. She's killed before, and she'll do it again. I've met a couple of people in the Negaverse who were pretty cool, but."

"I won't! Magic is reserved for friends only. And also for me. Bye, Tristan! It was nice meeting you!" It really was- hopefully, Raksha would see the other senshi again at some point. Patrols were probably more fun with two. Not that jumping around on your own was bad, but company was nice.

Actually- This had kinda inspired her to get moving again, just for a few more minutes, and stop laying about on a rooftop. Youma probably wouldn't be out anyway, because it wasn't nighttime, but it hadn't been night the first time Raksha met one, so you never knew. Today had been a good day already, so why not make it even better?

...Even if she'd have to go home soon. It was out of character for her to be out so much anyway. At least she could tell her parents she made a new friend and exchanged numbers- someone with a normal name, too, so she wouldn't have to lie about it.