Welcome to Gaia! ::

Eyes alight with amusement, Meridiana approached. Red painted lips pulled into a smile.

The medallion she wore was not active, it’s power long since spent when she was gathering energy to fill her quota earlier. Its magic did not last long and for once she was actually kind of glad for it. Usually, she approached others under the illusion of being diminutive in strength to lower their defenses, gain trust because she wasn’t much of a threat.

This time- this time was different and in truth… It felt nice to be shown a level of respect from someone who saw her not as her sphere, but rather the rank she had earned serving the Negaverse.

With each graceful step forward, the distance between them lessened until she stood close enough to reach out with a well manicured hand and hook a finger beneath his chin. A wordless invitation to rise, “You’re welcome to touch them and see for yourself.” Langite was welcome to take her words for what they were, or don’t… she didn’t mind being a little playful.

Meridiana read into his reaction, a quiet hum for how he was quick to withdraw. Pity she thought to herself and allowed him some extra space.

“It wouldn’t be the most creative thing I’ve been called before. But for the sake of conversation, you can call me Meridiana.” Already a shortened version of her name but Meri was reserved for someone who was more than a simple acquaintance.

“What has you out so late, I wonder?” Shouldn’t he at least have a partner with him in case someone decided to take advantage of a lone corrupt? Tension from the ambush had not yet faded, it was dangerous out for someone like him.

“Still working on your quota?” She asked if only to keep the air from going stagnant and the moment from becoming more awkward than it was.

"You're definitely brave. I'll give you that." Her experience with youma was such that she had assumed that these invaders would react to her as they did. The validity of those thoughts however, was yet to be determined as she was too wary to approach any of them.

"Aside from the Vanguard I haven't spoken to any aliens. But the description you gave…" She considered it for a thoughtful moment. "It sounds similar to a half-youma I met once in the Rift. She's about my height." A glorious five foot two inches. No idea what her name was since they were busy trying to serve other officers when camp was made before engaging the shape shifting youma the following day.

"What comments did your General have about all this."

Meridiana shrugged, “Honestly, I have no idea.”

“I’ve never been a part of a team before.” Closest she had was when Zinkenite took time out of his busy schedule to teach her how to defend herself. How to be more aware of her environment and surroundings. Made a bit of a game out of it which was fun for the short time they spent together.

In the end though, she reverted back to old ways. Found safety in numbers within a crowd of civilians. Now that she could teleport, there was even less risk of being ambushed again. Something about nearly being killed makes one wary when approaching powered strangers.

“I supposed-” He’d encourage you to patrol with someone she wanted to say but realize that it might undermine or disrespect a General she’d never met. “So long as you're cautious and he’s available if things get dangerous, then everything should be fine.” There were things she could suggest but would be more of a do as I say not as I do.

"There's White Moon and their Knights, Dark Mirror Senshi, and now Aliens. It was already a strange world we lived in. Now things are getting more weird around here." Not worth mentioning the denizens of the Rift, the shadow beasts and their large fiery dragon, or the other bizarre incidences they have been subjected to over the years. Eventually, she'd stop being surprised.

“Honestly I’m more of a do as I say not as I do kind of person. It took probably close to five years for me to earn my promotion because I didn’t take it seriously. I don’t think there is anything wrong with going slow and learning how to use your magic effectively. But if you’re more interested in making a name for yourself and rising through the ranks quickly, then I think you’re on the right path.” He’s already done more in his short tenure than she had in half of a decade. Yes, she had helped many other corrupts and made connections of her own. But functioning without a General meant that she had nobody to speak well of her contributions. Any merits earned had to be in front of the Sovereigns which was difficult to accomplish at times.

“Might want to consider a recording device if you happen to find a particularly chatty senshi. It’s a helpful tool to gather accurate information on members of White Moon or their Knights. That way you’re not relying on memory and can provide a detailed report that can be uploaded to the database.” Something she had once been working on but three out of three people she intended to turn in, still sitting in a folder at home in one of her desk drawers. By now the information was likely obsolete but for one reason or another her heart told her to keep things quiet for a time and that they were no threat.

“Word of advice, don’t go into the Rift without a group or your General. It’ll be tempting to join a mission like that but contrary to what you might think; youma hate corrupts like us. To them, we’re no better than our White Moon counterparts. They’ll listen to the officers, mostly, but we’re not so lucky.” That’s why he’d never find anyone like the two of them walking around with a youma at their heel. “My magic is much like yours; good for getting away. So I can speak from experience that it’s a bad idea to delve into the Rift until you’re a bit stronger and never alone.”

“Another thing to keep in mind is that you will eventually be offered an invitation to go to one of their homeworlds or wonders.” If not now then sometime in the near future with how conversational he seemed to be. “It’s like they get off bragging about being able to go to their special place in the sky since we’re not able to venture to ours.” Why? She really didn’t have an answer to it. But yes, Meridiana was truly envious of them. “Just be wary of their intent and communicate with your General if you intend to take them up on their offer. Just in case it turns into a kidnapping so he knows who to hunt down if you’re missing for too long.”

Not to scare him shitless but his kindness could very well be taken advantage of and there are places he could be taken where they couldn’t easily find or follow him.

“Kidnapped, no.” She clarified. “Ambushed, yes.”

“I’ve only been to a Knight’s wonder once. It was still in the process of being rebuilt or in a state of repair. Even so, it was just him and I there.” No animals or people but surprisingly she felt safe with him. Pity that was the last time she had seen the Polaris Knight because she would have liked to visit again and see what progress he had made.

The details of the ambush didn’t need to be explained, she wasn’t looking for sympathy and her warning had been given.

“As for why they don’t leave and stay there, well… I suspect the answer is more complicated.” The knight had once been an Agent and after purifying suddenly had a Wonder of his own. It made her curious that if she defected, would there be a world with her name that she could visit too? A curiosity that could only be answered if she could find the corrupt that had purified on the battlefield. “Might be worth asking the senshi you mentioned, they might be able to explain.”

“I’m not sure I can commit to once a week. I have an elderly grandparent I’ve been helping take care of. But I could try every other week if that’s alright.” At the moment it was the early stages of Dementia so his mind was still there most of the time but with his age, there was the very real fear of a sudden and rapid decline.

“Usually when I am looking to fulfill my quota, I find crowded places where I could fit in without raising too much suspicion. Sometimes I’ll change my outfit or remove my tiara if the occasion calls for it. But I like the method of working smarter, not harder.” It had served her well so far since White Moon tended to avoid attracting attention and weren’t usually inclined to start a fight in such a public place.

“With your uniform, I might suggest keeping an eye out for upcoming festivals; cherry blossom ones would be a fantastic one for you to attend.” He’d blend in perfectly at one of those. “The star festival will start in a few months, assuming it’s still going on this year.” She hadn’t checked the website or Facebook on exact dates but seemed to have become a tradition.