It took a little longer than a day, in the end, for Noë to get her affairs in order. In a way, she had done this before, when her father died and she was left to manage things on her own: sorting through his belongings, organizing and packing things, selling the house. She hadn't had to worry about as much of this when her mom had died, when she was a scant 7 years old, but she'd worried about enough of it. And now she was doing it again, this time for herself.

At least she'd had plenty of practice.

The intricacies of changing one's faction, of going from White Moon to the Dark Mirror Court as she was about to do, were a huge terra incognita for her. No one in the White Moon had told her anything about, well, anything; she had been left to find things out on her own, the hard way. Whether it was in fights with the Negaverse or dusting youmas or whatever, everything she knew was through hard-won experience. The same held true for this; the only person apart from Remarque who had explained anything to her was Lacerta, who had experienced much the same things in life that she had. Noë felt a strong connection to Lacerta, and really hoped the Dark Mirror Eternal would come to see her join the Court.

For now, though, organizing and making notes were the top priorities. First thing she had done when she got back to her apartment after her visit to Mirrorspace was download all the pictures she'd taken on her Senshi phone, moving them all to a secure cloud storage file and making note of the password to access them. She added that password to her list of things to remember, should she lose her current memories when she switched factions – which, she worried, might be a possibility. So meticulous notes were made, in a small notebook she intended to give to Remarque or Lacerta to return to her after the deed was done. Just in case.

Noë had released most of her bug collection after moving out of her childhood home when her dad died; she now released the rest of them into the common space of the apartment complex. Probably a cruel fate for some of them, and as an animal lover she hated herself for that. But better they fend for themselves in the wild than end up abandoned and squished by whoever came to clear out this place. Sternly she went about boxing up everything else, trying not to think about her insect friends. Poor babies, they were likely doomed no matter what she had done with them.

Just like she'd been, doomed and abandoned from the start of this whole Senshi thing.

No, she told herself, that was not the case! She wasn't doomed – she had made this decision after a lot of thought. Noë wasn't fated to leave the White Moon for the Dark Mirror Court, she had chosen to of her own free will! No one had forced it on her, no one had told her she HAD to do this; she would have balked like a contrary mule if that had been true. Maybe the loss of her mom so young, growing up being the "little mommy" of the house for her grief-stricken father, caring for him until he finally died a year ago, maybe all of that had "doomed" her to look for some place to belong. Maybe that was why the White Moon felt so hollow to her, so uncaring. Maybe in the Court she'd finally find her place. It felt like she already had, if she was being honest with herself, between Remarque and Lacerta being so welcoming and accepting.

She could only hope that was indeed the case with the rest of the Court. That they would welcome her, accept her, even encourage her in her desire to explore Mirrorspace. Thinking about that made her get excited again; she was really looking forward to prowling the halls of that strange world behind the mirror and discovering what else awaited her there.

And what wonders she had already seen! The ruins she and Remarque had found were unlike anything she'd ever seen or read about before. They appeared to be far far older than those found on Earth, even older than the Neolithic ruins and artifacts she had studied. How old were they? Ancient beyond time itself? And who were the people who had built them, what had their culture been like? From what she had seen, they were clearly focused on the stars, on studying the sky in the same way she studied the remnants of past civilizations: meticulously, and in great detail. The joy of discovery, of finding things even Remarque, who had apparently done quite a lot of exploring in Mirrorspace, had not seen before, was exhilarating.

Closing up another box, Noë's thoughts turned toward what the act of switching from one faction to another felt like. Would it hurt? She felt certain it would at least feel pretty weird. And even though she was taking precautions to note important things down, she had no idea if she'd actually remember anything. Would she have to choose a new name? That was what she assumed after talking with the Dark Mirror Eternal who had been her Mirrorspace guide so far, that she'd be assuming an entirely new identity. She wondered what this Prince was like, too, he who was powerful enough to move someone from White Moon to Dark Mirror. Was he the sort to be like a dictator, a cold-hearted ruler? Noë laughed; she rather doubted that, or Lacerta at least would have said something to her. So would have Remarque, probably; he seemed an open and honest sort.

There was also the issue of collecting energy to help Mirrorspace. Noë gave a little frown; she knew (or had been told by both Lacerta and Remarque) that it was a necessary thing, that Mirrorspace used the energy to stabilize itself, opening up more aspects of itself, making it more accessible to those who would explore it. Supposedly it didn't hurt the subject getting drained of energy, just left them tired at the low end, unconscious at the most. She gave herself a determined nod; if they only knew what they were helping by providing energy, they'd donate it willingly, she was sure!

No, this was going to be a new and grand adventure. And she couldn't wait to begin it.

Her heart light again, Noë continued to pack up her old life and prepare for the new.

(wc: 1112)