Snowbunnies (2) WC: 1,902

Part of him felt pretty ridiculous for this. Heading back out into the city under this guise. He'd been lucky before with the snow… whatever that had been. A good lesson in why not being Yetzirah was easily the smartest thing for him.

How stupid was he, then, to be back out here? He couldn't help but question the twinkling stars above as he huffed out a cloud of breath.

Things could have been worse, one part of him reminded. And he again met someone new. So… win-win? Ish? Someone who knew more about all of this knight stuff. That actually was an optimistic thing.

His boots crunched softly, sounds muffled, through the park. He kept to the pavement pathways, though the winds still swept mounds and flakes across the cleared grounds. He hadn't seen the snowbunnies, after all. It felt… well. If he was going to be spending any time as Yetzirah, he should at least go see them, right? It felt right.

Pink eyes moved carefully over the blue-hued dunes and rolling blankets, the star and moonlight casting the world in a quiet glow. Now and then, the yellow presence of the park lamps pushed through, illuminating the area with a different warmth, but he preferred the serenity of the natural lighting. There was always something so beautiful about even the way the full moon could cast such strong shadows, but against the snow? They were all the more drastic, dream-like. It was breathtaking and a treasure to see.

Soft sounds of movement made Yetzirah pause, turning towards the blue and black shimmering mounds. Little shuffles, little squeaks, little fluffy bodies poked out from the tunnels they tirelessly carved. Beady eyes peered at him and Yetzirah had to restrain himself from squealing outright at the sight.

"You are back," he breathed, giggling in his glee as he made his way carefully off the path.

Little noses twitched at him as he picked his way carefully over the snow, mindful of the raised tunnels and entrances, till he could sit down. Legs crossed, he rested his chin in his hands, elbows pressed into his thighs. In the back of his mind, something prickled, but he was far too focused on the cute rabbits starting to move up to sniff at him to pay it much attention. "I was hoping to see you again. I think you guys might be good luck." Or at least, that was what he liked to think.

He didn't view his becoming Yetzirah bad... he just…. didn't understand it. "Like you show up any time something important happens."

"I've been feeling the same," a bright voice chirped, and Yetzirah nearly yelped as he drew up straight, startling the bunnies away from him and back into their holes. "Oh! Oops… sorry about that," they continued in more of a whisper, and he turned to stare at the senshi…

With…. wings..?

She smiled sheepishly to him, lifting a partially gloved hand to wave slightly before closing the distance that remained. He hadn't even heard her, but then, he wasn't focusing on much around him, was he? The snow muffled a lot, and he'd been more enjoying the bunnies… oops, indeed. His own returned smile was sheepish in its own right, cheeks darkened as much from the cold as they were from embarrassment. He was lucky it'd been an Order energy he'd sensed, or this might have been… not as nice.

"Do you mind if I join you? Been looking for these lil' guys," she added, motioning to the bunnies that were beginning to peek out from their hidey-holes again.

Yetzirah somewhat shook himself, a smile bouncing to his lips, "Yes! Of course! I haven't gotten much of a chance to talk to a… ah, it's um… sen-shee, right? A soldier or something..?"

Her boots barely made a scuff in the snow as she approached, hands moving her long double skirts carefully before she sat down with the fabric as a sort of blanket under her. Pale wings ruffled at her back, and Yetzirah knew he was staring even before she grinned. "Senshi, yeah. Sailor Scout's another term you might hear, but senshi's the most common I think at this point." She held out a hand, and Yetzirah realized her skin shimmered slightly under the moonlight. "I'm Solaris."

He took the offered hand with a beaming smile, shaking gently. The callouses on the exposed bits of her hands surprised him, though her grip was light. "Lovely to meet you! You're… um, not from around here, I take it..? Oh, pardon, I'm Yetzirah!"

The hand in his froze, and her eyes widened slightly, corners of her lips slipping from their upward turn. His brows furrowed faintly, still smiling though he wasn't sure what was wrong. "Of um… Cosmos..? Was I supposed to say that part?" Was he being rude..?

Her eyes flickered over his face, and he felt her grip tighten briefly on his hand before she released him. A long breath came as her shoulders went lax, and the smile she offered was… not quite as bright as before. "No, sorry. You don't need to introduce your… I think for knights it's allegiance..? Cosmos, Earth, Saturn, so on," she said as she leaned back slightly where she sat, one hand crunching lightly into the snow as she put her weight onto it. "And no, I'm not from around here. It's… a long story, but the short of it is a bunch of senshi from other worlds got… hmmm… summoned, I guess, here? So you might find other senshi with non-human features at some point."

She spoke gently, friendly, but he felt like she was… watching him. Not threatening but… he wasn't sure he liked the sensation. Still, he nodded as he was trying to digest the information. "So… there's aliens on Earth. Real. Aliens. Not just the uh… Velencians?" The name had taken him a moment to recall--but that battle, that night, the Moon, the Code.... it was hard to forget any of it.

Solaris shook her head slightly, gaze turning to the bunnies that were beginning to sniff around them. "Nope, lot more than just them. I'm a Solarian, from Solaris," she added with a laugh, reaching out a hand to one of the snowbunnies and lightly rubbing its head. Her smile faded as her lips moved soundlessly before finally, "Have you… heard of them before?"

The youth cocked his head slightly, glancing off as he considered. Solaris..? He wracked his brain, but… "Um… no, I don't think so, but I'm pretty new to all of this, I mean I've only done this um… a dozen times or so?" He was quick to tack in when he noticed her close her eyes briefly, straightening and grinning. "So if you'd ever be up for questions, I'd love to learn more!"

It was… almost surreal to him, how easy this was to take in. Magic. Aliens. Now another type of alien next to him. But then, they had strange icy bunnies around them, and he was able to use some sort of magic to turn into this… Yetzirah of the Cosmos... he'd already seen aliens, already seen how bad these fights can get.

The peaceful moment here was beautiful and precious.

She said nothing for a moment, just smiled, and he took the lull in the conversation to start gently stroking the fur of one of the bunnies that had climbed up onto his lap.

"So you're… new new, huh?"

Her voice was warm, playful, and Yetzirah glanced up to meet her pursed lips and narrowed eyes. The mock suspicion made him laugh outright before he could stop himself. "Guilty. I've… been Yetzirah for a few years now… but I haven't really had a reason to… be Yetzirah, if that makes sense?" He watched as more of the bunnies began to crawl and hop into their laps, snuggling up to them as if appreciating the moment of additional warmth. When Solaris just nodded, he continued, "So I'm trying to see if I can fix that. I mean, we've got this stuff for a reason, right? I just need to find mine. Which… means actually pulling on this costume more often. Trying to get into a better habit."

He knew he was rambling, a pointless babble, but Solaris' smile was soft as she watched the snowbunnies, and he didn't think she minded listening to his idle chatter. "Just need to figure out what to do with this dang feather."

Now she looked at him, confusion twisting her features. "Feather..?"

Yetzirah laughed, lifting a hand to summon the quill pen to him. Solaris stared a moment at it, the long feather in question, the blunt pen tip. "Feather pen technically, but I'm not sure this thing can even hold ink, it's not like any fountain pen I've seen," he groused, waggling the feather in her direction.

She snickered at his expense, wiggling her fingers back at his mock weapon. "You've got that to fight? I guess maybe you could stab someone if you used enough force," she hummed, but the critical look she gave his arms kept him from blanching at the very thought. It was clearly a joke, after all--there's no way he could do that.

"Pft! Or figure out how to use a tickle torture," he chuckled, turning the feather on some of the bunnies. They shimmied and scurried under the soft touch, batting at it lightly with their small paws before running to and fro beneath it. The sweetness of the scene was marred by his roaming thoughts, though, and he felt his face fall.

"I'm… not good at fighting. But I guess I need to be, don't I? I've got some sort of power now, after all."

Solaris hummed, watching the bunnies in calm silence. "You're new. Give yourself time to learn. I can give you some pointers for how to fight, and you go from there, how does that sound?"

The offer was made so readily that it caught him off guard, wide eyes blinking at Solaris who just smiled back at him. "Oh… um… yeah, sure! That'd be awesome! I'd appreciate any help."

"Perfect, do you have a phone--oh, right, knight… um, I think your ring can contact--"

"....ring…?"

Solaris broke off whatever she was going to say, staring back at his blank expression, and pressed her lips hard together--something about the way her eyes crinkled made him think she was trying not to laugh. Or maybe sigh at him. Her lips popped as she let them go with a smile. "I don't know much about knights, so this'll be a perfect chance for both of us to learn. We all gotta start somewhere," she added with a sing-song hum, and Yetzirah found himself smiling.

He appreciated the help, the calmness and for someone to be speaking about it all so casually. Like it was just another part of life, no big deal--responsibilities, weights, considerations. But another part of life, nonetheless. It made it all more… real. Less like some beautiful fairy tale.

Though as they sat in the snow, surrounded by snowbunnies and moonlit glittering snow and twirling blue-hued shadows… it certainly had the makings of a beautiful, fantastical tale.