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 Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:38 pm
Out he went, same as he had but with less frequency, with his medallion held tightly in his hand. Chalcanthite still had things to work on when it came to the venue but now he had employees and his sister to carry their own weight. It was a break in a way, much as Liam had been trying to get him to take, but he couldn’t just sit idle - he never really could. So with his signature smothered down to that of a captain and a freshly painted look of anxiety on his face in line with the facade he wore when out interacting with order, he zoned in on what felt like a lone squire.
It wasn’t as direct of a movement, something he knew would be picked up on as him hunting them maybe, something he never really did, to be honest, but he had the power to if he had to. So taking a sort of roundabout route as he tapped and drained a few people, only the smallest pulls of energy, more for show than for effect because he didn’t need more attention drawn to him as he did it.
Once he got close enough to see them, to see their cane, he stopped with his draining and reined himself into the act, holding his hands where they might see them and not get any ideas that he wanted to fight. “H-hello?”
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:41 pm
He’d felt someone coming his way, sort of, he still wasn’t great with this sort of thing but he knew enough to know what he felt. Someone of equal power was coming his way but he didn’t know what they’d want, though he had a good guess, so he was surprised when they made their appearance. They were tall, not that he was short, but they also seemed like they weren’t so sure of themself…that shaky greeting.
“Evening.” He didn’t say anything else, he really wasn’t one for talking, as he held the walking stick just a bit tighter - just in case. Cool blue eyes looked over the Captain wondering what they could possibly want, since they hadn’t attacked him just yet, he didn’t trust that things would remain violence free.
“What can I help you with?”
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:42 pm
Noticing the slight shift in their hand, he winced and pulled a hand to the ribbony tie around his throat. “M-my general…” Taking a moment to look around as if he couldn’t already tell there weren’t any signatures around, he moved slightly closer as he loosened the tie to show the scar on his throat. With the cold weather it stood out more against the pale skin there. Even the few faded bruises from Liam, ones that were wanted unlike the scar, would hopefully send the message he wanted considering they looked splotchier now that they’d started to fade.
“I don’t want to hurt people but he makes me… he did this. I-is there somewhere I can go to h-hide? Even just for an hour or two to get some p-peace.” It was a gamble, but he’d been planning on morphing this facade into one that might be open to purification. It was the biggest reason he hadn’t let anyone in on it other than the fact he sometimes wandered as a captain instead of a general.
Shrinking, hunching his shoulders as he held the piece of silk ribbon in his hand, he gave them a hopeless look as he kept watch for what he hoped would turn into a positive outcome for him. If not he could just as easily scatter, captains could teleport so he always had that method to get out and avoid anything else going sideways.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:42 pm
He would have just wandered off, ignoring the other, since they weren’t looking for a fight and he didn’t otherwise care about them. It was the marks, their way of speaking, which caught his attention. Abuse. That one word rang through his mind as he stared, eyes wide for a moment before narrowing, that was one thing he hated. He’d been abused, was still abused, and the idea of others being hurt like this bothered him in so many ways.
The one at their neck, the long one, looked old though he could be wrong. People healed differently and the cold weather did affect things, he knew it, he’d seen how it purpled the marks on his own skin. “Somewhere safe to go….” His home wasn’t safe, and he’d never take someone there, but he didn’t know any safe place or he’d be there.
There was…space - his wonder. But that was his safe place….but they needed to be safe, and he understood that, so did he offer it. “Why are you asking me for a safe place and not your own side?” He wanted to be sure, wanted to be safe and to keep his place safe. This was his safe place and he needed to keep it that way - he had to. He had nothing else.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:43 pm
Thinking for a moment he pulled his sleeve up to show the long scar that wrapped around his forearm from where he’d been grabbed by a clawed hand so very long ago. The other scars of his, ones that had he’d done or burns that barely showed from where cigarettes had been put out on his skin were there for them to see.
“I… I don’t know if I should stay on this side… I-I-I need time to think, to figure it out without them dragging me back again.” He’d seen that this path might work with them, even if digging more into the truth of his past didn’t settle right with him.
It wasn’t something he would have used before but Liam had gotten that thought to stick in his mind, that the scars meant he’d survived and showing them here would win him information if he played things right and he could continue to survive by doing things his way even as he spoke of a very different situation.
“I’ve b-been caught before, I can’t fight, don’t want to. They don’t like t-that.” Which in part wasn’t a lie but he’d done enough to dig himself a nice safe little spot where he could keep out of most of the fighting, providing support via information or long distance attacks.
“P-please… help me.” Reaching out slightly with his scars still visible, he didn’t try to make any sudden movements other than that trembling in his hand. They always shook slightly anyway, not as much as they had when he’d been pickled in alcohol but it was enough to be mistaken for fear and he worked with it.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:46 pm
Oh! They had scars all over the place so it wasn’t something new, certainly not, they had not all happened at once. This was an ongoing issue and they were looking for help…why had no one else helped them? They had to have sought help before…right? Or were they only now able to get away, and not get caught, so they were seeking help.
Watching them reach out Novella took the offered hand. “Fine, but you do anything to damage my wonder and I will hurt you.” He didn’t say how, he didn’t think he needed to, but he would not take kindly to someone messing with his wonder.
It would be easier, he hoped, to teleport someone with him into space but he still wasn’t a fan of the idea. This was an exception,...just like that other knight - Halle. This better not be a mistake, he was really hoping for that, he didn’ like this idea one bit…but they clearly needed help. “I don’t have a med kit up there if you need any treatment…”
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:47 pm
“I-I won’t, I can’t.” Exhaling with a bit of relief as they took his hand. With a closer look he noticed the symbols tied to Ganymede, something he found interesting considering the files on that princess. Behind the worried and anxious facade, he was mentally preparing to take in every detail he could to get a report done for himself later, then also a detailed but slightly redacted report for the negaverse as well.
“I-I-I’ll be okay, they didn’t catch me tonight, I found a way where their youma couldn’t follow me again.” And to make a show of things, he took another look around as if he’d heard something, jumping slightly even as they held his hand.
“T-they can’t follow us where you’re taking me r-right?” Keeping close he curled his free hand around that piece of silk tie as he waited to see or hear how they would get them there. Aaru’s set up had been much different but he had the distinct feeling that the knight had everything figured out when it came to their wonder. This squire seemed new, at least enough he might be able to get some more information out of while playing this little act of his.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:47 pm
“No, they can’t get to space.” Or at least not to his wonder, he would have known if they could, it was his wonder and thus it was his safe space and his place to go and his alone. He wasn’t going to be allowing others from Ganymede here either, he couldn’t picture anyone else coming here anyway, this place was big and he doubted people would find his little wonder and like knock or try and wander in. Was it even possible? Could one of them find his wonder and walk up to the door and knock or allow themselves in? Did that happen on other planets where knights could visit each other's wonders by walking to them?
Pulling them close, too close for his own comfort, he let himself focus while thinking of what he wanted - where he wanted to be. It took focus for him, a good he was good at focusing and not letting his thoughts wander too much, as he soon was up there with the other. In the middle of what looked like a run down work shop with all manner of tools needed for hat making. The room was narrow but long, with shelving going up high and a ladder on wheels allowing access to the multitude of shelves.
There were bolts of fabric, though moth eaten, decayed and ruined, the place had a smell to it which was unpleasant but tolerable…somewhat. He was still trying to air the place out and clean it out. He needed to remove things but there really weren’t dumpsters and such here. He might consider drastic measures, in time, to remove all the garbage from here but not yet. He also was still trying to figure out what he needed for this place…aside from fresh air and a coat, or three, of paint.
The place needed new tools and new things to work with because he wasn’t going to be making hats for anyone - he was no hatter. Leaning against a counter he let the others hand go and glanced about them both. At the end of this long room it opened up into a room which was wider than it was deep and it seemed to have served as an office or storage room…perhaps both even? There was a desk in the room pushed to one end while the rest of the room was filled with head mannequins with the ruined remains of hats on some of their heads.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:48 pm
Looking around once they weren’t in the city anymore, Chalcanthite inhaled and immediately started coughing from the musty air. It wasn’t something he’d expected but considering this place wasn’t all stone like Aaru was all the dust and mold probably shouldn’t have been a surprise.
Pulling the silk over his mouth slightly to block his coughing, he waved a hand slightly in front of his face to try and disperse some of what was irritating his lungs. “S-sorry, didn’t expect that.” Leaning back and giving a proper look over the place, he was surprised at how much it looked like a shop or some sort of workshop.
Once he’d looked around for a bit, he looked back at the squire and relaxed slightly. “Thank you uhmm… sir knight? I’m Chal.” Offering his hand again to shake theirs as he let some of the false tension ease slightly. There was too much here to see in just one visit so he’d have to play things carefully if he wanted to keep the door open so to speak.
If he was riding on the purification angle and was pushed on it, he had a story he’d been working on that would give most people’s skepticism a break. It was easy to lie back with partial truths, changing some details. A wife instead of a fiancé, a family, or something as well to lean into the reason for sticking in a bad place while looking for options but allowing for the pauses needed to not risk losing everything. Something he knew most rational people could understand.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:48 pm
“No sir knight nonsense.” He stated waving his hand a bit though he did give the offered hand a shake, manners and all that. “Novella works fine.” It was quicker and easier to say for himself, and for them, sir knight sounded far too stuffy and adult for him…he didn’t need that in his life right now.
“This place needs cleaning, that's why I hesitate to bring anyone else here.” A lie but they didn’t need to know that, no one did, it was for him to know and no one else. His wonder did though need cleaning, that wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t why he wouldn’t bring others here though. This was his wonder and his alone and the idea of bringing others with him was…not something he wanted to do, they needed help though. Sitting on the counter, on a spot he’d cleared off, was the massive castle he’d finished finally. A piece of work, three foot tall and perhaps a bit longer, it was heavy and had working lights and gears and timing mechanisms in them so the lights and other things worked one of several timers inside the castle. He’d taken his time, nearly a year, on it and now it was here where it was safe.
Soon he’d have more projects here, filling the space, as well as what he needed to create more things here. From wires to pliers and other tools and bits and pieces, this would be his studio in time. He just needed time…and money.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:49 pm
“Okay, Novella then. Thank you…” He could tell they were young maybe a bit guarded with things when they mentioned their reasoning. But given the circumstances he’d shown, it was enough to sway an exception it seemed.
Looking towards the counter, he saw the large castle and drew slightly closer to look at it. First, he pulled his sleeve down though, not just to cover the scars but also because of how uncomfortable it was with all those layers of fabric bunched up. “I.. well... I’m not sure what to do now…” Squatting down and then sitting on the floor to rest, he looked up at Novella.
“I never knew there were places like this up in space, they tell us everything is dead and gone…” Which wasn’t completely a lie and he could tell this place was in ruins, even if it wasn’t as bad off as he assumed some other places were. Taking slow breaths, trying to keep the dust from his lungs as best as he could, Chal took stock of everything and filed the details away.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:49 pm
“It is…sort of. Nothing is living here, at least not here, I haven’t seen any bugs.” Which you’d expect in a place like this, spiders and other things should be here, but nothing was here aside from the dust and such. “Buildings exist, like a zombie apocalypse movie. Buildings remain but no people or living things, in this case, aside from flora.” Whatever flora there might be he didn’t know, he hadn’t left this shop and he had no intentions of doing so, he was fine with staying to his little piece of Ganymede and not bothering with anyone else.
“I will clear this place in time.” Though how he wasn’t sure, he was still debating it, could he bring the trash from here back to earth in order to discard it? The fabrics and other things needed to do…could he go about it that way? The tools used in hat making, whatever was still workable and not utterly trashed by time, he’d keep and maybe repurpose if at all possible. Otherwise the tools of the hatting trade would just hang around, not collecting dust, as a reminder of what this place once was. He just needed to remove the fabric remains and repaint the place.
Thinking about it all he went about opening windows as best he could, enough to let in some air, this place really needed an airing out. He’d make this place special…he just needed time for that. He was limited, he knew it, but that didn’t matter it just meant he’d just take more time for it. It just meant more time to plan what he’d bring each trip, and to gather things, he would have time to think things through.
“I don’t know what to tell you…there is nothing I can offer you here. It’s just a place to sit and rest for now.”
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:50 pm
“Oh…” It made sense, but he had seen some small smatterings of life in other wonders so that fact solidified the inexperience of this Ganymede squire. Maybe a rank up from the start but nothing much in terms of their growth here. It was something of interest to note as he looked over all the rotted and moth-eaten fabric bolts that were stacked on the shelves.
“At least we can breathe here… minus the dust.” Coughing a bit as he inhaled some more of it, he really wanted to avoid hitting his inhaler here if he could manage it. Stretching his legs out, he rubbed at the scar on his throat as he pondered things.
“That’s more than I’ve had the chance to get in a while. I’m worried they’ll find my son if I run. I need to figure things out, I know a few knights but… I don’t know what might happen.” Quieting as he spoke, letting the seriousness of things hang in the air, he knew what it would sound like to be caught between a rock and a hard place. There were a lot of questions hanging in the air on what would happen to familial connections if purification happened. Something he knew wasn’t going to ever be accurately stated in the records of the intelligence branch. If people knew there was no risk of losing things, then so many more might run that weren’t cut out for it.
It wasn’t a thought that had crossed his mind in awhile, not since he’d been in a very dark place, but the curiosity was still there and he had seen how much Ako had lost in the process of going from order to chaos.
“They’re young, I lost my wife to illness and I’ve been trying to manage. But my g-general… I worry they might do to him what they’ve done to m-me.” Curling forward, he rested his face in his palms as he listened and tried to gauge if he heard any noise coming from outside with the windows now partially opened.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:51 pm
“Yes, minus the dust.” Which in time would be dealt with, he just wasn’t sure how. He could, if possible, get a battery operated cleaner here, something handheld that would suck up dust and dirt. Again though the question was - where to toss garbage. He could just bring it all back to Earth and deal with it there but that just…didn’t feel like a safe option. I mean it was like some sci-fi movies where things from other planets brought to Earth infected things and people and caused widespread issues. It seemed like a very bad idea, at least potentially, but how else to clean out this place and repurpose it?
“I don’t know anyone…” That was a bit of a lie, and he knew it, he didn’t want to go to anyone else like Halle or track down others. He was trying to keep to himself, he didn’t need or want help, but to help this person he’d need to find others. “But I can direct you to others who can help. I do not talk to other knights, or senshi.” Because he didn’t want to get caught up in more of their nonsense that was poorly planned. “It sounds like you need help though, a lot of help, to protect yourself and your child.” And he could understand protecting one's child, he wished his father would have kept him safe…rather than add to his problems. To have a parent who cared though…
Moving around the room, moving some things here and there, he was trying to busy himself with clearing more counter space and move the fabrics to that larger backroom…keep all the things he needed to dump in one room. He could than work on clearing this room and repurposing it and then move to the other rooms. It would take him time, one room at a time, but he’d get there.
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Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2025 5:52 pm
“Oh… I see. That’s okay, getting some time to rest is enough for now.” Leaning his head back up, it thunked softly against the counter he was sitting against as Novella wandered around and moved things. Some of the shelves looked taller than the squire was, maybe taller than he himself could manage but it was interesting to see them putter around.
“Any help, as long as I can g-get us away…. I appreciate anything.” Sitting up a bit more, he slowly got up off the floor while leaning on the counter. Taking in more of the area, especially out the open window, he made a mental map of things.
“If only it was possible to live out here, where they can’t get us…” Sighing as he shook his head, he looked over at Novella. “I-I-I can help if you need me to do anything since you helped me get away for the night.”
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