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 Posted: Wed May 14, 2025 4:05 pm
(This RP is backdated to April 12, 2025; it takes place immediately after the events of the Stormbreaker finale ORP)
Having said his goodbyes, Aberdonia turned to begin his homeward trek. Digging his phone out of subspace, he was surprised and pleased to realize that, by the time he got home, only an hour and a half would have passed. His mother wouldn't be home yet, Keisha would have unanswered questions, but Yasmeen was still safe in bed on a planet that hadn't been devoured by the Calamitous Hollow. Sure, there was still the debris field from the shields, and the lights were out across town, but, all in all, a good night.
Presently, however, he became aware of light footsteps behind him. He hadn't been aware anyone else lived out where he did, or anywhere nearby. He listened to them as he softened his own footfalls. Humanoid, small. He'd seen a few kids tonight; was it one of the chibi senshi? Or was it a youma that had a shape more aligned to a small child?
Unconsciously, he began to speed up, until he heard a voice from behind him call, "Hey, wait up!"
Against his anxiety, he stopped and turned around, to find one of the chibi senshi hurrying after him. She was about the same height and had the same hairstyle as Yasmeen, which was odd. He hadn't realized someone else with dark hair around her age had the same hairstyle. Was it connected to one of the shows Yasmeen watched?
He shrugged off the thought, filing it away for later, with hopes he could make it sound less awkward.
"Hey. How can I help you?" he asked as she approached. Her fuku looked like it belonged to the adventuring class of fairy tale heroine. What was her sphere? "I'm Sailor Aberdonia, Senshi of Papyrus, by the way. Did you want me to walk you home?" he asked solicitously, before realizing just how patronizing that probably felt to her. "Er, if you need it, that is."
Aquitania had taken a bit saying her goodbyes before starting off on her own trek. The city was dark, lit only by the stars, the moon, and the remains of the shield that had helped to save the Earth, and everyone she knew and loved from the Calamitous Hollow. Hopefully, Khazran hadn't even realized she'd gone.
Idly, she wondered if her star or planet or what-have-you was watching her. Was it proud of her actions tonight? She hoped so, and liked to think so. At the very least, it was a nice thought.
Looking around, she realized that she was following one of the older senshi, who looked like he was wearing ancient Egyptian clothing. Someone else was going the same way? Was he a neighbor?
The chibi senshi started walking faster, hoping to catch up. It would be nice to walk part of the way home with someone.
Unfortunately, he sped up. She sped up, too, and called out in slight annoyance, "Hey, wait up!"
He stopped and turned around, watching her as she caught up with him. Up close, he was handsome, but, she told herself loyally, surely not as princely as Khazran.
She almost missed his introduction. His offer wasn't really offensive, as it was along the lines of what she'd been intending to ask him to do.
"Chibi Sailor Aquitania, Senshi of Courage," she said, by way of introduction. "And I would appreciate the company," she replied graciously. "I didn't know anybody else lived out this way," she added, peering up at him as they began walking again.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2025 4:12 pm
"Neither did I," Aberdonia replied, starting to walk again once the chibi had reached him. He adjusted his pace to match hers, not even noticing how easily he did so. If some part of him noticed, he chalked it up to the fact that the chibi was the same height as Yasmeen, so of course their stride would be similar.
"Have you been doing this for very long?" he asked idly. The only prefix in her title was "chibi," which some part of his brain had logged as indicating something to the effect of "junior trainee." She could have been doing this a few weeks or a few months. Given how young she looked, he didn't feel like it could be a few years, but he could be wrong about that.
"By the way, what street do you live on?" he asked as they walked.
"Nope, only since March," Aquitania replied. "So I guess I'm pretty new to all of this. How about you?" she asked, noticing slightly how the older senshi adjusted his pace so easily to hers. Did he have younger relatives around her age? He walked like he was used to adjusting his pace like that, slowing his long strides to match her shorter ones.
He didn't have a prefix in his title, did he? Was he also new to this?
"As for where I live, it's on Crane Street," she said as they turned into their subdivision by way of Eagle Drive. It began to occur to her that she'd need to tell the nice senshi that she was out without anyone's knowledge or consent, and had snuck out of her bedroom window. And she'd have to do it soon, as Crane Street was coming up quickly on their left, and the house wasn't very far down Crane Street from Eagle Drive.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2025 4:30 pm
"Oh, only since the start of the year--" he started before almost stopping dead in his tracks. "Crane Street?" he asked faintly. That was where he lived, so they were neighbors. Had she moved in recently, or had he failed to notice another young girl who wore her hair like Yasmeen?
Wait, bigger problem, they probably shouldn't pry into each others' personal details so carelessly, he realized as they turned onto Crane Street. They were two doors down from the house. "Oh, I live on Hummingbird Court," he lied. "Other side of the subdivision." Best option was to loop around the block and then go in. He didn't know which option he dreaded more for this hasty plan, if she was a next door neighbor, or lived further down the street. So wrapped up in his worries was he that he failed to notice his companion's own nervous fidgeting.
And now they were approaching the driveway, and the chibi stopped at the end of the front walk to his house, of all houses. "Thank you for the walk home," she was saying as he tried to wrap his head around what was happening. She turned to go.
"Okay, not funny--" he started, as the front door slammed open.
"You're right, this isn't a funny situation," said a familiar voice. Both senshi turned to see their cousin, Keisha Lyons, standing illuminated in the doorway. Startled, he Powered down, leaving Khazran Khalid embarrassed on the sidewalk in front of the large, stately Khalid house.
Aquitania had been so busy trying to figure out what to say that she missed Aberdonia's clumsy lie. And the opportunity to tell him.
She stopped at the end of the front walk, and turned to the other senshi. "Thank you for the walk home," she said quickly with a brief curtsy before turning to go.
"Okay, not funny--" he began, only to be cut off by the front door slamming open.
Oh, no. Khazran had noticed her absence and was probably worried sick about her. This was ba--
"You're right, this isn't a funny situation," came a distinctly feminine voice from the front door.
This was worse. Keisha was at her house for some reason. Khazran had probably noticed and called her. The chibi was in for a lot of trouble.
Dropping her Powered state, she turned around as Yasmeen Khalid. She waved awkwardly to her cousin, not noticing the other senshi Powering down as well.
"Keesh, I can explain," she started.
Keisha sighed. "Okay, come inside, both of you, this would be better done inside."
Both...? Yasmeen wondered about that before her elder brother's hand closed on hers, coming from behind to escort her inside. She blinked owlishly at his back as she followed him into the house. Khazran was a senshi. Her big brother was Sailor Aberdonia, Senshi of Papyrus. Khazran had helped stop the Calamitous Hollow. How had he done it? Did he sneak out, too? It explained Keesh's presence, and why she was so upset.
Unbidden, a bubble of laughter escaped. Both the Khalid children were senshi, both had fought the Hollow, both had snuck out. Khaz must have called Keesh to cover for him, unaware Yasmeen was also sneaking out. She now had a million questions for him. Some of which would have to wait for later.
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2025 4:48 pm
Khazran watched the chibi transform into Yasmeen in front of him. Well. That answered some questions. And filled him with anxieties about her safety. But she looked like she was fine, better than him, in fact. She had clearly been safer than him. But it was hard not to worry about his baby sister fighting on the front lines beside him.
He stepped up to take her hand and guide her into the house. She was still wearing her pajamas, and her feet were bare on a spring evening. Yasmeen needed to get to bed soon, and, in the meantime, she needed to not freeze her toes off.
They settled down in the living room, Khaz wrapping a blanket around her carefully. Keesh disappeared into the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a tray of hot cocoas for all three of them. Once she was settled down, Neith appeared and jumped onto her lap and fixed Khaz in particular with an intense stare.
"So. Now that we're all settled. Spill." Keesh took a sip of her cocoa and began petting Neith.
"Sooo...you know those terrorists? Turns out they're not actually terrorists, they're--"
"Magical heroes that draw their powers from the stars, kinda like Princess Tutu, or that Sailor V anime we watched," Yasmeen chirped.
"Yeah, like that," Khaz finished weakly.
"So, magical heroes with a secret identity, got it," Keesh replied. "How long has this been a thing?" There was a bright, sharp, bitter note to the question.
"Since the beginning of the year."
"Since March."
"So, not all that long." Keesh turned to fix Khaz with a look. "I take it swim practice hasn't really been picking up, has it?"
Khaz sighed. "No, not really. But I've only used it as an excuse to you once or twice, I swear."
Keesh exhaled. "Okay, I got it. So you haven't both been lying all that much. How long have you known about each other?"
"Ummm...honestly...we didn't know until about five minutes ago," Khaz admitted.
"It's not like it's really come up yet," Yasmeen added.
Keesh nodded, visibly relaxing. "Okay, good to know. So. The big question. Where the heck were you two tonight? Also, I want a promise that you'll both be more honest with me. I can try to help you out if you tell me what's going on. You're both my best friends, as well as my cousins, and I don't want to be left out when y'all are doing dangerous superheroics."
Khaz nodded. "Sounds good to me."
"Me, too," Yasmeen piped up. "You know those electrical storms we've been having since late February? It turns out..."
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