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 Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 7:42 am
Quote: Starfish Scares (13) : Starfish live in the sea. They do not live in freshwater rivers, lakes, or reservoirs with no connection to the ocean. Starfish are also not social creatures. And yet, here they are–in hoards. They can be found near any water source–and far from it. These starfish seem to be a unique species that are eager to travel and don’t seem quite bound to water, though they will seek it out. The starfish will latch onto just about anything they can to hitch a ride, even though they’re fast. They secrete an itchy, oozy slime after they’ve latched onto something, and though it seems as though they can absorb nutrients from any living creature, these starfish have an odd penchant for blood. You might as well have a colorful leech stuck to you as soon as you think one of these things crawling your way. Their bites are sharp and will leave the nearby skin itchy and painful. They are a bit difficult to remove but they can be killed; as soon as they have perished, they will rapidly dry out and crumble. However, it’s far more likely that they’ll escape before you can get your hands on them. Be vigilant; these things are pests–and smart enough to cling to people and vehicles alike if it means getting to where they want to go. Almere was, of course, always on the lookout for magic. She'd always been good at finding it, even before finding out that she was a magical knight with a secret identity, but she was even better at finding it recently. The most exciting part of all was when she was found it in unexpected ways, though. Sometimes, it wasn't a knight or a unicorn. She loved those things, but they were everywhere in her life these days. Sometimes it was starfish. Hundreds of beautiful, strange sea stars on the side of the street. She loved watching the drainage ditches after it rained. She thought of them as rivers, and sometimes she'd put leaves in the swirling eddies to be little leaf boats. But this was different. Beautiful. Full of life she didn't always get to see. She'd powered up, just in case this was the kind of magic that had something to do with that. She walked over, kneeling down by the starfish. "Hello, lovelies," she murmured to them. "What are you doing here? Are you on a mission from the mermaid queen?" And then one of them bit her.
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 2:34 pm
Kemi was learning to be wary during…popular seasons. She understood that there was some kind of cosmic imbalance in this city. Perhaps only in this city. Regardless, she kept on her guard, and when she felt the aura of a Squire, she brightened, thinking that it might be one of her friends, Karakorum perhaps?
As she approached, she saw that it was not her friend, but was a young girl in a lovely blue dress, and she happened to arrive the moment that a strange looking creature seemed to….well.
Attack her.
“Are you all right?”
It wasn’t the first time that Kemi wished her magic did something more…specialized, but there was a stick nearby, and she picked it up, prodding at the strange star shaped creature that was…was it biting her?
“What is this?”
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Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2025 2:47 pm
Oh this was bad, probably. This kind of thing was why her mom and her cousins were always shaking their heads at her, and why sometimes she got into trouble, but she just couldn't help it. If there was something interesting going on, she had to go see what it was. And sometimes, she could get distracted from trouble even after it had started. That senshi had a tail. And wings on her head, too? Almere was staring, turning away from the starfish that was currently chewing on her hand and also away from all of the other starfish that might have very well been dangerous. She only looked back to her hand when the senshi used a stick to pry the starfish off. It worked. The starfish hopped and somehow managed to scurry back into the water on its little star feet. "Thank you," she said, eyes glimmering. "You're my hero! And you're so fascinating, too. Are you from somewhere else?" Wait. She'd asked a question. "They're starfish," said Almere. "I've read all about them in books. They live on the bottom of the sea, and they eat clams, but these?" She squinted at them. "These might be magic."
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 12:12 pm
“Oh, ah, yes. I’m Kemi, I arrived here…it will be two years this…Christmas season…It’s nice to meet you. I…”
Kemi hesitated and tilted her head slightly. “There are no seas here…I don’t understand why there would be starfish…that’s. Well. I suppose that’s close enough to being normal for this city. Are you all right? Did it harm you?”
Not that she could do anything about it but, her ribbons could be useful bandages if that was needed, and it was always best to offer help. “I’ve…seen a lot of strange things here, I’ve sort of come to just expect it. This world is so polluted by different kinds of Chaos…it’s. Bound to be…”
Her nose wrinkled. “...Broken.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 12:33 pm
Almere pried her eyes away from the wonderful alien senshi in order to look back at her hand. There was definitely a bit mark there, in a small circle, and she wiped away the droplet of blood that was threatening to start oozing out. "It's itchy," she murmured, and once she started thinking about the itchiness, it was suddenly really hard to stop thinking about the itchiness. She started scratching. That probably wasn't what she was supposed to do. "I don't think these are Chaos," she said, looking back over at the starfish. "I'm good at knowing if things are Chaos. They might be invasive or something?" That was the logical answer, the kind of thing her mom would want her to believe, but she watched the pile of wriggling creatures a little closer. They seemed to have noticed the stick and were crawling away now. She didn't want to think it was that simple. Especially now that she knew magic was real. "Or they might be from another dimension? The Starfish Dimension." She tilted her head, not knowing if that was a cute thought or a scary one. Probably scary. Yeah, her hand was really starting to itch. "Yeah, I'm going to go get some medicine or something," she said. "Thank you for helping me out! I'll return the favor sometime, I hope." That was what being a Knight was all about.
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Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2025 1:07 pm
Itchy…Kemi hoped that their bite wasn’t poisonous or something along those lines. It wouldn’t have surprised her, and she refrained from making any more comments on the fact that it could be Chaos…the girl didn’t seem to know or realize that Chaos could be…literally anything…maybe it was better that way. It meant that people on this planet just knew the brands of Chaos that were here…and they were good at fighting them…but.
“Another dimension could be possible too, there were enough things out in the Universe…and beyond the universe too. Not that Kemi wanted to dwell on all of that. “I hope that the wound heals quickly for you and that it doesn’t keep itching so badly for long. I hope that we can meet again, and that you stay safe.”
She hadn’t gotten the girl’s name, but that was all right. Some people were more private than others, and she accepted that fact. “I would like that. The help. I’ve been trying to get more friends and allies…my planet. My home has. A lot of issues, and if I ever feel up to tackling them, I would love any and all assistance that you could provide…so take care, little Squire.”
Giving a smile and a slight nod, Kemi turned and looked at the squirming starfish for a long moment before she turned away and headed off towards whatever else she might find today. You never could really tell anymore, and as…exhausting as it could be, it wasn’t bad. There was a slight shimmer on the ground and she paused, picking up a colorful star charm. Well, a little treat to commemorate her good deed.
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