Welcome to Gaia! ::

"I assume their discretion is to keep their organization as private as possible, incase people are targeted for their beliefs. Which, honestly, if you believed in something so deeply, wouldn't you shout it to the world? Wouldn't you fight with your life for it?" She gave a shrug. "Or maybe they just like the mysterious approach. Who knows."

Alba fell silent as Carter spoke, listening to his words of concern. She had already admitted that she herself wasn't sure if she could ever commit a true kill, even if she believed that it was the best way to keep the Negaverse at bay. "I know what you mean," she sympathized. "I don't think I ever really injured anybody, at least on purpose, before I received the pen."

"As I told ....Rosalind, that's her name, right? Agents of the Negaverse will not hesitate to end our lives. In fact, they've already taken a few, and corrupted a handful to work on their side. They're growing, Carter."

"Us breaking their arms or keeping them from reaching their objective, in the end, isn't buckling their strength. They're getting bigger, and stronger, and there's only one thing that will stop them."

Alba paused. She knew her words echoed that of the elegantly written Blood Moon Court's invitation, and it made her feel uncomfortable. Her hand unconsciously reached for her neck, and she was reminded why she felt so strongly about this to begin with. "I know it's hard to think about. Just....think of them as youma, out for blood. Your blood. Your family's blood. We can't allow them to wander as a threat."

Alba's chair creaked as the legs scratched at the wooden floor boards when she stood up after Carter, causing the chair to nearly tilt backward. Instead, it precariously wobbled in place before settling down, though it was clear with the expression on the Latina's face that she would be doing no such thing any time soon. Yes, Carter was a year and a half younger than she was, and yes, she wasn't exactly an adult either quite just yet. However--

"Have you SEEN the people we've been fighting, Carter?" Her hand waved beside her, as though a lieutenant was standing right there among them to prove her point. "They are in the same situation as we are, they are the same age, but you know what they have that we don't?"

"Determination!" The hand that had been previously waving in the air slammed against the table. The force of the slap wasn't strong enough to tip over the empty and near-empty paper cups, but it was enough to really accent her exclamation. "They have made up their minds, and because of this confidence, they have been ahead of us one step at a time."

"It's not because they have a Queen. They have all made the choice to make that vow to her, and while she may have all the power behind her, it's still them that go out into the night and harvest the lives of innocent people. It's their will-power."

There was a form of sturdiness that settled on Alba's face. Her brows were knit, her mouth had slimmed from the grip she kept on her lips, and her eyes were like piercing daggers. Never once, though, did her voice avalanche into a yell. It was heavy, with firm way of pronouncing things, but the volume didn't waver and her tone remained the most serious anyone's heard in a long time. She took a breath.

"Right now, we don't have that. We don't need a Queen or a Princess to tell us to fight them, or to give us strength. We have the strength in our hearts: it's why we were chosen. It's why we have these pens! To serve and protect, to defend those we love and keep the innocent safe! And right now, for whatever reason each person may be, we are failing them."

"Don't be one of those people, Carter."

Alcyone has had her fair share of Negaverse encounters throughout the year since her first transformation. While she wouldn't exactly claim that any of them were something to consider a success for her growth as a senshi, she had learned enough to know that they weren't people to be taken lightly, regardless of age, gender or experience. There had been plenty of occurrences where she had underestimated one's ability, and these weren't instances that she'd like to rehash with her frustrated teammate.

She did not know why things were the way they were. Any research gleamed from newspapers of the previous Sailor Court of a thousand years ago didn't reveal anything past a group of people bent on leashing Earth as their own and destroying their ancestors in the process. For mysterious reasons, they harvest the energy of star-seeds to fuel....their Queen? A secret weapon? Whatever it was, it couldn't be good for the sailor scouts of today.

"There is nothing to understand for us. All we need to know is that they're conscious of their decisions, and they aren't going to stop unless we stop THEM! If we don't, nobody will."

Alba stepped around the table and stopped a few inches away from the blue-haired boy. She could see his frustration, and it was difficult for her to continue her preaching atop an invisible soap box. Like a parent disciplining a child, she knew without a doubt that this was the best thing for her to do, even if Carter didn't like it. She fully believed that if she nurtured him, she'd be giving a hand to his own demise.

"You HAVE to fight, Carter." She wanted to grab him by the shoulders, though she restrained. "Please. I don't want you to die."

"Another brief eulogy to read in the papers." Alba finished with a whisper, allowing her pride and anger to ebb over. While the young girl was commonly known for being out-spoken with her beliefs, she generally tried to avoid having debates with the people she cared about for that very reason: she didn't feel it was worthwhile to get into a fight over something that in the end would achieve no change of opinion. If you felt strongly enough about a subject to defend yourself over, the chances of you being swayed would be very little.

This, however, was different. A fight between Carter didn't compare to the long-term results of possible death, and Alba felt this to the pit of her belly. She had nearly gasped her last breath when she was unprepared, and was sure it would have been had Chloe not intervened. She would not have had this discussion with Carter because before her experience, she had felt the same way as he.

There are only so many cats and people to call on before luck runs out.

"I'm sorry, Carter. I don't mean to be pushy." Was her forlorn apology. "We've been through so much. Losing any of you would be like losing family, and if it means that I push you away and you could possibly learn from it or keep it mind, well."

"I'd rather have that." Alba then proceeded to push back both chairs in place, and picked up the empty paper cups. "Come, walk with me to the recycling center nearby? Please? You can tell me more about Merope."