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 Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:00 pm
It was a compliment, and one he did not deserve. Whatever ideas of courage and spitting in the face of one’s enemies they might have created, no one outside of those who were captured really knew. “Don’t. You weren’t there, but …at least for me….none of what I did was great. If anything, I barely managed to keep my mouth shut, and …given time.” He might have given them everything. The other officers might have carried themselves with the glimmering badge of loyalty in the face of all dangers, but he had failed his test.
If only because things had been tense and quiet between then, the Eeeeee! From the bedroom made Ladon pale. The walls to the apartments were thin meaning that you heard almost everyone on the floor, the most pronounced when it was night. Sadly, this also meant you heard some rather unwanted noises. This time around, Ladon had a good sense of what the cry of excitement was about, and placed his face in his palm for a moment. This was why he suggested she sit down.
He didn’t want Zac to get up. “She’s fine.” He said, voice a little high. “…but…” He tried to return to the subject only because it would save him from having Zac get up and see what his sister was so excited about. He hoped. Ladon was more or less grabbing at anything to keep the conversation going now. He really expected something longer or worse out of this talk, but it seemed things were at least somewhat okay. “…this isn’t going to cause you too much trouble? You’re really important to the Negaverse. You created a lot of ideas and set things in order. I know a lot of people notice that. You are…your rank after all.” That meant a lot.
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 1:03 pm
Zac shook his head quietly. "My Rank was as much attributable to luck as anything." He admitted and sounded like he believed it. "You'll be general before you know it, if that I am sure... and let's be honest..."
He waved a hand with a small pause at the happy squeal but besides a nervous shift didn't get up to follow. "Everyone...breaks eventually, It's human nature, it's why torture WORKS to even a small degree, but for as much as you told them that might have been true, there is a high probability that you told them things that were NOT true if only to appease them, we know that from as recent as the Salem witch Trials... don't belittle yourself in this Ladon... you are stronger I think than you allow yourself credit for."
He leaned forward as he spoke, watching Ladon's fast earnestly.
Leaning back he added with a smile like a pleased cat. "Besides... if they try and take me down because I run a data base...all their going to do is tell me more about who they are, alternatively they could deliberately avoid me... also ineffective as it would give me an advantage in some minor stealth operations, last... they could try and feed me misinformation but that is of limited viability because so long as I can interview the ranks about battles we'll learn what is and isn't true. Ultimately...no trouble at all, it's all a chess game... with very high odds I admit. But sometimes, you can even take their pieces and make them your own..."
The last words were perhaps more Enigmatic, after all Ladon most likely thought that Sabine was a Lieutenant, not that she was a senshi... DEFIANTLY not that she had been of the Blood Moon.
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 1:58 pm
Almost as if on cue, and probably to Ladon and Zinks great displeasure, she entered the room again. It was almost as if Zac worded his last sentence in perfect timing to her arrival, maybe that was planned. "Oh my god, Ladon, your collection is amazing!" She had forgotten it was a serious conversation, too excited about the plushie collection.
Still holding the stuffed rabbit in her arms, she moved towards the empty chair again and flopped down into it. Pulling her legs in close against the chair, she squeezed the little stuffed thing gently. Oh well, looks like your 'secret' was out if Zac could put 2+2 together. A familiar gleme in her eyes, something that had not been in them since Zac had initially corrupted the female. "Its really impressive."
A pause.
"Oh crap, sorry, did i interrupt again?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:05 pm
He didn’t receive the praise, shrugging it off. Zink hadn’t been there. He didn’t know. If Zinkenite didn’t see it, he had earned his rank. There was enough for him to bring up to know that Zac was valuable. Surviving wasn’t strength. He had gotten by. Strength would have been to do so with some power against those who hurt him, but he had that taken from him.
Eye sharp, he looked up from his lap where the small wolf was being strangled as he looked up at Zac. “They’re not chess pieces. They’re animals.” The tone was spoke with such a intense seriousness as Ladon only wished to clearly point out that the chess pieces that Zac felt he could easily move around were not so easy to be shoved this way and that. They could turn and bite him, those pieces.
Instantly his expression went wide and animated itself from its fixed glaze as he noticed Sabine coming back him, happily declaring his hobby to the world (or the world that consisted of the living room), and held …
“Ahhh.Be careful with Hib. – uh, him. He’s really delicate.” Sabine held Hibbert the Hare, temporary banker of the bedroom and pompous resident of the 2nd shelf, with a gentle touch. Yet, Ladon still worried. It wasn’t like anyone ever saw his collected and if they did, rarely few actually touched them. It worried him to see anything happen to the plushies, but then he was more aware that he was showing that worry in front of everyone. “It was given to me.” He lied, not wanting to make it sound he was more concerned with it just being hurt on the bases of it being a plushie he loved, but more on the fact it had sentimental value instead. That was more normal, right?
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:12 pm
"People often forget what chess pieces are meant to represent..." Zac replied more quietly, there was something deeper in that, something that could have been read as dangerous or knowing, but there was nothing to give it a distinct or graspable meaning beyond its presence.
"Animals at least... they react...they follow their nature, I wouldn't.. give the senshi so much credit. What they did... no, it was pure malice and hate, they can't hide that behind their declarations of love and war..."
He turned to see Sabine and her precious cargo and a sort of knowing smile crept unmasked across his face, smothered seconds later. "Lovely gift, seems old... you've taken good care of it." He said glancing back to Ladon. "Bunnies...of course." He said with a wistful tone in his voice, something not unlike heartbreak that crept in at the edges.
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:23 pm
"Hib? Is His his name? Wonderful name....Were they all gifts, Ladon?" She blinked eyes open, holding the rabbit a little more gentle thank before. The rabbit was mostly just sitting in her lap now. Her question of course was indicated towards the whole huge collection. "Someone must really love you, to have so many different ones!"
Still no clue she was giving away one of the mans secrets. She was not helping at all.
"Im sorry someone hurt you Ladon... we wont let it happen again." Looking for re assurance towards Zac, she made sure she said the right thing.
She took Zacs words with different meaning though. Not understanding at one point, she HELPED those people... Standing up again, she walked over towards the man with the eyepatch, and offered him the stuffed animal. "Hib is adorable, you clearly take care of things you cherish."
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:41 pm
Never in his own apartment did he want to curl under a cushion and just die from mortification. Sabine, while sweet and clearly a lover of plushies, was completely missing the point that he reason the plushies were not all over the apartment was because he didn’t show them off. He would have kept them all in the closet if there was room and if he didn’t feel guilty at locking them up. Sure, they didn’t breath or need sunlight, but there was something that bordered on cruelty to lock up all his stuffed animals in the dark.
Turning to a fast shade of tomato, Ladon covered his face with a hand a moment, wishing for some sort of escape, but knowing that the cat was out of the bag, meowing loudly that ‘Ladon Shepard collected stuffed animals’. And she just KEPT GOING, making it even worse by making it sound as if he had a mountain of the toys in his room. JUST GREAT!
Dragging his hand down away from his face, he looked up at her, looking somewhat between telling her to PLEAS shut up and just whining. “There aren’t ….that many.” Okay, maybe more than 10 was a lot, but it wasn’t THAT bad. “….but thank you. His name is Hibbert.” He had to clarify. Seemed rude to have him be called anything else.
Taking the rabbit gently, he set it down beside the dog on his lap, suddenly feeling as if he was holding the burning evidence that he was a plushie lover right out in the open. To make him more uncomfortable, Sabine’s declaration that she would protect him had him looking down. “That’s alright. I’m a captain. I should be able to take care of myself.” He wasn’t weak………………………..he wasn’t a burden………….and if he was, then it was better he was killed in battle. Like the senshi said, it wasn’t like he was a threat to them anyways.
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 3:51 pm
"...Pandas."
The word hung in the air between them, quite out of place a lesser blush than Ladons own but never the less present crept across Zacs face even as he tried to make it stoic and impassive.
"Pandas, plush Pandas..." a heartbeat of a pause. "I collect them." He offered a small smile and it vanished again before he reached to touch Sabine's arm. "Sabine...she.... specializes in shields... She would like to protect everyone, in turn... in turn we fight to guard her. Don't worry about her offer...alright?"
He glanced back and tilted his head slightly. "When you are feeling better, I'd like to work with her... I hoped you might be willing to help. You're much better than I with actual ranged weapons, would you consider it?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:13 pm
Her smile quickly turned to a frown at Ladons reactions. Eyes turning sad, she quickly took a single step backwards out of the line of fire. She might not be good at picking up clues in the under current... but the look at Ladons face was enough for her to catch on that she did something wrong. "...I messed up again didnt i?"
If Sabine had bunny ears like Hibbert had they would be currently drooping in defeat as she took another step back. "I-i'm sorry i didnt mean to over step my bounds captain......general..." She felt the touch on her shoulder, it made her turn stiff for a moment, before relaxing.
All the while, the corrupted senshi was making a mental note that Zac liked panda's in the back of her head.
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:26 pm
Sabine wasn’t the only one filing pandas away for the future. Ladon was actually surprised that they all seemed to like plush animals, but pandas? He always thought Zac, if he ever dared to think that Zac would like plushies, would be more for a smarter creature like a owl or some predator. The thougth of Zac with a panda was rather cute, though he dared not voice this idea out loud.
Despite Zac trying to be more clear that they had a senshi in their presence, Ladon missed that key point. A shield to him seemed like a strange weapon, but still fit the Negaverse them. Turning, he looked at the now sad girl, and felt guilty for causing her to feel terrible about only being kind. “I’m sorry, Sabine. You didn’t do anything wrong. I just…don’t need more people worrying about me.” Then again, Tanzanite had stressed their unity as a family. “…I would love to patrol and spar with you to get a better handle on your shield. Zac here helped me out when I was getting used to my weapon again. I’d like to return that favor, maybe give you some pointers if you don’t mind.” He was, after all, a captain that had been around with Zinkenite for some time. They all had a long history in the Negaverse, both in battle and just patrolling. “….and you don’t have to call me Captain. Ladon or Wolframite when we’re out in uniform. Tanzanite said we’re family after all.” He tried to remind himself of that. Tried.
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 4:32 pm
"My Lieutenant... Ilmenite...he has a potentially range weapon as well, I think... I think you might be the best to work close with him if it's alright. It is ah... a roll of duct tape but I suggested unrolling a length of it... " He waved a hand and trailed off
"We are rather an family aren't we..." he admitted. "Better I think... better I think than my real family... Sabine, I hope you'll forgive me that, I think they don't deserve to meet you. Let us... let us stick within our Nega family for now. One day, one day the whole world will wake and know us as the marvelous family that we are. They will understand what we are, and everything we have done for them." He nodded his head quietly.
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Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:05 pm
"Theres nothing wrong with people worrying..?" She did not realize how harsh words could be.... but she tried to comfort the boy anyways. As someone whom literally only had four people...friends, a brother, and brothers in arms in the world to her right now, she was starting to feel a wave of protection over them. Ladon and Zac both included... she would do whatever she could to keep them safe. "i would love help."
A small smile started in the corner of her mouth. "Throw your worst at me..." A challenge was in her voice, but it was somehow a little harsher in tone, but just briefly before turning back to the normal happy voice. Sad eyes now gone. "....I mean how else will i learn otherwise right? I might be... new to the family, but heck if i dont want to protect it. Its ok Zac... i understand. They probably dont want to see me as i am now anyways.. i cant remember any of them."
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 3:28 pm
Talking about business, about the Negaverse, and about duties always made him feel better. He was comfortable in this area, and wanted to get back to it, but his insides were turning more and more as he questioned his own abilities. Even the sanctuary of working, even in the safety of the Negaverse Kingdom to train, was a prospect he tried to look at with the same optimism and eagerness as he had before. His efforts however, were failing him. "Yes, I could train them. At the very least, maybe just give the lieutenant some pointers. Better than what I ever got when I started off, and if it keeps another lieutenant safe..." So many lieutenants had died. The unmarked graves or the ones never noticed until the meetings came and you wondered where they went. He was seeing it more and more. The ushering of new officers as a few dotting about the place vanished to never be seen again. If they had just volunteered to go to the Negaverse HQ when summoned, he could just lie that they were lazy or disrespectful. Yet, the summons forced you, and if you didn't show up, you weren't living enough to attend.
"We need to protect the family we still have. In the end, we're stronger than blood. Real blood relatives wouldn't go to this length. People have died for us." And they would die to protect them. Ladon knew, in the end, that he and everyone else with him during the kidnapping would have died with their lips sealed. Those that died placed upon the heavy burden of not letting their lives be in vain by failing in their task. "...but we can't protect our family with the senshi about." They had to die. Each and every last one of them.
He had see so many officers die before him. So many and all of which he was powerless to save. His family. The unknown brothers, sisters, cousins, and nieces he had never met and some he had come to know. It took a lot to step back and just look at the numbers and play through their ends. So much blood. "...I'm tired." He whispered, looking at his lap, making it hard to decide who he was even talking to at all.
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:21 pm
Zac blinked then nodded. He stood and moved to touch a light careful hand to Wolfram's arm.
"Call... if you need anything." He said earnestly. "But get some rest... and never doubt that we have faith in you." He said quietly.
"Things will be better... one day." He nodded and turned to look at his sister with a small Nod. "Are you ready?" He he asked her holding out a hand.
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Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 7:29 pm
"Yes." She said with a nod, taking the hand and letting herself be guided until she stood next to Zac.
"It was nice meeting you Ladon, you get some rest and feel better ok?" If she could, she would bring over some more things as gifts for the man. Something about him made her feel pity, how could the senshi have done this to him. Something so cruel... she was senshi too, so she felt even if she was not involved... she felt obligated to help him feel better. How could she be involved? Torture? Hell no.
Tugging on Zacs hand she started to try and pull them towards the door.
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