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 Posted: Thu May 26, 2011 10:26 pm
Zia nodded and shrugged if off as she focused on spooning pancake batter onto the stovetop pan. Honestly, she was starting to wonder if she was crazy anyway. Anymore, Zirconia's emotions bled into hers and vice-versa. Their memories were thought of collectively as the others' as much as their own... unless they were having a volatile disagreement it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began outside of their differing approach to dealing with people. One Chris seemed to have suddenly conjured up.
"I am not a parasite," She snapped, slamming the mixing spoon handle onto the counter with a tightly clenched fist around it. She stopped paying attention to the cooking to drop everything and get in Chris's face, carrying herself with a lot more authority and looking entirely irate.
"Listen... you... whatever you are," She said with a hand gesture vaguely aimed at his chest where she knew the mutant starseed sat. "You two can ramble about mythology and history and souls later, the important thing is that you're a soldier in this war, where real people are dying. And my soul and where it comes from is none of your business." That last part seemed a little more aimed at Zia, though, who seemed all to comfortable with offering up the entirety of the Black Moon's existence as chitchat.
"Are you going to start doing your job or not? That's the only thing that really matters here. Stopping the Negaverse from completely engulfing your whole pathetic version of Earth," She huffed, hands on her hips. It was almost like it was painful watching Zia try to walk him through trivial and unnecessary information and hold his hand when the fact that they were at war was pussyfooted around and dodged.
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 6:53 pm
He couldn't help but blink in surprise when Zia's entire demeanor changed, but the surprise didn't last long and his eyebrows furrowed defensively. Annabel had even started barking at the shouts and had scampered over to investigate, yipping between Chris and Zia, clearly not liking the tension that suddenly fell over the room.
"What are you, then? You're a second soul in Zee's body, right? Using her body, I might add. How is that not parasitic behavior??" Chris snapped back, not really all that thrilled to have his best friend being controlled by a pissy cat. He didn't know what she was or who she was, and frankly, he didn't really give a damn. He just wanted to make sure Zia wasn't being taken advantage of.
"I'm a Knight," he said, a lot more confidently than the first time he said it out loud, his sense of identity seemingly becoming stronger when it was questioned. "I'm Valhalla Page of Jupiter," his subconscious thoughts slipping out before he even had a chance to process what he was saying. The realization of himself saying something he hadn't consciously thought before had him pausing, his temper simmering down for a few moments as he tried to work out how that was possible. Was he a Knight or a Page? He knew he was both... but how did that work...?
Either way, his thoughts were quickly interrupted again as the parasite continued to yap in his face, and all it took was for him to stand from where he was sitting at the counter to force her to look up at him. He hadn't checked his height in a while, but with how he needed to get the hem in his dress suits let out for his legs and arms, he had to be six feet tall by now, if not a little over. It helped that she wasn't in heels, giving him a solid four inches over her. He didn't touch her, but he did glower down at her.
"What's my job, then?? If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of new at this! I'd never seen a monster until last night!" he pointed out. "And if I'm a soldier in a war, you're going to throw me out on the battle field without any background information?? Was that how the Black Moon did it? Not train the people fighting for you? I hoped everyone who died had at least been trained! Or are you just desperate for fresh blood and throwing in whoever you can get without even knowing what they are or whose side they're on??"
Okay, so he probably should have said that a little nicer, or even avoided the topic completely, but when someone was yelling in his face, he couldn't exactly help but snap back. Especially when he hadn't done anything to deserve the b***h fit.
"And just so you know?" he decided to add, probably digging himself a bigger hole, "If you're expecting me to kill these Negaverse people in this war, then you're barking up the wrong tree."
Did he have any idea what the war was about? Not really... but the more she yelled at him to fight, the more he was going to dig his heels in and refuse. Talk about a horrible way of motivation. Jeez...
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Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 8:11 pm
Zirconia resisted the urge to just be petty and hiss at him, only resisting because it occurred to her it'd look pretty silly when she was here on two legs.
"She let me in," She defended before she could mentally stamp her foot and remind herself she wasn't the one who needed to be doing any defending. Before she could change the subject, she had to pause and cringe, giving Annabel a dirty look. Stupid dogs. She was hoping using Zia's body would keep the animal off her back, but she annoyingly underestimated a dog's ability to sense when things weren't right.
She turned her volatile glare back to Chris. "On the Black Moon, no one is lost. We are raised to know our history, and seize our destinies. You and your White Moon and your White Earth forget your history. You allow Chaos and evil to build up armies of darkness while you spew false dichotomies about killers and lives. You're all pathetic," She practically spat up at him.
"I know what side you 'should' be on. You're uncorrupted, therefore you should fight against it, obviously. The Negaverse will continue to spread their poison, killing left and right, using up lives to keep themselves strong. They'll never stop," She snarled, grabbing the collar of his t-shirt and twisting it in her fist. She would not be talked down to by this pathetic Earth baby barely finishing puberty.
"They are the negaverse, and they don't play nice. You can either learn to fight or sit by and continue to be a helpless human, or you can try to fight without killing and just get your stupid a** executed for rising up. Then you'll have no excuse when you become a nameless victim and they decide to come after your loved ones next. Hm, do you think Peter's done enough living? Because last I heard about a dozen students at his school ended up as fuel." Okay, Zirconia didn't have direct confirmation that was definitely the negaverse's doing, or even that it was starseed harvesting, but it was a definite assumption when she heard about the attack on the news. "The most important thing you need to know is that you will kill eventually, or you'll die. Or worse, you'll get to live while everyone around you suffers until they're obliterated. There's no afterlife for destroyed souls, Christopher."
This was when she let him go and backed off. She didn't bother touching on the being a knight or Valhalla or Jupiter (Was Jupiter a senshi? According to Zia it was a planet... so maybe... It was like knowing you knew a senshi but couldn't place a name.). Instead it was just silent glaring as she tried to organize her thoughts that her temper sent into overdrive and Zia's protests eking into her mental process, especially after Zirconia had rifled through her memories looking for personal things she could use to attack Chris on a more personal level. Zirconia wanted to scream at him some more, even smack him around a little, hoping she could beat her opinions into him.
It came down to another inner stand off. One she didn't have the urge to weather through after Operation Rota put their inner dynamic at dangerous odds. Instead the question turned to how quickly she could hit him before Zia's mind washed over and seized control, With Zee vehemently unhappy with the way Zirconia was treating her friend.
She didn't even make contact. It would've been a swift smack aimed at his jaw but instead only the very beginnings of the motion were made before Zia snapped her hand back in an ungraceful, flailing abort and knocked over the bowl of pancake batter with a squeal of surprise. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry," She muttered quietly, and not exactly for the mess. Her face flushed as she kept her head down and grabbed a rag to clean up with, thoroughly humiliated.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 6:25 am
Chris glared at the young woman who was very clearly not his childhood friend, his temper rising with each dumb little comment she made. Grabbing on to his shirt? Really??
"How are we pathetic when you're stuck here??" he shot back, unable to restrain himself when he was being called names. She released him and his eyes widened for a split second as her hand raised, but he didn't move — neither to dodge nor restrain her. If she wanted to be the violent one, then that was fine. It just proved his point that he didn't have to fight if he didn't want to. Not that he'd actually made it clear that he was going to make a point, but in his mind it worked. Of course, when he realized that Zia had come back to herself, he quickly knelt down next to her on the floor, grabbing the roll of paper towels from the counter to help her.
"It's fine," he told her, his anger simmering down only enough to at least talk to his friend civilly, but he was still pretty pissed about how he was being spoken to by her... other half? What the hell was up with that??
"Zia, this isn't good for you," he said, pausing in wiping up the mess to try and look her in the eye, as well as gently push Annabel away from trying to lick up what was still on the floor, "How often does she control you? How much sleep have you lost, already?? And how long has this been going on??" he asked, wanting answers, but also not wanting to back her into a corner. She was still Zia, right...? Even with this whole... business with the talking, parasitic cat.
"You know I don't understand half the things she was saying. I've never heard of the Negaverse or whatever the hell it's called... I only just saw a monster and only just found out that there really are people running around in strange outfits... and obviously I'm new to the fact that I'm one of them... apparently..." he trailed off, taking the clump of paper towels he'd been using and tossing them in the trash can in a cabinet under the counter. It was a little difficult to get his mind wrapped around everything, especially when he was being yelled at by not his best friend, but by the soul that apparently shared her body.
"I'm not going to start killing anyone. Why the hell should I be fighting this war, anyway?? It has nothing to do with me. And you shouldn't be doing it either, Zee," he said, watching her as his tone turned slightly authoritative. "Has she made you fight and kill?? Zee, you're going to get hurt... or worse..." She'd mentioned his younger brother, and as much of a brat the kid was, he'd really rather him not get hurt, but that didn't mean they should throw away everything they had been taught or how they'd been raised to do something they didn't believe in.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:37 am
"She doesn't control me," Zee shot back defensively, but it came out more like someone who was in trouble trying to deny some past transgression. The fact was, she was the host, she should have the reins in hand, but she found herself submitting to open the floodgates with embarrassing frequency and they were often hard to close.
She just let the questions come and for the most part looked like she might not answer them as she focused on cleaning up the mess, and then spazzing a little to turn off the stove top when she smelled that ignored pancake batter already burning.
A long sigh escaped, and inner wrestling that would've occurred even without another actual entity to blame it on all silently went on until and flopped back to sit on the floor with her back to the counter, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging them close. "Personally, I don't think you should fight at all," She stated. "Before you couldn't know but now you do so just... never transform again, grab your family and get the hell out of Destiny City."
There was a slight twinge that escaped from her facial expression that showed Zirconia would still be screaming about soldiers and war if Zia was not the one maintaining her claim on this body.
"I've been fighting monsters since... August? When the coma epidemic ended. And Chris, so many people have died already."
Why?! Why is he exempt from his birthright when everyone else dies for it?!
Denial took care of that one. Chris was special, he didn't really need to bother with this. One soldier does not tip the tides of war.
Special? More special than Rota? The Dread sisters? Aphrodite? Nehelenia?
That one was more cringe inducing.
"It's easier to just quit when you aren't responsible for other people," She defended. "People I love are out there trying to keep civilian deaths down, I can at least show up and try to keep from losing anymore of them," This one was harder. Zirconia's feelings were seeping into her own. There was only so much until she couldn't deny she felt like she was the one who watched Ares grow up from chibi senshi to full on warrior and feel a tinge of pride, excitement, and a very intense, familial love. But on this, she wouldn't budge. She didn't want Chris to become a corpse on the battlefield, not for any cause for any reason.
She was searching her brain for more defensive shields to raise up and make it seem better than it was, or at least not as black and white as Zirconia came across, while she attempted to will Annabel closer to her and eventually reached out to pull the fluffy creature close for comfort. Her shoulders just raised a little and she suddenly looked incredibly fatigued by the entire thing and her fingers combed through the spitz's hair. "It's more complicated then it seems."
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 2:46 pm
Christopher let out a small sigh when Zee got defensive with him, pausing in what he was doing to make sure she knew that he didn't mean to attack her or anything like that. He hadn't meant to insult her or anything like that. He was just... trying to understand something that was very confusing and new to him at the moment.
He frowned as he listened to her, making sure the rest of the pancake mix was all cleaned up, before sitting on the floor of the kitchen with her for a few moments, before sliding over to sit beside her, back against the counter as well.
"August?" he nearly choked, though he hoped it wasn't too forced with the way he kept his voice down at a normal level. She had been fighting since August? And he had no idea?? A sudden swelling of guilt grew inside him, feeling as though he should have known. He should have kept in contact with her more. Regardless of him living across the city from their neighborhood, he could have at least stopped by to see her when he was home every so often.
"Let's leave, then," he said, completely serious. "I'll go if you go, Zee," he told her, watching the expression on her face, already knowing her answer, especially since she seemed pretty locked into everything.
"I can't leave," he said, saving her the trouble of arguing, "Not when I know you're here. If I'm like this, then... I'm not leaving without knowing you're safe, too." He paused, leaning closer to gently bump his shoulder against hers. "What? You think I'm going to just up and leave...?" he asked with a small, sad smile. "Demon cat or not, you're still my Zee."
As a long time friend of his, he thought it was pretty obvious that he felt responsible for her and her well being, so... even if he refused to kill anyone, he could still at least make sure his best friend was safe, right...? It was the least he could do with... this... PETA unapproved outfit of his... Fur? Seriously??
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Posted: Sun Jun 05, 2011 5:26 pm
Zee felt an odd compulsion to argue, about how she had a protective network of senshi and he didn't. How she didn't even know what his role was besides the infuriatingly non-specific 'not-corrupted' side.
Instead she just kind of let her head sink to the side on his shoulder. There was plenty of guilt to go around, over some pact of secrecy she had probably violated in spilling her guts, over Chris suddenly being a powered individual with the same weight of responsibility on his shoulders. But it was really nothing compared to the sudden relief of having told him. All the lying, and the changes, and no one noticing how distant she'd been had become incredibly isolating to the point she was starting to feel like submitting to Zirconia and allowing herself to be swallowed up by the BMC was her only option.
But Chris knew now, or at least knew enough to serve as a tether or a reminder that it was still worth not giving up on being Zee.
After a silent moment with a lot more thinking, she snaked an arm under his and ended up sinking into an awkward hug against the side of his chest. "You realize if you get yourself killed, I'll patiently wait for your reincarnation just for the sake of kicking him, right?" She threatened with the utmost seriousness.
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Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:45 am
He smiled softly as he let her hug him, his own arm wrapping around her back, idly playing with one of the long ringlets. "I'm not going to get myself killed, but you've got yourself a deal," Chris agreed. Although he didn't want to think of anyone dying, it seemed as though she was just... doing what she could with what she had.
No, he didn't understand it, nor did he expect to understand it, but if it made her feel a bit more in control of things then... sure. Why not?
He pushed the questions he had about reincarnation, her being a cat, and him being a strangely dressed person with a mythological name aside for the time being. "Why don't you go and jump in the shower?" he asked, giving her hair a little pet of encouragement. "I'll go out and get some food to bring back," he offered, knowing that would probably be better than either of them trying to cook. "If you've got nothing better to do today, we could hang out and watch movies or something...?"
Besides, what else could they do besides just... try and figure out 'what next'? He certainly didn't feel like trying to figure it out on his own. Even if they didn't talk about all the strange stuff going on, he knew it would help to just have the company. Sitting around and just resting... that sounded like a good idea to him, at least.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 11:55 pm
Zia puffed her cheeks out and nodded. Movies sounded nice. So did just hanging around in pajamas and talking over them and generally doing nothing.
Sitting up straight again, she reached out for Annabel, a habit whenever she wasn't quite sure how to intelligently articulate. Dogs were so much easier than humans, at least in her mind, and she was usually so much more comfortable with them, that she had a habit of grabbing the nearest animal for support at random points in any conversation.
"Yeah..." She said, finally, heaving a long sigh that felt like the huge pressure release that had happened without her realizing when she vomited all that crazy on him.
And then she perked up a little. All the Connolly family drama had trained her to become excellent at completely ignoring any unpleasantness or elephants in the room. "I have things to pester you about," She announced. "I haven't prodded you about your love life in literal months," She proclaimed, getting up to her feet. She grabbed the pan with burned remnants of pancake stuck to it and started scraping it off with the spatula, intending to go shower and maybe mirrorwalk some eyeliner from home. Chris might've been the only human being to not see her with her 'face' painted on in the last decade, but that didn't mean she was totally okay with frumping around his house.
"So, be prepared," She said, teasingly ominous as she waved the spatula in his direction.
It was a rough start, but it at least had the potential to be a good day.
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