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 Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2011 7:12 pm
"It's not bullshit," Chaonis said, pulling back. His tone was more serious than it usually might be. It was strange for him to have something he really believed in, but he did.
fighting, oddly enough, was it.
"This will keep you alive. You want to help people? You learn to help yourself first. You can't do anyone any good if you don't know how to defend yourself. Healing is all fine and good, and you can do a lot of stuff with that, but if you can't take or throw a punch then you're about as useful as a box of bandaids."
He watched her, knowing she had a point. He had never thought he was would be some warrior in a battle against evil. And he still didn't act like he was truly a part of the war. More and more, though, he was caring about the other senshi around him.
He wanted them to be strong. For their own sakes.
As she lunged for him his hand flashed up, catching her arm by the wrist. He stared at her seriously.
"You are supposed to be doing this. All of it. You were chosen, just like me, and you can either b***h and moan and hide from it, or make it work for you. You want to help people? Then do it." He wasn't watching her other fist, caught up in the moment.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 11:17 am
She knew he was right. That's what made it so infuriating. Maybe part of Asclepius had hoped that Chaonis, her friend, would be the one to tell her that Nemesis had been wrong, that she was not useless, that she could help without throwing a punch. Or, as the Eternal Senshi had put it, without getting her hands dirty. The Senshi of Medicine had badly wished that someone she trusted could tell her otherwise.
But no, Chaonis was in full agreement, that she had to learn to fight no matter what, and that's what made it both seem all the more true, and all the more upsetting. By the same token, though, Asclepius was not willing to have to face this friend of hers and have to ask him for help over and over again.
... After all, she had wanted him to meet her up here to prove that she was not just a box of band-aids.
Bright hazel eyes took stock of where Chaonis' hands were, and thought them to be unready and out of place. Was this what "off guard" looked like?
With an indistinct cry of anger at all of it, Asclepius swung her fist at Chaonis.
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Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:59 pm
Though Sailor Chaonis rarely showed it, he valued the people he called his friends. They were very short in supply, after all, and sometimes they were not aware of his giving them the title at all. He knew very well that he was not the easiest person to deal with. Strove for it, most days.
But that was what made finding those few people who would put up with him more important.
When it came down to it, he would be there for Asclepius in whatever manner she needed him. He could whine or hassle her, or in this case infuriate her with his attitude and pompous lecture, but in the end he bore in mind that he was doing what he felt his friend really needed. In his way, without ever daring to make a plan, he was looking out for her.
It just wasn't obvious, or even seemingly noticeable at the moment. Still, there was a breakthrough to be had, for either of them, or both, and he was not going to relent in his efforts yet.
Then she socked him in the face. Hard.
"s**t!" He stumbled backwards, hand flashing up to grip his jaw where she had struck him. If he bruised from this, he was going to be a very grumpy teenager. He released her, stepping away and then glaring at her. The expression turned to a grin, then came a full out laugh.
"Look, you have the skill and the drive to be able to fight and defend yourself. We have these powers because we're not just meant to save people, we have to keep ourselves alive. The Negaverse don't give a s**t if we get killed, and they're happy to kill us. Your strength isn't about hurting other people, it's about making sure you stay alive to help them, right? I mean, yours. Mine is totally about hurting other people."
He charged at her again, but now she had the upper hand. He was on the attack, and she could defend herself against him.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 9:16 pm
Asclepius felt a twinge of guilt at hitting him. For all that she had told herself that one day, she was going to sock Chaonis in the chops for his smartass attitude, actually doing it came as a bit of a surprise. She waited while he spoke, to give him a moment to recover, and nodded. In a real fight, she would not be able to let up like that, but, well, this was just sparring. Maybe not all of the Negaverse she had seen so far was fully intent on killing her on the spot, but the Senshi of Medicine knew she could not give them the chance. Chaonis, on the other hand, might hassle her forever, but not really hurt her.
She felt much better at what he said than at having punched him in the face anyway. Asclepius badly needed the recognition. ********* had helped as well. She just had a different sort of power. The anger faded, and she nearly relaxed, but then Chaonis charged at her again.
He was bigger, and stronger, but Asclepius had heard of things like center of gravity and so forth. So that meant that, at least in theory, she could get herself down low to keep her own balance, and maybe sort of use Chaonis' own weight and power against him to flip him somehow....
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 11:24 pm
When Asclepius moved to defend herself, Chaonis literally ran right into it. Maybe he had let himself get a little more worked up than he should of. Or maybe he was giving her the opportunity to fight him and feel good about winning, without throwing the fight or patronizing her. It depended entirely on what she would choose to believe about him.
Most evidence seemed to favor the former, though, considering who this was and how thoughtful he had so far been. Not very.
Whatever the case, he got too caught up in his charge, couldn't pull out of it or divert himself, and soon enough he found himself being flipped over by a much smaller girl. True, she was a senshi and had the same boosts he did, but he was also super. He would try not to think of the embarrassment, though.
Whether he had meant it or not, or if she believed him or not, he could always just say this had all been part of the plan.
"Okay, okay, I think that's enough," he grunted, still laying on his back on the floor, staring up at her. "Feel better?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2011 9:33 pm
Perhaps had she been more skilled, she might have been able to smack Chaonis a bit more gently down onto the grit of the library roof. She got the job done, alright, but none too carefully. Hands to her mouth, she crouched beside him when he offered his words of surrender, though Asclepius' concern was not so great that it was lost on her that she had been victorious over her friend.
"Yeah, sorry," the Senshi of Medicine replied hurriedly. "Will you be okay? I didn't mean for you to quite go flying like that."
She relaxed after a few seconds, though, and adjusted her skirts to sit comfortably down beside him, then offered a hand to pull him to a sitting position, too, if he liked. "None of this is quite what I wanted, so it's all so weird," she finally conceded, a tiredness settling inside her. He could make fun of her, Asclepius supposed, and she had at least already punched him in the face. "But I still can't let responsibilities like this go. Weird as it is, being one of these senshi from another world.
"How do you deal with it?" Asclepius asked quietly after a pause.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 10:24 am
"Don't apologize," Chaonis grunted, making sure everything was still in working order as he lay on the floor. One of the perks of his sphere, it seemed, was the added padding and strength of body that came with his constant fighting and thrill seeking. He looked at her, then offered her a broad grin.
He looked devious.
Taking her hand, he pulled himself up, purposely throwing off her balance by pulling much harder than necessary. He let her go just as abruptly, a typically playful type of behavior that indicated he was not angry at her in any way.
Not angry. Surprised, maybe, and interested. But these were all private thoughts. He didn't want one of the few friends he had going out there and getting herself hurt or killed. If she had to fight with him to blow of steam and keep her head in the game, he was going to be there to let her do it. It wasn't just about training and giving her overly cocky tips about fighting, which he considered himself the undisputed master of. It was about helping her in whatever fashion she needed him to.
Without letting her know he was caring that much.
"I just accept it. You know? I mean. There are things we just can't change, and this is definitely one of them. So we're super powered aliens. We have strength and magic and a secret identity. Awesome things that I can use, and I have fun exploring. The way I see it, you bog yourself too far under the responsibility you're going to lose sight of anything that's actually important. Staying alive. Fighting for, you know, whatever it is you believe in. All that s**t."
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:51 pm
Asclepius huffed an irritated sigh as she stumbled when he pulled her forward. She should have expected something like that from him. At least she managed to avoid falling, thereby sparing herself that bit of teasing.
The girl turned back to face him and crossed her arms, nodding slowly as she tried not to look too interested in his answer. It was something to think on, though. Of course Chaonis was not liable to being "bogged down with responsibility", as he put it. The responsibility of this whole super-powered alien thing was deeply important to the Senshi of Medicine, but of course compared to staying alive ... there was no question. Maybe she should try to let herself go a little more when things did come to blows, and make sure she paid attention to her instincts. Maybe, to this point, she had been focusing too much on not wanting to fight to really give it the effort and thought it realistically required.
"I'll do my best," she told him finally. "Not to die, I mean." Asclepius looked at him and smiled faintly. "Thank you."
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 11:37 am
Chaonis grinned at her.
"You'll figure it out," he said, with feigned sagely knowledge. He pretended as if he had it all figured it out, but he had his own insecurities. He just refused to let them get to him, and get in the way of what he actually honestly enjoyed doing. The fighting and the saving people, though now he seemed to care more about his fellow senshi than civlians, had an ever growing importance in his life.
He punched her playfully in the arm, then got to his feet and stretched a bit. He was sore, but he felt good, at least. Sparring always helped relieve some tension. Hopefully, at least, Asclepius was feeling a bit better as well.
"No need to get mushy with the thanks and whatever. You're part of my gang, like it or not. You have any trouble you don't think you can deal with, I'll deal with it for you. Got that?" He looked oddly serious, this time offering her his own hand.
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Posted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 8:27 pm
Asclepius thought there nothing sagely about Chaonis anyway, not even if he was cooking, but nodded anyway. Advice from him was advice nonetheless, and if he had not gotten himself killed yet, by some miracle, then he must have been doing something right. Or someone was watching out for him.
She rolled her eyes when he punched her, and returned the gesture. At his words, the brown-haired girl looked a bit surprised for a second, then reluctant, but then she nodded. There was something she had thought of offering him a few times, as well, but had decided against it each time in the past. But ... maybe now was a good time. Asclepius extended her hand to take his.
"Listen, um, if you ever get hurt, like, really badly hurt," she began, hesitating somewhat, but gradually gaining confidence. "Go to the hospital and try to at least get in contact with Marcella Palomo. She's training to be a nurse-" A pause for a deep breath, then a decidedly relieved smile. "That's me. And, I will do whatever I can to make sure you're taken care of. With as few questions as possible, if I can manage.
"Just ... please don't tell anyone else that it's me. That- Sailor Asclepius is Marcella. Please."
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:43 pm
Chaonis looked surprised, blinking. He didn't think he was going to get himself really badly hurt, but he let her go on. Who knew, it might happen on a fluke.
Or a real bad day.
He grinned and, with a quick mental check around him, powered down.
"I'm not training to be anything and I can't really do much but hey. The librarian at Destiny City Central Library is my dad, so I could get you books or something." He grinned broadly at that. He doubted he could, in fact, get books, but at least it was very clear now why they always met at the library.
He didn't have to break in there. He had a key.
Stolen, but hey.
"I won't tell anyone, if you don't tell my dad. Deal?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 3:42 pm
Asclepius gaped at him as he powered down, then laughed. Of all people, Sailor Chaonis was Nate. It made so much sense, but of course the glamor had always prevented her from making the connection. Which meant ....
"Wow, so it's even worse than I thought, that you invited me over to play that video game with the zombies in space," she told him, punching playfully at his shoulder.
Marcella powered down, as well, and, feeling that weird sort of profoundly awkward relief that left her unsure of what to do with her arms, crossed them over her chest. Out of her seifuku, the brown-haired girl was dressed in medical scrubs - she had not bothered to change between coming home from work and henshining up to glare at the sky and then call her friend. She felt better now, at least, in a lot of ways.
"I won't tell anyone, I promise," Marcella assured him.
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:43 pm
Nate grinned at her.
"Where do you think I got the idea for all that fun we had in space?" He laughed. It was true, too. He had fully intended on scaring her simply because he had played Dead Space before going to her planet, and he had not realized how apt it would be.
"That's good. I'll probably tell everyone I run across but, you know, that's just a thing." He ginned. He knew, of course, that he would never tell anyone about her identity, even if she asked him to. It wasn't his place or his job, and he had enough to worry about keeping his own secret safe. He would rather pretend he didn't know, save only when he was actually in her company.
It was the same way he treated most identities of other senshi, though he only knew a handful.
"I guess we should call it quits for tonight. But like I keep saying, any time you want to spar or I guess hang out now give me a call. We're partners in this whole thing, right?" He grinned, cocky as ever, "thought I'm primary share holder, clearly."
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:47 am
Marcella sighed and rolled her eyes, but then nodded; of course he would joke about something like that, but ... in spite of her usual anxieties in trusting Nate (or Chaonis) with anything, she felt deep inside that her secret would be safe with him. Otherwise, why would he have reciprocated in revealing his civilian identity to her?
This would make hanging out with Nate in the future less of an escape, but on the other hand, she felt reassured in knowing that she had an ally who was closer than she had anticipated. Marcella nodded, raising one hand to her mouth to hide a yawn as she extended her other for him to shake to seal their pact of, well, everything now, really.
"Thank you," she said simply, not taking his bait this time. "I'll call you eventually." A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth anyway.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:24 pm
Nate nodded his head and shook her hand over-vigorously, grinning all the while.
"Go chill out then. It's not like I don't know where to find you, or likewise. And if you have any more trouble, or need to punch something again, just call me up."
For a moment he smiled and it was a natural expression. Almost kind, if such a thing could make its way past his usual cocky expressions. It was gone as soon as it appeared, though, and he patted her on the shoulder enthusiastically.
"See you around," he said, powering back up so he could hop away. He was feeling rather good about things, though he wouldn't put thoughts to it. Overthinking wasn't his thing. he barely thought at all, ever, let alone about things like friendships.
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