|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:27 pm
********* was still quite squished. Since she was stuck, she had to lean her head up as best as she could to try to get a look at the situation. It wasn't exactly an easy situation to read. Yet, when it seemed as if Psyche was having a bit of difficulty, the manx attempted to speak up.
"...Psyche... please put your power to rest for now... it is time for all of us to rest..."
She only had a bit of space to move in, but eventually the animal somehow managed to roll herself so she was able to press a paw over the girl's heart. "...close your eyes and clear your mind..."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 10:53 pm
The shuffling of the guardian cat in her arms brought her attention from where Lydia stood to ********* again. She didn't entirely understand what the guardian cat was saying, just pieces here and there. She knew she was talking to her because they had already been over the fact that her name was Psyche, and she knew the word power because she had thoroughly abused it for the year she'd been in Destiny City and finally she understood rest. In between she pieced the words together and when she felt the paw of the cat on her heart the senshi's heart could be felt beating impressively underneath it.
She was scared, and excited, and it was hard to clear those thoughts away but knowing ********* was there was calming to her. More calming than anything else in her very short life as Psyche. It was enough that her eyes closed softly, and her mind found itself on the one thing it understood: *********. Arms wrapped around the soft ball of fur, pressing the feline's belly against her chest. It made her relax, feeling the warmth of the feline from the winter's setting and finally when she opened her eyes again the fuku was gone. What was left of the powered down Psyche was a grey sky in the form of a human, covered rather inappropriately for winter in a simple pair of jeans and a unicorn hoodie.
"Huh?" She spoke softly, gauging the new clothes. Finally, it set in. "HUUUUUUUUUUH?"
It was like the first time powering up for people, except... she was powered down. She didn't have a surge of power, no new trick to experience. What she had was an emptiness in her chest to keep her company where Theodora used to be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 16, 2013 11:01 pm
The girl took the guardian in her arms and gave her a hug. With such a simple gesture, the feline could somewhat sense all of the girl's insecurities. If this girl needed a security blanket, ********* was more than willing to serve as one.
Once the girl's fuku and energy signal had faded, what was left was a girl in an rather interesting hoodie.
"Okay... good... now..." She waved a paw towards the darker haired girl. "This is Lydia... or... her name is Lydia when she is not wearing her fuku... her sailor uniform."
The manx paused and then once more pressed her paw against the girl's chest. "...what name do you go by when you are like this?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 8:19 am
When your security blanket moved and talked, it kind of refined the word secure. However, ********* was still very comforting to the girl despite all that. Her gesture to Lydia was lost because frankly her words were confusing to her, and her face showed it. If the girl wanted to introduce herself, she coul just do it herself in Greek. It was probably one of the first things she had leaned how to say.
Unfortunately, her face didn't get any better when ********* asked her about her name? ********* knew her name, she was the one who told her what her name was. Was this cat actually a goldfish? She smiled a bit, letting go of ********* moment so she could sit in her lap as her hands fell flat against her chest.
"Psyche," she said, using her hands to gesture to herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2013 6:44 pm
The cat blinked her eyes before staring with her eyes wide open at the girl.
"....oh no...."
She paused before her eyes fell down towards her own feet, her voice seeming to crumble slightly as a realization was coming to mind. "Oh no... oh no no no no no...." With the new found freedom by being released from the hug, she stood up on her paws and moved about a bit, almost as if fidgeting. Eventually, she asked Irene.
"...Ask her to see if she has anything in her pockets... a wallet... a-anything... please, Irene..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 8:30 pm
It quickly became clear that Lydia's quick explanation had not been enough. She waited, tense, while ********* tried to talk Psyche through powering down, letting out a breath when it finally worked. Despite the language barrier, Psyche seemed to be responding to ********* more than to anything she said. It made her feel a bit unnecessary, but she pushed that thought away quickly. ********* had called because she was needed. That was what was important. Her own feelings on the matter- and those of the Greek-speaking, cat-hogging girl in the unicorn hoodie- were irrelevant.
Still, there was a part of her that was pleased to be useful again. It was a small part, compared to the feelings of dread creeping up inside her. Why would this girl think she was still Psyche when she had changed back? That couldn't be normal.
"No," she said, making an extra attempt to sound gentle and reassuring. "You were Psyche before, and now you're not. Before- when I came- I was Irene. Now I'm Lydia. Before, you were Psyche. Who are you now?" Lydia listened to ********* request and added quickly "I think ********* wants to see what's in your pockets. Do you have a wallet? Identification?" In a slightly more conspiratorial tone she went on. "It's possible she's just checking to see if you're hiding any food, but anything with your name would be helpful." The joke was a bad one, meant to mask her growing anxiety. It wasn't really working.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:20 pm
Nothing anyone said made any sense to her, and she found herself looking between ********* and Irene suspiciously for a moment. Did ********* lie to her? Was her name not Psyche? She felt as if her whole life was a lie! Of course, she didn't know how true that thought really was. If it was a request from ********* though, she felt compelled to at least take a look. Thankfully, doing so didn't require putting ********* down. She simply held the little loaf in one arm and used the other to search her pockets.
It required standing, but ********* wasn't very heavy. Neither were her pockets for a matter of fact. Unfortunately, as she emptied her pockets, they would discover that there was no identification in her pocket. In fact, the only thing in her pocket was a silver locket with a rose etching engraved into the cover and the broken chain it was obviously previously attached to. It was gift given to her by her grandfather before she'd left the country, and it meant the world to her, but her eyes didn't recognize the meaning anymore. She held it out to *********, was this what she wanted?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2013 9:40 pm
The manx anxiously waited for what the girl would produce from her pockets. Unfortunately, the only thing she could offer was a locket. The cat latched her little paws onto the metallic object when it was dangled in front of her (partially due to natural feline instinct). Once it was in her paws, she turned it over and over in her paws, as if trying to find something that was personalized. People sometimes put names on these sorts of things.
Unfortunately, all she could find was a lovely rose. Oh, how that rose mocked her!
"N-no... why.... why would something like this happen?..." Releasing her hold of the locket, the cat seemed to shrink back, her body trembling within the silvery haired girl's arms. "...she ... she already went through so much... to take away... who she was?!"
Her voice was heart broken, and whoever was the person who said that animals couldn't cry was a liar. ********* might not have been a sea turtle, but thick tears were rolling from the corners of her eyes. She had robbed Psyche of who she was!
"...I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." she whimpered out miserably.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 7:03 am
She didn't understand the words that was coming out of the felines's mouth at this point but when she let go of the locket she simply put it back where she found it. Right now it didn't mean anything, nor did it bring up any questions about why she had it or what it meant but time would change things. Right now her hands fell onto *********, pushing her body into her own. Why was there water falling from her eyes? What was wrong?
"Psyche do?" She asked, brushing away some tears to try and refer back to them. Of course, she probably made it worse. The next words out of ********* lips she understood. She didn't remember why but she had taken delight in making people apologize to her but also it had been a good tactic to get people to think had been apologetic. Right now, even though for once it actually hadn't been her fault, she felt to blame.
"Psyche sorry," she said, brushing a hand over the guardian cat's star and fur. "Lots sorry. No water."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:24 am
It seemed as if her miserable mood was contagious, for soon enough the girl was apologizing to her as if she had done something wrong. No matter how miserable ********* felt, she had no right making the powered-down Psyche feel so bad.
With a huge sniff in, she attempted to rectify this momentary situation. She somewhat successfully banished away her tears, and her maw was soon forced into a subtle smile. Her eyes fell upon the silvery haired girl.
"...No... you have no reason to be sorry... I promise... it isn't you who made me cry..." Her voice was cheery enough, but it did sound forced on her part.
However, the cat needed to find other things to distract her at the moment. And with the captain still unconscious and not seeming ready to wake up anytime soon, it seemed the task had found itself.
"...Lydia... I think we need to move Ellie back to her home... also... if you can think of any names for our friend here... so we have something to call her instead of her senshi name... that would... that would be helpful..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:42 am
It took Irene several moments of watching blankly to understand exactly what had happened. This wasn't a simple matter of a language barrier- not entirely, anyway- and it wasn't simple post-battle confusion. The reason Psyche called herself Psyche, even now, was apparently because it was all she could remember. Whoever else she had been had disappeared when Nickeline had. The girl from Thessaloniki whose mother had died was gone.
Irene was stunned, and saddened, and strangely terrified by this revelation. For a while, she had thought purification was the perfect solution. Nobody would be hurt, and everyone could work together to achieve that end. But if it destroyed the essence of what a person had been, what was the point? Psyche was there, and not being forced to do awful things anymore, but was she still herself?
Her mind flashed back briefly to their earlier encounter. "Psyche," she said slowly, hesitantly, "what does power mean to you?"
Then she looked back at *********, frowning in concern and frustration. "I'm sorry I can't be more help. I'm not sure I can move Ellie by myself, either. I can call a taxi, though, and maybe Psyche can help me move her." The point about deciding another name was important; Lydia realized that calling this normal person Psyche would be a bad idea if anyone unsavory was around.
But what name to choose? Even if it was only a temporary one, Lydia wanted it to be something good, something meaningful. "May I see your locket for a moment? I'll be careful with it." Even if it didn't have any clues about who Psyche was, it might have some insight into who she could be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 6:03 pm
The girl looked at ********* with a blank stare, not quite understanding the English words. Pieces here and there but she didn't understand the meaning or context. Even if she had memories she probably wouldn't have been able to put it together so now it was fairly hopeless. Her brows staunched up she simply patted the cat on the head.
"I carried that girl here," she said rather matter-of-factly. Look how powerful she was.
There, looking to Lydia, her eyes fell to the locket to do a double take before she simply handed it to Lydia without even a second thought. On the other hand she was suspiciously keeping ********* away from the other girl. She would not fall for any tricks that would try to get her to 'share' *********>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:19 pm
That made Lydia smile, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the simplicity of the statement. Psyche knew she had power, and that was enough for her. That simple self-assurance was familiar, and it gave Lydia hope that the person inside of Psyche wasn't totally gone. Even though her history was a blank, something of her essence remained intact.
That settled, she turned her attention to the locket, turning it over in her hands. The name she chose had to have meaning, to tie into what remained of her old life as well as her new one. It had to be Greek, of course. Running her fingers over the engraving on the face of the locket, she decided that something floral might be suitable. But not something common like Rose or something silly like Poppy. Lydia knew almost nothing about horticulture, and her selection of flower names was slim.
Her knowledge of Greek mythos was slightly better, thanks to her father's tutelage. Several flowers were mentioned in myths. There was Narcissus, the vain man who turned into a flower while staring at his own reflection. Hyacinthus and Crocus were both accidentally killed by gods they had befriended, which bore some similarity to the present situation, but didn't feel quite right. And then, she remembered, there was Adonis, who was killed to spite Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love sprinkled nectar over his blood, creating a short-lived flower named for the wind that so easily scattered its petals.
"... ἄνεμος," she said quietly, and then nodded. "Anemone. The Wind-Flower." Lydia looked at *********, then at Psyche, wondering what they thought of her suggestion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:42 pm
It might have been redundant, but ********* mentioned "...She was the one who moved Ellie over here... we were actually over by the slides earlier..." She paused to gesture with her head towards where the slides were in comparison to them now, which was a decent trek to make all by oneself. "I think you will both be able to move her back to her place... Ellie lives nearby, so it isn't going to be too bad..."
The manx was moved about in the silvery-haired girl's arms, but she was still able to keep an eye upon Lydia. And soon enough Lydia had spouted out a rather lovely name. The cat looked up to the girl holding her, thinking over the name.
Anemone
The guardian nodded her head weakly. That name would work. Shifting in the girl's arms, she told her "...when you are not in your senshi outfit, you go by Anemone... right now, you are Anemone. Okay?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 8:41 pm
Her eyes didn't recognize what Lydia was saying about flowers, nor did she understand exactly what ********* was saying about the girl. She did, however, feel a strange sense of accomplishment suddenly. A smile on her face, she almost looked like Nickeline for a moment. Somewhere in there, she still existed. The girl she was may have been forgotten but she was not gone.
Lydia and ********* may have understood that her name as a civilian would be Anemone but Psyche did not. She was confused, her expression changing from confident to kind of unimpressed. She thought her name was Psyche, why were they saying it was something else now.
"Psyche is Anemone? Psyche is Psyche." She said, shaking her head.
"*********," she said, pointing to *********," she said, pointing to Ellie.
"Thief," she said, pointing to Lydia.
"Psyche," she said, referring to herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
