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"Well, powered or not, children are vile," Buddingtonite said, caring little for the little monstrosities despite knowing that he was once one and that his business basically revolved around them. But he wasn't at Sugar Shanty this evening and he had no one to please, as he was certain that he'd never find Alexandre at his store ever again unless he was running errands. And that was acceptable to him. "It would only make sense why the White Moon Court would have them, given their vile nature."

Not that the Negaverse was any better, Buddingtonite was willing to admit. But anyone that enlisted the forces of children in their ranks was not an ally of Buddingtonite, and that was that. There was no way anyone could change his mind, but the change in topic was always one sure way of getting the lieutenant off of his 'I despise children' rant. Benitoite may have been young, but he was wise, and Buddingtonite cared nothing for the age difference between them, as he knew that he could learn much from him. He may have been sipping away at the last bit of his frap, but he was giving the young general his full attention. Only when it felt appropriate did he speak up, and even then, it was apparently that some of his resolve had softened. "Then they shall remain nothing more than oblivious sheep, and we their shepherds from afar. Very well... let them decide when to join in, and hope they make the right choice."

That was his job, to make sure they made the right choice like he had. It felt hopeless for a lot of them, but Buddingtonite was going to try. Eventually they'd have to see the light, even if he had to eventually beat it into them! When Benitoite offered to teach him how to a starseed, his demeanor changed. He straightened up, his crimson eyes widened with glee, and his enthusiasm could not be ignored. "If you are willing to teach me, than I am more than happy to learn! If it means to keep the Senshi's numbers down and if I cannot covert them, than I'd be more than happy to take their starseed from them. Better them dead than against us, right?"

"There's good reason to despise children and if you saw what the little monsters are capable of, you'd hate them too, my friend," said the bitter Buddingtonite in a low, harsh whisper, speaking as though he were experience a Vietnam flashback in his head. He sort of was, except regarding children ruining his merchandise, throwing candy everywhere, touching things with their disgusting little fingers. He outwardly shuddered at the thought, before forcing the notion to the back of his mind. He wasn't here to discuss children with Benitoite! Focus!

He was here to discuss more important matters, and while it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, he admired the general's way with words and his spirit as well. He wanted to think that he himself was fully capable of luring the ones worth saving over to the Negaverse, and if Benitoite felt that it could have been done with words, then who was he to not believe him?

"Well put, General. I will endeavor to do more to make them see the light. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make the damn thing drink." The lieutenant heard the phrase time and time again and it seemed that the older he got, the more true it rang out. He had no idea what Benitoite was thinking, nor how close he had come to gaining an ally, but if he had, Buddingtonite would have been pleased to inform him of a certain Page of Uranus that was ripe for recruiting. He refrained, for now, for reasons he wasn't quite sure about himself... but that was neither here or there.

The offer for Benitoite to teach him to pull a starseed pushed all other thoughts to the back of his mind, and he was practically dancing in place with excitement. Now he'd get the chance to see a pulling in action, and perhaps, if he was lucky, he'd get to hold a starseed of his very own! Oh, he just wanted to sing, but he refrained, and he felt himself practically gliding off the rooftop of the coffee shop in a single bound to get to the red light district. "Let's go! I am eager to learn, mein Lehrer*!"

As giddy as Buddingtonite was, he was still listening and taking mental notes. He had been given a brief mention of the youma but knew little of their origins and function in the Negaverse, besides to be their tools for war. He was told that they were once human, but it was the process that caught his attention the most, and that was what lured him back closer to the general. "How did she do it? Is that how ALL the youma are made, even new ones?"

It was an interesting detail that Buddingtonite felt cheated out on, but there was little anger or fear in his voice or his demeanor. What did he care how a youma came to be? So long as they did their bidding and obeyed him, what was there to care about? They were nothing but tools, and Buddingtonite wanted to make sure that they were all useful to him in some way or another. Getting to know of their origins would help him in that aspect, he thought, which was why he even bothered with the question.

Buddingtonite was practically bouncing at the mere mention of learning how to teleport, but he kept it together as best as he could. Yes, he wanted to learn ALL of the things, and it was great to see a general that was willing to give the eager lieutenant the time of day. "I will come to you when the time is right for that! For now, follow me, to the Red Light district! There is much for me to learn!"

It was quite the information dump that Benitoite tried to smother Buddingtonite with, but he DID ask for details, and details he got! It made the trek to the red light district a little awkward, and while he kept up his appearance as being overjoyed, he was taking the information he was being given very, very seriously. He had been told that youma were once human, but he didn't get it put quite like that, and part of him wanted to feel sympathy for the creatures. He had thought them to be completely lost when it came to their humanity, but if what Benitoite said was true, that there might have been enough left... that changed his opinion on them pretty drastically.

"Well, if they can serve a mean drink, even if its vinegar, than surely there's some humanity left in them," Buddingtonite said, letting the general know that he was following his every word, even if he outwardly didn't appear to be. Instead, he was making a mental note to himself, to avoid such a fate. He rather liked being human and the thought of drinking vinegar actually made his stomach gurgle... though that could have easily have been the frap trying to come back to haunt him. He spoke over the noise, voicing his opinion on the matter and hoping not to anger the general with his words, so he picked them carefully. "We may not be able to save them, but we can certainly make sure it doesn't happen again. Make the senshi and their beloved Queen pay for their crimes, I say."

He didn't have respect for the youma before today- he thought them merely to be tools at their disposal, a means of collecting energy and causing hurt to the enemy. But now? He didn't want to think of himself being wrong, but he wasn't willing to argue with the general. He knew more than he did, and it would have been wise to avoid the issue, for now. He'd save youma talk for another day, and they were drawing close to their destination, making it a great reason for him to try to switch topics. When Benitoite brought up draining energy and pulling starseeds, Buddingtonite answered truthfully, feeling no shame in his answer. "I've never pulled energy before, I'm afraid. I suppose it's like a two step process- once you learn to harvest energy, you can then learn to pull a starseed, am I correct? I am willing to learn that first."

'Just so long as we get to the starseed too!' Buddingtonite thought with a grin. There weren't any signs of victims yet, which meant that Buddingtonite could stand to listen to his teacher with rapt attention. "I know that starseeds are linked with their lives or souls, and that when you pull them, they die. What do we do with starseeds and energy orbs?"

If there was one thing that Buddingtonite was certain about this evening, it was that Benitoite was very passionate about his job, and while it should have struck him hard that one so young was invested in such matters, he found it admirable... and a bit shameful. Not against the general, of course, but towards himself. He was 26 years years old, established a career and a good life for himself. But what was he passionate about? Candy? Liquor? Parading the night clubs and casinos? Sex? All of that seemed so... childish... compared to Benitoite's passion, and it physically shamed him to think of that.

Of course, he could have brought this up, wallowed in self-pity and think that he could never be as valuable to the Negaverse as Benitoite because he lacked that passion. Despite what others thought, Buddingtonite didn't just join the Negaverse to save his own hide (though it was a pretty big factor)- he did care about the war and the struggle. And seeing someone like Benitoite, so young, but so involved, only made him realize that he had chosen the right side after all. He'd be just like Benitoite, some day... maybe tonight, if he was lucky!

Hearing Benitoite talk renewed his vigor to the point that he could almost feel it erupting at the seams, but he kept it together. His attention could not be swayed, as Benitoite explained the process to the eager lieutenant. He subconsciously brought a hand to his chest in remembrance of his own awakening, the pain he felt was raw, invigorating, and he wondered if he was suppose to welcome it, or if that was somehow wrong. He never addressed it with Benitoite, nor anyone, and nor would he if he didn't need to. Last thing he wanted others to think he was crazy...

Though, Benitoite mentioning them DEVOURING starseeds certainly fit that description, and he couldn't help but allow his confusion, and curiosity, to be seen, as he openly asked the general. "How do they taste? And... pray tell, what DOES happen when you consume too much? Is there a quantitative number to that, or is it just an estimate?"

It was around this time that their potential victim had pulled herself away from a nearby lamppost, observing the two oddly dressed men and thinking little of it. Who was she to judge them? They could be returning from a convention, or perhaps they were larpers... either way, they wouldn't be here if they weren't paying customers. She drew close, but Buddingtonite hadn't even noticed her. He was FAR too interested in the whole 'eating starseeds' thing than the beauty that saunter towards them.

"Hm, so, a hard candy shelly with a chewy, bursting with energy center," Buddingtonite said to himself, bringing a finger to his chin in thought and trying to imagine how it would taste. Maybe he wanted to give this one's a taste, but Benitoite's warning, as vague as it may have been, rung loudly in his ears and overwhelmed his curiosity. He wanted a taste, and he wanted to see what would become of someone who ingested too many, but he did not want to become that experiment, and it seemed that he didn't have the time to consider who would as the 'lovely' lady sauntered towards them.

At Benitoite's lead, Buddingtonite's expression changed from curious to lady-killer in a matter of seconds, and he turned to the woman in a slow, confident, and very interested manner, as though he were here for the usual business. As much of a sex addict that he was in his civilian life, there would have been -no way- he'd seek her company, and he tried not to let it show as his dropped his voice to a sensual purr, leaning close to the woman but making sure not to touch her break any boundaries. Yet. He was here for her starseed, not her 'business'.

"Good evening, my lady... I'm sure you're used to this sort of thing by now, so how about we do ourselves a favor and get straight to business," Buddingtonite said, and it was only when she wrapped both arms around his neck and hung off of him when he returned the touch. One arm came to her left side, making sure to avoid that purse, and he motioned towards a nearby ally with a tilt of his head. "You see, one of us here is the 'V' word and the other would like to demonstrate with a professional, just so that he knows what he's getting himself into. I'll even pay for the both of us... would that suit your fancy?"

The woman in question looked from Buddingtonite to the shorter general, immediately thinking she knew what the older one was talking about, and with a sly grin, she gave her answer. "Make it triple and I'll throw in an extra surprise at the end."

From this angle, Benitoite couldn't see the way his eye twitched and his facade faded, but only for a second before he returned to that outwardly pleasing 'business man'. "Very well. Triple. I will even pay you upfront, to show you my gratitude."

It was relatively easy for him to part with his money, especially when he knew he was going to simply pluck it out of her purse once they were done with her. The look she wore would have otherwise made a man seethe, knowing full well that he was being ripped off, but not tonight. There would be some ripping going on, and it wouldn't be that skin-tight dress of hers. He paid the woman and he turned to Benitoite, and he motioned for him to follow them into the nearby alley.

Despite what Benitoite or others may have thought, this was actually Buddingtonite's first time actually hiring a lady for her services. He had seen many resort to it before, seen enough of it in movies to know what to say or what to do. There were times he was desperate for the company of another, but he was never quite that desperate, especially when he had himself. Regardless, by the way he was acting, one could hardly tell, and as far as the lovely lady was concerned, he was just some easy sap, doned in overly formal gear, looking for a good time.

Except the good time he sought could not be found on her lips, her touch, nor in her nether regions. Only her chest, and she noticed his glance and mistook that hungered expression, as she wasted no time in getting started. It would always start with a tender touch from either one, picking off bits and pieces of clothes, then lead into a kiss. Thus far, they had made it to where she had gotten half of her blouse unpinned when Buddingtonite decided that it was time.

It was rare that something else interested him more than sex, and tonight was not her lucky night. He wanted to give in to her swaying hips, her tainted kiss, but he wanted to see her starseed, more than anything else. When he pressed her against the wall, she didn't think to fight- perhaps he merely liked it rough, and she figured she could always raise the rate afterwords if there were any bruises. She'd play along with that. She even played along when one hand gripped one of wrist and pressed it against the wall, and the way he leaned over made it seem like he was going for a kiss. She was prepared for that, but the gloved hand that moved to her partially exposed chest, ignoring the breasts and resting on the sternum. A strange maneuver, but she didn't fight it. Whatever pleased this strange man.

It wasn't until Buddingtonite tightened his grip that she realized that something was wrong, and her pained gasp made him flinch before he tightened it again. He tried to think of how Zinkenite had done it, and while he didn't completely lose his train of thought, he was certain that Benitoite could see his uncharacteristic nervousness as he looked towards the experienced general. "Am I doing this right?"

"Wh-what are you doing?" She asked, not trying to pull herself out of the hold but her wriggling did make Buddingtonite tighten his grip, which in turned caused her to gasp and struggle even harder. "This... isn't part of the package."

Buddingtonite hissed at her, before looking to the general again. "Silence! Am I doing this right?"