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 Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 1:30 am
[Solo]Little Village Bang Bang
Word Count: 2589
Key:Lexi
It wasn't that Lexi hated school it was more that she couldn't abide the time it took out of her other activities. How was she to polish her gymnastics? How was she to update her blog on Circus Songs of the 90's? It could drive a person to madness and it was doing just that. It was a beautiful spring morning in Destiny City, the birds were tweeting, the sun was gently warming the grass and Lexi had the foresight to forget she had 3 projects to finish and a diorama to start to instead spend it stretched out on the grass. It was recess, the Meadow High students were taking the opportunity to catch up with friends the risk takers hiding behind the bike shed to smoke while those that wouldn't even humor the idea spent the time getting ready for the next class. Pulling her legs up (her modesty protected by the gym shorts she wore) the teal hair youngster sighed happily, her mind humming along to the circus tunes she had blasting in her ears. It was an especially epic one, the final act of the D'lamour Sisters, an acrobatic family made up of 4 siblings twirling in the air by their limbs, hair and any other item they could tie on to the steal structure hanging 60ft in the air. It was beautiful piece made up of dashing violins and drums as they twisted and turned in the sky, just hearing it brought back the memories of the 300 times she had watched them in both real life and on You Tube. It was an obsession what could she say? Her friend Amanda on the other hand had plenty to say about it.
"You know I can hear that stupid song from over here Lee, its so annoying! Why cant you be into Dup-Step like everyone else you big weirdo." She hissed snapping at the wiring of Lexi's headphones until they fell out, her blonde hair catching the sunlight in waves as she moved.
"It sounds like utter garbage, you should hear the new Count CeCe's album, How to Stop a Rainbow - it is amazing!" Pulling her own iPod from her pocket she leaned over Lexi until her hair tickled her face, the student grinning as she brushed the stray strands away. Lexi knew Amanda was only joking, yet it didnt stop the nugget of annoyance to settle in her stomach. She knew, by the name calling she got, she was a circus obsessed freak but she didn't care about them. She care about it when her best, if only friend commented on it as well.
"You loved that act though! When Tiana fell you screamed until Violet caught her! You jumped out of your skin don't lie....and this, this sounds like poop, "catch it with you heart wide open?" Seriously Amanda, you are such a pre-teen!" Rolling her eyes Lexi mocked superiority as the blonde girl squealed in rage and playful hit her arm. Laughing she pushed her back her eyes growing wide in amusement as Amanda dove at her, tackling her to the ground and almost resorting to sitting upon her to stop her wiggling out of the way.
"Dont you dare ha ha! You b***h! Ha ha - nooo!"
As she managed to roll out from under her shrieking friend it struck the budding gymnastic how happy she could be with someone else. Usually too shy for her own good and when she did speak it was usually to correct others (she couldn't help it, they were doing it wrong!) she had never made that many friends and when she did she well, grew sort of obsessive over them too. Her parents thanked god she had never tried anything addictive yet and the teen wouldn't dare let herself just in case she got hooked forever. Yet Amanda though was...different. She had seen Lexi's almost OCD tendencies, her blatant disregard for others feelings when she was telling them about her own accomplishments (even if Lexi just wanted others to know about them it usually ended up with her telling them how they could improve themselves to be like her). Yet the girl had never left her side, had always been her friend and that..it meant so much. So yes, to have Amanda, even this annoying side of her who hated the music she played, she wouldn’t give it up for the world.
“Your so uncouth!” Amanda tutted in a fake British accent as she popped the ear piece back in and began to gently rock her head. “There are names for people like you, uncivilized. You wouldn’t know good music if Mr Farthing smacked you across the head with it…actually, you would like that wouldn’t you, you dirty girl!”
Shocked Lexi tried to hide her blushing behind an outraged laugh as she cringed inwardly. One mention of the delectable Mr Farthing, or Jonathan as she liked to call him (secretly), sent her into a fit of unstoppable hormone induced bashfulness. “Shhs!! People will hear you! Shut up! Shut up!” Sitting up she jumped across to cover Amanda’s mouth with her hand as the girl started to make kissing sounds, loud kissing sounds, the two of them falling into fits of laughter as they play fought on the grass.
“Hahaha you LOVE hi–mphh! Haha! Get off-mPPMPH! Haha!” The bell rang out as they rolled over the grass, cat calls and insult flung their way as other students walked past grinning or scowling at their antics. Lexi was know for being the weird one, the one without any friends and Amanda sadly had been swept up in the torrent of abuse as well. Yet the younger blond girl never seemed to mind and as the final rings of the bell ended she had ignored every word shouted towards them.
"Haha, come on you, we have…uhh social studies next. Mrs Tee-Bee is going to kill me for not getting that permission slip again, did you get yours?”
Pushing herself up Lexi brushed off the mud and grass that has caught on her skirt, her hair fuzzy at the sides where she had brushed up against the ground in the tassel. Smiling she studied her friend as they began walking towards the building with the remaining few stragglers that walked sulkily towards the door.
Amanda only came in at 4ft 11, a mere 3 inches smaller than Lexi but enough for the girl to have terrible envy over anyone with more height than her. But what she didn’t make up in inches she gained in width. She wasn’t fat (although other students would beg to differ) but she was far plumper than the standard 17 year old and boasted large hips, waist and bust (that particular one making her slightly more popular though). Lexi peered down at her own chest and saw nothing but flat landscape. She wasn’t envious about not having the figure Amanda had, she wouldn’t be able to do gymnastics for a start and bigger boobs would have thrown her off balance. Yet still, it would have been nice to be a little more endowed like her friend. When boys weren’t calling Amanda fat they were staring at her with their stupid lustful faces. Amanda had to reminded Lexi on numerous occasions when she had felt the need to tell them to stop staring was that they wouldn’t know what to do with her if they even got the chance. Lexi had always though that Amanda wouldn’t know what to do either.
Catching up Lexi waved her own permission slip, her finger nails painted bright green by her talented friend. Of course, I wouldn’t miss this trip for the world but I need you to be there too! If you just let me plan your morning routine you would never forget something like this! Do I forget anything? Nope. You know why? My perfect schedule! Com’on Mandy, let us just try it for a week, you would be a better person for it I promise!”
The bigger girls hand barely missed Lexi’s arm by a hairs breath as she turned on her with another rendition of offense.“You cow! Haha my morning schedule is already perfect! Pancakes and bacon mmmmh am drooling just thinking about it!”
Shaking her head Lexi watched as Amanda open the door to Social Studies, her blond almost platinum hair shining in the light. The boys didn’t look just because she was well gifted in the chest area, Mandy was also beautiful too. Now that was something she did envy. Lexi didn’t think she was bad looking per say she could put on make up with the best of them but Amanda had nature beauty where Lexi, if left uncovered by max factor was just plain…plain! Pushing the nagging thought aside she followed her in sweeping past the groups of students yet to find their seat. Being unpopular had both girls sitting near the front with the other “undesirables” and who Lexi would claim as the only other few friends she had on this planet. Viktor was the class exchange student and while his accent and mystery held him in awe at the beginning of the term that allure was quickly washed away when he learned enough English to let people know he was indeed a massive geeky nerd. Kyle on the other hand just had the sad luck of neither being an Adonis, smart, sporty or any extreme of anything. He was normal and sadly that seemed to class him down low on the food chain. Amanda had already taken her seat behind the two boys and was talking fake excuses with Kyle to tell Mrs Taylor about her absent permission slip while Viktor continued to draw Borg signs over his hands. They made no acknowledgment of Lexi but she didn’t mind, she could sit and get her things ready before class started. Or she would have done if it wasn't for a doodled fill arm landing in front of her.
“So you’ve heard, yes?” Viktor's eyes squinted as he spoke with a heavy Ukraine accent, his words so thick that you had to listen carefully to understand everything he said. Shaking her head Lexi pulled out her note pad and study book her eyebrows raised in query. With a huff (because obviously she should have known) Viktor pointed to her desk, stabbing it with his digit as he explained.
“The bombing! The building, she exploded this morning! The newspaper say it was a gas leak but nooo, I blog that it is not! It is those terrorists yes!” The boy almost shouted as excitement crippled him, not that Lexi could work out why on earth anyone would be excited about that.
“Really? Where? Was any one hurt?” The standard questions that follow such a statement but Viktor was already shaking his head as if she had said the wrong thing.
“Mini point, the explosion it had a…how you say small…space effect?”
“You mean area? Radius?”
“Yes, radius, too small for gas damage it was…re-stric-tid. Small. Focused. Gas explosion would have hit building next door yes? Terrorists.” The last word was said with such assurance that it felt like Lexi shouldn’t deny his theory. He obviously believed it was true but he also believed aliens were watching them too.
“It might have been a small gas leak, they don’t all have to be big explosions. Was anyone hurt though?”
It was Kyle's turn to speak up as Viktor rolled his eyes at her question and turned back to his drawing. It wasn’t surprising he had lost his popularity soon after he started speaking the language. He wasn’t exactly the caring type. “No, well, not that they can find. One of the walls had been blasted off the old baker’s shop in the Village Square and the whole building is apparently on the verge of collapsing. Somebody said they heard fighting and saw a green blast last night but it was probably a firework going off, and that building is so old if you sneezed near the glass would shatter.”
The answer didn’t seem to please Viktor and a torrent of foreign words where muttered as he went on to start drawing Jedi instead. Kyle opened his mouth to say something back when the teacher arrived. A lady in her late 50’s with shocking white hair and a temperament to match. The erratic Mrs Taylor-Brown
“Quiet class! Quiet! You can thank Mr Michael Corry for the late start, he thought it would be funny to try and scale the wall surrounding the science department and got himself stuck on the sewage pipes. For that little endeavor of his you call all stay an extra 10 minutes after class and such will effect you next class as well.” Forty voices of protest went up at the realization that at the end of the day they would have to stay later, such was the school rules. “Quiet! If you continue I will make it 20 minutes! Now books out, pg 236, Jenny read the third paragraph out loud please and then discuss.”
Lexi listened with half an ear as Jenny stumbled under the pressured glare of the teacher, she didn’t worry that she was missing out on anything important as she had studied the pages last night and then again on the bus that morning. Instead her thoughts drifted to what Viktor had said. It wasn’t uncommon in a large city to have fires and explosions - well it wasn't normal either but Destiny City was the exemption to that rule. Rather than get better with time these accidents seem to be happening almost weekly now and people spoke of random fights and rouge gangs increasing to an alarming extent. Lexi had grown up in Destiny City, she knew the city could be cruel when it wanted but if anything it just seemed to be getting worse and now an incident in the Village Square? It wouldn’t have matter so much if she didn't know that 50 meters away sat her mum & dad's business. They both ran a successful Romanian restaurant in an area known for its quaint buildings which was something of a specialty within Destiny City a metropolis of modern buildings. The Village was just how it sounded, a array of older buildings kept together though council grants allowing people to set up shop. There were no residential areas but it was nice to walk though with old cobbled roads and a lichen covered fountain in pride of place in the middle. It was at its heart idyllic.
And now there had been an explosion.
Her stomach twisted uneasily, if that explosion had been just a little bigger, a little closer. Her parents wouldn't have had a place of work to go too and god forbid if it had been later in the day when they were actually there. Closing her eyes she shook her head as Jenny finished her sentence and the teacher began berating the class over the lack of substantial theories to support this new information. It was all a blur as Lexi thought on it more. What had happened? Who did it? And if this was the state of things when was it going to happen again.
A cold uncertainty settled in along her twisting stomach as she knew the answer because in destiny city, it was always a matter of when not if. .
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Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2014 9:38 am
SOLONight Time Texting
Word Count: 2139
Twirling the bronze medallion through her fingers Lexi watched as her reflection flashed back at her in the metal before twisting away. She moved her hands and fingers over the trophy studying the gymnastic piece that was rewarded for 5th prize and had been the bane of her 2003 sporting career. It had subsequently been the year she had sworn never to let a moment’s laziness enter her schedule again, that she would strive for perfection in everything she did and never say she hadn't tried. Sure there were plenty of other bronze medals sitting on her shelf but now the gold had started to outweigh the silver as the silver had once started to outweigh the bronze. She may not win all the time but she gave her best in every act and right now sitting and staring at them all above her she couldn’t have been more proud of herself for accomplishing her goal. It was moments like this that she sat and stared at her medals, reading the inscriptions and then polishing the hell out of them until they shined. Her dad had built the shelf himself, extending it when she began entering more competitions and her wall, the places that weren’t covered in circus posters, held certificates and awards.
This was a nightly ritual for Lexi, though she didn’t dare tell her best friend Amanda what she did. She already thought Lexi was a show off and perfectionist but to know that Lexi sat and appreciate every single medal and win before she went to bed was just...well it was sort of creepy. Lexi couldn’t help but feel honoured and inspired. She had done so well, worked so hard, was it truly that bad to be happy for yourself? If other people realised the joy of seeing something accomplished they too would feel like she did, immensely proud, satisfied and happy. Sadly no one had taken her up on this advice yet but she didn't mind, she would help them in more subtle ways like she did already. Like re-doing their calender on their cell phone or setting an alarm an hour before then needed to get up so they could get a head start on the day. She was sure even Amanda could appreciate that.
As her mind whirled over her friends reaction at being woken up at 6am tomorrow her phone buzzed across her desk in quick spasms, her heart jumping slightly as she was snatched out from her thoughts. Leaning over she brushed back her damp hair, the light teal tressles curling slightly around her face as she read the text message flashing up on screen. Victor's name came up in bold lettering along with his simple and short to the point message.
She knew what it was going to be about even before she put her phone down. Without texting him back she begrudgingly satisfied his order and flipped on her very bulky TV, the static slowly running up and down the screen before it buzzed into life. One thing for boasting about her own accomplishments was that she didn’t have to think upon her family's lack off and the old TV was a reminder if that fact. Her parents ran their own restaurant but they lived hand to mouth, pay check to pay check and if the business was slow they all felt the pinch. So when Lexi had asked for her own TV for her room her father had obliged willingly by finding and fixing her grandma's old 1946 black and white TV. It wasn’t much and it showed static lines more than images but she had been happy just to have one like everybody else.
Flicking though the channels using the TV buttons she waited for the picture to load before a static black and white image appeared on the screen, the unmistakable outline of a reporter standing in front of what seemed to be a blazing building. The grey coloured words running across the bottom told the straight forward facts - 6 dead, 19 injured, terrorist cell attack, ambulance crews unable to reach injured due to the blaze, fire brigade pushed to their limit. The words repeated again and again as the reported tried to shout over the roaring fire, her hair dancing in the wind against the burning backdrop. It took a moment for Lexi to register what was happening before her mind took on what she was seeing. It was the old cinema in downtown Destiny City, a true 1920's architectural masterpiece. And it was burning. Her palms became sweaty as if they were reacting to the heat of the blaze, her heartbeat hammered in her mouth as she thought to say or think something. Anything. The cinema was burning and people were getting hurt, killed even. It was horrifying. Feeling the phone in her hand she looked at the tiny black screen and stared at the message, anything to stop looking at her TV for just a second. She had no idea why she did what Victor told her to do, she knew it was going to be something awful like a car accident or a politician being accused of something but not this, she didn’t want to see this. Reaching forward she pushed the off button as quickly as she could, the TV snapping off with a loud static sizzle. But the fire was still burning in her mind’s eye, the men covering in soot and ash trying to get closer with the water hose, the screaming people that the reporter had tried so hard to get in the shot before being moved away by police. It remained all behind her eyelids.
Dropping to the floor Lexi pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped both arms around them, her hand still held the phone so that she could text Victor back - not that she wanted too, but if she didn’t respond he would just text her all night again - he had done it before and she had no illusions that he wouldn’t do it again. With a huff she pushed her thumb across the buttons and replied.
Quote: Just saw, it’s horrible, all those poor people. Why did you want me to see?
Sighing out loud she rested her head on her knees until the unmistakable ping alerted her to Victors answer, her heart still hammering as she flinched at what he might have responded with. If she wasn't currently the biggest loser in school she might have had the confidence to tell Victor where to stick his creepy obsessive fan stories about death and destruction but right now...well she didn’t have a choice. It was him or sit on her own for 9 out of 10 classes while bring bullied by everyone sat around her. At least with Victor he scared away all but the most diehard bullies in school so right now he was an essential inconvenience.
Pulling her head up slowly she scanned the reply, grimacing as she put her phone back down and sent it sliding across the thread bare carpet. It had so aptly said – Quote: u should no what happening in ur town. Did u see body bag?
Lexi decided then and there she wasn’t going to respond. Even if it meant a hundred more text messages that night as she tried to sleep she promised herself she would ignore them. She would ignore him all night if she had too. Of course she wanted to know what was happened in her town but not like this. Nobody needed to know this. Rubbing her eyes she lifted herself back up from the floor, her medals forgotten and her bed inviting as she barely glanced at the 9:52pm digital clock on her desk. Although her hair was still damp she wanted nothing more than to sleep right now and forget about what she had seen.
She didn’t make it a goal to cry at every sad thing she saw; she did what everyone else did and practiced becoming detached from the terrible events surrounding them, as if she were watching some gory movie. But sometimes these things got to her and she would spend hours trying to figure out why someone would do such a thing. How, if she had the chance, she could make it better if only they would listen to someone like her for the answers. But they would never listen no matter how right she was.
Ignoring the random buzz of her phone she lay a towel down across her pillow and decided to sleep, hoping that her mind wouldn’t make nightmares of what she had seen on the TV but knowing it would probably do just that. Her thoughts swam as she lay back, her hearing catching sounds of the street, the roads never seeming to clear long enough for silence she wanted and instead the questions came thick and fast.
What would she do if the restaurant burnt down?
What would she do if her parents were caught inside?
Could she save them?
She didn’t want to think about it but still her thoughts came un-abided to the front of her mind and all she could do was answer them.
She would try to help…
Well…she would try to help that is. It wasn’t like she could out-gymnastic dance a fire. The more she thought the more she realised that When it came to this sort of thing she was pretty useless in a crisis. She couldn’t fight or shoot a gun, she had never put out a fire or been a hero of anything even remotely heroic inducing. She knew people could act vigilantly when needed, adrenaline would flow though you and people did amazing things but it had never happened for her. She doubted she would even hit someone if they allowed her a free pass.
Turning over she willed herself to think of what she could do to improve. Learn kickboxing maybe? Carry a knife? No that was stupid and reckless…maybe a pocket knife though, that wouldn’t be so bad. Still it wouldn’t help in a fire though. She of course would need be a fire-fighter to do much good there but she could at least keep her phone charged and ready to make that essential call when needed. Twisting and jumping off the bed she slid across the floor to where her phone lay. Picking it up she deftly put it on charge and watched as the screen flashed in response. There were now 6 new messages waiting for her to respond too, all except one from Victor which she skipped past without reading. She really didnt want to hear any more, she wasn't morbid and she felt uncomfortable knowing the gory details of who died or who was hurt. She just wasn't that type of person.
The last text was of her mum who was working late at the restaurant with her father. Spending nights alone wasn't uncommon but sometimes she wished that they could spend at least one dinner together as a family. Sometimes to even get a hint of that life she would visit them and sit in the kitchen chatting to them as they worked. Scrolling down she read the message slowly, a small smile coming to life on her lips.Quote: Work busy tonight. Dad burnt apron again, 5 times this week! Left overs from chef special in fridge, help yourself. Dont stay up too late. We will be back by 2. Love you Lexi-Pie
Victor forgotten about she hurried back into bed, her mind sedated from the worry of burning fires and the comfort of her mum's message. Her hair had started to turn frizzy as it dried and she snuggled into the towel she had laid down before, switching off her broken lamp with a free hand to soak the room in darkness.
She lay there thinking, unsure when sleep would come but trying to fight it off none the less as she considered her thoughts once again, her mind thinking over the possibilities the future may hold.
If she could help anybody she knew she would, she wouldn't shirk the duty but its was just finding a way, any way to help. Like her determination in 2003, she wouldn't rest until she knew how to fix it. It was that final thought that finally gave her the power to submit to sleep and fall into a blissful dreamless night.
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Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 9:31 am
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:54 pm
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Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:55 pm
Solo: Caller ID
Word count: 837
Lexi stood at the door to her room, the peeling grey paint long past its prime fell off in clusters as she pushed it slowly open. The quick attempts to repair it by her father stood out against the wood and she found herself smiling as she traced the derelict patterns. She never minded being the typical poor person, it was all she had ever known but sometimes it got to her. Times when she needed new shoes and would end up with the ones from the charity shop or how her clothes were donated through each family member before they reached her. All the money her family earned would go straight back into the restaurant and they would never see a profit with the way things were going, or ever had been to be trueful. No holidays, no computers, no fun. Lexi had been estatic when she had received her first cell phone, a discarded cracked screen brick that a waiter at her parents work had given up. Her dad had brought it from him as a present for Lexi who had been begging for a phone since Amanda had proudly shown off hers when they were thirteen. Two years later she finally got her own and she has treasured it ever since.
Now she had two. One, a monster of a device from the stone ages, and then this one, the newer one, bright purple and shimmering sat in the palm of her hand ready and waiting to be used. Now Orah had told her the basic of what she was, who she may be and what she was fighting for and for now she had settled into this numb acceptance. Not really wanting to believe it and also not daring herself to believe that something like this could possible happen to a girl like her. While she couldn’t understand that side of herself she could at least concentrate on the solid, tangible device in her hand, the one that came with the role of being a Sailor Senshi. Lexi hadn’t even thought about how a kitten could produced a phone from thin air, right now she knew trying to work out the schematics of such an act wasn’t going to help her in the least. Like she had told herself back at Orah's, she just had to accept this was happening and deal with it.
It was easier said than done.
Closing the door behind her she dropped her school bag to the floor and began to slowly peel her jacket off before tackling her gym shirt. Hissing in pain she slid a hand down her ribs, her eyes catching sight of the bruise in the mirror. She had realized the need in camouflaging her neck bruises but she has left her ribs untouched It had taken her a few days to go back to gymnastic training, feign a tummy bug to escape the demand of her PE teacher but even Lexi couldn’t stop the tidal wave of need that overwhelmed her after a few days of no training. It was as apart of her as this apparent Senshi side and she couldn't ignore it. So grabbing her gym things she had headed to the place that could make sense to her right now and although her trainer was suspicious of her, avoiding the balance bar for mat work, she had accomplished what she had set out to do. Smiling she felt a little better for doing it. This was her, the gymnastic, the circus freak. This was Lexi Sinclair. Not some sort of super hero...
She looked down at the two phones again.
But she was two people now. No matter how she saw herself Orah had told her she was also Bohlinia and she would have to get to know her too. Through patrolling, fighting, visiting her planet. A grimaced over took Lexi's face at this thought, how can she have her own planet! She didn't even own a coloured TV and now she had a planet, apparently her birthright! It was just, it was just...
"Its too much..."
Sitting down gently she rubbed her thumb across the screen, its light waking up to her touch as she stared down at it. She had Orah's number in there just in case she needed help in these first few weeks as a Senshi and that in itself was a comforting idea but she had no idea how to handle it. This was something huge. It was something so big she couldn't even handle thinking about it.
So that what she did.
She placed both phones on the side table, next to her lamp that didn't work and the ingrained cup stains of the wood surface and turned her back to them. She lay down as softly as she could, the bed spring twisting into her with each movement she made until she settled into a reasonable position. And with her eyes closed tightly she tried not to think of how her small, simple world, was going to change forever.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 7:32 am
Solo: Inspiration
Word count: 2058 Crossing her legs into another new position Lexi pursed her lips in an effort to remember what else had been said at her last meeting with Ida. Pen in hand she was trying to write down everything she had learnt about being a Senshi for the last 20 minutes and was finding it hard to put everything into sane paragraphs that didn't make her sound like a loon. From knowing she could essentially grow stronger and gain a new costume. (Like a pokemon she guessed), to knowing who and what the enemy were and even the origins of her Senshi birth name. Those things she could handle quite calmly with a little mental preparation, but she couldn't grasp the complexity of having her own planet, albeit it a very dead planet. Or even that she had a past self born on that planet thousands of years ago, on an asteroid that scientists had only just discovered! (She googled herself, she couldn't help it!)
Ida had explained that she could travel there, with the help of a Guardian cat, and using her new phone she could transport herself to her planet. She hadn't yet met up with Hor** again so she had yet to test that very shaky theory out. (Apparently Hor** was an alien kitty who had long been sworn to awaken and guard Senshi throughout the millennium and could even turn into a human-cat hybrid and there were loads more guardians like him, but again...that was too much information to write down without looking insane). As if on cue she raised her head from the notepad and looked around her room, half expecting to see her parents leaning over her shoulder and reading her deepest darkest secrets. Finding herself alone a long sigh escaped before she returned to her writing, her words looking more like chicken scratches than the elegant calligraphy she so desperately wanted to do and reread everything she had written.
.Senshi have existed throughout time, born to protect their planet and the Silver Kingdom from an evil force called Chaos that can destroy EVERYTHING! (?Were they made to fight it or already there?)
. The last Senshi died out over a thousand millennium ago but have recently been re-awoken on earth over the last 5 years, because Chaos (which was defeated last time?) has come back and is trying to take over again - really, serious bad news!
.Chaos can brainwash people into thinking they are our enemies. They are called the Negaverse Agents and they will try and hurt us (even kill us!) be very careful, and run if you encounter one.
. There are also monsters called Youma, nasty horrible creatures that Agents can control, but sometimes not. Again keep away from them unless in a group!
. Agents can hurt people to get their energy which fuels Chaos making it more powerful. The more energy they get the more powerful Chaos gets. We have to stop it getting more powerful or it will end the world. Agents although dangerous are brainwashed so try to remember that when speaking to one of them - they cant help it.
Lexi looked over her writing, trying not to concentrate on the mistakes and errors she had written before grimacing. That wasn't like her. When she wrote she wrote clear and concise, taught herself to be as elegant as she could. yet this whole thing had her fingers shaking. It was a just so...mad sounding! Rubbing one hand over her face as she pushed the notepad away with the other she let herself fall back onto the bed, her hair haloing around her head as she stared at the cracked and graying ceiling.
“How do I be you?” She whispered tracing the crooked lines in the paint work with her eyes, her mind working over all she had to accept. She had never been one to back down from anything in her life. When she learnt something she trained at it until she could do it in her sleep. That was how she could help others in their journey - by being the best and knowing when to pass on her knowledge. She knew others saw her as annoying, at having to be perfect at everything, she wasn't that naive to the eye rolls and the tuts she received but she couldn't help it. When all she had in this world that she could honestly say was hers, was her ability to try, and try damn hard. She wasn't about to give that up.
But this?
This was beyond her. There was no after school gym class for it, or lessons she could attend. She couldn't even search the internet at school for information, firewalls blocking anything to do with the word Senshi unless it appeared in the news. Everything she needed to learn would be searching for others like Ida and gaining their trust and their knowledge, and worse, trial and error. The absolute worst kind of learning.
Being Sailor Bohlinia...It just seemed so big, so much bigger than her.
“Why me? Why did you have to be reborn in me? I can’t fight, I can’t...uh... I don’t know what to do.” She tried to sigh but it came out as a choked sob, her surprise evident as she touched her face and found hot tears upon her cheeks. When had she started to cry over this? She turned, curling into a ball upon the bed to face the wall, the broken plaster evident between the posters she had put up to hide the fact she didn't have wallpaper. She studied for a second the one image right in front of her. It was of Milana Strolovitch, tightrope artist extraordinaire. She was dressed in a purple tutu, glamorized with diamantes and jewels until she glittered and shone high above the audience. Some bright wiz on a computer had added sparkles around her to help her shine even more and added a bright glow to the end of the decorated stick she held to help keep her balance. The effect making it look like she carried a staff of power. Lexi had seen that show 3 times when it arrived in Destiny City. Milana, or the “Northern Star” as her character had been called, was meant to lead 4 other acrobats out of the darkness across a treacherous journey, i.e. the tightrope, though fire and into more wonderful and death defying tricks to reach safety. It had been a great show, Milana playing the role of the beautiful guardian that lead the “lost boys” had been amazing. Her timing crisp, her otherworldliness excisitie, making you think she was truly a gravity defying star come to help the boys and never once did she “fight” the shadows that came to capture them, instead dancing out of the way to allow the boys to fight the demons themselves. It was a very old, very well used story, but one that had fitted perfectly for a circus act.
Pushing a hand out Lexi stroked the poster where Milana stood, smiling brightly at the viewer as she balanced with one leg vertical next to her head as the other remained down to grip the tightwire with her thin slippered foot. The pose looked impossible. Not only was she 15 feet from the floor - a height that was dangerously close to a high wire act - she was performing gymnastic moves on it. Which, as everyone knew, just didn't happen on a high wire act. You walked and you fought to keep your balance. That was about it. To do anything more was to be foolish and stupid and entice painful, painful injuries, if not death.
What Milana was doing was incredibly dangerous, and yet, she had stood perfectly to get that one shot for the poster. It must have been hard, painful and tiring. She would have had to have trained day and night to get the pose, the balance and the showmanship down to a T. Not only to keep herself safe but to perform to the standards expected of her and be able to convince the organiser that she was the face of the show. Lexi had no doubts the woman had bleed to be up there on that tightrope. Knew the amount of broken bones and torn tendons she would have had to have suffered, just to be accept for the role and then been made to work even harder to perfect it. And she would receive no thanks for it because it was expected off her. The trainers, managers, event organisers, they would accept nothing less than the best and would run her into the ground until she was the best. Sure she did it all for the love of the show, the applause, the excitement, but at the end of the day that was her job. There would be no thanks for the late nights and the pain.
“We are the same.” Lexi whispered surprised. Yes there would be no fighting Youma’s in Milana’s future but there would still be pain and fear, hard work and trepidation. Lexi felt her resolve suddenly become steel, as if everything had unexpectedly clicked into place as she stared with inspiration at her Circus hero. The hero whose career she had followed since finding her, she a 7 year old fantic of the circus and Milana barely 16 and being thrown across the stage by other acrobats. Sitting up like a bolt of lightning had struck her spine, Lexi grasped at the poster, the fragile paper tearing slightly as she stared deeply into the smiling eyes of her idol.
If she was going to be a senshi, then she was going to do it just like Milana! She would practice, she would fight, she would learn, she would experience. She would do everything possible to get it done and be the best at it that she could. She would need to speak to Ida more, learn further about herself but she could do it. She could be great! She felt the familiar thrill bubbling in her stomach as she realised the extent of mission she had to take on and the excitement it brought with it. This would be hard, she had no illusions that it wouldn't be. Yet this was no escaping the thoughts that rushed through her mind. It would take time and patiences but that was nothing new to her. If she could learn a new gymnastic routine in under a week she could damn well learn how to fight bad guys!
She smoothed the poster down before giving the image a quick kiss, feeling instantly silly for the compulsion to do so but quickly shaking head from such negative thoughts. What ever got her through this, what ever gained her the inspiration to try and get better. She would kiss the poster a thousand times a day if it got her though this. Because she was Sailor Bohlinia. She had been “reborn”, she had been chosen to raise against the evil of this world once again!
“Yes! For you…” She looked at the poster again, she would be doing this to protect people like Milan, the innocent ones. She then looked down at the floor, the kitchen was underneath her where her parents sat, talking in hushed tones about money problems hoping Lexi wouldn't hear how bad the debts were. She heard it all though, but pretended not to when she would go down later and see them smiling and serving leftover food from the restaurant and only asking about her day and how she was. They did everything to keep her safe and worry free and it was time she gave back. “....For us...I will do it! I will get better! I will protect you, even if you never know it’s me. I will do it for us. I promise.”
She grabbed her journal again and began writing once more. Everything, she had to write everything and learn everything. She needed to learn how to fight, how to strategize. She would get better, she had to.
She just had too.
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