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 Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2014 7:54 pm
The senshi felt bad that she couldn't give him a better answer, but really, no one had the answer he was looking for. At least no one she had ever met. He would have to find his own way in the end.
When he smirked, she relaxed a little and turned to walk again, her eyes on the toes of her boots. Her brows pulled together in a frown when he asked about the monster and for a bit she was a little confused. He... didn't know about the Negaverse? What had he been doing all this time?
"The monster that attacked me was called a youma" She said as she glanced over at him. "Youma are minions of the Negaverse. Negaverse officers are... well, they're corrupted versions of regular knights and senshi. They are more organized that we are... sort of military like. Their mission seems to be to gather energy from the people who live here. Not all are terrible, but there are some, especially the higher ranked ones, that are worse than any monster... I suggest never fully trusting any of them, because they are out to kill us."
Ida didn't really want to scare him off, but... he needed to know about the threat they posed.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 7:12 am
Oh.
Ash's expression flattened when he realized that he was on the wrong track, and her explanation kind of righted his thoughts which caused him to let out a sheepish laugh. "Well, crap," the page scoffed, a bit out of sorts. So these Negaverse were officers? That meant...people, right? Probably. He let the idea kind of settle, much like he had when she told him about there being an unknown reason for this war, before speaking again. "So basically they're the bad guys? And they get monsters to help them?"
Not hard to believe, at least when he referred to those old TV shows where the bad guys always had some kind of an advantage over the good guys. His brow was quirked though, to hint at his still being a bit fuzzy about the other details she talked about. "And they drain...energy? From people, which is why you're protecting them?"
Yeah, it wasn't really making all that much sense. Well, it was, but the answers just kind of added more questions. He really should have started paying more attention ever since that paintball match.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 8:45 pm
"Yeah, they're the bad guys... they're the reason we have to fight, and yeah, they drain energy." Ida said as she walked. Boy, he must be really new not to know any of this yet. She knew knights were different... a senshi at least had a cat who should be explaining some things to them. Knights, apparently, didn't have that, or anything like it.
"I don't know what they use the energy for... but they only take it from humans. Maybe they live off of it, or something, I don't know. Its important though... sometimes they crash big events, like the carnival opening or the Destinycon convention, and drain people. Or just... send youma after them." This was kind of a heavy subject, but it was important.
"That is why I fight them... because I don't think people should be drained against their wishes. They kill people too, which I've seen... or turn them into youma. They can push corruption into them and they just... change. I saw it once... it wasn't pretty to watch." It wasn't a pleasant memory and it showed on the young girl's face, in the troubled knit of her brows.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:29 pm
Bad guys identified, check. Reason to fight, check. Drain energy and the rest of what she said, questionable...but still check as far as acquiring information. Hah! In just a few short minutes Ashur felt he was starting to catch up a little with whatever the hell was going on with this war, though if he had any idea exactly how much of the picture he was missing he probably wouldn't have felt all that happy about it. His contentment with managing to learn about these Negaverse officers, what they do and how they do it, showed through in a little smile after Ida went on to explain a bit further.
The more detail she went into, though, the more Ash felt the big picture was particularly bleak. All wars had casualties, of course, but even as a kid he'd never thought he'd have to see people dying and stuff. He thought it was cool in shows and on video games and stuff, but...not really in person. "Whoa," he cut in when mention of people being turned into youma.
"Y'mean these people can turn into one of those things you just dusted?" The young page had a surprised, rather skeptical look on his face for a second, but as Ida continued he could tell that she was serious. The depth of her words kind of started to really drag him back down from his little high of messing around with his powers. What had he been doing all this time, with this kind of thing happening?
His thoughts were beginning to go off in that particular direction when a realization snapped him back to a different portion of their conversation. "You said they drain people, right? Well...we're," and he was gesturing with his hands between the two of them. "People, right? Can they drain us, too?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:56 am
This was something of a dark way for the conversation to go, but in the end, Ida sort of figured that it would have to go this way eventually anyway... and while it wasn't encouraging to show someone the worst of the situation right off the bat, it would very well save his life... if it made him more cautious, or gave him warning of what he was facing... it would be worth it.
Turning, the senshi stopped for a bit, thinking this topic was a little heavy for casual strolling. Curling her fingers together, she tried to put her thoughts together in a way that would make the most sense.
"We're just like every other person in this city, except that we have these powers that we can use to protect the ones that don't... everything they can do to normal people, they can do to us. See... the Negaverse officers come about when someone who should have been on our side, a knight or a senshi, gets chaos energy poured into their starseed. Your starseed is... I don't know, something like your heart, or your soul. Its not really physical... but they have some sort of power that lets them reach into your chest and pull it out... or put chaos energy into it." Ida said as she placed her hands over her chest, feeling the old familiar ache. She knew what that felt like... having a hand in her chest, pulling out her starseed. Far too well.
"If its take out for too long, or destroyed... you die. If they put just enough energy into it, you become one of them; a corrupted version of yourself. If they put too much... you become a youma. One of those monsters they command. I think... I think they feed whatever gives them that chaos energy with the normal pure energy they pull from people and from us. Starseeds have the most energy, so taking one of those is sort of like striking it rich for them, I think. A big payoff."
Hopefully she hadn't completely freaked him out with that... and hopefully he wasn't the type to run screaming for the hills when he found out what he was really up against.
"I'm not telling you this to frighten you, really. I just want you to know what you're facing... Not all of them are viscous or murderous... some seem to not want to fight, even. But its the ones that are that you need to be prepared for, and its why I'm telling you this."
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Posted: Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:23 am
Aaaaand she lost him.
Ida was talking sense, of course, but the more she went the more lost he started to feel. Not only that, but the more he started to actually associate the danger that typically went hand-in-hand with having powers of...some kind. Ashur didn't really get what his powers were yet, he just knew that he had them. Obviously. Anyway, when the eternal senshi finished her explanation regarding his question, the page couldn't figure it up right away with another question. For once he needed to stop and process...
"So..." he eventually started up again, eyes narrowed as he concentrated on trying to fit the pieces she'd just given him into the mental puzzle that represented his life. Bad guys. Soul. Not good if they take it. Can kill you. Or turn you into a monster. Or corrupt you. "In short, not something one does 'just for fun'?" Actually, the teen didn't even have to ask the question. It was obvious enough now that he'd been informed that his life was actually, seriously on the line. But he didn't have a good follow-up yet. It took a good minute or two for the information to sink in, and when it finally did all Ash could do was let out a huff and shake his head.
"You gotta be kidding me." The page's brows were still furrowed, and his mouth set into a very slight frown. "Intended or not, a lot of what you just said was some pretty scary shi-- dude. I've got sticks for weapons!" Ash pulled out his two sticks, holding it out at arms' length to show her, before continuing. "And you're telling me about guys who can pull out my soul and turn me into a monster or kill me."
Despite his disbelief, at least he wasn't the sort to run screaming into the hills. He was more the type to swallow the pill and regret not taking a gulp of water to help it down. Which is exactly what he'd done with his powers thus far -- no help, no advice, no clue, yet he continued to power up and meander about the city just because he thought it was more interesting than going to bed at a reasonable hour.
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Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 8:42 pm
Stepping closer, Ida wrapped her hands around his as he brandished his sticks at her.
"I'm sorry I'm dumping this all on you like this." She said softly, truly feeling bad for how she'd handled their meeting so far. She was supposed be acting like a mentor, helping him learn and grow as soldier on the side of order. Not scare him into hiding from it all... but then, she'd faced the same fears before and come through it with only more resolve to do what needed to be done. If he could come to terms with this, it would make him stronger. She had to believe that.
Ida smiled gently as she rolled her shoulders. "I know what you're feeling, if its any help. I've felt the same way. The only way to deal with it though, is to learn to be stronger. You can grow so much as a knight. Gain magic, learn to fight... and you can protect people, because even if all you have is more strength and speed and a pair of sticks, that's more than the civilians have and they're the ones suffering the most, the ones the Negaverse is preying on."
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Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 11:50 pm
There was only a little sense of comfort that came when she took his hands into hers, but he did at least calm down a little. Still, the page looked at her, uncertainty still quite evident in his eyes despite her encouraging words. He wasn't expecting to be told about all of this in one go so to have that actually happen was...quite a shock, though he didn't think that was at all her fault. He was the one who'd been walking around powered up but without a clue, he was the one neglecting to ask any serious questions...it was his fault, in the end, and Ida was only trying to help.
With a sigh Ashur withdrew his hands and put his sticks away. "Well..." he started, then paused and considered before continuing. "It does help a little," came his words, and along with it the faintest of smiles. What she said really did make sense, after all, and getting stronger was a good goal for any "superhero" to have in any case. "But you're right, I do need to get stronger. And it's way more than what I had before I became a knight, so I get what you're saying."
The teen nodded at that, as if he had to try and make himself believe what he was actually saying. After another brief pause he gave another huff. "That's probably all the information I can take in one night, though. Still need a bit of time to...you know...process it and let it sink and stuff." Any more and he'd likely implode, which was definitely not a good thing. For anyone, but particularly so for someone who so enjoyed shirking responsibilities. "It's scary, but something we all need to learn about at some point, right?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2014 8:44 pm
Ida nodded as she dropped her hands, tucking them behind her back under her little white wings. She was a little upset she couldn't do more for him, but really... she was doing her best. Teach, lead by example, lend a hand, protect when necessary... it was all anyone could do.
"My suggestion would be to just... file away what I've told you and go out to learn more, but be wary of what you are doing and where. I highly recommend finding someone to patrol with to watch your back, or even better, a group or team. That is where I felt I really became successful and when we're all together, there is very little that can stand up to us. Beyond that... just think about what I said and come to terms with it, I guess." What else could she say to him at this point.
"Oh! One other thing..." Ida said before she let go of her henshin, powering down into a rather ordinary looking teenage girl, digging in a messenger bag on her hip. What she pulled out was a slip of paper and a pen, something jotted on it before she offered it to him with a shy little smile.
"My name like this is Orah Gowan. If you ever, ever need anything... please don't be afraid to call me. I'll do whatever I can to help you, ok? Me and my team."
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 1:54 am
The page nodded along, taking the advice as seriously as he took the news about this Negaverse and their abilities and what they did to regular civilians and the like. As with everything Ida had been saying since the start of their meeting, it was solid advice and he found he had little to question or wonder about. If she were to ask him, though, he would have likely said that she was doing plenty for him. Just offering to help was definitely a lot already, and all the advice was like icing on the cake.
"File away some info, be careful, patrol buddy, deal with being a knight," Ashur listed, committing his abridged version to memory. "I think I can do at least that much, yeah." A small smile had settled on his face, only to be replaced by a look of mild surprise as he watched Ida power down to...the girl from earlier...blinking at her in her civilian outfit as she started digging through her messenger bag.
Maybe it was a courtesy thing, but for whatever reason Ashur followed in suit, going back to being just Dominic just as she started jotting something down. The little slip she offered him had her number on it, and he gladly took it as he slipped the other hand into his pocket. "Dominic Styles," he introduced himself while pulling out his phone to save the number. He had a tendency to lose track of little sips of paper, so this was the safer option. "And thanks for the help and stuff. It's a bit less uh...daunting? For a newbie, knowing there's someone out there I can go to when I need some help, so I really appreciate it."
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 2:44 pm
Orah smiled brightly as she watched him put her number into his phone. Dominic... she'd remember him.
"That's what I'm here for, I suppose." She said with a laugh, shrugging. It was her mission, anyway. "I need to head home now though, and give you some time to think things over. But do feel free to call any time."
This time, he got a better look as she henshined up again for the trek home, lifting her pen into the air with the call to her power. The same glow wrapped around her again this time, petal-like, and when it broke in tiny petals that drifted away, Ida stood where Orah had.
"Have a safe trip home, ok?" She said as she lifted a hand in farewell, turning to head back the way she had come. At least tonight had been somewhat fruitful.
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Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2014 3:18 pm
"Time would be a good thing, yes," he agreed with a small smile and a nod, then watched in quiet awe as she quickly became Ida again. Dom had to kind of blink at Ida's form for a few seconds, as though his brain was trying to catch up with what his eyes were seeing, then at her bit of farewell he simply waved. "You, too," came his reply, then he watched as she took her leave.
It didn't really occur to him that he probably ought to go back to being Ashur for a bit to at least get him off the rooftop, but his brain was already bustling with ideas and wrestling down the urge to still quietly freak out about what Ida had just told him. So he ended up resorting to use of the fire escape instead of jumping down, walking the rest of his way home. It at least gave him some more time to process and think before he got to the (relative) safety of his apartment, where he was almost certain he'd spend the rest of the night in front of his workbench...working.
And then all of this would fade into the background.
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