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 Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2014 4:35 am
For a brief moment, Chariklo wondered why Ares would have told this woman that if it hadn't been true. Unless Ares herself had believed it to be true. Maybe that was what Ares had been told when she'd learned how to make a Dark Mirror? Thoughts muddying as she tried to figure out Zirconia's words, she was snapped back to the present by the questions about seeing starseeds.
Eyes tearing up involuntarily, she answered in as steady a voice as she could manage "Honey, I'd never seen a starseed before, period, until I saw Bischofite torture and yank a very good friend's from her chest. And at the time, I can't say that I was all that concerned with what it looked like."
Choking with remembered grief, she was vaguely aware of a hand against her chest, but since Zirconia wasn't doing anything that felt wrong, Chariklo let her be until she was able to pull together somethign that resembled composure. Glancing up, she arched her eyebrows a little in question.
"So we reflect instead of glow? But we aren't freaky souls, right? So where's the problem?"
Resting her chin against her knees, she considered Zirconia's words carefully, wanting to answer as best she could.
"I did," she said slowly. "I beleived it with all my heart. But now...? Let's just say some memories that I never wanted have shown me just how impossible that goal is at the moment. So I suppose I really haven't got much purpose anymore, have I?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 11, 2014 6:01 pm
"Uh, no, you are definitely freaky souls. Assuming they're real... souls..." It was hard to explain to someone who didn't already have the basis of the generally understood 'dark parallel' foundation Ares was preaching when she started the court.
And even worse when she was trying to figure out how the mirrorseeds even worked when for all she could see, they were just want someone thought starseeds looked like and not true souls.
"Your starseed is your soul. Your entire reincarnation cycle depends on its survival. Once you're gone, the light inside fades away and returns to the couldron to wait for rebirth. That's why senshi have past lives. You'd be able to see, remember... if your connection to your homeworld hadn't been severed."
She exhaled a small huff through her nose as she looked away. "I think all she wanted was to recreate the court, no matter whose graves she desecrated. When the Blood Moon Court ended up just being superficial power over people she couldn't really control she started... She got better at branding people she wanted to claim ownership of, I guess," And Zirconia lifted her collar a bit to display the crescent moon that had been burned into her chest to 'prove her loyalty' a bit better. "Now she imprints it on your soul, even if it means hurting the goal. You would be able to travel to space on a whim if she hadn't. It seems like a counterproductive method if that was the real goal."
She let her collar sit freely on her neck again and sighed. "She abandoned the Black Moon for the court of her own creation and she abandoned that again when Chaos offered her the chance to try again and now she's abandoned that as well, the way Orpheus tells me. Even the Black Mirror that sits in her throne room is a fake-- I've found the true one in the Moon Palace. I've already spoken to someone on the other side."
She had removed a bangle and twisted it in her fingers, mumbling something under her breath about not being able to wait to go home.
"Anyway..."
Her thoughts moved back to the mention of Bischofite, and the story he had told her in an effort to bargain with her. Her fiddling with the bracelet became tense enough that movement stopped. Bischofite probably pulled several Dark Mirror starseeds, but she still murmured, "Did it happen at the church bell tower? Your friend, I mean."
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2014 8:05 am
Chariklo's already chalky color took on a distinctly green tinge when Zirconia showed her the brand. Wincing, she closed her eyes and gave her head a tiny shake to try and dispel the disloyal thoughts that were brewing.
"That... I... she...," Chariklo tried to find the words to express what she was thinking and gave up after a moment. This was someone who had known Ares better than she. And she couldn't argue with Ares having abandoned the Court. But, the Black Mirror being a fake was a new one.
Glancing up sharply, her eyes narrowed as she considered this.
"Moon Palace? Other side? There's another Mirror?"
She almost missed the mumble in the rush of curiosity. Almost.
"Home? So you're going back where you came from at some point? Must be nice for you, I guess."
She would have said more, but the sudden question about the bell tower knocked her off of her mental feet. Inhaling sharply and silently ordering herself to not break down, she gave a single nod. She wasn't going to ask how Zirconia knew about it. She seemed well informed so doubtless someone had passed the story on to her. And since of the three involved at the time, only two were still living, it was a safe bet that Bischofite had gotten chatty at some point.
"We were patroling and she wanted to see the bell tower. She was teaching me Italian and a couple of songs. She loved music. A youma attacked us and i chased after it and left her alone. Everything that happened after that was my fault," she said softly voice cracking. "If I hadn't left her, that ******** wouldn't have caught her and tortured her. He never would have been able to steal her starseed. He wouldn't have tried to set her body and the church on fire."
Her fingers brushed unthinkingly against the scars on her cheek. A souvenir of that night. Shivering, her eyes locked on some invisible point just over Zirconia's head.
"It's all my fault she died. I had to go be stupid and macho and chase a ******** youma. It was only sheer, ******** luck that there was a mirror stored in the tower. I got out and took her body with me. I sang to her."
Tears were pouring unchecked from her eyes now. And deep inside, some tiny part of her wanted to yell and scream at Zirconia for daring to know about Bianca dying. Wanted to rail at the woman for suggesting that her soul was a monstrosity. Instead, she locked her gaze on the Mauvian and managed a calm voice.
"Bischofite did terrible things to her for no good reason other than he was ******** bored. And someday, I hope that I can pay him back thousand-fold for what he did that night."
Unspoken was the suggestion that Zirconia could look forward to the same if she had been in any way responsible for Bischofite targeting Bianca.
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2014 2:51 pm
"Yes, and I'm eager to leave this universe behind. Ares and Gaia are beyond saving," Zirconia muttered bitterly as she fiddled with her bracelet.
She seemed calm when Chariklo locked eyes with her, but she looked away and muttered something, going over several things in her head. And then slid the bracelet back on her wrist.
"I once bargained with the Negaverse for the protection of a Dark Mirror Senshi who is of some importance to me. Shortly after the meeting I made my deal in, Bischofite grabbed me and cornered me, attempting to strike other deals. When I was less than forthcoming with his request he took me to the bell tower and told me her story. So I complied in exchange for the starseed he had on his person knowing he would eventually do something to destroy the soul either by eating it or turning it in to Metallia's hoard."
With a flick of her wrist, she summoned the little mirror-plated seed and held it out to Chariklo. "It hasn't been consumed or crushed or harmed. I did Bischofite the service he demanded in exchange for it. But you can have it, if it is something you wish to protect. I'm not sure if the cauldron would accept it for rebirth, but since she was your friend, after all..."
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2014 2:15 pm
For reasons she couldn't quite understand, the bitterness in Zirconia's voice combined with the statement that Ares and the unknown Gaia couldn't be saved hurt. Whether or not Zirconia stayed in this world or the one she hailed from didn't matter. But being thought of as a monster, a freak... it bothered her on a level that she'd never had to contend with before.
"No one should be beyond saving," she said softly, musingly, as if to herself. She couldn't catch what the Mauvian was muttering. But mutterings hardly mattered when the lilac haired woman began to speak up.
A wave of hot anger washed over her at first. How nice that Zirconia had been able to bargain for her friend's life. It was a pity that Bianca hadn't had the same protection in place. She opened her mouth to say just that and stopped, a thoughtful look crossing her face as the explanation continued. Bicshofite had tried to lure her into a bargain too. As much as she wanted to hate Zirconia for coldly bargaining for a starseed she had no right to, part of her was grateful for it. Bianca's soul hadn't been destroyed.
And when the starseed was summoned and held out to her, she couldn't stop the tiny, pained cry that escaped her lips. Reaching out slowly, she gently cupped the starseed in her hands and just stared at it. It's light was gone, but she could see the reflective sheen that apparently marked it as a Dark Mirror's soul. Cradling the starseed close to her own heart, Chariklo looked up and bit her lip.
"I... you...," she began in a thick voice before clearing her throat and trying again. "Thank you. She was my friend and my sister in everything but blood. I don't know what the hell this cauldron thing is, but I'll shove Bianca's starseed down it's throat if I have to. She... she deserved better..."
Even as the words slipped out, Chariklo wasn't entirely sure if she meant a better death, to have been more than a Dark Mirror Senshi or those and everything in between.
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Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 10:35 pm
To say Zirconia's eyes were locked on a space would have been inaccurate, but she did stare a lethargic, almost tired stare at Chariklo's clasped hands for a long and awkwardly silent moment before her gaze flicked up to make eye contact again.
"Yeah... So did Nehelenia..." She mumbled quietly, fatigue threading through her tone.
She rose to her feet and picked up her small mirror by the frame, placing it on the table. "Good night, Chariklo. Good luck," And with that, she shifted down to her fully feline form, newly small enough to fit through the mirror, and slipped away from the oddly emotionally exhausting evening.
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Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2015 5:21 am
In the midst of her hungry study of Bianca's starseed, Chariklo missed the mumble, though a tiny, irreverent voice in her head noticed that Zirconia mumbled a lot. She could be the next Brando. Well, if she were grossly overweight and and old dude...
She was shaken from her musings as Zirconia stood up. But before she could worry or move to a more defensive position, the Mauvian simply moved the small mirror to the table. The tall blonde staggered to her own feet, still cradling the starseed as if every one of her hopes and dreams was held inside.
"Thank you," she answered softly. "I... I hope you can make it home."
She wasn't sure if Zirconia had heard, but decided that it probably didn't matter. She did, however, have a moment of neck prickling as she watched the woman become a cat and slip through the mirror with ease. After a moment to be sure that the other was wherever she'd meant to go, Chariklo picked up the mirror. She hated the idea of leaving a mirror out, even one too small for her to use. Eying some of the trees in the park, she decided she'd hide the mirror in the high branches of one of them. It might startle the cat if she ever came back through, but she'd live. And it was a tiny service that Chariklo could give considering the circumstances of the night.
And once it had been accomplished, the blonde looked around quickly to make sure she was alone. Once sure, she powered down, still holding the precious starseed close to her chest. She wanted to get home and tell Avacyn about Zirconia. And the starseed. But mostly... mostly she just needed Ava to listen to her for a while.
Hurrying from the park, Arilee made a beeline for home.
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