Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lysithea felt Cosmos arrive and the smile that spread across her face was utterly genuine. Good. The second hardest part of all of this was done. Now...Airi could come home and the last chapter of Evan’s horror story would be closed...and they would have a new friend and she would triple her effort to just be...just be better. With everything.

With everyone.

“Thank you for coming, Cosmos...Yes, this is Airi, he’s a youma that a few of us have known for a while...we were hoping you could assist us in helping him? Malus is going to take the lead with this one...they were friends before…”

She swallowed and drew in a breath glancing around at her court and then snorting slightly at Lupu. How he managed to get involved with this was still kind of beyond her but…

He was so good for Evan. “We’re ready when you are, Cosmos...and you, Airi. You’ll be just fine.”

Cosmos was quiet, otherworldly and contemplate. It was practically impossible to read her, but she didn’t seem unwelcoming in her mysteriousness.

She was professional about it, and for as reserved as she was, there was a silent compassion when she stepped forward to Airi. She placed a hand upon him, light and unintrusive.

“Your starseed is still calling to me,” she said softly. “...So now I need you to focus so we can free it. Open up your heart. Let the chaos out. I just need you to focus. We can do the rest, you just have to let us in.”

Her hand began to glow faintly, as she used her energy to try and siphon the Chaos out. Her eyes were on Airi’s, trying to read him, trying to reassure him.

Trying to save him.

Airi tensed under Cosmos' touch for a moment before slowly relaxing. He blinked in confusion for a moment. The youma wasn't sure what he expected Cosmos' touch to feel like, but warm was probably the last thing he would have honestly said.

Cosmos was talking and Airi had to drag his attention from the hand in his fur, to her so he could actually pay attention. An ear flicked back in Malus' direction when the senshi spoke but that was all the visual indication his friend would get that he'd heard him.

'Don’t be afraid.'

He wasn't... Or at least, he didn't feel like he was. Not anymore anyway.

"Just breathe."

He was trying, though that vice like feeling wrapped both around his heart and his lungs, seemed to be easing

'Just relax.'

A little easier said than done but... he was getting there.

Airi let out a breathe and tried to do what both Malus and Cosmos told him. He focused on those around him. People he knew, and people he didn't. They were trying to help him, regardless of what he looked like. What he was. They were helping him for who he was. Soon enough that warmth from Cosmos' hand seemed to envelope him, warming him both inside and out. It felt as though a weight, one that he hadn't realized was there, had been lifted from his chest. Sure, he knew he had been chaos... But still. Airi wanted to be free. Wanted to be what Lysithea and Malus thought he could be.

And soon enough, he would be.

The warmth faded, leaving him standing there. As he should have been all along.

"Oh..." He said, his breathe shaky. "Well...This is different."

Lysithea felt a little thrill when they began the purification, and an even bigger thrill when Airi didn’t crumble to dust. It was...rather validating to know that he wasn’t going to...or...that she had been right about him not going to crumble to dust...but…thankfully she hadn’t been wrong. That...would have simply been a nightmare.

When it was all done, she gave a smile, reaching to hug Adira first, and then Evan, and then Monoceros. “We did it! We saved him…”

She felt even more tired, and wanted to just sit down and perhaps sleep...but. That could wait until she got home. Until they got home.

Turning to Cosmos, Lysithea gave a soft, tired smile. “Thank you once again. You have done so much for us. All of us.”

Adria seemed surprised with the hug, and he rubbed at his arm uncertainly when she moved on to hug the others. He only looked at Cosmos when she seemed distracted, like he was afraid of drawing any attention to himself if she actually saw him do it.

He was watching Lysithea carefully, worried that she was pushing herself too much, but she was still talking to Cosmos and didn’t look like she was passing out, at least.

-

Malus flushed deeply at Lupu’s praise; he had returned Lysithea’s hug and seemed a little bouncy--visibly excited that everything had succeeded. He felt a little drained, more so because of the rush of adrenaline and fear that seemed to be receding because Airi was here! He was okay!

And he was a Saturn Page, and Lupu looked so happy!

“I--I didn’t do much,” he insisted. “I just held the wand, um. But it takes everyone to do it.”

He cast a quick glance at Lysithea, worried about her but reassured that she was standing on her own right now. He went to Airi and swallowed, but flashed a quick smile again. “Hi.”

He looked him over, taking it in, and just laughed--because his eyes were so warm. He didn’t realize that there was moisture in it--because, who cried when they were happy?--for too long, and then he had to quickly wipe his eyes on the back of his hand. “You look good! No spikes! Can I--can I hug you?”

He gave a startled yelp at Lupu's outburst, not expecting it in the slightest. He turned, confused staring from the young man to his hand. Tentatively he took it, shaking it slightly as he glanced down at his outfit. He wondered, what it was that chose Saturn. Though he cast another glance at Lupu before giving a nervous smile. "Is it Saturn cause you shot me?" He teased. "...Does that mean I look okay though?"

"Hi. No... No spikes" He echoed, when Malus came over. "Do I?" Well, guess that answered that then... "Y-yes??" He threw Malus a curious look. "Why are you asking? That's never stopped you before." Well... to a degree. Spikes did make things kind of hard to do... "...I'm sorry I took so long to get here."

Grinning brightly, Lupu pulled Malus in close, squishing both him and the new Saturn Page together. “I don’t think me using my magic on you would have done anything to change what kind of a knight you were...but seriously, this is the best. It’s only my brother who wasn’t cool enough to be a Saturn Knight.” He laughed, mind still reeling just a little at how things had gone.

Of all the things he had expected to happen when he saw Evan with the youma earlier in the afternoon...this wasn’t one of them, that was for sure.

“Malus, he’ll have to come home with us, don’t you think? We’ll introduce him to Maxim and everything will be just great.” He laughed softly and nuzzled against Malus before hesitating slightly and nuzzling against the new page as well. “I’m glad...I ran into you two tonight.”

Malus couldn’t help but smile as he was squished close to the two. “Well, yeah, if Cambria’s okay with everything. I’d feel better if you came back home with us. I had a really hard time adjusting to being, you know, me again. And you were a youma for longer so I want to make sure you’re okay. We’ll take care of you though, Airi. Or--whoever you want to be now. We can figure it out at home. You’ll be safe there. And protected.”

He flashed a smile and wrapped his arms around both of them to give them a tight hug. “I’m glad this all worked out. I feel like I could go home and pass out though. Or maybe make some grilled cheese sandwiches, I’m kind of hungry again.”

-

Adria glanced over at Lysithea instinctively; his eyes had lingered on the other three, but he nodded. “Oh, yeah,” he said, voice just a bit soft, like he was afraid of talking too loudly and disrupting something important. “I can help, I want you to get home safely.”