Welcome to Gaia! ::

She was sweet - just - sweet like the cotton candy that her dress matched in colors. Saccharine. Albite felt his heart met a little bit for her. The way she hugged him, and apologized. It hadn't even been her fault, he wasn't that spooked!!

Was he? No, nah, it was fine....

"You're - you're really nice aren't you?" wouldn't ever be the kind of fool who would refuse a free hug from anyone, especially not a sweet General who was genuinely looking out for his well being. Returned it in kind and squished her a little bit for it. Increasingly relieved as she went on. "Oh, man, this whole. Listen? This whole year's been a lot - like - I'm still working myself up to the whole, dealing with magical cats thing? It's different in the rift, when it's not someone's..I wouldn't wanna dust your kid? If it was something that was like trying to kill me..but like..she wasn't really, yeah?"

He'd just overreacted. That was all.

"You're a good General Sylvite, anyone ever tell you that? N'like, I say that as a real good judge of character and...and did you say you sent your kid back to a rift lamp pile!? They have that there - like - what a dumpster? No, a thrift store? Sylvie, girl, if there's a thrift store in the rift and you're not telling me, that's holding out, that's rude even, I rescind my earlier comments if you've got knowledge of a thrift store in the rift and I"m not like - openly invited to shop in it..." and Albite was suddenly thinking of a dilapidated ikea, where swirls was just running wild with the other lamps, hiding in shades, pulling strings that turned glowing rocks on and off.

Spots and a flare of panic - true real panic - hadn't expected the move from her. The way everything went fuzzy and the magic to save himself with stood on the tip of his tongue like a razors edge, because that - oh - the feeling of that he didn't have words for. The way he seized up and stared her down; felt everything flicker for a moment before she'd thankfully let go.

Now? Oh now, she had all his attention. Had it dragged back full force and on her, and what she was saying. Important words; every single syllable of them.

Different when he ******** around with his own soul - but she'd just grazed it and he'd felt like a t.v that'd been smacked on and off through static. "N o t e d - huh...I think, I kind of get Swirls now?" swallowed around the flair of <********>', breathed that down and just, tilted his head to get a different angle of a look on her. Thought she was the good kind of dangerous, best kind maybe. The kind hidden in a stiletto heel like a blade, the kind that women kept in purses; like neat little pink tazers, or little hand pistols that packed a punch.

"You n' her, you're both - like - the cute probably throws people off all the time, doesn't it?" slow grin for that, and he wanted to take her shopping with him. Wanted to go make fun of tired salesmen in outlet malls and bounce on the beds at furniture warehouses, cut open all the pillows and have a feather party. "Shame with all the wall faces, cause, man I want to take a rift lamp home so bad." His orbies would've loved it, so he thought.

Gently set her down as her feet touched the floor. Let her go carefully, for all that she'd shocked the ******** outta him with that sly little move, he couldn't help but admire her for it. A woman in pink with murder on her mind - even if it was just the lesson of it.

"Random question. What's your weapon look like?" and could he touch it, and was it stabby, and the questions for that ran unbidden - cause lieutenants weapons were the stupidest things - all those poor kids with plastic gavels and candy canes. He didn't know any captains personally either?

As for everyone else...

He had absolutely no experience with those sorts of things, fell into the territory of being the weapon, him, his General, his Bossette. All weapons in their own right or some approximation of that, all the magic woven in, how it made them up from their cores, how their bodies were bent to it - the way they knew the words in their mind to call it even if they didn't know the source or the extent of the ability. Especially Fasutite, bless his fiery heart.

The laugh for that - the look of her actively *being* cute, on ******** purpose even. "Oh, well, hell pinkiepie! I guess that makes you some kind of evil genius doesn't it?" it was really all types of clever, he had to applaud her for it; using her obvious strengths to her best of her advantage. Thought it was kind of masterful really, in a way.

He didn't mind that she wasn't, the negaverse as a whole had way to many obvious psychos that tucked it all up under stuffy shirts. Traumatic little things that became sorrid sticks in the mud - steel rod spines that were all a lie for the crumbling foundations surrounding them. If his little trip in the rift had taught him anything? It was that. No one knew what they were doing, management was chaos, and he had never been more glad to have Faustite as a General - obvious threat in motion - no lie in him.

N then there was Sylvite. Peppy pink, gave hugs, touched his ******** soul to teach him the fastest lesson - how hard it would stick with him for making that mistake just because she seemed like a softer breed for all the bows n' bouncing.

Made a nice firm mental note - don't underestimate s**t for ********.

"So freaking cool. You do a good job of it, yanno?" wanted to touch, had to resist that, even if his dumb brain said 'what's the worst that could happen'. Listened for once, to the thing that said 'stop' in the back of his mind.

"The whole 'you being you' thing, sharp n bouncy, yeah? It's smart, hell it's way more fun then - whatever those other poor saps are saddled with. Can't even imagine." waived the idea off, and kind of marveled at the blades. "Man I just - okay I wont touch 'em, but what kind of magic? M'jealous as hell over here!"

Gingerly, carefully, took the hilt of the blade in his hand, held it like it was some precious thing, gripped it like he wanted to test the weight of it.

Albite ******** gleeful over the whole of events unfurling before him, grin that ate his face unparalleled. He’d always wanted a knife, no a broad sword, no a b*****d of a great sword and that would’ve been amazing!

“Genius for sure, it’s so cool, I’d say like - promote your ideas, but Yanno? Don’t wanna get em shot down too hard.” Shrugged because he got it, it was hard to foist fun at people without getting those kinda of looks. Easier to be a Senshi who didn’t give three ********, who would never be a General the way she was, never have quite the same burden.

Took some space to slash the blade through the air, liked the way it sung with some power behind it. “I always wanted…and maybe I’d trade you? Take a weapon and you could get the butt bows cause they’d look better on you.” Snickered for that and “Not that my Magic’s not badass, cause it is, but like, man a weapon would be nice sometimes.”

Sigh for that as he tested the sweet little blade, was careful, cause the magic in it sounded nasty. “I dunno - do you like it? Being a General n everything?”

To hear her speak, the admiration in it, the wonderment. He preened a little, because it was rare to hear it. He’d loved the magic in some ways, certainly. All the rest that came with it though - feeling like his dye was cast on the wrong side. Creature of the cosmos, except there were no clear rules about how to manage that - no standards for how it all worked.

A meal, a traitor, a Senshi. N there she was - a twirl n song n story for lolipops. Someone who could make him laugh simply by being. Had to, couldn’t help it for the imagery of her being anything but stunningly pink and full skirted.

She was meant to be a princess, a trap, knives hidden in skirts. “Holy ******** - you were a loli!? No, no wait - also - hell - you could rock the no shirt no sleeves look though! Works great in combat, real distracting!” Snickered his way through the words as he made to hand her lovely little blade back.

“Seriously though, those bent outta shape ******** can get bent” shook his head and breathed in “You’re too good a soldier princess though. I appreciate it - this - everything? There’s uh - I mean, I don’t give two ********, but not everyone is a fan of Senshi, yanno? Feels like the short end of the stick…*which sucks*, because I chose this.” A gesture for her, for them “not the Senshi end, I’m making the best of it though…” and maybe he’d grow to like it, spend less time longing for something sharp and brutal. Would figure out how to work it all in his favor with time.

“You’re a pretty good General Sylvite…gonna have to take me out more often.” Eyebrow waggle for that, for all he meant it as play.

"Sure thing sweets, any nerdowells that get up my a**, I'll send to you for a stabbing - ah - read it as a 'stern talking to with steel'." low rumble of a laugh, and he liked her. Rare thing, to enjoy a Generals company, to enjoy someone like her. Petit pink ring of death, and she could've been tenthousand years old and he would've believed it - should've been a Senshi, then she could've laid claim to timelessness and eternity - have been reborn to stab again in the next life.

Pink n' black as death itself. A hot topic caught fire.

"I like the idea of it, changing thigns around? I mean, I'm a duck to water with all that s**t, it just 'rolls offa me', but uh - it's kinda endemic yanno? The head honchos preach the whole 'peace, love, n light' spiel, but there's a lotta people who've been in this a long time who feel otherwise maybe?" a thing to shrug for because he didn't take personal issue with a great deal of things - let alone personal interest - half the reason he spent outside of the castle was that exactly.

Do his own thing - keep to his own interests - let whatever bureaucracy brewed in the dark manage itself. "There's no reason we can't do both, ice cream, fun, magical hype? I do wanna try n hang with swirls again tho - just uh - maybe with a little distance between the whole rift mess n' this?" soft humm, and if he' was being honest? He'd enjoyed the rift immensely, every single bit of it. "She needs to get used to Senshi, and I need to learn to hide better - just - seriously? Played the same game with my boss and it all ended in a blaze of bad for both of us, you'd figure I'd have gotten the memo by now. I think I just like learning things the hard way."

She wasn’t wrong, and he could admire her for that. For wanting to talk, for being gentle and serious, whip smart beneath the pink brocade. But some people? Oh, Albite thought for sure some people could use ‘a little stabbing’, the motivational threat of a stabbing.

Or at least some light duty dusting, sweep out the barracks, clean a toilet or two…

Grunt work to remind people there was a bottom rung to hang from. N then sylvite continued to be godamned *sweet*. Offered up care like he was some helpless lamb himself instead of - and ******** - he would’ve given a lot for her in that moment, the way she gave her support so honestly, checking in like she cared way more than she should’ve.

“Breath Sylv’s, it’s no one in particular - n more just, yanno? Consequences of being a basic - and like - to them - all the white moon types? M’either a traitor or a corrupt right?” And how that word rankled, because maybe for some that was how it’d worked - conscripted in - but not for him. “N’ on this end of things?” A shrug for that where the words could’ve been, soft scoff - because he skirted the edges of it - reaped all the benefits of enjoying being a field agent over a desk jockey.

“Mm, maybe it’s more the gossip that goes around than anything else? Not all the Senshi choose this - if you ever come across some of those older Senshi pre Queen Laurels- or like - the ones who didn’t choose to get in on this the way I did? You can see it in their eyes Sylvite, that - Ah - lacking? Like maybe if we took better care with ‘em on the way in - substituted all the parts that were missing?” hope that it’d erase the deafness and longing - hope that if they had a better pamphlet - or if they only forcibly corrupted the ones who were legitimate threats - or hell sometimes capture was the better route? Albite didn’t know, it was all above his nonexistent pay grade.

Mention of his firebrand - and oh the look he gave her for that, warm knowing smirk, because he wondered what it looked like sometimes - to others - Senshi serving under a youma.

“Not to piss on whatever hellfire image he’s cultivating, but honestly? He’s the absolute best. They assign us people - or like - people choose us, general’s and captains. Auro was good people? But Faustite, I chose him; never been happier for it.” had made his mind up on it after the first few missions, after dealing with the wisps and snatching energy on his behalf.

“You wouldn’t believe the rumors I heard about him, yeah? N’ I’ve always ignored that stuff anyhow, I like to get all my info from experience - first hand. People are different when you put the time in with ‘em, even him - s’long as you don’t mind the whole ‘on fire all the time’ thing.”