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 Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2023 6:24 pm
She knew about youma. That made things a bit easier on Cybele, then. "They're not animals, no. They feed on people's life force, and serve Chaos, more or less mindlessly." She understood that some people, like Faustite, might take some issues with the nuances of that phrasing, but also he'd killed her and she didn't care what he thought. "There's human agents of Chaos, too. You'll find them around the city, if you're looking for them, or trying to find out more about this magic." She could speak for hours on the details of the Negaverse's hierarchy, if needed. When it came to questions about what had happened to her world, though, she found herself shaking her head. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not much of a historian, or a space explorer. Until very recently I've been using all my energy to fight Chaos here, in this city. It's still my highest priority even though I've been trying to do the rest, as well." A second passed. "And I'm not something ancient, just because I have the powers of a Princess. It's just a title, like I said." A title that came with power, yes, but it was still a little strange just how reverently the girl was treating her. "I'm-" and in a flash of silver, the antlers and the shoes and the skirt were gone, replaced with the button up shirt and tied back hair of someone who was trying to keep up appearances even though she didn't have full use of her arms. "Brielle. Hi."
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Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2023 7:37 pm
"Like vampires?" She blurted. Maybe that wasn't quite right, maybe it was far off the mark, but Celadon could use something moderately familiar to which she could relate all of this. If monsters sucked the life out of people like the blood-sucking undead, then she could understand why they needed to be deterred. Even if some of them reminded her of animals that she respected.
She didn't know what to make of the people of Chaos, though. Were they also vampires? Were they all unable to live without life from other people?
The conundrum with Cybele was, at least, easier for her to swallow. "I grew up in Iceland," she admitted. "It's pretty old. I used to go play in old ruins and stuff, try to figure out what happened there. That's not to say that I would know anything about Cybele, but if it's anything like learning history, maybe I can help you figure something out about it?" The past didn't have to stay a secret, nor would Cybele have to unravel all of that on her own if Celadon could help in some way. After all, Cybele was already doing her a world of good by telling her about some of this, even if it only scratched the surface of her endless questions.
Then she wasn't Cybele anymore. Then she was the girl from the hospital to whom she lent her book, Brielle. Celadon gasped soundlessly. "You're okay now."
Suddenly she was conscious of the fact that they stood in a garden after nightfall. In another tizzy, she thought about herself as Kaðlín, wearing all her Food Pillow gear until that was exactly what she was again. Turning, she scooped up her book from the bench.
"We should probably talk about this somewhere else, right?" Somewhere that might not see more of those creatures popping up to eat their life force. Kaðlín ran into her in the hospital pretty recently, after all. "My place isn't far from here, but —" It didn't feel like her place. It wasn't suited to royalty. "It's better than a hospital room."
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2023 3:34 pm
Brielle considered this, with a tilted head and pursed lips, before eventually nodding. "Energy vampires, more or less," she said, because she couldn't really find much fault in the metaphor. Although on top of that they took souls, and they had claws, and teeth, and- Swords. With a grimace, she popped a button open on her shirt and tugged the fabric down to show some of the wound on her lower chest, which had the stitches out but was still a rather angry red color. The trip to her world had at least calmed it down a bit. It didn't ache so much now. "I'm getting there," she said. She might not have been in the hospital, but she still had a ways to go before she would feel like herself again. "The book was nice, though. Not my usual style, but it did get my mind off of things for a bit." She closed the button again and took half a step closer to where the other woman was standing. "And, if you don't mind, it might be better to go inside before we talk too much more about history, or magic." They were safe for the moment, but that could always change, and she was under strict orders not to get into trouble.
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Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2023 3:51 pm
If Kaðlín needed any confirmation that the war could get deadly, that was all the evidence she needed. She didn't grimace, in part because she couldn't muster up such an emotional show, and in part because she thought that the survival part of an injury deserved more respect than the setback part of an injury deserved sympathy. Cybele — Brielle — made it out of the hospital. Made it through something that looked terrible and traumatic in its aftermath, in the healing state. That she was up and walking and doing whatever a senshi did deserved respect.
"It looks like it was really bad," she observed. With that came a prudent thought: they should get indoors not only due to the ambient danger, but due to the threat of that ambient danger to Brielle's wounds.
"I don't mind," she confirmed as warmly as she could ,before she took the lead in leaving their cozy corner of the garden. The rest of what she had to say was benign, so she didn't mind saying it. Maybe it even provided a little cover for their earlier conversation, if anyone started listening?
"And, I'm sorry in advance for the mess. It's been a rough few months, and I'm still trying to get more things packed." And find a routine. And establish a new normal. And feel normal. not that any of this magical stuff really helped with that. She couldn't begrudge it, though; there was nothing she could have done to stop it at the time of it happening, and she'd sat on anything to do with Celadon for so long and never faced any repercussions for it.
"But, there's coffee, and water, and I think some teas." She just had to remember how to be a hostess.
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