Welcome to Gaia! ::

Squire Halle of Lysithea

Hearing Almere's fear made Halle's heart ache. He hadn't thought about it before, how of them all, entering this new world, worlds even, was likely more important to her than anyone. Because it all fit her so well, better than anyone. And in ways that the regular world wouldn't really accommodate, especially now that she wasn't a child any longer. There'd been a faint worry, lingering the back of his head for a couple years now, that his cousin would either be forced to change, to dim herself and her imagination, or be hurt if she wasn't able to change and blend in better.

Both were horrible.

The existence of magic in the world made what may have previously been a worry, a hindrance to her moving naturally in a world dictated by rationality and ugly truths, had become Lena's strength as Almere. To have that taken away would be...

Reaching out with one arm, Halle hugged Almere's shoulders. In a quiet voice he said, "It's real, and you're gonna be ready as any of us are. More, probably." Because of anyone, she was meant for this.

With Mechelen's reassurance, he gave her hand a squeeze before letting the two girls go. "I'm okay, so don't promise something like that. It's just my own fear, not something to like...make your decisions for you, alright?" The thought of it made his stomach twist. He was afraid of people leaving him, but he hated the thought of limiting them, of them having to basically give up parts of their life for him. They'd end up like his mom, an uneasy question of What if...

He left to drop off his star thing, then went to inspect the library shelves.

As the room began to glow with the combined light of their wishes, Tjilaki felt a sense of unity among the group. Each individual had expressed their fears and vulnerabilities, and yet they stood together, stronger for it.

The shelves of star maps beckoned to her, promising knowledge and guidance in this mysterious place.

Tjilaki went over to the shelves, her heart still heavy with the weight of her fear of failure. She knew she had to push past it, to prove to herself that she was capable and worthy.

Super Sailor Perdita, Senshi of Plenty

As the fallen stars began to glow, Perdita glanced around with renewed interest.

A library. She felt right at home in a library. If defeating the Chaos here weren’t so imperative, she would have been happy to spend hours in this room, rifling through whatever she could find, whether or not she could read any of it. She took a few steps toward the nearest shelves on impulse, but stopped herself before she could reach them.

She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted. Not right now. Saving this world was too important. The more worlds they saved, the safer they would all be.

Perhaps when they succeeded (and she was still hopeful that they would — especially now, seeing a bit more of what this world had to offer) there would be time to take a closer look. Perhaps Urania would be kind enough to bring her back here. Maybe Oberon could join her. Perdita was sure he would be interested. She had only seen a fraction of this world, but she knew there must be so much more to explore. Even if the Observatory was the only structure left, Perdita was certain they could learn so much from this place.

She laughed lightly when the sphere answered Belmont. “We can come back when this is all done.”

With some regret, Perdita returned her fallen star. Once their hands were free, she took Connie’s hand and gave it a brief squeeze. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think you’re useless.”

Page Almere

Hearing her friends around her telling her that all this was real? It helped, and when she spoke her fear and the star lit up a soft blue, it almost felt like the star was taking her fear away from her.

She couldn't get in the middle of Halle and Mechelen's conversation, their promises to each other. That was between them, something that there wasn't much she could say about one way or another. She did squeeze Mechelen's hand, though, and she looked at each of them in turn.

"We're all just doing our best, Mechelen," she said. "I'm not worried about you disappointing me, okay?"

Mechelen was always trying so hard, and maybe she needed a reminder that she was okay just like she was, even if she wasn't always perfect at roller skating, or fighting, or whatever it was that they were trying that day.

"And Halle?" she knew he was being practical, knew he didn't want promises. Instead she said, "I'll probably be in Destiny City for a long time, if you want to be around me. Since that's where the magic is."

As they knew, she didn't know what she would do without the magic.