In Tribute (12) : In the days leading up to the Star Festival, small stone shrines began to appear randomly throughout Destiny City–on rooftops, in alleyways, hidden down long forest paths. They’re small, altar-like platforms with a little bowl in the center and a single glowing stone inside. There’s something peaceful, refreshing, about the shrine, even if no one seems to know who is setting them. However, if the stone is removed, the glow vanishes–along with your sense of peace. This was not your offering to take. Immediately, you feel something breathing on the back of your neck but there’s nothing to be seen. Returning the stone returns the area to an uneasy stillness, but if you attempt to leave without returning the stone, a mounting pressure and anxiety will grow within you. You never make it far from the shrine before some unseen force overtakes you. It feels like a great force collides into your back, and unconsciousness is quick to follow. When you awaken, the shrine is gone. All that remains is pain and fear. If you are tempted to leave an offering of your own, however small, you will find yourself feeling as though you have received the protection of something greater than you can understand. This strange blanket of security will last for the remainder of the day. A shrine never stays in the same place for long but no one ever sees who is setting them up or taking them down.
"I've seen a few of these mysterious shrines around," Kerberos said, casually hopping from one roof to the next, "but I never seemed to find one when I had what I'd consider an appropriate offering. So, naturally, I went to my world and brought back some of the glowing asphodel, but of course now I can't find them again."
He'd asked Ida to come out patrolling with him, while he looked to find one of the little shrines he'd seen scattered around Destiny City again; it was a lovely summer night, and while it had rained earlier, the storms had passed, leaving only breeziness and the cool calm of the evening.
As calm as a summer evening could be. There were people below them, in the streets, out late enjoying the improved weather. But even that felt like the sort of calm that came with being somewhere vibrant and alive.
He took a moment to look over the roof he'd landed on, and made a small delighted "ah!" when he spotted a shrine tucked into a corner.
"Aha! Finally," he said, walking over and pulling a glowing flower out of subspace. "Do you want to leave anything? I don't know who these are for, but...it feels right, you know?"
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2025 7:44 pm
It was always so much nicer to patrol with someone than alone, despite how little Ida used to do it. I always tell people to patrol in pairs so they can watch each other’s backs, but then never did it myself… but at least I bring Illyria along now, when I can.
Patrolling with Kerberos was it’s own special joy. It was rarer, since he still spent some time at the park the way Hver had. He also didn’t live in her apartment, so it forced them to set up times to meet and coordinate schedules… and hers was forever strange and over crowded with work, but when they managed to sync up? She enjoyed just being with him. She enjoyed knowing that she could trust him and count on him, and if there were kisses snuck in here and there when they paused? Well, that was a bonus, and an incentive.
“I wonder who’s setting them up…” She mused out loud as she followed him, jumping from roof to roof at his side. Her eyes were on the skyline, admiring how the city glowed from below. There were no stars to see, but the lights below sparkled enough for her tonight. Turning away from the view, Ida watched as Kerberos approached the little stone platform he’d found with a flower from his subspace, flowers trailing behind in his footsteps. It was a curious thing, those flowers he left behind… but charming. Like he shed magic as he moved…
“Hmm? Oh, yes.” Ida said as she pulled herself back to the present, considering what she might have with her that she could leave. She tended towards utilitarianism with what she kept in her subspace… medical supplies, protein bars, bottles of water… rarely, there were small odds and ends that people had gifted her or that she’d collected over time as memories, but those were as likely to be taken out to keep in her room at home, or to decorate her living space on her asteroid. She did have the flowers that hung from her hips though. They maybe wouldn’t last as long as real flowers, if they disappeared when she powered down… but real flowers were also finite, and it was the thought that counted, right?
“Have you been looking for these shrines specifically when patrolling, or just hoping you’d find one along the way?” She crouched in front of the little stone shrine as she plucked one of the little orchids from the falls at her hips and placed it gently in the bowl with the glowing stone. That little bit was a curiosity… but it felt wrong to take it. Whatever her own beliefs were, and she did tend towards believing in some higher power, someone had put it there with purpose, and it wasn’t hers to take. Maybe it would mean nothing more than a disappointed shrine tender, but why put an unkindness out into the world?
Kerberos knelt in front of the shrine, delicately setting his glowing flower next to the rock. When Ida joined him, he smiled over at her, and given that they were so close, he couldn't help but lean over to steal a brief kiss.
"Thanks for coming with me," he said, and he stood up, dusting himself off briefly. Not that it mattered much, his fuku would be pristine again the next time he powered up, but it was something to do with his hands.
"Hoping I found one," he admitted. "They never seem to be in any one place for long. But I wanted to do something, for whoever they commemorate. Especially since Destiny City isn't exactly lacking for anonymous lost." Whoever it was for, whoever was setting them up, it felt appropriate.
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2025 10:57 am
He caught her by delighted surprise when he leaned over to kiss her, drawing out a smile and a flush that felt quite nice. Everything still felt so new and exciting about this thing between them, and it was quite able to derail her train of thought.
She still felt warmed when he reminded her of the city again, so the ache was a bitter sweet one now. They did lose far too many people... a lot of them some of the most vulnerable and easiest to make disappear. This shrine didn't quite feel like that, though. There were no pictures, no personal items, nothing to tie this shrine to any one person, or even all of them. It seemed like, most often, things meant to commemorate were full of pictures, flowers, candles and small gifts. All this had was its stone... and the feeling that had settled around her when they had placed their flowers.
"Maybe we'll run into someone setting them up and find out." Ida said as she rose to leave the shrine behind and join him. "There are always weird things going on in the summer, this could be one of them. Maybe they aren't even set up by a person, but just appear out of nowhere..."
Which of course begged the question of why, which was just as unanswerable as the multi-color fireflies or the rips in space that had appeared years ago.
"We end up with a lot of strange cases in the ER every summer around this time. Certainly keeps things... lively."
It really did feel lighter, being here with Ida. If he'd come here alone, Kerberos suspected he would have gotten lost in thought and in considerations, and sat for far too long being consumed by what-ifs. By worries of how close they had all teetered on the edge of the abyss.
But Ida made everything feel...lighter. Easier. And there was the feeling of peace and protection that seemed to radiate from that little shrine--as if this was somewhere they could be certain they were safe.
"Maybe," he acknowledged. "But just as likely it'll stay one of the city's little secrets. I bet you see a lot of those at the hospital." Honestly, the thought of it was a zing of stress. "I don't know how you do that," he admitted. "I feel like I have enough responsibility on my shoulders. Being responsible for my employees' salaries is exactly as much as I can handle outside of...this. Magical situations. Though normally I don't feel like I have nearly as much responsibility as I have lately."
Most of the time, Kerberos felt like just another Senshi, doing the best he could. But being one of the ten people who brought back the first warnings of the Calamitous Hollow? That had been...well. On the one hand, terrifying. stressful. The end of the world, and all they'd had was a few guesses and some scrambling.
But on the other, it had felt good. To bring people together. To work with Lyndin and the Vanguard, with his fellow Senshi and Knights, even with Jet and the others in the Negaverse--all to make sure their world survived.
And they'd won. They'd saved the world.
So perhaps a little extra responsibility wasn't so bad.
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2025 1:37 pm
Ida considered that for a few moments, looking inwards and turning her feelings over in her mind to examine them.
“I think it comes down to how much I want to help people. I want to feel… useful. Needed? And that comes with responsibility. Just like being a Princess does. It doesn’t feel like so much of a burden, because I’m doing something that makes me feel useful.” She said, feeling confident in that answer. “Just like how doing things for the cafe can feel not that hard because it’s what you want to be doing. And in exchange I get to do some really important things and provide support that wouldn’t exist without me. Like during the battle with the Hallow. Though, I guess Ganymede could have stepped in on helping with the shield, or one of the others, but I still freed them up to use their skills elsewhere.”
That had certainly been a… unique experience. She still felt unsure what her feelings about it were, between visiting the moon, talking with Caedus, and how Lyndin had responded. But she had helped, and the shield had held longer than it would have without their help. She might have even inspired others to help, who wouldn't have otherwise. That was just as important. Ida just wished that that effort had gone towards... someone they trusted more. Someone who hadn't betrayed them to the Negaverse. It would have been nice to have uncomplicated feelings about it.
Reaching out, she caught at his hand, giving it a squeeze.
"Not everyone needs to be good at the same things. You've been able to do things I couldn't..." She said, feeling at once proud of him for that... and also a little conflicted. Like on the moon trip with Ganymede and Valhalla. Maybe he hadn't truly meant it the way it had sounded... maybe he'd just been so assured that it wouldn't come to that, that they wouldn't have to give up Caedus, that he'd been willing to agree to it. It was hard to tell, weeks later, if she had remembered correctly.
Kerberos nodded. That made sense, he supposed. To want to feel needed, to want to feel like one was doing something.
"We all do what we can," he said. "Whether it's as Keiran and Orah or Ida and Kerberos, I think." He still felt proud, for stepping up and helping keep everyone safe. He could say, honestly, that he'd done everything he could, in the weeks leading up to it and that night. "But I'm still impressed at the dedication all of that requires."
He liked to hope he could match it, in his own way.
When she took his hand, he brought hers up to kiss it, an almost reflexive gesture of affection.
"I suppose that's true," he said. "I..." He sighed. They'd disagreed, about things surrounding Caedus. And it wasn't that he didn't admire her steadfast unwillingness to make sacrifices, because he did. And it wasn't as if she could be naive, given they'd both seen over a decade of Senshidom. They'd just seen things in different ways. Reached different conclusions. "I chose to trust people I might not under other circumstances," though in truth he'd trust Lyndin basically implicitly, but that was complicated to explain, "because of what was at stake." His faith had been rewarded, he thought.
"It wasn't easy, to contemplate what it might cost. But I wanted to think that Lyndin wouldn't blackmail us like that. He's a better man than that. And I'd rather find the answer that saves everyone--and we did, in the end--but....I don't know." He sighed. "I'm glad it didn't come to the worst. I like Caedus, and I'd like to find an answer for him someday. One that helps the rest of the Velencians, too."
Whimsical Blue
Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2025 3:19 pm
Having him kiss her hand warmed her through. That small gesture meant more, in a lot of ways, than bold declarations of love. The small every day things, the things that you didn't have to do, that got repetitive and easy to let go of... those meant more, because of that. It was easier, in a way, to make a big show, to pretend for an audience. It was harder to hide the truth in those small ways, and when the truth was true care and affection? Well. It left Ida feeling light and fuzzy around the edges.
It seemed that Kerberos' thoughts were trending the same way hers were, because he brought up the same thing she had been wondering. Now, of course, they had to talk about it... and she was still conflicted.
"Sometimes we have to work with people we wouldn't normally, when the stakes are high enough." She agreed, temporizing. This was hard... if she said what she truly felt, would it start an argument? But if she claimed to truly trust him... then she should be able to tell him everything that was in her mind. And if she wanted this to be more than just a summer romance, then she also needed to know that they would be able to support each other and work together...
"There are some things that I have strong views on, that I'm not willing to bend for... and I know that some people disagree with them. I know that Ganymede has a much different view than I do, for example. I didn't say anything when we were all together because you all seemed to agree, and my disagreement wouldn't have been... productive, I guess. But something I am not willing to do is sacrifice anyone, no matter what is at stake, unless that is what that person wants."
Anxiety crawled over her skin and she was acutely aware of his fingers wrapped around hers, alert for any change in his grip.
"I know it seems... childishly naive to think any one person is more important than the good of a whole world." She said, finally stopping to turn and look at Kerberos with dark, solemn eyes. "But... there is a lot we don't know about situations like that. Like... we don't know that sending Caedus's starseed back to the cauldron would really help their world. We don't actually know that anything Lyndin told us is the truth. We don't know that his starseed can't be fixed. And more than that... we don't know what we could potentially be losing, by losing him. That's the thing that always gets me about the whole 'one life isn't worth a hundred' thinking... What if that one life could save a thousand? Is it worth sacrificing the hundred for the thousand? How do we decide that? How do you... measure the weight of a soul? And even if it was one useless person, who had nothing to give anyone else, doesn't... doesn't that person still have a right to live?"
These were the same thoughts she had had that night, unspoken then. She could feel the passion rising up as she spoke, the anxiety along side it, and the deep, shivery feeling of something she couldn't, truly, explain... Ida felt this conviction bone deep, like a law of nature. Her face felt warm as she slide her eyes away from him, flicking across the city lights while not really seeing them. She didn't want to have to argue about this with him, and maybe it was silly to bring down such a lovely night with something like this. But, it had been bothering her, she realized. Ever since that night on the moon, even having spoken to Caedus about it. It had bothered her to know the others could contemplate it, even as a last resort, and she found now that she couldn't keep that feeling pushed down any more.
