[REG] Can't go back to dorms now. (Sera x Theresa x ???) FIN

[revenant aria]

Serandite had just escaped from her Kunzite encounter. Her hands were bloodied, her cheeks was swollen and both of her eyes were rimmed with dark black and blue circles, all these wounds freshly made. Her hands painfully fumbled to take out her cell phone, tears falling down her face. She painfully pressed out Tisiphone's number, settling for laying the phone down on speaker than holding it up to her ears. She had yet to henshin out because it would be too painful to take on these injuries in her civilian form. At least, she felt as if she could barely tolerate it in this negaverse form.

She didn't want to hear Theresa's voice, her voice shakily speaking when the phone picked up. It indicated she was crying and she was. Tears streamed down her face from the humiliation and pain. No doubt, tomorrow would be worse with the actual swelling. Everywhere stung. She couldn't handle all these injuries by herself.

"Tisi... I'm s-sorta stuck near Hillworth, on a building. A-And.. I cant really get up with all t-these injuries. I d-didnt mean to bother you but.. could you h-help me?" Serandite didn't introduce herself, sniffling and stammering, assuming Theresa would automatically know who this was. Ordinarily, Serandite wouldn't rely on anyone with this sort of task. But Tisiphone was the closest person she had as a friend within the negaverse.. and Serandite desperately needed help. She felt so broken up inside.. Nothing before had hurt as much as this.

 

[Lady Mist]

Tisiphone was sorely tempted to try hitting up on an excuse to cultivate her currently cozy state on her bed, but the tone of her keeper's voice was too blatantly distressed to be ignored. Her eyes narrowed, but she was already putting on her shoes, "Injuries? The senshi?"

She didn't bother grabbing a jacket as she glided out the door, wondering if she had missed a good chance to actually cause some mischief. Prompting the other girl for directions, Tisiphone walked with a strong pace down the sidewalk leading away from the school, though it was a short distance. Her silver bracelet gleamed with a dull light that was reflected from the night-time street lamps, its power acting as a filter that dulled her senses. It didn't block out her sensing completely as she was able to catch on to Serandite's energy, wavering though it may be.

The phone had been left on during her travel, though Tisiphone hadn't actually spoken any. She never was much for chit chat, but at least she hadn't hung up right away. The girl paused as she stared up at the building, trying to pinpoint where Serah's energy was emminating from, "On a building, as in the roof?"

She rubbed her forhead and clamped the phone shut, walking around the building to the alley between it. Kneeling, Tisiphone launched herself with a leap at the wall, bounding between the wall of the two buildings like a game of vertical ping pong until she arched over and landed at the top. Keeping her senses up for any senshi, but finding none, she walked forward at a slower pace, dark eyes sweeping the area.

Tisiphone caught sight of the girl, a crumpled mess really, and she knelt next to her keeper with another sigh, "You look lovely."  

[revenant aria]

Serandite had debated if the girl would actually come for her. After all, Tisiphone wasn't the most caring person. It hurt to talk on the phone, considering her swelling cheek from the endless backhands that Kunzite had given her. But she was glad that Tisi had come. If she could have given the other a hug, she would have. But she could barely stand.

She was a bloody emotional mess. She buried her swelling face into her knees as Tisiphone approached, the simple words sparked another round of sniffling. "I.. can't go to crystal dorms like this." Serandite tried to calm down, her bloody phone on the ground, blood red hands gesturing helplessly. "I h-hate asking this of you.. but I have nowhere to go. Do you have a first aid kit at your house?" Staying up on these dirty rooftops and being shoved against that wall had probably infected the scrapes that Serandite had from battle, along with the miscellaneous injuries.

"I d-didnt have any other option. You w-were probably busy but there's nobody else I could have asked. Not without questions a-anyways." Serandite said self-consciously, shaking her head. She couldn't ask anyone else or they would ask where she had gotten these injuries. She didn't know anyone else in the negaverse to rely on them. The sniffling and stammering decreased by this point, getting somewhat calmer but looking worse as one examined her closely. Her kimono sleeve was stained with blood, her hair falling over her shoulders from Kunzite's yanking.

 

[Lady Mist]

Well, a bloodied girl would attract attention at that girly prep school. Tisiphone shook her head as she scooped Serandite up in her arms, princess-style because the girl just looked that pitiful. She was sure she had seen worse battle wounds before, but Serah was awfully keen on fashion (a brief flashback to that horrible dress shopping routine she was pulled on), so being in such a state probably wasn't all that good for the girl.

Tisiphone was curious as to what had happened, but if a senshi had done this then Tisiphone didn't want to be caught unawares with the extra baggage in her arms. She leapt back off the roof, bounding downwards with awkward pauses each time she pushed off the wall as her weight was thrown off by the girl in her arms. Taking the elevator down would be too mundane. The building had looked locked up for the night anyways.

She took the backroads to keep to the shadows, which took a few moments longer but Tisiphone figured that the other girl would prefer to remain anonymous rather than get a bandaid a few minutes earlier. They reached the teacher's dorm where Tisiphone and Nova stayed, the hallways quiet as teachers here tended to stick to strict schedules and actually go to bed on time. Tisiphone pushed the door open and dumped the girl on her bed as she pulled out a first aid kit.

Sitting on the bed next to Serandite, Tisiphone opened up the kit and started fumbling with its contents, "So.. what exactly.." She paused, wondering if this was something that should be reported to the Negaverse first.  

[revenant aria]

Okay. It was extremely awkward to be carried wedding-style/princess-style by another girl but it sure hurt a lot less than to walk to wherever Tisiphone lived. She pondered worriedly on whether Tisiphone would fall or not a couple of times. But they made it safely, Serandite realized that this was the first time she had been in Tisiphone--- Theresa's room.

Serandite worried on getting the bedsheets bloody but Theresa didn't seem to mind. While Tisiphone got the first aid kit, Serandite took the small amount of time to wash the blood off her hands and spray some cold water on her swollen face. Even though her hand wound was still bleeding because sword cuts don't heal in the span of under two hours.

"I'm gonna have to report this anyways. It doesn't matter if I tell you." Serandite said hesitantly as she seated her somewhat cleaner self back onto the bed, next to Tisiphone. She paused before speaking for a bit, as if to compile her thoughts together. "You know me.. I'm just a lowly lieutenant. Level five at most. The senshi-- no, Cavalier Kunzite was level one hundred. In fact.. I get the feeling that she's Charonite's level or above. She said.. she taught Charonite? So imagine that battle with me losing miserably, getting slapped all over the place." The words weren't making much sense to a normal person and Serandite didn't even know if it made sense to Theresa.

She faced Theresa miserably and hung her head low. "Can you believe she let me go. She was so mugh higher than me, she could have killed me anytime she wanted." Serandite formed the stabbed bunny in her arms, her precious white bunny lying there in a pathetic posture.

"Look what's happened to this weapon." The words she uttered were heart-breakingly sad. Theresa might not understand the gravity of her feelings but her only weapon was torn apart as easily as breaking a toothpick.

 

[Lady Mist]

Trained Charonite? At his level? Tisiphone wondered if the girl was exaggerating since she had been beaten, but mentally shook her head and decided it would be safer to believe her. Since when did the senshi have someone that powerful on their side though? And what was a cavalier?

Tisiphone frowned, dabbing the other girl's face with ointment on a cotton ball, "Did she say anything? Ask anything? Give any clues as to why she's here or what she wants?" Somehow Tisiphone doubted that the woman was just using Serandite as a late night punching bag.  

[revenant aria]

"She said a lot of things. I don't want to remember it. But she knew about you. And a lot more about the negaverse and this war than we seemed to ever know." Serandite flinched as the ointment came into contact with her raw red skin, taking out several bandages. Unfortunately, as her fingers flexed to pick them up, the pain of the sliced skin was quite.. painful. For lack of a better word.

"Ouch." At least, Serandite's lower body hadn't been severely injured. Sure, it hurt being shoved up against a wall. But Kunzite had more-so aimed for her face and hair rather than anything else. Besides her hands. Oh, how Serandite wished that Kunzite didnt aim for the face.

 

[candy lamb]

Tisiphone 'Theresa' Killingworth lived in the same apartment building as Gunn Killingworth, her erstwhile uncle. Therefore she should not have really been surprised at the slight smell of ozone and the new presence in the room -- she hadn't been that quiet when she'd carted Serandite in, and Gunn Killingworth kept odd hours -- and Charonite moved forward, one of his shoulders thickly bandaged, and sat down on the bed behind Serandite.

This was pretty much enough to make anyone freak the ******** out.

"Stand down, both of you," he told them, and he took the ointment from Tisiphone's hands. With the uninjured shoulder-arm he scrubbed it onto another cotton ball, and then with extremely surprising gentleness (you'd expect Charonite to grind it in to teach you a lesson) started on the wounds at Serandite's jawline.

"You fought Kunzite."

It wasn't a question.

"He tortured you."

That wasn't a question.

"I want to know what you said."

That was.

(Ursula might have been annoyed, but the ointment dabbing was about as sexual as driving a car.)  

[Lady Mist]

Tisiphone scooted over in surprise leaving the first aid kit where it sat. She knew now wasn't the time for her to speak, so she simply remained silent. It would at least be good to gather infor--wait, he? But didn't Serandite say 'she'?

Theresa wondered if she was supposed to leave for this, but her curiosity about this new figure kept pecking at her. Well, at least he hadn't asked her to leave yet. Not that she actually had anyone to gossip to anyways, much less have the personality type to gossip in the first place. Things had been so slow for her these days that any new news would be nice to hear.  

[revenant aria]

Oh s**t—Charonite was here?! He entered the room so quickly, Serandite stood up in an automatic gesture of authority and respect, sitting down promptly as he ordered them to do so. The General-King lived in this building? What caught Serandite’s attention was his.. bandaged shoulder? Before she could ask, she saw his hand nearing her injuries, flinching as he did so. But she was treated.. gently? He wasn’t going to rub it in and grind it after all? She wasn't gullible this time around. She would be ready for that grinding when it came, she told herself, her body tensing.

.. She sighed, taking a breath, getting ready to recount her recent experience. It was painful to recount considering it had happened less than several hours ago. Wow, what several hours can do to your life.

".. The Kunzite I met was a girl. She let me answer some questions in exchange for sparing my life. I didn't tell her very much. She asked where we gathered, who I knew and their names. I couldn't answer where HQ was but the rest.. I only told her names. I knew nothing of their weapons.. or powers." She included hastily and hesitantly, ready for the wrath of the General-King to fall upon her anytime like a brick.

"She knew of the two corrupted senshi and wanted to know where their starseeds were hidden. I couldn't answer that either." For once, lieutenant newbieness came in handy. "The rest was about.. Endymion..?" Serandite said in a confused manner, hissing as her wounds stung some more. "Oh.. and she mentioned several things about you too." Serandite said timidly, wondering if she should really reveal this information. But she let Charonite take in this information before continuing onwards, letting a long pause stand between them.

 

[candy lamb]

"It looks like a woman," said the General-King bluntly, "but it's a man. Don't treat him as a woman. General Kunzite is a he."

The last that Serandite had seen, Kunzite was obviously a girl. Something was going on there. A girl who had smashed the pommel of her sword into both of her eyes, which were swelling up like nothing else. But instead of destroying her with his wrath, he simply kept on swabbing at her wounds, though both of them could hear him breathing through his teeth. Irritation. If not silent fury.

"The next time," he said, "the next time. If there is a next time. You -- and that means you, Tisiphone -- will run. Do not engage. Do not speak. Do not get drawn into combat, do not say a word, flee the scene. Do not engage Kunzite for any ******** reason. Do not engage Kunzite to save another Lieutenant. Do not engage Kunzite for any ******** reason at all."

This was the last straw.

"The Negaverse have to meet," he said, mostly to himself. Then he said curtly: "Tisiphone, do you have any parsley?" (What??) "If you don't, go to my ******** room, it's all right, Ursula's asleep -- " (that had been a slight subject of gossip) " -- should be some in the icebox, amidst a heap of crap." (Vegetables.) "Get some ice as well."

Well.

"What the ******** were you thinking, Serandite? Are you a ******** idiot? Can't you gauge when someone is goddamn out of your ******** league?"  

[Lady Mist]

So the she was a he? The dangerous do-not-engage-Kunzite was a crossdressing fanatic? Theresa figured that Serandite would have picked up on any fake goods in the department. Was she missing something here?

Great, more lovely instructions. If you find something interesting, run away to continue to be bored. Even meeting Kunzite sounded more fun than sitting around at work all day. Tisiphone didn't have much of a conscious thought on the concept of dying these days, probably because every thought ended with "For the sake of the Negaverse" which seemed like a sound reason for pretty much anything.

...Parsley? She had never been a gourmet cook of any kind, and somehow she doubted that her 'sister' was either. She got up, pleading the kitchen to magically come with herbs. Theresa hadn't met Ursula yet, but she wasn't really keen on the idea of having to go near her. It stung a little that the woman she hadn't met was chosen over herself still, but news of the birth of the queen was much greater than any petty feelings. At least Nova hadn't been chosen. That was really all that counted, she supposed.

She found a bag of green.. leaves of some kind. It was supposed to be more fresh than those little bottles, but it had no label and she had no idea if that was the right herb or not. Grabbing the ice and putting it into a zip-lock bag to carry it over, Theresa gingerly held the items out, watching in silence as Serandite was tended to.  

[revenant aria]

Well, for a man, he fought like a damned girl. It was a bit difficult to keep in mind that that she was he. It would probably take some adjusting. His heavy breathing of fury sparked some feeling of panic in Serandite, not of fear (she experienced that already tonight) but panic of how Charonite’s reaction might be. He had pounded the point home very nicely. Serandite wished she had known that before fighting but that couldn’t be helped. But it was true that Kunzite had skills that far surpassed theirs. She dreaded not having Tisiphone sit right there as she spoke to Charonite but as the girl was sent off to get supplies, it couldn't be helped.

The next words of anger directed specifically towards her had her hands sweating. She didn’t try to reply in a sarcastic manner – she had done that too much tonight and look where it got her—but tried to tell it honestly.

“Well, I’m sure I would have seen that after the first move, sir. But .. by the first move, I was shoved against a wall and defeated. But I suppose the cape was a dead-give away, so I could be labeled an idiot, sir." Serandite didn't know how to reply to Charonite, the words tumbling out of her mouth. Someone needed to give "how to talk to Charonite" lessons. THEY REALLY DID. She wanted to ask what a cavalier and who Endymion was but she assumed that was what the meeting was going to about.

 

[candy lamb]

He was still dabbing at her face, in silence. It seemed to take forever for Tisiphone to come back with the baggie and the ice; he passed Serandite the cotton bud and took the two from her. They both trailed after him, a little gloomily, as he went to the kitchenette and took out the crappy blender that came with each apartment -- started tearing the parsley apart and putting the ice in as well, slamming his hand down on the BLEND button as though he had a grudge against it. It was Charonite.

After a moment he said --

"He had a message for me, didn't he. What did he say."

Charonite's voice sounded dead. Free of anger; free of rage. Dead.  

[revenant aria]

She flinched as he pressed the button with such vengeance, although she couldn't blame him. She looked nervously over at Tisiphone, directing her gaze towards the General King's's large back.

"The commander sends his regards."

The obviously contemptuous message hung in the uncomfortable silence, only the sound of the blender machine seemed to fill the air. Serandite was bandaging her hand now with difficulty, wondering what that mixture was for. Certainly not her? It looked nasty.