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 Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:05 pm
If there was one thing she loved most about Crystal, it was the privacy and space. The day was beaming warm, more than comfortable enough to find a secluded bench near one of the gardens. No sweet scent drifted through the air yet, though she'd heard some of the students and hired gardeners were already starting to poke away at the soil and remaining flora.
Spring was coming, and it was very much going to locate Lilith and Raja somewhere outside where they could enjoy the warmth of the sun and fresh air. The Picture of Dorian Gray, in all it's vastness as a book written in braille, lay open in her lap as she reclined back on the stone bench, layered pastel skirts flowing around her legs and over the edge of the seat while a light tee remained snug. She'd piled her hair up beneath her head as a pillow, eyes closed as one hand ran over the pages to read, the other idly scratching Raja behind an ear. The canine herself was stretched out along the ground beside her mistress, basking in the sun as well. Beside her and in the safety of the shade, a small bag packed with a lunch for the two, complete with two bottles of water and a bowl for the dog to drink out of. Dog food with gravy was already packed in a Tupperware container especially for her.
But Raja was a little fidgety, having already made it clear during their last few walks she wanted to return to their lovely park instead of sticking to the school's campus. Not that Lilith could argue, really. Even just walking the streets of the city was nothing in comparison to trekking through the paths of the park. Reading and napping would have to do for now... until she decided she'd had enough with the "advice" to stay away from the park, that is. Because, really, the park was as safe for her as any other area in the city.
Being a senshi made any Negaverse agent, youma, or other senshi encounter just about the same level of difficulty in her book... assuming the first and last were on the same power level as her, that is. This note was made in dedication to Super Sailor Iris and all her slice through almost anything glory.
Her fingers stopped moving over the raised bumps on the page, her mind beginning to wander towards the other night. *********, Iris, the Asteroid scouts... was it a bad thing she could take in all that information and just turn around and return to her "normal" life? She turned her head towards Raja, empty eye opening a crack. "Maybe I am taking it all too well. Perhaps I should be back in my room pondering over it all?" The best part was, she was serious in this question, something the golden retriever acknowledged by just giving a sigh and a shrug, the uplifting of which Lilith felt. "Well, at least it'd be more productive than just lying here reading." It was thoughts like this that kept her from moving past the point where Basile first showed Dorian his painting.
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Posted: Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:54 pm
Why did Destiny City have to be so big?!
********* had managed to locate Sailor Iris, aka Ellie Spectre, earlier that week. Considering how the first meeting went, this second encounter went about as well as expected. It was brief and rather difficult. If it weren't for the fact that cats weren't supposed to talk, this particular cat would have been the sort to talk to herself.
Today, her travels brought her to Crystal Academy. The manx cat had visited this school's campus several times before and found nothing. However, today was slightly different. Today she was seeking out a particular person. For some reason, her paws led her towards the garden area. It wasn't exactly a bad thing. It was a bit refreshing actually. Sometimes ********* forgot that there was still plant life in this city, after wandering through the streets everyday.
As she moved through the flowers, her bell jingled lightly. She knew that Metis was somewhere nearby. ********* just picked a really awkward pathway to get where she wanted to go.
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Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:11 pm
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she wondered if she'd ever be able to finish her book.
Slowly Lilith began to sit up, Raja beside her perking up at the sound of the bell as well. Now, a dog's nose could find plenty of clues in the air a human could only dream of picking up, sniffing the air and letting the odor molecules register in her brain as golden ears flicked forward in attention. A cat? A cat was a new smell around here. Lightly, her tail began to pat against the ground, a little wag as curiosity began to filter through her. Duty kept her pinned to the ground near her human, of course.
The human herself was frowning faintly to the sound. She could hear no accompanying footsteps crunching over the grass, unless the individual was just wearing good shoes or light on their feet. "Hello?" came her venturing voice, closing her book on habit as she moved to set he feet back on the ground and straighten her skirt. It wouldn't be a huge shock if one of the gardeners were out and about, or another student, but with a bell? This was quite new.
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Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:22 pm
The fluffy cat paused in step after passing a small row of daisies. Her ears were standing up straight, but twitching slightly at the questioning voice. Perfect! That voice was familiar and nearby. It was exactly who she was looking for too!
Without any hesitation, the cat bounded through the flowerbed towards the bench, her collar's bell jingling wildly. Her pathway was literally flower bed straight to under the bench. Cautiously, she wandered forward to the edge of the bench where two feet were dangling. She peered out cautiously, as if to check that this was indeed the correct person. Sometimes it was hard to tell, since physical appearances seemed slightly different from Senshi to Civilian.
Only when the green eyed feline was certain, she greeted in a quieted voice "Yes, hello to you too!"
The cat wandered out slightly, then hopped up onto the bench, landing firmly on her paws. Apparently, ********* had still yet to notice the dog, but for now, she padded up to Sailor Metis and bumped her head against her side.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:51 pm
The bell was going crazy, and growing louder by the second! Raja still hadn't moved beyond lifting her head and wag her tail, doing well enough to tell Lilith she should have little to fear from the jingling. She was curious, she was confused, and a little suspicious about the source... particularly when it came to stop beneath her seat. Well, now she knew it couldn't be a person. A youma would - she would hope - have Raja growling and the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.
A little voice squeaked a name in the back of her mind just before another little voice blurted from under the bench. "Oh!" Her startled expression quickly melted into grins when she felt the guardian nudge her, hand automatically lifting to find the feline and give her scratch behind the ear. "*********, you found me. Welcome to Crystal Academy." A part of her was pretty astonished by the fact she'd come out all this way, though she wouldn't dare renounce the blip of joy it caused.
Now this was most certainly a sight for Raja, the canine rising to sit before both human and cat as she inspected the two. Had she a voice, she might have commented that she thought she smelt something odd about her sailor suited mistress the other night. Poking her nose against Lilith's leg, the girl moved the book completely from her lap and onto the bench to then free her other hand to pet the dog. "Allow me to introduce you to Raja, number one guide dog and canine companion." Even blind eyes could wink, unseeing gaze angled down towards the cat. The tail was really going now, golden covered muzzle opening slightly to let out a soft yip of her own greeting.
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Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 11:31 pm
Oh, Sailor Metis was so kind and so nice. It was so different from Sailor Iris. The feline leaned into the scratches behind her ears, purring very gently. For a moment, ********* green eyes pinched shut from pure bliss, but when they opened, they found a dog.
A dog named Raja apparently.
"You know, you are rather funny!" A small airy giggle escaped the feline. "You introduced your dog before you introduced yourself as you are right now to me. I know who you are, but I want to know what you are called when you are not a senshi."
There was only a slight pause before she added "First and last name if you could?"
While she awaited an answer, she looked at the girl, catching the wink directed at her. Why was it so hard for Ellie to pay attention to the cat when a blind girl seemed perfectly capable of being attentive like ********* preferred.
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 12:54 pm
A blush crept across her cheeks along with a sheepish smile. "I suppose it is kind of odd. Sorry, my name's Lilith Calchas." Was it so weird to introduce someone else before yourself though? Besides, ********* knew who she was. Kind of. Sort of. She had a name to a face at least, unlike with Raja.
She kept her hands atop and next to the dog's and cat's heads respectively, though the affectionate movements had slowed to just absentminded versions. "You know, that's the first time I've told anyone I met as a senshi my name." Other name. Civilian name. Whatever.
Her lips pursed a bit despite the smile as the train of thought moved along, brow perking. "That aside, what brings you all the way out here?" Suddenly, she began to have a miniature prayer the little cat didn't walk all the way out here from the hustle and bustle of the city. Just thinking of her making the trek from Meadowview to the school pulled her heartstrings. Could cats hitch rides on public transportation?
Under her hand, she felt Raja's head shake slightly, listening to the quick "sniff sniff sniff" as her nose surely twitched away. How did other animals usually react to cats that talked with human tongues? Could they understand each other? There was a wonder of a thought.
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Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2010 2:12 pm
Lilith Calchas' eyes would never see it, but ********* maw managed to make a small smile at the introduction. Keeping her pale green eyes fixed on the dull green eyes, she nodded her head. "It is nice to meet you, Lilith." As if to encourage the blind girl to continue with pettings, the feline's head rubbed up almost desperately against her fingers. ********* knew what she liked, and the slowing movements of her fingers was not quite as pleasing as the previous motions.
The obvious question was soon enough asked, which received an honest answer.
"I wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing." Even though other guardian cats might not have taken time out of their busy schedules for social visits, ********* made certain to do such. Part of it was because the pale spotted feline liked to learn more about her girls, but the other part was strictly business. Fitting this social time in with her searching and investigating really did make this cat very tired at the end of the day.
The manx rubbed her head against Lilith's hand one more time before padding across towards where the dog was. Only once in front of the dog did she sit down and look the dog straight in the eyes. "Hopefully you don't mind me taking Lilith's time like this, Raja."
********* didn't even know this dog. She didn't know the dog's personality. Yet *********, without a worry in the world, leaned in and gave the dog a small feline kiss to the nose. It was a bit scratchy, but it wasn't exactly like the feline could really do anything about that.
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 6:07 pm
A giggle popped out when the cat's silent request rang out crystal clear, returning to the more active scratching and petting. "It's nice to meet you too, *********> True facts. She was infinitely grateful towards anyone that could help her make sense of this strange magical world she'd awakened into. A friendly guardian cat with a plan? "Happy" and "thankful" were understatements.
The little worries about the hows of the feline's presence was pushed aside in favor of the touched 'aw~!' warm-fuzzes the response gave her. "I hope I didn't take you too far out of your way, but thank you. All is well here, the day's probably too nice for anyone to cause any trouble." Her voice was edged with humor, though probably a silent prayer as well. "Tonight's supposed to be on the warmer side as well, should make patrolling more enjoyable." She listened as the tiny paws moved, wondering again just how much of an understanding or connection the two animals had.
Raja watched *********, brown eyes easily locking onto the green easily. An ear twitched in its attentive state at her statement, giving a simple little woof in a cheerful tone akin to "no problem!" At the lick, she gave the biggest doggy smile she could, mouth opening wide with her tongue still firmly in her mouth, tail whipping behind her quite happily. For a second it looked like Raja might return the favor before her mouth closed once more, instead giving the cat a gentle nuzzle, muzzle rubbing against ********* cheek lightly. Small as the cat was, least the dog could do was not knock her over in the returned show of affection. That would be quite rude, after all. Raja was most certainly taught better than that, though her trainers probably didn't expect the high rewards for kindness and loyalty and all around good behavior towards her future master mistress would be equally presented towards other animals quite like this.
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 7:48 pm
"Ooooo, you are a love, aren't you, Raja?" There was a clear purring sound that escaped her while she laughed, nuzzling up against the snout a bit more. She gave one more scratchy lick to the dog's nose before padding back over to Lilith, making her way onto the girl's lap and looking into her dulled eyes.
It was just a habit. Too bad if the girl couldn't see her.
"It was no trouble at all. I actually don't remain idle for very long. You can't get much work done if you sit around. You'll find that I am all over the city each day." The tailless cat laughed once more. "It would be nice to find your other teammates, you know?" ********* really was a fresh breath of air compared to Astraea, since she wasn't stuck in b*tch mode 24-7.
However, her own mention of teammates did manage to get the wheels turning in cat's mind. Not being the one to hesitate over her own questions, she decided to ask "I was somewhat curious as to how well you know Sailor Iris... when she is not Sailor Iris? I mean, it seems like you two knew each other last time we met. I don't know how well you know each other, but it didn't seem like the first time for you two meeting."
The cat paused for a moment to do a very feline thing, randomly licking her paw and swiping the now dampened paw over her head, behind her ear. "Does that make sense?" she added as an after thought.
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Posted: Fri Apr 09, 2010 11:00 pm
Raja would have been grinning like the Cheshire if she could, though settled for a little yip of agreement (modest might not have been the dog's best trait sometimes), happy to lie down back on the warm ground now that introductions were complete and she was fully satisfied this feline was a friend. No need for her to supervise the conversation, nope nope!
Upon feeling the cat on her lap, Lilith's head automatically turned down, a hand moving to find and then lightly rest on ********* back. Not that she couldn't keep her own balance without the hand there, the girl just found it a reflex to want to just... ensure a critter in her lap won't go tumbling down the slight incline and off her knees. Her thumb stoked softly as she listened, nodding in agreement after a moment, a thoughtful expression coming on. "That is true. But... all over the city, every day? Well then, thanks for fitting me into your busy schedule." She was genuine about that. Trying to find six specific unawakened scouts in a city this big... Lilith was starting to wonder when the cat would cease putting her in such awe. Such dedication! "You're quite an amazing cat, ********* expression didn't change in the slightest for this new question, pondering going hand-in-hand with thoughtful. She did give ********* a strong nod to show she understood at least. "I... have no idea who Sailor Iris is when she's not, well, Iris." She gave a little sheepish shrug, lips twitching to the side. Beyond the time when she'd called Iris to set up the training session, she'd never given too much thought as to who the other scout was when in civilian form. Was that odd?
"We met twice before that, actually," she informed the cat. "First time was a the park when a youma attacked, second a random alleyway when... another youma attacked." Though the rat hadn't shown itself until after a rather -important? influential? interesting?- conversation. "I suppose I should be shocked one didn't show up at the field that night with that trend."
Lilith frowned slightly, brow crinkling. "I wouldn't say we know each other especially well, but she seems like a good person to me. Rough around the edges," which may or may not be an understatement, "but with a good heart nonetheless." The girl was a senshi after all, that had to count for something, right?
"Why do you ask? Have you... met her when she's not Sailor Iris?"
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 6:16 pm
"If I was amazing, I would have all of my girls neatly in a row," the cat corrected in a slightly stiffer tone. Yes, ********* was pretty amazing, but her stance still remained. Praise was not deserved until she had done more.
The cat remained in the girl's lap, thoughtfully staring into her blind eyes as Lilith sorted out the answer to ********* question verbally. It was a bit creepy for a cat to remain so attentive for so long, but it was how ********* was. She had firm beliefs about listening carefully which were hard to break.
Lilith finished speaking, and with a slight pause, the manx answered what needed answering.
"Yes, I checked up on her before I checked up on you. Yesterday in fact. However, she was not nearly as accommodating as you have been. Practically was trying to give me the boot the moment she saw me."
Her fur puffed up slightly, remembering how rude Ellie Spectre had been. "Unfortunately, it is not my place to be giving civilian names back and forth, so it would probably be in your best interest to learn it on your own. I promise, it will be helpful in the future." It wasn't like one could go walking around referring to someone as Sailor Iris or Sailor Metis on a daily basis. That would completely ruin the idea of having a secret identity.
"And to be honest, it is a surprise that there was no Youma seeking you out that evening as well. You are aware that Youma are attracted to Senshi starseeds when they find them? If given the choice between a normal starseed and a Senshi starseed, a Youma would probably go for the Senshi one."
Obviously, ********* had gotten off topic, but with a quick rattle of her head (and a slight rushed jingle of her bell), the guardian cat was able to refocus her mind. "...I see goodness in Sailor Iris. It's her reluctance to work with others consistently which is getting me nervous." Nervous was a very accurate word, and after saying that word, the cat literally lay herself down in Lilith's lap.
"...what do you think we should do, Lilith?"
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 8:41 pm
Well that was an interesting thing to say, though Lil made no comment to argue despite sticking with her previous statement. Yes it will be fantastic once the rest of the team is gathered, but that in no way belittled ********* greatness at the moment.
The topic was switched, and a slender brow rose. "Yesterday? Was she we- oh my." She winced, a part of her not too shocked at the news while another began to debate how soon she should speak to the Senshi of Rainbows about her dislike of the cat. Was it even her place to comment? She wasn't too sure, another mental debate all together quickly rallied up to that. "Was she busy? Perhaps the location made her uneasy?" was all she could think to offer the puffy kitty, petting her briefly to further try and sooth her. How secluded of an area had they spoken in? Not that the gardens in which the two sat now was without its random visitors on occasion, but it wasn't popular enough this time of year for Lilith to start worrying about eavesdroppers right now.
Her head bobbed slightly in a nod, brown and gold locks slipping down around her face. "I understand. To be honest, I'd rather hear her name from her own mouth as it is. Just as I would rather her near mine from me." She paused to tuck her hair behind her ear, a little smile slipping back into place. "It would be nice to talk to her without being Metis all the time. We are more than just senshi after all."
The information about the youma clicked into place, stirring the memories of when she first awakened. "Astraea- er... Luna?" Which name were they to refer to with her, anyways? "She told me what the starseeds are and such... but never mentioned youma preferred them." Or at least she didn't recall such information. "That makes sense though. Thank you for telling me that." Information like that might just come in handy, after all.
Her mood was still light, but as ********* returned focus on Iris and the brewing situation there, Lilith fell quiet. What could they do? It wasn't as if they could force her to suddenly pop into a pro-team person. She kept her silence for a time, lifting her useless eyes towards where logic told her was the sky, face drinking in the warmth of the sun as her mind twisted and twirled. She thought of other occasions when she worked in teams, though all were school projects or something of the sort. "If you don't know anyone in a group," she started slowly, head lowering to "look" back at *********, "it makes it harder to feel attached to it, right?" She was grabbing at straws, her own experiences, no proof any of this could hold true to Iris. "She needs to decide for herself what she's going to do, obviously, but maybe... I don't know. Maybe seeing the team as a group of friends, instead of... a... group of co-workers, maybe that might help her?" Her train of thought was working itself out as she spoke, only after did she stop to really think about what she'd just said.
Her lips twitched to the side, brow wrinkling slightly. "Maybe that's just a silly idea, I don't know." The wrinkles grew more defined as she continued to deliberate. "You are attached to the team because you know it's what you must do, right? The team is your team, we are your girls." She didn't even notice for a moment she used ********* way of referring to them. Her free hand went to her chest as she continued, "I feel attached to the team because it feels right to work with others. I'm learning to better myself as a scout, but there's only so much I can do alone. If you say this is where I belong, then I'll do all I can to help and prove that it's true." Her expression softened as she spoke, the hand dropping back to the bench. "Iris is strong, even on her own. Maybe we just need to help her find her reason to be attached to the team." Somehow. Somewhere in the back of her brain she knew she must sound like a broken record, and once the flow of words stopped, she felt a light heat flare in her face. Determination can be a good thing... but was running your mouth before you stopped to think?
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:29 pm
"Astraea."
The feline merely corrected Lilith as she saw fit. There was only one way that ********* would call the other gray guardian cat Luna, and that was when the crescent moon was on her forehead. Since she was not in that form a majority of the time, she was simply Astraea. The rest of the girl's statement was fine, so there was no further interjection. The tailless cat just lay there politely looking into her eyes as the Crystal Academy student offered her opinion.
"Thank you, Lilith!" she offered once the girl had finished up. She stood up again and padded closer to rub herself up close, as if to express her gratitude in a way other than words. As she seemed to cuddle, the feline answered some questions which had been asked, but hadn't been addressed yet.
"Iris was at home it would seem. Nobody around but me and her." There was a slight cocky undertone to her voice as she mentioned "I am very good about not talking around other people."
Clearly Raja did not count as a person.
"Lilith, I value the opinions of all of my girls. There is no such thing as a 'silly idea' if you ask me. Unless your suggestion was to have her wear a banana hat or something. Then I might call that silly!" It wasn't past the spotted feline to laugh at her own jokes, so she easily let out a small chuckle. "No, you are right though. She really doesn't know anybody." She paused before adding "That's probably my fault."
Even after blaming herself, ********* didn't sound all that upset. It sounded like faint disappointment was in her voice, but nothing all that detrimental. For a moment, the cat stopped in step, set her rump down promptly, and with her hind foot began to scratch behind her own ear.
Oh yeah, that felt NICE!
After that rush of jingling sounds stopped, the cat was once more back to being very attentive, eyes once more on the civilian's. "I suppose all I can do is ask you to get to know Iris better then. If you do that much, I can try to work things on my end as well."
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Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2010 10:26 pm
For a time, she didn't trust herself to start talking again so soon. Last thing she needed to do was give another pointless speech. So, mouth politely clamped shut, she listened to ********* - though tucked away Astraea away in the back of her mind as the correct way to continue addressing the other guardian cat. To the quick cuddle Lilith actually gave the manx a small hug, appreciating not being laughed at or some such for her rambles.
She could nod in respect and agreement from her now own experience to the cat's wise choice to not speak when others were around them. If she noticed the slightly cocky tone or how Raja wasn't included in the people count, she said nothing to either, though a brow ticked up a notch for the briefest of moments. She wasn't deaf, but her attention drifted from those minor points as the feline continued, reassuring her with an odd little joke. Really, she was going to have to thank ********* for the mental image of Sailor Iris in a banana hat at some point. The corners of her mouth twitched up, then twitched right on back down at the admittance of fault for the situation. "I wouldn't say it's your fault," she started softly, breaking her silence. "How could it be when you two just met?" Both trying to comfort and find an understanding for another's logic all at once left her with a lack of words and a little smile at the same time.
The sudden mass jingling made her blink, head tilting slightly to try and better listen to figure out what was going on. Once she pieced together the cat was scratching herself, while she couldn't figure out where she still held up her hand in a silent offer to resume petting if she so wished. Still she spoke, "I planned to do that anyways." The smile grew, confidence flickering back into her. "At the very least, I believe she still intends to train me to fight, so that and meeting when not as senshi are two places to start." Unless something changed since she'd last seen Iris, which she would like to assume hadn't... if not kind of prayed hadn't. Her curiosity nudged at her tongue till she finally gave in, "What will you do, *********>
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