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Today was a day to take it easy. Of course, Lina wasn't exactly feeling like taking things entirely at a slow pace. Her body longed to fly from rooftop to rooftop, running across the city and away from all her problems. She was still riding high on the success of her first senshi capture and death, however, and there was very few things that would take away from that. But there was one thing, something that was for a change unrelated to her accident with Sailor Castor. Stealing star seeds had, along the way, changed.

The very first time, Linarite had vomited behind the Hillworth gym in revulsion and rejection of what she had just done. Then, it had been murder. Murder had turned into selective culling. Barren Pines had been a massacre and had made the young lieutenant feel so stimulated that for a time she had stolen seeds from only those she found most depraved. Slowly it had crept up again, and now she was taking them at abandon. After removing Sailor Wasat's star seed, however, it was almost as if nothing would ever compare again. So Linarite, being that she was a teamwork sort of person (somewhere in her slowly blackening heart), had approached the only other person she knew of that had stolen a senshi soul - Obsidian.

It was easy enough, a 'note from her doctor' telling the new Meadowview gym teacher that she needed to stay off her leg, with an offer to meet her on the outskirts of the city where no senshi might be patrolling. Honestly, she'd be shocked if he read it, the doctor's note had certainly been little more than a napkin to Andrew Collins before he told her to suck it up and 'be a man'. Some habits were hard to break. So it was that at 2am, Linarite was sitting on top of an abandoned warehouse, waiting for her fellow captain. Hopefully, he showed.

It had been awhile since the two of them had sat and just bullshitted the night away. Of course, she'd been busy having an emotional crisis over a secret boyfriend and whatever the hell Tanzanite was to her lately while dealing with a broken leg and Jada Chamberlyn. Jada, by herself, was worthy of being a major crisis. Especially when you threw her family into the mix. So Audrey had been sneaking away during her study hour to annoy Drew in his gym classes, and of course, had rumors of infatuation waived when she just said her last name with a raised eyebrow.

Why did everyone always fall for that? It was like they'd never heard of repeating surnames, you just had to be related. There was a long list of reasons that Audrey wanted to get the hell out of Meadowview, and that was one of them. So stupid.

Lazily, dark brown eyes looked over to Obsidian and she sighed. "If I needed help with that, I wouldn't have called you all the way out here. I would've gotten Tanz or one of the lieutenants. Promise, I'm not wasting your valuable time, oh brother mine." Alright, so she was also mildly irritable. The nightmares hadn't gone away, her parents were trying to get her back to the councilor, and being Linarite just didn't seem as satisfying as it used to be. All because of some goddamn senshi with a goddamn magical table. Huffing lightly, the bluenette tossed her curls back over her shoulder and folded her arms almost sulkily.

"How do you get over the senshi? Like, killing one? It just felt so good. I've never felt that good, and I didn't even eat the goddamn thing." Secretly she would admit that she'd never tried to eat a star seed. It was just one more drug, an addiction, something Linarite definitely did not need. Someone had to keep their head in the game, after all. "Now nothing stacks up. So what the hell gives?"

She'd figured that would get his undivided attention, and she'd been right. Everyone thought that Obsidian was some mysterious myriad of crazy b*****d that you just didn't look at funny or he would rip your face off. The ripping was right. The crazy was right. But he wasn't overly mysterious. With him, what you saw was what you got, he didn't hide it - for the most part.

At first she grinned at his naming her 'senshi killer'. After failing time and time again, it was nice to have a success under her belt. Nealite sure hadn't killed anyone, though these days she didn't exactly lack the power. But that, was fine semantics, and the teen was taking what she could get. Her grin dimmed just a bit when bluntly she was told that there was no going back. Nothing would be the same, it would never get better, only worse. "So what, we just have to get more senshi? What if we get a super-strong senshi? Is that the end of the line? Are we just going to be...weird seed vampires forever?" Her voice was bitter, scathing, and angry. How did you go on like that? It wasn't like you could pop a senshi every day, even if she did monopolize the time of her lieutenants. It was absolutely unrealistic!

Shoulders slumped, then rolled as a mysterious flush crept its way up Linarite's neck. It wasn't evident until it spread over her chest and ears, slowly flooding the girl's face. "I am not telling you. You'd just make fun of me, and I am so not going to put up with it! Besides, it wasn't anyone huge and important like your goddamn lucky Zodiac kill. He wasn't even transformed. How the hell is that fair?" It was a light little gripe, playful and not serious at all. A dead Zodiac was a dead Zodiac, and how it happened was totally immaterial. Fingers drummed against concrete as she weighed her next words, and threw in for the distraction.

There was no way she was telling Obsidian she killed a Senshi of Tables.

"I almost had Castor though, once. Almost." There was no longing or reluctance in that, it was surprisingly devoid of attention. "That gets me points, doesn't it?" Points she definitely did not want, not in any game whatsoever.

Ouch. If only he knew how true that last statement was, boy would he rub that into her wounds! She didn't blame him though, it was just how they operated, jabbing and sniping each other to lessen the gravity of their situation before it crushed them beneath its massive weight. "Don't worry Obby, your secret's safe with me. I'm pretty sure you would have wiped the ground with him anyway, he was just a Zodiac. Wasn't he a scrawny punk to boot? Maybe next time you'll get Nerissa." She also knew about that chain, it was a light piece of gossip in the Negaverse. Of course, Lina made it her business to know all the details. "And I obviously have no choice but to master it. I refuse to be some senshi powerslave, no matter what happens."

And yes, she was blushing.

Gloved hands pressed against her cheeks, slid up to press fingers to her eyes, and with them still screwed shut her voice sounded in the darkness. Linarite would be damned if she was going to see his face while he laughed at her! "Fine. It was the Senshi of Tables. The senshi of ******** tables. If you collapse a lung laughing, I am leaving you here. Just to be fair." She could feel it. It was coming. Uggghh.

Dropping her hands and opening eyes to glare balefully at her older friend, Linarite seriously considered if it would be worth clocking him over the head with her staff. Of course, he'd hauled all the way out here to answer her question, and she'd known that everyone would laugh. Certainly Ursula had, when she'd been informed who the senshi they'd killed was. Boy, had she ever. Charonite had been forced to give the 'job well done' speech, because their esteemed queen had been too busy not falling on her pregnant a** to do it herself.

That still rubbed just a bit.

Her tone was prim and irritated all at once, resignation in every inch of her five foot three inch stature. "I think she made a table appear between Zinkenite and Scheelite. I think she hid under it in battle and hoped for the best. Never got a chance to find out. She showed up, I had my hand in her chest in under two minutes. Very clean, very nice." Her hands were itching again, and pulling off the tiny white gloves, skin was rubbed against concrete to soothe. It didn't help. God, that memory was haunting her, why wouldn't it go away?!

"Nealite almost passed out, she laughed so hard. b***h." Eyes fixed on Obsidian again. "Are you okay? I care a bit more about you, and I'm not sure you passing out is that great, Obby." She cared quite a bit more, in fact. Especially since she couldn't teleport them both home!

The nudge made her smile reappear, a flash of grin at the contact from the man she considered her somewhat-loving big brother. Obby wasn't all that good at showing his softer emotions, but Linarite liked to delude herself that they were manifesting themselves in other ways - like shoulder nudges. It was a gesture they found, hilariously, that they both used and she returned it with a quick second to lay her head on his shoulder. All was forgiven, after all, the laughter was expected!

"I wouldn't abandon you so that a big bad senshi might find you, I hear they're terrifying. I mean, you might catch something truly awful like the Senshi of Ladybugs or Tables' best friend Ottomans, and then you'd be in awful trouble. Then I'd never hear the end of it, and I'd have to adopt Garbdis, and everything would fall apart." Palms rubbed again on the concrete, and her copper eyes dimmed slightly at the idea of this ache in her palms being consuming and exponential in burning want.

"I really think this is unfair. I've never eaten a star seed. I've never needed to." Untrue, there had been several battles where one might have come in handy. Watching Sailor Pegasus go Super in front of her eyes, the captain had dearly wished that there had been one on hand to shove down her throat. One day, the Senshi of Dreams would run out of luck. One goddamn day! "All because I've held it, just felt the tip of its power, I'm acting like some horny dude or crack addict. If I start getting the jitters, I am going to be furious." Already frustration was evident, and shoulders slumped before the bluenette straightened with another smile.

"Thanks though, for coming. I really couldn't ask you this at school, you know? Too many ears." Meadowview High had a fairly bustling population, it wasn't like sitting in a crowded cafe or a taco joint and discussing things in vague terms. The senshi were teenagers, just like her, and it was just too risky.

Linarite remained a bit longer, looking up at the stars with a wistful sigh. It was hopeful that he'd come out to meet her, the bluenette had worried a bit since she'd been promoted on his level. It had been different, as lieutenants. He'd had the seniority, and really, the ability to beat her into the dirt at any split second gave him a definite upper hand. But with so many people watching all the time, taking their cues on how to act from the captains, some the camaraderie was lost.

She missed Barren Pines so goddamn much sometimes.

Hands ground into the concrete again, and the itch finally subsided enough that Linarite felt confident with the fact she might actually find a star seed. Maybe she would even eat it. Time would tell, though the part of her that was Audrey Collins was already mocking the fact that no, she wouldn't eat it. She was too good for that. Too high and mighty for that. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to stop being so goddamn good. Wouldn't that be nice?

Shaking her head, lost in her thoughts, the captain dropped over the side of the building and caught herself easily below, heels clicking as she headed into the night. "Thanks, big brother." He was long gone, but it felt better, just to say it. It always felt better to say those things.