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 Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:08 pm
After the loss of the Opal Crystal, it was time for teams to connect. It was time for everyone to connect really but sometimes you had to take it in small steps. This patrol meant something. It wasn't everyday he'd call up Tara for a surprise patrol but, after coming in contact with the negaverse, it was necessary. They were powerful. He hadn't known just how much until he'd seen it first hand. This wasn't a game. The fear that had overtaken him was slowly turning into regret. They needed this. It was the reason why they were hidden in the trees in the park having a meeting. He supposed he could have moved it somewhere else but what was the point? People could over hear them and it would be awkward to explain why they were talking about fighting tactics at a coffee shop. Besides, he couldn't invite her over his house. It would look weird.
"I'm hope you know why we're here." It was pretty obvious and she was definitely smart enough. The vice-captain didn't doubt that with all that had happened and all. "We have to get better at this strategy business and you're my best asset when it comes to that." After that someone would probably expect some cheesy romantic line but that certainly wasn't it. 'You complete me' was nowhere on the agenda tonight. Taurus realized that he needed to be a Captain but he needed to do it right. Topher's mindset was far from his own. "You'll be able to help me focus on the goal more than I am now. It's my fault our team started to fall apart and I have to fix it."
Taurus pulled his cape out from behind him as he leaned against the tree behind him, pulling lightly at the tassels on his sleeves to straighten them out. There was a heavy silence as his gaze drifted to the ground and back up to her. How could he say that they were completely overpowered by the enemy? It was almost impossible to get the words out how he wanted them to and that was saying something. "We need to get stronger individually and together or we're going to have problems on our hands. Forgive me if I work you too hard but, if that's what it takes, we're getting it done okay? We've been outranked..." There wasn't any doubt in his mind that she would follow him. At least he hoped she would follow him.
He was her Captain after all.
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Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:49 pm
It wasn't that Tara had a problem with authority. Tara had a problem with Hero Barrett. While Hero Barrett was no Giselle Petrova (who, thankfully, was not a leader and had no say in Tara's actions), she was still Hero Barrett and Tara did not like to lose to her. Or submit to her. Or even listen to her, if she could help it.
The same was not true of the rest of the Zodiacs. While Aquarius couldn't ignore an order from her Captain, she was much more likely to listen to the Princess. Or even Zue. Or Captain Taurus, who Aquarius decided was, as leader of her unit, her Captain. When Taurus asked her to patrol, she was ready in five minutes flat. She could sense that it was important and, since there were no negative feelings clouding her judgment, she could freely agree.
It didn't hurt that her Captain knew how to give a compliment. "It's not your fault," Aquarius insisted. She didn't assert that it was another Captain's fault, because that simply wasn't true. "It's everyone's fault. Mine too. We haven't been acting like a team, you're right. But there's no I in team, and that goes for guilt-tripping too. If we fail, we fail together." Aquarius hesitated. "But we won't fail. Not with this much at stake."
They had already failed once- twice. Aquarius couldn't bear the possibility of another screw-up, another Barren Pines. Not that she would have to. The Zodiacs had used up their lifelines and second chances. Now they had to go it alone- or more accurately, go it together. "Don't worry about me," she said dismissively, quite pleased that he was worried about her. "Whatever it takes, I'm up to it. There's no other option."
Aquarius shivered and pulled her hood up. It was a brisk night, but soon they would be moving and she wouldn't have time to feel cold. In the meantime, she simply had to make do. She was a solider, a Zodiac, and she wasn't going to let a little wind blow her down. They had more important things to do.
"Where to, mon capitán?
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Posted: Wed May 05, 2010 11:41 pm
No matter what she said to him, the vice-captain would always feel at fault for what was happening to them all. Of course, there wasn't much he could do but blind loyalty was certainly something he could definitely work with. Of course, he'd never really saw himself as an inspiring leader of any sort. Though, he figured that came with experience. Some were born with it while others had to find it somewhere within them.
Her response too all of this was enough to make him smile if only just for a moment. This may have been a good idea after all. "Well then, if you're all for it, let's get started shall we?" Taurus stretched out his arms as he took a step back from the tree, cracking the joints in his fingers. He was obviously still stiff from sleep. It was known that Taurus got more sleep than the dead and was cutting back just for this occasion. If anything, it showed that her Captain was indeed as dedicated to the cause as he said he was. "I don't think this will end up being a real training session. More like a cabinet meeting than anything. We need to make sure we can use our strengths to balance out each others flaws. If we aren't working as a unit then we might as well just fight with blinders." It wasn't like he doubted Aquarius but no one was perfect. In fact, them being perfect would be the biggest lie anyone could tell at the moment.
Any good team actually had to be a team rather than just jumping into a situation because they had numbers to their advantage. "We're dealing with a fairly defensive team at the moment so we need to hone ourselves as well as our attacks. I take it you don't have any professional training right?"
It wasn't easy to have a senshi of pure defense on a team that was supposed to be an epic fighting force but he supposed that wall had its uses. At least the enemy would have an obstacle to get through as they thought up a plan. Taurus sighed heavily as he tapped his fingers against the tree in thought. What could possibly help them? "Maybe we should look into some self defense classes? I'm not sure how much they would cost but it might benefit everyone to at least be able to defend themselves properly without resorting to using an attack..."
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Posted: Thu May 06, 2010 12:12 am
Rubbing her hands together to keep warm, Aquarius eagerly awaited her instructions. She was expecting a fight practice, or a youma hunt, or something else exciting. Her face fell as Taurus explained his real intentions. "A... cabinet meeting? Look Cap, I'm all for strategy, but if that's all we're doing, couldn't we have done it someplace... warmer?
"I mean," she added hurriedly, not wanting to sound like a whiner, "we need to reserve our energy for when it's really needed. No sense in wearing ourselves out standing around and talking, right?" Nice save, she thought, shifting to keep her legs from cramping. She managed to look totally selfless. More or less.
While she was less than thrilled about the situation, Aquarius listened dutifully to Taurus' concerns. His comment about them being mostly defensive made her grin. While the rest of the team might have passive abilities, hers allowed her to get into the fray. If that gave her a special role in the team, she certainly wouldn't object.
"I'm not a pro exactly, but I did do lightsaber combat. I still do, just, you know, not as often. Busy saving the world and everything." Aquarius was proud of her faux fighting skills, but was aware that they wouldn't help her much in a real battle. The idea of self-defense classes seemed a good one to her. "I think they have free classes for women some places. That would work for Scorpio and me, at least." She paused. "Maybe you and Leo could wear wigs?" she asked, not entirely joking.
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 10:18 pm
So, Aquarius did have a good question. The park in the middle of the night probably wasn't the warmest idea. In fact, Taurus would have been regretting it as well if he didn't have a reason. "Well, we mostly patrol at night," he said rather confidently, "We should be learning how to deal with the cold as if it were second nature." Though she did have a point. Conserving energy would be a good idea and they should at least be keeping themselves warm.
Taurus couldn't help but laugh. "Anything to get out of the col huh?" He rolled his shoulders, shaking out his wrists as if his fingers had started going to sleep. "Let's take a bit of a walk then. Walking isn't going to drain our energy is it warms us up will it? Besides, I'm used to running around rooftops when it's this cold. All of us should be ready at any moment. Just be glad it isn't raining or we'd be having a lot more fun out here. There's nothing like a little wet fabric to weigh you down right?!" The Captain finished with a chuckle after that insightful glimpse into how far he would go to make them a team once more. She should have suddenly been very happy that it wasn't raining. They would definitely have been doing the same thing but in the mud.
As much as he wanted it to help, lightsaber training would only get them so far. It might help her in the long run but Aquarius could actually fight without help. Maybe it could help some other time. "I'll keep that in mind if we find some sticks. Could get us out of a jam if we needed it to!" Of course, the thought of he and Leo in wigs wasn't the image he wanted to have in mind while he was trying to sleep.
"I'm not sure that would work. They'd probably figure it out as we walked in the door but I'm glad you agree. They might even have a club at school or some sort of program we could participate in. Then it would be free for all of us and much less suspicious than four kids trying to enroll at some community center with no prompting whatsoever." Though, there were the attacks all over the city. That would be as good a reason as ever if they wanted to try. Still, that felt a little too easy. "But, speaking of the weather, I think we need a home base. My house would only be good during the day since that's when my parents are gone and I'm not sure about school. Unless we started some random club that we didn't let anyone else join. Any ideas?..."
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Posted: Tue May 11, 2010 12:53 am
Taurus' laugh made him lose a couple of points in Aquarius' book. She wasn't very fond of his insinuating that she had a selfish desire to get out of the cold. Her points were totally valid! And if she had a slight problem dealing with extreme temperatures, well, that was nothing to laugh at.
But he did offer a good counterpoint, so she didn't argue. That was why Aquarius listened to Taurus in the first place. Even when he laughed, he still treated her as a valuable member of the team. He didn't throw out her arguments just because they happened to be unusual, or not always feasible. He considered them and offered his own thoughts in return. Aquarius liked a good debate, and she automatically liked anyone willing to engage in one with her.
She followed eagerly, still rubbing her hands together. It was not the first time she wished her fuku came with gloves.
"The closest thing to any martial art I've seen at school is cheerleading, and believe me, you don't want to go there." Aquarius had gotten used to the less refined techniques they used at Meadowview, but she couldn't say she enjoyed it the way she used to, and was considering moving on to another activity. Self-defense would hit the spot, if they found the right class. Or, if that didn't work...
"Maybe we can start our own," she mused aloud. "I've been looking into the protocol for starting up new clubs. I don't think I can start two, but maybe you or Leo can start one to try to raise awareness about the youma attacks. We'd have to find a teacher, and a sponsor, but it's an idea." Aquarius shrugged. "As for a base... Kent's cool with company, but he's smart. He'd catch on. I'll think about it, see if anything pops up."
It was nice, discussing strategy and training with her captain. Aquarius didn't how much she missed the other Zodiacs until she was spending time with them, and her teammates doubly so. "Anything else on your mind, Captain? I know we've got a long way to go, and I'm glad we're taking action, but that doesn't mean we should forget how far we've come."
It was meant to be a positive comment, a pep talk, but as soon as the words left her mouth she knew they were the wrong ones. None of them would forget how far they'd come. None of them could forget those they left behind.
"I mean..." Aquarius floundered, searching for something to say. "No, never mind. My bad, I'm sorry. We're supposed to be looking forward, aren't we, Captain?"
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