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 Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 6:10 pm
Here was a conundrum: was it technically considered stalking if you weren't watching anyone in particular but following a culture as a whole in the name of inquiry?
Laocoon dangled his legs over the edge of the fire escape, head pillowed on his arms as he watched people passing by below him. So far he'd gone unnoticed, which wasn't too surprising. Not too many people glanced up at fire escapes in the hopes of spotting a hooded crusader carrying a sword. The black cape helped too, in a camouflage kind of way.
Even so, the position was ideal for people watching. This Earth was completely different from his own, and while Johnny could provide some information he wasn't knowledgeable about senshi. The media said they were terrorists. His past experiences said they came in all shapes, sizes, and colours. Since he couldn't just wander around the city asking people if they knew a senshi he was forced to sit and watch in the hopes that he would spot one. So far he'd had two false alarms but he hadn't given up hope. Somewhere out there there had to be a senshi.
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 6:27 pm
Azzo was not a senshi. However he knew senshi and he was walking home from the library tonight. He'd pause occasionally to look around corners like he expected something. He'd had Aurora and countless others protect his a**. He sighed, there was too many damsel in distress encounters. These countless others included one, Ares who'd told him NOT to go out, and one Selene who saved him from Negaversers.
While he didn't mind Schee he'd very much rather be careful who he ran into it, as the others seemed to just like to yank out a star seed. He wanted to keep his star seed in his chest. That wasn't fun, then again he supposed it wasn't suppose to be fun.
He glanced to the roofs for a second before continuing to walk, on. Only to pause a second later thinking about if he'd just seen what he thought he saw, glancing back again. He could swear someone was on the roof. He shook his head, looking up again. He should be use to people in weird places by now.
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 7:31 pm
Oooh someone had looked his way!
Laocoon perked instantly, leaning a little further over the railing. He had been spotted! And… passed over. How decidedly uncool. Still, the fact that someone had seen him had to mean something, right? Could senshi feel a powerful being even if they couldn't see him? Well, it was a worth a shot and it wasn't like the cavalier had anything better to do. First things first: attract the boy's attention. The cavalier cupped his hands around his mouth and called,
"Not to be a bother or anything, but are you a senshi? I'm not from the Ren Faire, by the way. Just thought I'd put that out there."
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Posted: Sat May 08, 2010 7:38 pm
Azzo cringed when the other one shouted. Was he a senshi? Oh god, was that the negaverse? He had frozen in place and turned back.
He called back, "Depends on who's asking. Come down where we don't have to shout and wake up the neighborhood?" Okay maybe that was a bad move, but if he was attacked he could always throw his bag and run the hell away. However, Azzo knew there was no way he could out run this guy, that girl with the bow had proved that, he'd just have to hope for the best.
Not from the Ren Faire...? This guy either was a senshi or a Negaverse, and since this guy was asking Azzo if he was a senshi, there was an unfortunate problem. If this guy was a negaverser he'd know what the hell a senshi was though right? Azzo seemed overly puzzled as he waited to see if the other would come down.
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 11:35 am
Good comback! The cavalier drummed his fingers on the metal railing as he considered his options. In a city like this, the odds were most definitely skewed. The likelihood that the boy he was talking to was actually a senshi (or even part of the Dark Kingdom) was very, very slim. But, on the off chance that he was trying to lure him closer for a better shot, was it worth the risk to go down there?
Well, he'd just have to give it his best shot.
Laocoon trotted down three levels of the fire escape, his boots making an echoing clang-clang-clang as he went. When he reached the one on the second floor he stopped and leaned against the railing there. It was a fitting compromise, he'd decided. The boy could see him quite clearly, he could see the boy, and he had a two floor head start if he needed to run for his life. (Which he hoped he didn't have to, barring of course the arrival of Dale Cooper).
"Okay, I'm down. Do you feel like telling me now or do we get to play twenty questions?"
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Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 2:05 pm
Azzo came closer as well, but only nearer to the fire escape. Thinking the same thing, a few stories between them he'd have a head start... maybe.
He leaned against the opposing wall of the alleyway facing the other looking at him curiously. He seemed to ponder the question, "Iunno twenty questions is always fun, and considering I don't know if you're one of the good guys or one of the bad guys, though it is hard to tell when the sides I know of seem to think they're both the heroes."
He crossed his arms it seemed like if nothing else he knew some information on what Laocoon was looking for, "It's unfortunate really, one steal star seeds and kills for... fun, one kills monsters and protects the others from the looters." His eyes rested on the hilt of the sword wondering if this guy really was from the negaverse and not just a measly LT. If he was from the Negaverse though, he was very convincing.
"Which side are you?" This seemed important to the dog eared boy. He was dressed normally, slightly fancy with his vest and button up shirt, but his pants were wider legged, almost baggy. He didn't look like any sort of negaverse or senshi.
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 4:19 pm
"Weeelll…. That's a hard one because my Prince thinks I'm a good boy most of the time but my captain thinks I'm a bad boy the majority of the time so I guess that pretty much makes me about seventy percent of one and ninety percent of the other. Does that count?" He had that s**t-eating grin on his face that his fellow cavaliers knew extremely well. Laocoon was about to become extremely difficult.
The kid certainly seemed to know his stuff, talking about killing for star seeds and monsters. He didn't say youma, but that was merely a personal preference. Anyone who got handed a henshin pen and sent off to fight deadly creatures would probably call them monsters no matter what the talking cats said. Still, it was possible he had experience with senshi but wasn't one himself.
Laocoon rested his chin on his hands as he considered the answer to the next question. "I'm not on the side that you think I'm on, but I'm also not on the side that you don't think I am. But I'll give you a hint: I do play with star seeds. Next question!"
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Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 6:20 pm
Azzo paused, looking Laoccon over curiously trying to put two and two together. The look on his face was thoughtful as he listed. Laocoon made at least the second person to mention some sort of royalty. "It counts about as much as Almost in horse shoes." Azzo replied finally on the topic of 'good boy' and 'bad boy'. Vague and general neither one was going to get very far.
"Prince?" He seemed to question, "First a Princess, then a Queen and now I hear of a prince?" He looked interested and curious. He was trying to remember the queen's name, he knew who said it.
Azzo's brow lofted as he looked at Laocoon. "So you'd steal my star seed if I don't give you want to know?" He asked arms crossed over his chest, one could mistake it for protectively.
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Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 4:28 pm
Laocoon simply beamed in response to the thinly cloaked accusation. Almost good and almost bad was good enough for him. Besides, he had yet to figure out just where this boy stood in the grand scheme of things and it was better to be cheeky than be caught off guard. Besides, it wasn't like the parallel court was a good or a bad side; it was just a side that happened to be allied with the "good guys." That didn't make him good by default.
Even so, the fact that Azzo knew about princesses and queens was definitely interesting. The fact that he didn't know about princes? Not so much. "Wherever there's a Queen there's bound to be a King, and wherever a King and Queen, a Prince. Naturally, it follows that there should also be a Princess for that Prince. And a Jack, of course. Let us not forget about them as well." The cavalier of the Maze laughed.
He let the starseed question hang in the air for a little while, no doubt thinking of how best to answer it. Finally, he said, "No I won't take it." Laocoon was studying the hem of his cloak now, playing with a stray thread. Was he bored? It was hard to tell. "If I took it I'd have to put it back and that's no fun. Besides, starseeds are just starseeds. Everybody has one. Why would I want another?"
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Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 4:41 pm
Azzo watched Laocoon pondering over him and tilted his head and shrugged, "Poker's not always a fun game when you don't know what you're betting." He chimed in softly.
He watched when Laocoon said what he did, Azzo's head canted the other way, "Well, I'd like to know why the negaverse wants them then. If everyone has one." He said in a tone that sounded irritated, before looking around.
"However, I suppose you're safe enough." Azzo waned with a sigh, he wasn't sure though he figured he could trust the caped crusader just as much as the girls in skirts. He looked around and moved to settle himself on a small stack of wooden crates. "Besides the fact there seems to be a black clad set, that follows the 'true' Queen, or so Ares says. Then the white clad ones that've saved my butt a few times from youma, monsters, whatever you call them."
He paused, looking up at him. "I'm not sure I can tell you much more than that. Which is probably if that's the case you may know as much as I do about them." He wrinkled his nose, he certainly wasn't an expert, he knew Aurora and fresh on his mind was Ares who told him, not to go out and risk his life.
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Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 6:13 pm
He shrugged. "Who knows? Why do people want more than they already have? Greed? Ambition? And is it only considered such with tangible things? Is wanting to have more knowledge greedy?" The cavalier looked up again, still grinning his Cheshire grin. "Really, I think you're much better off asking someone who knows more about star seed stealing. I don't take starseeds from people anyways. Like I said, then I have to put them back." Alexandros wouldn't be pleased with him if he found out that Laocoon was stealing starseeds. Neither would Hector for that matter. Alas.
The conversation took a sudden turn down fascinating road as Azzo brought up Ares. Laocoon's first response was to blink owlishly, but then his grin returned as he burst out laughing. "Ares? You met Ares? You poor soul, and I mean that in the nicest of ways because I do love Ares. But she is herself, as I am myself, and we cannot be faulted for being true to ourselves now can we?" The poor boy. Laocoon hopes Ares hadn't been the first senshi he'd run into. That would have certainly put a spin on the whole "terrorist" thing.
He seemed to know about White Moon Court senshi as well, but only in a superficial kind of way. Perhaps he wasn't a senshi at all, merely a well-informed bystander. "I'll let you in on a little secret. The black ones have much more fun, but that's because we're not from here. Not really, anyways."
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Posted: Fri May 14, 2010 6:22 pm
Azzo shrugged in agreement, "I dunno but it's painful as s**t. Felt like I broke my ribs again." He seemed to have a small bit of a whine in his voice, but perhaps that was Azzo getting his point across it's not fun.
He paused, "Yes... Actually she saved my a** after watching a clown in box nearly eat me." He said with a pause and shrug, "Told me to not be out again at night...." There was a long thoughtful moment when he looked up at Laocoon, "You wouldn't tell her would you?" He asked looking up at Laocoon, "It'd ruin any bit of life I do have."
He paused, "I do know they have powers, probably much the same as Ares would. Polaris, a white clad one, can basically throw metal through some sort of... magnetic pull I guess."
He paused, "Funny thing about those two. The more I think about it." He stretched for a second, "They both knew me... I'd not met them, at least not that I remember. Then again there's a lot I don't remember."
He paused if he'd had ears like his puppy they would've been perked, "Oh? More fun?" He paused, "That sounds like a good deal, maybe you guys even know what you're doing." He said in a softer almost sad tone. "So, you're on the black side? With Ares' Queen then?" He asked looking up. Of course he hadn't mentioned Selene, not that the thought hadn't crossed his mind, but the reaction to Ares was more interesting.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 3:25 pm
So this boy had not only met Ares but been lectured by her? Classy. Laocoon was still chuckling even as Azzo asked him to keep his night time ventures a secret from the smoke senshi. "Sure, sure, no problem. She's not my partner anyways, and what she doesn't know won't hurt her. But I mean I have to wonder if she hasn't been following you or something to ensure that you do as you're told." Especially after being beaten by a Jack-in-the-Box. Talk about humiliating.
The cavalier made a mental note of the name and powers of a second senshi. He wasn't quite sure how useful the name Polaris would be, but one never knew these things. At the mention of the senshi "knowing Azzo" he couldn't help but smirk. Ah yes. The mysterious dual identity. Pity Azzo didn't know. It would have spared him a lot of grief. "Senshi are magical beings, my dear boy. They have all sorts of ways of knowing things. The fact that they know you, and obvious youma target who wanders around unarmed in the middle of the night, is really quite trivial." That, and they probably went to school with the boy but again, he didn't need to know.
His smirk changed to a full-blown grin when the talk turned to his court. "I suppose you could say I'm on the black side. She's my queen by default, but I belong to my prince first and foremost. Queens may change, but the princes stay the same. You know the drill." Laocoon paused, and then said, "I have a question. Approximately how many senshi do you estimate are in this city alone?"
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 4:02 pm
Azzo looked around, "Oh... I'm sure she'd kick my a** if she knew I was out here without bothering to follow me in secret." He said looking as if he was convinced she would, "She doesn't seem the type to let herself stay ignored for long."
It was more that he wasn't beaten but merely held at a disadvantage. Considering he'd been up in the air. "So they're like Santa." He said almost in an unamused yet joking tone. "And here I thought they were super heroes."
He paused, "Eh.... I wouldn't say Youma target..." He said softly coughing, "Though Ares said it's best not to speak about that." In that fact he wasn't about to deny Ares the fact that she was right.
Azzo tilted his head, "Soo.... in a sense you're a senshi?" He asked looking slightly confused, no senshi had an outfit like that. Though from what he could see in the dark it looked impressive. Azzo nodded when the dark clad figure was talking about the Queen and the Princes, "But sometimes the princes are lost too though. I suppose your expected to die before them?" He looked up curiously.
He paused at the question of how many, face contorting as he counted, "Well... honestly I don't know. A lot? More than a handful, less than... the government armed forces. I know I've seen maybe twenty or so... not sure if that counts for the blonde black clad chick with the chain or not... which she's probably one of yours... She wasn't very nice for the few minutes I was graced with her presence."
He paused thinking, "I do know there are TONS of Negaversers, a whole army. The Anti-hero, though they like to think of themselves the heroes of the story. I don't know, taking star seeds isn't quite what I'd call heroism." He said softly, pausing, thinking about the night with the tree and how the white clad super heroes seemed not to have any idea what they were doing and the tree died saving them, a frown crossed his face.
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Posted: Sun May 16, 2010 4:36 pm
"Mmm… yes that's true." The kid had a point. Laocoon tapped his chin idly as he considered the possibility of Ares going stalker. Azzo was probably right. If the boy's word choice was telling the truth – that was to say he'd been out after dark more than once since her warning - he doubted that the smoke senshi would have remained hidden this long. She'd have shown up to box his ears and remind him of the trouble he'd caused earlier. So that meant Ares didn't know and he didn't have to tell her. Excellent.
He couldn't help but snicker at the connection to Santa Claus, eyes brightening. "Oh certainly. They see you when your sleeping and know when you're awake. And they know if you've been bad or good, so be good or Ares will have to hurt you. It's better motivation than Santa's, don't you think? Who would be good for goodness sake?" Certainly not the cavalier of the Maze, judging by his tone. But, like he'd said before, he was only a good boy some of the time.
His smile twitched when Azzo turned the topic to prince deaths and he was forced to roll his shoulders back in feigned relaxation. "Something like that, yes. Dead in body, or in mind I suppose. But senshi don't serve princes, not to my knowledge anyways. Senshi don't carry weapons either. It used to be a strictly cavalier thing, but this earth has all these…. Negaverse running around and sullying our good names." Negaverse. What a bizarre name for an organization.
The blonde in black with a chain sounded close enough to Aphrodite that he stored it away in his head. This boy had certainly been getting around. Aphrodite, Ares, and potentially even the great Black Moon Queen herself. Fascinating. And it seemed the senshi weren't enough to constitute an army, but their opposition was well ahead of the game. What a messy world the Prince had been forced to come to. "Everyone wants to be heroes in one way or another, don't they?"
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