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 Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 9:26 pm
Andrea rubbed his hair back out of his eyes and sighed as he thundered down the stairs from the dance studio, half-carrying and half-dragging his duffel behind him. The teacher had worked with him for an extra twenty minutes in an effort to get rid of an error he had not noticed from his routine, and the repetition of one small part of his dance steps for those twenty minutes had really taken a lot out of him. That, on top of his ballet lesson coming at the end of a long day at school, ensured that the boy was quite thoroughly tired.
He just had one more favor for the studio on his way out, and that was to stick up a new sign on the front door about beginner dance lessons. To ensure that he would not have to climb another stair that was not on the way to his bedroom, Andrea had a piece of tape ready and already stuck to the advertisement, which he carried carefully to ensure that the tape would not stick to anything it was not supposed to.
Not really bothering to be quiet since the store downstairs was closed, the dancer shoved the door that separated the dance studio's stairway from the street open and then shut it firmly (tended to stick and not want to close, especially this time of year, for some reason). And then he turned to position the new sign just beside the old one; the latter had become unreadable when it had rained two days before, and Andrea pulled the rumpled and faded page from the doorway.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 9:47 pm
At times like this, Andrea may have wished that he had a faster and easier way to get home after his longer or more grueling dance practices. Teleporting would have been phenomenal. Flying would just be fun... even being able to leap across rooftops like some sort of fleaman would have been an enjoyable way to cut down his travel time.
And there was Sailor Atlas, approaching from just a couple of blocks away on another one of his quick solo patrols. Alba was still recovering from her summer-long coma, and he'd all but begged her to take it easy on using her henshin pen until she'd at least gotten back to a healthy weight. And then he'd all but insist on cooking for the both of them when he was over. It was evident that he was sort of fussing and fretting overmuch -- as if he was worried about some sort of relapse over learning about what had happened to Charlie.
His overall look was a bit strained with stress even now, but that had cleared a bit when out from behind a building, he'd spotted something. Or someone, depending on how you categorized.
It was under these circumstances that when Andrea turned back around, he'd be face to face with an unusually tall boy clad in white and deepspace purple, with circlet and boot accents that looked like they could be symbols from some sort sci-fi series. With a hand curled up to his chin and his brow furrowed, he awkwardly began:
"Hi. I'm sorry, this will seem kinda weird, but it'll only take a second... have you seen a cat around here?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:08 pm
"... Huh?" Andrea replied, seeming first surprised that someone was speaking to him, and then when he turned, surprised again to find himself looking at another one of the strangely-dressed warrior-teens.
He gaped for a long moment at the strangely-dressed other boy who had just appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. His brows drew down and he scrubbed one arm across his forehead while he crumpled the old page he had taken down in the other fist. Last time he had encountered another person like this - his own age and dressed up like he had escaped from a show set or a costume party - there had been trouble. Of course, the last time, the weird kid had not been the adversary, but still, Andrea could not help but wonder if danger and these people went hand-in-hand. Sure seemed like it on the news.
"Cat?" he repeated dubiously, taking up a careful stance as though he half-expected to be attacked by some cat-like monster. "It's not large, shadowy, black, and evil, is it? No oversized teeth or claws?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 12:12 am
It was done. It was over. Ophelia did not know what had become of the Pyrite Crystal, but the terror and chaos it's powerful grip had wrought over Destiny City had at long last come to an end. An end that had, ultimately, culminated in so many deaths-- too many deaths, and Ophelia felt sorrow for all of the lives that had been lost. As a Guardian, it was her duty to guide and safeguard the Senshi, so that they might protect the well-being and the future of Earth. The rate of youma attacks had reached an all-time high over the summer, with so many comatose Sailor Scouts. And Ophelia, who had suffered because the city had suffered, had done everything that she'd known how to do in order to make things better.
The summer had been long and very trying. The stress and the anxiety had been a lot to handle and, while she was as strong and committed as ever, Ophelia looked a little worse for wear. She was thinner than she had been before this mess, though it was sometimes hard to tell underneath her fur, but (thankfully) filling out again.
She was a cat on a mission tonight; skirting around corners, in and out of alleys, and tip-toeing along fence posts in search of the unawakened Senshi who had tickled her mental buzzer. It pleased her to note that there weren't any youma or negaverse agents in the immediate vicinity. As far as these things went, Ophelia rather preferred awakenings when there weren't any lives in danger. Sure, it was never as dramatic or as exciting, but it was safe.
The sound of nearby voices caught her attention. Ophelia was mostly hidden in the shadows of a back-alley. She crept out and, purring like a train, which sounded remarkable coming from a body as small as hers was, curled around one of Sailor Atlas's feet. Her eyes, brilliant and beautiful, shone on Andrea. It was a stare that seemed to say; 'I know who you are.'
And she did.
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:51 pm
"N-n-no, no monster, it's small," Atlas replied, fidgeting with his fingers a bit. Or at least he thought it was a small cat, he'd only caught a glimpse of it -- and even if so, it wasn't exactly like 'small' was a very evocative descriptor. And monsters could be just as small as any non-monster. "And not evil, I promise. It's got a star on its forehead, and --"
The sound of purring, loud enough to rival a chainsaw but not nearly as menacing, was enough to stop Atlas midsentence, and the hand he was gesticulating with withered and fell as the object of his search came into view. The look on his face was a mix of relief, bafflement and awe, both at the cat's presence and how he'd been lucky enough for her to fall right into his lap. Or his foot, as the case was now.
"Oh. There it is," he said, dumbfoundedly.
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Posted: Sat Oct 09, 2010 9:40 pm
Andrea looked down at the cat as it walked into the presence of the two humans (running with the assumption that the boy in the costume was a human) in a very cat-like way, and stared up at him then in a very un-catlike way. Something about the look the feline gave him was awkward, or like there should somehow be music playing somewhere. The boy found himself somewhat unsettled by the feeling he got from the cat, and looked away - first off to one side, then at the bill he had just posted, then finally he settled on looking back up at the other kid.
"Well, uh," he began, his voice breaking. A fist moved to his lips as though to cover a cough, and Andrea cleared his throat deliberately, glancing off to the side before attempting to speak again. "Is there, uh, anything else you need?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:09 pm
"Sailor Atlas," Ophelia addressed the senshi whose feet she'd roosted on, but her gaze never strayed from Andrea's uncertain expression. Her own was warm, and glowed as much as a cat's features possibly could.
"Meet Sailor Vindemiatrix, Senshi of Wine."
She spoke very seriously, and almost seemed determined to glue Andrea to the sidewalk with her eyes. This was a little creepy, though she did not know it, but it was important to Ophelia that he did not turn tail and flee.
Yes, she was a talking cat. Yes, Andrea had supernatural powers.
These things made sense together.
"I am Ophelia," the little cat smiled, and took a couple of steps closer to the boy in front of her, "Guardian."
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Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:53 pm
Oh no.
Ohhhhhh no.
Well... maybe? Atlas wasn't sure how oh-no worthy the situation was, actually. His own awakening had been a fairly traumatic experience (part of him still believed it was a mistake), and from what he had heard that was pretty much par for the course with senshi. This one was... well, it was just plain bizarre. Without that extra helping of panic mixed in it felt nothing short of surreal. Then again, how often did one bump into a total stranger only to watch him discover he was a senshi?
He felt a little bit helpless and a huge bit of awkward. He knew what was about to happen. This other person did not. So it probably seemed a little strange that after Ophelia made her introduction, Atlas replied with a polite "Nice to meet you, Sailor Vindemiatrix." -- and then promptly turned around 180 degrees and pointedly fixed his gaze upon a little bookstore across the street.
"Don't worry, it'll make sense eventually. Kinda."
There'd be a magical pen and even more magical words soon enough. And as entrancing as magic could get, Atlas was making a conscious choice in not looking at any more glowy sparkly naked silhouettes if he could help it.
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:12 pm
Andrea was pretty willing to believe in monsters and superheroes, but to be told that he actually was one? He blinked, stepping back from Ophelia and turning away, but just sort of ended up walking in a small confused circle to end up facing her again. Gaping, he looked between the cat and the senshi boy, and wondered what question to ask first.
Would this have made more sense coming from the senshi's mouth than from the cat's? ... Probably not much more.
The boy settled for crouching in front of the cat and resting his elbows on his knees while he studied the creature. "Uhh, you do mean me, right?" he finally managed. "I'm ... Sailor whatever?" Andrea swallowed, looked up at the tall brown-haired boy, then followed his gaze across the street. "Nice to meet you both, too, I guess, whoever I am."
He chuckled and rocked back, settling his bottom down on the pavement. "What does that mean, anyway?" The black-haired boy had a feeling he would find out in a second, but he was sort of hoping for at least a little warning, for whatever was about to happen to him.
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