|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 5:30 pm
Maris was completely sick of snow. Completely. She'd taken to drawing her blinds so she wouldn't have to look at the damned stuff while at home. Hell, she'd have tossed out that chintzy snowglobe solely for being a snowglobe if the song it played hadn't been so lovely.
Totally. Over. It.
The young woman rubbed her hands together irritably as she plodded down the street, trying to avoid ice slicks. She'd already landed on her a** in a snowbank once on the way to class. If only she hadn't had to wait so damn long for the class reserve book at the library, she could be nice and toasty right now - not slogging through the damn snowstorm again. She couldn't even see the stars through the clouds overhead, still spewing snow over Destiny City.
Absolutely awful.
Maris let out a sigh, her breath pluming out behind her in a visible cloud... unaware that something else was behind her as well... watching. Waiting.
Hungry.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 6:56 pm
The fact of it all was there were two something elses behind her. Both watching. Both waiting. Both hungry.
Though, in the blue haired girl's defense, one of the something elses was much more overwhelming. In fact, it was salivating a strange red goo from its mouth as it watched this young lady walk past. It was leaving a mess in the snow that looked far more sinister than it really was.
The other was a fairly unhappy kitty. She had been trailing this girl for a while, and all the while, the snow had been melting into her fur and making her a cold soggy cat-sicle. And her tummy was complaining at her. Never mind the fact it complained at least 50% of the time. Her paws were starting to get a bit tingly, which meant she needed to find shelter and find it soon.
In the cat's desperation, she let out a whining mewing sound before hopping about in the snow a bit so her neck bell would jingle.
Come on Adhafera... pick me up and cuddle me... please please PLEASE!!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 10:23 pm
The sound of the thing behind Maris was completely missed - however, the sudden bright spot in the snow, the jingle... that got her attention. "Oh dear," she sighed, realizing that it was a cat, leaping up and down with a pitiful mew. Really, she didn't have time for this - but she couldn't, in good conscience, leave such a small creature alone in the snow. Not on a night like this...
"Hey... c'mere, kitty kitty," she said, stopping and crouching, holding out one gloved hand to the cat. She wasn't sure what she'd do with it once she had it. Drop it off at a shelter, maybe, unless it had an ID tag on that collar along with the bell.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 7:48 am
Pausing from her showboating the moment the girl approached, the feline almost seemed to smile. Could cat's smile? Given perhaps two seconds for smiling, the kitten-sized cat bound over to the gloved hand, immediately snuggling her face against it. Kitty wanted to get warm, so kitty wasn't exactly going to run off or play hard to get. Then again, ********* had never been the sort to play hard to get in the first place.
The something else licked its chops, spattering a small amount of red into the snow again. Oh yes, the way this girl was kneeling down was making her a sitting duck. A delicious energy filled meal for the king of Youma. Well, it wasn't exactly the king of Youma, but it felt like it was going to be in a few moments. It dared to step out a few more steps, stalking this human almost like a canine of some sort. Despite the fact it was indeed on four legs, it definitely wasn't a dog. It would have been the ugliest dog known to man, since its jaws seemed to peel open like a banana or some sort of exotic plant.
The tailless cat mewed out enthusiastically. Pick me up and start moving!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 9:40 am
"... Okay, okay," Maris sighed, still oblivious to the monster's presence; the rush of wind and snow was an excellent screen to anyone who wasn't expecting such a beast. She reached down and scooped up the cat carefully, fumbling at the collar, looking for a tag. It was hard with gloves on. "Who do you belong..."
A splatter of red landed near her feet, shining against the whiteness, impossible to ignore.
"... to..."
The hairs on the back of Maris' neck stood up.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 10:39 pm
If it was possible for the beast to smile with such a strange mouth that peeled its own face open, it might have seemed like it was doing such.
Why couldn't the youma have waited for like, two more minutes? The cat had finally gotten a small hint of warmth when she was picked up, only for the Negaverse lackey to steal that opportunity away. Leaning in as close as she could to the girl's bosom, the cat said in as calm a voice as she could "Move forward slowly about 4 feet, then move towards the alleyway. There should be a fire escape ladder. Go up it..."
There were always advantages to being well traveled in this city. The manx just hoped that the girl wouldn't freak out about the talking cat part yet. Or that she would generally listen to the directions.
Another small spatter of crimson dotted the snow, reminding the girl that there definitely was something behind her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 10:44 pm
Maris blinked - and now she felt the heat of the monster's breath, rolling over them both in a fetid wave that, thanks to the cold temperatures, was visible as vapor in the air.
For a moment, her brain was trapped between impossibilities - talking cat?! versus oh god, oh god, what's behind me-
And then, blessedly, instinct took over. Maris clutched the (talking?!) cat to her chest and ran, the soles of her boots skidding on the ice and snow. Behind her, she heard whatever-it-was scrabble after her, though it seemed the slippery conditions were as unkind to it as they were to her.
She nearly fell turning into the alley at speed, and ended up slamming into one wall, turning at the last minute to take the brunt of the impact on her left shoulder. Panting, Maris reached up with one hand and found the fire escape ladder, the chill of the metal detectable even through her gloves.
She could drop the cat and climb. The cat would probably distract it-
-but if she did, she'd never figure out if it had talked, or if she was just going crazy. Maris shoved the cat into her coat, unceremoniously, and grabbed the ladder's rungs with both hands, clambering upwards, praying the thing behind her couldn't climb.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 7:41 am
Oh, a chase! That always made getting a meal fun! Snapping its jaws back shut, the monster immediately started after this girl. Of course, it hadn't calculated how slippery the ground would be, since it had been carefully stalking earlier, rather than carelessly running, and every so often, it would slip to a side.
So much for her advise. Oh well. It seemed that the weather had somehow managed to assist with their escape. If she had been a slightly bigger cat, she might have been able to peer over the girl's shoulder from where she was being held. At the turn, the girl's body seemed to jolt rather suddenly. "Are you okay?" the manx mewed, peering up at her momentary chariot.
Of course, now wasn't the time to get answers. Now was the time to be shoved into a coat. Not that ********* minded. It was warmer that way.
At the turn, the strange dog-beast also had great difficulty getting around the corner. In fact, it slid so much, it actually managed to miss the alley's opening and slid into the wall of the building immediately surrounding the alleyway. It let out a combination of a hiss and a yelp.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:25 am
Maris, now running on adrenaline, didn't stop to look down at the sounds below - she just kept going up, climbing past lighted windows. Part of her brain registered the domestic scenes within - a family clustered around a TV, a couple necking on the couch, children at play in a bedroom - all completely surreal, given that she was climbing for her life right there.
And nobody seemed to notice.
Finally, Maris ran out of fire escape, clambering onto the apartment building's flat roof. She stayed on her hands and knees for a moment, then unzipped her coat, allowing the cat within to fall free. Perhaps she should process what had just happened?
Or she could just stay in place and stare blankly at the snow. That worked too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:13 pm
From where she had been, she could hear how hard the girl's heart was pumping. Yes, this senshi was definitely in panic mode right now. Just as suddenly as she had been swept up in the coat, the cat was released, landing firmly on her paws against the roof.
Now was not the time to baby the girl. There was danger, and very REAL danger just at the base of the building.
"Okay, I don't think I have much time to take care of this..." she warned. The manx glanced to Maris, then rather suddenly popped up into the air almost like a spring loaded toy, forming a rather simple back flip. Immediately under the space ********* had jumped over, two things clattered to the ground. The cat lowered her head and picked up one of the items with her mouth and marched straight up to the girl.
"Ake vis!" The feline had something that looked like a pen in her mouth.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 10:31 pm
The cat was talking.
The cat was talking.
... Maris could accept this. She could accept that the cat was talking, if it meant that she didn't have to accept that something was stalking around the base of the building. She could hear its low growl now, a deep threatening sound that made every instinct scream, telling her to run and never stop.
She took a deep breath and pushed off the ground, getting off her hands and knees and dropping back into a sitting position. "Okay. Okay, you're talking. Okay-" She paused as the cat flipped backwards, then automatically reached out both hands for the object the cat was holding. What was it? A... a pen?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:17 am
With her mouth now free of a henshin pen, the cat was able to reply "Yes, yes, I know, I am talking. Come now..." The manx wandered towards the middle of the rooftop area.
"We haven't much time. Okay, with that pen, I want you to shout out 'Adhafera Power Make-up!' Do it with feeling, with meaning, and please, please don't just mutter it." The cat's green eyes met the girl's and just seemed to remain stuck there.
At the ground floor, the youma growled a bit, finally managing to get into the alleyway. It was true enough that it couldn't use the fire escape, but it seemed to pace around a clearing on the wall. No fire escape here, no obstructions. The youma then did something rather strange. It spit up much more of that red liquid against the wall. It was almost like watching the thing throw up a whole meal. When it was done, there was a giant red mess against the wall. If spewing out that red liquid wasn't curious enough, the youma then heaved itself up so that it could stick its two front paws into the liquid.
What none knew about this youma was that the red liquid it secreted from its mouth was actually sticky.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 10:11 am
"You.. you want me to sho-" Maris began, then stopped as the entire building suddenly shook. The wind brought with it a foul, hot stench, like bile and garbage all rolled into one...
Maris swallowed, hard, and clenched one fist around the pen - despite the cold temperatures, the pen itself was surprisingly warm, detectable even through her gloves. "Okay," she said, quietly, taking a deep breath. She officially had no idea what was going on. Maybe this was a dream? It made about as much sense as a dream.
Roll with it.
The building shook again, and Maris scrambled to her feet, still staring at the cat.
One more deep breath...
"Adhafera Power, Make-Up!"
Just like that, the cold - the roof - everything seemed to fall away, eclipsed in a sudden swirl of power from the pen in her hand. Cords of energy swirled upwards like a whirlwind, covering Maris in a web of light. As the cords met over her head, they knotted together, sealing her inside.
Awaken, Sailor Adhafera of the Knot!
There was a flash of warmth and blinding light, and the web vanished - but as it faded from the young woman's form, it left changes behind. She raised one shaking hand to touch the tiara now perched on her brow, staring down at the shining fuku that she was now wearing, all traces of her winter clothing completely gone. There was a strange energy thrilling through her veins...
The building shuddered once more - and Adhafera snapped out of it, stilling the tremble in her hands. There was no time to think about things! Not now! Glancing back at the cat only once, she darted to the side of the building and peered down over the edge, only to see the monster halfway up, clinging to its own vomit. When it saw her, it peeled its mouth back and hissed, spitting a stream of red bile at her.
Fortunately, all she had to do to dodge that was lean back, letting the foul mess sail past her. "What do I do?!" she shouted back at the cat. "All those people..." What must they think? The people inside had to know that something was wrong!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 10:05 am
It was always interesting to watch a senshi henshin up for the first time, because every time it was different. The feline sat her rump down and merely watched. When the magic seemed to die down slightly and the transformation was complete, the feline greeted the girl ever so politely. "Welcome Sailor Adhafera, Senshi of the Knot."
As if spurred on by the fact that girl had suddenly turned into something more worthwhile (Mmmm, Sailor Senshi), the beast began to move faster. It wasn't long before its claws were sticking to the very edge of the building.
Obviously, the cat had a plan. She stood up and began to pad closer to the newest senshi. "Adhafera. Clap your hands together and call out 'Adhafera Bind]... you should know what to do from there... if not, I will walk you through it..." The cat's ears twitched as the sound of the claws seemed to touch the edge of the building. In a still pleasant tone, the feline called out "Quickly, quickly."
The creature was just starting to pull itself back up onto the building, it's neck craning forward as if to inspect the area ahead. Upon seeing the senshi and the cat, its mouth peeled back, and once more, it spat out more of that disgusting red liquid. One certainly had to wonder how it was able to produce so much of whatever that stuff was.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Dec 11, 2010 10:19 am
How the hell could this cat be so calm about all this? Adhafera's eyes narrowed. Her own heart was pounding wildly in her chest, but she didn't feel as panicked as she had been on the climb up here.
Because now... she could fight back.
A strange excitement thrilled through her veins as she clapped her hands together, sharply; when she pulled her hands apart, a length of shining cord formed between her palms, dropping into her fingers. The words seemed to spring to her lips as though from another source, as though she'd said them all her life. "By Adhafera's flame, you will fall! Adhafera Bind!"
As she spoke, her fingers flew - on the word bind, she tied the knot she'd made in the cord.
The effect was immediate. She felt power leave her, and saw the monster's limbs clap sharply to its sides, its eyes rolling in sudden confusion. It was teetering on the edge of the building. Could fall either way-
Sailor Adhafera flung herself at the beast as it struggled against its invisible binding. She didn't have much time - but it would be enough, this once. "Down, you b*****d!" she shrieked, and flung herself at it, throwing all her weight against its immobile form.
Tipping the balance.
The monster tilted backwards, and it was only then that the binding frayed - but the damage had been done. The beast fell off the edge of the building, limbs flailing but finding no purchase. It hit the ground with a sickening crack! followed by a long, burbling shriek.
Then silence.
On the building's edge, Sailor Adhafera panted - she'd very nearly gone over with the monster, only catching herself thanks to the gutter on the roof. Next time, she'd plan that better.
Next time....?
She stared at the cat. "What... what are you?" she said, flatly.
"... What did you do to me?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
