|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 11:18 pm
Some of Tara's attempts at trying new things were successful. Ice skating, for example, was something she found she enjoyed. It was tiring, and hurt her ankles and lower back, but there was something exhilarating about flying past other people, cold wind in your face, sharp objects strapped to your feet. While she had no delusions about being the next Olympic star, she definitely planned on going back to the ice rink again.
And then there were things like poetry readings, which sounded potentially interesting but ended up boring. Tara sat in the small cafe, sipping cold hot chocolate and listening to people drone on about how terrible and beautiful life was for an hour before excusing herself. The reading was set to go on for a further two hours, but if she'd had to stay there a minute longer, they would have to find themselves a new poet.
It was snowing lightly as she left the cafe, much to her dismay. Tara wrapped her long striped scarf around her neck three times and smushed her fake fur-trimmed hat onto her head, moaning in discomfort as she braved the snowy winds. "There is no way," she declared, "that this evening could get any worse."
As if on cue, a loud growl emanated from the adjacent alleyway.
Tara stopped in her tracks and slowly turned her head. "You have got to be kidding me," she muttered, hoping against hope that she'd just heard a stray dog. "Please, please, be kidding me."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 11:36 am
Sailor Chaonis was ready for a good night of senshi duty goodness. Which meant finding something or someone he could beat up, and doing exactly that. And if he happened to save someone in the process, that was good, too.
He just needed more work on his attack, though he was increasingly sure that he would never be able to control it. So what if he couldn't? Maybe he could just figure out how to use it strategically, and use the destruction to his advantage.
Which would be difficult enough, since it was impossible for him to predict. Added to that, though, was the fact that he was just not interested in putting that much thought into it.
He mostly wished it would just sort itself out.
Jumping from roof top to roof top, Chaonis, sensed a youma nearby as he leapt a particularly long gap. He scrambled and turned around once he had landed on the other end, peering down to see a girl down below. And near her, in the shadows, a youma of some kind.
"No you don't," he grinned, hopping down from the roof and landing near the youma. It bounced at its target though, looking like some kind of big cat, swiping at her but coming short, hopefully at least, as Chaonis caught it by its tail. "Whoa!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2010 4:49 pm
It seemed that even a coma, hospitalization, and an enforced hiatus from duty couldn't completely dull Tara's instincts. She looked upset and angry, but she did manage to leap back enough that all the cat-beast got its claws into was her scarf. Which was wound snugly around her neck, and thus presented its own set of difficulties.
"Ulp!" went Tara, as her hands immediately went to her throat, trying to get free of her traitorous muffler. She mentally cursed her luck, the scarf, the weather, and the youma, all at once. Just as she was beginning to turn blue, a shadow seemingly appeared from above, landing a few feet away, and throwing Tara for yet another loop.
With another target to choose from, the youma turned towards Chaonis, pulling its paws- and the scarf- further away from Tara. In the end, it was the claws' sharpness that freed her, slicing through the warm wool. Tara immediately took three giant steps back, unwinding her scarf and, with a wince at the cold on her neck, discarded it nearby.
"I really liked that thing," she muttered, giving a moment of silence for her fallen accessory. Then, she looked her savior over appraisingly. While other people in that situation might have taken the chance to run, possibly screaming, Tara was curious about the other senshi. How would he approach the situation? How would he keep her safe? And most importantly, could she rightly leave the saving-the-world gig to people like him?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 12:42 pm
Sailor Chaonis was currently engaged in a very dangerous game of ring around the rosy with the youma. Chaonis had it by the tail and it wasn't too happy about it, turning to try and swing at the senshi with its now extra fluffy paw.
He eyed the muffler, but had to focus on the youma. When it pulled forward Chaonis moved with it, not letting go of its tail, keeping it at arm's length as they circled each other uselessly.
"Alright, I'm dizzy now," he said, planting his feet and pulling the thing's tail hard enough to drag it from its feet and send it rolling down the alley.
He looked at the girl.
"That's going to come back in a sec. You okay? You're not screaming, so you're either stupid, already dead, or you've seen this before? Or freaking out so bad you don't know what to do with yourself. Whoa!"
He was cut off in his mocking dissection of the scene as the youma leaped back at him, and he caught it. He felt a sharp pain in his arm as a claw hit its mark, but he wrestled the youma to the ground and, like it was an alligator or something, sat on it to keep it pinned.
"Stay!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:47 pm
Well. that was an interesting approach. Tara wasn't quite sure what the senshi was going for, but she had to admit, it kept the youma busy. And was very visually entertaining, but somehow she doubted that was his goal.
She kept off to the side, massaging her sore neck as she watched. She could breathe again, fortunately, but the soreness from being yanked around lingered. Probably a twisted muscle, she realized with a grimace. Still, all things considered, she got off easy. But she had to wonder- was it just luck, or were senshi really so on top of things that nobody got seriously hurt anymore?
As she wondered, she saw the senshi roll the youma away. A nice touch, she noted mentally, but it left her with a problem. Now her savior wanted to know what kind of person didn't run away the first chance they got. The already dead answer was close, but no cigar, and Tara frowned at the suggestion that her brain was somehow lacking. The truth wasn't an option either. If she told him she was a senshi, he'd probably either laugh it off or leave her to fight on her own.
"Puh-lease," she said dismissively, brain working quickly. "It's not like I've never been attacked by a you- a monster before." This was true. "And it's not like I've never been saved by one of you sen- er, terrorists- before, either." This was also technically true. "I was just, uh... taking notes! So the next time I meet one of these bad boys, I know how to handle it myself."
That was a lie, Tara knew, made more apparent as she saw the senshi wrestle the youma to the ground. Even if she wanted to try that- and she didn't, particularly- she didn't have the upper body strength for it. A bit exasperated with the situation, she took a few steps closer. "Why don't you use your, um, magic? Or do you just have defensive stuff?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 9:27 pm
Pressing down on the youma's muzzle as he sat on its back, keeping it mostly pinned with his weight, he looked at the girl skeptically.
There were many things Chaonis was not liking about her answers. And he was going to let her know, though he waited to talk until the youma seemed to stop struggling. Maybe it was getting the fact that it couldn't escape.
"Before I answer that question," Chaonis said, shifting so he could try and get the youma's feet pinned, but he didn't want to take his weight off of it long enough to try. He kept his eyes on her, though, tilting his head to one side. His arm was bleeding lightly, but he didn't seem to care about that.
"You've never seen a you-monster, huh? And don't know about us sen-terrorists?" He seemed to have been listening closely. But he wasn't suspicious of her in any specific way just yet: his dad knew more about senshi and youma than he should, but that didn't make him any kind of threat.
"And how do you know what our 'magic' can do? They're not that specific in the news articles, are they?" Not that he read them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:38 pm
As she watched Chaonis wrestle the youma to the ground, Tara realized that despite her physical weakness, she could pull that off if she handled it correctly. While she had used her ability mostly for blocking hits and punching monsters, if she used it while on top of a youma, she could effectively pin it as well. It had never occurred to her that watching other senshi fight could be educational, but now she was wondering what else she might learn from her savior.
Assuming he didn't see straight through her ruse. Tara was good at thinking on her feet, but was usually too straightforward to be an effective liar in a pinch. It didn't help that the senshi was more perceptive than she gave him credit for. Still, she met his gaze squarely, unwilling to back down. "You're not the first one of you guys that I've met," she asserted again. "You live in this city, you start to pick up a few things."
Of course, if information about senshi was so commonplace, they wouldn't be thought of as terrorists in the first place. No matter. Tara had chosen her story, and she was sticking to it.
Then she noticed his injury, and she frowned worriedly. "Do you want me to take care of that?" Tara gestured at his arm, then pulled off her backpack and started rummaging through one of the outer pockets. "There must be some bandaids in here somewhere," she muttered, directing her attention away from senshi and youma in order to search.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:34 pm
Chaonis watched her suspiciously, his expression very clearly skeptical. Perhaps overly so, his eyes scrutinizing her with a highly judgmental air. His goal might have been to make her uncomfortable, or he was just amusing himself. The two were often one and the same, anyway, so it didn't really matter.
"Ah, I see. I guess a popular lady like you would have senshi crawling all over her, to make sure she doesn't get herself eaten by monster dogs," he grinned at her, but sounded like he was dropping the line of questioning. He still had his doubts, but he also had a profound feeling of disinterest. He didn't really care, hadn't from the start, but liked bugging people and seeing where their limits of patience were. It turned out, her patience was well exercised.
He still didn't buy her story, though. There was one small thing leaving him half inclined to let her off the hook without bothering her more about her source of information on them. His own father was more aware of senshi than most people, particularly the news media, seemed to be. He knew they were called 'senshi', in fact, and what youma were, and had a small lesson in starseeds. So maybe she had something similar going on.
Whatever, whatever.
"Yeah, in a sec," he said, pulling one hand back and then lashing out at the youma beneath him, punching it hard in the eye, then repeating the process until the bones, or whatever structure it had supporting itself, gave way and it finally turned to a pile of dust. He sighed, remaining on the floor, sitting cross legged as he calmed himself from the fight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2011 11:29 am
This was starting to get uncomfortable. As hasty and careless as she'd been, Tara never really expected anyone to look too deeply into her excuses. She'd always thought it was just a fact of the city she lived in: the Negaverse terrorized people, Senshi saved them, the bystanders couldn't always tell the difference, and there was fear. But surely some people had to be able to tell when they were being rescued from a rampaging monster. The entire city couldn't be that stupid.
"Oh, right," she muttered to herself. "These are the people that think Barren Pines was an organ ring and that everyone in flashy clothes is a terrorist. Never mind."
Finally, with a triumphant flourish, she pulled a small first-aid kit out of her backpack. If Tara had learned nothing else from her little adventures, she learned that it always paid to be prepared. The kit itself was tiny, but surprisingly well-stocked with bandaids, antiseptic wipes, miniscule packets of ointment and single-servings of a few basic painkillers. And a couple of safety pins, a fun-size bag of M&Ms, and a few strips of pH paper, for good measure.
She looked up in time to see Chaonis put the finishing move on the youma, and found herself applauding, though with her hands full it sounded more like muffled thumping. In some ways it was refreshing to see another senshi who punched youma into oblivion. Granted, with the attack that she had, there weren't a whole lot of options open to her. For a moment Tara wondered if this guy was in the same boat. Then she wondered why that bothered her. If another senshi had an ability that made punching the best option, that didn't effect her at all, so why did she feel like it did?
No matter. The battle was over now, and Tara felt obligated to do what little she could for the person who saved her. As soon as she cleared up their little misunderstanding. "I'm not as special as you make me out to be," she said defensively. "I'm sure I'm not the first person you've swooped in to help, or the last. Or are you expecting me to come out with some crazy confession, like I'm secretly one of you and like making other people come to rescue me for kicks?" She rolled her eyes. "Puh-lease."
It was her final fail-safe. Usually, when Tara told the truth, nobody would believe her. Nobody ever thought that aliens would come to take over the world (so far they'd tried at least twice during her tenure) or that people could overcome the laws of physics (Aquarius made that into an artform). So why would he give the time of day to such a ludicrous claim?
"Anyway, where does it hurt?" She ripped a packet open and pulled out a wipe, poised to swab. "Is it just the arm, or something else?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2011 11:41 am
Chaonis took a breath and, once the youma was gone, had a chance to look at the first aid kit that had been brought out. It all looked like standard fair, though he was surprised someone actually carried that whole kit around for her.
"Are those M&M's?"
It seemed the only thing he was interested in was the candy. Not so much the first aid. He was a senshi, after all. What were bruises and cuts and bites to him? Pretty much what they would be to anyone else, really, but he wasn't going to be fussed with that. He was a rough and tumble guy: that meant not asking for help when he needed it.
Or something like that.
Chaonis hadn't opted to use his main attack if only because he wasn't very much in control of it, and did not want to bring a whole building down on top of them or something. But he that was another thing he wasn't going to worry about: as far as she needed to know, he just hadn't had the need to use his attack. Because he was so awesome. Clearly.
"Hey, that would be cool. Though I'd be pissed if you had wasted my time like that," he said with a shrug and a grin. He knew the importance of keeping his identity secret, he just wasn't very good at it with other senshi around. He'd never tell a civilian (like his dad) or a negaverser, obviously, but other senshi? They were all essentially on the same team in his book.
He seemed to fall for her tactic, though, imagining that she was shaking him off by telling him what he wanted to hear. He gave up on the subject, with a disinterested grunt.
"Just the arm," he said, dismissive, moving to reach for the box and try to take the candy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 01, 2011 8:13 pm
"They're for people in diabetic shock," Tara replied defensively, hunching over her kit. At least, that was what she told herself when she included them in the first place. And she certainly never downed the entire pack in a moment of panic or extreme hunger and had to replace it the following night. Because that would be wrong.
He was still looking at the M&Ms rather than at her, though, so she sighed and tossed him the bag. "What the hell, it's not like I'll meet any diabetics tonight, probably." The only problem left was what she would do to soothe her own nerves now. After considering her options for a moment, she tore open a packet of aspirin with her teeth and downed the contents, wrinkling her nose as she did so. "Blech. I hate doing that."
His reaction to her wild denial took her by surprise. Tara had expected more of "what?" or "well, of course not." Not "that would be cool." What was so cool about it? Were all new senshi this laid back? Or was the situation so entirely under control that nobody really cared, as long as everyone was okay in the long run?
"I don't have enough free time to spend it wasting yours," she commented, moving in with the alcohol swab. "Not that you consider this free time, I bet. Or was this a chance meeting, and I'm making you late for something?" Tara doubted it, considering the way he was sitting on the ground. "Either way, I owe you one, dude."
Not for saving her from the monster- if it came to it, Tara was sure she could've gotten away from it on her own, though she was grateful to him for making sure nobody else was hurt. More important, though, was the education he was providing her. Battle tactics, attitude towards civilians... and of course, the need for work on her paper-thin disguise.
Still, he was fooled now, and that was good enough for her. "Just so you know, this'll probably sting a bit," she warned, lightly dabbing the cut with the swab. "But I'm sure a big strong terrorist like you can take it, right?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 12:14 pm
Chaonis grinned as she relented and gave him the bag. He was an easy man to please, it seemed, forgetting about the fight with the youma, his thoughts on her strange behavior, and even the injury he had taken in defense of her.
Apparently, M&M's healed all.
He imagined that, with their combined luck after running into a youma, it seemed very fitting for him to eat the candy and then she run into some diabetic dude on the floor in need of a sugar dose. Why not, on a night like this? He didn't care though, and the idea that it would be fitting didn't stop him from dumping the fun sized bag into his mouth, tossing the wrapper away as litter.
"No, not late for anything. I guess this is my job, though calling it that makes me not want to do it. I probably shoulda left you with that monster, really. Now you'll expect me to come and save you whenever you're in trouble, right?" He grinned at her when she said she owed him, though. "Yeah, well. The first one is the sample. After that, I start charging."
He winced when she dabbed the alcohol on his skin, about to say something but her comment about him being manly made him stop. He frowned.
"Er. Yeah. No. Doesn't sting at all. Don't be a wuss," he scoffed instead, looking away.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 02, 2011 1:10 pm
Tara watched him down the bag with a pained expression. Part of it was caused by utter disbelief that they were leaving the safety of the world to people like this guy- not that she was much better, even when she was fighting, she reluctantly admitted. Part of it was her disdain for the way he tossed the wrapper away, and she frowned and picked it up, shoving it in her coat pocket. But most of it was the chalky taste of the aspirin that stayed in her mouth, and the fact that she could really go for a sugar buzz right about then.
Such was the price of freedom.
"Some job. No salary, no benefits- I'm sure health insurance would really help for this line of work- not even any thanks. Most people treating you like a monster even after you save their sorry butts. Sometimes especially after, depending on what you had to do to save them." Tara's expression was wistful as she worked on his arm, pointedly keeping her gaze down. "Do people really expect you to be the Superman to their Lois Lane? Scream if you help them, scream if you don't? Geez, what a pain. How do you manage it?"
It was a long shot, but maybe something this unlikely savior said would actually help with her inner battle. Not likely, but Tara had a thing for the improbable.
"I have to tell you, though, if these are your rates, you're a bargain at twice the price." She held up the discarded M&M's bag and winked.
When she was sure the wound was clean, Tara jammed the dirty alcohol pad into her pocket along with the candy wrapper, and opened her kit again. "I didn't think I was acting particularly wussish," she snapped, a bit hurt by his boasts. Just because she wasn't Aquarius right then didn't make him stronger or braver than she was! "Just because you're a senshi doesn't mean you can't get hurt. Or killed. But I guess you haven't seen real action yet, Mr. Man, or a... a mere mortal like me wouldn't have to tell you that."
That was probably more than she had wanted to say, but she didn't really care. Usually, Tara could take simple put-downs with ease, but being called a wuss hit her where it hurt. For several seconds, she tried to tell herself he was wrong... and couldn't.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 03, 2011 12:04 pm
Chaonis noticed her pick up the wrapper and eyed her. Someone who was all into the medical stuff, taking care of people and all that rot, and they cared about a little piece of litter floating around a dirty alley? He wondered if he should have let the dog youma have her. It might not of liked her flavor, if she was a vegetarian on top of everything else.
Not even youma could like vegetarian food.
"I ignore them, mostly," the Senshi of Danger answered vaguely. Except he wasn't trying to be vague: he meant it. "If people are yelling at me to help them or to get away from them, I don't care. If I see a y... monster, or some bad guy, I'm going to fight that thing. It doesn't matter to me what the helpless, brainless people I usually have to save do at that point. My job is to keep them alive, and I think I've been doing a pretty good job of it."
He had, after all, kept her alive, hadn't he? Sure, his methods sometimes ended up in people getting hurt, but not yet killed. And that was much better than getting a starseed stolen, wasn't it?
Chaonis stared at her when she got defensive about his attitude. He had just saved her from a monster! That wasn't action? What she was going to do? Throw M&M's at it if he hadn't been there? No. She would have gotten eaten. End of story.
"Hey, that's no way to talk to your savior," he pointed out, "I'm pretty sure that all was real action, and I got the bite marks to prove it. Since I'm bleeding I'm pretty sure I'm aware I can get hurt, but I'll be damned if I get killed. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. And you know more about it than you're letting on, too, so if you think you can do my job better than I can, by all means! I'd love a night off."
He huffed and looked away, arms folded over his chest. Still, she was doing a nice job helping him out with the injury... and he wasn't really angry at her. He was just reacting in turn to how she had snapped at him. He wasn't exactly the most level headed of people around.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 04, 2011 4:33 pm
There was something about the idea of ignoring the people she was supposed to be saving that utterly baffled Tara. Maybe it was that she didn't like to ignore people, lest they ignore her in return. Maybe it seemed counterintuitive. Maybe his deeming all civilians helpless and brainless also hit too close to home. Whether it was meant as a direct jab at her or not, she couldn't help but take it as one. She stood up straighter with every word he said, snapping her kit shut. Was that really what he thought?
"So what, people who don't have silly costumes and fancy powers are automatically brainless and helpless, is that it?" He never said that, Tara knew, she had been playing and he was playing right along. When had it stopped being fun, silly, educational? Why did she feel like she wasn't finished yet? "You think a little scratch like that is the worst they can do to you? Stronger and more experienced heroes than you have died protecting the people you're scoffing at, so excuse me if I don't think you're all that and a bag of chips."
What was she saying? Why was she yelling at him? While his attitude left something to be desired, the fact remained that he still saved her. Whether she could have gotten away on her own was, in her mind, irrelevant. The point was that he was doing his job, despite wanting a break, and she wasn't. But he doesn't know, she thought, and she bit her fist in order to keep from shouting again. He doesn't know that it could be over in an instant. Like it was for Sagittarius. For Aries.
They were dead, and this guy- someone who, in her eyes, had no idea what he was up against- was alive. Was that why she was angry? No, not entirely, but realizing that was enough to make Tara relax, the tension in her shoulders suddenly ebbing away. When she was sure she could talk without raising her voice, she took her fist out of her mouth, opening and closing it a few times.
"I'm sorry for yelling, after you were nice enough to save me. You didn't deserve that. I really don't know what made me do that... but it was wrong of me." Tara looked straight at him as she spoke, as she'd been taught to do, even though he was looking away. Once she had finished with her apology, though, she opened her kit again and made a show of rifling through the selection of bandaids. "Uh... I have plain, hypoallergenic, and, uh, Scooby-Doo and Yoda."
It was a really lame peace offering, but there wasn't much else she could do. Clearly she needed to start packing more M&Ms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
