Welcome to Gaia! ::

Things had been shaky between Castor and Taranis ever since Halloween. If it hadn't been for Magellan's miraculous rebirth, he might have fallen into a deep depression to lose one of his closest friends. Taranis tried to forget that night, but he couldn't. His memories were persistent: Castor kissing Linarite over and over, on repeat in his nightmares. How could Castor do this to him? To the senshi? It seemed so unforgivable, and yet, here they stood, brothers in arms.

The Senshi of Sand sat on the lip of one temple-style tier of the sloped roof, both feet dangling off the edge. He spared a glance to the Senshi of Hail and then turned back to the horizon. If things had been tense before, they might be worse now. December had come and gone, and with it, their little truce had expired. Taranis promised to stay away from Linarite until the New Year to give Castor the chance to do what was right -- to kill her like he should have killed her ages ago.

Now the hunt was on, and Taranis was out looking at every possible opportunity. So far, nothing. But Castor had to know, he had to sense it. So they sat in silence waiting for the senshi to come, waiting for the lesson to begin.

Scylla had never been to Chinatown alone. Or, for that matter, as a senshi. And as for the last two weeks she had been recuperating from a terrible 'car accident' (one which had conveniently totaled her M6 as a corroborating story) she had also never been out in this outfit. Eternal Sailor Scylla eyed herself with distinct displeasure, adjusting herself one more time and sliding the home-bought brooch through her neckline, for better coverage. Her sailor top was just like a collared shirt, and the small brooch made her just confident enough. This was her debut, technically; what had happened the night she was 'powered up' was between her, Linarite, and Ophelia. She hated that Negabitch. Behind her, the "buttwings" that were attached to her uniform were like octopus limbs, and as dark as the ocean at night. She'd never gotten a good look at the other "Eternal" level senshi- she hadn't cared to talk to Castor at the last meeting, and she didn't know this "Pegasus" she'd seen, or any of the other ones.

The cell phone in her hands showed the presence of three other senshi just a little bit ahead, so she followed the bleeping, jumping from roof to roof with an ease that was almost startling. Europa and Castor she knew, but she couldn't recall ever having met a 'Taranis.' She might have, once. Maybe if she saw them again she'd know. The group finally came in sight of her eyes and she flipped her cell phone shut, taking a deep breath and going over the mental list she'd worked on while she jogged her way to Chinatown.

Jada's rules for tonight
1. Smile.
2. Have lots of laughs over the fact you know Castor is dating your friend, but he doesn't know you know.
3. Don't get hit by a youma. It hurts.
4. Learn a lot.

She finally moved up to the group, beaming a smile at Europa. "Hey hun," she told her, and smiled at Taranis and Castor. "Evening, gentlemen." Laid back, casual, and not at all as though she weren't chafing at her new uniform. Even without her own addition, the tension was almost palpable, and for a moment she didn't get all the drama. Until she remembered the rumors about Castor making kissyfaces at the Negabitches. That could have something to do with it. But his call (and Taranis') had been sent out in mass- if he was working for the bad guys, losing an entire team would be a highly detrimental blemish to his professional reputation. "So, who all are we waiting on? Do you know?"

The entrance of the rest of the senshi was a welcome relief to Taranis. No need for him to force idle conversation with Castor. They had a hard time being too relaxed. They had a hard time being anything. The Senshi of Sand got to his feet slowly and leaned back, stretching his arms over his head. "Europa," he said, nodding. He remembered her well and had been working with her on the Negaverse Database. It was running just fine, but it could always use new information.

Scylla, too, was familiar. He didn't know her on a personal level, but they had seen each other enough to be familiar. As a higher powered senshi, Taranis had made it his goal to know her. He tried to be familiar with all those who had something extra to offer. "Evening, Scylla -- we're just waiting on... ah. Sailor Lyra." He lifted one hand to indicate her. "Looks like we're all here then." Lyra was not one that he knew personally, but he had seen her at meetings. Castor had given him a heads up on who would be in attendance. Process of elimination confirmed who she was regardless.

Striding up to the group, Taranis folded his arms across his chest, glancing once to Castor. "Thanks for coming," he said. "I don't know if we all know each other. I'm Sailor Taranis, Super Senshi of Sand. My attacks are offensive. I throw either a ball of sand, or a ball of... wet sand. It explodes on impact as an added bonus, but feels like getting hit by a weighted sandbag I've been told." This was a form, and he expected the others to follow it, even if he didn't say so. Part of the high-level training was about teamwork. They had survived long enough to gain a power boost; no need to insult them with beginner stuff. So it was time to learn the strengths of their compatriots.

At this, Europa locked eyes with Castor. "Oh, I can look you in the eyes just fine," she stated, fighting the self-conscious urge to tug at her frills until they made some attempt at covering her rear. Her interactions with Castor were rife with sexual harassment that she did her best to pretend not to enjoy. This only left her feeling conflicted - she had a steady boyfriend and thought Castor was an a**, so why did she still get that electric tingle?

But then he'd forgotten her in favor of riper pastures, and Europa was left casting sidelong glances at Scylla while she tried to decide what to do next. "Good evening, Sailor Scylla," she said lamely, and then looked to Lyra. While she'd met the red-haired scout in passing at meetings, they'd never once run into each other in the field. Europa hadn't the scantest idea what Lyra's powers did, and she doubted the other scout knew any more about Europa than Europa knew about her. "Hello, Sailor Lyra."

"I'm Super Sailor Europa," she declared, seizing an opening in the round of introductions. "Senshi of the deep. My basic attack immobilizes Negaversers and Youma. I know from experience that the effect is halved on Corrupted senshi."

She frowned before continuing. This next part was a bit embarrassing to admit. "If I bump it up a level," muttered Europa, "They're still immobilized, but it also becomes pitch dark and the darkness outlasts the immobilization. It's dangerous and impractical."

The unspoken end to that sentence being, of course, and I don't like using it.

She returned the genuine smile back at castor. While they were not the best of friends they had met multiple times before. "Hello Sailor Castor, Sailor Taranis, Sailor Europa, and Sailor Scylla!" She rolled gave a warm hearted laugh before shrugging. In truth she hated being late, but it was normally how she just...was. The day she is actually early would be the day the meeting was canceled and she didn't get the memo.

She listened to the others when they named their attacks, choosing to go last. Lyra was intrigued by Taranis's attack, he used something like particles just like she did. She wondered if using their attacks together would benefit from the other, i guess she'd have to ask him more about his power base later.

"I haven't met any of you minus spotting you in meetings, or in civilian form." A nod to castor. " So... Hello! I'm Super Sailor Lyra, Senshi of Nebulas." Should she mention she was in the Blood moon court? They probably would see her moon marking through her stocking anyways, so it would probably be apparent.

Maybe.

"My attacks deal with particles... First makes a mist that covers the area... and it stings the eyes of anyone not senshi in it. Good if the need cover..." A deep breath. " Second is a wave of particles that burn on contact. They dont cause things to catch fire, but any exposed skin and even clothing youd eventually feel the heat through it." She didn't use this often if fighting in a group, because this attack hit ANYTHING in its path...friend or foe. She used her fists before this usually.

Taranis appraised the group in silence, nodding every so often. It was a varied smattering of senshi, but that would probably be true in any collection of people. His eyes burned on Castor for a moment, and he winced away from the senshi's ribbing. Why was the Senshi of Hail acting like everything was okay between them? His summation was a crude, but effective way to describe their power spectrum, not that Taranis much appreciated having his attack boiled down to sandy balls either.

"Let's split into teams," he began, taking a step away from Castor. The plan for the evening was a loose one, but in Destiny City, simple plans often became complex whether it was intended or not. "Europa and Scylla, you can work together then. You should consider patrolling together too, if you have a good repertoire." The last part was an afterthought, more of a general suggestion than anything else. Taranis was of the mind that all senshi should function in mini-teams anyway, like a military unit. It seemed to make sense to him, even if he really only patrolled regularly with Magellan -- and a long time ago, Castor.

He raised his hand and gestured to the others. "So let's put Lyra with Castor." Walking along the roof, Taranis crossed to the edge. "We need to learn how to play to our surroundings, even when our surroundings are unfamiliar. I want us to start tonight with a sweep of the ten surrounding blocks. Europa and Scylla will take Yakimoto Street to Lawrence Avenue. Castor and Lyra will hit Yakimoto south toward Waverly Street." Taranis knew this area like the back of his hand. No need for him to participate in this exercise.

"The mission tonight is tactical. You are to patrol the areas I have assigned. Take note of the architecture -- where do you see potential Nega traps, where could you hide, where could you escape in a fight, where might be an ideal place to lay a trap, where might someone be easy prey to an attack. Also look at the demographics -- who lives in this neighborhood, what is the age range, what areas should be priority patrol grounds? This is not a test of your strength in battle. This is a test of your strength as a guardian of this city. I will not give you more instructions than that. Your job is to take away all the tactical knowledge that you can in as little time as you can." Taranis held up his senshiphone. "I will stay here and wait for you to return. If you run into trouble, call for help."

This wasn't exactly the flash-and-bang training session that they might have expected, but it was a very important and often-overlooked aspect of what senshi do. His eyes bounced to Castor. "You don't meet a Nega every night, but you do protect the city every night. So let's work on tactics." No doubt some of them might be disappointed, but Taranis was making no apologies. Folding his arms, he took a step back and waited for the teams to head off.

Scylla and Europa were the first to step out, the Senshi of the Kraken nodding briefly to her companions. "We got this." she said simply, trying to sound confident and bada**. (Jada would be very sad to hear that she wasn't cool enough to hang out with Europa.) The senshi knew next to nothing about Chinatown, except what she heard about from movies like Karate Kid, and that one comic book series, the Petshop of Horrors or whatever it had been. She was unwilling to show her ignorance to the others, so she followed Europa like she'd planned it that way.

"Fitting?" she asked the other senshi, startled, then smiled wryly. "I suppose, yeah." she didn't slide down the railing, but just jumped from one tier to a lower tier on the roof until she was at the bottom, and then she let herself drop. She'd fallen from higher places. Didn't mean it was comfortable, but it was more fun than sliding down a piece of cold metal.

"Isn't Chinatown supposed to be kind of... peaceful?" she asked finally, shyly. Europa alone, of the group collected here, knew the truth about Jada: She was sheltered, terribly so. (Europa had seen the way Jada lived-- Like a princess!) Almost everything Jada knew about 'real life' came from movies, which Jada knew to be fiction, but she'd never seen too many stories in the news about muggings and murder in this neighborhood... Still, she followed the Senshi of the Deep along the street, eyes wide and curious now that they were away from the people her 'mask' needed to be up for. It stank like fish, but the smell didn't turn her nose the way it would have before... before she'd started remembering. Scylla had been full of the smell of the sea, and fish.