[R] Curiouser and Curiouser [Vivianite/Asclepius]

[Ithiltari]

Patrolling was a lot more pleasant these days, since winter was inevitable yielding to spring and bringing with it warmer temperatures. Vivianite hardly ever had to be scolded about wearing a scarf, which was a welcome relief in and of itself. She was out by herself tonight, Uranophane off doing....something else, something the corrupted senshi wasn't privy to. This would bother her if she thought about, so the thought was shoved ruthlessly away, as so many others had been. As so many more would be.

There hadn't been much of anything that grabbed her attention tonight, like most nights. Since they were no longer stealing starseeds, patrol was a lot more enjoyable and mostly meant a lot of quick stops to vamp some energy, instead of worrying about being caught hands deep in a civilian's chest by some overly lucky senshi. It would probably be better for her if she avoided senshi whenever possible, but Vivianite was rather curious about them. There were a lot of things she'd like to know about herself and unfortunately, it seemed that the answers wouldn't be forthcoming from the Negaverse.

Which was why, when the delicate energy signature that indicated a senshi made itself known, the pink-haired teen found herself on a rooftop above, observing the senshi below her.  

[oneironym]

Asclepius worked on her patrol, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. She felt sort of like a one-woman neighborhood watch program of sorts, especially after the adventure with the man stealing her father's car. So far, though, there had been no further encounters with gross monsters or anything really bad.

Part of her was glad for it, and part of her was unable to suppress a certain mounting worry with each uneventful night. Like the sooner the Senshi of Medicine ran into a genuine threat, the sooner she could find out for sure just how difficult this would all be. This was, after all, her duty somehow, and she was not about to shirk it due to any fear of physical pain.

There was something wrong tonight, though. She could feel some source of wrongness somewhere, like a bad gut feeling except far more tangible. Something she had to take care of. Asclepius was just not fully sure exactly where.

At least not until she finally thought to look up.

Up above was another person - difficult to see easily, especially with street lights between her eyes and the stranger, but likely female, if the silhouette of long hair blowing was any indication. Shading her eyes, Asclepius tensed where she stood, keeping focus on the other, but not quite sure how best to confront her. Jump straight up, not even knowing what the potential opponent looked like? Move away to jump up somewhere else, and risk losing track of her?

For the moment, Asclepius remained where she was standing.  

[Ithiltari]

Vivianite was not normally the most proactive person in the Negaverse; she certainly preferred to let other people make the first move, and most decisions as well. So she stood there, perched on the edge of the rooftop, waiting for the senshi below her to come popping up, full of the somewhat sad naivety that made them certain they were doing the right thing. It was, of course, always interesting to seeing their reactions when they realized that the Negaverse agent they were so confidently confronting was also a senshi.

Unfortunately, it didn't look like the senshi would be coming up to see her. Which meant that if she wanted some conversation tonight, Vivianite would have to get off the roof. With a sigh and a small moue, she briefly debated teleporting down, but discarded the idea as wasteful.

Besides, she might need it later if the senshi proved belligerent.

It was the work of a moment to jump down, landing lightly behind the other senshi. She tugged the irregular hem of her skirt straight (not that it needed it) and folded her black-gloved arms beneath her chest before speaking.

"So," she said, voice low and somewhat amused. "I suppose asking how you're doing would be inappropriate?"  

[oneironym]

Asclepius wobbled on her feet, as though part of her body wanted to run away, but she remained rooted to the spot anyway. The girl in the black fuku did not appear to be making any move to attack just yet. She was reluctant to initiate any attacks on her own, too - this was another girl, maybe her own age, not a giant mosquito or any sort of monster.

The other girl's words caused the Senshi of Medicine to relax slightly, though she tried to remain wary. Aslcepius was not hoping for a fight, but she was still cognizent of the fact that this could easily be some sort of ploy. These people of the Negaverse were supposed to be evil, and, looking at her, the girl could feel it coming off of the black-clad senshi in waves.

"I am fine," Asclepius replied guardedly. "And I don't really mind you asking, really." Truth, but she sounded a bit distracted. Her mind was wondering from conversation to instead fret over what to do just in case this came down to a fight. How was her weight distributed? Were her hands okay like this? Should she move further away?

This resulted in Asclepius looking uncomfortable where she stood, and sort of staring sidelong at the stranger.  

[Ithiltari]

Vivianite smiled, surprisingly sincere, and unfolded her arms long enough to wave a black gloved hand in the other senshi's direction. "That's good. And you can probably relax." The Negaverse agent flicked her eyes over the other's stance and the smile twisted slightly into something more wry and sadly amused.

"I'm really not particularly interested in fighting you, you see," she continued by way of explanation. "Of course, if it makes you feel better, you can continue to stand like that." Her head tilted slightly to the side, spilling a cascade of raspberry pink hair over one shoulder. "Though it doesn't really look all that comfortable in the long term."

Indeed, the other senshi's stance seemed sort of.,.half-hearted. Like she was perhaps not fully trained, or not confident enough in her training. Or maybe she was just unsettled by the situation.  

[oneironym]

The stranger's easy manner made Asclepius abruptly feel awkward; though she was reluctant to let her guard down, she ultimately did. If she could avoid a fight, she would, because the Senshi of Medicine really had not been involved in any fisticuffs yet. Or certainly not with another person. The brown-haired girl was not sure how she felt about swinging punches at another human being.

"So you're one of the ones who tosses out monsters, then?" she inquired, then smiled mirthlessly and conceded, "I have not really met any of the Negaverse yet, but I guess so far you're making a decent first impression." She could not hope to always be so lucky, that this girl did not want to fight.  

[Ithiltari]

"Oh no," Vivianite protested at the accusation of monsters. "They generally don't want anything to do with me." Indeed, the corrupted senshi tended to avoid youma these days, as they sometimes liked to snap at her.

Once the other girl dropped her guard, Vivianite smiled once more, as if pleased to have gained a modicum of trust. "I doubt you'll mind many as willing to talk as I am," she warned. "Senshi are viewed as intruders, interlopers to be eliminated." Or converted, as she so noticeably provided an example of.  

[oneironym]

The reduced possibility of youma attacking came as a further relief to Asclepius, though it was unexpected to hear that they wanted to avoid the red-haired girl, as well.

Equally unexpected was the suggestion that the senshi were intruders. "Intruders from where? And what about you?" Maybe the powers had come from some place strange, but Asclepius herself had lived in this area her whole life. Talking cats were markedly less natural, but ********* had told her that the Negaverse was mostly people. So shouldn't all of them be from here?

"Pleased to talk to you, though," Asclepius added with neutral politeness. "Glad to know that this will be enlightening and less pugilistic." Was she afraid? Sure. But she could not imagine anyone else wanting to get into a fight with all of this crazy magic.  

[Ithiltari]

A black gloved wand waved vaguely in the air. "I'm not really sure about it myself," she admitted. There were a lot of things she'd been told about the senshi and the Negaverse, though most of it boiled down to 'senshi bad, Negaverse good' in the end. "What about me?" she echoed back, blinking in some startlement. Vivianite had thought it rather obvious - she was a senshi, on the side of the Negaverse, which was pretty much all there was to it. Right?

"I agree, I don't much like fighting." She caught her lower lip in her teeth after making that announcement, briefly wondering what Uranophane would say if she heard that. "Have you been a senshi long?" Probably not, all things considered,  

[oneironym]

It seemed a loaded question, considering, but it seemed honesty was the standard for the moment. Which Asclepius could appreciate. Information and honesty was better than getting into a real fight. Admission of her novice status did not seem any more dangerous than risking a battle and demonstrating it though her lack of skill. And whether she said so or not, if the girl in the black seifuku, or anyone else, attacked her, Asclepius was sure her novice status would show.

"I am," she replied evenly. And then, after another moment's hesitation, she added, "I'm Asclepius. And you are?" The Senshi of Medicine did not offer a handshake yet, but if the other girl did, she figured she would reciprocate.  

[Ithiltari]

"Vivianite," she said after a moment, making no motion to extend a hand to shake. The thought simply hadn't crossed her mind, as physical contact was still rather rare for the girl. Since it didn't seem like either one wanted a fight...Perhaps information could be gathered. Information that was likely only of value to Vivianite.

Purple eyes flicked down to the ground for a moment, then back to Asclepius' face. "Do you like being a senshi, so far?" Why had she asked that? Unsure of the reason herself, there was a quick, nervous drumming of fingers on one black gloved arm before she stilled them as she waited, face blank, for the senshi's response.  

[oneironym]

"Pleased to meet you," the senshi replied, crossing her arms after a moment. "And yes, I enjoy it," she added after a moment. She was still not fully sure that was the truth, but she did not want to sound uncertain.

"What about you?" Asclepius went on, tilting her head slightly to one side, then brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "How were you chosen, if that's something you can tell me, and do you like being a senshi, too?" Were there cats for the Negaverse, as well? Or ... dogs, or something, instead, maybe?  

[Ithiltari]

She inclined her head slightly at the continuation of civility. "It's important to enjoy your work," she replied gravely, if a bit oddly. She certainly didn't enjoy being a Negaverse senshi most of the time.

"I wasn't," she continued, looking pensive. "Not to be a senshi, anyway." Gloved hands tightened slightly on her arms at the memory of her recruitment. It was still traumatic, still something that continued to feature in her nightmares.  

[oneironym]

Asclepius frowned at Vivianite's response. Her senshi sense that allowed her to feel the negative energy of the girl before her seemed to insist that it was obvious that imbuing such power on a person hurt by necessity, like the darkness and the pain obviously went hand in hand. And it made sense as the senshi of medicine thought about it; it had just not occurred to her before. Inexperience with thinking about how being a superhero or a supervillain worked, she supposed.

"I'm sorry," seemed like the most correct thing to say in reply to that. A pause, then Asclepius ventured to ask, "Why do you still do it, then?"