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 Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:11 pm
The Captain of the Blood Moon Court had been surprised when Scylla did not report her first kill. She had only found out after a cadet accidentally let the word slip to Gunn. Ares knew that Scylla had some trepidation over what they were doing, but she knew what the BMC was about when she signed on. Death and mayhem were all part of the package; that much had always been made perfectly clear.
Ares viewed this recent departure from their core values as a phase that Scylla was going through, and one that would surely pass. It didn't keep her from recognizing the Senshi of the Kraken with a cake and card congratulating her on her first kill -- the standard BMC fanfare. Normally, this happened at their meetings, but with all the stress of Operation Rota, the formal meetings had been put on the back burner. A notice went out to congratulate her, and then all those who happened to be present when the cake came out clapped for her before slowly filtering back to their duties.
As the crowd dispersed, Ares crossed toward the cake, slowly cutting a piece for herself. Scylla stood nearby. Ares turned to smile at her. "I wish you had told me sooner," she said to the dark-haired eternal senshi. "I could have planned something better." Bigger, at least. She liked having a lot of advance warning.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:18 pm
Scylla had stood there, still and stiff, watching Ares approach with the dreaded cake and card. There had been something haunted on her face as she watched, a deer-in-the-headlights look in her eye, and when people clapped politely her jaw had tightened. Still, she'd managed a smile, however wan, and had taken the card. Congratulations, the card said cheerily when she pulled it open. The balloons on the front were artistically done, and someone (probably Fallon) had drawn smiley faces on them. The balloon on the bottom had two 'x' letters for eyes, and its tongue hung out. Maybe it was the Nega balllon, Jada thought idly.
"I didn't want anyone to know." she said finally, pushing a curl out of her face. She didn't move toward the cake, even though her sweet tooth was mumbling. Odd that the other woman had remembered Jada's favorite fruit was strawberry- a few decorated the top here and there, and it looked delicious. Probably tasted delicious too. But the thought of eating it turned her stomach. "This is more than enough." she said finally. "Thank you." the words stuck in her craw, but she meant them. Ares had taken the time to do it for her, and she was grateful for it.
She'd never noticed strawberries were so... red. All these looked like, to her, were little blood-berries. (Her stomach was certain they'd be delicious, no matter what they looked like.)
The senshi of the Kraken shifted her weight, awkwardly.
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Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 3:34 pm
Ares set the piece of cake on the table in front of Scylla. "I thought you were just being humble," she said, turning back to cut another. "I think most here probably assume you've already killed before." And why shouldn't they? She was an eternal senshi. By the time the Senshi of Smoke hit eternal, she planned to get herself a trophy commemorating her own body count. It was the mark of a warrior. There was no shame in it.
Rummaging in a small wicker basket, Ares came back with a fork. She used its edge to shave a small chunk of cake off of her slice and then popped it in her mouth. Something seemed off with Scylla again. More and more, Ares felt this way, like something was off. They couldn't afford to have second thoughts, not when they were so close to achieving their goals.
Besides, Ares needed the muscle of an eternal senshi on their side. They couldn't afford to lose anyone. "The first one can be difficult," she said, trying to find common ground, "but it gets much easier."
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 3:56 am
"There is a difference between something honorable and murder. It isn't being humble, it is shame." she'd never lied to Fallon- or Ares- before, and she wouldn't start now. Even if her Captain didn't understand, even if she felt betrayed by Scylla's words or deeds... Even now, with what the Senshi of Smoke was doing, Scylla, at least, was balancing her loyalties to everyone on the head of a thimble. Scylla eyed the cake for a moment. "I'm not sure if I can eat cake right now." she said finally, truthfully. The number of times Scylla- or Jada, even- had eaten anything over the last week or so was growing by centimeters and it was showing, if only slightly. Cake was probably too sweet for her, even if it was singing her name.
A concession was made to her stomach and she plucked a strawberry off the top of her slice. She pulled it to her mouth, and it tasted bitter, sweet and real, all at once. Fruit and beef jerky did not a diet make, though you lost weight all the same. The taste was so sweet her taste buds almost rebelled before they silenced and she closed her eyes. There was a small noise made, a sound of bliss. She was still able to enjoy strawberries. Another girl her age wasn't. Should she tell Ares the whole truth? 'I killed her, and when I looked down, she was someone I went to school with. I killed someone I knew.'
"If there is going to be another time that I have to take a life, Ares, I hope it doesn't get easier. If it gets easy to kill, we're no better than the Negaverse."
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Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 6:26 am
Ares furrowed her brow. "The only honor in war comes from duty to your comrades and final victory," she said quickly. It was like a commandmant in Ares' life, and she said it with that sort of finality. "This is all a means to end. But the goal is the end." One hand waved vaguely in the air.
There was a certain delicacy needed for this conversation, and Ares wasn't sure she had it left in her. These weeks of containment had been hard on her too. She had to be strong for the others -- but Scylla? Really? They were friends. Why did Scylla have to exacerbate her stress? "The only true difference between us and the Negaverse," she began, eyes dark and tired, "is the side of the field that we are standing on, Scylla." Before, Ares had called them animals, creatures who the Blood Moon senshi should not even view as people. To Scylla she admitted something else. They were enemies, they were opponents -- and for Ares, that was enough motivation to kill. "They serve a figure who they believe has 'led' them here, just as the senshi serve the mythical Princess Serenity they have never met. They believe that they are fighting for the safety of Earth. So do we, except we want to save the universe too." There was no denying it now. In her exhaustion, she admitted her viewpoint to Scylla.
"If we want to win, we need to become as ruthless as they are. Don't you see it? The Negas fight for a purpose, just like we do. But they would see us all dead to reach that goal." She held the plate of cake at her chest delicately. "And so we must do the same if we are to survive, if we are to keep people like Rota from having to die all over again." There was no way she would eat the cake now.
Ares set her plate on the table. "But we don't kill citizens to wage our war. We don't cause unnecessary death. They do -- and so they must die." It was the only option. So long as they served Beryl and opposed the senshi, the Negaverse could never be shown mercy. Ares had decided that a long time ago.
This relation between senshi and Negas was not one that Ares would make to just anyone. She felt that she had Jada were friends. She could be honest with her, couldn't she? Ares had stood on both sides of the battlefield before, not that she had ever shared that with Scylla. The only thing that changed was who she fought. The strategies were all the same.
It was the nature of war.
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