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 Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 8:48 pm
In Alkaid's opinion, the Negaverse headquarters were infinitely more appealing than the Rift down below them that everyone was buzzing about these days. The place that had once felt cold and unwelcoming to her, even when she lived among the walls, now felt like a cozy cabin complete with a wood fire and hot cocoa next to the crystal guardians in the Rift's entrance corridor.
Still, even if it was welcoming by comparison, there was still often little reason for her to be among the halls. Today was a lucky one, in that she had accompanied Hematite to deliver his energy quota. Lucky, because as soon as they arrived she had felt the corrupt senshi's aura immediately. Other senshi among the HQ always drew her attention, just in case there was someone new hanging around. Why would they be there for any length of time otherwise?
She had parted ways with her General-boyfriend (not without his disapproval at her wandering attention) and started her careful way through the maze of hallways in her best guess of the senshi's location. It wasn't impossible to find someone through the sixth sense their powered forms afforded them, but it wasn't an exact science either. Alkaid was wandering up and down hallways, peering around corners and turning others in a winding circle.
It was a good thing she was endlessly patient, or she would have just given up and gone back to Hematite already.
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:20 pm
"...mash him into bone stew!" Even as Alkaid roamed around the corner, the power signature grew stronger, though it was one of the weaker ones to ever fill the crystalline halls of Beryl's palace. Heels paced back and forth, first towards the left, then the right. "I should have never agreed to go with him! Teleport me to the space he says. Right where I wanted to go, he says. This is not where I wanted to go!" Her voice rang with furor and echoed back towards her.
One heeled foot stomped on the glassy floor and turning for another time, stared straight into the face of the dreadlocked blonde. "Oh! You're not a man. You're not..." Eyes took in the outfit and shook her head, the ring on the end of her braid clanking against the floor lightly. "Are you a captain? My head feels off...sorry. Do you know your way around? I asked to get to the main room but the captain I found dumped me here." A frown was on her face, a long-fingered hand reaching up to touch her temple lightly.
"I'm Azurite. New. Hi."
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:28 pm
That was a frustration that Alkaid could relate to. She was sure that if she hadn't spent weeks living among the halls of the negaverse, she probably would have still been just as confused as the poor, lost girl before her.
She smiled very slightly at the other girl and waited until the string of questions and tales had finished passing her lips. Then, once she was done, she simply extended a hand in greeting and began with her own introduction. "I'm Alkaid, and no, I am not a Captain. I'm the Super Senshi of Guidance." She purposefully left off the 'corrupt' that was typically attached to her title - it just felt wrong, especially following the newest information Tanzanite had revealed to them. "It's a pleasure to meet you, though I suppose the circumstances could be a little better." She managed a light, airy laugh at what passed as a joke for her.
"I can take you anywhere you want to go, I know this place like the back of my hand, but main room is probably a figurative term. It depends on what your goal is?" In her mind, main room meant the throne room where they often held meetings, but she didn't really want to take the chance of barging in on Beryl unannounced. This senshi would probably like to do that even less.
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Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2011 9:50 pm
Taking the hand politely, most of the ire drained out of the new senshi so that she was somewhat shy and a little sheepish. "I am a senshi too. At least, that's what she told me. The one with the big wings? Tanzanite." A hand touched the exposed marking on her chest. "Sailor Azurite, Senshi of the Troposphere. That's all I know, honestly." Fingers stroked along the edges before her head shook and the ring clanked again. Conscious of that, Azurite reached down and picked it up.
"Do you have trouble with your hair too? It's twice as long as it should be. Uhm..." Had she been less dark, Alkaid probably would have been able to tell that not only was she silently spluttering, Azurite was about to be blushing rather heavily. "I don't know what I'm doing. At all. I came here to hopefully figure out what I'm supposed to do." The ring keeping her hair up was passed from hand to hand, an embarrassed notion.
"Tanzanite didn't tell me anything. She just said to find a captain or general to get here because I couldn't by myself. So I did. I just...don't know what to do. I am not even from America! What do we do here?" It was shameful to admit she had no idea what she was doing, what she had to do, what the hell a senshi even was!
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:37 am
Alkaid tightened her hand around the other senshi's and brought her other to close around it as well. She could sense the uncertainty surfacing among the rambling stutters and it made a slow, solemn frown form on the pale blonde's face.
"Calm down," she said softly, trying to force her lips into an understanding smile that was dampened by her sudden awareness of the situation. She just kept her hand on Azurite's, squeezing her pale fingers around the much darker skin, and let her bright eyes rest on those of the other senshi. After a few long moments like that she finally spoke again.
"Tanzanite doesn't know how to help us because she is not and never will be one of us, our nature is so far removed from hers that it's almost laughable." Almost, but she didn't laugh. She dropped her second hand from Azurite's and let their hands fall between them instead. She gave Azurite's a very small tug and took a few steps in the direction she had come from.
"We are weapons here, tools to help the Negaverse win this war, and it's for that reason she sent you to find a ranking officer." She did smile then, finally, though it was sad and more than a little sympathetic. "You don't have to do so right away though, not while you're still learning. There are.. other options."
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Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2011 2:05 pm
It was almost laughable how relieved Azurite was when Alkaid took her by the hand and began to lead her out of the terrible maze of corridors. Even more was the relief that Tanzanite was not what she was, but something else entirely. There had been a moment of awe, followed by a rush of horrible terror that she might end up looking like the violet General-Queen. Not that there wasn't something monstrously attractive about her, because something inside of the newly-made corrupt senshi was drawn to it. It was simply...not human.
It was a relief to find out that she was, indeed, still human. For the moment, this was going to be a deep comfort for her. "They aim and we fire? That seems a little...well. War is war." She had seen war back home, had thought to escape it here, and fallen into something that seemed a lot more dangerous. At least it seemed that way. "What would my other options be? What do you do?" Desperately, Bernadette wished that she had brought her camera.
It would be so much easier to remember everything if she could take pictures. And there was something about Alkaid that was also very pretty and would likely make a good photo. Damn!
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Posted: Wed Jul 06, 2011 12:56 am
"War is war," Alkaid echoed softly, pursing her lips and staring off down the hallway for a moment. It was never very easy to tell someone that they were just a tool in the big scheme of things, but there was also no sense in sugar coating it. "When it comes down to it, during the battles that really matter we have to obey without question. We fight."
When she turned to look at Azurite, there was a smile on her face though. "How you choose to train for the fight is different, we've expanded so much that we're no longer forced into one kind of role. We're still support more than we are soldiers, but we don't have to just be the weapons." She turned a corner and gave Azurite a little squeeze of her hand as she looked away. Down, somewhere at the end of the hallway behind some door, was a strong power signature. Stronger than her own, but weaker than Tanzanite. It was where she had left Hematite.
"I work under General Hematite in a group called GUARD, we're.. kind of like 911, for the Negaverse. You haven't been around long enough to understand the dynamics of the war yet, I'm sure, but we've suffered from our lack of back up in the past." She stopped in her tracks as they got nearer to the power signature. She didn't want Hematite scaring off a new senshi so soon and there was really no need to take her to the throne room now.
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 6:43 pm
The golden ring scraped the floor again as Azurite tilted her head to study the hallway that her companion was looking down. It didn't seem like she was lost, more that she was contemplating which way to go next. Was there something down that hallway? There was something nagging at the back of her mind and the new senshi recognized it as power sense. It was the way she had tracked down that useless a** of a captain that had deposited her here.
It was reading whatever Alkaid was considering loud and clear as dark and powerful. Even Alkaid herself felt a bit more off than how Azurite felt to herself, earning the blonde even more questions. "I don't know a thing about any of this, like I said. Just that to get here I need to find a general or a captain though I am sure they don't care for us senshi. That's all I have learned." And she didn't seem to pleased about it, resentment flavoring her voice.
"Are you more than just a senshi? You feel...different."
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Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2011 9:55 pm
"Of course not, of course not," she said softly, though it seemed as if she were speaking to herself more than she was Azurite. It was just a verbal reminder that she couldn't ramble off and expect a new recruit to understand what she meant at all.
"That's a good lesson to learn, though. Few among the soldiers like us, though many more tolerate us because they have to." She sighed a little and squeezed the senshi's hand, saddened that she had to explain this at all. She was used to her position but others still struggled under it, especially the ones that had never been among the Moon Kingdom. "They are wary to accept us, or to trust us, because we are enemies by nature. Our life here is.. strained."
She offered a sad smile and let her eyes drift back down the hallway again. She was half anxious to go to him, see what he was doing, and the other half was worried about bringing a senshi to him. She supposed if she meant to recruit her to the group, she would have to eventually. Just maybe not today.
"Hm?" She glanced back at Azurite with a confused frown, then made a small 'oh' face. "I'm a power level above you, as.. nonsensical as that probably sounds to you. We gain rank as we get enough experience. There are those above me as well." Like the dark energy somewhere down the hallway behind a closed door.
"How long have you been awakened?" She asked suddenly, curiously, as she realized how very little the senshi knew.
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:19 pm
They got stronger? That was probably a good thing. Then maybe one day she wouldn't have to rely on some idiot to get to and from the place she was supposed to be. The dependence on someone who could possibly be completely unreliable was sticking in her craw rather heavily, though Azurite was determined to not let any of that reflect on Alkaid. This senshi seemed very reliable and helpful, so she adored her for that.
The question had her feeling somewhat sheepish again even though Azurite knew there was nothing at all to be ashamed of. Squeezing back the reassuring hand she laughed a bit. "Three days." Tanzanite had mentioned this mysterious place and it seemed...inefficient to not come. She explained as much adding on at the end. "I didn't think I was the only senshi on our side. I wanted to meet more of them, so I'm very glad to have found you. Though you found me I suppose." Her head tilted and looked more obviously down the hallway.
"As for the soldiers not liking us well. We're the ones that are doing what is right by serving the Negaverse instead of what we want. We're the good guys and they should respect us for it." Shoulders shrugged. "If they can't well. They're probably just jealous."
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 9:28 pm
Her brows rose just slightly when Azurite admitted how long she had been awake. Considering Alkaid went a long way to make people feel as they were never out of place, that reaction was probably only a fraction of the surprise she felt inwardly.
Three days.
She had to give it to the other corrupt, she was functioning ten times better than Alkaid had in her first week. Then again, there was that pesky little matter of memory that Alkaid had to overcome.
"You're definitely not the only one, but there are very few of us. Not only that, but we are also relatively new in the grand scheme of things." Azurite's naivety was sweet, but Alkaid was concerned what the consequences could be if anyone heard her bold proclamations. "Our numbers have only been growing in the last couple of months and it's only been in that time that we've started to prove ourselves." She squeezed her hand around Azurite's again, only this time it was accompanied by an almost pleading face. "Just remember that we wear the masks of their enemy, Azurite. All things take time."
She nodded at her awkwardly and finally let her hand slip away from the new Senshi's. There was no telling when Hematite might finish his business and walk out into the hallway - the last thing she really needed was for him to see her holding hands with a corrupt senshi. Well, another one, anyway.
"Where are you staying? Home, I suppose? You probably didn't have any reason to relocate." She was half talking out loud to herself and half asking Azurite the questions. It was sometimes hard for her to imagine what a senshi like Azurite was like post-awakening. As similar as they were, they were also very different.
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Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 12:25 pm
That was probably true, the bit about the enemy's face, though she didn't really know what another senshi looked like until now. It seemed the black was a common theme and each of them were more individualized than the others. Though did they all have such crazy unmanageable hair? Or was that just for those senshi who had seen the truth? Fingers drummed against her hip lightly, hands resting there with a considering look on her face.
"That's true I suppose. They're used to fighting senshi." The idea that this might make her seem reckless and unreliable was now clearly showing in the concerned look that lit up her face. "Please don't think I would be so horribly disrespectful! It's just...so new. I'm glad you're around to correct me." For a normal person it probably sounded like supercilious asskissing. For a normal person it was. For Azurite? It was just a part of who she was.
"Home is a very small apartment in what I think is not a very good part of town." She'd met Tanzanite not more than two blocks from her home, hadn't she? "The scholarship I have pays for the SH tuition but I'm on my own for rent and food and such. I have a little mall job on the side." A pained look crossed her face. "Please don't say I will have to quit my job!"
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:38 pm
"I would never think such a thing." Her smile was genuine as she looked into the dark face of the newest corrupt and she reached out to lay her hand very softly on her shoulder. "I just want to make sure that you know what to expect, so that you don't say something that the soldiers take offense to without knowing it." Her hand slid slowly off of Azurite's shoulder then and back to her side, where she toyed with the edge of her skirt idly.
"No," she laughed then, short and amused, "you can keep your job if you really want to, I don't think a little job like that will really take away from your time here. Some of the soldiers live off of what they pilfer from wallets, though." She shrugged at it, but the small frown on her lips showed how much she thought of that idea. It wasn't her place to say anything about it, though.
"The fortunate part of belonging to the Negaverse is that there is nothing left on Earth for us to fear, except the Moon Kingdom. A little criminal activity is probably well within your ability to deal with now." In Alkaid's mind, there were no more 'bad parts' of town, unless they counted the ones where the Senshi were prone to roaming.
"I should really go talk to my General first," she waved a hand at the power signature at the end of the hallway, "but I can teleport you back home if you'd like?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 9:41 pm
The word 'general' had Azurite feeling more than a little curious but there was no forthcoming invitation. She had to thusly assume then, that this General and those that he was prone to keeping company with were not that eager to have reliance on any senshi. The pale-haired young woman wondered how long Alkaid had taken to make them warm up even a little to her, let alone even include her in their plans.
It was a good role model then, to have Alkaid helping her and teaching her, wasn't it? Feeling about a hundred and five times better than when she had arrived in the bowels of the Negaverse, Azurite nodded at the offer and smiled. "I would be incredibly grateful if you could take me even a little close to home. I can find my way wherever you'd like to drop me, but I'm not sure I can even leave here without help...can I?" It was an interesting question, discarded with a shrug.
"Probably not. But thank you, Alkaid, for everything."
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 3:10 pm
"No, you don't have the power to leave here yet." She smiled at the pale haired senshi, though the smile was small and a little sad. In the back of her mind she was making a note to find out what captain had brought Azurite here and left her to fend for herself. Getting Hematite to do anything about it would be a chore in and of itself, though.
"Don't thank me," she shook her head and reached out to set one hand gently on Azurite's shoulder. "There was no one here to help me when I came to the Negaverse, not like this. I was on my own for so long. I would never want anyone to experience that." Her hand slipped and finally fell away as she half turned towards the doorway at the end of the hall.
"I'm going to go talk to Hematite, and then I'll take you home. Okay?" The smile she turned on Azurite then was warmer, kind, until she finally turned to walk down the hallway and slipped away into one of the rooms.
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