Griffin and Castille and all her other roomates had apparently already fallen asleep soundly in their bunks, but Talia couldn't help but relive the events of the day. Who could blame her? She was attacked by a tree, met a talking cat, found out she was a senshi...

All the thoughts tumbled around in her head, like a big jigsaw puzzle trying to assemble itself. Senshi, youmas, negaverse- it was far too much for Talia's mind to take in all at once. Any time she thought she figured out how two pieces connected, she just brought up more questions about how another two were connected. Frustrated, Talia was about ready to just knock the puzzle down, and the table it was sitting on as well.

No, she wasn't going to do that. It wasn't the Chu way. She was stubborn to the point of commitment and determination. She wanted to figure this all out now. She was far too impatient to wait for anything or anyone else.

Her bed creaked as she turned over onto her back. Since Griffin and the others were asleep, she pulled out her henshin pen and held it daintily over her head. She stared at it for a long moment, just taking in all the smooth edges and the light glow that came from the orb on top. The Draconis symbol stared back at her, empty and hollow, yet filled and familiar. Talia couldn't place it, but the henshin pen felt ... How could she put it. Like it was meant to be in her hand, to fill the small hollows that sat between her painted fingernails.

What the hell did it mean to be a senshi though. ********* had explained it somewhat- fighting youmas and "the negaverse," whatever that was. She had magic powers now. Talia's memory traced back to when she had transformed into Sailor Draconis. The ... fire she had felt certainly wasn't a bad one. In fact, for the first time, Talia had felt a connection with something truly powerful ... no it wasn't the power that was so attractive. It was how individual it was to her. Nobody else was Sailor Draconis. Well, Talia couldn't know that for sure, but to her knowledge, it was.

How was she supposed to handle that responsibility though? Was she supposed to run around Destiny City in a cape shouting things at bad guys now? The mini-skirt probably wouldn't help the image (thought it was cute). Was she supposed to go on spy missions or something with the cat *********? Maybe she would do nothing?

What about the other senshi too. She had seen Maenalus out in the forest, but hadn't met any other senshi up to that point. Were there more of them? Were they the only two? Well there was that man in the park, but somehow he didn't quite qualify as a senshi. Something about the way he felt just seemed odd. Not bad, just not senshi. How many negaversers were there? Tons? One?

Frustrated, Talia threw the senshi phone and her henshin pen into her faithful blue bag and headed out towards the camp lake. It may have been the middle of the night, but there was no way Talia could sleep, not with all of these puzzle pieces floating around. Besides, bed times didn't apply to the junior counselors, right? Well either way, nothing was stopping her. She could just use her Sailor Draconis powers to stop her assailants, right?

Another thought dawned on Talia. Her powers could be used for herself. She could rob stores and beat up people that made her angry. Talia immediately shook that thought out of her head though. It was wrong. Senshi power wasn't something to abuse, even if she wanted to. Some ancient law within her just prohibited it. Like a wisp of a past memory, it whispered, No, use your powers for good Talia.

Sucking in a breath of air, Talia threw on her shoes and quietly exited the musty old cabin. It was nice to feel the night air hitting her face, instead of the muggy sweat she had built up in her overheated sleeping bag. The only noise she made was the slight slap of her flip flops on the ground. Her destination: the lake.

((WC: 716))