Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had taken a little effort, but Tony hoped he had been successful in sending the message to all the knights he had met and recruited so far about the meeting at the library. It was late, well passed the usual closing hours for the building, and the front doors were clearly labeled that it was closed. Some lights were still on, but that was no different than normal. The offices on each floor often remained lit through the night.

Camelot was waiting in the assigned room on the third floor. It was the place where he had stored his collection of books on Arthurian legend, before all this had begun. Even before going to Camelot in that dream world. He had collected those books over eleven years at the library. The room was granted to him by the library, but now he was using it for a secondary purpose. He had created a long table out of shorter ones, so that they might all have a place to sit.

It wasn't a round table, though. It did, however, have cookies and coffee waiting.

He had keys made for everyone, and the lock was put in by himself. No one else had the key. Not that he intended on leaving anything in there, but it was just nice to have that security of mind. He was now pondering other security things, like a bunch of powered up individuals sitting together in one building. Would that be too dangerous?

It would have to do for now. They had a few things to discuss, and he wanted to make sure they all knew each other. They could talk about communication, schedules, discuss their ideals. He even had a little pledge for them. The Knights of Destiny.

He couldn't help but feel that now familiar thrill when he thought of them.

Of course, things never went exactly as planned, and though he was perfectly content in his little world, waiting for the other knights to arrive through the door he had left unlocked on the roof for them, there were some unexpected visitors moving about downstairs on the first floor.

"I've got that covered..." came Valhalla's voice from the entrance to the room, not having met the other knight who was with Camelot already, but wondering why they were talking about birds to carry messages. Or at least the one was.

He'd entered through the door on the roof before making his way to the third floor room, a bag slung over his shoulder, and making sure the door was shut behind him. It wasn't part of his outfit, so he'd obviously picked it up after powering up. He glanced to the knight he didn't know, giving him a quick look over, before turning to Camelot and offering a hand to shake in greeting. He came at the older man's request, after all.

"We may be named after mythological places, but we don't need to live in medieval times," he said over his shoulder to Niflhel, before turning to the other. "How have you been? I brought some things we can look at when others show up. We don't have to use the same thing, either. Everyone's could be different. My brother is going to help get things set up, but he's not asking questions, so don't worry about that." It just helped that his older brother had a few connections, being an engineer and all.

She had a key. That in itself was special, and she'd mirrored her roommate most of the day she'd been given it - such happiness over a small, ordinary object. She understood how Erika felt a little better. Her key wasn't to a home, but it was to a place she belonged all the same.

Getting on the roof had taken her a little more time then the two other knights - she still had a lot to learn, really - but eventually she did make her way to the room, finding her way through easily thanks to Camelot's instructions.

This probably wasn't what the other knights were expecting, at all. She was most likely the youngest of them, just barely 15, hair short and a little spiky, looking more like a very young boy whose's voice hadn't changed yet than the young lady she was.

Through, really... Lady did not quite fit Hesperis in any of her incarnations.

Add to that she was carrying the most humongous container of blue raspberry slushee known to man and she was probably making one hell of a first impression. Though on second look, it made sense - the poor girl looked utterly miserable, and looking at her uniform, it was easy to see why.

"Someone needs to padget the powers that be and tell them Earth has this thing called seasons, even if Mercury doesn't seem to do that." She muttered, then put her container on the table to shed her coat. Her gender was still questionable even with the damn thing off, through she looked just slightly more feminine.

Through, really, she was so raiding that coffee later. The nuns at St-Mags never let her have any.

"Yo, guys." She gave a wave, then took a long sip of her slushee. Ack ! Brain freeze ! "I went to Mercury. It's cold."

She was wondering if they'd even believe her.

"It won't be traceable," he confirmed with Camelot, having already gone though the possible dangers and giveaways on his own. The last thing he wanted to do was put Camelot, himself, his brother, or any of the knights in danger.

Valhalla turned when they were joined by a young girl (boy? he couldn't tell), watching as she sipped at her slushee and suddenly feeling rather awkward and out of place. Or rather... he felt like the only one who didn't seem eccentric in some way.

Camelot had his thing with medieval history and books... the other male in the purple was talking about using carrier pigeons to send messages, and this girl was casually drinking a slushee and talking about going to Mercury.

"Mercury...?" he repeated, softly and to himself more than to the others. Was she just making things up or had she actually been to the planet? How was that possible, though...? Maybe it was just a figure of speech. Going to another planet with no livable environment was impossible, right? And how could it be cold? Wasn't it closest to the Sun? He knew through science classes that Venus was hottest due to atmospheric gasses, but that didn't mean Mercury was any cooler.

The page of Jupiter stiffened even more when another entered the room, wearing antlers on his head and sounding like he was from somewhere other than the States. Another odd one... Not that he could say much about his own outfit...

As sure as he was when he agreed to join Camelot in helping him, he was suddenly very unsure that he would fit in with these other people... which made him feel unnecessarily self-conscious about not being... 'interesting' enough.

"Valhalla... of Jupiter," he introduced when the newest in the room mentioned not knowing more than one, holding out his hand to him, despite how awkward he was suddenly feeling. They were all in this for the same reason, right? Suddenly finding out they were strangely dressed people and... protecting people in danger?

"Annwn of Earth..." He said glancing each of them over with a small nod. "...Carrier pidgeons...they don't find particular people though, they just return to where they were raised eh?" He said sounding questioning. "And yeh would have to return them to another coop once they had delivered their message."

He paused for a moment looking like he felt quite out of place. "Least...that would be what I remember." He decided not to mention that he had an aunt who had a recipe for pigeon. He did blink though at Nifhel... "Who tells you... Y'er the only other ... well, anyone I have met yet. If I had foond them i might have listened though."

It might have been a bit off putting to be implied that he wasn't listening when he so badly needed SOME instruction. Granted he had not been a knight long, and he hadn't had the time to spend 'in his crazy get up' much, this was perhaps only the third time he had even done so.

"...Though since I am already at said planet...maybe thats why..." He added after a moments pause realizing it probably sounded stupid, and rather like he'd just said he didn't know how to get to -earth-.

Camelot waited as introductions were made, offering cookies and coffee when needed.

"Ah, you did? I was wondering about that," he smiled at Hesperis as she came in, as well as Annwn. For some reason, seeing everyone together in one place, or nearly everyone anyway, made his heart sing. Of course, the younger ones also sparked his protective instincts, and he wanted to chastise Hesperis for going to Mercury presumably alone at the same time as praise her for getting there.

"I heard from another Knight about going to our namesakes, on those planets. He couldn't say how he went though, just that it's something we all have to figure out for ourselves."

Mostly ignoring Niflhel as he championed the use of pigeons, as well as his choice in tones, knowing the young man was mostly harmless in that regard, he lifted his hands in an offering of peace. He understood Annwn's concerns about going to Earth, as he was a knight of the same planet and the two had already very successfully gone to it. What with the being born there and everything.

"Earth is the planet we are here to protect. We wouldn't have been granted these powers if we were meant to think of some other place as home. We were born here, and there is a war here. The planets that granted us our strength and history are for each of us to explore in our own ways, if we want to, but I think it is a matter of time for each individual to find their way to them. That's a journey for yourself, and just like waking up to these powers in the first place, it will find you when the time is right."

He hoped, anyway. Still, it was a nice thought and he hoped to put some troubled minds, his own for one, at peace for not having been yet.

Turning to Valhalla, he nodded his head and sported a broad grin.

"I am all for plain. Anything too complicated and I'll either drop it or somehow manage to eat it like a six year old." He watched the headset, thinking he liked the wireless ones a bit better, if only because he often got caught on things enough with his normal clothes. He didn't want an extra wire sticking out anywhere.

At Valhalla's sarcasm, Camelot chimed, "ah, yes, the plan is to just have these little headsets in case of emergencies. Power up first, then pick them up and wear them, so we might be able to communicate with one another if we find ourselves in over our heads or we need backup. As a group, a unit, we'll be stronger, and I want everyone here to understand," his voice got a bit more serious now, "that we work for and with each other. Your allies are your greatest assets, and we are just as easily the people out there that we want to save. Our lives are better used if we keep each other actually alive."

He looked around at each face, more than ready to pledge his loyalty to them all, but he knew it was easiest for him. He had met them each already, and knew them better than they knew each other. In time, he hoped, they would get more used to each other and develop a sense of trust.

Downstairs, something was still stirring. A group of youma were now spreading out along the second floor, exploring, and one managed to knock over a low stack of books from a table in the study area. Camelot heard the familiar thumping of books, despite it being a floor below them, his senses on high alert.

"I'm going to make sure the doors are locked," he said thoughtfully, "I'll be right back. Uhm, don't let the cookies and coffee go to waste."

And of course he wasn't right back. He went downstairs and did not come back at all.

(Feel free to go and explore the youma while I'm out (or stick around and wait for Tony to come back, though that might not be as fun >>)! They can all be different, just run of the mill youma hanging out in a little gang. They are not large, so the numbers help them, but other than that it's free range. Thought I'd open it up while I'm gone just in case folks wanted to go for it.)

Ah ! Someone else knew what she was talking about ! She all but beamed at Niflhel when he said that. And god lord that redhead had a sexy accent going from him. Hmm~ No, bad Hesperis, no perving.

"Im Hesperis. Mercury." Through that seemed obvious from what she'd said. "I went to Mercury." Another sip from her giant container. "There was... a sentence going on in my head. The same thing, over and over, I couldn't drill it out of my mind ! It just came one night, and wouldn't get out. You'll know it when you will hear it. I don't wanna say it because... you know." She didn't want to say it and get beamed right back on the mothership. That would be awkward. "So I said it and.. I went there. It was dark, and my... city was right in the bottom of the surface, even lower than the crater I ended up in..."

Yep, this sounded like crazy talk. "There I met my... my ancestor. He told me a bunch of things. You're right." She nodded at Valhalla. "We're all from Earth. That was where every one of us was born. But we're knights... At least for me, my line of knight grew up on Earth, then once we were old enough, we went to Mercury to guard the city that bore our name. Hesperis."

She'd been about to continue, but was distracted by the little headsets the page of Jupiter showed out. "Oh, these look nice. And thankfully easily hidden. I, ah, room with someone else, so better safe than sorry, right ?" She didn't say where, felt no inclinations to say it, through it was probably too easy to guess she wasn't a Crystal girl by mannerisms alone. She went straight for the wireless ones - they just seemed more practical.

Then Camelot left, and Hesperis returned to her slushee, clearly not cool enough for her own tastes already. Bimini's behavior seemed to amuse him, but as time passed, Hesperis seemed to grow more and more worried. Why wasn't he coming back ? Uh oh.

"...Im gonna go see what's taking Camelot so long... It shouldn't be, right ?" She let her slushee on the table, nabbed a cookie, then slid her way out.

Some more time passed. Until...

"GUYS GET THE ******** DOWN HERE THERE'S YOUMAS ALL OVER THE PLACE !!!!"

...She'd probably figured no one would be wearing those shiny new headsets right now. Trust the baby to have one hell of a set of lungs, right ?

Niflhel heard the call and followed taking off his hat to run his hand through his hair. Nodding to Bemini chuckling, "You made it in time for the fun. Nice to meet you Bimini."

He added as he followed behind Anwwn after Hesperis, yelled. "Welp time to get to work." He paused how did they know where to be. "They do have impeccable timing." He said as he strolled out.

Humming, "They're like sharks if you ask me. Hungry for a bite to eat, and they smell blood." He headed down the stairs. Towards the Youma, "I just hope none of them are hungry for books. Tony would probably kill us for messing those up."