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 Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 1:37 am
It had been a week since Neso's last visit to the Surrounding. Its state of disarray had caused unrest and fear among their ranks. Shifts were organized, times to come and go from this hallowed place. Even Neso, usually one of the less responsible Zodiacs, made sure to never forget a shift. It took many alarms, notes, and reminders -- but here he was, standing on the rainbow path that united those Castles that remained hospitable.
Coming here was not fun for Neso, not now. It felt old and broken, pained even, like a childhood dog approaching its twilight years. How had it gotten to be so bad? Was it his fault? No, no... not his fault. Right?
The thoughts weighed heavily on Neso, and he was not the type to linger on sad or series notes. The tall giant of a youth attempted to force a smile onto his face, but his eyes remained cool, distant. At the edge of the path, the Senshi of Summer stared out into the great wonders beyond, stars so numerous that he doubted he could ever count them all. And each one represented a human being, a senshi, a person just like him.
The smile frozen on his lips dipped slightly. His shift had hours left in it. Normally he might do yoga, mess with his camera, or arrange some flowers for Chronos, but it was too hard to do it now. The stink of decay still lingered in this place that the senshi had come to call home.
It hurt to be here.
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Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 6:52 am
With every second, every breath and every step she took, all she could think about was the Surrounding. She had still been practicing for her pieces in the recital, but sometimes, Serenade Soriano just simply felt out of it, because her thoughts were always focused on somewhere else. She still carried on with her usual routine, the piano, meeting Castor to train, and then the rest of her spare time was divided between patrolling and returning to the Zodiac Castle.
She had discovered that the rumbling had caused the sheltered walkway from the Castle to the Temple to collapse, making the Temple utterly inaccessible. It was frustrating to just stare at the large doors which refused to budge and then she would just collapse on the steps with a sigh.
Always, when she was back in the Castle, she would shift into her Princess form, as though it would help. There was a reluctance to try again, all by herself, not when she had failed, even though she was getting better at managing the Opal Crystal. Better, but still not enough.
She wondered when would it be enough. Sometimes, it was just so tiring that all she wanted to do was to draw the curtains around her canopy bed, crawl under her sheets and drift into oblivion. She couldn't even dare to climb the stairs to where her old room once was in the Castle, usually remaining on the first two floors. Today, she was in the library, barely touching the dusty books arranged on the shelves, staring at the crumbled walkway that once connected the room to the Temple. After heaving a heavy sigh, a tiny blip registered on her radar, signalling that a member of her Court was here on the Surrounding as well.
It was Neso.
With one last glance back at the ruined path, she ventured out of the Castle, pausing once she saw his lanky figure just a distance away from where she stood. "Are you alright?" She called out softly. It wasn't only hard for her; it was hard for all of them as well.
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Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:22 am
Neso stood in profile to Chronos, his lips locked in a false smile. It hung oddly on his mouth like a painting pressed over a hidden safe. Her aura thrummed into his vicinity, her voice calling out. The Senshi of Summer took two seconds to compose himself for his princess and then turned to face her, beaming rays of sunshine.
"Better than all right -- you're here," he said, grinning from ear-to-ear and closing some of the distance between them. The handmaiden towered over his princess, but bent his shoulders to make the difference seem less drastic. It didn't help. "I'm walking on sunshine, Princess. Would you like to join me?" Neso slipped into a bow with playfully mocking formality, extending his hand upward toward her.
His job was to make her happy. It was his only purpose.
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Posted: Fri Sep 02, 2011 8:30 am
Chronos would never be taller than the Senshi of Summer, although she had grown significantly from the wide-eyed girl of fourteen who had been awakened into her destiny. Still, she gazed up at Neso, arching an eyebrow slightly as she lifted a hand to cup his cheek. "It isn't exactly sunshine, I think. Light paths maybe, and we can barely see the sun from here, anyway..." She stopped herself from being so technical, trying to regurgitate facts about the Surrounding in a desperate attempt to assure herself that she still remembered some things, at least. "Are you really alright? I know we're all really..." She paused. Stressed wasn't the word, exactly. Weary. Jaded. Worried. Trepid. Every one of these feelings seemed to be meshed up into a ball and she couldn't find the right word to articulate what exactly they all felt.
Her hand left his cheek to place it on his outstretched palm and then tried a small smile. "Have you seen the other outposts?" Chronos had not. She had been dwelling in the Castle every time she came out here. Even though she knew it was her responsibility to check on the outposts, seeing something destroyed by their attempt to restore the Surrounding back to what it once was had caused her to waver.
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 6:01 am
When Chronos touched his cheek, Neso smiled softly. It was different than the normal beaming smiles he gave off. This one was just for her -- had always been just for her. Neso knew, even if he never said it, that it would always be the clear signal of the part of himself that belonged to Chronos, a heart that beat for her throughout eternity with the full knowledge that hers would never beat back for it. This, too, was okay with him. Neso loved Chronos fully; he even loved her for not loving him in this way. Chronos was still talking, asking about him when all he cared about was taking care of her. This was another reason to love her. She cared with her whole heart for every single Zodiac, and it never wavered. It was the most beautiful thing in the world to Neso. When Chronos said she loved unconditionally, she meant it. Standing there with her, smiling into her soft eyes, and remembering how wonderful it was to simply be so near to her, Neso changed.  He became a better person for her. The glowing light of his upgrade brought a flash of surprise to his eyes. He had not noticed Zue around, but the magic of how upgrading to a new power class was still mysterious to him. Super Sailor Neso grinned from ear to ear at Chronos and then swept her up into his arms suddenly, spinning her in a circle over and over again. When he finally put her down, the Senshi of Summer looked positively radiant. "See, things are already brighter! As long as we're together, we'll get stronger and stronger," he said, a muscle flinching in his arm. The dark conversations were too much for him, and this upgrade was a perfect distraction. "We should celebrate -- call everyone! We can have a Zodiac Party here, like old times." Neso smiled expectantly and waited to see Chronos smile back at him. He always wanted to see her smile.
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Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2011 10:48 am
Chronos loved it when anyone of her Court smiled. Especially like that, when it was full of a positive emotion, when they were truly and utterly happy. It was something that could light up her life completely, and just as she thought that, Neso glowed with a radiant light. For a moment, Chronos wondered if it was just her mind projecting it around him just because of what she had been thinking, coupled with the fact that she had always thought that Neso fit his role as the Senshi of Summer perfectly. He was always so bright and radiant, and he was even brighter now, once the light faded and she was scooped up into his arms, the realization hitting her.
Princess Chronos could not help but beam in pride, tiptoeing to put her arms around his neck and hug him. He was right; happiness and warmth spread through her and outshone the shadows of her doubts. "I'm proud of you." She told him, squeezing him lightly. "Thank you, Neso." She added softly as she withdrew, still smiling up at the bright face; she could not ever be unhappy when he was around. "We should!" Other than being Soldiers, the Zodiacs other forte was throwing a good party, if she remembered correctly. "Once we clean things up, of course." It would certainly help to liven up the mood for everyone!
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 9:40 am
Super Sailor Neso could have lived and died a thousand lives in those arms, but after a few moments, the hug ended. He had learned to exist beside her. He had to know that everything ended at some point. Still, in the glow of her smile and his transformation, Neso did what he did best: he got happy.
Scooping Princess Chronos up into his arms, Neso began a mad dash back to her Castle. "Let's start with your place!" he said, beaming with a smile.
Happiness could always be found, even in the darkest of places.
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