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 Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:56 am
Fritz was on the move again.
He really needed to stop this wandering habit, but it kept him occupied. So far he had explored the white marbled, Greek-inspired temple of Virgo; toured the expansive, overly extravagant castle of Leo, and delved into the simplistic and intelligent home of Aquarius. However, though there was still much to see in all of these places, there was one outpost that Fritz had not visited.
The outpost of Chronos, Princess of the Zodiac.
...he had no idea what that meant, but it certainly sounded interesting.
Which was how he found himself standing outside of Chronos' outpost, staring up at it in complete and utter awe.
It was huge. Massive. The biggest building Fritz had ever seen in his entire life. The castle stretched for what seemed like miles, expanding over the grounds with its heavy stone walls, vines and flowers creeping over the sides. The front gates, like the rest of the outposts, were broken, falling into disrepair.
As had the insides as well, Fritz discovered, stepping slowly into the enormous building. The front entrance was relatively decent sized and circular, the floor made of some sort of smooth marble, with worn looking carpets. Banners bearing the symbols of the zodiac hung from the ceiling as well, though they too looked old and rather unkempt.
It was still quite impressive.
He decided to just sit on the floor and scrutinize the room. Which may or may not have seemed a little strange, but already Fritz's fingers were itching for a pen to start sketching the faded banners and the cracked walls, the large double doors at the end of the way.
But since he had no pen, he would just have to make do with imprinting it in his mind.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 12:22 pm
Felix really should not have been exploring the outposts right now. Each of the outposts was quite disorganized, from the furniture wreckage at Leo’s to the disarrayed books at Aquarius’. There was plenty to tidy up—and Felix would have been more than willing to do so. He could easily become obsessive about organization and cleaning, but he was in space. When would he receive a second chance to come back here, once he returned to Earth (assuming he would be able to return at all)? As much as the need to clean tugged at his thoughts, Felix pushed it aside in favor of revisiting Chronos’ outpost. After the whale incident, he and a few others had landed in front of the rundown castle, but had little time to actually explore the interior.
Compared to the other outposts, this place was freaking huge, sprawling into the distance until Felix couldn’t see it anymore. Yet like all the rest, the building was well past its prime. If only there was some sort of magic spell that could restore the grandeur of the castle and the other outposts, even if it would be temporary. He could only imagine what it was like in the past. As Felix walked past the hole he guessed was the entrance, he peered around the circular room. The tattered banners caught his attention first, unsurprised by the zodiac symbols on each piece of cloth.
Then he brought his gaze back down and realized that he was not alone. “Oh, sor—“ Felix paused midsentence once he registered the fact that the other man was plopped on the floor, intently examining everything. “Am I disturbing something…? I can leave if you want.” Though to be honest, he’d rather not.
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Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:42 pm
It was quite clear that the Chronos outpost was by far the one revered the most .Despite Leo's grandeur, Virgo's clean, white simplicity, and Aquarius' intelligence, there was something distinctly...impressive about Chronos' castle; something that implied respect and command. Perhaps it was the fact that it did indeed house the beautiful Princess Chronos, whom Fritz had seen all of one time, back when they were being attacked by that space whale. He was not entirely certain what a zodiac princess was to do, other than that she was the leader of the entire thing. His knowledge of the inner workings of the zodiac and senshi people was severely limited.
Not that Fritz particularly minded this; they were an intelligent sort, and they seemed quite capable of handling things - for the most part. He did not deny that he still felt wary and uneasy out here, ensconced away in who knew where, but he was determined to make the best of the situation.
“Oh, sor—“
The voice startled Fritz out of his inner musings, and he tilted his head back, taking in a young man that he hadn't ever seen before, looking at him with a bemused expression.
"Oh, no, feel free to stay," Fritz answered him cheerfully. "I'm just taking a little time to sort of, you know, take in everything. It's really quite a beautiful place, but since I don't have my sketchbook, I have to commit everything to memory instead."
He half swiveled on the floor, extending one hand towards the young man. "I'm Fritz," he said. "Who're you?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 5:21 pm
Senshi were a mysterious bunch in general. Felix recalled the label ‘terrorists’ casually thrown around to describe the eccentric people—especially that one arsonist senshi, but that was the most of what he knew about them until his unexpected trip to space. Captain Virgo’s hasty explanations proved to be insightful. Senshi considered themselves to be soldiers of love and justice, people who had lived throughout the vast reaches of space, and had magical powers. Yet there was still more to learn. How had they come into creation, for example? Why were there so many in Destiny City, of all places? Questions endlessly swam throughout the back of his mind, but he doubted they would ever be answered.
“Okay.” He nodded curtly, sliding his hands into his pants pockets. Felix directed his gaze to a pair of doors across the other side of the room while he attentively listened to the stranger. “So you draw. Is it a hobby or a profession?” He drew out one of his hands, which now gripped a pencil—the one he had been studying with before he had been whisked away. Wordlessly, Felix tossed it over to him. He had no use for the pencil now. “I don’t have paper, though.”
“I’m Felix,” he answered as he continued to stare at the other doors. “Have you been sitting here the entire time? Have you not looked at the other rooms?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:31 pm
"It's both, I suppose," answered Fritz with a shrug, his shoulders rising and falling beneath the thin cotton of his teeshirt. He'd been wearing the same clothes for several days now, since he was too tall for most of the ones brought by the senshi, having yet to find a pair of jeans that fit him comfortably. "I mean, I'm an art major at uni, so it is what I wish to do with my life. At the same time, all I do right now is draw for a webcomic that my brother and I co-author."
Something fell into his lap, and Fritz glanced down, slightly bemused before he realized what it was. Snatching it up, he held it towards the light coming from the ceiling as if it were some holy and magical item to be revered.
"You have a pencil."
These were said in an almost awed tone, Fritz's attention completely distracted by this new and delightful object in his hands. "It's beautiful," he said, in a hushed voice.
For a few moments he sat there, taking in all the possibilities this new utensil would bring, then realized he was being rude and whisked around to smile brightly up at the young man.
"Thank you very much!" he said, and grinned. "It's good to meet you, Felix."
Fritz glanced around at the room, as if confused. "Nah, just a few moments," he said, waving a noncommittal hand. "But I haven't had time to explore every room yet, no."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:39 pm
Felix blankly eyed Fritz, contemplating the other’s answer before he accepted it with a small nod. Not the answer he had been expecting, but fair enough. “A webcomic with your brother? It must be nice to have something to connect you and your sibling together.” He had no siblings of his own, but what he gauged from his friends, siblings were generally a pain in the a**. Sometimes there were bonding moments worth remembering, but most of the time it was just each other messing with the other sibling and driving them off the wall. Most of their tales convinced Felix that he was fortunate to be a single child.
Then he proceeded to warily watch Fritz swipe the pencil and behold it like it was a sacred artifact, which it clearly wasn’t, as someone who loved archaeology and artifacts, Felix should know. “Yes, I do,” he confirmed, “and feel free to use it.” While Felix realized Fritz had been desperate for a pencil, he didn’t think that warranted calling the pencil beautiful. “Mechanical pencils are nice, yeah, but I wouldn’t call them beautiful.”
Another nod. “You’re welcome.” Curiosity gnawed at his inside until it compelled Felix to walk past Fritz and toward the other doors. What was in the other rooms? He was eager to know.
But he definitely wasn’t expecting an indoor garden behind the doors, complete with a weakly babbling fountain.
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Posted: Thu Sep 15, 2011 12:33 am
"We have a good thing going on," Fritz said brightly, but his smile had diminished slightly, his happy-go-lucky expression faltering just the smallest bit. He did not want to think of Tolliver, not now, not when there was someone else other than him here.
Fritz pushed aside thoughts of his brother. Instead, he tilted his head upwards slanting a gaze to the young man in front of him.
"Ah, ah, ah," he said, and wagged a finger at Felix, the grin on his face knowing, almost teasing. "Don't knock mechanical pencils until you've had to use a piece of falling apart charcoal like I have for the past three days. To you, this might be just a pencil, but to me it's a work of art in and of itself."
Now all he needed was a good stack of 10x12 drawing paper and he'd be good!
Except there were no art stores in space, which meant Fritz was completely and totally out of luck.
He gave a small sigh, then started a little when he realized Felix was walking away.
"Hey, wait up!"
A clatter of footsteps, a rustle of old paper, and a thump as Fritz accidentally tripped later, Felix found himself accompanied by a much too cheerful redhead, who stared out at the garden with wide eyes.
"Woaaahhhh. Where did THIS come from?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:04 pm
Felix thought he saw Fritz’s smile falter for a moment. Although he held pride in his keen eyesight, it could have easily been his imagination. He didn’t know the other man well enough to truly discern the slight movement, so Felix remained silent and discarded the meaningless observation.
“Since I haven’t actually needed a pencil the past few days, I’m afraid I can’t quite relate to your feelings.” He shrugged. “If you admire my pencil’s aesthetics that much, then suit yourself.” Unfortunately for Fritz, he would have to acquire paper on his own. Felix was far from artistically inclined. It was more likely to see him tote around a thick textbook than sheets of scratch paper.
“Just walk faster,” he insisted in a flat voice, offhandedly glancing back at Fritz as he tripped before returning his attention to the indoor garden. “It looks like it’s always been here,” noted Felix as he took a step inside, eyeing the army of weeds that scoured the ground. “In obvious disrepair, though, just like all the other buildings here.” There was a twinge of disappointment in his voice as he traveled closer toward the fountain, bending down to move one hand across the faded, vine-covered Zodiac signs engraved on it. “A real shame, since I actually kind of like gardens—I would’ve especially liked to have examined the space fauna.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 18, 2011 10:49 pm
The only indication that Fritz had noticed Felix noticing his sudden change in demeanor was the faintest hint of colour to his cheeks. However, it passed so quickly that it was likely neither had noticed, and the conversation moved on relatively smoothly after that.
He glanced down at Felix, eyebrows contracting together. The tone of his voice was not altogether pleasant, though it wasn't exactly unpleasant either. Rather, it implied Felix was easily irritated by people like Fritz, especially by the lack of enthusiasm shown to his pencil - and the fact that he had not stopped to help Fritz up, but rather had merely glanced back uninterestedly.
"You know, you're quite grumpy," Fritz said lightly, reaching out and poking one of the boy's cheeks. Then he added, quite cheerfully "You need to cheer up, mate. We've got nothing else to do as it is!"
The garden inside was massive. It had clearly once been a place of splendor, with lush, flowering plants and thick green leaves. Now, however, it was overrun with an innumerable amount of vines and weeds, most of the foliage covered by miscellaneous plants.
"Do I detect a hint of interest in your voice?" Fritz said, slanting a gaze to Felix as he reached out a hand, running his fingers along a thin, green leaf. He was itching to try out his new pencil, but he had no paper yet. "I'm not one for plants myself, but I can definitely appreciate their beauty. And these," he added, gesturing to the whole of the place. " - have an amazing amount of beauty, even in their 'disrepair.'"
He gave Felix a wide smile, stepping closer to a particularly fuzzy looking plant to examine it more closely. "So what do you do back in DC? Anything exciting? Do you work with plants back there?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 9:23 pm
“So I’ve been tol—“ Felix stopped midsentence as Fritz had the guts to poke his cheek, evoking a blank stare from the poker-faced lad. He kept silent for a couple seconds as he attempted to gather his thoughts and feelings. While at first Felix considered Fritz to be somewhat odd, which he attributed to Fritz’ love of art and Felix’s lack of it, his opinion had noticeably changed. It was clear that Fritz would be testing Felix’s patience. “I’ve been told that as well, but you can see how that didn’t change anything.” Granted, he wasn’t stuck in space with a bunch of strangers back then, but still.
“Yes. Is there a problem with that?” he answered honestly as he quizzically watched Fritz run his fingers over a leaf to examine its texture. “I suppose, but it would be prettier if it was cleaned up.” He shrugged, choosing to not observe the fuzzy looking plant with Fritz. Instead, he opted to remain by the fountain. Felix brushed off a few dried twigs and sat at the edge. He idly plucked a small budding flower attached to one of the vines. “Nothing interesting. I’m in college, but I work part-time at a bookstore.” Felix spun the thin stem between his thumb and finger and watched the oval petals blur into a blob of pale pink. “So no, I don’t work with plants—I’m studying archaeology, which sort of explains why I’m interested in this garden...basically everything here, actually.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:14 pm
"Did I say there was a problem with it?" Fritz asked, with some confusion. His brows were raised as he glanced up from the rather large and menacing looking plant he was examining to cast a curious look at Felix. "It was just a simple question," he said with a laugh. "No need to go all hardcore on me; it was merely an observation, mate."
It was already becoming clear to Fritz that this particular young man would perhaps not be the easiest to converse with. The flat tones of his voice, the blank - and even somewhat irritated - looks sent in his direction were all evidence enough of that. Under ordinary circumstances, Fritz might have left well enough alone (or perhaps not), but here there was no need to be so reserved. And besides, it was good to have acquaintances in such a time, was it not?
Either way, Fritz wasn't giving up on him just yet.
"It's still pretty, regardless," he said honestly. Though the garden was in clear disrepair, in desperate need of some water and special care, there was still a sort of elegance to its wildness that belayed its otherwise wild appearance. "I find gardens that are too much in order to be rather dull; this one, at least, has some sort of character to it, however unintentional that was."
Fritz knelt down, examining a pale yellow bud. "Archeology is a fascinating subject," he said, half lost in thought already as he tried to memorize the tiny flower in his mind. "I commend anyone who can do such a thing, so props to you. I'm afraid my mind isn't quite fit to work such a way, but I can most certainly appreciate and respect the study of it."
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 11:25 pm
“No. I just thought you might’ve, though I don’t know why you would’ve.” He casually shrugged. Felix blankly observed Fritz for a couple seconds before looking back at the plant in his hands as he mumbled, “Hardcore, you say…?”
It would be difficult to deny that he wasn’t the most amiable guy around. Friends and classmates alike often informed him of his demeanor—the empty look in his eyes, the irritated twitch of his lips—that had a tendency to drive others away. Even worse (or so he was told) was his dull, almost bored, tone. Prolonging a conversation with Felix was just as frustrating. Someone could ask a question about the weather and he would curtly answer, but then the conversation would plunge into awkward silence and he wouldn’t mind.
Felix gave the garden a second examination, but couldn’t completely empathize with Fritz. “If you insist. I personally prefer a garden with a calm structure, which this currently lacks.” Eyebrows knitted together as he searched for what the other man meant by ‘character.’ Character, what character? The garden was a mess, despite its previous grandeur. How did it have ‘character?’
“People have their own strengths and weaknesses. I don’t find that to be particularly commendable,” he stated flatly as he whimsically plucked away at the pink flower’s petals. “Everything is fascinating; it just depends on one’s tastes. Not everyone can stand working with dirt and forgotten objects, for example.” One by one, the petals disappeared as he released them, fluttering to the ground in a neat pile. His mouth pulled into a rare, brief half-smile. “Nor can I imagine myself being able to sit down and sketch.”
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 11:18 pm
Fritz did not really mind that Felix was not exactly the most...jovial person to be around. After all, it was clear from just his expressions that he probably viewed him as a thorn in his side, and that he most likely wished to be as far away from Fritz as humanly possible.
But it was either very lucky or very unlucky that Fritz did not give up that easily.
Most likely it was the latter.
"Calm structures can be pleasant, oh yes," said Fritz, now examining what appeared to be a very large, purple orchid - though seeing as how it was a plant in space, he couldn't exactly be certain that was what it was. "I'm not saying that they don't have their appeal as well. However, I tend to prefer gardens that are less...conventional."
His shoulders lifted and fell in a noncommittal shrug, a smile playing on his lips. "Sorta like people, y'know? I prefer people who are just...a little...off."
This was all said while giving a very knowing and meaningful glance towards Felix, mischief glinting in Fritz's eyes.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:46 pm
Truthfully, Felix didn’t actually want to be as far away from Fritz as well possible, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t find the lad irritating. He was used to those kinds of people, though. His scowl deepened at the thought of his hyperactive friends. He was very used to them.
Felix would certainly agree that the moment, he was quite unlucky. He would just have to suck it up and bear with it, though.
“Less conventional? I’m not surprised.” Felix remained seated at the broken fountain, idly scooping up fallen leaves that swam in lazy waves. He collected them in neat sticks, like piled papers. It was a silly sight to see, but the man didn’t care. “A lot of things can be beautiful. It just depends on the perspective you’re looking at them with.” He shifted his gaze toward Fritz, whose eyes held an odd gleam. “Are you implying something?” he questioned. Felix sighed, shrugging. “I don’t have a particular preference. Someone quiet, I suppose?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 1:42 pm
Fritz wisely chose not to comment on the heavy scowl Felix wore on his face, instead occupying himself with a plant that looked like a large radish with pink feelers sticking out of the center.
"Our perspectives are respective to our person, I suppose," he answered good naturedly, and stood, brushing dirt and leaves from his jeans as he made his way around the large, dilapidated fountain that stood in the center. The other young man was slowly collecting the yellowed leaves that were floating in the twig strewn water, and Fritz sat down a few feet away, lazily dragging his fingers through the cool liquid.
"Conventionality is a good thing, at times," he said thoughtfully, tilting his head upwards as if looking for answers that direction. He picked up a pale green flower, idly tugging at its soft petals. "I just happen to prefer the more...or rather, the less conventional ways. I find conventionality, for the most part, to be much too stifling - at least for my own personal taste.
Fritz's gaze shifted to Felix. "Nothing," he responded innocently, swinging one leg out, then shrugging noncommittally, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Why ever would you believe me to be implying something?"
He pushed a hand through his mussed red curls and grinned. "I have no particular preference, in all actuality. Even the most conventional people have a way of surprising you, after all."
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