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 Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 1:53 am
Slowly Kyn was returning to life. She couldn't forget about her daughter or what she was quickly learning about life outside of her normal little box but she was making an effort to believe in Tony and what he trusted in. Mostly because she had no other leads and it was better than thinking her daughter was dead. Everything hurt her. Nothing felt natural anymore. She avoided being home except to sleep and never opened Harmony's bedroom door. Some things were simply too painful. Even the school stopped calling to report Harm's truancy.
She was out walking now. No one ever accused Kyn of being rational. She was dramatic to her core and though logic tended to dictate her mind's thought processes this was her only daughter and the usual traits simply didn't apply. She couldn't pretend to be alright because she wasn't. But she could choose to try and go out into the world, living her life. This usually meant forcing herself out into the open and faking a smile so people would see her and comment on how brave she was being. She was tired of hearing that word. Brave. What did it even mean?
Though she'd expected it to the world didn't stop spinning while her daughter was lost. The sun still rose and set and the rain still fell. The musicians made music and the artists painted. Students came to class and the city continued to bustle. News of the disappearance was quieting everywhere now. Two weeks later nothing was solved and people were giving up. However, fifty families were still uncertain, half in mourning and half in hope. But no one cared about them.
She passed a park on her left, gathering the long sweater she wore around her body. It reached her knees covering the dress she was wearing and beat off the slight chill in the air. Nights like this it was easy to tell fall was coming. It was practically here. The playground was deserted and most people were in bed at this hour. It was a Friday and she had no school in the morning. She could be out late.
Kyndall took a seat on a swing and started to slowly rock back and forth in an easy sway. The ground glided beneath her in small arcs at first and then larger until she had decent momentum going. She wasn't thinking about anything particular. She was trying not to think at all. She was certainly not expecting company out in the middle of no where at nearly two in the morning.
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 10:52 am
Camelot had to do it now, before he returned to space. He needed to find his friend, and explain to her what he could. All the while pretending that he did not know her as well as it seemed. What was it he told Harmony, to explain why he had known her? She was often in his area of patrol, and he had learned about her that way.
Creepy.
Would she react well to the idea that some man dressed up as a knight was watching her all the time, while she was walking by the library? Would that make her stop going to the library? Maybe he wouldn't mention the place specifically, but that could have been an even more disastrous decision. It might make her not want to leave her house at all, or be alone where some creepy old ren faire rejecct might be watching.
Sometimes things were just so complicated, it made his head spin. It was bad enough that his plan involved waking her up at home in the middle of the night. There was no way to make this look like anything less than a stalking.
He somehow managed to find her in the park, though he had only been passing through it to get to the library across town, before heading to her place. Why he had started his patrol so far out was anyone's guess. He saw her on the swing almost on accident, slinking through the trees so no one noticed him. If there was anyone there to see him. Glancing around, he stepped out of the tree line and walked toward the swing set, at her back so she might not notice him right away.
Why was she out so late?
"Are you alright, miss?" he ventured to ask, hoping his soft tone might not scare her right off of the seat. Just in case, he tried to speak when she was swinging back and not too far off the ground.
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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 11:23 am
For a while while she was swinging the world was blissfully quiet. She closed her eyes and only felt the wind on her face and the weightlessness of swinging freely through the air. Sure, she had to create her own momentum but then she could just sit there and bask in her efforts swinging back and forth in the night air. For a few stunning seconds she was a child again and free of pain, confusion, and the residual anger left inside by this whole mess.
Good guys. Bad guys. Terrorists. Senshi. It was enough to make her head ache.
"Are you alright, miss?"
She been slowing to a stop by the time the voice sounded and she drug her heels in the dirt to complete the process. When she opened her eyes and saw a full blown knight standing there she gaped. For all of about two seconds. After that Kyndall got angry all over again. Were they never going to leave here alone? Who was this guy but some throwback to the middle ages? Clever costuming she was sure but she didn't want to hear about his dogma and she didn't need some freak (if that's what he turned out to be) intruding into her few precious moments of peace.
For all she knew he was here to plead the case of the terrorists.
"No!" she protested, standing up and wrapping her arms around her body as an innate defense mechanism. Something inside of her just snapped and she couldn't hold back the floodgate anymore. "No more of you...people! I've had enough! No more terrorists. No more teasing! I've had enough! Benitoite told me everything and I'm done with all of it! I'm only one person! Isn't it enough that you people have my daughter somewhere? Do you have to beat me over the head with it every few days? First there's one side that's right and then the other and you've brainwashed my friend Tony, the only person I can count on for support. What now? Are you going to try and brainwash me, too?"
If he was just some random helpful nutjob she'd feel really bad about this but she had a sinking feeling he wasn't. She looked at him, accusing already with her eyes of complicating her world even worse than it was already. She was sick of this world within a world stuff and the war between good and evil because, quite frankly, she couldn't tell the sides apart. There wasn't any proof that Tony was right and there wasn't any proof Benitoite was right, either.
She sank to the ground in the middle of the playground in stubborn refusal and maybe a little emotional helplessness.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:16 pm
Camelot looked stunned when she snapped at him. He hadn't expected her to not be scared or confused by him, but he also hadn't been expecting her exploding at him. He looked at her in wonder as she railed at him, waiting for her to be done before he tried to speak.
"Benitoite?" he echoed, shaking his head, "that's not a name you can trust. I know this is overwhelming, I know you don't understand what we are and I don't expect you to. But I am not your enemy. Please, just listen to me, and I can explain about your daughter."
He winced when she mentioned him, Tony, as being brainwashed. Ouch.
Things would be so much easier if he could just power down and show her he was, in fact, that brainwashed friend of hers. Except they would then get a thousand times more complicated.
"Just let me talk to you. I've seen Harmony. I know where she is, and how she is. She told me to tell you she loves you and she's sorry. And she wants Apply dapply when she comes back home."
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 3:07 pm
If there was anything in the world that could freeze her in her tracks it was what he said. For a moment after he fell silent she froze and looked up at him from behind her mane of dark green hair. Her violet eyes blinked and flooded with tears involuntarily. She immediately believed him. Who else would know about Apply Dapply? It wasn't a very popular book.
Of course, if she knew it was Tony then she'd already told him the books significance. Of course, if she knew it was Tony she'd have a hard time believing he would lie to her, too. She got up slowly, trying to figure out if this was some sort of cruel joke. But it didn't seem like it. It seemed all too real.
"You've actually seen her." she whispered, coming forward slowly, one step at a time. Beni was convincing but he couldn't offer proof about Harmony like this knight just had. He knew her daughter was alive. She gave a small shriek and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. There weren't any words to express her gratitude. She just hugged him for a good long while with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Thank you.” she told him sincerely. “You’ve actually seen her. She’s alive. She’s ok.”
She kissed him square on the lips before she even had time to think about the very strange idea that she was kissing a man dressed as a knight in the middle of a park at two in the morning. Stranger things had happened in her life, she was sure, but she couldn’t think of any of them at the moment. In fact, clear thought had all but gone out the window entirely. She was an emotional wreck.
“You have no idea how hard it’s been not knowing where she is or how she’s doing. All this time I’ve been wondering if she’s dead. I’m so sorry for snapping at you. I’m just so…but it’s ok.”
She kissed him again, this time longer. She told herself it was gratitude, and it was. It absolutely was. But there was something else, too, that she couldn’t quite name. When she pulled away she blushed. She didn’t have a chance to try and apologize. Her mind was still working a mile a minute. If he knew where Harmony was he could explain how this happened and give her answers. Real answers. He said he wasn’t part of the bad guys then he’d have to prove it to her. She had him here. She’d have to pick his brain once and for all. She couldn’t keep living with this haze of unanswered questions of left or right.
“When’s the last time you saw her? Is she doing alright? Is she hurt? Is she coming home soon? Can you take me to her?”
This was a start.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:50 pm
Camelot hadn't intended on using the information Harm gave him in that way, to get her to stop yelling at him. He had wanted it to be delivered in a calm moment, where she could appreciate that her child was safe and not think she was being conned in some way. He felt guilty for turning the information into something to defend himself with, if he were honest with himself, and wished he could redo that moment over.
But the impact remained the same, it seemed, once she digested his words.
"Yes, I've seen her. I know where she's is. It's difficult to understand, and I can't tell you everything, but..." his voice trailed off as she moved to him and hugged him. He caught her in his arms and gave her a comforting hug back, patting her high on her shoulder as she clung to him. He had to stoop a bit, as he was rather tall.
When she kissed him he wasn't quite sure what was happening. He had been thanked in many ways for his services as a knight before. A proper, verbal thank you. A hand shake. A hug. A slug to his shoulder. A call to the police. A scream. If one could name it, he had probably taken it for his hard work defending innocent, albeit often confused and overwhelmed, lives.
But no one had ever kissed him before.
"Miss, I know you're -mmpph-" His words were cut off as she kissed him again, and he held his breath until she released him. He knew she was running high on relief and that the sudden release of her fear was fueling her actions, so he didn't hold it against her. But he would be a damned liar if he said he wasn't thoroughly embarrassed. His bright red skin, which she would see as she pulled back, attested to that.
"She... she..." he had a bad moment of being unable to remember how to use the English language for his intended purpose, and he shook his head to clear it. "She's alright. Not dead, and healing if not healed from a... small... injury. I'm afraid she's gone somewhere she shouldn't be, and we don't know how to bring her, or the other missing citizens, home. I'm afraid I can't take you to her, but I promise, we're doing everything we can to try and bring them all home safely."
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 9:13 pm
"Kyndall"
She corrected breathlessly. They both seemed to be the same shade of red but where he was simply embarrassed she had to admit that she'd actually enjoyed herself despite how potentially inappropriate her behavior was. And that blush...it looked vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it offhand. The more she thought about it the further away the thought got until she couldn't remember why it had seemed so familiar to her in the first place. Clearly it was different but appealing.
Some habits die hard.
"She was hurt?"
Was here was a good word. It meant she no longer was hurt. She was disappointed when he said he couldn't take her to Harmony. Now that she knew her baby was alive she wanted so desperately to see her...to be there with her. There was something about the knight's tone and his stance that just oozed honesty. As skeptical as she might have wanted to be she found it nearly impossible not to believe him.
"Why do you have her? What purpose could it possibly have served to bring all those people to where you were. Where are you from, anyway, and what's your name?"
She let him go as much as she didn't want to. She did it more for his benefit than her own but it was the "right" thing to do. Bright violet eyes scanned the playground and spotted a bench on the far side kind out out of the way of the beaten path. It was in a collection of trees and shaded from view. Let's face it, if she was going to be socializing with a full grown man dressed as a medieval knight she wanted to do it somewhere other people weren't likely to come across them. She still had her pride though she was grateful for the news.
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:19 pm
Camelot nodded his head, trying to keep on topic here. And he smiled at her, not wanting to scare her with the details of Harmony's injury. It had been quite severe, he remembered having to set it himself, but she was healed due to the magic in Virgo's infirmary. There was no need, then, to scared Kyndall with details of how bad it had been.
Maybe she could tell her herself, if, no when, she came home.
Camelot's face was impossible to read. Mostly because he was battling valiantly not to let his uncertainty creep into it, as well as fighting off the heat of embarrassment that still lingered. Still, talking about other things helped keep his mind from it. These were important matters, and he cared deeply about this family. Kyndall was his friend, and growing more dear to him each day. He valued her and would never do anything to purposefully cause her harm. Knowing about Harmony and not telling her would be akin to punching her in the face, in his eyes.
Or worse.
"We don't have her. They were taken to a place that is ours," he was using vague terms: the Surrounding did not belong to the knights, but rather the Zodiac Senshi. Still, he couldn't tell her everything or it would just make her a target. He already worried he was saying too much. "we don't know how or why, but we can't bring them home the same way we travel back and forth. We're doing everything we can to solve this, though. Believe me."
He looked aghast when she asked him for his name, and took a step back in order to bow his head. Gallant.
"My name is Camelot, Squire of Earth," he almost said Page. It was an adjustment, "and I am at your service."
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Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 10:40 pm
She closed her eyes and took a silent moment to really let all of that information sink in. It really was a quick kick in the teeth. From worrying every single minute of every single day to knowing not only that her daughter was alive but that she was well, loved her mother, and that someone she found herself trusting promised to be trying to find her a way home. It was almost more than Kyn could bear. Her eyes shined but no tears were left to fall. If they had they'd be happy tears.
She felt freakin fantastic!
"Camelot."
She was torn between sounding skeptical and sounding like she admired him. After all, she had a great appreciation for the Camelot mythos. And yep, that was what he looked like alright. Something straight out of the pages of the Round Table. Maybe she should pick his brain for her script. She thought of Tony and wished he was there as she took a seat on the bench in the circle of trees. They were quite alone but a circle of moonlight managed to creep in through the crowned leaves. She looked up and smiled.
"My friend Tony would love to meet you. He enjoys the Arthurian legends as much as I do. You might say it was one of our talking points. Apparently he knows your lot...or the senshi. More than I do, anyway. I owe him an apology and a thank you when I see him next."
She paused and imagined Tony in all of his sheepish cuteness and wished she weren't so completely enamored of him. She glanced at Camelot bathed in moonlight and smiled softly at him, pulling her sweater around her a bit tighter. This was kind of how she imagined things when she actually allowed herself to dream of romance. Some knight to sweep her off her feet and whisk her away. Didn't every woman want the same? Someone to love and protect them no matter the cost.
Then she thought of Tony and blushed all over again. For him she'd make an exception.
"So you are the good guys, aren't you? I mean the real ones. You're the ones Tony was talking about. You save people from...monsters."
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Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2011 12:07 pm
Camelot watched her, feeling proud and impossibly happy that he had been able to bring her this information at last. He felt she really needed some hope. He just prayed he wasn't doing more harm than good here, as it were. If something did happen to Harmony before they could bring the civilians home...
Kyndall would blame Camelot. Maybe even blame Tony for lying about these people. It would be a ridiculous mess, but more than that, she would be crushed. He hated seeing her so upset, and if the worst did happen he couldn't imagine how badly she would be damaged by it.
If by telling her she was safe he was only setting up for a farther fall... he would never forgive himself.
He followed her to the bench, standing politely nearby. He was a knight, after all, and not only was he chivalrous but he was also on duty. He couldn't stay much longer, or so he liked to imply. He had come out just to find her, but that wasn't the point. He was meant to remain more aloof than this. His personal feelings and tie to her were making his judgement lapse.
If something felt his energy and came over...
"Keep your friends close to you," he offered vaguely, "I know this time is difficult. We are the good guys, or we try to be. There are many complicated things in this whole... second world around you, and now that you're aware of it it might not be easy to ignore it. I can speak for myself, though. I am a knight and I am sworn to protect the innocent. To protect life in this city. If you are ever in danger, and I am there to see it, I will come to your aid."
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 12:17 am
"If it were only that easy. I know a lot of people but I don't have a lot of friends and Tony...he's been gone a lot lately. Maybe he's going to see his girlfriend out of town. I don't know."
The idea of that second world would take some getting used to. Now that she knew it was there it might catch her eye more and more. She could never be blind to it again. Those strange happenings on the news and in the paper...she'd know what was behind them and once she was looking for the monsters she knew she couldn't turn away from them. Deep down now that she knew something told her to fight.
But then the logical side told her that was what Camelot was for in his armor. She wasn't ready to face down monsters even if she wanted to help. What would she know? This wasn't her world and she certainly hadn't known about it before Harmony went missing. What good could she possibly be? Especially if something like this happened and she was facing herself. How could she remain objective.
Was Camelot?
She didn't realize his inside dilemma since she didn't know he was Tony. She only nodded at his words and offered him a grateful smile. She was really sure she didn't want to start seeing a lot of monsters now that she knew about this other world. While it was comforting to know other people fought against them she did not and did not want to have to take that into consideration in her late night walks through the city. Or, maybe, she should stop those altogether. Were they smart now that she knew? She made them a million times before.
"Let's hope you're around a lot then, Camelot."
She found herself meaning that with small stars in her eyes. He brought her hope.
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:26 pm
Caemlot nodded his head. He felt guilty, but he knew that he was out of town a lot because he had to be in space. If she knew that he was Tony, she would understand why he hadn't been able to be there for her as much as he would like to.
He had never had much luck with friendships. Not because he was bad at keeping them, but whenever he got close to someone something always happened. A death, moving away: one of those strange, sudden and usually unexplained happenings that Destiny City was so good at producing.
He was wary, almost, to get too close to anyone now. Knowing what he was, and what was going on. Knowing that his life could end violently and at any time, if he ran into the wrong person, or he wrong youma.
If Camelot died in action, Tony would be another one of those stories in the news. The unexplained. Or feebly explained.
"I will be," he promised again, bowing gallantly once more. This was a full bow, though, with some small bit of teasing to it. He looked at her seriously, though, as his word was more sincere then his play at being knightly was. He offered her a smile, though.
"Perhaps we should get you home? It's a bit late for playing in the park."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:57 pm
She watched his bow, perking up an eyebrow at him. Kyndall nodded and laughed in spite of herself. It was charming and in the moment she needed to laugh. It broke up the too tense mood and continued to foster the feeling of hope and happiness she was feeling. She got up and gave him a little mock curtsy of her own with the hem of her skirt.
"And people say chivalry is dead." she teased.
She shrugged at his suggestion, giving him a lopsided smile. Going home didn't sound like a bad idea. She'd stayed out late enough. Besides, if she was still out when the sun was rising she'd feel bad for not getting any sleep. Though it was hard to lately she still tried and tonight she had more reason than ever to drift off peacefully.
"I wasn't playing." she told him later as an afterthought, faking her exasperation. They both knew she was. "Alright, maybe I was but I thought turning twenty meant I could stay out as late as I liked. I don't recall there being a curfew for adults."
She walked with him, leading the way from the park. Her apartment wasn't very far from where they were. She kept mostly to herself in there and didn't invite many people over. Mostly because there were books strewn about everywhere and it looked cluttered with literature. The idea of a real life squire escorting her home sounded like something out of one of her books. She found the idea both amusing and appealing.
"An armed escort in this town is hard to get."
Though she didn't notice a sword on him now that she looked. Just a shield. Maybe it was because he was a squire and not a knight. She knew there was a difference but she didn't know what the difference was except perhaps training. It didn't bother her. She just found it curious.
"I know you didn't have to come tonight to tell me this. I want you to know how much I appreciate it, Camelot." She chuckled. "I guess you're another reason for me to like those legends."
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Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2011 8:32 pm
"I certainly hope it's not, or I'm making a fool of myself at the moment, aren't I?" He grinned. As she protested, he shook his head slowly. "There are curfews for everyone, even knights. And it's getting close to my bedtime. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to get you home so I can get back to mine."
That wasn't true, but it sounded funny and he smiled warmly as he said it. He wanted to keep her mood high.
Camelot walked while desperately trying to look like he didn't know where he was going. She had given him her address before, and he had looked up her house just in case he ever needed to find her as Camelot. Or wanted to visit, and didn't want to look for it the day of. He had a habit of getting lost when it was most inconvenient to do so.
"Armored, maybe," he said, looking thoughtful. He had his shield, and his crystal, but he had never used either in a fight before. He didn't tell her that, though. He smiled at her words, nodding his head.
"I appreciate the thought. It's my duty to protect everyone I can. And if I can help you, in any way, I will. That's my honor."
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2011 10:11 am
“Well, you are wandering around the city dressed in full armor. Some people might consider you quite the fool.” Not that she did, obviously. She was content to be seen with the guy.
He seemed to stop in front of her building at the same moment she did. As if he knew to stop. That couldn’t be, could it? No, she was imagining things. He was kinda strange, walking through the streets of Destiny City in chainmail armor, but he didn’t strike her as being creepy.
“Do you live closeby?” she asked slyly, smiling down at him from the first step of her stoop.
It seemed very much like the end of a date with both of them standing on her front stoop in the moonlight, each enjoying the other’s company and wondering how best to end the night. Only, it wasn’t a date and if she knew it was Tony she might have died a little inside having kissed him twice that evening. Not to mention it wasn’t a romantic affability they shared. Still, in other circunstances…
Kyndall often had to remind herself of how things usually looked from the outside. She always found herself in situations that looked one way but were always something different.
“You’re my hero, Camelot. I mean that. Goodnight.”
She leaned down and offered him a quick peck on the cheek and a hug before blushing and moving up the stairs toward the house.
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