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 Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:09 pm
There was something uniquely satisfying about being out well past a normal bedtime—about the power and confidence of strutting about in a public place past midnight. Of course, your mother told you to be careful and never stay out so late since that’s when all the bad people came out to play.
But Remarque didn’t really have to worry about that, though.
So far as predators in the park went, there wasn’t much he had to be afraid of. Sans an occasional run in with a member of the White Moon Court, his routine of collecting energy in and around the park was incredibly mundane. He should have appreciated the lack of any sort of trouble, but as it were, it just made him restless. He’d only been gathering energy for a few weeks, but already he was aspiring for something more. Maybe he wanted a fight with someone, or maybe he just wanted to liven things up and find some sort of challenge. He’d drifted away from the park on several occasions, none of which ended in a particularly unpleasant evening, however then he’d been very careful.
Now, he wasn’t really even bothering to hide that he was there.
He’d started in the park, like he usually did, sauntered through it and found someone by which to procure some energy, and then decided that he’d had enough of the park. Walking through it, he seemed as comfortable as if he were taking a stroll in the middle of the day. The senshi he’d encountered—sans a minor bruise from the brat, and a headache from the Super he’d run into—had been minor nuisances, and perhaps it was making him a bit cocky. The park wasn’t his park, per se, but he’d certainly taking a liking to haunting the area.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:54 pm
Frederick St. James was, as usual, not at home asleep like he should have been - like his brother assumed he was.
Instead, he was powered up into Knight form, patrolling the streets by himself and quietly musing as he paced the dark, shadow streaked Destiny City. It was such a different place when it was late; the loud, hustle and bustle of the citizens as they went about their daily business was gone, replaced by hushed, barely audible voices, quiet snores, and the soft hum of cars as they drove past, on their way to who knew where.
Celsus rather appreciated the night. In his mind, it was quite a bit more "artistically driven" than the day, though Tolliver had laughed about that phrase for nearly ten minutes through his amusement.
It was nearing midnight now. Celsus had not yet run into a youma - something that he could not quite be certain was a good thing or a bad thing - and was now doing one of his favorite things while out at night: sitting in a tree overlooking a park near the middle of the city.
He rather liked the advantage the trees gave; the shade and protection, and from here he could watch for anything, could see more. It had almost become a sort of habit for him, being found up in trees more often than not.
Celsus leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes briefly.
Something shivered up his spine -
An energy signature.
Someone was near; someone who was not of the White Moon Court, nor were they of the Negaverse, however. But Celsus, having learned from his superiors how to detect the differences among different powers, knew what this was.
Dark Mirror Court.
And a familiar one at that.
Celsus leapt from the tree he was sitting in, landing nimbly several feet away from the blond haired senshi, sticking his hands in his pockets and adopting a completely innocent expression, as if this were something he did every day.
"Good evening," he said cheerfully to the senshi. "And how might you be this fine night?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 3:01 am
Remarque recognized the voice at almost the same time he pinpointed the aura; by the time he turned his head to look at the redhead, he’d already carefully reflected as best he could on what words had been exchanged while still up in the Surrounding.
Though he didn’t know the Page’s name, he remembered him—and the bruises the damn brat had given him. “Oh,” he greeted, and despite the fact that he was suddenly very on edge, he displayed a rather nonchalant look as he looked the male up and down. “You.”
It wasn’t a very kind greeting, but then again: the two weren’t exactly friends.
“Evening was doing much better until you decided to show up. Now I’ve just got a bad taste in my mouth. What are you doing here, did you just decide you hadn’t bothered me enough on the Surrounding?” His voice was a bit more sour, and while he didn’t exactly know what to expect, he had a high suspicion that if the male in front of him was anything like he had been in the Surrounding, words alone weren’t going to suffice in getting rid of him.
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:18 pm
Celsus pressed a hand to his chest as though mortally wounded.
"I haven't seen you in so long, and that's the reaction I get?" he asked, in a melodramatic, faux hurt voice. He dropped it after a second, however, sticking his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels, smiling genially at the other.
"Now that hurts."
He wasn't quite certain where this was going to lead; after all, running into the Dark Mirror Senshi had become unavoidable, once they'd both detected each other's power signatures. But whether or not the other would let him go unharmed...
Celsus wasn't entirely sure that he would do that.
"What?" he asked innocently, walking in a slow circle around the other. "I bother you? How very rude, especially considering that I don't even know your name yet."
Extending his arms wide, Celsus swept into a deep, elaborate bow.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Celsus, Page of Chronos. And you are?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 4:50 pm
Remarque was very used to playing the role of predator; more often than not he would circle his prey to keep them on edge and unexpective of his next move. Celsus using the same tactic (either that or the Page was just restless) did not amuse him, though he didn’t let himself be too terribly unnerved. His hands rested on his hips and he cocked his head just slightly. “Entirely unamused. But if you need a name to refer to me by, that would be Sailor Remarque. Dark Mirror Senshi of Puppetry.”
There was a bit of adrenaline flushing through him; the emotions associated with his last confrontation with Celsus were quick to return. The redhead had landed a few good blows on Remarque, and albeit it was hard to take Celsus seriously when he displayed such a frivolous air, he knew better than to underestimate him.
“You know, I’m surprised you made it out of the Surrounding. With the way you were handling yourself up there, it’s practically a miracle you made it back in one piece. How ever did you manage that?” he prompted, small smirk twitching onto his face. “For a while there, you were really getting your a** handed to you.”
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:59 pm
He was not really circling Remarque because he felt predatorial; on the contrary, Celsus felt quite at ease, despite the fact that he was facing a Dark Mirror Senshi. But what he also knew was that this one was quite as new as he was; though he hadn't seen the civilian before the mirror came smashing down over his figure, he'd seen him Awaken afterwards.
Which meant that Sailor Remarque, Dark Mirror Senshi of Puppetry, probably knew just as much as Celsus did - namely not that much.
"Hmm," he said, tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "No, actually, that won't do; it's quite a bit too long for my tastes."
For an odd moment he was silent. Then he raised his finger as if struck by inspiration.
"How about Poppet? It sounds enough like Puppet, doesn't it?"
This was all said quite brightly, as though it were a truly brilliant idea. Celsus was quite certain Remarque was going to kick his arse for this, but he could not help but make light of the situation.
"I seem to recall things differently," he replied, as he lifted a brow in amusement. "Weren't you the one who had issues fighting back?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 10:01 pm
“Cute, you little Brit b*****d,” Remarque scoffed, lip curling into a disgusted sneer. “Don’t tempt me to kick your a** anymore than you already have, I’m more than willing to without you trying to set me off.”
The issued hadn’t been fighting back, the issue had been too many distractions. Between the vines and Requiem rushing in, and then the whole thing with the Youma going on, and everyone getting separated—it was one big distraction. But now, it was just the two of them—no one to interrupt, and no one to get in the way.
Celsus, sans annoying him, had never really been a major issue. It wasn’t that Remarque doubted the male had the potential, because, certainly he must have had some potential if he’d been chosen to a page of Chronos. Sure, they’d exchanged blows on the Surrounding, but at that point in time, it had been the heat of the battle.
Not like Remarque suspected they’d ever be pals or anything—nor did he have any particular drive for such since, A, he never forgave anyone for hitting him and, B, they were on completely opposing sides.
”So, what is it, you just missed me so thought you’d drop in and say ‘Hi’? I’m still waiting for you to tell me what you want,” Remarque grumbled, eyes still on Celsus. It was clear by his expression—nevermind his tone—that we was still quite certainly unamused.
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Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2011 10:18 pm
Celsus made a clucking noise with his tongue, grinning cheekily at Remarque. It was true that he was not exactly doing the smart thing, teasing the Dark Mirror Senshi like this, but something about that constantly sulky attitude of his made Celsus want to remind him that he wasn't going to win this battle.
Not if he could help it.
"I doubt you could do anything to me, Poppet," said Celsus, waving a hand in a noncommittal way, clearly unconcerned with the snarled response. "Haven't you ever heard that thing about not fighting while you're irritated? Or not arguing, since you don't really make too much of an impact when your mind isn't clear."
Sticking his hands back into his pockets, the expression on Celsus' face shifted to one that was more serious, his gaze cool and calm as he regarded Remarque.
"I don't think I've quite forgiven your lot for doing what they did to the Surrounding," he said. "That wasn't particularly nice, you know."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 3:27 am
Remarque wasn’t thrilled with the nickname, though it wasn’t quite as annoying as Celsus’ cockiness with the whole situation. If he wasn’t irritated, then half the time that he was fighting, he wouldn’t be fighting at all. Making an impact wasn’t all that hard when your fist was smashing into someone’s face, but—hey. Why argue about it when you were irritated?
The change in Celsus’ personality was easy enough to replicated; Remarque was set a bit more on edge once the playful attitude was dropped. He stood a bit straighter, leaning back a bit as he rested his palms atop his hips.
“Forgiven my lot?” he prompted, nearly scoffing. “My lot isn’t the one who sucked up all the civilians into space. My lot isn’t the one who spent six weeks holding them hostage, letting them be picked off one by one until there wasn’t any left. I don’t really think you’re in the right to be complaining about who’s forgiven who. What are you doing down here, anyway? If you care so much about the Surrounding, shouldn’t you be up there, protecting it? The way I see it, that’s your territory. So why are you down here on mine?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 8:53 am
Despite the air he gave off - the confident, easygoing, laid back and yes, perhaps sometimes a bit cocky, with a breeze of mischievous fun - there were times when he did not feel nearly as uncaring as he looked. The anger that had welled up during that last, disastrous final battle, the pain, the desire to simply eliminate everything that had caused everyone so much heartache - it had started to appear again, sliding through Celsus' veins like a wave of heat.
It was one thing to accuse - it was another thing entirely to assume that it was the fault of the White Moon senshi and the Knights that the civilians had all been dragged into space.
Whose fault is this, anyway?
"And who were the ones who picked them off, exactly?" he said, with an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face as took a step closer to Remarque, his hands still stuck casually in his pockets. "Who was it that pushed everyone to the breaking point, who killed off whoever they pleased as though they had a right to?"
One hand lifted, Celsus' fingers curling in the front of Remarque's shirt. They were close enough now that the irritation was clearly evident in Celsus' eyes, anger flooding into his mind.
"Since when do you get to play with people as though they're your property?"
Then he reared his hand back and slammed his fist into the senshi's face.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:26 am
Give, and take, as was the way of the world.
Celsus might have him by the front of the shirt, might have swung, but Remarque had seen it coming—not because he was in psychic and in any way could predict the future, but because it was somewhat difficult not to expect an attack with someone right in your face like that.
A dodge would have been resourceful, or a block, but Remarque had chosen to abandon such both on account of the fact that—first and foremost—Celsus had actually thrown him off guard, and that he’d gladly take a blow if that meant Celsus got close enough to hit.
Curling the fingers of his left hand tightly, he hurled his fist at the male’s stomach in a powerful punch, aiming for the hollow between his ribs, right above his stomach. Too many times had Remarque been winded by a well placed blow to the solar plexus, but he certainly wasn’t above sharing that experience with someone else.
His face was warm from where Celsus had made impact, and the waves of pain were only just starting to roll in. “I distinctly remember your Surrounding sucking them in to make that shield. At least we didn’t hide behind their corpses. Where’s your pride? Your dignity? Or are you so above morals think you can get away with doing whatever you want and just place the blame on someone else?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:54 am
He knew it was rather obvious, his front-on attack, but it still hit anyway, Celsus' closed fist connecting with the side of Remarque's face with a sickening crunch. He hadn't broken anything (at least not yet), but it was still a rather unpleasant feeling all the same. The Fritz side of him had only ever wrestled in play with his twin, and had never actually gotten into a fight.
But this was different. He was not Fritz St. James right now, he was Celsus, Page of Chronos.
Remarque's fist landed mid-torso; Celsus staggered back, gasping for air, his chest heaving painfully. It felt as though the wind had been completely knocked out of him - a sensation that was not exactly pleasant, especially since he could hear Remarque's voice somewhere near him as he attempted to breathe normally again.
"Where's your pride? Your dignity?"
"That's rich, coming from someone like you," Celsus grunted out, and launched himself at Remarque, his fingers clenching in the other's neckline and throwing him up against the tree he had been sitting in earlier.
"You hide behind your ugly faces, your fake sense of right and wrong." The words were hissed out, Celsus angrier than he had been in a long time. "What goes through your head, anyway? Clearly nothing."
He brought his knee up, slamming it into Remarque's stomach.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:11 am
A knee to the stomach was not pleasant, regardless of the situation. Being pinned up against a tree made it doubly painful since there was nothing he could do to soften the blow. He was glad he hadn’t eaten anything too recently or he might have thrown it up on Celsus after a hit like that, and while he figured it would have served the male right, he wasn’t willing to stoop to that. The blow to the stomach hurt far worse than the one to the face, and he hardly appreciated Celsus’ insults.
And yet, amidst the struggle not to cringe or sink into the pain—in the fight to just keep breathing normally after that blow—he let out a strained laugh. His brows were knit, and while his teeth were grit, his lip was still curled in a slight smirk. “Hey. Freckles. Haven't you ever heard that thing about not fighting while you're irritated? You seem to be really worked up about all of this. Do we need to take a break so you can go have a seat and calm down?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:28 pm
A smirk crossed Celsus' lips.
"I'm not irritated," he said. "I'm just making a statement."
He dropped his arm away from Remarque and took a few steps back, chest heaving. Unfortunately the other's comment had gotten to him more than he would ever let on, and though his face showed no signs of it, internally he was raging with frustration and humiliation.
This damn brat.
It was, perhaps, the cockiness that made him the most irritated. Celsus himself was confident, yes, but something about Remarque grated on his last nerves, and he couldn't quite but his finger on it.
"Don't worry, Poppet," he said, face half shadowed in the moonlight. "I'll let you live tonight.
"Maybe."
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:18 pm
Remarque was not immune to the effects of the battle; his face was heated and throbbing from the blow, and it was taking a vast majority of his concentration not to let show how much the knee to the stomach was affecting him. He was trying to keep his breathing even, and though he was determined to act as though it wasn’t affecting him, willpower alone wasn’t enough to conquer everything.
When Celsus stepped back, Remarque relaxed just a slight bit, glad he had the tree behind him to rest against. Celsus’ words instilled no fear in him, though he was rather amused—and perhaps a touch impressed—at the damage the page had done to him.
“Oh, now. You’ll ‘let’ me live? I suppose that would be your true colors showing now, hmm?” Never mind that Remarque doubted Celsus could actually kill him—and if the page even came anywhere close to snuffing him, Remarque wasn’t going to go down alone—it was the threat he was interested in.
“I suppose those senshi taught you that, yes? Or did you learn that on your own? Funny, now, how you still tack us as the villain in this little war. I haven’t stooped so low as to murder. But you?”
Remarque was still wearing his smug smile, eyes locked on Celsus’. “You just jumped right to the idea, didn’t you? Go ahead and glorify it all you want, Freckles, but at the end of the day, good and bad and all the shades of grey between, a murderer is just that: a murderer.”
He pushed himself from the tree, not in a particularly hostile manner; he just seemed to be righting himself. “All I wanted was to make sure this world is safe from the vermin like you polluting it, screwing it up. I’d rather fix you than kill you.” He paused, and quirked his head just slightly. “So which of us is the better man?”
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