|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 4:06 pm
The worst thing about summer, and the one thing Ganymede abhorred about the season, was that there tended to be an increase in the amount of afternoon and evening rainstorms. Not only did this prevent him from being able to enjoy his time outdoors, but it made hunting youma a slick, messy, and potentially hazardous process.
Especially in high heels and a long red train that happened to like snagging on just about anything.
He shouldn’t have come out alone, but then it wasn’t like he was the sort of person to ask around for company. He could have encouraged Peter to come out with him easily enough, but Peter already got into enough trouble as it was without Ganymede dragging him out of the house every night and putting him in danger. He could have called one of the Jovians, too, and he knew they would have been more than happy to join him for a round of patrol, but recently he’d come to revert back to a bit of his loner behavior.
It was dangerous, especially when he didn’t quite feel like himself and his strength wasn’t really up to par. Just because he’d finally gained the wings stuck on to the bottom of his corset didn’t mean a typical youma dusting was always typical.
Currently he found himself faced with a particularly nasty looking beast comprised of sticky, dark sludge, with a gaping, toothless maw and arms that could stretch out just a little too far to make not close too close. Ganymede had already found himself whacked into a set of thorny bushes lining the path in the park at least a few times already.
“Worthless piece of s**t,” he cursed, extricating himself a third time and giving his train a harsh tug. It had once again gotten itself stuck among the thorns.
He was two seconds away from just ripping it right off.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:16 pm
While he didn't mind the rain, Valhalla wasn't all that fond of what it did to his hair, especially when he didn't have the time to dry it properly. Yes, it was a shallow thing to think about when there were so many more things deserving of worry, but he felt as if he was allowed to have his moments of selfishness and narcissism. It wasn't as though he brought a comb and mirror along with him... he just didn't like how people looked at him when he wasn't dressed his best. It was bad enough that they jumped to conclusions about him... he didn't need them judging him poorly on his appearance as well.
As it was, the well experienced squire sought shelter beneath the canopy of trees along the edge of a park while the clouds rolled overhead. He was tempted to just power down and hail a cab, but he hadn't been out for very long and would feel guilty if he didn't at least complete a full round of his patrol. If others were out, protecting the city in this weather, then they deserved his help however he could offer it.
That didn't mean he couldn't try and wait out the rain, though...
Maybe it was a good thing that he paused for a few minutes, because otherwise he wasn't sure he would have been able to feel the two sources of energy some distance away. It was the Eternal's energy signal that caught his attention first, and then the youma. Part of him wondered if it would be a waste of time for him to head over, since an Eternal would definitely be more cut out for the job than someone of his level, or if they would feel offended that he'd try to help... but eventually he did turn away from the shelter of the trees and headed straight into the heart of the park.
In the dark, it was difficult to see what was going on, but even without being able to see its full shape, he could tell that the youma wasn't going to be easily dealt with, and maybe it was good that he came to the senshi's aid. Sludge-like arms reached out towards the shape of the senshi, the monster letting out a deep, gurgling groan as it slid its semi-solid body with a greater speed than Valhalla would have assumed it could move.
Regardless of whether or not the senshi had it under control, as Valhalla arrived on the scene, he lifted his compass to take aim. A flash of green energy seemed to light up the compass as well as the beam that hit the monster's arm, causing the limb to fling backwards, rather than stretching out towards its target.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:58 pm
Ganymede certainly wasn’t the kind of senshi who looked at youma dustings as some sort of an invisible notch on his metaphorical belt. Most of the times he was grateful to have the help, though it was a tiny bit embarrassing to be caught at a disadvantage against a youma that looked like a mound of oil mixed with swamp scum. If it had been a bit more ferocious, with teeth or claws or something more than a pile of goop, maybe then he’d feel as if the help was a little more deserved.
He sensed the squire coming and had a pretty good idea of who it was when he saw the shape of him through the dark—tall, relatively broad, some sort of armor on the shoulders, fuzzy looking boots. Definitely Valhalla.
Unfortunately, while whatever Val was using as magic sent the youma’s arm careening back instead of forward, the flopping appendage collided against the youma’s body of slop to send a spray of muck through the air. Ganymede was already fairly covered in it from previous attacks. A blob of it landed on his shoulder this time, dripping down beneath his sagging collar. The rest landed on the ground with a few disgusting sounding plops and squelches.
The eternal senshi was a hot mess—make-up smeared, hair soggy, gloves wet and wrinkled, collar weighed even further down his arms by rain water, train getting stuck on everything, a few noticeable runs in his tan hose, boots a little too slick to make his coordination as nimble as usual. The only thing in relatively good shape about his fuku was the corset, which was as stiff and confining as always, though still damp and stained with dark goo.
He finally managed to tug his train free of the bush again, holding it off the ground as he watched the youma’s wild undulating. It flailed around in all directions as if it had no idea what it meant to do next.
Ganymede looked beyond it toward the shadowy shape of Valhalla. “What did you do to it?” he asked as more goop went flying through the air, this time in the direction of the squire.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2012 10:52 pm
"Ugh..." Valhalla groaned as he was covered by sludge, having been unable to see it in the dark until it was too late to dodge. What the hell was this monster made of and how the hell were they supposed to kill it if it was just... going to slush around like that??
Trying not to feel too squeamish with the goop all over him, Valhalla did his best to quickly shake it off, much like how a dog would dry itself. It wasn't really as effective, but it made him feel a little better.
Of course, when he realized he recognized the senshi's voice, he froze. His heart did a weird little skip, but then he could feel his stomach sink, as if one's with a guilty conscious would. He hadn't exactly been the best friend or boyfriend to Paris, so every time he crossed paths with him, he couldn't help but feel as though he'd done something terribly wrong, despite their generally good relationship, even still.
"Ganymede," he said as if to confirm his identity, but with a little too much awe and relief than he probably should have for someone who had decided he wanted time away from the other young man. He coughed awkwardly, shaking his head as he watched the youma flail, before finally deciding it wanted to come for him. "I'm not sure, I haven't used it much," he admitted, holding up the compass to shoot another beam of energy at the monster, this time causing it to flail backwards instead of come at him.
"I think it reverses movement... Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 12:12 am
Ganymede tried to ignore the way his own heart was doing funny fluttery things in his chest at the sound of Val’s voice, because now was so not the time for that. Not only were they kind of not as official as they used to be, but there was a gross youma to deal with and he’d already been shoved into the bushes three times for his negligence.
“You think?” he wondered, staring as the youma started flailing around again as it was hit by the magic shooting out of Val’s fancy compass.
Now that he was looking more closely and had somewhat of an idea of what the magic was supposed to do, he could sort of see it in effect. The youma would make a slight move in one direction before jerking to the exact opposite, as if it had no control over its movements whatsoever. He could imagine how very annoying that would be if it were used on a human.
Well, annoying for the person it was used on. Amusing as hell for him.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just a few scratches,” he reassured the squire. “That thing’s arms can extend pretty far. I couldn’t get close enough to get in very many good hits before it’d just whack me away. Didn’t really hurt much, though. Just felt kind of slimy.”
And this was the part where he looked around for something to use as a weapon. He kept the youma in his sights as he did so, taking a few steps back until he found a decent sized tree branch he hoped would do some damage instead of just sinking into the youma’s body of muck.
“Got any idea how we should approach this thing? I’m not real fond of another meeting with the bushes, lovely as they are in the daylight.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:05 am
He squire sputtered lightly in embarrassment at Ganymede's repeated comment. "I-I mean I haven't used it much so..." He wasn't entirely sure if it reversed movement or... did something else and that was just a side effect. Sure, it looked like it made the monster do the opposite of what it had been doing, but... there hadn't been enough time for him to prove it.
Then again, somewhere inside him, he knew he was right. Maybe he should stop questioning himself so much when it came to his magic.
As for approaching the youma, there wasn't much else Valhalla could think of doing besides using brute force. His magic certainly wasn't lethal, and Ganymede's could very well make it worse. He was sure the Eternal senshi was wary of using his magic in any form unless absolutely necessary.
"Grab something to hit it with," he called from the other side of the youma, jumping out of the way of one of its long arms. "I'll keep it off you, so don't worry." He could do that at the very least. If it tried taking hold of the senshi, he could just use his magic to make it let go. In theory.
"I'm ready whenever you are," he called, deciding not to worry too much about how he could sense the magic inside him had obviously been used a bit. While he wasn't eager to see what would happen if the sensation disappeared, he also didn't want to both Ganymede with too many details.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:21 am
Grabbing the branch he’d found, Ganymede gripped it in his hands to wield it as he had so many before it. There were times when he loathed the fact that his fate rested in the hands of one mighty tree branch, but it wasn’t like there were very many options left open to him in a deserted park. It was either make do with what he had or run away, and he wasn’t the kind of senshi who just ran away anymore.
Though, to be fair, he’d never run away from the youma so much as the people and the blood and guts.
“Okay,” he said once they had something of a plan of attack in mind. “I’m going in, then.”
The last burst of magic hadn’t quite worn off yet as the youma continued to jerk about in an attempt to control its movements. Carefully, Ganymede moved in closer, taking it one step at a time until he was sure no flailing arm was going to knock him back again. He ducked beneath one as it whipped over his head, but he couldn’t tell if the youma had meant to do that or if it’d been the reaction of it trying to move beneath the effects of the magic. Whatever the case, it did little more than rain a couple of drops of muck into his hair, and so he felt the coast was as clear as it was going to be.
As soon as he’d gotten in as close as he needed to, Ganymede didn’t waste any time brandishing his tree branch against the youma, striking it against the monster’s goopy body with a rather loud ‘splat.’
“Why are these things either vicious as ******** or disgusting as hell?” he wondered, pulling his branch back to whack at it again. He said it mostly to himself, but he expected Val must have heard him, too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:37 am
"To your left!" Valhalla called out as he saw the youma trying to reach around and prevent the senshi from whacking it again. Having rarely used his compass, he wanted to be careful not to overwhelm it. Not being sure of its limits didn't exactly make him the most confident in a fight.
But since Ganymede had the heads up, he figured he could use an extra second to recharge his weapon... or whatever it was he did when the magic seemed to flow from his body to the object in question.
Another beam of light shot towards the youma, effectively sending its arm reeling in the opposite direction, leaving Ganymede with another opening to hit it again. While it wasn't a funny sight at all, he couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his comment. "No idea," he mumbled in response, trying to keep an eye on the youma and the senshi at the same time.
For one of his first fights with a youma while using his magic compass, he thought it was going pretty well. Of course, he didn't really have any other distractions. He was sure that if he took his eyes off the monster, the magic would stop.
Careful not to waste all the magic in one go, Valhalla broke the connection as soon as the youma's arm was away from Ganymede, and then prepared himself to use it again once it tried to repeat the attack.
"You still okay?" he called, not wanting Ganymede to feel too cut off or like he was in danger. Yeah, a youma wasn't something he wanted in his face, but with Valhalla watching his back, it should be okay, right?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:48 am
Trust was a hard thing for Ganymede to give to a person, but Valhalla had more of his trust that most, so the senshi didn’t spend too much time worrying about what the youma was doing and focused on getting a few good strikes in instead. Each hit made another unappealing ‘splat,’ a few particularly hard ones sending droplets of slime spraying off. He tried to ignore that as best he could. It wasn’t as if his fuku wasn’t dirty already.
“As okay as I’m going to be!” Ganymede called back.
And he was for the most part, except maybe a little tired. His arms were getting a little sore from swinging the branch back and forth, and he’d been feeling sort of weak and weary to begin with, but he was doing what he could to ignore that and concentrate on more important matters.
“Something seems wrong with this situation,” he announced, ducking around another arm as he struck the youma in the side, “sending Mr. Short and Pretty in while Mr. Tall and Brawny stands back and cools his heels.”
He was joking, of course, he and hoped Valhalla could hear that in his voice even beneath the fatigue and general annoyance of facing a disgusting youma. They didn’t really have much choice in the matter this time. Ganymede didn’t like using magic if he didn’t have to, and Valhalla’s was at least somewhat useful for the situation.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 10:34 am
He had heard the teasing in Ganymede's voice, and sure enough when he laughed, the connection broke and the youma took advantage of the lack of magic, swinging its arms across its front, sufficiently trapping the senshi in is grasp and up against its body.
"s**t," Valhalla hissed, leaping from where he was standing to try and get another decent hit with magic on the monster. Sure enough, the beam of light connected and the arms started to slowly pull apart... but somewhere in the time the squire had been using the magic, the youma seemed to have learned that if it just went the opposite way...
His eyes widened in panic as the youma's arms cinched back together, as if trying to suffocate the senshi against the muck and slime. He tried the magic once more to see if it was just a glitch, but with the sensation inside him dwindling, Valhalla was beginning to think that he might need another idea, and quick.
First thing was first, of course... and that was trying to save Ganymede from its clutches.
"Hang on!" he called, jumping up to try and knock the youma's arms away with a kick, but as his foot sunk into the creature, he doubted that would help. Nearly falling backwards, Valhalla grabbed onto Ganymede's shoulders to try and pull him free, or at least give him enough room to breathe. In a further attempt to free him, he slid one arm around the front of his boyfriend's shoulders, pulling his face away from the sludge, while using his other arm to land a series of blows at... what he was hoping was the monster's face.
Whatever he did seemed to eventually work, as the youma roared and stumbled backwards, its arms breaking off (perhaps in an attempt to escape) and sending Valhalla and Ganymede backwards onto the ground.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:27 am
Okay, so being smotherd by a youma really wasn’t all that great. One minute he was perfectly fine, whacking at the thing like it was nobody’s business, and suddenly he had an arm of muck wrapped around him in an embrace that was so far from romantic Ganymede was immediately concerned—not that he wouldn’t have been concerned if it had been romantic (talk about awkward), but being squeezed against a body of goop and slime and whatever else this thing was made of was hardly preferable to being tossed into the bushes, which he was actually starting to miss now.
Of course he struggled. He wasn’t just going to let himself be suffocated without putting up a fight, but he’d already used up a good bit of strength and he couldn’t get very good leverage with his hands slipping and sliding all over its body. He resorted to kicking at it, getting a few solid hits in with his toes before the need to breath became too great.
It tasted terrible. Absolutely terrible. He didn’t know if it was just this particular youma or if all of them tasted the same, but he didn’t think anything so revolting had ever made its way into his mouth before. If he didn’t have his face pressed firmly into the youma’s body, he likely would have puked. He almost did anyway. It took some serious work to keep that reaction down.
He gasped for air when Val at least got him far enough away to allow for it, though his corset was rather restricting and the youma’s arms were still pretty tight around him, so he wasn’t able to breathe as deeply as his poor lungs would have liked. As soon as he felt capable again, Ganymede continued his struggle, kicking with his feet and digging his fingers into the youma’s body to puncture through the goop since nothing else was working any better, with the result that he came away with two handfuls of the stuff when he and Val finally fell to the ground.
If there was any bit of luck in this entire thing, it was that he fell on top of Val instead of the other way around. After being smothered by a nauseating beast, he’d really rather not be crushed by his 200+ pound boyfriend. That chainmail didn’t make him any lighter.
After spitting and coughing and wiping some of the muck off of his face, Ganymede sat up and tried to breathe more appropriately.
“Just… find a rock or something,” he panted. “A good one. Pitch it into that thing’s face nice and hard. It should be pretty weak by now… I hope…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 22, 2012 9:11 pm
He was glad that he'd been under Ganymede instead of on top of him, because getting crushed definitely wasn't something he thought was all that great. And no, the chainmail wasn't light by any means.
Valhalla pushed himself up as well, carefully sliding Ganymede off of him so he could search around the ground for a rock of some sort. Everything was wet and covered in muck a the moment, so it wasn't the easiest thing to do. Eventually he managed to find some decent sized stones at the base of a near by thorny bush and grabbed a couple, on the off chance that the first hit wouldn't work. Standing to his feet, the squire took aim and sent one of the rocks flying through the air and piercing the creature through its gut.
Instead of brusting into dust, it just roared in anguish and attempted to turn around to find the source of the attack. Valhalla made a small grunt of disapproval, mumbling some excuse about how the rock was too wet and oddly shaped for him to get decent aim. The second pitch stayed true to its course, splitting the creature's slimy mound that he assumed was its head, and effectively causing it to burst.
Now that he had a moment to relax, he was able to notice that his legs and hands were shaking. Why, he wasn't entirely sure. Perhaps it was the fact that that thing had tried to suffocate his boyfriend... who wasn't really his boyfriend but for the sake of simplicity... Or maybe it was because most of his magic had been used and he was going through some kind of withdrawal...
Whatever the case was, Valhalla slowly sunk back down to the ground, where he then reached out to try and help Ganymede get some of the dirt off his face.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled mournfully. He'd promised to keep him safe and yet... "Are you hurt...?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:46 pm
Ganymede remained where he was on the ground, watching Val get in a couple of successful hits and sighing in the relief when the youma finally burst into dust. That had taken entirely too long for his liking. On a better day he shouldn’t have even needed the help, though he couldn’t say he minded it too much this time around. As soon as the youma was gone, the fatigue he’d been valiantly fighting back hit him with full force, and Ganymede slumped in a rare show of bad posture.
“I’m fine,” he reassured the squire again. “Just a little sore… tired… a few scratches and bruises maybe, but nothing serious…”
He let Val wipe at his face either way. It felt nice to be touched. Ganymede couldn’t even really be sure what Val was brushing away was all dirt. Rain and makeup were never a very good mix. The skin of his face certainly felt uncomfortable. The makeup, at least, would disappear once the transformation was reversed, but it would be nice to get home and take a nice, long shower regardless.
When he felt Val had had enough time to fret over him, Ganymede leaned back to lay on the ground and let the rain fall directly onto his face, closing his eyes for a little bit as he tried to relax and let himself breathe.
“Thanks,” he said. He was shaking, too, but he couldn’t tell if it was because of the youma or because the rain was a bit cool. “Sorry that didn’t go so well. My fault. I shouldn’t have been so stupid. Tried to take it on my own. Clearly the wings haven’t increased my effectiveness at all, or else I’m just… I don’t know… but thanks…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:06 pm
Valhalla let out a breath as he watched Ganymede lay back into the ground, wondering if he really felt as exhausted as he looked. There shouldn't be anything wrong with the amount of power he had as an eternal, so maybe he really was just... worn down.
"It's not your fault," he said, shaking his head and glad that he had shown up when he did. Who knows... maybe Ganymede would have been just fine without him. He should have kept a better eye on him, that's all. "You're fine, Ganymede," he tried to reassure him, not wanting him to feel any worse about it, especially now that it was all over. "You did fine. We did our best and it's gone."
Slowly, Valhalla pushed himself up, standing to his feet before reaching down to offer a hand to his boyfriend. "Come home with me...?" he asked, not having realized how much he'd missed him until they were together. Some days sucked more than others, but days with Paris in them sucked a little less. Maybe he really had made a mistake in kicking him out.
"You can get washed up... Uh... and you can borrow some of my clothes to sleep in..." he offered. Now that Paris had moved out, he had none of his things there... so spending the night on a whim wasn't as set as it would have been.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 24, 2012 7:33 pm
After a few more moments of letting the rain cool him off, Ganymede sat back up to take Val’s hand and let the squire help him to his feet. He brushed his fuku off out of habit, but by this point it didn’t do much to help. He’d been soaked through even before the youma had turned up. He hair stuck to his face, neck, and shoulders, his collar drooped sadly, and the rest of his fuku was damp and dirty, with mud staining his corset and leaves stuck to him in places, and a couple of small twigs caught in the ruffles of his shorts.
“I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” he said.
It was, however, a tempting one.
He missed Chris. He missed Chris’s apartment. He missed sleeping in Chris’s bed with Chris beside him. He missed waking up every morning to make breakfast and share a few kisses before they went their separate ways. He even missed the petty arguments. He felt more at home around Chris and among Chris’s things than he did anywhere else. Even staying at the Gallos’ house—as sweet and supportive and adoring as Momma was, and as nice as Peter was being to him—wasn’t the same as being with his boyfriend, if not every day then at least every night, when they’d come together after school and baseball, work and dance and talk and hold one another or just sit in silence and enjoy each other’s company over a movie.
But he was giving Chris his space, and if he went home with him now he’d never want to leave again.
“And I think if you thought about it a bit, you wouldn’t think it’s such a good idea either,” he continued, looking up at Val with a sad smile as he offered, “but you can walk me home.”
That was safe, at least, and to be honest… after that, he could use the company for a little longer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
