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 Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 1:15 am
Creeping through warehouses was not exactly a new hobby for Aventine; as a girl she'd grown up with a bit of a mischievous streak. Hell, she'd even dressed up in costumes a few times. This really wasn't anything new—except that now she had a legitimate reason to be lurking about.
She'd seen a youma here—a small, strange, little beast that had disappeared into the shadows. It was here, somewhere. Maybe. It might have wizened up and gotten the hell away from her. Either way, it was only shortly after she'd lost the youma that she was picking up on another aura in the area—a stronger one. She was drawn to it, half because this place was creepy as ********, and half because she was legitimately wanting to meet some more knights. Caelian was top notch in her book, but she didn't want the woman to think she was totally helpless, and if she could meet some new faces, that would be awesome. Unless, of course, it was Caelian out and about, in which case she wouldn't mind another meet up, anyway.
"Hello?" she called into the darkness, hoping it would attract whatever Order figure was around and not allow that pesky youma to sneak up on her—if it had even bothered to stick around.
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Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 8:53 pm
The warehouse was, in particular, one of Celsus' favorite haunts. If he had been anyone else, this may have possibly been construed as quite odd, but considering that he was currently Squire of Chronos and not Fritz St. James, painter and resident British goofball, he thought it less odd and more familiar to him.
He had not been on patrol for quite some time. Not since before his brother's accident and even before Tolliver had been in the hospital, Celsus had been dwindling in his duties to the Order. His thoughts, as they had been of late, were still somewhat convoluted and he did not feel quite as ambitious or confident as he had been before, but at least he knew that what he was doing was what was right.
He hoped it was right.
By the time the Page arrived, Celsus was sitting on the upper level of the warehouse, his legs dangling over the edge, which opened up into the wide expanse of the majority of the building. From here, he could see the doors that led in and out, and he was keeping an eye on both, just in case something untoward decided to meander in.
There was a small ruffle of a power signature. Celsus lifted his head from where he was resting it on his arms and glanced around curiously. It had felt a little weaker than his own, but he still tensed slightly, fingers curling around the metal bars of the rail.
"Hello?"
That voice certainly did not sound like a Negaverse or DMC, and neither did the figure that stepped into the warehouse. Celsus tilted his head and smiled.
"Good evening," he said cheerfully.
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Posted: Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:59 am
Clearly not expecting such a warm welcome, Aventine blinked. "Oh," she said, eyes landing on the male. He wasn't in the slightest unattractive, which was a delicious twist on the evening. "Good evening indeed," she said, resisting the urge to wink at him as she stepped a bit closer.
She didn't particularly question why he was lurking in a dark warehouse in the middle of the night when there are so many other interesting things to take note of.
He was more powerful than her—a squire. In a strange outfit she couldn't immediately recognize. And—did her ears deceive her, or was that an accent? It nearly sent shivers down her spine, but she couldn't help but make sure before she got ahead of herself.
"Aventine, Page of Venus," she introduced, offering a quaint little curtsy before she stood tall. "Glad I wasn't just talking to myself. Would have been embarrassing if you hadn't bothered to answer," she added with a light laugh.
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Posted: Thu Oct 18, 2012 5:57 am
At the current moment in time, Celsus decided he was either too sheltered in the Zodiacs or he was just too sheltered period, which was made very obvious by the fact that he hardly knew any of the knights outside of Chronos.
This needed to be remedied immediately.
Grinning at the newcomer, Celsus swung his legs a little, leaning his arms on the bars of the rail and setting his chin on them, tilting his head a little to the side to get a closer look at her. She was a young woman, perhaps somewhere around his own age, with curly auburn hair and a vibrantly pink and orange Page outfit that, for some reason, made him think of sherbet. His smile widened.
"Well met, Aventine, Page of Venus," he said, and stood up, stretching a little before dipping into a little bow in answer to her curtsy. "I am Celsus, Squire of Chronos, and it is delightful to make your acquaintance."
He sat back down, slipped beneath the bars of the railing, and climbed down the little metal ladder that led down to the first floor. Once his feet hit the ground, he turned around and made his way towards her, extending his hand.
"And don't worry, everyone talks out loud to themselves at some point. Goodness knows I do it all the time."
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Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 12:17 am
Aventine bared no shame at watching him while he moved; she certainly played it down a little when he could see when she was looking, but when his eyes were turned? Fair game.
She extended her hand, gripping his with a smile. Despite looking rather dainty, she made sure to give a handshake that was going to leave an impression. "Well, it is a pleasure, Celsus. Though I really am trying to put a hold on all this chatting to myself. I thought I was going crazy when this whole thing started," she said, gesturing to her outfit with her free hand. "And running around, looking like this? I don't want people to think I'm insane. Now—where are you from, exactly?" she asked, half talking about Chronos, half talking about his origins.
She had met very few knights thus far, and collecting information and contacts was exactly what she wanted to focus on. Fighting could come later—for now, she wanted to know what she could about who had her back out here.
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:08 am
Fortunately, Celsus was oblivious to any checking out that he might have been the recipient of. If he had noticed the watching, he most likely would have made cheeky comments or grinned or other such thing, but as it was he was rather oblivious to the whole thing.
He lifted a brow at her handshake and grinned. "A firm grasp," he said, eyes twinkling mischievously as he let go and tucked both hands back into the pockets of his pants. "I like that. Shows confidence."
Following the gesture of her hand, Celsus' expression of amusement increased, though the smile softened a little. "I like to think we're our own brand of special," he said teasingly. "Though I do admit, if I ran into you like this, the last thought on my mind would be insane."
He tilted back a little on his heels and then laughed. "I am a Squire of Chronos. We serve not under a planet, as most of the knights do, but under the lovely and talented Princess Chronos herself, the leader of the Zodiacs. I am a member of the Zodiac Court. We protect the Princess, and protect the civilians of Destiny City."
There was a slight pause.
"Unless you're talking about my accent, in which case I hail from the altogether lovely island of Great Britain."
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Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:43 am
While Aventine had plenty of things to be excited about—particularly that tidbit of information about who the knights served under—she couldn't help but let personal matters be her focus.
"Ah!" she exclaimed, looking almost downright giddy. "Altogether lovely, indeed! Where from? —I used to live there! In Wiltshire," she said eagerly.
Her own accent didn't hint at being foreign, though she clarified, "For almost a decade, when I was younger. I haven't been back to visit in a few years. Your accent is refreshing! I've missed hearing proper English!"
It was hard not to gush; she hadn't spoken to someone with an authentic accent in ages, and while her British accent had meshed with her American accent, it was mostly undetectable. "—How long have you been here?" she continued. "Did you Celsus-ify over there, or only once you got here, to Destiny City?" she asked eagerly, trying to calm herself down and get back on topic.
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Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 4:57 pm
"Wiltshire!" exclaimed Celsus brightly. "How utterly delightful to hear, though admittedly I did not hear a Wiltshire accent from you, but - ahhhh, I see," he finished, nodding as she explained. Smiling rather cheerfully, he added, "And I am pleased that my accent makes you happy. Staying in a place without English accents surrounding me is rather different than what I'm used to, but not altogether unpleasant, and I do like it here.
"And I'm from Leeds," he added, with another smile.
She was rather charming, this Aventine, and Celsus decided he rather liked her chipper and outgoing attitude. He rocked back on his heels a little (really, they needed to come off of the boots already), and then pushed a bit of red hair away from his face.
"About two years, I should guess," said Celsus, tapping a finger against his chin thoughtfully. "And I Celsus-ified over here, several months ago - no, over a year ago. Goodness, it's been longer than I thought already."
"But enough about me." He waved a hand. "What of you? How long have you been Aventine-ified?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:44 pm
"Oh! A big city boy?" she prompted, a coyness in her voice. "I visited Leeds, only a few times. Certainly not when I was old enough to really enjoy it, if you know what I mean." She offered a wink for good measure; there was a fair share to offer a kid, but she'd have loved to visit again, if only for the nightlife. But, ah," hearing that Celsus had discovered this whole life over a year ago made her feel a little self conscious, and she couldn't very well say 'oh, you know—just a few days'—but she couldn't exactly fudge up when she'd been introduced to this whole affair. "Not so long," she finally confessed. "Less than a month. I'm still getting the hang over things, learning the ropes. I'm trying not to drag my feet, but it's not exactly like this thing comes with a manual."
She paused, gave him a questioning look, and then prompted, "Unless someone's written one and isn't in the mood to share?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 5:49 pm
He grinned at her, obviously pleased with the fact that he had found someone to share in his enthusiasms with. "I do like city," said Celsus agreeably. "I prefer city to country, actually - there's much more to do in the city, so much more stuff. I love the noise and the craziness and the hubbub and the chaos."
Realizing he was rambling on a little, Celsus reigned back a little and smiled somewhat sheepishly. But his eyes brightened a little as the topic of conversation shifted.
"Nope, no written manual," he laughed. "However, if you need a little bit of help, I would be delighted to tell you what I know."
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Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 2:39 pm
Aventine was a mixture; she liked the city as much as she liked the country, and to her, each had their own benefits. For example—you couldn't very well carry around a gun in the city or you'd have the police all over you. Though, in the country, the fire department could be a bit slower to respond, so there was always that to consider.
Thankfully, she didn't have to sit down and weigh out the pros and cons of city versus country since she now had Celsus offering himself to her. Which was just fabulous. "I don't know if I'd call it a little bit of help, but I'll certainly take whatever you're willing to give. I met another knight who was dressed kinda like you. He was showing me his wonder?" albeit not on purpose, but—hey. No big deal. "I think he was Chronos, too. So I think I want to ask about that. What's the difference, what makes you and I different—and then, why are we both here if we're both different and what the hell are you doing in this war?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 8:19 pm
If there was one thing Celsus loved to talk about, it was his princess. There was no one to whom he was more loyal (except Tolliver, but Tolliver was his twin brother, and therefore it was rather unavoidable anyway), and no one that he cared more for (again, with the exception of Tolliver).
His brows lifted in surprise. "Another Chronos knight?" he said, tilting his head to the side as he tried to identify him in his mind. "I can only think of one other male knight besides myself - are you speaking of Troy, perhaps?"
Lost in thought, Celsus almost didn't hear the question Aventine presented to him.
"Hm? Oh." A small smile. "The Chronos knights are the ones who are in the service of her majesty, Princess Chronos. There are several princesses, of course, but Chronos is also the Princess of the Zodiac. We, along with the Zodiac senshi, are bound to protect and serve her, a task I take willingly. We are on the side of the White Moon senshi - and to be honest," he gave a sigh, which was mostly amused exasperation. "I have no idea how I got caught up in this mess in the first place. It was quite unexpected."
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Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 2:33 am
"Troy, exactly," she said, grin plastered on her face; it always pleased her to know that she had a mutual connection with one, and it was only briefly that she stopped to wonder how large (or small) his group was if he could think of only one other male in it. It was hard to keep her smile up when she really listened to the rest of Celsus' words, however; despite how happy he seemed to be when talking about those Zodiac people, his sigh certainly brought her own mood down—just a tiny notch.
"Well, I'm glad you've got a princess to protect and serve. If I've got one, I haven't met her yet, so I am a little jealous." A princess, after all, might have all the answers she was still mucking around for—right?
…Though she'd probably have less freedom if she had someone that might just boss her around. "If…you don't mind me asking, how did you get caught up in it all? I mean, I get the unexpected bit—I was on my way home and a monster—youma," she corrected, "Started chasing me. I got to the park and a woman—Caelian—was there to protect me, a bit. But then I Aventine'd up while the thing was trying to eat my face off, so…yeah, I can't see how anyone would be expecting it, and if they were, they're crazy."
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Posted: Mon Dec 17, 2012 10:50 pm
"Troy's a good guy," said Celsus affably. "A bit grumpy sometimes, perhaps, but a good guy. He's pretty dedicated and, well, it's nice having another mate in the bunch of birds, if you know what I mean," he added with a grin. "Not that I don't like working with the girls, because really they're all very pleasant and fun."
"Yes, my princess is..." His gaze softened visibly, a small smile flitting across his lips. "Very easy to want to protect. She is kind and caring."
He glanced over at Aventine. "I hope you find yours soon, in that case, since it is quite lovely being able to know exactly whom I am willing to fight for."
Brushing a bit of his hair out of his face, Celsus blinked at her question, briefly surprised, but then the surprise melted away, and he gave a laugh, shaking his head.
"It was, ah...well, it was rather crazy," he admitted. "I'm not sure you heard of the incident sometime last year, when a load of people went missing and then came back unexpectedly? Truth be told, we were at the Surrounding, which is where the Zodiacs make their rest. There was a big incident, a whole lot of hoopla, and needless to say I was awakened very suddenly and very shockingly."
His expression was kind. "I think we expect more from our lives than what we have - but this was not exactly what I had had in mind, to be quite honest."
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 4:35 pm
"Oh, goodness," Aventine said, figuring she had a lot to wrap her mind around. Her information was absolutely limited, so the vast majority of information that Celsus has told her was all that she knew about the Surrounding. "I'll have to bother you for that story some other time. The Surrounding one?"
Or, perhaps she could go back and bother Troy. He hadn't been grumpy to her, though she hadn't known him for as long as she imagined Celsus to have. "And maybe more about your princess, too. I haven't met one, are they easy to find? How many are out there that you know of?"
Even if she couldn’t find her princess, she'd settle for just about anyone who could help her fill in the holes. Already she felt bad for bothering Celsus for his answers, but—hey. A knowledgeable, friendly, good looking Brit?
She was going to ask as many questions as she could think of.
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