Lightning cracked in the sky overhead as Sailor Chariklo, Dark Mirror Senshi of Seagulls stood on a rooftop surrounded by mirrors. Panting from effort and soaked to the skin, she kept pushing herself, diving into mirror after mirror with barely a rest in between. For what was most likely the first time ever in her life, she felt an irresistable need to do something more than simply goof off and coast through life. If she wanted to protect her interests in Destiny City, she had to work and train.

There was no way in hell she was going to allow herself to be shipped off to ******** England. ******** her step-mother and her father if they thought they could get rid of her like that. A warming surge of anger deep in her gut counteracted the icy cold rain for a few moments. And then, the all too familiar cold seeped back into her skin and bones. She’d already taken care of her money. It was now sitting safely in a brand, spankin’ new account where her parents couldn’t legally touch it. It had taken a great deal of wrangling, but she’d managed to get it done.

But the fact remained that she wasn’t legally adult yet. Not for another couple of months. And if she waited until then, she’d be stuck in English finishing school. No, whatever she was going to do, it had to be done soon. She had a little less than two weeks before her step-mother would be coming back to bundle her onto a plane.

A low, screaming growl burst from her throat. Pushing herself back to her feet, she ran and leapt for one of the mirrors hanging above her, felt the ripple of displacement as she went through. Then, without waiting, she simply dove for another mirror, exiting one that was level with the rooftop. Rolling gracefully, she came to her feet once more and looked around her. She’d been practicing her mirrorwalking all night and the first, faint silvery gleams of morning were creeping over the horizon. The storm hadn’t stopped, but its fury seemed to have worn itself out overnight. The lightning and thunder had vanished, leaving only the rain. And only now did Chariklo notice how badly she was shivering from cold and stress.

Thankfully, she wouldn’t have to worry about classes today. Thank god for the weekends was all she had to say about it. Once she’d deemed enough training had been done, she could creep back to her dorm room and just spend all day in bed if need be.

Tipping her face up to the rain and closing her eyes, she felt a slight wrenching in her gut. She knew, ultimately, what the solution to her problem was. She just wasn’t sure if she was strong enough, emotionally, to follow through with it. But then, she thought of the connections here that she refused to lose. No one was going to put her through another terrible loss again. Not even if one of the ones trying, for the best of intentions, was her own father. Thinking about it in those terms, she began to think that she could be able to do what was needed. She just had to make herself remember how much it had hurt when her mother had died.

And then realize that the hurt if she lost her Dark Mirror family would be even worse. Then, then she could do anything she had to in order to keep from ever feeling that way again.