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 Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 9:34 pm
After everything she had put herself through, Sailor Irene was exhausted, both mentally and physically. All of the battles, all of the self-doubt, and all of the fear had run her ragged ever since she had the brilliant idea of asking a certain guardian for some assistance of the magical variety, to the point that she was sorry she had ever thought of it. Now, however, she was able to move more freely than she had in almost a week. Things were still bad, and she still wasn't sure what she was doing. But she had made a realization, and that made her think that the rest could be sorted out somehow.
The first step, naturally, involved cake.
There was a bakery near the DCU campus that stayed open late, delivering delicious baked goods to studying college students. Irene stopped there, only staying long enough to pick up an angelfood cupcake and attracting a few curious and frightened looks before she headed to the park. Once there she found a nice secluded area, opened the cupcake box and set it on the ground next to her, and waited.
This plan was possibly flawed, but the time for self-criticism was over. If it didn't work, she would just have to think of something else.
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Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 8:18 pm
Someone wanted to catch a ********* wasn't dreadfully hard to do.
Though, the manx had long sensed the power signal looming about the wonderful scent looming in the air. If the Mauvian was a bit more dense, she might not have realized who it was.
However, it was obvious who it was, in her mind.
Sniff, sniff. Pause. Sniff.
"...yup, definitely angelfood!" She let out a content purr before playfully singing out "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 1:45 pm
When she first heard ********* voice, Irene froze. Was she ready for this? Could she do it without messing it up terribly? Under normal circumstances she would say "absolutely" and not question herself again. But these circumstances weren't normal, and her track record for not messing things up wasn't very good, at least as of late.
Then ********* came into sight, and she looked away, not in the mood for games. This was a serious discussion that she wanted to have. But she couldn't be so rude as to say that outright, so instead she fidgeted and nudged the box closer. "I hope that angelfood is okay. I thought something light would be nice." Since the conversation had the potential to get rather heavy.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:20 pm
The manx, despite how the previous encounters with this senshi had gone, still seemed absolutely chipper. Certainly, her feelings had been hurt, but she had also been at fault in a sense. The guardian should have known what Iris had told her later as the explanation.
Irene was not ready.
"Angelfood is a delight, Irene!" she purred out before literally crawling into the box filled with the treats. Dignity be damned, she wanted the good stuff!
Eventually, after seeming to stuff more than a mouthful of cake into her mouth, she attempted to speak.
What she said: "So how have you been, Irene?"
What it actually sounded like: "Oo ho hgh oo hhhn, hrhhh?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:26 pm
Irene was ready. Ready to be yelled at, though that was more Iris' M.O. Ready to be scolded for her behavior. Ready to deal with having hurt someone she considered a friend. It wasn't easy, which was why she was feeling so nervous- and why she had stopped and gotten the cupcakes- but she had been steeling herself for it all day, and she was ready.
She was not ready to have ********* tumble into the cupcake box like nothing had happened. That just wasn't the way this was supposed to go. After waiting for a moment, being careful not to comment on the fact that speaking with one's mouth full showed bad manners, Irene cleared her throat.
"You're not mad at me?" Wait, that wasn't what she was supposed to say! "I mean, I'm sorry! I really am, about the things I said, the the things I did." Pause. "But you're not mad at me?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:34 pm
Popping her head up over the top of the box, the cat made sure to swallow what was in her mouth, licking up a few crumbs upon her maw as she listened to Irene go on.
"...well... what good does getting mad do for me? It just gives me stomach ulcers and makes it hard to digest my snacks!" She let out an easy giggle before seeming to get a little more serious.
"...people say things when they are hurting that they don't really mean, Irene. I mean, sure, it hurt my feelings for a bit... but do I really need to hold onto those feelings when... I know you are good." With a mild nod, she repeated her question, this time with less food in her mouth.
"So, how have you been, Irene?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 3:45 pm
The first thing Irene thought was that it was just like ********* to have a food-related reason to not be angry. Ulcers indeed. Only after she had a private smile about that, hidden behind one gloved hand, did she realize the full meaning of what the cat was saying, how easy she made it all sound. How lucky she was to have someone like that to help her along what was proving to be a very bumpy path.
"I..." She'd had a whole speech planned out, but it mostly consisted of apologies and reminders that there was cake. Being forgiven so easily had completely derailed her thoughts, and having ********* ask what she had been up to sent them careening into a ditch somewhere. There was no easy way to answer that question. But she needed to do something difficult, in order to make the situation right. This just wasn't her first choice.
Irene took a deep breath. "I've been busy. Fighting youma. Fighting people. The bad ones, I mean. Mostly. I... I wanted to prove myself to you. Now I can see that wasn't the way to do it, but..." She hesitated and looked away again. "Have you... talked to Iris lately?" The unasked question, 'did she tell you what I did to her?' seemed to echo around them.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 9:49 pm
Fighting?
The manx tilted her head to the side at the thought. Certainly, Irene had thrown a fit about how strong she was last time, but she didn't think she'd throw herself at all of these obstacles. It wasn't so much underestimating on the guardian's part more than an assumption the girl wouldn't look for unnecessary conflict.
Her head further tilted to the same side, almost forming an odd 90 degree angle, at the mention of Iris. "I've checked up on her, but I haven't sat down and talked with her anytime recently..."
Her voice didn't quite hold a suspicious tone, but more of a knowing one. "...pray tell, what happened?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 10:16 pm
If Iris hadn't gone and tattled on her, then Irene really didn't want to share the result of that particular training exercise with anyone, much less *********. It was hardly one of her prouder moments. But the whole point of this meeting was to get what she had done off her chest. There was no way to explain without covering that crucial detail.
"We fought. For training," she clarified quickly. "It was supposed to be for training, at least. But Ellie made me angry, and and so I... hurt her. It was an accident! I didn't mean to-"
Irene stopped and thought that over. Had hurting Ellie really been just an accident? "No, that's not it. At the time, I really wanted to do it. And that really scares me, more than any of the bad guys do." How could she be a superhero if she was willing to hurt her own teammates, just to get a little bit stronger?
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 10:33 pm
The manx finally righted her head so it was no longer cocked to the side, listening intently to what the dark haired girl had to say.
"...well... Ellie does have a mouth on her... wait..."
Something clicked.
"...Ellie, not Iris?" The cat's eyes seemed to widen a bit as that fact just hit her. Seeming no longer content remaining in her box of angel food cake, the animal squirmed and struggled to get out of the box, pretty much toppling the whole thing over in the process. As if trying to make sure she got everything right, she asked "...Ellie trained you?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 10:42 pm
"She wanted to." Yep, this was definitely uncomfortable. Irene wrapped her arms around her knees and started twiddling her thumbs. It gave her something to look at other than *********, though that meant that she couldn't see the cake box as it fell over, cat and all.
It took a moment before she was able to continue. "She wasn't taking me seriously." Despite her own actions, Irene still believed that. "But that is no excuse for me to do... what I did. No matter how upset I was." She could still see it, still feel Ellie's neck in her hands as she squeezed, tighter and tighter. If Ellie hadn't snapped her out of it, what would have happened?
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 10:51 pm
Once freed of her box and cake prison, the animal began to pace about, seeming very oddly agitated about what had been said so far.
When Irene accused Ellie of not taking her seriously, her ears perked up at full attention and she made certain to squirm into the girl's lap, as if trying to push herself into the girl's view.
"Oh no no no no... I think you have it all wrong... I think she was taking you very seriously..." She let out a couple clicking sounds, as if trying to figure out how to phrase what was on her mind.
"...Irene... it's no secret that without henshing up... you are just a powerless person, right? And... even a senshi, from the moment they henshin up for the first time, have the ability to jump buildings... if a senshi chose to... they could just kill a regular person..."
As best as she could, the manx attempted to press her face through between Irene's arms and almost in her face. "...She was taking you very seriously... she must have trusted you enough to essentially put her life on the line to help you..."
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:30 pm
While she was usually all for hugs, Irene did not really want ********* in her lap right then. Not when she was feeling guilty about everything. But she was too guilty to push the guardian away, so she was stuck sitting stiffly, trying not to look at anything and totally failing.
"Ellie's not powerless," Irene argued, but it was a weak argument. Even though Ellie was strong, as a senshi, Irene was probably stronger. Otherwise the training session never would have went the way it did. And while she wanted to say that she would never kill anyone, recent events had taught her not to make that claim lightly. She had come closer to that than she ever thought she would, and it was possible that something might still tip her over that edge one day, though she hoped that she would stop herself before it happened.
The word trust made Irene shake her head slowly. Not in disagreement, but in amazement. "From not calling anyone when she was in trouble to putting her life in my hands... that's a big change." A shame that she couldn't have learned from the lessons that Ellie had apparently gotten. No, she had to make her own mistakes, just because she was stubborn and selfish.
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Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2013 11:58 pm
The Mauvian popped out of view and wriggled her way back out of the girl's lap, settling down her haunches right next to the girl. She had effectively made her point it would seem, so she was able to space herself away from the senshi a bit.
"People change, Irene... sometimes for the best, and sometimes for the worst..."
She paused for a moment, seemingly thoughtful. "Tell me, Irene... what is it you want to do as a senshi? What do you feel is your purpose? Not what you've been told... what you feel is your purpose."
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Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:14 am
Irene didn't want to change. Not like that, anyway. Her search for power had brought her to a very frightening place. Running away from that had brought her to an almost equally frightening place. There was nothing to be gained by pushing herself beyond her limits, nor was there any good in ignoring her actions. Only by facing what she had done- and more importantly, why she had done it- could she answer ********* question truthfully.
"I don't want to fight." She was a bit late to that realization, considering she was the Senshi of Peace, but it was better that she figured it out for herself rather than having it thrust upon her. "I know I'll have to, sometimes, even when I don't want to." That Negaverse agent had taught her that. "But I don't want it to be all that I do as a senshi."
Her mind flashed back to the man in the alley. When she had been given a choice between helping him and fighting, her decision had seemed obvious. "I want to help people who are caught in the middle of all this. And to do that, I can't go off hurting other people for no reason. I know I need to defend myself, but aside from that, I want to focus on making sure that nobody else is hurt by this battle."
Suddenly, things seemed clearer than they had in weeks. Irene smiled- a small smile, but a smile nonetheless- and finally looked at *********. "Does that sound silly?" It sounded a little silly to her, but it was also what she really wanted, more than she had ever craved power or recognition.
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