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 Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 4:43 pm
It had been quite a while since Aventine really thought she needed to talk to anyone. Mostly she liked handling things herself, tending to her own business—roughing things. She didn't like people to see her weak, or floundering, so she had tried her damndest to get things to work in her favor.
Sometimes, that just didn't happen, though.
Tonight, Anella had been alone in her house, reluctant to go out and power up. She hadn't had the best encounter with a youma as of a night ago, and the bruise on the side of her face was still far from healing. She was lounging on the couch, giant dog piled atop her, and trying to enjoy her soap operas, but even those were failing to capture her attention. She felt somewhat restless not being out or doing anything, and any time she saw a shad flicker in the corner of her eye, she had assumed a youma had snuck in to finish the job.
It was in an attempt to distract herself—cleaning out the old, untouched phone numbers in her phone—that she found a number she should have been utilizing all along. She puttered around the idea for a good twenty minutes before she texted, and the rest was history.
She'd tucked her dog into bed and made her way to the rendezvous point—after grabbing two cups of hot chocolate. It was too cold to be out without a warm drink, and if she was going to bother Caelian, she figured the least thing she could do was bring a little treat.
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Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2013 6:45 am
Caelian had been mostly avoiding patrols ever since winter had set in. There was just nothing good about a short skirt and nothing but some thin stockings to protect her legs from the cold wind and snow. If she had had a suitable top, that would make things a bit easier to bear as well, but even that was a bit impossible, seeing as her sleeves were loose and flowy, letting in all sorts of cold drafts.
But…she couldn’t just let Aventine deal with whatever was going on all on her own, that wasn’t being a good friend…or a good teammate for that matter…besides. The mother inside of her just couldn’t let someone who needed help go without it. So it was with a heavy sigh that the Venus Squire made her way out into the cold February air, gritting her teeth against the sudden chill that greeted her.
She made her way to where Aventine had requested they meet and gave a little smile. “Hey, what’s up? Is everything okay?” The woman was shivering slightly, arms wrapped tightly around her chest to try and keep out some of the chill, but there just wasn’t much that you could do for bare shoulders. Maybe she should have brought a jacket or something…
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2013 1:34 am
Aventine looked up, glad when the older woman showed up. "Yeah, yeah! Everything's fine," she insisted, bouncing up. "God, you look freezing, though. Here, I brought you this. I mean, it's super chocolaty, but I thought it would help warm you up?" she asked, offering one of the cups. "I figured it might help. It's really cold, but like. I dunno, I got restless. Sorry for calling you out here like this, just…"
The page let out an exasperated sigh. "I'm feeling weird, like. At the end of my rope. I'm confused, and I've been out here for months and don't even know if what I'm doing is the right thing. I don't know if I'm really helping people, and half the bad guys I meet aren't bad, so it's like—what?—you know?"
She paused for a moment, and then hardly gave Caelian time to answer before she sighed. "…It doesn't make sense. I'm having a hard time articulating my words, that might be part of the problem. I'm just confused and stuck, Caelian. I don't…know what I should be doing right now, and I feel like I'm letting everyone down."
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 6:15 am
Caelian took the offered cup of hot chocolate gratefully, taking a long sip of it before saying anything. The warm liquid did just was she was hoping it would, and warmed her insides all the way to her stomach. At least it was something.
She shook her head. “Don’t ever apologize for calling me, that’s what a teammate is for. I’m really glad you called me at any rate…I’ve been staying inside most nights, and I needed to get out again. It’s just been too darn cold out to justify going on a patrol!” She listened to Aventine’s problems and took another drink of the hot chocolate, opening her mouth to speak, then closing it again as the page continued.
Finally, the Squire just shook her head, putting a hand on Aventine’s shoulder. “I understand. I was like that too. It makes sense, you know? Fighting the monsters is one thing. They’re…seemingly brainless and seem to just be out for destruction. But when you add the human element to the ones that you’re supposed to be fighting, it all gets to an area that is too grey for my liking. Especially if they’re not acting like they’re that bad. If they were going around with a chainsaw slicing up people left and right, well that’s someone that you’d want to watch out for…but, out of the people I’ve fought with, not many of them have seemed all that bad either…”
She sighed. “Please don’t feel like you’re letting everyone down, because you aren’t. You’re doing your very best to not only fight, but to understand, and I think that’s the most important thing you can do. The enemy…they just feel wrong. They feel…dark and disgusting to me, and I think that’s why I can bring myself to fight…you know?”
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 12:07 pm
For a short while, Aventine considered what Caelian was saying, and then nodded. The hand on her shoulder had been reassuring—and her words put her at ease in a way she had started to think wasn't ever going to happen. She breathed a sigh of relief and took a sip of the drink she had brought before she forced herself to nod. "It's…really good to hear you say that, Caelian," she said. It was a little hard to smile, just because she still felt like she had such a long way to go, but it was just a relief to know that she wasn't alone in her doubts and frustrations.
"I mean, I don't mind fighting youma! Those are easy, but it's not like a lot of them even look human. Plus, every time I find one, it's trying to do something bad. So it's easy to want to bash its face in. But, you know, I never tried to have a conversation with a youma like I have the Dark Mirror Senshi or the Negaverse. Some of which are like, totally crappy human beings who I never want to see again, but then there are others who are…"
Her words stilled as she struggled to form words from her thoughts and feelings. It was reluctantly that she concluded, "Not even 'not so bad', just…some of them sound like they really know what they're talking about. Sometimes…Some of them sound right."
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 12:20 am
Caelian gave a nod, sighing just slightly. “It’s hard not to listen to them when sometimes they sound like voices of reason…but you have to realize they’re just trying to poison you, Aventine, they truly are…” She began fussing with the younger woman’s hair, motherly instincts taking over.
She seemed so troubled! There just had to be something that she could do, something she could say to reassure the girl, to make things better in the long run…
To hopefully get her out of this funk!
“One day, I think you’ll understand…one day you’ll have something to protect, something that you want to protect more than anything, and you’ll really understand why you were given this power, given these abilities…you’ll understand why you were chosen. Why all of us were…someday…I just hope maybe we can start becoming the voice of reason for those lost to chaos…They shouldn’t have to remain that way…I want to help them one day…or at least find ones that want to be helped…I’m sure that would be possible…maybe.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 28, 2013 1:31 am
Aventine considered the words for a while, and it was either the message, the delivery, or the fact that she was really enjoying Caelian playing with her hair that finally got her to relax and nod. "You give pretty good advice, Caelian. I'm really happy I came to you. I just…You make everything so clear and understandable. I don't know why I ever had a hard time trying figure out who was good or bad, what side was right or wrong...Ugh! Poisoning my mind! It makes so much sense—I should have known better."
She sighed, a bit disappointed—either in chaos or herself, it wasn't clear. "This whole thing has just gotten to me. I know it's dumb. It's like, I know they're the bad guys. But I don't want them to be. I want them to just like, wake up one day and realize 'Oh, my goodness, how wrong we've been!' And…"
She looked up at Caelian, disgruntled pout on her face. "Is that really so much to ask for?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:42 pm
Caelian gave a little smile. “I think I understand. But…hoping and wishing for them to get better isn’t really going to change anything. They have to want it for themselves…if we can get them to that point, well. That’s a different story then…but until that time…we have to see them as our opponent, and we have to take care of the threats that they pose on us and our loved ones.”
She placed a hand on Aventine’s shoulder, ceasing the former hair playing. “It’s difficult…I don’t like to think that people are evil either…but…but there’s nothing else that we can see them as. Maybe we can call them misguided, but they have no desire to change…so there’s really nothing that we can do but wait and fight. But you know that I’m here for you no matter what, don’t you, Aventine? That’s what friends are for, and you and I…”
She grinned, tugging on Aventine’s hat. “You and I are closer than friend’s. We’re both knights, and we’re both of Venus. I’d say that makes us much closer than run of the mill friends, don’t you?”
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 10:56 pm
Caelian was right. She was making a lot of sense—clearing up things Aventine should have understood before but just couldn't. While she was a bit disappointed that Caelian was no longer playing with her hair, the hands on her shoulder had a strange, rejuvenating feeling. It was like a heavy burden had been lifted—like she could breathe again.
"You're right," she finally said. They were closer than friends; in many ways, Caelian felt like family. Trusting her had come easy, and it felt like she could have known the woman her whole life.
She regretted that she didn't. "Very much so. And I want to think you for this talk." She straightened her hat after Caelian tugged on it, intent to maintain a good appearance. "You are wise, Caelian. I feel like I'd be lost without a friend like you. I don't know how you do it, but you just make everything so clear. I mean, I'm exhausted, but I feel like this is the first clarity I've gotten on the situation. I feel…at peace. I'm gonna have to make this up to you sometime. We should have a girls' night—go out, have a few drinks, maybe a nice dinner. My treat?"
She didn't quite know how to thank Caelian for the peace she'd brought her, but she knew she wanted to spend more time with the woman. Even if they weren't powered up or risking their lives to fight evil. Besides—they could both use a break, right?
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Posted: Mon Sep 02, 2013 11:08 pm
Caelian just smiled at Aventine. “That sounds wonderful. It’ll be great. We deserve a break, and I want to get to know you more.”
She was glad that the younger woman had called on her. It made her feel special, to be honest. It made her feel wanted and needed…and besides. It had been Aventine. Somehow, that just made everything even more better than if it had been someone else.
She gave the other knight a hug and then began walking. “Come on, let’s head home. No use staying out here. It’s far too cold for the both of us, I think.”
The squire hoped that she could continue to be an asset for Aventine, and she hoped that if the other woman was ever in trouble that she would know to call. Because without a doubt. Caelian would be there.
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