Welcome to Gaia! ::

Buddingtonite's glee could have easily been compared to that of a child opening Christmas presents on Christmas morning, or perhaps more akin to an overly excited but ignorant child waiting for the school bus for the very first time. Before the knowledge of what school was and all the years of hell that would await him the moment he stepped onto that big, yellow bus, of course, otherwise the child would have screamed and clung to his parent's legs with an iron grip. Like that child, Buddingtonite was completely clueless to what laid ahead of him, though, even if he knew what kind of workload he was taking in, that probably wouldn't have deterred his damn good mood in the least.

There was one thing that Buddingtonite prided himself in, and that was that he would find enjoyment in everything. Income taxes, night audits, counting the till and taking up inventory? Piece of cake. Jury duty, and other civic obligations were a welcome reprise for him, and he thought of his knew role as Lieutenant was nothing more than a second job, and he enjoyed his first job, where all he did was pull taffy, address customers and do mundane retail business owner things. How could he not find enjoyment in a job that had so many more interesting activities?

The problem was where to start, really. He didn't necessarily get a full list of things to do before he scampered off and he wasn't willing to wait for Serpentine today (not when the poor fellow needed his beauty sleep, as he was such a cranky fellow). Tonight, he wanted to see about winging it, and he decided that his first course of action as a Negaverse lieutenant was to get used to his uniform, and more importantly, his new weapon. If one could even call it that.

He pulled his yellow and green pinwheel to his face and gave a little blow, getting some kind of twisted enjoyment out of watching it spin as he wandered aimlessly through the park with little thought or plans. He had no destination this evening and went wherever his legs could take him- he couldn't wait until he had the ability to teleport. Imagine how much fun THAT would be. "I was strollin' through the park one day..."

Now, Buddingtonite had learned the hard way that Negaverse officers had the ability to teleport on will after they reached a certain rank (an ability that Buddy was completely ecstatic for and would do anything to make that happen soon), but the ability to pass through a mirror was completely new and foreign to him. His song was cut short, by the combination of the sudden appearance of the new menace that appeared from a mirror he hadn't even noticed was there in the first place, his overwhelming and strange aura, and lastly, his words. Buddingtonite usually wore a good poker face, but his surprise was clear to see as he jumped like a gazelle several feet away and held his pinwheel as though it were a sword. A trembling, shaky, and completely useless sword. But still, a weapon was a weapon, and he wouldn't have thought twice on using it against this new arrival.

However, after the initial 'holy s**t someone just came out of a mirror' reaction, Buddingtonite fell into one of curiosity, and it was clear to see with how he blatantly ignored Remarque and moved to the mirror itself. He gave the front of it a smack with his pinwheel, then moved to look around the back, seeing that there was, in fact, no trick door, and when he brought himself back to the front, he turned accusing crimson eyes to the little trickster, finally addressing him with words. "After I address your first matter, you'll kindly tell me how on God's green earth you managed to do that, Senshi?"

He suspected he was a Senshi anyway- the attire seemed vaguely similar to what he was told to look for, but his was obviously different. And he felt different too. His aura wasn't tingling or glistening like that of a White Mooner, but he wasn't sporting gaping holes in his chest and forehead like a Corrupt- he'll worry about his identity in due time. For now, Remarque had asked him a question, and he wouldn't be the rude one in this situation.

"I sing because it makes me happy, and it attracted you, so, yes, you could say it got the results I wanted. Though, I fail to see why I'm not allowed to sing about a more pleasant time of year, but if you're one of those people that can't stand that sort of thing, I do have another song?" Without further ado, Buddingtonite cleared his throat, thinking only for a second before breaking into another song entirely, one more upbeat despite the lyrics. "It's cold outside- a snow kind of atmosphere! I'm all alone- more or less? I want to fly far away from here- far, far, farrrrr, in the sun, sun, sunnnnn!"

He came to an abrupt end, then looked to Remarque for approval. "There, that suits you better? Now your turn to answer."

It was hard to put Buddingtonite in a sour mood, though if this Dark Mirror Senshi kept it up, he'd be a witness to such an event. However, Buddingtonite took immense pride and not to mention pleasure in keeping his good, diabetes-inducing sugar sweet demeanor intact, as it would either become contagious and put others in the mood, or completely get under their skin and thus open the doors to even more fun for the lieutenant. In response to his rather snooty and hostile remarks, Buddingtonite cocked an eyebrow and rose his hands in mock surrender, stepping away from the mirror when Remarque shooed him away. "My apologies, Vice Captain Remarque! Though it begs to question why anyone would want to travel through a mirror when their transport can easily be shattered with a simple kick?"

The way he motioned his leg almost made it seem like he was going to demonstrate the fragile nature of the mirror, but all it did was swing around and cross behind his other leg, and the grin he wore made it clear that he was merely looking for a rise from the Dark Mirror Senshi. A guy like this, so formal and faux-polite snark? Yes, this one would be fun to toy with, though he'd have to play it safe, considering he was stronger than him (for the time being) and already had a unique advantage over him in the fact that he could Mirrorwalk and he, a lowly lieutenant, couldn't even teleport yet. Best to keep it civil, for now.

"That does seem like a fun trick, but I wonder what the extent to it is? For example, what dimension does the mirror have to be for you so slip through? Can you appear out of a powder kit, and if so, would you appear tiny? Oh! Perhaps a distorted mirror like at the carnivals, would you emerge from the other end looking like a wacky waving inflatable arm flaling tube man?" Buddingtonite threw the questions at him with almost child-like glee, genuinely curious but also wanting to get a little under the Senshi's skin for his rude and snootish behavior. Despite the fact that Remarque could likely squash him like a bug (a very handsome bug), he stepped closer to the Senshi and kept up his enthusiasm, taking in his back-handed insults and trying to think of clever ways to return the favor. "Prepare to be disappointed, Vice Captain, but I haven't been debriefed on Dark Mirror Senshi. I was pretty much given my twenty-death pinwheel and told to be on my way. Would you be as so kind to fill me in, or should I continue to torture your sensitive little ear drums a little more? I do believe I have the entire musical of Les Mis memorized by now..."

Buddingtonite's crimson eyes lit up with unparalleled glee, eager to grab what would be new information for him, but half wondering if he should be preparing to dodge a punch to the face. Both outcomes seemed likely...

Yes, Buddingtonite could tell that he was getting under Remarque's skin, and given how he appeared to be a much higher rank than himself, he figured that he would have to drop his little game soon, or suffer the consequences. So, he allowed his smile to mellow out a bit, and he took the time to straighten his attire and even force his pinwheel still, to show Remarque that it was not time for "Serious Business."

He cleared his throat, but whatever he was going to say about his singing was cut short by Remarque's explanation. He listened with rapt attention, as not even a gust of wind and the continual spinning of his yellow and green pinwheel could pull his attention away from the Dark Mirror Senshi. He could be very serious, when he wanted to be, and given the little info dump thrown at his feet, he had his own way of digesting the information. "So, you're essentially the Senshi that have broken away from the White Moon Court, like a little cult except NOT a cult because you and I both know that you're in the right... and you can not only do similar things we can, but you can also use magic as well?"

Now the spinning of the pinwheel did distract him slightly, and with his index finger and thumb, he pressed against one of the blades to stop it. The way he stared at it with such intensity in his crimson eyes, one would swear he was trying to will it to stop with his mind, before releasing it and looking back at Remarque. "And most importantly, you're our allies. Very useful allies, might I say, what with your ability to mirror walk and use magic. If you're Vice Captain, then who is your leader?"

It was a legit question, and his mind was too interested in this Dark Mirror Court and the information he was absorbing to not once realize he hadn't introduced himself. That would come... eventually. For now, he wanted to know more about this supposed ally of his, and why Zinkenite nor Serpentine had told him about it.

Buddingtonite liked to think that he was a fairly laid back gentleman that took in criticism, either about himself, his work, or anything he felt he was remotely attached to fairly well, and while he saw the point in Remarque's remarks against his education and the Negaverse, he found himself growing annoyed by the accusations. Still, he tried to maintain a firm grip on his emotions, though perhaps too much of his bitterness could be heard in his voice as he addressed the matter at hand. "They taught me enough and felt that the rest I should learn on my own, and thus far, I think I've been doing a well enough job with that. And of course I know about youma..."

Not a whole lot, but he knew enough. Enough to look forward to the day he might get to control one of his very own, but also enough to not go near them just yet. He hadn't run into one... yet, and now he wondered if the youma would recognize him, either in his civilian form or his powered form. He would certainly hope so- death at the hands of the White Moon was already frightening enough, if he suspected any of them had the ball-bearings for such a thing, but being killed by something that he was suppose to control? Shameful!

He didn't want to think about that, and so he forced his mind onto another topic, one that he wasn't afraid to admit to, despite his slight agitation with the Dark Mirror Senshi. "Admittedly, I haven't done much in the art of fighting yet and I find standing around looking 'pretty' has served me well enough thus far. No one has tried to kill me yet, and I've always chocked it up to my irresistible charm, though I'm beginning to suspect that it won't save me for too much longer."

Which was something he'd have to think about rectifying, and soon. If he couldn't talk his way out of a situation, and if he couldn't teleport away to safety, then he'd have to fight. And fighting risked injury. Injury could mean permanent disfigurement, and the very thought of that made the lieutenant quiver. "What can I say? Make love, not war, and all that jazz..."

Buddingtonite had to admit that Remarque had a way with words, in the sense that they found all the right spots to hit and burrow themselves so far into his skin that there was no way to scratch it with his dinky little pinwheel. If one was paying close attention to the lieutenant, they could see his smile fading, gradually, with each word that came out of the Dark Mirror Senshi's mouth, and the cheerful gleam in his crimson eyes began to turn cold, almost downright murderous.

Obnoxious? Did Remarque really call him obnoxious? Who was this guy to say such a thing, when he appeared to be doing the exact same thing as he? Then, if it wasn't bad enough that he was openly ridiculing him, but his constant berating of the Negaverse was where the grinding was at its worse. Buddingtonite wasn't the most loyal in the Negaverse and even he admitted that his subservience to his faction was more or less looking out for his own skin in this war rather than complete and utter obedience (though he knew them to be the right side), but to question the validity of the Negaverse was still a slam against his judgment to willingly join them.

So by the time Remarque offered a spar, Buddingtonite completely ignored the friendly nature of the invitation and took it personally. He had enough of this Senshi, Dark Mirror he may he, and his condescending words, and he was going to show him this with a punch to the face and perhaps a few kicks to the ribs. Screw the pinwheel! He was mad, and it shown in his voice, despite how he tried to maintain an aura of politeness as he accepted his offer. "Very well, my tawny little pitviper. I accept!"

And if that wasn't enough, he figured the curled fist and the way he bull-rushed forward with every intent on wiping that smug smile off his smug little face would be the period at the end of his rage-filled sentence!

Deep in the back of his mind, Buddingtonite knew he was doing something incredibly foolish and that he was deluding himself in thinking that he could match the Dark Mirror senshi blow for blow. He didn't even have to know Remarque to realize how much trouble he got himself in, and the punch to the back was nothing more than a physical reminder of how out of his league he was.

He crumpled to the ground with a breathless huff, knocking the wind out of him and causing his hat and pinwheel to go flying. The only comforts that Buddingtonite had was that Remarque was an ally and no one else was around to witness his fall, though he was certain that Remarque was the type to 'kiss and tell', so he'd no doubt be the laughing stock of the entire Dark Mirror Court.

It took him a little longer than he wanted to catch his breath, and his immediate action was to waste what little breath he had caught to sling a few venom-laced insults towards the more experienced Senshi. Maybe he couldn't match him blow for blow, but maybe he'd have better luck in a game or words, or maybe even some dirty tactics. "Pit vipers are some of the worst, don't you know? Pretty to look at, sure, but there's nothing more wretched than their venom-infested mouths..."

He was certain that Remarque could easily turn his words around and return the gesture, knowing full well that he himself wasn't such a saint, but Buddingtonite didn't care. He may have appeared childish, getting into a petty catfight with a younger man, but he was simply too heated to control his temper, and why should he? Remarque wanted to see what he was capable of, and while he was on the ground, he went to sweep his long leg against the back of Remarque's leg, hoping to at least knock him down to his level. Yes, make him land on those silly little wings, then throw dirt in his pretty little face! That'd wipe the smug smile right off!

It may have been a dirty, underhanded move, but since when was battles and wars won with honor and chivalry these days? Buddingtonite's grin was only the first of the signs to show how proud of himself he was to see him knock someone, anyone on their butts. He gave a triumphant humph and actually took a moment to straighten his hat, and he was in the middle of saying something when the Dark Mirror Senshi grabbed him and reeled his fist back for a punch. "Aha, see, I can totally - oh shi-"

How quickly his tune had changed, and he knew it to be weak of him and that it'd ruin any credibility that he might have had, but Buddingtonite turned his head and rose his arms in the air in a classic sign of surrender, before he even through the punch. And for safe measure, he slammed his eyes shut, giving a frantic yelp as he more or less begged. "Ah- NOT THE FACE! I need that for work tomorrow!"

It was petty of him, to safeguard his face as much as he did, but he had a business to run, and no one would buy candy from a store who's owner looked as though he got in a fight with a boxer and lost horribly. Yes, this would likely cause him to lose whatever respect that Remarque might have had for him, but he had little shame in admitting defeat. And yet, the blow didn't come, and Remarque's words caused the lieutenant to risk opening a single red eye and peer at him. He wasn't sure if he completely trusted Remarque, but he was willing to give peace a chance. "Yes, well... all is fair in love and war. I was told that the Senshi don't play nice, so... why should I?"