Welcome to Gaia! ::

The apartment was a mess of boxes still, not everything there, hardly anything unpacked, but it was starting to be something, something cleaner, more personal…
Still, the –new- couch was there, safe and serviceable, and it didn’t smell of dirt, old popcorn and other things best left unmentioned.

He stayed in uniform long enough to make sure she was safely settled onto the sofa, risky yes but better that than dropping their latest recruit into the floor.

He stepped back and blinked down at the young civilian woman as his uniform swept away into far more casual clothing, Faded jeans, old t-shirt that had gone from black to a mottled charcoal, far more casual than the stiff military garb that he’d worn moments before.

“Ever!” He called over his shoulder, “I’ve bought work home.” He poked at some of the cardboard boxes and turned up a slightly tatty blanket to lay over her. Modesty and comfort and all that sort of thing you were supposed to be mindful of.

“Interesting turn out for her too.” He said as he turned towards the kitchen, or where the kitchen would have been in the old apartment, sighed, and then shifted direction towards the much nicer one for their new place.

Mayumi stirred after a few moments, sighing before slowly opening her eyes. As she came to, she started to pick her head up, then reached up with one hand to stifle a yawn.

She felt exhausted, though not nearly to the extent she had before, and still a little overwhelmed. And though the incredible pain was gone, her skin was still hypersensitive; the grey-eyed girl was fairly certain she could feel every fiber of the thin blanket that was in contact with bare flesh.

... And then it hit her that the blanket wasn't hers, the sofa where she lay was not hers, and she sat up with a start.

"Where--?" She looked around, eyes widening as the fingers of one hand curled tighter around the hem of the sheet. "Who are you?" Mayumi demanded of the two young men among the boxes.

"I don't ******** women." Which was Ever's cheerful [and less elegant] way of saying yes, her virtue was totally safe, with a bright flash of a smile and his head tilted to the side. Taking the girl in: her outfit, her hair, her rumpled state and her confused expression. With a hum, he stepped back toward the kitchen, pausing to smile at Zac, too.

"New lieutenant? Is she twenty-one?" Not that it mattered. He was on his way for two more beers anyway.

“I’m not into women either, no offence.” He said with a small tip of his head. “And I won’t ravage him in front of you either.” He paused and looked at his own beer. “I got your purse, its around the corner of the couch there, under the arm. You might as well drink the beer, it honestly can’t make you feel any stranger.”

He let out a small laugh that wasn’t really fully amused. “She’s our new SENSHI Ever, and you’re the one who told me to meet with her, it just took me a while. We managed though and what a surprise it was.”

He sat down carefully on the edge of a box and watched her face.

“Don’t worry, that little rift in your chest, and the one in your brow that you couldn’t have seen. Neither of them will show unless you’re powered up. It’s the mark of one of our senshi; you aren’t the only senshi who serve chaos mind you, just the only ones so distinctly marked. Please don’t power up in here if you don’t mind… just to add that. I have to live here sometimes, or I will…” He waved his hand vaguely at the boxes.

“Ever, would you bring her a little water? I think she might like that better, unless we haven’t found the glasses yet.”

Glasses really just meant ‘odd conglomeration of mugs found at the salvation army and a few Dixie cups’ that hadn’t been used yet… but that was left over from the old place.

Mayumi nodded, chewing her lip. Her mouth did feel kind of dry, as she thought about it, though. When Ever returned with a cup of water, she stood up and went to accept it from him, then took a long drink.

"So no one that sees me powered up will recognize me when I'm not?" she asked, studying the rim of the plastic cup. Looking up at Zac a moment later, she offered a slight smile. "And don't worry, I've seen enough of those comic book movies to know that the secret identity has to stay secret."

She glanced around at the stacked boxes, then drained the rest of the water. "So, what do you need me to do for you guys? Just like, power up and go look for terrorists?" A worried look crossed her features. "It doesn't hurt like that every time I do the power thing, does it?"

"What am I, a senshi magnet?" It was amused more than actually upset, though, Ever leaning out to steal the beer back out of Zac's hands, and then settling in against the edge of the desk. Still booted, he stared down the length of his body at his foot, head cocked to the side. He needed to find his way in to a doctor, at some point, to get it a final look-over and confirmation that he could remove it, but that was...harder, state side, than it had been in France.

He puffed out a breath, and drank. "We can run around. Maybe all three of us, if she can stand mouthy party boys."

“Excellent, you can keep an eye on the other two.” The Smaller young man said with a pleased smile before he turned to pat Ever on the arm.

“Don’t worry, they teased me for some time about keeping a collection of senshi, but if it comes down to the fact we see the value in them, working with us rather than against us…then I think we’re in the right, ‘collection’ or no.”

“Fortunately, since you didn’t start out on the wrong side of things, you won’t need to start your life from scratch. But… since you’re here, we might as well make a full round of civilian introductions.”

“Zac, Zachary Bantock, this will be my new place, eventually, and my companion…Ever.” He nodded his head. “Obviously, civilian identities are a very precious thing. Don’t EVER tell someone who, or what you are unless you are absolutely certain.”

Acanthite nodded ... then reached up with one hand, brow furrowing in confusion, to discover the massive twirls of hair she had gained upon powering up.

"I'm Mayumi Kobayashi normally," she replied, finding her dangling earrings next, followed by her collar. She stuck one foot out and examined the boot as well, clearly pleased with the outfit by her expression. "Does everyone look different, then?" the corrupted senshi asked.