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Eternal Sailor Tsui didn't want others to know just how stressed out she was, given that she felt that she had a reputation to uphold. Real life problems and recent endeavors as a Senshi were beginning to chip away at her gung-ho, energetic attitude, but she didn't want anyone to see that. No one -wanted- to see that. She was the Eternal Senshi of Tigers. Proud, strong, and always looking for either someone to help or someone to fight.

Tonight was no different, and her patrol led her towards the familiar surroundings of the library. It's been awhile since she patrolled in these parts, and the last time she was here, she had bumped into Arian, aka, Super Sailor Athene. Part of her was eager to see an old friend again, and perhaps that's why she went out of her usual patrol zone, to see an old friend.

What luck did she have. Once she made it to the rooftop of the library, the Senshi of Tigers sensed the presence of another Senshi, same rank at her. Part of her was curious and immediately wondered if Athene had obtained his Eternal rank as well, though it was also just as likely that it could have been someone new. Either way, she made her way towards it, eager to see someone, ANYONE, that could help get her out of this funk.

She jumped down into the alley, paying little attention to her surroundings and actually not meaning to land so close to the Senshi of Beads. "Look out belooooooow!"

"Evening? That's all you have to say to me?" Tsui gave a mock-pout before she greeted Athene with a great, big hug, once that she felt she had been needing to give her allies every time she saw them alive. Perhaps it was a bit of Sutai rubbing off on her strong tiger, but it didn't make the sentiment any less powerful. Athene was a dear friend to her, and she wanted to express it with a hug, throwing away the notion of personal space if only for a moment.

She let him down and took a step back, and having no seen him since the fiasco in the park during the Christmas season, she was a little surprised to see him sporting a new attire, with wings attached and everything. "Well, look at you! Looks like you and I are on equal grounds again. You look great! Congratulations, Athene!"

It almost called for a second hug, but Tsui refrained. One hug per ally, she told herself, otherwise there'd be no telling apart between herself and Sutai. She grew a little more serious now, as she addressed the Senshi of Beads. "So, how's life been treating you? Things aren't going too crazy for you, huh?"

Tsui may not have been the most observant person in Destiny City, or even on this particular block, but even she could tell that something was bothering her friend. Maybe it was her time spent with others that had finally opened up her sense of empathy, or maybe she was learning how to read people better, but she could see that Athene wasn't completely opening up.

It could have been a matter that he was simply more reserved than she was, but still, there was something about his behavior that seemed off. And the fact that he practically parroted her question back at her, she knew something was up. She placed her hands on her hip and made such a face, but she played along for the moment. "Doing good. Got a girlfriend, my baby brother's eventually going to pop out, and doing well with my part time job."

Now she repeated her question, and decided to add an extra bit at the end, for safe measure. "How about you? How's things going with you? Everything... okay?"

It felt weird for someone to be congratulating her for her mom's hard work, but Tsui took compliments wherever she could get them. After all, it was certainly something to be proud of, and it would definitely take a lot of getting used to. Right now, she wanted to parade up and down the streets about little Jacob, but it was for the best that she kept it to herself, or at least limited that knowledge to friends and allies she could trust. "Yeah, never been a big sister before and it's probably going to eat away at some of my free time and patrol time, but that's the way the cookie crumbles, or something like that."

She was never good with proverbs and often didn't understand their meaning, so she was quick to pass over all of that. She couldn't complain about her life, from what she heard from Athene's civilian life, she wasn't the only one finding some success outside of her Senshi duties. "I recall you looking for books about beads and jewelry, way back when, so that makes sense! I don't know a lot about that stuff, but I know a lot of girls who go crazy for that stuff, so I wish you the best of luck for that!"

And she meant it, of course, like she meant a lot of things. However, she couldn't help but note how sullen he sounded when he mentioned his senshi life, and there was no way that Tsui could not be anymore interested than at this very moment. She recalled her own experience, but she refrained from mentioning it. Not yet, anyway. She cocked a brow, and asked, "You wanna talk about it? Anything I can do to help?"

It appeared that her suspicions were correct, and Tsui, ever eager and ever willing to help a fellow Senshi or Knight out, was once again was ready to fulfill her role as friend and guardian. She didn't want to pry into his business, but it seemed like something that needed to be talked about, and while listening wasn't her strongest suit, she was willing to try anything for a friend.

The Tiger senshi found a nearby trashcan and hopped on top of it, making herself comfortable before turning to him again. She was never the type of girl that liked 'gossip', as she was more of a hands-on type, but she was always willing to hear others out. "I got plenty of time at the moment. It's my sister's turn to watch him, so that pretty much clears up my night."

She crossed her legs and sat on her hands to keep herself still, before asking, "What's up? You can tell me anything, and if you want me to keep it a secret, I'll do my best. I don't care much for gossip, so you can trust me."

The Tiger Senshi frowned when Athene recounted his tale, and she couldn't help but ponder if there was some big movement going on from the Negaverse recently. Things were pretty bad with them anyway, and add to the fact that the Mirror Wraiths seemed to be growing out of control as of late, the last thing they really needed was the Negaverse jumping onto the offensive again. Still, perhaps it was just an isolated incident, and there was one way to find out.

"Seems like a lot of senshi I know are having problems with Negas as of late," Tsui said, her anger not directed towards her friend, but the Negaverse, and she had always suspected that they'd show their true colors again. They did so last summer, and it seemed like they were about to do the same again. And Tsui was certain that she was ready for them this time. But she forced those thoughts aside, as she looked to her friend for answers. "Just the other day, a friend of mine had a bad run in with Painite... and the poor girl doesn't even want to power up anymore in fear of her finding her."

No, Tsui still didn't hold any anger to Orah, and if anything, all of that anger was to herself still. She should have been there. She should have done more to help her friend. But now wasn't the time to get lost in that. Athene deserved her full attention. "I'm sorry you were ambushed. Did you get his or her name, at least, so that I can track them down and give them a good punch to the face?"

"A female general with a spear as a weapon... I really only know one," Tsui said, scratching her chin and pondering if it could have been Painite that ambushed Athene. It wouldn't have been that far of a stretch, but then again, perhaps there was another general out there with a spear and was a woman? Unless he was attacked by Benitoite... wouldn't have been hard to confuse him as a woman, but again, that kind of behavior wasn't like him. So, unless there was another one with a spear, Tsui couldn't help but put Painite's image in her head, and that made her growl. "If it's who I think it is... I'm getting real tired of her hurting my friends like this."

She rubbed her fingers against her own scars subconsciously when she placed her hands on her hip, and she did nothing to hide her anger from her friend, not while the thought of what Painite had not only done to her, but to Ida, and now, supposedly, Athene as well. "She's a whole new brand of crazy, and the day she's either killed in combat or eliminated by her own ranks, the happier I'll be!"

Almost immediately she regretted her words, and it shown in how she shook her head and retreated from the topic. "Sorry, Athene... that was wrong of me to say. I've meet my fair share of Negaverse officers and their Senshi who honestly think they're doing the right thing... and then there's someone like Painite... I'm sorry, I'm ranting. It may not even be her..."

Tsui looked to Athene, then asked, "What happened next? I mean, you obviously made it out alive, but did she hurt you?"