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 Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 3:41 pm
General Painite was sitting on a park bench, two stars seeds resting in the palm her hand. She was holding them up to the light, admiring the way the moon and stars reflected in the little crystals. There were two bodies at her feet, a woman and a younger child.
She had no qualms about killing anyone, these days. Civilians were just targets. Maybe she was soft because she gave them the chance to power up, let them know she was there before she killed them, just in case they were one of hers. But other than that, she didn't care.
She turned the two around in her palm, letting them tap against one another, glimmering.
Distantly, she felt another Negaverse aura. She wondered if it would come toward her. Whoever it was might have some comments on her choice for targets and how she chose to occupy her time. She arched an eyebrow and waited, though, rather interested in knowing who it was and what they'd say.
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Posted: Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:18 pm
He had spent a day or two after his meeting with General Benitoite cursing that he had somehow misplaced Painite's phone number... Or that he had been stupid enough that he had simply never asked for it. Not certain that the crystals they had been given as communication devices would even still work (less certain that she kept hers on her, especially if she was teetering on the brink of going rogue, as he'd heard), he had simply taken to heading out around the same time each night, scouting the city in search of her. He had just about given up for the night when he felt an oddly familiar tingle in the force in the direction of Destiny City Memorial Park. It would be fitting, really, to find her in one of the places they had last met. Would he really be that lucky, though? What were the odds? Lieutenant Richterite pondered it for a moment before heading in the direction he'd felt the other aura, focusing just a bit more strongly on feeling it out as he neared its source, shuffling his cards idly in his hands as he strolled down one of the more secluded paths.
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Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 12:31 pm
Painite stood when she felt the aura approaching, not expecting to see who she did eventually spot heading in her direction. A smile lit up her face and she bounced over to him.
"Richterite! What a lovely surprise!" she laughed, stopping short of him. She left the bodies behind, starseeds in hand but forgotten about for the moment. Just something she was subconsciously holding on to because her brain told her not to drop them.
She grinned and tilted her head at him.
"God, it feels like it's been ages! How have you been doing?" She remembered him fondly, and had been wondering where he'd gone to. She wanted to catch up with him, and any trace of her rogue-like attitude was gone at the moment. If she was crazy, she was good at keeping at it in check when she needed to.
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Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:36 pm
"That's because it has been ages, Captain... Or is it General now?" His brow quirked as he gave her a rather appreciative eye-over. "What a sight for sore eyes. You haven't missed me too much, have you?" In a way he almost hoped that she had. Out of the various agents of the Negaverse that he had been familiar with, Painite had been the one he had learned how to fight alongside to the best of his abilities. She was a strong, spirited woman with just enough crazy to her to command a bit of awe and respect. Granted, the 'crazy' that he was familiar with was likely nothing compared to what the additional corruption might have brought about, so there was probably a chance that he should tread carefully, especially given Benitoite's words, but... "Looks like you've been having fun without me." He smirked as he gestured to the two limp forms just beyond her, unable to tell in the evening light that they were more than just drained of their energy. "Don't tell me Generals get bored."
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:13 am
"General, yes," Painite said, surprised. It had been a long time since she was a Captain, though she remembered it fondly. Thinking back filled her with feelings of warmth and comfort, because there had been no change back then. They had been able to live up to their full potential, and she had always loved that feeling.
Maybe that was why the changes hadn't sat will with her. She felt stifled now. Too controlled, when she had trained herself to be independent and to follow her every instinct.
She couldn't do that while being silent and hidden away.
"I always have fun! And I have missed you. I'm glad you're back! We're going to have to bring you back up to speed, though, for that long period of truancy. A lot has changed. Well. Other things have changed." She grinned. She was still the same, as ever, if not a bit more dangerous and unpredictable now. But that just made her a challenge and a blast to be around, right?
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Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 12:59 pm
"I've heard about some of the changes." He said flatly, clearly unimpressed. "I was hoping, all things considered, to find someone who might be able to clarify a bit of what I've heard; confirm whether or not it was truth or a load of nonsense being fed to a Lieutenant who's been MIA for long enough that he probably deserves a good scare. It's always refreshing to hear things from your point of view anyways. You add such... Pizazz." Pizazz was a good word for nutty enthusiasm, right? "Are you familiar with General Benitoite?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 19, 2013 12:50 pm
Painite watched him, turning the starseeds in her palm thoughtfully now, though in that same distracted and detached way. They might as well have been marbles, for all the care she was showing them. She smiled at the Lieutenant and shook her head.
"I think you'll find that there have been more than a few changes, and they aren't as... grand... as one might expect, for the time that's passed." She hummed cordially, though it was all feigned. She had very passionate thoughts on the subject, and her own beliefs on what they were meant to do with the power they were given.
She grinned at the idea of pizazz. It was certainly not something she could complain about.
"I am familiar with him," she said, nodding her head. They were friends, though he had been changing a bit in ways that Painite was not particularly keen on, really. She'd been hearing more and more about it, but she let him do his thing while she did hers. She understood that they all had their different methods, and some were more eager to accept change than she was. Maybe she was just a stick in the mud.
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 10:51 am
"I've heard... That we're still buddy-buddy with the mirror walkers, even more so now so it wasn't just a one time gig. General Benitoite made it sound like they'd added a number to their ranks and like we've been at a complete standstill. We aren't to engage the enemy?" His brow lofted slightly at the question, watching her face for a reaction only to step back and shuffle through his cards again. "... Not that I could do much engaging with what I've got. Still a little too useless to do any real damage, all things considered. Out of shape too." He smirked, although it was obvious physically that he hadn't really let himself get out of shape. If anything he'd added a bit more muscle on over the past hear and a half, grown up just a tad.
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:14 am
"General Benitoite seems to like to paint things a certain way," Painite said with a slight frown, then shook her head and smiled brightly, though it was a wicked look. She lacked a lot of the warmth she once had, though toward her friends and allies she was still loving and kind.
"There's this idea that we're supposed to stick to the shadows. Hide our power and our might, and let the senshi have their way. Senshi, Knights, dark or whatever. They're all just running free and stomping out our youma, beating up our newbies and getting away with it. Make them think they're winning. Let them get comfortable."
She snorted.
"Or, we could just crush them, as we're meant to do. I'm not really a fan of the idea that we need to be second to anyone. That this city isn't already ours. I've got my own plans, and I'd love some help with them. This place should know what the Negaverse is, and what we're capable of. And the White Moon should know their place is under our boot."
She was passionate as she spoke, though she cut into her own rant and grinned at his comments about his weapon. She remembered that he had those cards, though he looked a little tougher now, regardless of still being a Lieutenant.
"We need to beef you up a bit, I think."
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 11:50 am
"I could give you sticking to the shadows, especially if there's actually a plan; a real reason for doing so. But if it's just to trick them into giving up? I don't know... It's a disappointing thing to come back to, really, especially when you consider all of the things that we were doing..." Then he was laughing, the sound more amused than the dangerous edge in Painite's voice. "Going to help me earn that rank of Captain, finally, Sir?" A teasing smirk curved his lips at that. "You aren't in need of one, are you? I mean, I could be really good at bossing underlings around, you know..." That teasing tone spoke wonders for how he was trying to lighten the moment, if only a bit.
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 12:56 pm
"I know, I agree with you," her eyes burned with passion, and she grinned, determined and surprisingly aloof. She wore all her emotions on her sleeve, it seemed like, yet there was more in her head than she was letting on. Somehow, her plans were her own, even as she spoke of them, openly.
There was no end to her ambition.
"I'd love to have a Captain that has the same views I do. Everyone is too soft these days, I think it's our job to toughen them up. And maybe open the Negaverse's eyes a little bit. Make them see what they're missing by hiding in the shadows."
She laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, feeling invigorated.
"But first, we'll just focus on getting you out of this little card game of yours," she winked at him, teasing in her own right.
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Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 1:52 pm
"So why don't we pick up where we left off, sensei?" He offered his arm to her as a gentleman would a lady he was just about to take a stroll with. It would be good to be caught up to speed; to have another different point of view to compare everything else that he had heard so far to, especially from someone who had never been anything but honest with him. "And hey, don't forget... My 'little card game' was just enough of a distraction to get us out of that scrap with that raven haired senshi forever ago. Are you telling me they've gotten smart enough that they don't fall for tricks anymore? Because if that's the case I'm going to have one hell of a time finding ones to fight with."
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 4:16 pm
Painite smiled brightly and moved to take his arm. Not off, as she might have if he were an enemy and she had the chance for such a clever torment, but rather she hooked her arm with his and leaned on him lightly.
"I don't think they're that smart, no. We could use more traps like that. Old fashioned fun, I find, but that's discouraged these days. We can't have fun with our targets, it seems, sometimes. Just leaving them alone, babbling or killing them cold. That last part is fun, but not satisfying."
She liked big shows. She liked seeing the terror in her opponents eyes. She liked the chase and the hunt, and knowing they were looking over their shoulder for her. She wasn't going to change those tactics.
Ever.
"I think 52 card pick up will still work as a battle tactic. Or maybe they'll tell you to settle your battles with actual card games. No fuss, no muss." She rolled her eyes.
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Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2013 9:14 pm
He opted not to make any sort of comments on the subject of 'killing them cold', still not certain that was something he would ever be able to do, even if it was a part of war. Perhaps once things sunk in a bit more; once the dark forces had a bit of a stronger hold on him, but that was then... This was now. "Sometimes a little bit of trickery and illusion can go a long way. A good bit of the energy I used to collect came from skimming just a bit here and there while convincing a number of Destiny City's fine folk that I had nothing better to do with my evening than show them a card trick or two. It really all comes down to what they're willing to believe; what they want to, or what's right in front of them." Then he paused briefly, smirking. "Y'know, I've played a video game that had an opponent like that once. Kingdom Hearts. That one with the guys in the black coats and the funny hoods, yeah? One of the baddies had these massive cards that controlled time magic and sucked you in to a 'do or die' card game. Don't think mine are quite up to that sort of challenge. We'll have to just think of other things."
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Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2013 10:17 am
General Painite had long ago learned that not everyone thought the same way she did, surprisingly. Not everyone took to killing senshi and knights, and civilians in that pursuit, as easily and readily as she had. And even she needed some time to get used to it, to build her confidence and her resolve.
But she could always use them for what they did like to do, and take care of the rest. She needed friends, allies, and she would work with them toward her goals. That was how a team worked, everyone doing what they were best at, not being held back.
In a perfect world.
"I remember!" Though she hadn't played any games recently, Painite used to play them quite a lot. She felt a little sad at that idea, and decided she would have to play some more now. Maybe he would want to play, too. "Maybe you'll get something like that when you get stronger. We'll just have to train you up a bit. You should be a Captain by now, at least! You're going to have a lot of homework, my friend."
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