|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 9:23 pm
The events at the carnival had deeply unsettled Irene, the latest in a long chain of such events. Her own path to becoming a Super Senshi. Psyche's purification. Her actions at the training meeting. The discovery that Evelyn's sister was a senshi. And now, a large scale attack by the Negaverse on a public location. It was all too much for her.
(Her problems with Cass were also overwhelming, but since they weren't related to Sailor Irene in any way, she tried to put them aside, at least for the moment.)
Many of these issues all seemed to have the same element to them. One that needed to be explored in greater detail. So, rather than leaving work on her own, as had become her habit, Irene had asked ********* to meet her. She had questions, and ********* was her go-to cat for all things senshi.
No, she wasn't rattled by the fight at the carnival. She just wanted answers. That was all.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:11 pm
It had been quite the achievement for ********* to show up.
With the way Anemone had been clinging to the cat, it had been difficult to leave Ellie's home. It seemed that any mention of Irene or Lydia was met with some sort of sour look from the girl.
So the poor feline had to sneak out. There was always going to be a small sort of guilt that clung to the animal's heart whenever she had to leave without announcing herself. However, she had a responsibility to 7 other girls that were not living under Ellie's roof at the moment.
Waiting around the corner of Maize Maizier, the feline sat. If she had a tail, it would have flicked about in wait.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 10:29 pm
At first, Irene had looked apprehensive as she crept her way back to the street, after having transformed in the alley behind the restaurant. When she saw *********, she felt more at ease already. ********* wouldn't let anything truly bad happen to any of them. As long as she had her team behind her, everything would be okay.
Which was the point of the meeting, really, but there were pleasantries to get out of the way first.
"Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice." Irene began walking, trusting that ********* would follow. "I know you're busy lately. How is Psyche doing?" Powered forms, powered names, but she was really curious about the girl behind the senshi in this case.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:44 pm
It wasn't long before ********* was rubbing up against Irene's high-heeled ankles, briefly showing her affections before giving a bit of space for walking. The mention of Psyche was met with a momentary silence, though that was mostly because the feline was trying to find an accurate description for the situation.
"...Psyche, I think, is finding issues in adjusting. It is a huge transition to make in general. I have noticed she tends to sneak off to the park on occasion... but she mostly seems to be getting a bit of cabin fever at Ellie's..."
With a light chuckle, the manx confessed "I have to admit, I have been feeling a bit smothered lately... and I expect her to be quite clingy when I get back. She isn't fond of me leaving her side. She's okay with leaving me, but the other way around seems to cause her to panic slightly."
The cat glanced up to Irene before she added "...I think we will need to tell the others soon so we can find more options in regards to how to deal with all of this."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:04 pm
It was understandable that Psyche was having problems. Irene was still somewhat stunned over her sudden purification, and she actually knew what had happened, more or less. Psyche had lost her entire life, so of course she would have trouble adjusting. "How much longer can she stay there? She really needs to find a new path, but I don't know how to help her, other than just translation." It was something she thought about often, but she could never come up with a satisfactory solution. But if they worked together... "Yes, I think we have a better chance once we get the others on board.
"Which relates to why I asked you here tonight." Irene took a deep breath. "You told me, when we met, that I was one of 'your girls.' I didn't really question it at the time, because everything was so new and confusing. But now that you've found all of us- and even more than that- I have to ask, why us? What makes us 'your girls?' Why not the others you've awakened?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:24 pm
********* glanced up to the sky above them briefly before honestly accessing "I honestly think she could stay there as long as she wanted. I mean, Iris' family hasn't kicked her out yet... I think as long as Iris covers the food expensese for Psyche, then they couldn't really care. They aren't exactly overly present in that household." It made the cat wonder if Ed even knew about Anemone.
However, Irene's next question caused the little manx cat's paws to slow down until they stopped altogether.
"...I am not sure if I have an easy answer for that one... or even a remotely certain answer, if anything." Her haunches soon enough were upon the ground, and a hind leg flexed up, scratching behind her own ear in a common animal-style.
"I honestly just knew you girls were my girls. I knew your names, I knew the symbols for each of your asteroids... I knew all of it without ever seeing any list of names. It was just like a feeling in my heart... I just knew... you were all mine..."
There was a pause and then a momentary embarrassed confession "...well... I knew about all but Psyche that is..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:36 pm
It wasn't really a question with how long Psyche could technically stay there, as far as Irene was concerned. Sure, she had a place to live, but she still didn't really have a life, not since her last one had been snatched away. She certainly wouldn't be happy spending all of her days inside a strange house with people who couldn't even communicate with her fully. They had to give her more, but carefully. This was a delicate situation, and they had to do their research first.
It had waited this long, and it could wait longer, while Irene's question was answered. Though not entirely to her satisfaction. "But then once Psyche was purified, you knew she was yours, right? How? And even though you knew we were your senshi, what made you want to bring us all together like this? You could've kept tabs on all of us separately, if you wanted to."
She was dancing around the issue a bit, but it was important to hear what ********* had to say before mentioning why she wanted to know it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 7:56 pm
The manx chuckled a bit.
"Oh goodness, you have all the difficult questions tonight, Irene!" They were difficult, but at least the guardian seemed humored enough to not let it bother her too much. With a paw, she raised it up and seemed to almost rub at her nose before she spoke up again.
"I have theories about Psyche. There was obviously a great physical distance between us initially, and when she came close enough for me to sense... she was a corrupted senshi. Her starseed was corrupted, masking who she really was. I can't connect with the starseeds of the corrupted... it was only once the chaos was cleansed... that I could sense who she was and once again connect with who she was."
Such an explanation was only a partial answer to what Irene seemed to want though. Once more, her hind leg went up to scratch behind her ear, as if she was trying to scratch some thoughts into her head. "It is hard to explain... but once the chaos was gone, it was as if it was nothing more than instinct to know that Psyche was mine."
Seeming to find the right words for a moment, she seemed to noticeably perk up. "I think that is more or less the easiest way to explain how I knew all of you, and that we were all meant to be together. It was simply an instinct, Irene!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 8:08 pm
"An instinct..." Irene bit her lip. ********* made it sound so easy! Or simple at least; she knew that despite how the cat made it sound, gathering them all hadn't been easy. Especially when you added Psyche to the mix. But ********* had done it, and when they were together, Irene had to admit that something about it did feel like that was just the way it was supposed to be.
Questions answered, it was her turn to divulge a little bit of information. "I'm asking because I met a chibi senshi. At the carnival!" she added quickly, trying to cover the fact that she'd been patrolling alone. "She was only awakened recently, and she doesn't know what team she's on, so she doesn't have anyone to show her the ropes. I'm going to try to help her, but I want to see if I can find her team, before she gets into trouble."
There was more to the story, of course, like the fact that the chibi in question was none other than Eunomia's sister. But Irene had promised to keep that bit of information to herself, and ********* really didn't need to know it in order to help her find the right team.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 10:59 pm
The mention of a chibi senshi from Irene had caused the cat's head to turn approximately 45 degrees to the left side. She hadn't awakened any chibi senshi recently, which meant another cat had apparently done it.
There was a time in which the manx had been one of the only willing guardians to awaken the younger soldiers in the city. It was refreshing for there to be chibi senshi awakened without her being actively involved.
"Well... sometimes teams are formed by senshi that have similar goals. However... I am only one cat... so where as I would love to help out where I can, I also can't micromanage everything going on in Destiny City. The best advice I could honestly give this chibi senshi is to keep a look out for any other senshi that they think they could get along with, work well with, or learn from easily."
Her nose twitched, causing her whiskers to fan out slightly for a bit. "I am glad to hear that you are willing to help her though! I have found in the past some of the older senshi were quite adamantly against assisting the chibi senshi in any way."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 1:13 am
Frowning, Irene looked down at *********. "So some people make teams on their own, and some people have teams because of cats like you? Is that it?" That there could be different ways to end up on a team was news to her. She'd just assumed that all senshi had guardians looking out for them and organizing them. The thought that they didn't was kind of sad, and it made Irene realize how lucky she was.
"So if some people aren't on teams like we are, and they don't decide to join forces with others, what happens to them? Are they just left to deal with everything on their own?" What a horrible prospect. There was no way Irene was letting that happen to Columba. In fact, she didn't want to let that happen to anyone!
Her tone had been a bit sharp though, and she quickly mellowed when she realized that. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean that you should manage everything, *********! I just assumed you spoke to the other guardians, at meetings and such, and that you might know of such things." And the information she'd provided was helpful. It just wasn't enough. There had to be a better answer than just letting things happen.
"Why wouldn't I want to help?" Aside from the fact that Columba was rude and annoying, but ********* couldn't know that. "While I don't like the idea of young children having to fight, keeping them ignorant won't help anything. It just hurts everyone. Besides, Hygiea and Egeria are great! They're just as capable as any of us, so why should they be discriminated against, just because of their age?" Irene was quite baffled. She'd never heard that chibis were being isolated, and it didn't sit well with her at all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 9:10 am
Despite how sharp Irene's tone occasionally got amidst her dialogue, the cat didn't seem to pay it too much mind. The only hint that the tones occasionally got too sharp was when the animal's ears occasionally flattened back briefly against her head.
"Unfortunately, the way you phrased it is correct. Many are left to their own devices. Some flat out take a 'lone wolf' mentality to being a senshi. Others want assistance and guidance, but do not get it." The manx knew that she tried to give each senshi she spoke to a basic run down of how things worked, but even then that could only do so much. She had heard from other senshi in the past as to how unhelpful the cats who awakened them were, which was also a disappointing aspect to think of.
She lifted a paw and rubbed at her snout slightly. "To be quite honest... not many of the other guardians actually branch out too much. Many just stick to one senshi and consider that to be their full guardian-duties."
The question about helping the chibi senshi didn't really catch her by surprise at all. Irene was a caring individual, and probably couldn't imagine some of the awful things in the senshi world.
So now ********* would have to explain one side of the senshi that she had never liked. "You are probably one of the few that realizes the redeeming qualities of the chibi senshi. I think our team actually is probably the most open minded about the chibi senshi. However, I know a while back, many senshi took the mindset of making the chibi senshi feel unwelcome. Perhaps a sort of 'if we don't treat them as equals, maybe they will give up and go away' mentality." Some have been more willing to guide the chibi senshi, but some refuse to have anything to do with them."
She paused, but it was merely to take a breath or two before continuing. "I know that there are a few chibi senshi who adamantly are fighting for the rights of all the chibi senshi... but I suspect it will be a never ending battle."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 6:26 pm
Irene thought she knew what to expect when she requested this meeting. She knew that not all senshi were on teams at all times- Columba had taught her that- but she had no idea that the warmth and support that she got from the Asteroids was that unusual. Teams were apparently the exception, rather than the rule, with who knew how many people forced to take this burden on with no help whatsoever?
The situation with chibi senshi was even more grim. Not only were they left out of the usual senshi proceedings- which apparently weren't terribly inclusive to begin with- but they had enemies in those who should have been their allies. Making it harder for the chibis to do their job wouldn't cause any of the ones she knew to give up. She couldn't picture Hygiea or Egeria or Columba just walking away because someone older told them to. And without guidance from those around them, it was extremely likely that they'd up in terrible situations.
"This is unacceptable." Still frowning, she stopped walking and bent down, to get closer to *********. "I'm not blaming you, so please don't think I am. I'm not even blaming the other guardians, who think that helping one senshi is enough." Which was also disturbing- what if ********* only really cared about one of the Asteroids?- but not really the issue here. "This falls on all our shoulders. Our mission can't only be to hurt other people. It should also be to protect our own. Shouldn't it?"
At this rate, it would only be a matter of time before they began fighting each other. Considering everyone's behavior at the meeting, that time felt imminent. The ambush had been a battle even before the agents of Chaos had arrived.
"I've... I've had it easy, haven't I? I've been spoiled by having everyone around me, to catch my mistakes and tell me these things and..." Irene gulped. All along she'd thought that she'd been doing a pretty good job in bad circumstances. Now she could see that as far as senshi went, her situation was practically ideal. Things could have been much, much worse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 9:18 pm
"I know you aren't, Irene." ********* knew that the senshi wasn't blaming her, despite how she had once blamed her for other things out of anger. With this girl huddled closer, the feline seemed to weave herself about her ankles once more as she gathered all of the words the purple-clad senshi had to say.
"...I do believe that there does need to be some sort of alliance amongst senshi... a sort of camaraderie between all in fuku. However, having such beliefs and guiding others into believing them are two different things." The feline had been very careful in not saying "forcing" others to have the same beliefs, since that was not how one in her position worked.
She paused from her affections to the girl's ankles as the girl seemed to piece together her own good fortunes. "I do believe that my girls have had things a bit easier... in that... they knew who they could rely on if push came to shove."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 29, 2013 12:24 pm
The things ********* said made sense. Too much sense. They felt like obvious conclusions that she should have drawn long ago. Of course the senshi needed to be united. Of course they needed guidance. If Irene's excuse for not realizing this earlier had been the support of her team, what about the others? How could those forced to work alone possibly not have seen this sooner?
"I do rely on them, of course," she said, thinking out loud. "But shouldn't I be able to rely on any of them? Shouldn't any of them be able to rely on me? There's so many of us that nobody should slip between the cracks, unnoticed. It is the duty of all of us to make those connections, to come together when it is necessary. And it seems very necessary now, when there are more senshi than ever."
Clearly, what they needed was a safety net, so that nobody was left hanging. And it was equally clear that it was up to Irene to start weaving the pieces together to create such a net. Now that she realized what was necessary, it was her job to share her revelation with others.
And, Irene thought with a grin, she knew just the person to start with...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
