Welcome to Gaia! ::

As far as parts of town went this was indeed one of the safest, mostly because a single lone senshi patrolled these streets with frequency and none really cared to disturb her. Not many civilians were here at night which was, perhaps, why the Senshi of Echoes still bothered to patrol. Or so she tried to tell herself. Everyone, including herself, knew that Albali still patrolled because this was where Ares had told her to patrol.

It was where, more than once, she had run across the Dark Mirror Queen though that was an occurrence coming less and less often. Now it had stopped entirely, reassurance from Leto not soothing the worries that nagged at the young woman.

So used to the routine of nothing happening on her patrols was she that the violet-haired musician didn't notice Persephone until they'd nearly collided. Standing there, feet away from a first-rank senshi, she stared openly. "What in the world are you doing out so late?"

Towering over the green-haired senshi, Albali could almost feel the innocence coming off of her in waves. It had been a long time since the violet-haired woman had met a senshi that didn't seem to be experienced and honestly, considering her ties to the Blood Moon that she refused to renounce, didn't interact much with senshi at all. It was dangerous to, in any case. Mucephei was one of the only ones that Albali would bother interacting with at this point and even she was wary of Echoes.

She wanted to turn Persephone right around and tell her to go home. Go to bed. Put her henshin pen away and not bother with this strange life of magic and mayhem that they were all drafted into against their will. Instead she spoke her name, simply. "Sailor Albali. I've been patrolling this route for a few years and it's relatively quiet. A good place for you to be, if you're going to be anywhere." Why was she so concerned?

It was bothersome.

"You're welcome to walk with me though. Patrolling is a dull task unless you're in the park. And I'd advise you to stay out of the park." Apparently she was feeling motherly that night, or there was something she wanted to know. Knowledge was something that the Echoes senshi was voracious for. She always wanted more.

Golden heels clipped again on the sidewalk, acutely aware of the fact that stopping to question Persephone had put her behind schedule. Tossing over her shoulder, as an offhand observation, Albali nearly laughed. "I promise if I find you frustrating, you'll know. I'm not very good at keeping my feelings to myself." About anything. Ever.

She wasn't sure what to make about the incredulity and slight awe in the girl's voice. Incredulity that after a few years, Albali was still nothing more than a mid-rank senshi at best? Awe because...she'd been at it for years? How new was this girl? "Tell me about yourself. How long have you been at this? What's your sphere?" It seemed unlikely that this girl knew what the Blood Moon Court was let alone what it had did.

Descartes forbid! Was she finally getting lonely? Was it finally getting to her? s**t.

There was a jolt for a moment as, looking down at Persephone, Albali realized she couldn't have been much older than this girl when she herself had become a magical warrior. Had it really been so long? Mental calculation reminded her that in less than a week she would leave her teenage years behind, twenty years of age. Twenty! Had she truly been a senshi at least three years now?

It seemed so very long ago. Almost like she'd been doing this forever. Certainly it was consuming her life, though Avery was helping the recluse come out of her shell once more, engaging in society.

"I am Echoes, and my mind has just noted that it's been almost three and a half years of senshidom for me." No wonder she was tired of it all; three years would wear anyone down to almost nothing, exhausted by the constant, boundless energy that this role demanded.

Turning, suddenly, she looked somewhat strange in the light of the streetlamps. "Do you believe everything they say? About how we're the side of right, that we'll drive out the bad guys, that everything will be okay?" Probably.

Sadness mingled with resignation as Persephone confirmed not only how she regarded the Super Senshi, but how she regarded the mission in general. So new to this world, she couldn't see that it was not what it seemed, that they were not what they'd seemed from the outset. Even now Albali was not sure what they were fighting for. Any of them. It was only through Ares that she had ever known direction, ever known focus, and she was trying so hard to go back.

Resuming her walk, but stopping again after a few feet as if the heart had entirely gone out of her for patrol, Albali shook her head. "It took me over two years to realize this whole thing wasn't some sort of hallucinogenic trip. I thought perhaps I'd fallen into a coma like so many others have over the years but this is real. It's real, it's dangerous, and nice girls like you have been caught up in it. Twisted by it." Seeing the innocent Persephone had the violet-haired senshi thinking of what she had lost. Thinking of what she might have been if she'd never come to America.

But then she would have never known Fallon.

"Persephone, I don't think we're very good guys."

So lost into her own thoughts, her own world and own concerns that she didn't realize talking to little Persephone about this was probably the wrong audience entirely. "I'm not the oldest senshi, there are ones that have been around longer than I have. Yet people are still dying, still being hurt. There haven't been any meetings for you to see that all our most powerful people, the ones that should lead, do is argue that they should be the only leader because only they are right. They don't care about results. Just that they get credit for whatever happens." So much bitterness!

Seeing finally that her words were misplaced for her audience, Albali relented. Placing a gloved hand on the girl's shoulder, her voice was quiet and apologetic. "It seems that I'm the one being frustrating. Listen, finish up patrolling down this block and then go home because that's the end of my customary route. Nobody ever bothers me this late at night and they won't bother you either. But think about what this really is, okay? Keep your eyes open. You're too young to get caught up in this mess." It was, perhaps, the nicest Albali had been to a stranger senshi in years.

Patting her lightly, the Senshi of Echoes took a few steps back and then leapt with practiced grace to the rooftops. Heels could be heard jogging away into the distance until finally, the green-haired newbie was utterly alone once more.