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 Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 11:08 pm
Hearing the last pairings announced for this training session, Ida had wearily risen from her seat by the wall to go and find her new partner. As much as she didn't want to fight right now, she had come here for the training, and to meet new people. Normally, she would have been thrilled at the opportunity, but right now? She wanted to crawl under a rock and never come out.
At least the few minutes rest had help fade some of the ache in her side. The sparring with Shang had been short and not too much of a work out, but she was still injured. It was hard to forget it, actually, since it was almost always at the front of her mind, dictating nearly everything she did. Even school had suffered lately while she was jittery and quiet in class.
Crossing the room reading name tags, she cautiously approached another senshi with dark hair and a dark fuku. Maybe... yes! Her name tag said Irene.
"Hello! I'm Ida. I guess we've been paired up, but... I don't know, I'm feeling a little sore from the first bout." She said as she came closer, offering her hand in greeting.
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Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:58 pm
From the moment her last bout had ended, on a rather sour note, Irene knew she had to leave. She apologized to her opponent and made her excuses to *********, and then she was ready. But before she could get away, the next round was announced. Despite her inclination to flee, Irene paused, curious as to who she’d been paired up with. At least this time it was a simpler name, if not one that she recognized.
She didn’t have to wonder about its owner for long, since a girl came up to her before she could decide whether to stay or leave. Kicking herself for not running out while she could, she took the offered hand. What the other senshi said went a long way towards making her feel better; if they could avoid a fight, maybe she would stay a few more minutes.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ida. I’m Irene. I was about to leave actually, but if you don’t want to fight, we could talk for a bit instead. Unless you need to go and rest, of course. I do have some basic painkillers if you need one.” She patted the dove-shaped purse hanging from her shoulder gently. It was an unsophisticated first aid kit, but it covered her essentials: inhaler, epipen, allergy medications, and a couple of over-the-counter remedies. “I’ve learned that it pays to be prepared. You never know what will happen out there.” Or right here, among friends.
That topic was uncomfortable, so Irene quickly tried to come up with another one. “I noticed you waited until you got here before transforming. Was that for a specific reason?”
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Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 11:08 pm
Ida sighed and relaxed, her shoulders dropping a little. The feeling was mutual, it seemed. When her hand was released, she offered a smile and a shrug, wrapping her arms around her ribs. She felt a little embarrassed at the question, but it really wasn't Irene's fault.
"I, um... have been having a little bit of trouble lately." She said softly as she dropped her head, scuffing the toe of her shoe against the floor. "I was worried that... someone might sense my power signature if I transformed early. I wanted to make sure everything was good before I did. I kinda... had a bad run in with a negaverse agent and I'd really rather not repeat it."
The offer of a painkiller was enticing, though... sparing with Shang had made her more sore than she thought she would be. Yet another reason why powering up had not been appealing to her.
"Um... no painkillers, but thank you for offering. I think I'm okay. I'm pretty sure I didn't reopen the stitches." Hopefully, anyway. She'd have to check the dressing when she got home, just in case. "How about you, though? Only up for one shot sparring?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 27, 2013 9:30 pm
"Ahhhh." Irene nodded understandingly. "Most such encounters are less than pleasant, as far as I can tell. Though you do occasionally get one who's cordial." Like Nickeline. But Nickeline was a senshi, and she'd turned out to be Psyche, so did that really count? Thinking about it was making her head hurt, as it always did. "I guess it would be too much to ask if everything was simple and clear-cut."
Then the focus came to her, and she squirmed uncomfortably. "Not exactly. I, that is, I mean..." How could she explain that she was a danger to those who tried to help her? In such a way that wouldn't scare this potential new friend away? "I've learned that sparring isn't for me," she came up with eventually. "There are other ways to practice and learn, but I don't care for fighting my allies." Not when she took those fights far too seriously. "Does that make sense? It's not that I'm not interested, just..."
Where was she even trying to go with this?
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 4:11 pm
A soft smile spread over Ida's face as she clasped her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels.
"I guess I don't see it like fighting... Fighting makes me think of wanting to hurt the other person, and that's not what I do when I spar. Its... more like a game. See who can one-up the other... who's faster? Stronger? More clever? Its like a test, or a competition, to see how much each of you knows, or can work out on the fly." She shrugged shyly, hoping the other girl didn't think she was stupid for seeing things like that. "Its practice, you know? And I know I sure could use more of it."
Well... if she decided to keep being a senshi, that is. The way things were, she just wasn't sure any more. She was so scared and felt so useless... this had been a nice break from the worry, but when it came down to it, she had to go back to the real world, and in the real world was where she could very well be killed by the next officer to catch her alone. The thought sobered her and her smile faltered.
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:22 pm
That made sense. Maybe, if Irene had started out with that mindset, she wouldn't have so many problems with sparring. Now, while she could see the wisdom behind that view, she couldn't really throw herself into it. The desire to prove oneself wasn't inherently bad, she thought, but she tended to take it too far, doing things she later regretted, things that really weren't her.
"I think," she said slowly, "I just take the competition a bit too seriously. It's not bad, it's just not for me." And that was all that she was willing to say on that subject for the moment.
"This is much nicer anyway. Sitting, talking, learning without having to throw any punches. Now that I think about it, I haven't really spoken to that many senshi." Other than the Asteroids, of course, but that went without saying. Irene was close to her teammates, but had very few connections beyond that small network. "Is there any advice you can offer? Or," she went on, noting their difference in power levels, "anything you'd like me to try and advise on? I'm far from the wisest senshi out there, but I do have a little experience. Maybe I can help with something?"
Even if she was a lousy fighter and a worse sparring partner, there might be other ways she could be useful at a gathering like this.
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 8:55 pm
"Yeah, its not for everyone, I'm sure."
Ida was willing to accept that everyone had their own views on things. She'd heard enough to know there were some really conflicting views as far as even this war went. Sparring was certainly not the biggest issue that had been thrown at her.
The offer of advice took her a little by surprise and she dropped her head, lifting and dropping her shoulders in something of a dejected shrug.
"I dunno what to ask you, I guess... I'm... I'm not even sure I want to be a senshi any more." She dropped her voice as she admitted what had really been on her mind. It felt horrible to admit it, and she was half worried the other senshi might blow up at her about it. With Irene being a super, surely she'd never had this issue before and it made Ida look weak to be considering it.
Still... she had some pretty bad hangups, so it was impossible to take this decision lightly. Maybe Irene had something encouraging to say, or maybe she'd even gone through this before.
"I just... um, have some things I sort of need to work through, you know? And I'm not sure anyone can really help with it." It was nice to meet a new senshi... Ida just wished she could have been better company for it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 9:21 pm
"In all fairness," Irene sighed, "I'm probably not the best person to ask questions of." That was something she needed to improve on, and something she was far willing to put the work in for than fighting.
It seemed like she wasn't the only one who was having doubts. There probably wasn't anything she could do to help. But what Ida said reminded her of something that ********* had told her, the day she had awakened. It wasn't advice, strictly speaking, and it wasn't hers, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to pass it along.
"I won't try to get inside your head, then, but I would like to tell you something. Something that our guardian told me. It was my birthday, the day she awakened me. Everything happened so quickly, and it was so confusing. I couldn't accept what was happening to me." Back then, she couldn't imagine herself being as comfortable with her senshi identity as she was now. "She told me that I could deny the power, if I wanted to. I could ignore my destiny. But I would always be a senshi, even if I did those things." She shrugged and smiled. "I think that's when I started taking her seriously.
"So it's not really a matter of whether you want to be a senshi, because if you believe her- and she's never steered me wrong- then you'll always be one. The question, then, is what kind of senshi do you want to be? If you decide you want to be one who ignores the battle, I think that's a valid answer. But you'll still be a senshi, even if you decide that."
Deciding what kind of senshi she wanted to be had been what made Irene finally ready to become a Super Senshi. It was a topic she took very seriously, and she had no desire to change Ida's decision. Just to give her a new way of looking at things.
She might have overdone it, though. "Anyway, I hope that helps. And that my story didn't bother you." Pulling out her phone, she quickly snapped a shot of Ida. "I won't check in on you, in case you don't want to be reached," she explained, "but I'd like to have your information, just in case. Is that okay with you?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 10:43 am
The little bit of advice was sound reasoning. It was something Ida had always sort of known, but had never really thought about in that particular light before. Even if she 'gave up' being a senshi, the power to transform would always be there, waiting for her to call it to her. But...
If the power was always with her then the dangers of transforming always would be too. She could probably hide from all of this pretty successfully, but ignoring it wouldn't make it go away. Taking herself out of the fight wouldn't suddenly end the war. It made the decision both harder and easier to make, and left Ida with even more to think about and work through.
"Thanks, for that. I can totally see what you mean and... It's something to think about." A small smile pulled at her face as Irene snapped her photo, her own phone coming out to return the favor.
"Oh, don't worry. You can call me any time you like, I don't mind. It's actually kinda nice to hear from people, you know?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 2:47 pm
Huh, maybe she had helped a little after all. Not that it was her words that made the difference, since she was really recounting what ********* had told her. But, perhaps, knowing what to share could be almost as useful as having sage advice. She didn’t have to be really wise, or experienced, or anything like that. All she had to do was think about what had helped her, and pass it along. There was something powerful about that.
“I’m pleased I could help a little after all.” Irene smiled, but her smile faltered as Ida went on. “Oh... I don’t want you to think I’m influencing your decision, though. I mean, if you decide you don’t want to be part of this, wouldn’t getting calls from a senshi be... I don’t know, annoying at the very least?” Not that she really thought Ida would abandon her calling just like that. From what limited discussion they’d had, Irene could see that she was thoughtful and conscientious. She would find a solution that worked for her. But it was, Irene felt, of the utmost importance that Ida came to that conclusion on her own. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have the same meaning.
That said, she didn’t want to push away the first senshi outside of her team that she’d been able to have a real conversation with, without getting mad for no reason. “You’re welcome to contact me, though! Maybe once you resolve your dilemma, we can have another conversation about less troubling matters.” Yes, being a senshi was serious business, but that didn’t mean that they had to be total downers about it all the time. At least, she hoped not.
Around them, the next bouts of sparring were getting under way, the combatants having finished their introductions. Irene shivered as the fighting picked up again. Just being near people who were sparring made her nervous. Even though she’d promised not to do it again, and her partner was accepting of that, she couldn’t help but think that being in such an environment would make her do something that she would regret. Again. Just like Ida, Irene had her own dilemma that couldn’t be fixed by anyone else.
“I should leave.” Before something bad happened, as she was sure it would if she stuck around much longer. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Ida. I hope we have a chance to talk again soon.” Irene curtsied, and absently put her senshiphone into the dove-shaped purse hanging from her shoulder. She had to get away, before she did something to ruin what was, considering the circumstances, a rather helpful discussion.
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Posted: Tue Jul 09, 2013 5:13 pm
"Thanks for the chat, Irene."
Ida offered the other senshi a shy sort of smile as she rocked on her heels. She found it odd that offering herself to be contact had come so naturally. It was like maybe, deep down, she couldn't see herself not doing this any more... it had almost become an integral part of who she was... but it still didn't help that much with the problem at hand.
The flower senshi waved as Irene turned to go. "I'll see you around, I'm sure. If you ever want to, you know, hang out like normal people, I'd really enjoy that. Have a safe walk home, ok?"
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