Mei woke up with a jolt, one of those feelings like you just fell off a cliff and are about to hit the jagged rocks below. However instead of a cliff it was building and was about to smack the pavement below. Rolling over she looked at her alarm clock 5:30… too early… she groaned as she rolled over to try and fall back asleep. Thoughts of the dream lingered preventing her from falling back asleep. Mei’s always had vivid dreams and normally she can recall a good portion of them, but this one was …odd.
It’s not really normal to remember what happens before you’re on the cliff, or building in this case, just that you’re there and then you’re falling. But this time was different; she had been running from something or someone. Every time she turned around there was nobody there… but there was… she could feel it and it terrified her. After what felt like a frustrating eternity Mei rolled back over to look at her clock to see how much time had passed 5:43… 13 minutes. Giving up on the idea of more sleep she reached over to move the blinds out of the way so she could look outside. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon or so she assumed since it was starting to get light outside the overcast clouds did a good job of blocking out any indication of exactly where the sun was in it's morning ritual.
Swinging her legs off the side of her bed, Mei stood up and shed her PJ’s and put on her jogging clothes; black Capri style spandex jogging pants with a bright pink sports bra and tank top with black sneakers. Before she left her room she leaned forward flinging her hair forward then stood up to tie her hair in a messy high pony tail.
Before walking out of the house she grabbed her house key and clipped the carabineer onto one of the loops on her pants. Why jogging pants had belt loops was beyond her but it worked. “Shoot” Mei walked back into the kitchen and rummaged through the drawers for a marker and some paper to leave a note. Out for a run I’ll be back soon ish, I’ll just be in the neighborhood around the small parks.
Mei walked back over to the front door quietly and closed the door behind her making sure not to make a loud sound. Just because she was up at a god awful hour doesn't mean that the rest of her family needed to be as well.
At this point she had been out enough times that she was pretty confident in her directions and ability to navigate through her new neighborhood, swing a left out of the drive way and hang a right in two blocks and about 15 minutes ahead should be the first small park. She started out with a light jog to that first right before jetting off down the street at a full out run. She ran at the same pace she was in her dream minus the fear of being chased.
Once the park came into sight she slowed down to a jog then a walk before reaching the drinking fountain. She took a few large gulps of water before starting to stretch by one of the benches. By the time she was done she was ready to jog over to the second park which was maybe 10 minutes away. At least they had a tennis court that she could use to do some line sprints. So far all she had really been doing was a lot of walking with the exception of running once
The second park came into sight sooner than she thought but then again her mind was still preoccupied with random nonsense and jumbled song lyrics that had been stuck in her head nothing really coherent. She located the drinking fountain and took a few gulps before heading over to the tennis court area. Mei lifted the latch and stepped onto the green colored court, it surprisingly wasn't in horrible shape, especially compared to the ones back in her old neighborhood which had tree root systems that uplifted the asphalt and made the balls go every which way. At least this place was flat.
Mei had just finished her first set of lines when she heard the clicking sound of the gated door closing behind her. She spun around to see who just came into the court area. A man, about 6’3”, roughly the same size as her brother, advanced towards her with a lustful look on his face. Though he was looking in her direction his hazel eyes seemed to be looking past her “Hai thur prty gurl” He struggled to sound coherent obviously very drunk and the closer he got the easier it was to smell the alcohol on him. “Wut are you doin here yous look lonely?” he asked. Instead of answering him she began to take a few steps back unfortunately there was only one gated door onto the tennis court and it happened to be behind him, eventually she will run out of space and her back will be against the fence.
She decided to make a split second decision and bank on him being slow and try to run around him. Mei faked a left and bolted right but either this person was faking being drunk or he was just damn quick because he managed to grab her arm and spin her around so her back was against him. She opened her mouth to yell as his other hand clamped over her mouth. Despite having a military father and an older brother who would play fight with you and call it ‘teaching’ when you get put in an actual situation anything you were taught gets thrown out the door. But if there was one thing she learned is that you can still let out a scream (though muffled) even if there is a hand over your mouth. “SHAD UP” he spat into her ear the smell of alcohol permeating his breath.
She tried struggling to get free, she tried stomping on his foot, and she tried swinging her head back to connect with his face all of which failed his grip on her was too strong. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as sheer panic seeped in Someone help me… Please… Shen… Someone... she thought desperately hoping that someone could somehow hear her thoughts and appear out of thin air and save her.
Lucifer Force
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 2:14 pm
Shanyume
It had been a long night for Kallichore. She'd started her patrol at 11PM on the dot the night before, taking a break very few hours after stopping one attempt at breaking and entering in a neighborhood a few miles from where she was now. More often than not, even criminals were afraid when terrorists suddenly showed up on the scene. The senshi in red didn't even need to use one of her attacks - she simply appeared behind one of the assailants and grabbed him by the shoulder.
Sometimes power had its distinct advantages. Who knew if the criminals would attempt to rob another house again but really, it didn't matter. With as many senshi as they had patrolling the streets at night, surely they would be caught again. Kallichore threatened to take them to the police but one wet himself and they ran away in shame. The senshi was satisfied with that.
But this was hours ago.
The rest of her patrol was fairly uneventful - not even a cat stuck in a tree. Walking to a halt, Kallichore leaned against a tree near some tennis courts to rest. It was getting light outside and she needed to get home soon. She didn't normally stay out this late. The gray haired senshi was about to fall asleep when her ears pricked up at the sound of a man yelling. Turning and looking around the trunk of the tree, brown eyes narrowed and the senshi disappeared.
The drunk man assaulting the young woman would feel a crimson-gloved hand gripping his shoulder. "I will give you five seconds to let this woman go," she started, voice even for the time being. "If you do not comply, you will regret it."
And so he had a choice.
"Five seconds."
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 2:48 pm
The unexpected sound of a females voice behind them somewhat startled both Mei and her assailant. She felt the guys body twist so he could look at whomever was behind them. five seconds she heard the girl say. It was at that moment she recalled the one bit of info every father teaches their daughter… if all else, go for the balls. She lifted one knee up and with as much force as she could muster kicked backward.
Whatever witty comeback he may have been planning was immediately replaced with an involuntary exhale of all the air in his lungs and a groan that sounded like it was coming from a dying man. ’take that you son of a b***h she thought to herself. Typically Mei wasn’t one to swear but times like this … she made an exception. The guys grip loosened allowing Mei to shove him off her and get some space between them.
She turned around to say thank you to the girl who saved her but froze instead. The man lay rolling on the ground holding his groin which caused a bit of pride to swell inside her. “b***h” he wheezed out. However it was the girl standing next to him that had her attention. Mei knew she should say thank you but the conversation she had with Aventine came flooding back to her regarding terrorists and criminals.
Aventine from an earlier RP: "It's okay, they’re not like, suicide bombers or anthrax dealers or whatever's 'in' these days! To be honest, it's more like…a group of unruly kids who got caught up in the wrong crowd and have their heads so far up their asses that they can't tell right from wrong. So uh. I mean, there's that. But if there's one thing you need to know about the news? It's that it's crap. I mean, sure the day-to-day stuff is fine. Food drives, minor crimes, political drama. That's one thing. But sometimes there are just weird things. But I guess it doesn't even matter!" she laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "I mean, since when has the media ever been trust worthy?"
Her eyes shifted between the two then settled on the girl. She too had on a strange outfit; it was pretty and unique between the colors, skirt and white wings. However the torn edges of the red fabric of her outfit made her look a bit intimidating at the same time. “T-thank you… for saving me” Her eyes dropped to the ground then back up to the girl not entirely sure what to do or say.
Lucifer Force
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:04 pm
Shanyume
Kallichore was about to make good on her threat (and she was perhaps a bit too eager to do so) when the man doubled over in pain from the age-old female way of teaching them a lesson - knee to the manhood. Nothing put a man on his lips quite like that and Kallichore lifted gray eyebrows before pulling back a slightly smile.
"There's no need to thank me," she started, placing herself between the girl and the man on the floor. If he did decide to try something again, he'd have to get through someone nearly five times stronger than himself. It'd be nigh-impossible for a civilian to tear through a senshi at eternal level. Kallichore was usually more than happy to prove that rule to citizens who thought they were above the law. "You did most of the saving yourself. I just surprised him is all."
She held out an arm to use her sleeve, blocking the man's view from his intended victim. "I'm Kallichore. I'll be sure you get home safe, without some drunken douchebag in tow."
Turning her attention to the man on the floor, she recited, "I'll give you two options, sir: One, you get up and go home, sober up and apologize to your family for being an idiot or, two, you stay here and I show you your mistakes. Your call."
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:37 pm
Mei nodded her head slightly in a daze, it was one of those out of body experience feelings where you're not entirely sure what's going on. She watched as the guy rolled over onto his hands and knees and try to get up. He shot a glare at the grey haired girl but thought better of picking a fight least of all he get kicked again. “Watch your back you stupid…” he started to say till he tripped over his own feet causing him to head-but the fence. “Son of a…” He trailed off as he opened the door and awkwardly ran down the street.
A part of her wanted to laugh, that nervous laugh when you’re staring danger in the face and lived, while the other part of her wanted to cry. The one thing she didn’t want to do was cry in front of a stranger but the severity of the situation she was just in was crashing down on her. What would she have done if Kallichore didn’t show up?” Better yet what would have happened to her?
“You still saved me” She tried to smile but a tear slipped down her face dang it she thought wiping the tear off her face. “I can’t remember being that scared before, I don’t know what would have happened if you didn’t show up” Another tear slid down her face, she was falling apart. “I’m sorry” her voice quivered as she continued to try to wipe the tears away.
Lucifer Force
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 3:51 pm
Shanyume
Kallichore sighed as the man stumbled away. Part of her wanted him to stay just to experience what senshi could do to put a stop to assaults such as these. She crossed her arms and frowned but her attention was diverted by the girl starting to cry.
She wasn't prepared for crying!
The senshi stumbled over her words, trying to figure out what she could say to calm the girl down. Sure, she could charge into battle head first without blinking an eye but comforting someone was outside her skill set. Carefully placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, Kallichore tried her damnedest to bring even some level of security to the situation. "Listen, you leveled him better than anything I could do. If I kicked him, and kicked him too hard, well..." Kallichore tried to chuckle. "...he wouldn't really have a manhood anymore, if you know what I mean. I only helped a little bit, that's all. You have more in you than you give yourself credit for, Miss...?"
Perhaps it would be more comforting to talk about something else. "Would you like me to call the police? Maybe walk you home? You know how people are - they tend to avoid us if they see us. All that 'terrorist' bee-ess they have on the news and all..." The senshi sighed and shook her head.
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 4:15 pm
The weight of Kallichores hand on her shoulder gave Mei a bit of reassuring comfort but it was the mental image of the guy getting a gender swap that forced an involuntary suppressed laugh that came out more like a snort. ’the hell was that' she thought surprised by the very… unusual sound she just made. Not only was her face covered in red blotches from the tears but now it was probably stained an even deeper red from embarrassment.
“My name is Mei, we just moved here not quite two weeks ago.” She wiped her tears for the final time. Tears in the moment of terror, but the last thing she wanted to do was have this be an awkward moment. “It’s ok, you don’t need to call the police, I don’t exactly want to go home and have to explain to my parents why there is a cop car outside.”
She pondered a moment thinking about how Kallichore worded her last statement. The way she said ‘us’ and ‘terrorist’ confused her. “A few days after I moved here I spoke to someone named Aventine. She mentioned something about terrorists. But I thought she meant to keep an eye out guys like him. But” she paused for a moment replaying Kallichores words one more time in her head “You just said that they avoid us what did you mean by that?”
Lucifer Force
Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 5:48 pm
Shanyume
"For what it's worth, welcome to Destiny City. This probably isn't what you had in mind when you went for a walk."
It could have been a lot worse, however.
Aventine was a name she somewhat recognized. Wasn't Aventine a knight of some kind? It didn't sound like a planetary name at all. With a nod, Kallichore decided it was better to keep Mei informed rather than to leave her in the dark, so to speak. "The news media refers to people like me as terrorists. I've seen the news reports - they scare people into thinking we're destroying the city or some such nonsense when it's not true in the slightest." The senshi huffed and placed her hands on her hips, shifting her weight.
"What they don't warn you about are the real terrorists, the ones actively seeking to destroy the city. Just keep in mind, like the movies and anime and things, people who wear white are good, people who wear black are not, no matter what they say to you. Please keep that in mind if you find yourself in the middle of a battle between some of us. Not that I think you should actively search for it... Just keep yourself safe as much as you can. Destiny City isn't as... safe... as other places."
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 8:26 pm
"Thank you I appreciate it, To be honest you don't strike me as a terrorist." Terrorists don't jump in the middle of something like that and help strangers out, at least none that she has ever heard of before.
"I rarely pay attention to the media to be honest. As I told Aventine I'd rather hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Though a lot of good that did me today. I left everything at home aside from my key." Mei made a gesture towards the bench "Would it be ok if we ... I... we sat down for a moment? Unless you need to take off" She added hurriedly "You remind me a lot of her you know? Aventine that is, the way you both speak of the media and terrorists and your unique outfits." Mei thought about it for a moment, 'but Aventine wasn't wearing black or white, she was wearing pink she thought. "Is she... one of you too?"
Mei sat down on the bench and stretched her legs out in front of her. "Black outfits and white outfits hmm? Do the real terrorists ever change their outfits to confuse people?" She wondered out loud. "It seems kind of simple really white is good black is bad, so why can't the media see that."
This is the second time someone has brought up terrorists to her, to be honest she wanted to learn more.
Lucifer Force
Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:04 am
Shanyume
Kallichore let herself laugh if even for a moment. "I don't strike you as a terrorist? Good, I'm glad to hear that." She looked down at herself, down at her fuku that was, for the most part, much less disheveled than its earlier incarnations. She gestured to the bench with a nod. "Of course. Please, sit down. You're probably still shaky from that whole... ordeal. And I have time. Nobody will be looking for me for a few more hours anyway."
The senshi walked with Mei, slowly, eyes peering around for any other mundane assailants. Her senses could detect a powered individual from quite a few blocks away but civilians were still flying under the radar.
"Aventine," she started, fingers on her chin. "...I'm not sure if we've met, but Aventine doesn't sound like a planet to me. Tell me, did she have a strange item with her? Oh like... a telescope or a teapot or something like that? If Aventine didn't assault you and wasn't wearing black, she sounds like she could be a knight. Simply put, knights are our allies. They fight for good but are, unfortunately, often lumped into the 'terrorist' label just as easily as we are."
Wrapping her hands behind her back, Kallichore started to slowly pace back and forth. "Real terrorists, just like senshi, do change their outfits. It's... complicated... but generally speaking, if they wear black, they're probably bad. Why doesn't the media get this?" came the rhetorical question. Kallichore sighed. "...My theory is that the bad guys have people in the media, spinning this bad PR about us, but it's only a theory. The war here is more complex than even I understand and I've been involved for a few years. I never thought it'd hurt to try and explain myself to civilians but most of the time, my appearance coupled with all those news channel exposes don't help my cause at all...."
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 10:08 am
Mei stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned her back against the chain linked fence. It felt cool against her back but then again it was still early morning and hasn't had the chance to heat up with the clouds blocking the sun “Terrorist… No, intimidating… a bit.” She gave Kallichore a lopsided smile and a small shrug, “it’s the tattered clothes that give off the vibe”.
Her expression shifted to that of someone trying to think back. With pursed lips her eyes shifted from side to side as the events of that night replayed in her head. “To be honest if she did I didn't notice it, it was kind of dark out when we ran into each other… literally. Other than almost giving each other a heart attack she was actually very nice. She helped me find my way home since my phone was kinda dying and it was my first time out of the house since moving here”
“If the people wearing black outfits are as bad as you say they are then I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they did have their fingers wrapped around the media in some way.” To her the media is more like an old wives tale, a partial truth of the whole story or some variation of it rather than an open book. Definitely not something to be surprised about, corruption in the media isn't something that is exclusive to one particular city or another, the only thing that would change is whose pulling the strings.
Mei found her eyes wondering along the stark white pathways that formed the lines on the tennis court. “I have a question.” She looked up at Kallichore in order to discern her expression and attempt to read her body language. “This war you’re involved in, is it just between the white suited and the black suited people? Or is the military involved in this?” Mei didn't want to put Kallichore on the spot, but this is something that had been bugging her since the night she ran into Aventine, she just lacked the bravery to confront her father. “We moved here because my father was re-stationed to a base near here.” “He never really said why they needed to re-station him clear across the US and to be honest I didn't think to ask. It’s part of having a parent in the active reserve. Do you think it’s because of your war? Do you think he knows about it?”
Lucifer Force
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 7:04 pm
Shanyume
"Intimidation... I'll take that. Sometimes it's more useful than sheer power."
Mei managed to elicit another chuckle from the usually-stoic Kallichore. "If you this this is disheveled, remind me to show you a picture someday of how I looked as a Super. One would think I tripped and fell into a grinder. This looks more put together than I've been my whole career. And that's saying something."
The eternal senshi nodded in response to Mei's other open-ended questions. Since she wasn't part of the war, Kallichore didn't want to give away too much information. Knowledge could be a double-edged sword in this case. If Mei knew too much, she could become a target for unscrupulous individuals with magical powers. She may want to find a battle and witness it first-hand, increasing her odds for injury or something much worse. If Mei knew too little, curiosity could eat away at her until things became unbearable and she grew restless.
It was a dizzying edge.
"The war we're involved in is... a little more complicated than that. But simply put, it's good versus evil. White versus black." She tapped her chin for a moment, heels clicking on the paved ground. "If the civilian military is involved then I haven't seen nor heard anything about it, and I've been involved for well over two years. If they are involved, they're incredibly secretive about it, which leads me to believe..." Kallichore turned about quickly, heels clicking together in a straight edged stance. "...no, they aren't involved. I'm sure some of them know about it peripherally as most people do here in the city, but I don't think they're directly involved. Your father's relocation could just be a coincidence."'
An unlucky one, but a coincidence nonetheless.
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Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 7:57 pm
The thought of a more disheveled looking outfit elicited a laugh from Mei. If she thought that this outfit looked intimidating she had a hard time imaging Kallichore in a more tattered ensemble. "If we run into each other again some time I would like to see that. Would it be safe to assume not many people messed with you back then?"
Mei's mood sobered a bit "I hope your right... that it's a coincidence. If the police force tries to avoid the terrorists" She made the quote motion with her fingers when she said terrorist "No offence, that are caught up in this war. I would hate to see my father get tangled up in it."
There was a moment of silence before her stomach decided to make it's presence known. With a rather garbled monster sound Mei's face turned a shade of pink. Neglecting to eat before going on a run was generally not a good idea. Mei gave Kallichore a lopsided smile "Sorry about that. Hey I don't know if you're hungry but I could run into the grocery store and grab something if you'd like?".
Lucifer Force
Posted: Thu Aug 08, 2013 6:42 pm
Shanyume
I AM SO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT - my computer died. @_@
The gray haired senshi's mouth narrowed to a line, an odd look on her face. One of reflection. "...not necessarily. But we'll save those stories for later, as incentive. I want to make sure you're alright in the future."
Kallichore chuckled at the air quotes and shook her head. "No offense taken. They've been calling us all sorts of names for years. I'm sad to say I'm almost used to it by now." The rumbling of Mei's stomach earned a nod from the senshi. "Let's get you something to eat. No use wandering around with a terrorist on an empty stomach. After that, I can take you home faster than your fastest sprint, if you'd like."
A quick hop and Kallichore ended up perched on one foot atop the nearest chain link fence post. "A perk for being a terrorist."
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Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 11:36 pm
"Sounds like a plan, I'd honestly rather hear stories from you than from the media." They usually got it wrong anyways, twisting the facts, shaping it into some deformed semblance of the actual truth or leaving key facts out. That's the main reason Mei didn't bother watching the news or reading articles online.
"If it counts, I think they're wrong" Mei flashed Kallichore a sincere smile. If anything, the gray haired girl standing in front of her proved that not all of the individuals involved in this fight are terrorists. Just as Aventine had said, those in white are good, and though her outfit was a bit intimidating at first, she is definitely not a terrorist. "That would be great, thank you" Mei replied "Would you like me to grab you a bagel or muffin?"
Mei watched in wonder and a bit of shock as Kallichore effortlessly jumped atop the fence. Never mind the fact that it was probably 9 feet tall and the top pole was only what... two and a half inches wide. The fact that she was able to land on it and stay balanced, on one foot none the less, was amazing. "Now that's cool!" With a smile on her face Mei lifted herself off the bench and jogged over to the gate, and rounded the corner over to where Kallichore stood perched along the fence.
