Welcome to Gaia! ::

Since the incident with the captain on the rooftop, Micah had been on edge. Her nerves were all aquiver with sensation; wind, clothing, leaves that brushed her as she passed through the park. She heard each and every one of her footfalls, every twig broken under someone’s foot. She smelled the heavy smell of the stagnant water in the pond a few feet away, and the fresh cut grass beneath that. Everything registered. And that put Micah even more on edge. She didn’t power up for fear of that captain finding her again… god only knows what he would put her through. The very thought made Micah shiver violently despite the humid heat the early evening brought with it.

Somewhere behind her, Micah heard someone laughing. A small child, no doubt with a parent or babysitter. Next came a scream from a playfully frightened teenager, followed by a bark of laughter from their friends. Micah wished they would all just stop. It made for a very upsetting run that evening.

Micah bounced right off whomever she’d bumped into and yelped, tripping back onto her rear. It took her a moment to wrench herself from her thoughts and bring herself back to her surroundings before she finally spoke.

“Ahhhh… I’m sorry too. I’m a little focused on something…”

And then Micah registered who she was talking to.

“Something else,” she finished ********. ******** ******** ******** ******** ********. It was like no matter what way Micah turned, she was running into someone from the Dark Mirror Court. What, was Remarque going to show up and just be his usual charming self? As if Micah wasn’t uncomfortable enough in her role as a senshi, let’s throw that monkey wrench back into the mechanics and watch Micah spark and fizzle out of control right?

Micah huffed and pushed a lock of ruby curl out of her face as she stood, careful to put as much distance between herself and Lesath as possible.

“That fuku,” she muttered, crossing her arms defensively across her chest.

“I recognize it. You’re part of that opposite senshi thing, right? Mirror whatever?” She tried to sound disinterested, but the fear crept in all the same, making the edges of her voice quiver. “You gonna kill me or something?”

Unconvinced, but not nearly as shaken as she had been with Leto, Micah leveled Lesath with a look that screamed “yeah, everyone’s buying that one honey.”

“You live in this town all sorts of freaky s**t happens to you,” she finally said, addressing her use of the work fuku. She waved her hand dismissively, breaking her gaze from Lesath’s. It wasn’t like she was really afraid of her. Just… Micah couldn’t really explain how she felt about the other senshi. She was just glad she hadn’t met her powered up. Lesath didn’t know the bond they shared, and Micah could guess there would be tears if she did. So instead she tried to act as disinterested as she could, popping her knee to some beat only she heard.

“Thought the rumors went something like you doing something to comatose people. No one knows why but…” Micah shrugged again, only ever glancing at Lesath.

Why can’t you look at her?

She ignored the question, opting instead to study the bark of the tree to her left.

Micah had never really seen a mirror wraith so close. It startled her, to say the least. It was so… alien looking. Like it might have been human once, but something had so badly twisted and corrupted it. She cocked her head, momentarily enthralled with the way it moved, the expression on what might have been its face. She fought herself from reaching out for it, curious as to how it felt. Was it cold? She decided it would be. For some reason that seemed right. Vaporous like fog? Or slick like ice? It was so calm so… passive. So this was what caused all that devastation? This… vapid little thing? Micah almost laughed.

And then it moved. But… not towards her like it should have. As it neared Lesath something growled inside of her. The pen in her back pocket made itself starkly known, begging her to power up. To save the woman she loved. She tried to hide the sneer that pulled at her face as she retreated, watching Lesath wither and fall.

That would not do.

“Acubens Star Power Make Up!” She was running when she made the call, making a wide arc through the light show that transformed her. Granted, she didn’t really have a plan for when she returned but hey, she still had those cheesy one-liners, right?

“You know, I don’t usually hunt things as gangly as you but if the pickings are slim, I suppose. Get ready to run from a real predator, freak!”

Lesath fell and Acubens could feel her tamper flaring into searing rage. No body touched what was hers. Not even ugly a** mirror wraiths. Hell… especially not ugly a** mirror wraiths. Myterious as they were to Acubens, she knew a few things about them. First and most importantly, they were ugly as hell. Second, they were going from vaporous to solid as the consumed energy. And finally, they had their hands on Lesath. Her Lesath. Acubens ground her teeth together as the wraith paid her no mind, deciding then and there that it would have to die.

With a great cry, Acubens leapt into action, fist pulled back for her attack. It only took one hit, which Acubens was fairly surprised at. For just a moment she stood there, where the wraith used to be, and stared. She fully expected the fight to be harder, like for the thing to faze in and out of its corporeal body, twisting and shifting to avoid Acubens’ attack but… it just sort of… dusted.

And then she remembered Lesath on the ground. With her last words she was still thinking of Acubens. Pain struck Acubens full force as Lesath whispered her pet name. She knew it clearly showed on her face. In her body language. All long the line of her shoulders and down to the gentle graze of her fingertips against Lesath’s throat, checking for a pulse.

“Yeah,” she huffed, lifting Lesath’s limp body up onto her shoulders. “but let’s not make a big deal out of it, okay Moth Momma?”

Acubens kept her hands close should Lesath lose her footing as she tried to stand on her own. Only once it was clear that Lesath wasn’t going to fall did Acubens back away. Far away. At least three feet. She tangled her hand in the back of her hair, looking anywhere but Lesath as she tried to find something to say. Or an exit. Maybe a little of both.

“No,” she finally muttered, very interested in the tree to her left. “No, it didn’t hurt me. That thing was nothing. And yeah, like I said, let’s not make a big deal out of it, alright?”

She bounced on the balls of her feet, still grasping for something to say. How was she even supposed to respond to that? How did she even begin to tell Lesath how she felt about her? How she felt about the Dark Mirror Court? How was she supposed to describe how her blood sang and froze all at once whenever she passed a mirror? How was she supposed to describe the sound her heart made when it crashed against the floor and shattered when she saw only herself in the frame? How did she make Lesath understand the way the sky bent in the moments before it came down on her because she missed Lesath just so much.

“I don’t… I don’t hate you,” she said lamely, still not looking at Lesath. “It’s… complicated…”

Change the subject

“Hey, what the actual ******** was that, anyway? Are the mirror wraiths turning?”

Mirror wraiths were acting on their own? That wasn’t right at all. Acubens’ brow furrowed and this time she looked away in concentration, trying to find some answer to this riddle. Could it be slave rising against the master? Were the wraiths gaining sentience? Was the energy they seeped from their victims embedding itself in the wraiths, overriding whatever protocol made them act the way they did? Were they once free ranging creatures and now seeking revenge for what they lost? Or was the missing princess turning on her followers, deciding that they were no longer useful to her.

That was the thought that turned Acubens’ face sour.

“Well if you don’t know, then someone has to,” Acubens growled. “If I can’t join you anymore, then I’ll have to save you.”

There was a moment of silence before Acubens nodded decidedly.

“There has to be someone who knows. If I have to hunt down Ares myself, I’ll do it.” It was now that her face finally broke into a small smile. “I never doubted you cared, Lesath. If you didn’t, then you wouldn’t have been angry with me. And I love you too, god help me. That’s why I’m going to find a way to save you, if not from the wraiths, then from this damned court myself. And if that means that I have to sacrifice my starseed then so be it.”

Okay, so maybe that was a little dramatic, but her voice started to waver at the end, and hell, this was something serious. The woman who’d awakened Acubens to something bigger than she was, who understood her, who loved her so much was in danger. Possibly from a friend, maybe from a stranger (Acubens didn’t know what prospect was more terrifying.) And Acubens would be damned if she let something happen to Lesath.

“I’ll save you,” she promised again, crossing the short distance she’d put between the two of them and wrapping Lesath in her embrace. “Just stay safe until I can, okay?”

“Ahh, yes I do,” Acubens reassured, rubbing Lesath’s upper arms to calm her. “Moreover I want her. Raptors were social creatures who living in family packs. We don’t really like when one of our own is threatened.” She smiled against the kiss, wondering why she hadn’t made up with Lesath in the first place. It felt better, like she was whole again. If powering up was a warm bath, Lesath was the bath oil, softening her skin and deeply cleaning Acubens. She chased Lesath, catching just beside her mouth with her own lips, smiling against the flesh. Yes. This was home. This had always been home. Wherever she was, Acubens could rest.

“For now I think it’s safest if you didn’t power up for a while,” she whispered in Lesath’s ear, enjoying the warmth from the other woman’s body. “Try and avoid mirrors if you can’t, be wary when you can’t. If you ever need me, scream. I will come to you.” Acubens breathed deep and stepped back again, this time letting go of Lesath’s arms.

“Go home. Power down. I’ll leave you signs when I find something out.”