Ellie wasn't the sort to set up team meetings upon a whim. She usually had an agenda to such things. The agenda might have had something to do with the fact that the tomboy who was usually chomping at the bit to patrol had been staying in for over a week. Some of the teammates might have found that she had oddly declined any offers to patrol in perhaps the most polite of ways (for Ellie that is).
The meeting spot was in the picnic area of the Park. In the past, they had been known to meet at the Park, but thanks to recent events, the local meeting spot had an all new significance.
That was the reason for this meeting.
The blonde sat on the top of one of the picnic tables, rather than upon the bench portion where folks were supposed to sit. Next to her a pale feline was pacing anxiously as she waited for everyone to arrive.
Though the day was sunny and many folks in the park were in fact enjoying the weather, it almost felt as if such positivity was steering clear of the tense serious mood at the one lonely picnic table. As her teammates arrived, Ellie would raise a hand to offer a partial wave in greeting, but she seemed rather quiet. The manx politely asked the teens and children (in a quiet voice as to not draw attention during the daylight hours) to sit about the table, but she was not nearly as chatty as she could be.
"...please... have a seat..."
Kailey Koreco
There was a double dose of curiosity as the brunette made her way towards the meeting location. It'd taken a couple times of, 'WHICH picnic area?' before she'd felt comfortable walking out with Raja into the park. Going over her own mental map of the area--she'd spent enough daily walks and patrols combing the park to get a sound understanding of its layout--Lilith was at relative ease meandering through the pathways and random passerbys enjoying the warm air. Really, she would have gone into an auto-pilot and made her usual rounds if it hadn't been for a sudden slight pull on the harness her golden retriever wore. The sway of the tail against her skirt and a happy sounding bark were her joining clues she'd hit the right area. Raja's training kept her behavior in strict line when in the harness, but there were a few individuals that always seemed to trigger extra giddiness from the dog.
A familiar voice shouting out to her gave her the final pin-pointing location to the specific table, and within due time, her cane tapped against one of the legs of the table. "Are you feeling any better?" The question was cheery, but pointedly directed towards Ellie as Lilith perched herself on one end of the bench seat. She had been one of those turned down for patrols recently, though she had to assume the given reason of poor health was void now that the blonde was out and about. Still, never hurt to ask.
The general silence of one guardian cat had Lilith's brow furrowing a little, reaching one hand out to give ********* a scratch behind the ear in greeting. At the girl's feet, Raja's muzzle reached over the edge of the table, nose twitching in the direction of the cat as her tail thumped against the ground. Anyone really who got remotely close to the dog would receive a curious sniff or two, but Raja had her apparent favorite of the group.
Carneli
Evie wasn't sure how she felt about team meetings at this point. She wasn't sure about a lot of things regarding the Asteroids. She had gone from chronic rule breaking just to get at Nickeline-- even if had managed to justify it in her mind-- to going almost AWOL.
She had classes and tests and approaching, it was busy, she reasoned, but even all her mental lawyering with the invisible adversary that argued with her didn't make her feel anymore comfortable about jumping into a full group meeting. In fact, her stomach kind of sunk when she spotted Ellie in person.
She tried not to show it too much, and wore a stubborn frown on her face as if she was inconvenienced by having to break up her busy day to come out here. That, and she was curious about whatever was so important a meeting had been called and Evie didn't like the unknown.
"Hey," She called to the girls and guardian when she approached, looking downright unhappy and fiddling with the pins on her messenger bag. "What's going on?"
She had classes and tests and approaching, it was busy, she reasoned, but even all her mental lawyering with the invisible adversary that argued with her didn't make her feel anymore comfortable about jumping into a full group meeting. In fact, her stomach kind of sunk when she spotted Ellie in person.
She tried not to show it too much, and wore a stubborn frown on her face as if she was inconvenienced by having to break up her busy day to come out here. That, and she was curious about whatever was so important a meeting had been called and Evie didn't like the unknown.
"Hey," She called to the girls and guardian when she approached, looking downright unhappy and fiddling with the pins on her messenger bag. "What's going on?"
LP
Feliks was headed towards the picnic table with a large picnic basket. Since he figured if they were meeting at the picnic tables they might as well bring something to make it look even more normal. Or at least he thought it would... He had some sandwiches and the normal picnic things like potato salad and what not, there was also cake and some snacks for ********* left his family with the impression after he ran a few errands -- and drop off any kids that had been hanging around with his sisters -- that he was going to meet up with some friends and have a picnic somewhere. He let his parents assume that meant the skate park.
"What's up?" He asked as he approached, "I hope you all like deli meat, though there's a few cucumber sandwiches. If you don't." He paused and lowered his voice, "I thought you might want some extra cover with an actual picnic." No he had no idea what was going on but if it was a meeting... well... Feliks was just trying to make up for being such a failure of a teammate. He also hoped this didn't get taken as being a suck up to the rest of the members.
He pulled out a cake for ********* and left it un-warped near her feet. "Though if you're not hungry I know a local place I can drop this off at later." That was to say if this wasn't a time they should be eating -- but he still left ********* with food. He knew hobos that would appreciate the food if it wasn't eaten.
"What's up?" He asked as he approached, "I hope you all like deli meat, though there's a few cucumber sandwiches. If you don't." He paused and lowered his voice, "I thought you might want some extra cover with an actual picnic." No he had no idea what was going on but if it was a meeting... well... Feliks was just trying to make up for being such a failure of a teammate. He also hoped this didn't get taken as being a suck up to the rest of the members.
He pulled out a cake for ********* and left it un-warped near her feet. "Though if you're not hungry I know a local place I can drop this off at later." That was to say if this wasn't a time they should be eating -- but he still left ********* with food. He knew hobos that would appreciate the food if it wasn't eaten.
Desukyun
Waylon came as quickly as possible when he'd gotten the message to meet up. At least he moved as quickly as someone who had to take two buses and walk a good few buses to get to their destination. It had been a long and quiet trip. Quiet enough that he'd been able to go over everything that had happened recently without much distraction. Seeing the entire team together was always an interesting and introspective experience especially since he mainly went on patrols alone or accompanied Ellie when she demanded it. It felt like it had been years since he'd seen some of his teammates.
When he'd finally reached the table, after realizing that he'd ended up on the opposite side of where they were supposed to meet, he slumped down onto the bench. "Sorry if I kept you guys waitin'. It takes forever to get here."
When he'd finally reached the table, after realizing that he'd ended up on the opposite side of where they were supposed to meet, he slumped down onto the bench. "Sorry if I kept you guys waitin'. It takes forever to get here."
Each teammate appeared, one at a time, taking a place at the table as they pleased.
Lil was the first to appear, with her seeing-eye companion ever present as she made her way to the area. The inquiry was hard to ignore, especially since it was obvious to some who the blind girl was talking to. Awkwardly, Ellie offered a half answer. "Eh... better than I was when ya called..."
Despite Raja's attentions, the cat still seemed relatively withdrawn.
Evie was the next to show up, and she seemed to cut right down to the chase. The cat still kept to her quieter voice, but she reassured "You'll find out soon... we need everyone present for this though..."
Ellie noteably quirked her brow at Feliks' arrival and offering to the meeting. She hadn't thought about it, but as she sat there with a relatively flat lipped expression, she couldn't help but think that maybe food would help take the edge off the news.
However, it was very evident something was off when ********* wasn't smushing her face into the cake immediately. Waylon showed up, seeming to assume he was the last one to show. Once more, the feline minded her manners in a quieter tone. "No... you're fine, Waylon. We haven't been waiting all that long."
Once the two children finally arrived and made their ways to the picnic table, Ellie stood up and moved towards a "head of the table" sort of location.
"...so... yeah... guys... yer all probably wonderin' why th'f*ck I called ya all here today." Her language was just as rough as ever, even with the presence of children. "Well... some pretty big stuff has happened recently... and..."
The tomboy stopped as she noticed a few questioning glances as one of the teammates was seemingly not present yet. "....don't ask 'bout Lydia... that's comin' up..."
The chubby cat, taking that as her signal, rather suddenly got up to her paws and hopped off the table. She knew Raja was well trained and wouldn't randomly give chase to her. She trotted off ahead, around a rather large tree and stopped.
"...okay you two... it's time..." she said carefully, gesturing with her head for them to make their way to the table as well.
DivineSaturn
"That's our cue," Lydia said quietly to her companion. "Let's go."
She took a few steps, so that the tree no longer hid her, and waited for a moment. It was a strange situation for everyone involved, but for this girl it was probably terrifying. So she tried to take things slowly, reassuringly, with reminders that she was there, that ********* and Ellie were there, and that everything would be fine. Because it would! Even if she had no idea how.
Slowly, they made their way to the table. Lydia sat down next to Ellie, patting the seat next to her for the other girl to take. "This," she announced, speaking slowly and clearly, "is Anemone. Or, as Ellie calls her, Annie." She didn't fully approve of the nickname, but maybe knowing that their captain was comfortable with this person would help put the others at ease. "She doesn't speak much English, so I'll be translating what you say to her into Greek, and translating what she says to you. Please keep your comments simple and to the point if possible, since simultaneous translation is not something I've had training in, and I don't want to make any mistakes that could cause misunderstandings."
With her instructions delivered, she turned towards Anemone. "It will be just as I said: I'll help you understand what they say, and make sure they understand you. So please, don't worry about it. You'll be just fine." Not that she thought her words would have much impact. Really, she was just trying to reassure herself.
Appeal
Lydia's words rung through Anemone's ears prominently as few words did in Destiny City. They were clear and she understood them without trouble. However, what was in store for Anemone when she stepped out from behind the tree with Lydia was something else entirely. She might have understood the general idea of things and seen them all from when she peeked behind the tree to make sure ********* was still there but as she approached them with Lydia things became more the situation changed for her.
Life wasn't simply black and white, and right now Anemone was walking toward a gray area that covered her sailor fuku. All around her were faces of people she didn't know who spoke and understood a language she barely understood. She looked to Ellie as Lydia spoke words that she only caught some meaning of, watching the familiar blonde as she played with her own hair. Balls of silver falling over her shoulder, Anemone rested her hair over her arm as she crossed defensively around herself.
She trusted *********, and she trusted Ellie but she did not trust these people. You would think Lydia would be in the land of the trustworthy considering she walked around as a living translator for Anemone but things weren't so simple and simply being a walking translator did not raise Lydia out of Anemone's suspicions. It helped that Lydia had not yet run off with ********* but Anemone was not above holding a grudge from their first meeting. If anything though, she didn't distrust Lydia and that was a start.
Time would be the only remedy and it wasn't going to be easy. Not for any of them, and some would need a lot more time than others. Anemone tried her best, for *********, but she still stood at a length as Lydia explained the situation to her. She didn't need Lydia to say hello and right now that was the only thing she could do.
"Nice t'meet'cha," she said to them in a manner that was probably very reminiscent to them of another person here at the picnic table.
Once she had managed to get the two that had been in hiding to come over to the table, the little cat followed along. Once Anemone had settled in, the feline hopped up on the silvery-haired girl's lap, then hopped up onto the table top. Lydia had given an excellent preliminary introduction, but now she needed Ellie to continue it further.
Ellie couldn't help but comment "That other name is too froo-froo," but then she moved onto the actual subject.
"Anyways... Annie also goes by another name..." In a lower tone, she uttered the name so only those at the table could hear (rather than the casual park visitor). "...Sailor Psyche..."
Just the name wasn't going to mean much, however, the blonde then explained further. "...she is one of us, you guys..."
The captain's explanation was simplistic at best, and perhaps that was the right way to go. However, the Mauvian already predicted that a few of the others would have questions.
So she attempted to clarify.
"She is one of my girls, just like all of you... however... there were some complications when it came to locating her."
Questions would be coming. That much was clear. However, before the floodgates opened, Ellie made sure to add one more thing.
"...Annie is the reason fer th'meeting today..."
