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Athene had got the text about the latest senshi and knight training session that Maia was running, but had had no intention of attending - not this time round. No he had other things to try and do tonight - like looking for a certain silvery-furred manx - a silvery-furred manx that he'd been trying to avoid up until this point.

He hadn't seen ********* since the night of his upgrade to eternal, hadn't wanted to see her - then again for a while he hadn't wanted to see anything related to his life as a senshi, had no longer wanted to be a senshi.

He'd learnt otherwise though, eventually realised that he couldn't bury his head in the sand and taken up his senshi duties again, but still he'd done his level headed best to try and avoid ********* and had been grateful that their paths hadn't managed to cross.

Tonight he was hoping to change that though and had even sent a text to his fellow PSSG members on the off-chance that they were at the training to let them know he wouldn't make it.

His encounters with ********* had never been in any one specific place, so Athene knew that he was operating on hope more than anything else. He'd brought along a peace offering though - a couple of chocolate cupcakes freshly baked that afternoon that he was currently carrying in a small bag.

He'd been walking for a bit, before he heard it - a jangle-jangle of what sounded like a bell heading in what seemed to be his direction.

Although he knew that just because he was hearing a jangle-jangle sound that it didn't necessary mean that said jangle-jangle was *********, it didn't stop Athene from slowing his pace and finally turning to look in the direction of where he thought the sound was coming from.

If he was lucky then maybe he wouldn't have to spend long looking for a certain silvery-furred manx after all.

And then on turning there she was almost as if his thoughts had summoned her or (as was more likely) as if the cake had summoned her, the latter seeming the more likely of the two given that the first words out of ********* mouth did indeed refer to the cake.

"Evening *********" Athene said quietly, his lips quirking into one of his slight smiles at ********* being well *********. "They're both yours if you want them."

The smile faded, replaced by a more solemn expression as he admitted "I was hoping to find you."

Although Athene hadn't really thought things through past the trying to find ********* part and now that the silvery furred manx was in front of him, he was finding it hard to think of what to say and instead busied himself by taking the cupcakes out from the bag and setting them in front of her.

Athene didn't smile, but his expression lightened somewhat briefly as ********* shifted into a begging position, a rather familiar begging position since she'd used it on him in the past and after double-checking to see that he had remembered to remove the cupcake wrapper he pushed one of the cupcakes closer to the silvery-furred manx.

Athene bit his lip at ********* cheerful query, assist seeming the wrong word for it and for a moment he hesitated, his expression sobering again and still uncertain of where to start. Eventually after a moment or two's silence he admitted quietly "I wanted to apologise, for that night - for not being strong enough to save that senshi." he was referring to the night of that she had helped upgrade him to eternal. "And for the period afterwards."

He'd apologised to Polaris for disappearing without a word during the period that he'd tried to bury his head in the sand and tried to forget that he'd ever heard of anything to do with being a senshi, tried to forget about the secret war waging between Order and Chaos, but he hadn't apologised to ********* had instead been busy trying to avoid the manx.

A part of him wondering if she blamed him for the death of the senshi that had tried to save him - not that he'd blame her if she did - the unknown senshi's death something that Athene certainly felt responsible for and something that still weighed on him six months down the line.

Athene bit his lip at ********* question, a few moments passing before he at last admitted quietly "I was useless in that fight and that senshi was the one who paid the price for it." He'd been no challenge to Painite and the Nega-General pretty much toyed with him like a cat would perhaps toy with a mouse prior to moving in for the final kill. A final kill that the unknown senshi had interrupted, an interruption that had ultimately proven fatal.

His face was still solemn as he continued "I don't even know his name but I know what he did for me and I won't forget that. I won't ever forget that." The unknown senshi had saved his life - that wasn't something that could be forgotten by Athene's book. "I'm trying to be stronger" he admitted. "Really trying."

The unknown senshi's death had been a major factor in his decision to make helping out new senshi and knights his main focus as a senshi, his way of paying something towards a debt that Athene knew he'd never be able to fully repay and even though he had Tsui, Ida and now Chaonis to help, Athene knew that he couldn't just lean on the other three's strength - he had to get stronger - had to be stronger himself.

"Moving forward can be hard" Athene agreed quietly. Burying his head in the sand and trying for normality had been by far the easier option, but the secret war going on in Destiny City was not going to just go away - no matter how much he may want it to and there others out there, new senshi and knights - he had a duty to try and help them as much as he could so that they didn't have to stumble-learn their way through this the way that he'd had to.

Athene personally didn't see himself as being there strength-wise - there were those out there that were much stronger than him and he knew it, however despite the fact that he still had quite a way to go Athene was hoping that if that if he continued to do his best to work at getting stronger then one day he'd eventually get there.

He was curious at ********* sudden request to be picked up but obliged nonetheless, the silvery-furred manx's fur soft under his fingers as he gently reached down so that he could pick her up.

********* actions on being picked up had taken Athene by surprise and there had been a startled expression on his face as the silvery-furred manx took the opportunity to part wiggle and part squirm her way upwards on being picked up.

Her weight on his shoulder was solid but not uncomfortable, even if the brush of whiskers did tickle somewhat as she leaned into her ear. Athene had listened solemnly to her words, not sure if he should nod or not and hesitant to make too much movement, least he jostle her from her position. Instead he settled for saying quietly Settling instead for a quiet "I will get stronger," repeating the words to himself in a silent promise.

********* accompanying kitty kiss was as unexpected to Athene as her earlier scrambling upwards had been, but managed to startled a smile from him. It wasn't the biggest of smiles, but was still a smile nonetheless.

Athene hadn't expected his encounter with ********* going the way of him ending up with a manx on his shoulder, but she seemed pretty comfortable where she was so he wasn't about to shift. Instead after a moment or two's hesitation, he reached up with a hand towards her fur and quietly asked "May I?" Although some cats liked being stroked Athene wasn't going to make assumptions.

Eventually after a few moments of having ********* small weight on his shoulder he admitted "I feel better having talked to you" and surprisingly, at least to Athene given how much that night sat like a weight on his shoulders, he meant it.