Words: 608

Waiting was painful- physically and mentally. Having lifted her had set muscles and bones grinding in terrible ways and now his side burned with breathing between the slow-pressure aches of his shoulder. There wasn’t much for it. He’d cracked a water bottle and downed 4 ibuprofen already, so he was stuck for at least the next four hours just dealing with it. The medication hadn’t really cut the pain. He did have vicodin at his apartment, but she’d fallen asleep still in uniform- he couldn’t leave Medea unguarded and alone, her aura leaking her location to anyone who might have come near.

He alternated between whether his being powered up or powered down would be better. Two scout signatures could be a draw of attention, or it could be a deterrent. Either way it would be curious. There wasn’t much for it though, until she woke, until he could safely see her off on her way to home. It wouldn’t help him if she startled awake and he wasn’t in uniform- he still didn’t know how deep that negaverse business had rooted in her. Maybe he shouldn’t have brought her to the safehouse he’d made, but trust beget trust. He couldn't expect her to form better expectations and behaviors entirely in a vacuum- it just didn’t seem part of her nature. She needed a trellis, a code and definition of behaviors, to bloom and thrive. She needed a little gentle guidance. Medea could be every bit as strong and good. Sharing the safehouse was a start- they might cross paths there in the future. It could…

Be the start of a patrol partnership? A team? Maybe. I don’t know what to expect or how to begin to form expectations for how to arrive at either. Trust would have to be certain. When she wakes, should I suggest she talk to Maia or Athene? They might have more wisdom in how to deal with very new senshi and warning them off of the Negaverse. I’m too...intense about it. I think I may have offended or frightened her.

But it was hard to feel sorry if either of the latter were true. She SHOULD be frightened and warned off from the Negaverse. Even at its most basic- etymology didn’t suggest anything great about a prefix like ‘Nega’. "That which denies," from negat-, past participle stem of negare "deny, say no". They are denial. They are the denied. They are deniers of what is the proper order, or the rule of the law of this city and country. The land we all toil on.

Trust wasn’t something appropriate to bring up just yet, even on her waking, though. The trip through the stars had been so much to process anyway- and would be enough to think about for anyone for at least a week or more. He didn’t know how he would manage finding supplies suitable for any real, even if amateur, archaeology. It was going to be a problem, unless somewhere was a sailor of archaeology. If there were, he couldn’t imagine them being in enough free time with Princesses and eternals around to care much about a backwater, broken asteroid to a Scout. Let alone a Scout of Gardens. It wasn’t a very warlike magic. Brainstorming ideas regarding actual, serious contributions to the White Moon kingdom wouldn’t be a bad use of the hours of vigil while she slept. While he watched to keep them both safe.

Thraen pulled one of the microfleece blankets a little further over the sleeping girl’s shoulder, “And miles to go before we sleep. And miles to go before we sleep.”