Welcome to Gaia! ::

Orders came from high, and Xenotime, diligent soldier that she was, followed them. It was her job, her duty, but when those orders provided ample opportunity to feed her ambitions she hardly saw it at work. A challenge perhaps, but certainly nothing the captain couldn't handle. On the contrary, when she'd been informed of her newest task it had inspired a sense of excitement. She was eager to take another officer under her wings, it was gratifying. It reinforced her sense of purpose. Without purpose, what was there?

Power.

The power to give orders. The power to force others to bend to your will. To demand respect, to earn it, to take it. Xenotime had been finding of late that power was a heady thing, utterly intoxicated, and she was becoming addicted. It had started so simply. She had been award the opportunity to corrupt an agent, to lead them, to train them. She was his officer. He answered to her.

And then Avalon. Saved from a wild inferno. Adoration had been earned, and all it had cost was the skin of her back, but How the girl fawned.

Now she had been tasked once again to take a personal interest, and she had eagerly accepted the task. Setting the date, the meeting place. Controlling every aspect with great attention and care.

She waited in the cul de sac of a crumbling suburb. A housing development that had seemed so very promising, only to run out of money before the majority of the houses had been completed, and who would want to move into a half finished construction site? It had sat empty and waiting, in desperate need of funds that would never trickle in, and in the end, after months of hemorrhaging money, it had been abandoned. Now it belonged to the city, one more blight in need of erasing. An eye sore. A haven for the homeless and the hopeless, victims of various vices, of economic decline, or simple bad luck.

The girl didn't see it as such, of course. She'd come from a neighborhood little better, and she had learned to find the charm in the broken and decrepit. On another night she'd have wandered the street, explored the houses, but not tonight.

Arms folded, she waited in the center of the circle of concrete, the scent of autumn leaves swirling around her. She could taste the promise of rain on the air, and there, in the distance, she could feel the niggling presence of approaching chaos.

Full lips turned up in an eager smile.

strickenized

The officer was indeed waiting, and she would not appreciate any tardiness. Making someone wait, how utterly disrespectful. A funny concept for a degenerate drop-out to have embraced, to be sure, but the withering nuns at seminary did not deserve what they did not give. It had not been the work that Porsha had found repugnant. It mattered little in the end. Ambition and passion had landed a dream job. Promise and talent had earned her rank and the promise of power. Now here she stood, a mere captain, but possessing of abilities that were highly sought.

Her head tilted as she watched the approaching corrupted, and the grin she wore only deepened as he inquired about their setting, then went on to test in complimenting fashion. Bold, or reckless. It was too early to tell. But oh how Xenotime appreciated a little sass.

Head tilting, silver eyes rolled to take in the circle of houses in varying stages of completion, and her shoulders rose in tune, shrugging. "Is it interesting?" she took in the blonde hair, the ivory eyes, those dark voids at brow and chest with their black starbursts surrounding. He was eye catching to be sure, and moved with a confidence that spoke better then words that he was well aware of just how attractive he was, and was accustomed to it playing in his favor.

My, wasn't that familiar?

"You can call me what you like, but flattery will not inspire me to go easy on you." Compliments were pretty things. Sweet to the ear, they did wonders for ego stroking. Certainly Xenotime, vain as she was, wouldn't dissuade the practice.

The heels of her boots were loud against the pristine state of barely touched concrete as she unfolded her arms and moved forward. "We are here, in this broken shell of a would be neighborhood, because learning to use your environment to your advantage can mean the difference between victory and failure, or with higher stakes, life or death." It wasn't something she had personally had to rely on often, but the knowledge was there if ever she had need to fall back on it. It was a handy thing if you didn't have years of boxing experience to lend you strength.

A cocky grin split painted lips as she stopped a few step away from him. "I'm sure you're wondering why the duty of training you has fallen onto the shoulders of a lowly captain, rather then some esteemed general." Feet parted, centering her balance. "It will become clear soon enough. Now, I'd like you hit me," she chuckled. "If you can." Let him try his hand. It would let her gauge him, but more importantly, it would let her impress upon him why her.

Pretty words weren't a trigger for violence, the senshi needn't worry about that. She accepted compliments graciously, eagerly even, lapping them up like a kitten with a bowl of sweet creme. His silver tongue would earn him lascivious smiles, the brush of fingers along bare skin at every opportunity, but it would not deter from then lesson at hand. It was her duty to instill the necessary skills and strength in this young man that would let him overcome the magic of the white moon. Duty was something Xenotime took very seriously.

Violet brows brows rose at the objections, the point of her chin dipping to the side as she regarded him in amused curiosity as he pointed out his expectations of what was happening. She listened, and she laughed softly under her breath, quieting only as he reached the end of his point. "Physical strength and combative skills are not mutually exclusive," she shook her head, lifting a hand to push a spill of bright purple from her eyes as the opposite arm lifted, fingers cupping her elbow. "What good is that strength and speed if you have no idea how to wield it? It means nothing. I have faced many opponents larger, faster, stronger then I was, I all that physical advantage meant nothing, because they knew nothing." One painted finger flicked out as she turned her wrist, pointing at him. "Just as you know nothing."

The words were harsh, but the tone didn't match them. Amused, light, but not entirely condescending.

"But we can fix that. I can fix that." She grinned, and it was wide, and vain, and entirely cocky. "I can make you better."

A step closer put her within his personal bubble, invading his space. Expectations said he'd retreat, but maybe he would prove her wrong. Maybe he would prove himself more then just the attractive body with the pretty face and the silver tongue. "They will kill you, don't think they won't." Her voice had dipped, softer, more serious. All that humor and bravado leaking away as she met his eyes. "Not all of them, but you'll never know which you're facing until it's too late. I watched a senshi bring a building down upon a captain, killing him. I've heard their threats, their promises of pain and death. If you think they are softer for their white clothing and order kissed aura, then you haven't been paying enough attention." The captain remembered the feel of cracked ribs and a busted lip. The ache of thorough beating that had forced her to flee. Her, Xenotime, running for her life. The scent of burning flesh, not her general's, but her own as she shielded Avalon from Grunn's wildfire.

Hands lowered to her sides, and her head tipped again, silver eyes yelling a challenge. "There is nothing more effective then immersion." Dive in, learn fast, or die trying. The threat of pain forced adaptation, imagination and creativity. Give everything, hold back nothing.

Half measures, and whole notes.

The captain waited as the senshi of skin recounted his general experiences up to this point. He wasn't wrong. Over all the senshi of the white moon weren't outright hostile, but they were still the enemy, and there was always the chance he'd run into someone that didn't follow the general ideals of peace and love. A chance that grew ever more likely as time persisted and he climbed through the ranks. It wasn't the rookies and greenhorns that were likely targets, it would be those in power. Those with the ability to enact change, to command the masses. Those that posed the greatest threat. It was almost ironic.

It was a relief when finally conceded, and she flashed him an eager grin. It was better this way. Her patience wasn't limitless, and the there were only so many hours in the night.

A violet brow lofted at his warning, breath leaving in a humorous rush. She shook her head, touching fingertips to her brow momentarily before dropping her hand to her hip and regarding him with amusement. "Wouldn't want to ruin something so pretty," she teased, lower lip twitching in a feigned pout. "You'll have to learn to take a hit and muscle through it, but I suppose for tonight we can avoid that painful lesson." There would be other nights.

There was a beat, and then he was doing as requested. Gloved fist arching towards her from the side in a right hook aimed for the ribs. Even without the additional speed afforded for being a captain she would have avoided it. Experience, years of practice and dedication. His fist slipped easily through nonresistant air as Xenotime jumped back, arching her body to avoid the hard curl of his knuckles. "Not bad, but you'll have to try harder."

Maybe she would go easy on him, if only for this night. Give him a target and then see what he did with it. She grinned at him, and it was challenging and inviting and condescending all at once. "Lesson one," she crooned mildly, dancing back out of reach, towards the curved row of unfinished houses. "Pursuit!" Laughter bubbled up past full and painted lips as she continued to back away from him, leisurely at first, hands folded behind her back in an almost coy fashion before she was sure he'd give chase. Then she'd turn, darting for the sad skeleton of an abandoned two story with plastic wrap walls peeling away from two-by-four bones.

Catch me if you can.

This would be fun.

"You'll only break something if you're careless!" Porsha's voice drifted back from the plastic draped remains of the half finished house. Being mindful of your environment was important, not just as a means to gain some advantage, but rushing about blindly was an easy way to get yourself hurt if you weren't looking where you were going. A sprained ankle in the midst of a battle would not only hurt, but could very easily be the thing to get you hurt, or worst, killed. And since it seemed heels were something the powers-that-be felt magical warriors in a war for freedom were essential.

Running in heels could pose a definite challenge.

While Adnois had made a cautious entrance, Xe had sought to claim the high ground quickly. A half finished framework for an upper level room proved a useful vantage. She couldn't see him, but the acoustics bouncing around the plastic and bare wood walls let her know approximately where he was on the floor below her, and she moved quietly above him as she followed in the wake of her aura. The upper level floors were bare. No plastic to crunch or protest under foot, and the woman could move in silence.

She was impressed when he used that wonderful gift of speed and strength to traverse between levels, and possibly she would have said so, but the groan of the old beam and the sudden loud snap had her biting off the compliment in stead of a wince.

When called for aid she was already walking around the far corner of the hall, and the face she gave him at least started out as sympathetic before the full sight of him stuck in the floor had painted lips twisting up in amusement and her torso shook with soundless laughter. "I'm sorry. It's not funny, but.." It really was. If she'd dropped through a weak point in the floor, she'd have fully expected some manner of laughter to follow it.

And he didn't seem hurt. Which was the important part.

"Are you alright?" The captain approached the bit of floor he'd crashed through slowly. Listening for any other damning groans, pausing between steps to make sure the world didn't crumble away beneath her feet. After a moment or so she had managed to reach him, and she leaned down to offer a hand. The thought occurred that she could make this a lesson on awareness, but she rather figured he got the point.