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 Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:31 pm
The library that loomed before her proved a curious sight - what she expected to face was a yawning building that played host to several shattered windows, others glazed over with foreboding glares, abysmally neglected siding and a host of other indications toward neglect. But rather than a ramshackle old building, Angel stared down one not altogether different from the rest of her current urban bearings: a flat roof, brick front, windows only mottled with a thin film of dust... Even if the place was recently abandoned, it felt too young for a haunting.
Angel absently brought a hand to the lens of her digital camera as she started up the cement steps, counting each as she went. The gate barring entry proved marginally more difficult, but after sliding her camera through the bars, Angel managed to hoist herself atop the fence with only marginal difficulty. Coming down proved a problem, though, as the stray wires from the fence caught and ran her pantyhose. An irked sigh escaped the girl, but she only reclaimed her camera and approached the dismally dark building that only beckoned her forward.
After kicking out the remaining glass and climbing through the window, angel pulled the flashlight from her purse to illuminate her new surroundings. Mahogany tables and richly stained bookshelves came to light beneath the mag light's glow, standing starkly as their shadows cast heavy against the far walls. Each sweep of the flashlight entailed movement about the room - enough for any overly vigilant novice to spook, and Angel caught herself clenching her teeth due to her suspicions toward the place. New construction that claimed hauntings spelled perpetual disaster in her opinion, and as she spent more time probing the aisles of old books, the more she wanted to prove or refute the haunting claim and get out.
Angel startled abruptly when a creak sounded from the opposite end of the room, rousing a host of suspicions toward the supernatural. With narrowed eyes and steeled conviction, Angel began a slow approach toward the origin. As she walked, canvas shoes thumping softly against the carpeted rows, she swept her flashlight about to catch any obvious signs of a hoax. However, with each pass, she only confirmed the same unnerving vibe she felt upon entering the place - and only when she witnessed the reading tables did she finally understand the eerie truth.
The library was abandoned in the middle of its activities.
Books lay open and chairs pushed out, even the occasional book bag sat against the desk. Some magazines littered the provided couches, and a water bottle sat on an end table not far from an arm chair. The creak echoed closer now, and Angel switched her flashlight toward the source - and what she discovered might've been more unnerving than the ambience of the place.
The back end of a cat protruded from a backpack, and the cat's back foot occasionally pressed on a loose stair, producing the sound that set her on edge so easily before. With a sigh, Angel inwardly cursed the demons that likely plagued her. How was she supposed to explore the place when any potential lead ended in some kind of a practical joke?Bluefire Dragonz hope this works! we can just play with it back and forth and do whatever
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Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:41 am
She knew there was something worth the effort some in here. Maybe not the backpack she was currently hips deep in, as that was starting to look like a dirty, moldy bust... But somewhere in the dreary library. The place had looked abandoned, but with so much left behind by the humans after whatever attack had provoked them to flee, the silver guardian had been sure some would have dropped at least a smart phone or something. She'd even hoped her luck was good enough for a tablet, or a real treasure in the form of a laptop. Ash could feel herself literally salavating at the thought.
"Get a grip girl... You're like a n00b at his first Star Trek convention." She complained as she shimmied her way back out, disgusted with both the gross backpack and her own lack of self control. Now she was covered in grime and had nothing to show for it except some singed old books... And who knew if those were even going to prove interesting. Old school wasn't really how Ash liked to operate, but beggars couldn't be choosers....
Turning about to get her bearings again, wondering where that light was coming from, the silver cat spied a young lady who had somehow gotten in without alerting her albeit muffled cat senses.
"Oops." Whelp, there she went again, running her mouth off in front of a stranger. Bad Ash, bad.
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Posted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:03 am
Angel drew to a halt near the table where the shuffling backpack leaned. She furrowed her brow and stared incredulously at the lumpy sack, unsure of what she just heard. Did the feline inside just talk, or was there someone else around? Yet, in fanning her flashlight across the length of the room, she found nothing more than a host of old tomes staring back at her. Then, it must've been the cat... But at what point had cats acquired the ability to speak?
Suddenly it dawned on her - perhaps that cat was the incarnation of a demon.
"Hello there, Kitty," she offered in her most amiable tones. Crouching down, Angel aimed the flashlight toward the ground, allowing the light pollution to illuminate the feline dimly. Silvery coloration, from what she could tell, and nothing about the cat stood out as unusual aside from the strange half a visor clouding one eye. Who stuck such toys on a cat? "Need some help getting that bugger off your face, kiddo? Come here, a pair of thumbs could help you out." Rubbing her fingers together, Angel tried to entice the cat. "Maybe afterward you could tell me why you can speak?"
Suddenly, the library shifted heavily with a deep shudder, and the boards groaned under an unknown strain. Angel looked toward the ceiling in one quick motion, where she witnessed a handful of dust falling from the sheetrock. The library quieted for a time, until a low roar bellowed from the bowels of the library. Its guttural sound felt primal enough to raise the hairs on the back of her neck, and Angel stared wide-eyed toward the large doors at the far end of the large room. "Seventy-two help me, what was that?" She breathed in shock, flashlight crawling toward the doors. For now, they stilled, but she wondered how long that might last...
"Might be time to go, Kitty; never heard a ghost quite that vocal before..." Never had she encountered such a threatening, unnatural voice, and it legitimately scared her. Angel straightened up abruptly, but as she did so, the sound recurred through the shuddering house. This time, though, the doors rattled with a resounding boom.
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Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 7:17 pm
The motion of the girl before her put Ash on alert, but she only watched warily as she crouched and aimed her flashlight away from them. Good, good, at least now it wasn't in her eyes. Dark pupils expanded to draw in the pale light, the darkness of the library as bright as day to Ash's eyes. Eyes that narrowed when it was suggested at she might need help removing the precious visor she wore and a paw lifted to possessively straighten the toy on her head. Really! As though she couldn't be rid of it if she truly wanted... it was hardly tied on or anything like that.
The decision of what to do was soon taken out of her paws when a loud noise echoed through the abandoned building and Ash literally left the floor as she jumped straight up in the air. Oh, s**t... The silver cat knew what that noise was, though that was far louder and deeper than anything she had heard before.
Desperation filled her. There was no senshi around, and though she had no fear that she could run and hide from the monster, now there was a civilian girl here who would fall prey to the monster all too easily. Paws hitting the floor again, Ash was a silver blurr as she streaked towards the young woman and leaped for her shoulder, clinging as best as she could without digging claws into vulnerable flesh.
"Run!" Ash mewled in the girl's ear, her back arched up and her tail a bottle brush behind her. "Run for your life!" Maybe, if they were quick about it, they could both escape the death trap the library had suddenly become... whatever happened though, the mauvian would not abandon the civilian to the monster. There were some things guardians just didn't do.
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Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 8:47 am
"Oh!" Angel gasped in surprise as the bizarre cat mounted her shoulder with relative ease. In sheer reaction, her hands darted up to stabilize the furball that now occupied her sleeve, temporarily dropping the flashlight. A swift cuss left her mouth as she swept up her sole source of light, as she'd already wasted too much time trying to orchestrate herself after discovering that cats could talk. And for all she knew, this feline demon could be coaching her to her doom...
Regardless, running sounded the better idea when the lurking creature roared again. Angel sprung off the floor almost instantly, heels beating across old hardwoods as she tried desperately to navigate the pitch-dark library without running herself into a dead end. However, with the throng of bookshelves lining the room, nearly every corridor looked the same - so how was she to find the damned exit again? Again, she cursed the 72 demons while rounding a bookshelf. "Paimon help me..." She muttered softly, darting toward what she estimated was the northwest. The ground shuddered and shook beneath her feet, old boards threatening to heave under the meager weight of a woman and a cat.
Angel felt her hair whip wildly in one direction, and a quick glance back confirmed her first sighting of the monstrosity that sought to kill them both. Though she was unsure what eldritch abomination she imagined before, the strange beast looked wildly similar to an overgrown, emaciated dog. A hellhound, perhaps, by the descriptions offered. And from its mouth foamed some vile, viscous material that Angel was loathe to endure. Beady red eyes narrowed toward her in a wretched hate so deep and basic that the black-haired girl temporarily froze in its gaze. Suddenly the beast lurched for her again, angling to strike her as she stood between bookshelves, and the world seemingly slowed down.
Watching the beast unhinge its jaws in a violent snarl provided all the motivation she needed to get moving again. Darting down another aisle, Angel hastily tugged a book off the shelf and hurled it behind her without looking. If she could just dissuade the beast enough to drive it off... Maybe she could live to see another day. Or maybe she could toss the cat instead - whatever demon crowned her shoulders would've made a perfect free meal to quell any hellbeast's ire.
But as Angel turned toward the presumable exit, she met nothing but the corner of the library, with a vast bookshelf blocking any further progression. "s**t, was this not northwest?!" She called aloud, frustrated gaze darting to the cat. "You're a demon, are you not? When I spoke of Paimon, you were supposed to point out northwest! How am I supposed to look to his home to invoke his guidance when I don't even know its direction?!" But any further diatribe had to wait, as the strange dog rounded on the two and finally prowled to a halt.
Sizing up its prey, she thought. Sizing us up so he can decide who to eat first.
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Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 9:08 am
Ash had clung to the girl all through the mad dash through the library. She'd come in through a broken window too small for a body much larger than hers, so leading her there had not really been an option for escape. All she could really do was stay close and hope like hell the girl knew what she was doing.
When the youma revealed itself, Ash could have chewed her own tail off at the irony. Dogs... Why were they always dogs? At this point she would have been glad to see some lovecraftian horror, rather than another dog. Now that they'd been spotted it was going to be twice as hard to escape and they were fast running out of floor space and options.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Ash sputtered as she clung to her shoulder. "I'm not a demon, I'm a guardian! I have no idea who Paimon or whatever is! You want directions? Buy a compass!"
She needed to do something, or this poor girl was going to be youma food. So, quick assessment. Ash could leap onto its face and rip it apart with her claws... Though the chances of that ending with her dead were high. She could call back-up, but the monster would be on them long before anyone arrived. Her skills in battle were not great... All she could really do as a guardian was awaken and strengthen senshi...
And Ash could have smacked herself for not thinking of this sooner. Maybe it was because she had never awakened a new senshi, but there was no time like the present to get her paws wet, so to speak. Pressing close to the girl, Ash closed her eyes and opened her senses...
Yes, there... They just might make it out of here alive after all. Jumping from the girl's shoulders, the silver cat did a strange little twist in midair and when she hit the floor, so did something small and shiny.
"Quickly now!" She called as she put herself between the girl and the monster. "Pick that up and lift it high... Then call out 'Astarte Asteroid Power, Make-up!'" Ash commanded, her voice saying she was clearly in no mood for argument. She could feel an itching in her star and a build up of power... No time to see if the civilian was going to do what was needed...
The silver lady braced herself as she let off her first ever kitty beam, the bolt of light breaking from her forehead to strike the monster full in the face. It was a shame, she thought, that it could do little more than stun... It looked so impressive.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:02 am
"What?" She asked, startled, though she heard the cat loud and clear. Pick up that strange little gold thing that looked like a tampon? What kind of sorcery was this? However, with more pressing matters at hand than asking stupid questions, Angel complied with the cat's request. Strangely, the tampon-thing felt heavy in her hand, as if made from solid metals rather than gold plating. As silly as the phrase sounded, if it prevented imminent doom at the hands of the hellhound, she would comply.
"Astarte Asteroid Power, Mak-up!" She called with as much conviction as she could muster, and she witnessed the results immediately. Light of varying streaks enveloped her body, dissipating to reveal strange new accouterments in place of her old clothes. Initially a fitted bodice appeared, much to her chagrin, and the changes slowly radiated outward to the tips of her fingers. It felt somehow soothing to surrender herself to this bizarre transformation, and by the end of the light show, she stood sporting clothing she never even dreamed about - from a collar composed of tigerlilies to chains framing a brilliant orange bow, Angel now realized she transformed into an entirely different entity.
A demon.
Feeling a heavy weight settled in her hair, Astarte reached upwards to feel out the shape of her crowning features. "Horns? Do I have horns on my head?" But the feline who graced her with such changes preoccupied herself with the enemy - and Astarte soon realized that their assailant took precedence over discovering all the strange new additions with this transformation. Besides, what if she could only sustain this form for a certain amount of time? She couldn't waste it by dawdling.
A blinding beam erupted from the cat's head, and the monster recoiled almost immediately before somehow freezing into a flinch. Astarte wasn't entirely sure if the creature would die to the cat's power, but its apparent paralysis lent her a world of opportunity. Astarte readied herself and bolted toward the monster, using her momentum to power a roundhouse kick to its face followed up by a quick punch to telegraph the remainder of her inertia. Besides, she much preferred to watch the damned beast crumble back into the hells from whence it came than allow it to recover and pick a proper fight.
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Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:46 am
The sound of the young voice calling out the words of power was a comfort to the guardian as she felt the dregs of her energy bleed out through her forehead. She had known the beam was taxing, that it was an emergency option, but having never used it before, Ash hadn't realized just how tiring it was. Her legs shook before she sank to the floor, breathing hard, and watched as the newly born Astarte rushed past her to take on the monster.
Really, Ash was grateful that she had found the girl now. If she weren't so tired, she might indulge herself in a swell of pride for the first senshi she had ever awakened, but as it was that would have to wait till later. At least the girl sort of knew how to fight, or so it seemed to the cat. The kick and punch combo was having an immediate affect on their attacker, making Ash all the more grateful for senshi. Wonderful beings, those. Made her proud to serve them...
"Use your magic!" The silver cat finally managed, having caught her breath enough for the call. "Concentrate and the words will come to you!"
Ah... senshi magic was such an instinctual thing... which was all to the good when you were a new cat who could use all the help she could get. When you needed to feel your way through things, it helped when you had some little voice in the back of your mind whispering which way to go.
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Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 9:06 am
"Magic?" She asked quizzically, with an edge of irritation to her inflections. Does it look like I'm carrying candles and incense around? I can't just drop what I'm doing and meditate my way through a ritual! Even if this thing was patient enough- Her inward rambling ceased as the creature regained its ability to reticulate its appendages in an effort to catch her and pin her to the ground.
Astarte jumped backward, and only in her instinctual search for the next step did she fully realize what the cat truly meant. The silvery demon-feline held no interest in the old spells and incantations known to Angel - she was looking for the abilities inherent in her demon friend Astarte. And in that moment, Angel felt Astarte's will, or so she thought, imparting a small gift to the back of her mind. Sounds, a word, a phrase. A command. She commanded magic now, it obeyed at her behest, and as a demon herself she needn't cast her pleas to the hierarchy of hell anymore. Magic... Pure, natural magic. And the source was herself.
"Astarte's Hate!" She spat toward the monster, raising a palm instinctively. It felt surreal - during this process, she stood as a spectator to her own actions, both aware of what occurred before her, yet unaware of the coming steps. The ice blue runes dotting her uniform soon glowed a sharp, deep red, and the creature beyond her roared mercilessly as it shook off the remainder of its paralysis. However, Astarte was loathe to waste time in urging herself on, and simply concentrated on the bright red ball collecting in her palm. Soon enough, a thin red laser burst forth from the collection, and initially she recoiled, sending the beam askance in a shapeless jerk. However, she wasted little time in correcting herself.
At point blank, she couldn't miss. Astarte concentrated the beam on the hellish creature before her, unable to resist a smile as it erupted in a bellowing screech of pain. Her laser lasted but a couple seconds, soon petering into nothing but a few stray flecks of energy, and her hand immediately retracted into a defensive position while she considered her next moves. Defend? No, she already wounded it - she needed to attack, to finish it off and walk out of here alive.
Yet the only thing facing her now was a cascade of ash that collected atop the floor.
"Wh-..." She started breathlessly, looking around for the creature that once stood before the pair. Her new sense assured her that nothing more lingered in their midst, no strange creatures born from the mouths of hell, and that the only beast of note nearby was the strange cat that offered her a pen but moments ago. Rounding toward the feline, Astarte crouched and scooped up her exhausted companion.
"Do you do this to everyone you meet?" She asked out of curiosity, bracing the cat just beneath the arms so she could get a better look at her features. Beyond the silly frame of plastic covering her eye, nothing stood out as beyond normal. Except, well, the star she just noticed. "Who's Astarte, and why do they have so much hate?" A flurry of questions flooded her mind, running rival to the adrenaline that surged through her but moments ago.
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Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:59 pm
The beam of magic was impressive, and effective, as it reduced the youma to ash. Ash had seen youma dusted before, but she soon realized it was a bit of a surprise to her new charge. It seemed there would be a lot of things she was going to have to fill the new senshi in on, but such was the duty of a guardian. She would do her best to fill the role.
The burmilla made a grumpy nose as Astarte scooped her up, her back legs making a few half-hearted bunny kicks before she gave up and just hung from the hold looking much put upon.
"I only do this to the special ones." Ash informed her charge, feeling foolish with her forelegs sticking straight out like this. She lacked the proper range of motion for a more dignified pose, but whatever... at least no one could see her like this, but the one who held her. "The ones who have that special spark inside. Astarte is you, dear... that's your senshi name and the name of the planet you were born to protect. At least, in your past life... now a days, senshi just sort of protect... this planet. That's also where your power comes from, you've got a direct link to it now."
The silver cat squirmed a little again, frowning with squinted green eyes as her pointed ears tilted forward. The answer to the last question was sort of a mixed bag... but it was an answer at least.
"Your senshi sphere, or the thing that's sort of like... your symbol, or theme... is Malice. Senshi come in all sort of spheres, like gardens, happiness, decay, coyotes... its unique to the person, usually shows up on their uniform and in their attacks. You just lucked out and got hate as the power you channel."
It made her wonder, you know? How were spheres assigned? They seemed entirely random, but were they? Could they really not over lap? What about chibi senshi? The questions would have kept running through her head, but a great yawn cracked Ash's jaws open wide and she squirmed a little.
"That kitty beam really wore me out... can we talk somewhere more comfortable maybe?" She said, her voice sounding plaintive.
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Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 12:01 am
Astarte pursed her lips in a slight pout as she listened to the cat, concentrating on what information the strange feline provided. Afterward she realized how utterly silly the cat looked when held up by the armpits, and immediately set her atop the old carpeting, near the pile of ash that once formed their foe. "Astarte is me?" She asked, a hand pressed to her chest. Am I a demon? "Protecting planet Astarte in my past life..." Sounds like bullocks to me. A circle of hell, maybe, but some planet? I've heard of the divine spheres, but I don't think there's any infernal versions... Maybe this one's got it a spot mixed up.
Sphere? Locus of power, maybe? Malice... Sounded useful. Everyone possessed a bit of it, ubiquitous as it was. Running a hand through the feline's soft, silvery fur, Astarte cracked a smile. It felt good, this power. It felt like true magic. Glancing down at her new outfit, one she never truly caught a glimpse of during the heat of battle, Astarte knitted her brows together and tugged at the flowers lining her collar. "I'm not following how tiger lilies symbolize malice... Maybe they got me a skosh mixed up with some other sphere. But of a stumper, that."
Magic is magic, she reminded herself. There's all different formats, spells, reagents, rituals, deities... I can't keep track of them all. This is just another venue of magic, I think - or somehow this cat allowed me to join the world of demons that manipulate our fates. That must be it... Each demon has its own realm, akin to the planet. Solomon's key... My planet Astarte must be my realm, my sanctuary where I reside as the demon of Malice. Each demon governs its own abilities, like how Focalor has power over wind and seas, or how Amon can tell both past and future. I've joined them as Astarte.
I only hope this isn't a dream.
"Absolutely, Kitten," she agreed, scooping up the tired feline in a position more conducive to comfort. With their assailant now no more than dust beneath her heels, Astarte was free to roam the remainder of the library in search of an exit. "I've got my own place not terribly far from here. It's a wee bit dirty, but if you can excuse the mess, it's actually quite cozy. Reminds me of home - London, that is, not Astarte." The newly awakened senshi continued to ramble of her residence as she finally crossed the threshold to the fresh night air. Already the fingers of dawn spread on the horizon, and she was wide awake.
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