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Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:55 pm
Remarque was unceremoniously wary of any message on his compact after what had transpired earlier that evening, but that didn't mean he was in any position to ignore a message now. He had still been out and powered up when he got it—and from Canopus. A Dark Mirror Senshi he'd seen carried out by Tsui.
Remarque had mixed feelings about the Tiger senshi, but he reserved judgment for the moment.
He made his way towards where Canopus had identified her location fully prepared to strike Tsui down if he needed to. His nerves were more shot than he cared to admit, and he no longer had any idea of who was on their side and who wasn't.
But, he couldn’t shake the image of Tsui carrying out the senshi.
And Canopus had been able to contact him. That meant she was alive.
For now.
Remarque was not thinking particularly clearly when he moved from one mirror to the next, cutting the time of his trek to mere seconds. Two energy signatures immediately flared on his radar, and close.
But, there were two signatures. No more.
He wasn't sure if he expected another ambush—he wasn't sure of anything. But he walked towards the auras, he kept his eyes open and tried to remain as alert as possible. He made no effort to sneak up on them; he moved briskly but did not seem frantic. When the two senshi came into view, he only raised his gaze to try and assess the situation. "Tsui," he greeted curtly, as grateful that she had Canopus in one piece as he was bitter she wasn't herself of their Court. "Canopus," he added a second later, far more gentle.
His attention quickly shifted back to Tsui. "Is this another ambush or just an act of good faith?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 27, 2014 3:48 pm
This was a foolish idea but it wasn't as though the Tiger senshi was known for her strategical genius or anything. The night had already been ridiculously crazy thus far and she knew that she was only going to make matters worse. Tonight she had witnessed members of the Dark Mirror Court and the Negaverse going at each other's throats and her allies caught in between. Some had taken the side of the Negaverse in hopes of ridding themselves of one less enemy, and the others fought to protect the court, despite being enemies themselves. It was definitely going to be a game changer, but for now, Tsui could only focus on the present. And that meant getting this Dark Mirror senshi she picked up dropped off to a safe place. Others in her court may have shown some hesitation in assisting a Mirror senshi, and Tsui still couldn't quite believe she had done that, but what could she have done? She found her just curled into a ball and crying while the fight went on- it didn't matter if it was a Negaverse officer, senshi or Mirror senshi... someone like that simply wasn't meant for this war, and attacking them would have just been wrong. That's what Tsui told herself, as she waited for Remarque to arrive. Of all of the Mirror Senshi she knew, he was one of the few she'd trust, though she was certain that there'd be some tension lingering over from their last encounter. 'To think, I could have been one of them...' Tsui thought to herself, crossing her arms and looking around, trying to prepare herself for Remarque's arrival. Periodically she'd look over her shoulder and look at the senshi she carried out, seeing her sitting there, arms in her lap, quiet as a mouse, and she did her best to keep her annoyance to herself. Seriously, what was Remarque thinking, bringing someone like this into the war? 'Dodged a bullet there!'That's when she felt the ping of an approaching Chaos aura, a very POWERFUL one, and she turned around to see Prince Remarque- Prince. Which meant that if he held any grudges over their last encounter, than Tsui would find herself in the bit of a pickle... but it was too late now. Tsui crossed her arms over her chest and replied immediately, little time to consider how harsh her words might have been or how rude she was appearing to royalty. "You're funny, thinking I'd do something like that. You know me- I don't really plan ahead. I just act on my instincts and hope for the best." Sailor Canopus was a wreck. She wasn't sure when she had managed to stop crying, or when she had finally realized that the senshi that had carried her out wasn't going to hurt her. Tears still lingered on her face, even after Tsui had let her down, and Canopus followed after her, her mind in a daze. She had so many questions to ask but no one to ask- Tsui seemed to know nothing about this attack nor the state of affairs that her beloved Court was in, only that she felt she was doing the right thing in getting her out of there. Tsui, nor the other one, had attacked her and thus far the Eternal with the stripes seemed to be staying true to her word, but that hardly helped Canopus right now.
At least she hadn't lead her into another ambush, and she stuck around as she made the call to her Prince, so perhaps... it wasn't all too bad? Canopus kept her distance from Tsui and merely sat on the bench, arms over her knees and lost in thought as the other senshi paced. The longer she sat here, the more she began to calm down, and once she had calmed some, her mind wandered to the safety of her court, of her friends and family. Were they alright? Was Avior alright? What would her prince think of her?
How far in thought was she that he had arrived and addressed her, and only then did she look up at him. She wanted to smile, happy to see that he was alive and relatively unharmed, and yet, it didn't stick. She had no right to smile, not when Avior was still missing, not when so many others in her court had suffered. She cast her gaze downwards, waiting for the two to finish their business and hoping to find the courage to talk to him once they were finished.
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 12:25 pm
Though Remarque was invested in Tsui's words, he couldn’t help but look to Canopus. He didn't like the way the girl looked; she might have been in one piece, but he shouldn't have left her alone. She was still only a basic senshi; that ambush shouldn't have happened. Not while she was still trying to find her place in this war, not while she still had so much to learn about things.
"Perhaps," he replied to Tsui, "Though I have found that not everyone I know is as honorable as you."
Being humble was not in his nature; his lip curled just slightly, even though he was making a substantial effort to remain impartial. He studied Canopus for a few seconds longer before returning his gaze to the Tiger senshi.
"I am grateful," he said, though there was a tenseness in his voice.
Tsui had helped the Dark Mirror Court.
She might not have been one of them, but she had helped them. His gripe was not with her.
"I hope what you've done," he nodded towards the Dark Mirror Sesnhi, "Hasn't earned you ire from your comrades. But you have done me a great favor, and for that." He paused, torn between pride and code.
Allies were hard to come by, and he wasn't going to squander her good will.
He continued, with a heavy sigh, "And for that, I owe you. If you need a favor, I will repay you for this one."
Remarque would have loved to relax; he was tense and sore and his fading adrenaline was making this crash so much harder. He wanted to get Canopus home, to talk to her, make sure she was okay. Hopefully he would have good news about Avior, but all he knew now was that he was in good hands. He just needed to make sure she was, too.
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2014 1:45 pm
Despite knowing what kind of hell Remarque and his kind had just survived, Tsui could not ignore the way his lip curled, as though he was annoyed that he found himself complimenting her. It had to be rough for him, she thought, and a better senshi wouldn't have allowed it to go to her head. Tsui wished she was that better senshi, but she couldn't stop the pride from swelling in her chest, though she tried her absolute best not to let that smug smile make it onto her face... she had avoided getting into a fight thus far and she wanted to keep that up for now. Remarque and this senshi had been through enough tonight. "Not to much as honor as is it doing what's right, I guess," Tsui said, rolling her shoulders and trying to approach the whole thing with a sense of modesty. After all, this wasn't all about her. Remarque, Prince Remarque she had to remind herself, was grateful to her and that was probably a lot more powerful than the Tiger senshi could even realize right now. "Look, I know I'm brash and that you and I aren't on the best of terms, but I really think that our courts can exist within the same realm... I may not like you, or other members of your court, but I'm not going to call for blood when there doesn't need to be. I'm not sure what happened between you and your Nega buddies, but I just did what I felt was right. And none of that felt right." Ugh, maybe she was more honorable than she realized? It was certainly possible. Tsui just liked to think that the right people go into her head... at least Pasiphae and Valhalla would be proud of her, even if she defended the likes of the Dark Mirror Court. "Don't worry about them. They know I'm not a traitor or anything- I'm just not going to participate in mindless slaughter when I know there's better ways, or at least I suspect their is. I'm good at fighting, not to much diplomacy. Just figured there should be enough of you guys left so that our peacemakers can try, you know?" In all honesty, she was worried, not about what others thought of her actions, but what others might think of Europa's or Kallichore's. What she saw from her fellow senshi honestly frightened her, but she wasn't going to share that with Remarque... she didn't mind being on smooth terms with him but she didn't want him in her head again. More surprising then was his offer to return the favor, and that was something that Tsui could NOT even think to pass up on. what could one ask of the Dark Mirror Prince? "You don't have to do that, but I won't say no... however, if you can convince some of your more bloodthirsty court members to leave a certain Polaris squire alone, that'd be enough for me." Keeping Sutai off the radar may have been the best favor she could ask, and Remarque was the only one she'd trust with that information. "I know you'd never hurt her, but I figured since you're the prince, you got some pull there. Can you do that for me?" Kyuseisha no Hikari Canopus is just sort of sitting there for now so I'll skip her part until Tsui leaves. Is that okay?
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 11:10 pm
Remarque seemed curious about her request, but did not delve too much into it. "I haven't heard of any Polaris pages being targeted, though I'll see what I can do." Why Tsui would care so much about a single Polaris Squire was beyond him, but he was too tired to get into the questions.
"If anyone of my Court gives her trouble, tell them I'll be having words with them.
All things considered, it wasn't a difficult request, and considering he'd offered so much more, he just felt more relaxed.
Or tired.
Everything seemed to be bleeding together and he reached a hand up to massage at his temple. "For all the trouble you are, I wouldn't mind more senshi like you. Though, I'd be a bit more pleased if, unlike you, they actually made it through the mirror when I offered."
He didn't feel like he needed to say that the offer was still open; he didn't think Tsui would ever take it. Ares' logic said that he should consider her an enemy—that he should kill her.
But how could he think about killing her when she had been there, defending the Court? How could he think about killing her?
Ares might have had a good idea when she was starting, but she was wrong about that.
Tsui might not have been a Dark Mirror Senshi, but he wasn't going to throw her under the bus. Not when she'd pulled Canopus out of the fray, brought her here, and was still looking after her. Still trying to make sure she was okay.
She hadn't had to fight for the Dark Mirror Court—but she did.
And even if Remarque didn't have it in him to say, he appreciated it, and he respected her for it.
"But," he added a moment later, "I suppose we'll take everything we can get. Diplomacy, peacemaking. I'd be all for it. But there are always those out for blood. Be it within the Dark Mirror Court or your own. Or," there was nothing but bitterness in his voice, "The Negaverse."
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Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 12:49 am
Tsui wasn’t sure why she was surprised that he would agree to such a thing-- of all the times she had encountered Remarque, he seemed to be honorable, or in the very least someone that wouldn’t blatantly send your head rolling the moment he laid eyes on you. Now, was he the type to stab someone in the back? Tsui didn’t suspect so… manipulate and puppeteer perhaps, but given his reaction to the turn of events, she didn’t think he’d be the type to go back on his word. So, for now, it was enough. Even with that little quip, Tsui was visibly relaxed, placing a hand on her scarred hip and shaking her head. “No, you don’t, because I’m apparently trouble for you, and you don’t want more of that. Besides, I wouldn’t do well in your Court- I’m too selfish and I’ve grown too attached to the life I have here on this side. I can’t get you to leave your court, and you can’t get me to leave mine. So, let’s leave it at that.” Which would mean that she’d still be a target to his court, an enemy, and that was alright with her. She’d rather they find a peaceful solution, but she wouldn’t hold it against them if they struck out at her, especially after the ordeal the lot of them just went through. She glanced back at the senshi she carried out and figured she had wasted enough of their time. “Yeah, sad but true. The same can be said for our side, but at least I know that the knights won’t turn on us. Or at least I hope they wouldn’t… anyway, I’m going to get out of here before things get more awkward and we start calling each other friends or something.” Not that she would have minded. But she knew it wasn’t going to happen… and it wasn’t just an issue between the two of them. She backed away before turning around entirely, making her leave without another word though she made a point to wave at the senshi she carried out. At least she’d go to bed with a clear conscious... By the time Canopus looked up, the Tiger senshi was gone, and now there was nothing that stood between her and her prince. She cast her eyes downward, knowing that tears were swelling and likely running down her cheek, but she could not control them, just as she could not control the events of the ambush. She was completely and utterly useless to her prince, to Avior and her court… how could Remarque even stand to look at her?
She wasn’t sure what kind of relationship existed between Remarque and the eternal that carried her out, but it sounded as though it ended on a bitter sweet note. Perhaps he had tried to win her over and she refused? It was hardly any of Canopus’ business, but even know, her mind wanted to pry into that topic, if only to avoid having to face her prince with failure.
But she had to face him. She had to. She pushed herself into a standing position now that they were alone, and she managed one… two steps, before breaking off into an all out run at him, and the minute he was within arm’s reach, she hugged onto his midsection. She tried to speak, but she could only sob incoherently, as she fell to her knees and buried her face into his garments. She knew he wouldn’t like his clothing to be ruined, but she simply could not stop herself.
“I’m… I’m so sorry!”Kyuseisha no Hikari And with that, Tsui makes her departure!
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Posted: Wed May 14, 2014 11:19 pm
Remarque had intended to offer some sort of parting words to Tsui, but if she was still around now, she'd still be around later. And right now, he was far more concerned about Canopus.
He wasn't sure what he had expected of the girl and for the briefest moment he found himself, arms hovering awkwardly away from her as he looked down, trying to process what she was doing. Words were slower to come to him than actions; it didn't take long for him to shift positions. He did not pull away, though instead moved so that he could kneel in front of her.
"Canopus," he said, voice stern but still as warm as he could manage. "Do not apologize to me. You have not done anything wrong."
He placed one hand on her shoulder, and then decided it was a half-assed gesture and instead pulled her close.
Tears were awkward, and not something he knew entirely what to do with; he didn't know how to react to her tear-stained face, so instead he drew her to his chest and kept a strong embrace around her. "You did a good job. You don't need to apologize. I," he faltered, and though he felt as though someone had dropped a lead ball into his stomach, he said, "I should be the one apologizing to you. We should have known, we should have handled it better. You should never have been in so much danger. We were ill-prepared. Are you all right?" he asked, though he severely doubted she was. Right now he just wanted to assess the damage in any way that he could, and figure out what he had to do to make things right again.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 8:43 pm
How pathetic was she that she couldn't even offer her thanks and gratitude to the senshi that carried her out! Canopus' mind shot to that but only for a brief moment before she was overwhelmed with tears again, and she was happy that Remarque had knelt down. This position was far more comfortable to her and it meant that he was closer to her and could protect her should any sudden danger arise. She wasn't sure what she expected from the Dark Mirror Prince. Anger? Sorrow? Kindness? She simply didn't know anymore...
"Of... of course I've done wrong..." She spoke between cries, pulling away from him long enough so that she could address him but unable to stop her tears, nor the sensation of fear and guilt that tightened its grip on her. "I was too scared to do anything... and Avior... Avior got hurt because of that! I was useless..."
The hand to her shoulder was comforting, but not as his embrace, and she hoped that he could not see the slightest blush that warmed her cheeks... now was not the time for that, she told herself. She understood the kindness in his approach, but she didn't understand his apology. What did he possibly have to apologize to her for? How could he have foreseen this betrayal? Unless he had suspected it and had said nothing, but that... that wasn't like Remarque at all! No one could have seen this betrayal coming, she told herself. "I'm fine... physically. They never touched me, thanks to Avior. But... he got hurt... is Avior alright? Have you seen him? Is... is he...?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:25 pm
"Canopus," Remarque said, trying to keep his voice soft. "Stop kicking yourself. You are not the first in this war to be overwhelmed by fear, and you will not be the last. Just calm down, okay? You and I can train, if that will help. I'll teach you whatever I can, we can work together. I won't let this happen again—to you, or Avior."
He paused for a moment, not quite sure how he wanted to answer her question about Avior. Was he all right? No, not really. But he was alive, at least. And that was better than the alternative.
"He's okay. A little roughed up, but all right. I took him to the hospital, he's in good hands. I couldn't stay while the doctors were looking at him, though. I'm going to go back in a bit and check on him. I'll make sure you know where to find him so you can go check on him yourself. But if you go, you have to promise me you aren't going to beat yourself up about this. It's not your fault."
It wasn't, really, was it?
She couldn't have been prepared for this. He should have been paying more attention. Or, at least, made sure that she knew how to fight, to defend herself. He should have patrolled with her more often, made sure she was comfortable. Made sure she knew what people in this war were capable of.
He should have.
But he didn't.
And if he started beating himself up about it, he was wasting time he could be spending trying to make sure this never happened again.
"Avior made his decision. He wanted to protect you and he knew he was strong enough to handle it. I'm not happy that he got hurt, but I'm happy that you had him looking after you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to help. What can I do to make it up to you—to both of you?"
ChibiGingi So sorry about how long this took ;;
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Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2014 7:07 pm
She tried to calm down, if only for Remarque's sake, but it was hard. She wasn't used to being the one comforted, but she tried her absolute best. The tears were still fresh in her eyes, but she had somehow managed to hold back the choking sobs and kept them from taking over again. No, all she had left where the hiccups, and she tried to wipe the tears away. Remarque's comforting words and reassurance were not lost on her in the least. "I'll... I'll try... I'm sorry. I'll do better..."
What brought her the most relief, though, was knowing that Avior was alive, and she had to stop herself from bursting out into tears again, even if they were tears of joy. She had to remain strong, and she left out a haggard sigh of relief, trying to sound confident and strong as Remarque had made a request from her. How could it not be her fault? Avior was hurt because he defended her and all she could do was curl into a ball and cry. It wasn't as though no one had seen this...
But she didn't argue with him. She simply had no strength to. She knew that once this had passed, she would understand and respect the wisdom of his words. She knew that eventually she'd come to terms with this, but now, it was simply too fresh, to sudden. She needed time to grieve, so for now, she'd give in to his request, with every intention to try and follow through with it. "I know... it's not, but... I'll try. He doesn't need that right now... he needs me to be strong, so.. I'll try and be strong."
When asked what her prince could possibly do to make up for this, she could only think of one thing. "Don't... send me away, no matter how weak, or useless, I might be. I know you wouldn't... you'd never do that, but... I'll find a use in our court somehow. I'll learn from this! I'll get better, I promise!"
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 10:53 pm
"You are strong," Remarque replied. And she was, in her own way. She wouldn't have been in the Dark Mirror Court if there wasn't something hidden deep down. Of course, Remarque wasn't a fan of tears or self deprecation, but perhaps it was only because he couldn't imagine himself falling into such habits. Right now, Canopus just needed to hear something good about herself—needed to at least know that this wasn't her fault.
At least, not in the gravity she was thinking.
Accidents happened, people got hurt. Being stronger would certainly help to avoid them, but to avoid them entirely? Even Remarque had been hurt during this battle.
"I won't send you away," he said, resisting the urge to rub at his sore neck. "I know you'll find something in the Court. You have a lot of room to grow, to get better. But don't belittle yourself like that. You wouldn't be in this Court if you weren't valuable, so never forget that. If you want to get stronger, we'll train, okay? If fighting isn't your thing, we'll figure something else out. You're not alone in this, and no one is blaming you. Take a deep breath, and let that sink in. You're okay, Avior's going to be okay, and we can work towards making sure this doesn't happen again. All right?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2014 12:11 pm
She wanted to believe Remarque when he told her that she was strong, but she couldn't. She simply couldn't. If she was strong, she would have been able to defend herself, or protect Avior. Remarque said she was strong and she knew he wouldn't lie to her, but she just didn't see it in herself. At least not now...
However, she did take comfort in knowing that Remarque wouldn't expell her from the court, and paired with Avior's timely visit to the hospital, it was enough for now. It was enough for her to listen to him and absorb his encouraging words and not simply shut them away. He was right-- of course he was right, how could she be so foolish as to ever doubt him? Now if she could only stop crying... she'd feel a lot better about herself if she could just stop the tears, but they were relentless.
"I'll become stronger, then... I'll find my place in the court, I'll... figure something out. I don't want this to happen again, Remarque." The tears wouldn't stop, but she tried to wipe them away regardless. The first step in becoming stronger is not to break under pressure, she told herself, running the back of hand against her cheeks and trying to calm herself down. She wanted to smile, but it wouldn't stick for more than a second. "Thank you... you and Leto do so much for us and we appreciate all of it. I want to do you proud... and I want to do the whole court proud. It'll just... take some time. Thank you..."
She was ready to leave now. They had to check on Avior... she knew he'd be okay, but she was worried. That's just how she was...Kyuseisha no Hikari And now that I'm utterly ashamed for letting this go so long without a response, I think we should try and wrap this up! I'm so sorry!
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 10:07 am
Remarque seemed relieved that she wasn't beating herself up so much now, and smiled softly. "You take the time you need, Canopus. Nobody's rushing you. We have faith You'll make sun proud."
He patted her on the back in what he hoped was a reassuring fashion, but he knew he wasn't the bets at providing comfort. Maybe he should have called Leto or something, but he hardly saw her as the comforting type.
But, she was a female and…
…And what did it matter?
Just as long as Canopus and Avior and the rest of the Court were doing all right.
"Now, come on. Let's get you home. You want to stop for a burger or something, ice cream?" he asked, holding out a hand as if to guide her. "And we can go see how Avior's doing, if you want. But then, you rest, and we move forward, past all of this. All right?" he asked gently.
ChibiGingi It is okay! We can wrap up!
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 2:33 pm
Remarque was right, she told herself. She just needed some time to cultivate herself into the court, find her place... she wanted to think that there was time, and maybe there would be. How much time would it take? How much would she need? What if it wasn't enough? She struggled to stop this train of thought from taking over, knowing full well that once it started it would be impossible to stop again and that worrying would do her nor anyone any good right now.
The pat on the back was just as reassuring as his kind words, and though she appreciated the offer for food, she wasn't all that hungry. Still, would it be rude not to accept the offer? And what if she passed out from the lack of energy later? Once again, such troubling thoughts! Would they ever end?
"Ice cream... I sound like like a child, but ice cream would be nice." The thought made her chuckle, as she pushed herself back to her feet, surprised she was even capable of standing. She took his hand without question, wiping away her tears with the other. "Please, I'd like to see him, just to make sure he's alright. I'll do my best to move forward... just promise not to leave me behind? Please?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 17, 2014 6:48 pm
Remarque gave her hand the faintest squeeze, looked her in the eyes, and promised, "I will never leave you behind. No matter what happens."
He watched her eyes, her face for just a few seconds, wanting to make sure the words stuck. This wasn't something he could just dismiss or wanted to brush away—but she needed to know that her commitment to the Court was not something he would ever forget. She was as much a part of it as he was, and if he wouldn’t give up on himself, he'd be damned if he was going to give up on her.
It was only when he was worried that any more direct eye contact was going to lead into awkward territory that he turned away and, still holding her hand, began to gently tug her in the direction he had come in. "Come on, ice cream and Avior. We'll find a safe place to power down, and then I'll make sure you get home all right."
And they could deal with tomorrow, tomorrow, and what wasn't right tonight, they could fix then.
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