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Posted: Sun May 11, 2014 2:00 pm
When Maggie Lawrence had first become Sailor Auriga, she hadn't really taken the job seriously. That wasn't entirely her fault! Derp wasn't the most informative guardian cat, and she had no idea if anyone else she knew was a senshi. She investigated it for a time, but then her mother moved her out of the city. Outside of Destiny City, the gang violence of schoolgirls are not exactly a thing. Plus, the normal teenager stuff was distracting. The big spark in her had really been the Boot Camps run by Gunn. Now she would actually go on patrol sometimes. She had begun working out for a reason other than to Feel Adult. And that night, she was trying out some attack strategies on the top floor of a darkened mattress store. It was a great situation for her. It was mostly secluded so she was never bothered. There were no security cameras inside, just on the front door, and the ventilation shaft from the roof had a loose cover. She just had to slip inside and BAM -- her own senshi gym. Auriga also liked jumping dramatically from bed to bed. That night, she had her cellphone perched on a shelf on the far wall of the main showroom recording video. Auriga herself was practicing vaulting over stacked mattresses. One was stacked 10 high -- she liked adding one each time for more challenge. The move was simply: she ran, leapt over, and then either safely rolled out or attempted to land while striking a blow. Then, later, she would review the video to give herself notes. It was a perfect system! She had already been practicing for an hour. Sweat prickled on her skin. Maybe 30 more minutes and then she would head home.
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 6:55 am
Someday, curiosity was going to get Chariklo into trouble. But as that day hadn't happened just yet, she was more than happy to keep taking risks in the name of furthering the Dark Mirror Courts goals.
Or at least, this was what she told herself when she wanted to justify investigating random weird s**t. Like the Order aura she was picking up around the mattress store. Was some senshi or knight catching a quick nap inside? As far as she could tell, it was only one aura, so she doubted that sexytimes were involved. So why a mattress store of all things?
As she circled the building, she caught the camera over the front door and ruled that out as a point of entry. Sure, there was the back where they brought the mattresses in, but that would be too noisy. Maybe the roof? It was worth a look.
Within a few moments, she was on the roof and looking around. And here was the entrance she'd been looking for. Loose ventilation shaft cover. Perfect. Now she just had to decide if she wanted to go in and confront in comfort or wait for whoever was inside to come out.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 10:08 am
Sailor Auriga was not coming out anytime soon, at least as long as it was SUPER FUN to bounce and cartwheel around on the mattresses. She took a running leap toward one, bounced, arced, and landed on another, laughing hysterically. Above her, she heard a metallic scrape. "Hello?" she ventured once. When no one responded, she continued her running and leaping. Her last pass was not as good, and Auriga landed hard against the side of a metal bedframe, letting out an audible oof!. "That seems like a sign to take a break," she said, crossing to where her camera was resting on the far wall. Picking it up, she played the latest video, watching her acrobatic antics. "Nice," she said, lifting up a water bottle with her free hand, using her teeth to uncork it, and drinking deeply. The bottle tipped to her lips when she suddenly became aware of the Chaos presence looming nearby. Auriga stilled, capping the bottle slowly and setting it down. Nothing to worry about, right? Just someone passing by? Auriga froze, waiting for the aura to disappear and thinking through a million ways to escape. Twilight Jaws Will Chariklo come inside, or are you aiming to have Auriga go out?
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 10:35 am
While the last thing Chariklo wanted was to be stuck in a ventilation shaft giving a possible enemy free shots at her, curiosity finally won out when she heard the voice drift up.
Oh hell, if a White Moon could do this, so could she. Taking a deep breath, she lowered herself into the ventilation shaft and once she was sure that she would not become completely stuck, wriggled her way though until she popped out into the store. Coughing and sucking in deep, grateful breaths of air, she let herself slide bonelessly to the floor.
Welp. She could check off really enclosed spaces on her list of Things Chariklo Hated.
"Crazy," she muttered, eyes scanning for the other senshi. "You people are crazy. Ventilation shafts of all things..."
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 10:40 am
The voice made Auriga stiffen. She fell to the floor behind the mattress, leaving her water bottle in plain sight. Her phone was still clutched to her chest, and she contemplated texting for help. Closing her eyes, the teenager tried to feel out the power level of this attacker. With a gulp, she noted the energy pulsed much stronger than hers... meaning, yikes. WELL. Maybe if she just stayed really, really, really still, the corrupt person would just... leave. It wasn't a good plan, but it was her plan.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 10:57 am
Once she was sure she was over her new and sudden bout of claustrophobia, Chariklo stood and stretched slowly, eyes scanning and noting the water bottle. The aura was still around, so clearly the senshi had not run off. Hiding?
Frowning slightly, the mohawked senshi considered her options. She didn't really want to have to crawl back out the way she'd come in. But neither did she want to play Hide and Seek.
"Oh come on, seriously? I come in to find out why a mattress store of all things and you go and get all shy? I'm not even doing my scary, berserker Dark Mirror schtick! Don't be that guy, come on out and say hello."
As she spoke, she crept as quietly as possible around, trying to figure out where the other had hidden.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 11:15 am
Was this a trap? This felt like a trap. Auriga scrolled through her mental rolodex of pop culture references that could give her advice in this situation. Maybe if she spoke up, they would be able to banter long enough for her to make her way to the exit? She was pretty confident she could kick down the front door to get out, though she didn't love the idea of being shown on the news destroyed private property. The vent that she had used to come into the store was way too close to the Dark Mirror intruder for her liking. What to do? "GO AWAY," she said loudly, scrambling as quietly as she could to another mattress to try and leave the spot where she had called out from. Auriga army crawled her way to the other side of a fat, king-sized mattress, curling her knees to her chest. Taking a few deep breaths, she peered around the side of the mattress, trying to spot her enemy's location.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 11:24 am
"You're making it awfully hard to be friendly here," CHariklo muttered. She paused and pondered for a moment before shrugging as if to say 'why not?' before leaping up onto one of the mattresses and bouncing slightly.
She wanted to see who she was in here with. Clearly no one she'd ever met before. Unfortunately, the mattresses made good places to hide behind and avoid spotting. How annoying.
Huffing slightly, Chariklo tried a different tactic. In a high, sing-songy voice she caroled out, "COme out, come out where-ever you are!"
She'd give the other girl (the voice had clearly been female) two minutes to show herself before busting out the magic.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 12:10 pm
Auriga was 99% sure this was a scene from a horror movie that she just couldn't remember. When a mattress nearby began bouncing, she jumped, letting out the tiniest of squeaks before clapping her arms over her mouth. No, no, no -- this was too much. Auriga tucked the phone into her pocket, eyeballed the door on the far opposite end of the store, and drew down into a running position. She drew in one deep breath. Auriga hopped out of her hiding place suddenly, sparing one glance back -- a girl in black and gray with pure blond hair in a scary style -- before sprinting as fast as her little senshi legs could carry her toward the looming exit.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 2:42 pm
Chariklo didn't consider herself cruel by nature. Nor did she really see herself as a mean girl. But something in her quickened at the sight of the other senshi suddenly bolting and she just couldn't resist trying to toy with the girl a little bit.
"Mobbing Call," she called in a soft voice. Worst the kid would get would be a scare, but given the way she seemed to assume that Chariklo was some sort of killer harpy, kid deserved it.Chariklo emits a harsh, squawking call accompanied by her target feeling as if they are being buffeted about the head by a large pair of wings. Able to perform twice per battle. The target will not be seriously injured, although feeling somewhat dazed is common. Only able to target one person at a time (within approx. 2ft. radius) and the attack duration is about 10-20 seconds. Should target run, the attack will follow them for about 2 seconds.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 2:47 pm
Auriga was running, but not quite fast enough. The girl let out a harsh squawk, which made her jump out of her skin. Then there was a sudden flapping all around her, and she stumbled over a display of bed lifts. Leaping up, Auriga wheeled around to face her attacker. "What are you, Evil Senshi of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds?" she snapped. A hand shot out to grab a pillow, which she threw at the other girl's head, eyes flickering around for more ramifications from the attack. They had some distance between them, but Auriga didn't make any sudden moves. She didn't want to inspire this girl to attack again.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 3:57 pm
Okay, Chariklo had to admit to herself, that was a pretty good comeback. Grinning, she leisurely hopped from one bed to the next, following after. At least until the pillow caught her in the face. Spluttering, she threw the pillow back with perhaps a little more force than was warranted.
"Hardly evil, honey. And while I appreciate the attempt to start a pillow fight, you are not scantily clad enough, nor am I drunk enough to forget I have a girlfriend. But hey, thanks for the thought anyway."
Okay, so maybe she was trying to provoke a reaction at this point. She always hated being called evil, having the Oh So Pure senshi of the White Moon sneering down at her. It got tiresome after a while.
"I think I like you lot better when you're not treating me like Snidely Whiplash."
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 4:34 pm
The pillow came flying back, but Auriga sidestepped the bulk of it, taking a thud to the shoulder instead. It bounced off a mattress behind her and rolled to the floor. "Hardly evil?" she echoed, then stopped when Chariklo continued. Oh, she was gay? Under normal circumstances, Auriga would sprint to her side about how cool it was that she was gay and how she just loved gay people and how she had like so many gay friends. Unfortunately, this was neither the time nor place. She blinked several times and then continued, "Can you not feel your own aura? It's darkness, 100%. You have that same inky ick that all the people you run with do." A hand waved in the air vaguely moving up and down the Dark Mirror senshi's body, as if she were a mean girl insulting someone else's dress at prom. "Think of the most evil person you know who is magical or whatever like we are. Are you picturing one of your own? I bet you are." An accusatory finger poked out across the room at Chariklo.
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 4:47 pm
"Jesus, tap-dancin' Christ," she murmured, putting a hand over her face and shaking her head as if trying to convince herself that she was not having that conversation again. "Do you people even listen to yourselves when you start spoutin' the rhetoric? I go to rescue a puppy that some a*****e left hogtied in a dumpster and one of you lot attacks me right off."
Chariklo neglected to mention that said instance had also involved her trying to drain energy from anyone she found near the dumpster in the hopes that she'd get the animal abuser. But this chick didn't need to know that. Instead she ticked off on her fingers all the times she'd been treated like s**t for not following the all mighty Serenity ghost.
"Don't even get me started on the ginger who thought that me wearing black automatically turned me into ********' Satan. Seriously," she continued in a snarling voice, hands clenching into fists as she hopped one bed closer to the other girl. "Your side ain't that pure and noble, honey, so come off your high horse. As for your little mental picture game..."
The tall dark mirror was through trying to be friendly. She lunged for the other girl, swinging her fist out and up, intending to catch the girl in the gut.
"Guess what, sweetheart," she hissed in fury. "It's one of your side I picture. A precious little White Moon follower who took it upon herself to kidnap and torture a girl who'd done no harm or wrong to anyone. Her only crime was wearing black instead of white and she was ******** tortured by one of you! That's who I picture when I think of evil, you snotty little b***h!"
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Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 5:11 pm
"Oh, the Senshi of Lost Puppies now," Auriga said, slow-clapping. "I. Don't. Buy. It." When Chariklo took to the bed, the Senshi of Pestilence tried to hold her place. Sure, get closer. Closer was where she needed her, even if her knees felt like they were about to turn to jelly. It was unclear what filled her with this sudden burst of confidence, but whatever it was, Auriga had considered her flight or fight response and chosen a side. Gritting her teeth, Auriga took the full blow of the punch, sputtering slightly as the wind moved out of her. She doubled over, still clutching the Dark Mirror senshi's arm tightly. As Chariklo spoke, she might have been aware of the faint push of hot breath near the bare skin at her hands. And then Auriga bit her. Hard. Twice. Two hands raised up to the other senshi's shoulders, shoving her backward as Auriga took off at a dead run toward the exit. "I'm the Senshi of Pestilence, by the way!" she shouted, the thrum of success a drug running hot in her veins. She threw a display of small wheels for the bottoms of bed frames to the floor, catapulting over a mattress just like she had been practicing and landing on her feet. Auriga gave a little cheer, wishing the cellphone were still recording. Her hands clapped against the push bar that led out of the front door of the store, but then her body came flying after it, hitting the door with the full force of her acceleration -- and not budging an inch. Auriga froze, her arms pained from the impact. In her time here, she had not realized that a large metal gate was pulled down across the front of the store. Why should she? She never used the front door. In her mind, she had run to this exact spot, kicked the door wide open by snapping the lock, and then sprinted to safety. Now, her choice of exit was like an impenetrable fortress. With a grunt, she slammed her boot against the metal handle, denting it and shattering the glass. An alarm went off, high and whining. She kicked again, but the metal grate meant the door was not budging. Auriga might have senshi strength, but that didn't mean she could peel steel like it was a banana. She spent a minute tugging and pulling, her heart fluttering like a bird in her chest. Twilight Jaws Auriga's attack is contracted by her bite. Because she bit her twice, the effects will last a bit over a minute. Chariklo will feel very, very ill -- lightheaded, dizzy, nauseous, throat thick and itchy. She may or may not puke. She will feel like she has a nasty case of the flu out of nowhere.
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