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 Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 4:21 pm
"Where are you going?"
Of course Exidor had come with her. Which meant that Aquarius had had to put up with his questions and his nagging as well as her stomach cramps and fatigue. Even though her bag was empty, it was hard for her to carry. And since she'd appeared back on Earth right where she'd left, she'd had to sneak out of the apartment, trying her best to ignore the bombardment of memories she had done everything she could to put behind her.
At least Kent hadn't been there. That would have been awful.
Her mission was to get food, but she wasn't quite sure how to accomplish that. She didn't have enough money, either on hand or in the bank, to buy enough to last her up in space. But she hated the idea of taking what she needed. Even though she was kind of an idiot, she was still a good guy, and good guys didn't go around robbing supermarkets.
As she passed the library, she slowed down, then stopped. One of her problems had been a lack of reference materials. Not to mention the absence of any book she could read properly. The library had both. And taking something from there wouldn't be a terrible crime, not if she brought her selections back the next time she had to come for groceries.
"Why have you stopped?"
Continuing to ignore Exidor, Aquarius walked around the building, hoping to find a back door. If possible, she wanted to get in without causing any structural damage.
"This place does not appear to contain any sort of food."
"It's got brain food, alright? Take a chill pill, Exidor." In a way, this was more exciting than the prospect of food. Maybe there was a reference that would help her decode things, which would help her end the war, which meant that she could come home!
"Wow, I am crazed from hunger," she sighed, continuing her search for a way inside.
Lithiasaur Just realized I forgot to quote in, sorry! ^^;
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 5:14 pm
Anthony Darrow was not expecting to find someone at the back of the building when he peered over the edge of the roof. Generally, this was just force of habit by now, a cursory look around to make sure there was no other powered or unpowered individuals nearby to see him before he powered up for the night. Of course, he did not power up out in the open, either way, hiding in the stairwell that led out on to the roof, but he liked to be thorough and check, just in case.
Actually seeing someone down at the back door was startling, but he could see that it was not a particularly Nega looking person. Even so, he was cautious, and moved away from where he was visible to power up. His aura was very commanding, and very difficult to miss, especially this close.
Camelot sighed and returned to the edge of the roof, though this time he hopped down from it and landed in the alley beside her.
"Do you need some help at the library?" he asked, tilting his head at her curiously. Had she been talking to someone just now? He could not see anyone else, but maybe she had a cell phone, like other senshi he had seen before. He would not discount the idea, anyway.
"I'm not sure it's still open, unless you were thinking of going in after hours."
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:25 pm
"Oh, would you be quiet already? I know it's not open, that's the point!" Or more of a happy accident, since Aquarius had no way of knowing what time it would be when she arrived back on Earth. But it had worked out in her favor, and she had every intention of taking advantage of it. "Could you imagine if I went in during business hours? Screaming, running, calling the police." Odd that he wasn't protesting any of this. "And anyway, what kind of help were you planning... on..."
She turned to face Exidor, only to find herself staring at someone totally different. And then his aura hit her like a flashbulb to the face, and she found herself taking an involuntary step back in what might have been sheer awe.
"I didn't say anything," the ghost murmured unnecessarily.
Since this guy probably already thought she was nuts, Aquarius pointed accusingly at Exidor. "You couldn't have warned me that someone was there?"
"It's not as though he tried to hide from you. If such a thing is even possible for an individual like him."
"And you," she went on, shifting her focus to the wicked-strong guy in the absence of a proper retort. "You of all people should understand why it's better to do this sort of thing at night. Man, how do you walk around without getting attacked? I've never envied royalty. But you're not a Prince, are you? At least, you feel different from the Princess, but I don't claim to be an expert."
She shrugged nervously. If this guy took offense to her B&E in progress, he had the potential to make things very difficult for her.
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Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 4:13 pm
Camelot was surprised by the forceful answer, not realizing she was expecting to speak to someone else. He blinked at her, then lifted his hands in a show of peaceful intent, or willful helplessness, as she got over her own surprise of him and, of course, started to yell at him again.
"No, I'm not a Prince. I'm a knight, not a Senshi at all. Ah... I'm sorry I surprised you, I actually... work here. So. If you wanted to go in, I could spare you the trouble of breaking into my building and just let you in. There's a door on the roof that's always unlocked, for Senshi and Knights that need to find me."
He offered her a wary smile, not sure what he was stepping into here. He had never witnessed anything quite like this, but then, there were many times when he found himself thinking that, and each time he manged to get through it. Whatever help she needed, he was willing to offer his assistance... if he could.
"Are you... alright? Forgive me," he bowed. "My name is Camelot."
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Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2014 6:45 pm
Well, he wasn't yelling or throwing accusations or insults at her. Which meant that he was more polite than Exidor was, an almost meaningless distinction. Still, he seemed just as surprised as she was, so maybe they were on almost even ground.
"Oh," Aquarius said in response to his clarification, because it felt like she was supposed to say something. And once she started, the rest began to tumble out on its own. "My best friend is a knight, but you don't feel anything like her. Are you sure you're not, like, a Prince-Knight? I mean, there's no rule that says that princes can't be knights. Or is there? If there's a handbook, I haven't read it, so I guess I don't know for sure."
"You're babbling."
"I can babble if I want to." Exidor sounded a lot like a grumpy old man for someone who was relatively young and also dead. The knight was probably older than her ghost, if one didn't count ghost-years in age. "Don't mind him," she went on, shaking her head at an apparently empty patch of air. "He doesn't really have company manners, which I guess doesn't matter 'cause you can't see anything anyway, can you?" Maybe he would shock her- again- by being able to sense what Zia hadn't been able to, but Aquarius doubted it.
The rest of his introduction made her sigh and give an impatient bow. "Sailor Aquarius of Science, Eleventh of Twelve, blah blah Zodiac blah blah Chronos, et cetera, et cetera."
Exidor's eyebrows, were they not attached to his face, would be several inches above his hairline after hearing that. "Have you no respect for your position? Your comrades? Your princess?"
"Not really, and who cares? You said that Senshi can go in whenever?" Aquarius was too elated to notice- or care- how confusing her constant changes of subject and target might be. Instead, she punched the air excitedly, already trying to think of what books would be most helpful to her. "If I'd known there was an after-hours policy for magical heroes, I wouldn't have tried to bust my way in. Sorry about that. Do you care if I don't have a card? I mean, I do- I did- but it's in another life. I'd totally bring everything back next time I come down for food, though. Is that okay?"
So far, this was going way better than she had expected, even taking the wild card knight into account. Finally, things were going her way!
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:30 pm
"I am what is called a Templar. So, yes, I suppose, I'm something like the Princesses, in that I have a bit more power than the regular knights you might know." He smiled at her question, bowing his head in a small show sheepish humility. It passed quickly and he regarded her with a regal look.
Camelot stared at her, still not quite understanding what he was seeing. He was told not to mind 'him', which was a good idea, really. Because this was fairly strange, even by DC standards. He shook his head slowly, as he could not see any company beyond the two of them.
"Well, ah. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sailor Aquarius. What ah... I'm sorry, forgive me if this is meant to be obvious, but I feel I missed something here. Who are you speaking to, when not to me?"
Camelot blinked at her and then shook off the question, waving his hand as he decided it was something he could ask her about some other time. He indicated to the ceiling, moving to climb up to the roof again. He found his nights were often filled with leaping from roofs and then climbing back up to them.
"No library card required for us lot. I'll just take a note of any books you might want to borrow. Ah. Though I would like to hear your story with a bit more detail, if you think that's a fair trade? I have to say, I'm pretty... uh... puzzled."
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Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:44 pm
Templar. Knight Templar. Whoever doled out the names for these positions had a twisted sense of humor. 'Eternal Senshi' still stuck out in Aquarius' mind as being particularly awful. Or else the cosmos figured anyone who made it to that level was effectively immortal, which was possibly a worse interpretation.
His name was less interesting than his aura, and she was really tempted to ask about it. Except he beat her to the punch, firing off the one question she really didn't like to answer. Answering required thought, and thinking about her situation still made her uncomfortable. Neither of the two possibilities was particularly attractive.
Still, he had asked, and since he hadn't chased her off on sight, she supposed she owed him something. "Camelot, this is Exidor." She waved a hand at the apparently empty space next to her.
"Must you introduce me that way? It's not my name," he complained.
"Unless you feel like introducing yourself, and saving me the trouble, you'll have to deal with doing it my way." She stuck her tongue out at him before continuing. "Basically, I'm either being haunted by my own ghost from a past life, or I'm just plain loopy. At this point, I'm not sure there's a difference."
The apparent nonchalance with which she spoke couldn't hide how very messed up her circumstances were. And she hadn't even gotten to the really crazy stuff yet. Or the fact that she hadn't eaten in what might amount to days, which made the leap up to the roof seem a lot larger than it was. "After you," she told the knight, trying to work up the energy to tackle something like that. "My story's not that interesting, really. You must have a ton of novels with better plots. But if it's all you want in exchange, then I'll do my best to tell you whatever you want to know. Probably won't keep you from being puzzled, though."
Heck, she'd had little to do for days, maybe weeks, but think it over from every possible direction. And she was still just as confused as before.
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Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 1:58 pm
"Exidor?"
Camelot was no less confused with the introduction, blinking at an empty space and trying to fill in the blanks for himself for a moment. She was seeing something he was not seeing. Speaking to someone that was not there. He had never seen ghosts or even tangible memories come back from planets or wonders before, but he supposed it was not the most unheard of thing he could come up with. There was a lot of stuff in this world, after all, that had surprised him at first. And now he was used to it.
So he had a pretty open mind to weird things now.
"Ah, so. You have uhm. A ghost with you. Well, that's interesting."
He was not being sarcastic or condescending, he did actually think it was interesting. He wanted to ask her more about it, but could gather from her tone, and the things she was saying to the ghost, that she was not particularly a fan of what was happening to her.
He moved to climb up the building, taking a familiar path up, showing her the easiest way to the roof. Once there, he moved to the door that lead into the stair well. He held it open for her, looking her over and getting a sense of anxiety and worry rushing over him for her. Something was not going right for this poor girl, and Camelot wondered if it was in his power to help.
"So what brings to the library, again? What can I help you find? Here, we can go down to the bottom floor, where my office and desk are."
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Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2014 3:01 pm
As reactions went, that one was kind of underwhelming. At least, Aquarius thought, it beat Zia's immediately thinking that something was wrong. And it was hopeful, in its way. If someone who'd been around the block enough to have that kind of power didn't immediately think she was insane, then maybe she wasn't. There was a rational explanation out there, somewhere.
She followed him up the side of the building somewhat slowly, not used to making that kind of climb. Usually she jumped when possible, and used fire escapes when a leap was too much for her. Every so often a wave of dizziness would threaten to overcome her, but fear kept her hands and feet stuck tightly to the surface. It was, she was learning, an exceptionally powerful motivator.
Then she was up, but not done, since they had to go down some stairs. Going up to go down seemed silly, but he said this was his place, so they had to play by his rules. And knowing where the secret entrance was meant that she could use it next time she was in the neighborhood and wanted something to read.
Right, books. She shifted her empty bag, resting its strap on her shoulder again, and followed the knight to the stairwell. "So my Outpost has like a kajillion books in it. Probably more than you have here. You could probably build another Outpost with the books and still have some left over. Which is nice and all, except I can't read any of them. Not for lack of effort, but you try translating an unknown number of dead languages without any kind of key. Not easy. Not fun. And there's no internet in space to help me out."
Maybe that was something she could bring up to the cats as a potential project. Assuming she ever saw another cat.
"So yeah, any kind of linguistics reference books would be a big help. I'm sure at least some of the languages I've found must relate to Earth languages somehow, but I'm far from an expert. I need something to check my theories against. And maybe some biology or chemistry references too- I've been trying to work with my equipment without wrecking it. And maybe something just for fun, 'cause being stuck in a building with a bunch of books I can't read is seriously boring. And it's not like there's much else to do up there."
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Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:51 pm
DivineSaturn Oh god I am the worst. I'm so sorry I don't even know what happened with this ;-;
He supposed it was his duty to know about these kind of things.
"Well, if we have anything that can help you, I know where you'll find it. We've a pretty substantial foreign language reference section downstairs, though that does mean traveling all the way down to the first floor." He was aware at how far they had traveled without actually getting anywhere yet.
"I'd be happy to help, as well, as much as I can. I'm no linguist, of course, but I at least know a thing or two about researching in a library. Ah. I'm sorry, the curiosity is killing me. What did you mean before, about the ghost?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:14 pm
"Yeah, it's a lot. Don't take it personally, though. The guy who collected 'em all didn't have much of a life."
"And you're really one to talk?" Exidor asked, raising his eyebrows skeptically.
Even though this guy seemed to be okay with the fact that she was being haunted, Aquarius decided not to answer her ghost directly. Because she didn't want to freak out someone who was willing to help her. Not because she didn't have a satisfactory answer.
The promise of books, both for business and pleasure, kept her moving. "If you don't mind lending 'em, I don't mind working to find 'em. And I'd appreciate any advice you'd be willing to give me!" She reached into her bag automatically, to grab her notebook, only to remember that she'd left it at the Outpost. She could probably reproduce some of the symbols, though, and maybe he'd be able to-
To bring up the ghost, again. Glaring at Exidor, Aquarius tried to think of a way to explain. "So you're a knight, right? Are you one of the ones who was around the last time and sees mini movies of what happened way back when, or do you get lectured by your hundred-times great-grandpa? Exidor's kind of the worst of both worlds."
"Thank you so much for your kindness," came his dry response.
Even though she was afraid to ask, she found the question coming out on its own. "Have you... heard of anything like that before?" He wasn't a senshi, he probably didn't, but maybe that fancy title meant he had information people like Zia wouldn't know.
Lithiasaur You are not the worst! It's totally okay <3~
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Posted: Sun Feb 01, 2015 9:56 am
"It's not often my day job actually becomes useful as a knight. It's a rather interesting and, in a thoroughly lame and embarrassing way, exciting. Of course, there is plenty for me to learn about, as well, which I hope you don't mind as trade."
At her questions, he looked thoughtful, shaking his head. The memories he had of Talfrid were not exactly his favorite, as the previous iteration of Camelot had not been a good man, and if history repeated itself, Camelot was on a bad road. He did not want to think he was the same person as that man had been.
"I'm the one with the mini movies," he said, tapping his head to illustrate. "but I've spoken to knights with ghosts, and seen a couple. That's fascinating that you have a ghost with you even now, and not at a Wonder. Of course, you don't have a Wonder, as such. So I've never heard of that before, but then again, there are plenty of things I have not heard of yet. Is it detrimental to you in any way? Is Exidor around all the time?"
He couldn't help his curiosity, though he cleared his throat.
"Ah. Well. There's plenty of time for all that."
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Posted: Tue Feb 03, 2015 8:51 pm
He really didn't have to sell his job, not to her. "Dude, libraries are fantastic. Mine excluded, and that's just because it's all indecipherable mumbo-jumbo. You can come take a look, if you haven't already. I've kind of lost track of who's been there since that whole mess a few years back." She'd lost track of most things, really.
Clearly, this was a knight who knew his stuff. Aquarius was both impressed and surprised. "You've seen ghosts before? I didn't know other people could see them. Does it depend on the ghost, or is it something you picked up with the fancy armor? What do they talk about?"
Fair was fair. If he was going to ask about Exidor, she was going to take the opportunity to get a few questions of her own in. Which meant answering his, she supposed. "I've never been to a Wonder, but from what I hear, Outposts are sort of like them. We're sort of the worst of both worlds too- sent away from home to protect something, but stuck on our own. Even though there's others, we're all kind of isolated. We have to be, I guess."
"That was what you decided," Exidor reminded her. "That's not the way it has to be."
"It's only detrimental if you find someone carping at you 24/7 a pain in the neck. Which it is." She took a deep breath, trying not to let the ghost or the questions rattle her. "Maybe not 24/7, but most of the time. Whenever I'm trying to think. Which is most of the time, 'cause let's be real, there's not much else to do in space. Until now," she added brightly, looking around her with considerably more interest than she had in the conversation.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 11:04 am
Camelot smiled at the reassurance that his job was not as embarrassing as he sometimes thought. He was glad he did not have to do those 'bring your parent to work' days, at least, as he was sure that if Nathan had to tell people that his dad was a librarian he would choke on the words.
"Ah, I suppose it must depend on the ghost. I've never seen one outside of a Wonder before, so I think the rules... vary." He was not surprised by the fact, of course, as this place was full of incredibly strange and confusing things that he had mostly just learned to roll with the punches.
"From what I've experienced, most seem to want to teach the present knights about their past. Even the stories I've heard from other knights generally include some sort of lesson they're meant to face." His own 'ghost' was a little more complicated, as he was left only with the memories of what his former life was responsible for.
A chance to yell at someone he was not supposed to be reincarnated from would be a much better option, instead of feeling like those mistakes could be his own if he was not careful.
He shook his head and watched her, letting her explore the library at will. He supposed there would be plenty of time for more questions, and for him to learn exactly what everything she was saying meant. He was in no rush, and for now he wanted her to enjoy herself and do what she needed to do. He could help with anything library related, at least, as much as he could as a Royal Knight.
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Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2015 3:16 pm
"Of course," Aquarius muttered distractedly, running one hand along a bookshelf. "Just when you think you know the rules, the universe up and changes everything. Or you learn you were wrong all along, and two plus two equals a can of beans, and you don't have a can opener, too bad."
She would have rolled her eyes, but she was focused on the books, sliding some out of the shelves enough to scan the backs, then putting them back. When she found something that looked promising, she stuck it under her arm, and kept moving, though her voice was clearly audible as she worked through the shelves. "At least Exidor plays by the rules in his own way. To hear him talk, you'd think I was barely out of senshi preschool. If he could have me in a classroom wearing a dunce cap, he probably would."
Another book was added to her pile, then another, and another. All reference books in different topics: linguistics, of course, as well as biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy. She began to stagger under their collective weight, and tipped them into her bag before she would have dropped them all over the floor. Even this was a bit much to carry, and she started dragging it along behind her.
"What makes these ghosts think they know so much, anyway?" she wondered aloud, adding another book to her shopping bag. "Things were different a thousand years ago. There's no guarantee their lessons even apply to the present day. And hey, they clearly don't know everything, or they wouldn't be dead. So what's their damage?" And why, if he was such a fossil, did Exidor seem right so much of the time?
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