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 Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 5:08 pm
The Royal Knight was sitting at a table in the Headquarters, looking over a plan he was drawing up. He spent a lot of what little free time he got, when he was not with his family, making plans and doing his best to keep his head above water. Some times things felt so overwhelming, he was not able to keep his spirits up all the time.
He had only lost his son to chaos a few months ago, after all. It was still a fairly fresh wound for him. He had just seen his son a few nights ago, though at least the young man had not been with Painite then, and they had almost spoken to one another.
But Chaonis was not much for talking to the White Moon these days. He grunted, which was familiar and painful enough as that was usually the dismissive way he answered when something he could not be bothered with was happening, and then took off so he did not have to face the Royal Knight alone.
It was a very short encounter and nothing had happened because of it, but the effect of it bore heavily on Camelot's shoulders. He looked down at the 'plan' he was drawing up and noticed that he had half colored in most of the lines on the paper and any words or images he had been trying to record were lost under meaningless scribbles his nervous energy had produced while he was thinking. Sighing, he leaned back and away from the table, putting down the pencil and picking up the ruined piece of paper. He crinkled it up and threw it over his shoulder, not taking the care to glance over his shoulder first.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 4:39 am
If one got a look at Arcadia, they'd say there wasn't a single thing in this world that could get him down. Even these days, where the Negaverse ruled and Order was scrambling to get a hold in the world again the knight simply met each day with a smile and cheery outlook. Things would have to get better! It was always darkest before the dawn! All that good stuff. Underneath it all Arcadia was wracked with guilt and doubt. How long could they possibly hold out like this? How long until there were no safe places left, and every last one of them was gone? Just how long did they all have left? He did his best not to show his distress though. The rest of Order didn't need these thoughts. They needed someone among them to cheer them up. That was the role Scheelite had filled so nicely during his Negaverse days so long ago. Still, he couldn't help but feel sad as he walked through the Headquarters. It hadn't been all that long since he had lost his partner Epsilon, and he still found himself wishing he'd hear those pawsteps beside him. Though the mission at large had been accomplished, the Knight had returned home with the broken body of his best friend. It was one of the few times anyone had seen the facade break, and just what a mess the Mercury Knight was had shown through. He shoved those thoughts back, one hand absently going to play with Epsilon's former collar which he wore around his wrist in memory of the little guy. As he stepped into the room, he opened his mouth to greet the other, only to be smacked right in the face with the piece of paper. His reaction? Why...he actually laughed. "Something eating at you?"For all his sad thoughts a moment ago, he was grinning now as he leaned down to collect the discarded piece of paper. Lithiasaur GO FORTH SCHEE/ARCADIA. It's been so long since I've played you omg!
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 8:47 am
Camelot turned when he heard someone laughing, also aware of the little thump of the paper as it hit the floor later than it should have. It must have bounced off something, and that something had to have been the knight standing behind him now. He looked embarrassed as he turned to face Arcadia.
"Ah, sorry, I didn't look before I... threw that..."
He sheepishly tapped his pencil against the piece of paper he had left, shaking his head. He tried to offer a thin smile, though his thoughts had weighed him down a little too much.
"I'm very sorry. I was just thinking about ah. Well, all the costs of this war so far, I suppose. I know it's a bit too easy to get bogged down by it all, and usually I try not to, but I suppose we're all susceptible to grief. Uh. How are you doing? Did you need help with something?"
Usually, when someone came up to him, they needed some help from him, which he was all too glad to give.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 6:34 pm
"Hey, nothing to worry about. Just a bit of paper, right? Not like it hurt or anything....or that there's much going on here."Arcadia had opened the paper, taking a look at what was inside. Looked to be either the world's messiest drawing, or simply absent-minded scribbles from a worried mind. He shrugged, quickly balling the paper back up and tossing it from hand to hand to occupy his own nervous energy. "The...war has cost us all quite a bit."Arcadia's smile broke for a brief moment as his thoughts drifted away. But, as quickly as they had come he shoved them away again and the smile was back on his face. "There isn't something I need, no. But you on the other hand look like you could use some cheering up. So come now, is there anything you need? And don't tell me there isn't...I won't believe you."He likely wouldn't go away either. Arcadia was damn sure the Royal Knight needed some cheering up. Even if he had to force it on the other.
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 7:26 pm
"Ah, well, if there is something I need, I'm not sure I know what it is. I'm just being a party pooper, as the saying goes, even if this doesn't look like... much of a party. I used to be a lot better at them when I was younger."
He grinned teasingly, and felt himself relax a little bit. Maybe it was mostly feigned, but he was doing his best. He at least remembered his past fondly, and knew that he had, once upon a time, been a wild and reckless kid that lived for parties. Basically existed to live club to club. He had grown up, of course, and now he was here, doing things he doubted he would have even been able to imagine up when he was a teenager.
And that was an old worry. An old trouble. When most of the other fighters he struggled along side joined the war, they were just kids. Even now, they were not old enough to deserve to die. He wasn't, and he felt like the oldest amongst them.
"It's nice to see someone so high in spirits, though. It's not all that common around here any more. I try, but sometimes things catch up to me. I'm sure the others appreciate it. I mean, the help being happy. That's a more important thing someone can do for others right now than it will get credit for, I think."
Camelot was good at seeing things for what they were. Cheering other people up was a gift, and a blessing at this point in the war. Having someone that went around and tried to offer his high spirits to other was a gift, and Camelot was glad to see it. That in itself lifted his own spirits a bit, and he smile easier.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 5:44 pm
Ah, what Arcadia wouldn't give to see Camelot in his wild and reckless days. It was hard to imagine the Royal Knight as the reckless sort. After all, Arcadia really looked to the other as a source of inspiration and leadership. Most of them likely did. But....well it'd still be an interesting sight to see. "I am just glad to be helpful. No need for credit, really, not that it isn't appreciated but it isn't what's important. I just want to see everyone happy, knowing that even something little I do could help them be so is more than enough credit for me."His own smile was genuine, eyes bright as he talked. "I remember time spent with the other side, and how hard I worked to keep them all cheery too. It's...hard to recognize them these days, they've grown so much since the time I was first thrust into all of this. Not for the better, either. I hope one day they'll see the light, like I did."Arcadia would forever hold hope that his former comrades could be purified, and this war ended in a way that held as little causalities as possible. It...wasn't a likely scenario, but one he tried to hold onto anyway.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:41 pm
Camelot could sometimes let himself forget that the Negaverse were, for the most part, just like them. He did stress that they were people too, that they were worth a chance to save, but he did not often think about it any deeper than that. Imagining them as actual human beings, as people he could be, or perhaps at one time had been, friends with. These days it was easier now to keep a mental block between the way they lived and the way the Negaverse lived: it was easier to just focus on the war, rather than the people.
But that was not the way Camelot liked to be. Sometimes he just needed a reminder that there were still humans on that side of the war. There were those, like Arcadia, who had come to them looking for an escape, and had chosen to drive Chaos out and aid Order, despite how difficult life was for them. But if someone that was supposed to be their mortal enemies could do something so selfless for their side, then there was always more to the picture than could sometimes be seen.
So hearing that Arcadia used to help the Negaverse the same way he tried to do now, for them, was not entirely surprising but it did stir something in Camelot that made him pause. He smiled gently and shook his head. Some people were far better than he could ever hope to be. He was too damaged these days, though he kept up the best front he could. He doubted he could be as honest as Arcadia was.
"I hope so too," he said, with a nod. "It's so difficult to combat their numbers, when they can corrupt forcibly, and we have to wait for the light to be seen. But I feel like it's always worth the effort, regardless. There's more than being a puppet of Chaos, and if any Negaverse soldier... or corrupt Senshi... sees that, then I want to be able to offer them the help they want."
He had to hold out hope on that front, at least, because he needed the chance to see his son again. Even if he was never restored to who he had been, at least freeing him from the hold of Chaos would be a small step.
"Well, I'm glad you've joined our team, for what it's worth. And I promise not to throw any more paper at you. Well. I'll try not to, anyway. Besides trying to cheer me up, what are you up to?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:58 pm
Truth be told, Arcadia had a harder time connecting with the regular citizens of Destiny City than the Negaverse. No, he had absolutely zero desire to ever go back to them, but at least he remember much of his time with them as well as those he worked with. His former civilian life was completely wiped from his memory, and he had never been successful in rejoining that aspect of society even before Chaos managed to take over. He tried hard to see things from their side, and imagine how rough it must be to be constantly dragged into a war you can't even fight against. But... Well... It was just hard. Arcadia would do his best to protect them, of course. But actually getting into their heads and understanding what they were going through was just so difficult. At least he understand the plight of the Negaverse, and just how much those within it had been changed (many forcefully) from what they once were. "I am glad to be here, and thankful for the choice to help this side. As for what I am up to...I'm afraid it's nothing really. I had no plans for the day, and just so happened to find you here. Sorry that it isn't something more exciting than that."
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:04 pm
"Sometimes it's good to go a day without excitement, I find. With the way things buzz around here, it's hard to get a chance to just relax. I was trying to do some planning, but my head is a bit too clouded to get anything productive done. So I might go to my Wonder, or look for some folks that might want a training lesson..."
He was always trying to do something useful. He rarely took time for himself, just to relax. When he went to his wonder, it was to work on the castle and help rebuild it, or it was to go and visit the captives they were keeping in the dungeon there. A few Negaverse Lieutenants and their Captain. He took care of them, with the help of others, but he also spoke to them, and asked them questions. He wanted them to consider purification, but it was hard to consider something like that while being trapped in a cell.
Usually he spent his time around the camp, and when he could afford to, he stole to the city to try and get information and supplies, and help with efforts to fight back against the Negaverse there. It was an uphill battle, one foot at a time, while constantly slipping back down.
"Have you ever been to Camelot? It's a nice place to visit, very natural and green. It's a good place to catch a breath and relax, if one has the time." He offered that little chance to escape to anyone. Usually someone told him how long they wanted to go for and when, and he could basically work like a cab. Sure, it tired him out, the more he did it, with the state of the world, but his rank and it being an Earth wonder really helped his ability to visit it regularly.
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 11:13 am
Lithiasaur Sorry for the double quote, had to fix something! Oh...now he was definitely perked up. Where before Arcadia just looked like a cheery fellow, at the mention of Camelot and the relaxation it offered he looked like a kid in a candy store. No matter how old he grew, Arcadia would likely never lose that child-like wonder of new things. "I've...never been to Camelot, no. If you do head that way, and need help with anything I'd be more than happy to accompany you? You know...if it was okay with you and all."He was currently one hopeful looking Knight. While he had visited his own Wonder many times, he had yet to actually get to visit another's. It'd be great to get a chance to look around and relax a bit. He'd help too, of course, but just being -away- from this camp for a while would be relaxing. Arcadia's Wonder was an ice forest off on Mercury, which while nice did not offer the same sort of scenery a naturally green place would. It was also quiet...the life had yet to return to the location though he knew in the past it held a variety of interesting wildlife. Arcadia was not in the mood to be alone, so his own Wonder wasn't a place to retreat too. Nor did he seem to have anything to do here... Oh yeah, he still looked super hopeful. "I promise I'll be super careful and won't break anything!"
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Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:57 pm
Demy-Stardust ( It's okay, Gaia doesn't double quote unless you actually click on the first one, and I hadn't because I was at work! )
So maybe he was a little bias about that. How could he not love the place that shared his name? Even before he had powered up, he had been fascinated by knights and Arthurian times, and had a large collection of such themed books. He had managed to save them before the library was closed, and they were now, fittingly, in a library at the Wonder Camelot.
It seemed a nice place for them, anyway.
"We can go soon, if you want. Whenever you have the time, I think. I'll do my best to be available. I take supplies and things there, and some captives are being kept in the dungeons there, so we do what we can to make sure they are taken care of." He was not like the Shadows or any of the senshi that felt like torture and cruelty were the way to get what they wanted out of the negaverse. He tried his best to be reasonable and kind, and though he had his own limits, he was definitely not that kind of jailer.
"There's not too much that's breakable in Camelot, so I think you'll be alright," he said, with a laugh.
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