She'd felt the size of the youma signature from blocks away and her heart had sunk a little. Its like the number of youma in the city had magically doubled in the last few weeks and she couldn't go five feet without tripping over one.
"Ugh... that feels big." Ida muttered as she swerved from her usual patrol route, making a smooth leap from one rooftop to the next and taking off, gold heels beating a rapid pattern on the gravel. Luckily it was still relatively early... the transcended hadn't used up her attacks yet on lesser monsters or agents causing trouble. Should make dealing with this one somewhat easier.
The city felt familiar around her and Ida didn't have to think about her path as she ran, the low hum of traffic soon threaded with the rumbling growls of the youma she was searching for. Where are you, you nasty beast... The sounds and the disgusting feel of youma aura drew the eternal like a beacon and it wasn't long before she landed on the lip of a brick-walled department store, staring down at frankly the biggest youma she had ever seen. At first, Ida honestly thought it was a car moving down in the parking lot, but the panicked shoppers fleeing in terror broke that illusion quickly... as did the ear-battering roar it let out as the hunched, black form head-butted an actual car and flipped it over, sending shattering glass spray outwards.
How the heck did that thing even get here? Ida wondered, though that brought up the question of how any of them got into the city in the first place. Some day, she was going to have to figure that out, but for right now, there was an elephant of a youma causing damage that needed dusting. Ida fell from the building and landed with ease, closing to a distance that made her attacks effective and threw up a hand, a glowing trail of petals following its path.
"Heavenly Orchid Arrows!" The eternal called as the petals solidified into a bow and she took it up with a familiar motion, drawing back the invisible string to call up a glowing arrow. She released it and it roared across the distance separated her from the youma, hitting dead center with an explosion of light. The monster rocked... but barely moved. Ida wilted a little, actually getting a little nervous. Two more attacks and then her fists would be her only weapons. Her eyes widened as its twisted, bovine head turning and she tensed as it caught sight of her with its beady little eyes, very not-bovine fangs exposed as lips pulled back in a snarl. Jaws parted as it roared and Ida jumped, falling into a defensive stance as she weighed her options.
Etneral Sailor Attack: Heavenly Orchid Arrows! [What it does] An out-flung hand casts a trail of petals that form a bow-like shape. She takes it up and uses it to fire arrows of light with hardened petals as arrow heads. The arrows have an 'aura' of power to them and explode on contact. The explosion is more concussive, causing a pressure that can push a target backwards a foot or two, but doesn't do much in the way of actual damage. Unbalanced enemies could be knocked over, if they were caught unaware. Particularly heavy opponents may not be moved by the attack, but could be distracted or slowed by the pressure of it. Each arrow takes a lot of power to cast and her limit is three, which exhausts her and can force her to retire until she's rested.
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2014 4:45 pm
The larger and more powerful the youma, the more Castor wanted to fight it. When such a youma was located not to far from where he was, the senshi of hail grinned, going as far as to call his brother and say to mind his dinner and keep it warm- Something that earned the elder sibling a very loud and annoyed groan.
Arriving on the scene to see another senshi already trying to take it on, he debated about not getting involved, rather, to wait it out and see how well she did. But with her attack turning to well, little more than a light show, his tiara pulled off and he sighed. He might not want to kill it, rather to see what the other senshi could do, but he could certainly disable it.
"Castor tiara magic!" The glowing silver discus was thrown and hissing through the air, it went right through the youma like butter before returning to where it's belonged. On Castor's fat egotistical head.
It was a clean cut to the youma's right limbs, sending it crashing down in a cry of pain. It's head turned to face Castor, snarling as it attempted to crawl in his direction. The senshi just scratched his head, the youma's movements now painfully slower. "I don't suppose you can actually like, pull some thing off a bit more damaging and not just pretty light show do you?" Not that light shows were bad just a bit lacking when well.. facing a giant youma.
She felt the other senshi just moments before something came winging out of no where to slice through the youma, like some huge knife had cut away two of its legs. Whatever it was, she was more than grateful for the crippling, throwing up her hand again to call up another arrow. As before, it roared across the space between her and the monster to smack it square in its ugly face, snapping the head back with the force of the explosion.
While it was reeling from the blow, the eternal took a moment to find the source of the help and blinked at a senshi she had never met before. Granted, it was entirely possible there were eternals that she had never met, but considering she knew a good double handful of the current ones, finding one she didn't know at least in passing was unusual.
His assessment of her attack made Ida shift from one foot to the other, reaching up a hand to tuck her bangs self-consciously behind her ears and bare the glowing henna that curled down the side of her face, matching the same pattern down her bare arm.
"It works better when they're not so heavy..." She said, feeling a little defensive. "They explode, they don't pierce. One is usually enough for the normal sized ones..." Even some of the large ones... though lately their effectiveness had seemed to have dropped. Ever since the trip to Ida and the glow, they had seemed... weaker. It wasn't pleasant to have that pointed out by someone else, who obviously had a more damaging attack at their disposal.
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:27 pm
He frowned, jumping closer, taking a second to kick the youma back before arriving at the other eternal's side. The size wasn't the only thing that made it a threat. The longer it lingered and they were stuck fighting it, the larger the risk that someone else might notice them, not to mention police or civilian involvement.
"Aim for the mouth." He said pointing at how happy the youma was to screech at them and snap it's jaws at them in threat while it slowly pulled it's body towards them. "Even if you miss it'll stun long enough I can get a direct hit to it- If you get inside and those arrows explode like you say?" He grinned, snapping his fingers. "Been a while since I had a chance to dust one this big. Oh-" He looked up smiling, "- try to stay at a distance kay? I tend to just go full out these days with my basics. They.. well let's just say I like not makins swiss cheese senshi hrm?"
Jumping into a a tree he watched her, seemingly fine with going on tangents and issuing orders to perfect strangers.
The suggestion to literally feed the youma an arrow was a good one, leaving Ida both startled and embarrassed that she hadn't thought of it herself.
"Its my last one, so once I fire it off, I'm about tapped out." The dark haired senshi warned, sweeping an arm up a third and finally time to call her glowing bow to hand. "You'll have to finish off what's left."
At least he was here and seemed willing to do so... facing this thing alone might have been more than she could have handled, as much as that bothered her to admit to herself. She would have exhausted herself and then been forced to distract the thing while she called in help, a scenario she was not fond of.
His cryptic comment left her wondering just what it was he planned to do, but she figured she'd find out soon enough as he jumped away, putting distance between them. Turning back, the orchid senshi leveled her glowing arrow at the beast and held it despite the strain of doing so... waiting for that moment when the youma roared its defiance. Ida released her arrow with an exhale of breath and then jumped backwards herself, putting a wide area of pavement between herself and the new eternal. The arrow pulled a large chunk of energy from her and when the young woman landed she sagged a bit, feeling the exhaustive effects of having used up all three of her eternal attacks in such a short space of time.
The arrow, meanwhile, flew true and passed between the curving fangs of the youma to disappear into its throat. The explosion when it went off was muffled by whatever passed for flesh and bone in those monsters and it reared back to roar soundlessly in pain and rage, blood or saliva or something pouring out of its mouth.
"Your turn!" Ida called out as she caught her breath, flicking her gaze to her partner.
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 9:19 pm
He always loved how it felt- that rush of magic just around him, ready to be unleashed when he so chose to do so. However it was all about timing- about the perfect opportunity. He'd spend his youth being careless, often costing him time and energy. Now, he was better. As he licked his lips, ready to unleash the words that would unleash his magic, his hail.
"Nice." He said, watching as the arrow went into it's target. And then did it work. What he guessed was bile pouring from the beast's mouth he stood, mockingly waving his hand at it. "Come on fatty, I got my own gift for you." A screech from the youma it charged him, even as handicapped as it was. A smile gracing Castor's lips he held up his hand, Feeling the air chill in milliseconds. "SLASHING STORM!" A crackle echoed as Ice shot down from the sky, cutting through the youma like butter.
The smile didn't fade as the youma collapsed, slowly turning to dust before the wind carried it off.
The sudden flash of ice from the sky, cleaving the youma in two as though it were only a third it's size and strength, made Ida's eyes widen in appreciation. That was a strong attack... stronger than her own, even before the glow. The form it took was a hint towards the sphere of the stranger and Ida wondered at it as the youma turned to dust.
"That was wonderful!" The young woman called as a smile spread over her face, closing the distance between them now that the danger was passed. The damage around them was regrettable, but at least it wasn't any worse than this. She would have to be happy with what they had prevented.
"Um... I don't think we've met before." Ida said as she came to stand under the tree, tilting her head back to peer up between the branches. Lean brown arms settled behind her back and she wrapped one set of fingers around the other wrist. "I'm Ida, my sphere is Orchids. Are you new...? I haven't seen you at any of the gatherings lately."
Mmm... maybe he was a loner and didn't care for things like training camps and coalition foundings... It was a bit of a shame. Order needed more connections, more people working together. As tonight proved, they were always stronger together than apart.
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:29 pm
Castor preened as the youma went down and the compliments rolled in. Years could pass and he'd still roll over for a good flattering. "Oh if we met before, I'd remember you. I hardly ever let a pretty face go unnoticed." He winked at her, brushing his rear wings off.
Walking to stand near her, he hadn't changed in some ways. Or rather, he'd simply regressed, eyes moving upward along her outfit. Ah, senshi uniforms, still so wonderfully designed. "A pretty sphere for a pretty attack, and lady. And no- I've just been out of town. And I've never been good at gatherings. Not many people like a senshi who doesn't play nice." He shrugged.
"Prince Castor of Hail. The first royal, and the one who's going to remove chaos of from earth." He grinned. "Provided no one thinks we can't 'all just get along' and tries to stop me you know?"
The words and the wink brought color to Ida's face and she shifted from foot to foot in embarrassment. Pretty face... She didn't get that often and it was always off-putting.
Watching him give her a long look did little to put the senshi back on solid ground and she felt the heat spread down her neck as well, her eyes wide in her face. Fidgeting, she tried to focus on what he was saying to her, rather than imagining what he was most likely imagining right now. That was best put out of her mind completely, considering she had just met him and knew next to nothing about this stranger, handsome and powerful or not.
"Prince?" She said, startled. "I've never met a senshi Prince before... just a Princess, that one time..." And that time had not been conducive to getting to know said princess, either. Too much else had been going on that was more important than sating her curiosity for new people. He didn't look like a prince, just an normal eternal... but then, so had Iris, before she transformed. He must have another form too, then... one they could take when they needed the power boost. Interesting.
"Its a shame you've been gone. There have been some times, just in the last year, when we could have used strength like yours. Still, its good you're here and even if I'm not the first to do so, I'm happy to welcome you back." A smile spread over her face as she gave him a dip of her head. She had no idea how one went about greeting princes and princesses, but Iris had not asked for any sort of formality. She'd have to settle for being her regular polite self and hope that was enough for him. "How long have you been gone? I could try to fill you in on some of the things you missed, but ah... I've only been at this for a year and a half now. The other members of my team would probably know more about things before that, really, since they were all eternals when I started."
Unable to resist the urge any longer, Ida smoothed her skirts down over her hips with her palms, wondering all over again why they had come out so very short... A few more inches would have been nice, leggings under them or no.
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 8:59 pm
Castor liked the effect he 'had' on women. Or rather, he liked the reactions they'd give him. Though he typically had no plans to go past words and teasing, the reactions were things that always boosted his ego. They gave him a sort of validation. That he could still be himself.
"You act like no one's told you. Shame really, a cute girl like you should be paid her dues. The color makes you look cute, but it also can make men think you're easy prey little bloom. And orchids are known to be delicate." He tossed his hair back, kicking the last bits of dust off his boot.
"I think I'm the only prince really. The only good one at any rate. Glad to be back though, especially if cute new senshi are here to welcome me!" He laughed. "Been three years, give or take. From what I can tell not much has happened at all. The negas have a better grasp, white moon is on the ropes. Zodiacs are doing their gig, most of my old contacts are alive. A few married, a few not."
His eyes went to her hands, mirth not leaving his face. "Little bloom, no amount of tugging or pulling is going to make it any longer. Enjoy what the cauldron gave you. Besides, it's good to use on a few more distract-able agents."
"People usually don't." She said honestly, feeling awkward about it. And I honestly wonder why they do at all. I'm average, at best. Ida straightened and squared her shoulders, lifting her chin a little bit. "And those who think I'm easy prey, or as supposedly delicate as my sphere soon find out otherwise. I earned my wings under my own power."
At least he'd chosen that bit about Orchids rather than the old connotations about them being symbols of fertility... This conversation, and the way he kept calling her 'little bloom', was awkward enough without that. That title certainly wasn't the worst he could chose to call her either, with her petite build and flower sphere.
When he called attention to her fidgeting, Ida jerked her hands away from her skirts and tucked them behind her back again with a guilty motion, her eyes skittering away from the prince as he flirted with her. Some men... it seemed like she never stopped blushing around them. Alois had been like that too, though that had been for different reasons.
"I don't... do that. I wouldn't even know how... That sort of distraction works better for women with..." At a loss for how to explain it, she mimed an hour glass type of shape, sliding her hands along the imagined curves. "Fuller shapes, I guess. Who know how to use it. Short skirts on me are just good for not getting in the way."
Making an attempt to move to the safer topic, Ida dropped her hands to wrap around the compact around her neck. "The Negaverse has launched some larger attacks here and there... Most recently, there was a large effort to drain a power plant with crystals that failed. Not too long ago, they attempted to band with some Order senshi and knights to attack the Dark Mirror Court, but that failed too. Mostly, its been the usual day to day thing, though I've been encountering more youma recently than I've ever seen before. On the order side, there is an effort being made right now to organize and band together in a sort of charity effort called the Blackwatch. Supporting our side with things we may not be able to easily get alone, like safe houses and medical aid. Sailor Thraen has been the one spear heading that, but there is a council set up now. One of my team mates, Athene, is on it."
Come to think about it... that was really the biggest events, lately. Maybe she didn't have as much to share as she thought. It just felt like so much had happened since she awakened. But that said something, didn't it, that the Negaverse had failed in its most recent activities?
"I don't think the White Moon is on the ropes. We're coming together in more effective ways, if anything."
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 11:01 pm
"More then that it's a pity. One thing I learned in Italy was that American men don't pay women enough compliments. Genuine ones at least. Your wing however, mean frankly nothing. I've seen senshi get their wings from nothing more than being helpless. Spineless. Wings only matter when stained with blood, when broken and healed and black with the ash of things best left buried." He shrugged. "I have high standards. Like how I expect a senshi to be confident in their skills, and in themselves. You were chosen for this destiny, not because you were flawed, or weak, or ugly, but because you were seen as strong- as someone who could change destiny. You have assets little bloom."
His grin was wide as he motioned up and down her. "Use it. Learn how to walk and talk, learn to lure with your voice and eyes. How to seem helpless to make them think you are easy prey, make them lower their defenses, make them the fools, make them your prey."
Looking around he closed his eyes, letting his powered form slide away, leaving behind a man in a hooded coat and an eye patch. "Power down bloom. We've been lingering. Walk with me."
He tilted his head. "Tell me about your current safe houses- what you know of the old alliances we had with the streets. Where police move and who has been keeping tabs on their patrol routes and schedules. How afraid is the negaverse of us?"
"I have the scars to go with my wings." She said as she crossed her arms under her chest. She had a feeling that, in his own strange way, Castor was trying to be supportive, even uplifting... but it was laced heavily with a chauvinistic overtone that just grated on her nerves. Especially when he gestured at her. The kind of woman he described, who could fight that way... Ida was not that kind of woman and she highly doubted she ever could be.
"I don't know what sort of female senshi you know, but I find it hard to believe they all fight that way." She said as she watched him power down, giving a long blink when an eye patch appeared. He hadn't looked injured when he was powered up... was this some attempt at a disguise? Ida wondered how effective it was and just what he was hiding from.
Glancing around to be sure they didn't have an audience, Ida let her own power slide away, leaving her feeling distinctly less impressive in her hip-length, knitted green sweater and black leggings with knee-high brown boots. With her fuku went the glowing markings on her skin, revealing a girl in her late teens, her rounded face hinting at a mixed heritage. Her fingers closed around the strap of a messenger bag as she turned to present a shoulder to him, walking at arm's length.
"I only know of two safe houses right now. Arian and I keep an extra room at our apartment for those who need a safe place and Thraen said he keeps a safehouse as well." She offered him the addresses of both, in case he should ever need them. The alliances he spoke of she had little to offer on, just as she had little to say about the police. Ida herself avoided anyone not powered when at all possible.
"Most of the citizens seem to think of us as terrorists, because that's how the media has been styling us. A while ago, someone did a documentary about the so-called terrorists and set the Negaverse up as protectors of the city. They had footage of a senshi attacking a citizen, but I'm positive it's faked or edited. I know Pandora personally, and she wouldn't have done that." She shrugged, the dip of her sweater in the front playing peek-a-boo with the tattoo of a celtic knot on her sternum.
"I've met officers who cover the spectrum of wariness. I met a corrupt senshi who was convinced I was going to murder him and there is a general who seems to think I am some toy for her to play with. I nearly always come away injured from run ins with Painite."
iStoleYurVamps
Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 8:54 pm
Castor, now Elzo shrugged. He was being helpful- if in his terrible broken way of being helpful.
"It's less a matter of fighting but rather exploiting weaknesses, and using whatever tools you have at your disposal. If I can seduce an agent to thinking I am enamored with them? Then I'll use that." His tone held a hint of bitterness. "Only unlike the past, there won't be a smile by the end of the night. Just a warm body. You posses tools at your disposal. Ignoring them is a stupid mistake, because every tool in your arsenal should be sharpened. They won't hold anything back, they will use every last resource they have to kill us, so thus, we must learn to adapt and do the same. You may not think it a thing you can or should do- but that single thing could be what changes the dynamic of a whole battle."
Marlo had impressed upon his brother the need for focus in that aspect, and, thankfully, it had rubbed off.
If just in the typical black and white Xanis way.
Listening about the safe houses Elzo kept walking, sticking to the well lit streets, walking at a leisurely pace. "Thanks." He took the addresses, but didn't look at them. They were just shoved into his pocket. "Sailor Nea." He said, smiling. "A fake senshi that did a lot of dirty work when I started out- She was going around committing crimes under the senshi alias. I helped oust her identity, but the effect is the same. It doesn't surprise me they took another swing at it, with social media now, it's bound to take off." He paused. "Elzo Xanis by the way. Elder of the siblings. If you need me directly call the Xanis Hotel and ask to speak to Shannon about my wallet. She'll forward your call to me or my brother. My secretary thinks I am forgetful when I drink or sleep around." Another pause. "I'm not though."
He was fairly non-nonchalant about the discussion, not minding how freely he was talking. "As for the doctrine of the negas, think of them like a cult. Some of their information is based in truth. By definition, we senshi are invaders. By our nature, we should have been born on our home worlds, however, earth is as far as we know the one place that can host our starseeds now that our worlds are barren. Just as the facts of the prince and princess's romance- they placed their love before their people. Granted, that is the right of nobility, but it is also the bane of nobility because they WERE bound to their people. The agents have their doctrine and are trained to think live and breathe believing it pure truth. It's their biggest lie, and their biggest lure. Just like the one we had about Serenity." He looked back at the girl.
"Has anyone seen the Queen or heard of the princess in the last three years?"
There was no real point in arguing with him about the virtues of using her body to advantage against officers. If it was the only way to win, the only way to save someone, then she would do it, but if it got to that point, she would have had to have exhausted all other options. He obviously had less hang ups about it, specially when he mentioned drinking and sleeping around. Some how, she was not surprised, but it wasn't her place to judge how he lived his life. He sounded a lot older than she was too... Most of the people she knew were college age and did not have secretaries.
"Elzo. Its a pleasure to meet you. My name is Orah Gowan. The best way to reach me is probably by senshi phone, though I can give you my actual cell if you think that would be better." She'd set up her life around her senshi duties. If he called that phone, unless she was in class, chances are she would be quick to answer back. It was one of the benefits to living with another senshi rather than at home and a big reason why she had moved out. It was getting near impossible to keep the two sides of her life separate any more.
"We're as much a part of this world as anyone else..." She said when he termed them 'invaders', a frown pulling her brows together. "We were born here, we're entirely human... whatever our past lives were, we're 'earthlings' in this life. I could have been a dog in a past life the way some Hindus think of the rebirth cycle and that wouldn't have made me any less human now."
Her eyes slid to him when he started talking about the queen and she met his eyes for a long moment, her shoulders lifting and falling in a shrug.
"If I were not team mates with Tsui and Athene, who were there when the gathering of senshi was attacked and the ghost of the moon queen appeared... I would not even know there was one. The primer says nothing about the history of the war and since I work primarily with new senshi, I've never been around the older ones to hear any of it. There hasn't even been a flicker of something in the last year and a half that I've heard of. Athene thinks that princess is dead. The only princess I've met is Iris."
It was a bit outside of her experience, this sort of conversation. The Queen and Princess were little more than tales to her, stories other people told her. If there was a reason for this war any more, she had yet to see real evidence of it. She had her own reasons for fighting and assumed everyone did.
