Welcome to Gaia! ::

Not exactly the most lady like way to sit in a chair but honestly who really gave a damn when you were a General Queen? She was comfortable and in truth that’s what mattered right? Plus who the heck cared when in the comfort of your own home.

Music on low Kazenite sat perched in her recliner with both feet hanging off the armrest crossed at the ankles, with three file folders resting in her lap and her ever faithful guardian cat dozing on the back of the black suede chair. Every so often the sound of a page being turned interrupted the otherwise soothing melody coming from the i-Pod on the other side of the room.

“Phact my dear you have been rather busy hmmm.” How this agent slipped under her radar and avoided her interrogation was beyond her. Perhaps it was due to his placement in the police force that made her assume that Kadavadite would keep an eye on him. No matter, her sights were set on this Deman now, and if the information her little dove provided was indeed accurate then she had some fun to look forward to in the near future.

The sound of a yawn beside her head and claws detaching themselves from the upholstery interrupted Kazenite’s thoughts. One paw pressed down on her shoulder then the other before Xyla touched the tip of her cold nose against her Queen’s ear and nuzzled the side of her face. Yellow eyes shone with such startling contrast when set against the teal blue and black fur of the cheshire looking guardian cat as she tilted her head to get a better look at the names on the files. “Remind me again why you grabbed General Sherwood’s file”

“She’s a new recruit courtesy of our favorite General King. Aside from this,” Kazenite opened her folder and flashed the only photo she had of the brunet “I have little to go on other than it appears she’s not much of a fighter. Makes me think she’s more of a survivor than someone who will intentionally do something reckless.”

Curiosity piqued, Xyla reassumed her former perch and laid back down for the time being. “So what are you going to do with her?”

“I figured I’d have a little talk, see if she would be interested in doing some spying for me on our new target Deman.” The teal haired woman stretched her arms above her head and leaned back over the other armrest effectively cracking her back in the process eliciting from her a rather pleased sigh.

“Why not just do it yourself?” came a near immediate question that carried with it a tone of contempt.

Teal-blue eyes narrowed briefly but ultimately the General Queen merely rolled her eyes and reached over to scratch the guardian cat between her pointed ears. “My hope is to kill two maybe three birds with one stone. Though I’d prefer the last to survive if it’s all the same to anyone else. Back in the woods yesterday Phact gave us information I don’t believe was entirely intentional.” A smile tugged the corners of Kazenite’s glossed lips when Xyla’s ears perked and her pupils dilated into black pools within those golden-yellow eyes with interest. “She gave us a date and time she planned to meet with our new target Deman. If her information is accurate and he isn’t running late, I believe we may have an opportunity to learn more about our little Dove.”

“OoooOooo I like it. So you’re going to have Sherwood tail the officer and hope he leads us to Phact yes? I like it…” Oh how proud she was to be the Queen’s personal Guardian Cat, rarely was there ever a dull day. And here the senshi was probably thinking she was being smart trying to show off her skills in gathering information and let too many details slip or in this case a specific date and time. Ah, if she were truly as smart as she believed herself to be the senshi would have left out the time completely or perhaps left them with a time frame in which the meeting would potentially take place; but even then they were patient enough to wait.

“Come,” Kazenite pulled the picture of Deman out of his folder and tucked it into her pocket then swung her legs to the right off the armrest and stood up. “I think it’s as good a time as any to go say hello to our former Knight of Earth.”

Nothing else needed to be said in order to get the little feline up and moving. One small leap and she was being cradled in the Queen’s arms and in the blink of an eye the scenery change. No longer were they in the confines of the small apartment; instead they were out at the pier overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. There were people around, couples who walked hand in hand enjoying the view while on their way to go have linner… lunch or dinner whatever.

Hoping the general was powered Kazenite summoned her communicator crystal “General Sherwood?” she spoke clearly with as much of a friendly tone as she could muster.

Sherwood felt like something of a stick in the mud these days with a persistent feeling of being lost nagging at her. The things Newgrange told her echoed in her head, a name Benitoite neglected to share when she crossed over but that he’d heard from her lips. He swore to her that this was not what she’d wanted. The Negaverse was a world he swore she’d tried to avoid. She turned each new thing learned about her old life over and over in her head until it ached beyond what aspirin could heal. No matter how much she knew about Caydence Brendan the simple fact of the matter was that she wasn’t Caydence. That girl was dead, stolen by Chaos.

The only problem, from her perspective, was that in place of this life she had and people she was said to have cared about nothing was put in its place.

The worst part, Newgrange said, was that she had parents that now thought she was missing. Silblings that no longer had an older sister. They wouldn’t even know her if she crossed their path on the street. Her voice wouldn’t sound the same to them. Her face wouldn’t be familiar though they’d looked at it every day before her conversion. Friends she had and plans she cherished were all cast away for this new life as General Sherwood.

She hadn’t been summoned by anyone in the two weeks since her conversion: until now.

Teleporting took some getting used to and she had practiced some, mostly hopping from rooftop to rooftop like a Nightcrawler reject (minus the smoke). It only took a moment of focus to put her at the pier. A quick look around made her immediately envious of everyone there, all of the people with families and lives to get back to, without many cares in the world.

The sun was warm on her skin as she approached what felt like a fellow General, though she had no idea who or why she’d been called.

“I’m Sherwood.” She extended a hand, a probably outdated courtesy. Was a salute better? “I don’t know who you are, though.”

The teal haired woman shifted her arms so the Guardian Cat could climb up and sit on her shoulder for the time being so she could reached out unencumbered by a furry load and shake the young woman’s hand. “My name is Kazenite, and this here is Xyla.” The cheshire cat merely nodded her head in greeting, opting for the silent greeting.

“I bet you’re wondering why I called you out here.” It was more of a statement than anything. Motioning her head to the side as a silent request to follow, Kazenite turned and walked towards one of the wooden benches along the pier. “I guess you can say it’s my job to welcome the new recruits; I apologize for not coming to find you sooner.”

Taking a seat she patted the open spot next to her indicating that the young General should take a seat as well “So tell me, how are you holding up?”

“It’s nice to see you Kazenite, Xyla.”

Sherwood nodded her head in greeting to them both, trying to be polite as possible. These people were the only ones she had to rely on now and it was best to make a good impression. Besides, they hadn’t been hostile or rude to her and she believed in good manners, some habits impossible to shake even after a personality altering experience.

“You could say that,“ she responded, softly. “No one’s taken much interest in me one way or another since I joined the Negaverse. I was beginning to wonder if I was invisible.”

If this was the welcoming committee she wondered where this General had been during week one, day one. Benitoite certainly hadn’t stuck around to give her instructions or to teach her about her new powers or objectives. The only thing she’d learned was to kill or detain the White Moon when she found them and to be loyal to her new family, the one she’d learned would have little to do with her unless she stepped out of line or was found to be a sympathizer. She certainly wasn’t going to tell them about her secret meeting with Newgrange where she not only let him live she failed to report the incident and spoke to him like he was her equal.

“I’m alright.”

There was nothing to do but lie through her teeth about her sense of self and peace of mind. She was under the correct impression that any perceived weakness on her part would be exploited by her new “brethren”. She was learning to be naturally suspicious of those in her ranks and hadn’t yet learned how to take advantage of having a higher rank than some of the others she came across. Maybe it wasn’t right to try to be a source of authority when she could barely keep herself in check most days.

Straightening, she tugged her shirt down a little bit to get a wrinkle out.

“How can I be of service, General?”

Kazenite raised a delicate eyebrow and merely shook her head. With a light laugh she leaned backwards to rest her head on the railing behind them. “Relax. We’re the same, you n’ I, no reason to be so formal.” An annoyed yellow eyed glare met her backside as Xyla jumped on the wood banister, not too thrilled about having been nearly dumped into the water because her Queen so carelessly leaned that way without letting her off first.

“You know what I’ve come to learn? It’s the ones that are seemingly invisible that are quite often the most dangerous.” Be it like her precious Dove who goes unnoticed like a bird perched in a tree. Not at all out of place but still very much maintains a presence, yet nobody seems to pay her any mind. Or what of those silent assassins, agents that are quiet and deadly, sticking to the shadows and ambushing their prey. “It’s never a bad thing to be invisible, chances are you get away with more things no?” Kazenite looked over out of the corner of her eyes and smiled hoping that this chit chat may soften the new recruit up a little bit. Open up love, let me see who you really are.

“I’m not dangerous unless I have to be.”

Her weapon, however, suggested otherwise. As if the bow wasn’t bad enough, and with her aim it was plenty dangerous, the back of the metal curve was bladed like the edge of a scythe with room to hold on to it in the middle. She could wield it with deadly force when pushed to though thankfully that hadn’t happened yet. A few well placed arrows brought down just a few in warning or to bring back to Sakuradite for testing. From what she heard those few probably wished they were dead well before they actually were.

Sherwood was more of a straight laced recruit when it came to who she was now. Knight Sherwood skipped patrol when she felt like it and teased Newgrange for being too serious when all she wanted to do was plan her life and do something exciting. She used to give him no end of grief, as antagonizing as a little sister. Now, though, she counted on the information of others to determine her views on things. She counted on orders to give her a goal to focus on.

“I don’t need to get away with anything. My life is an open book.” Caydence’s life, on the other hand, had to be kept secret…

And this is why I dislike having little to go on keh next time I’m sending Xyla to dig up s**t before I go make friendly with new recruits, lazy a** cat. Okay so maybe that wasn’t entirely truthful, the guardian did play a significant role in this masquerade but still nobody liked pulling teeth in conversations and it wasn’t her intention to get right down to business. “I don’t want to be grouped into that lump of others that stands by idly ignoring our new recruits; that’s no way to welcome you into our family now is it?” Unfortunately it seemed to be a bit of a harsh reality with the growing numbers. Still, Benitoite should have at least taken responsibility of this young one; at least in terms of years spent serving chaos.

“So why don’t you read me the intro to this book of yours? Ms Sherwood I would like to learn more about you. Your likes, dislikes, tell me what do you do to unwind?” All simple questions, though she doubted the General had lost all of her memories; a suspicion she retained so long is it was by someone elses hand that a recruit joined the Negaverse. Even IF she forgot all of who she once was two weeks was enough to relearn at least these basic questions was it not?

“Family?”

There was an odd sort of light in her voice when she echoed the word. That was something she was being told she had but was missing sorely all the while. It was what brought her close enough to be corrupted by Benitoite to begin with, the longing for her home and family while sequestered in the encampment the White Moon used for the Resistance. For safety she’d left home but checked in with them sometimes at least so they knew she was alive. Family was also what Newgrange had called himself, not just her partner knight.

About that open book Sherwood had to think long and hard about how she could answer. She didn’t remember anything of her past, not powered or civilian.

“I spend a lot of time practicing in the woods with my bow. I like night time. I like looking at the stars.”

In truth that was how she spent most of her nights off, going to the spot she’d been told used to be hers and laying in a tree staring at the stars like Caydence would. She liked the quiet infinitely more than the bustle of the big city and retreated every chance she got, like a huntress, stalking the woods for her prey.

“I don’t like…” Being alone, being confused, feeling helpless. “I don’t like feeling like I don’t belong.” Which was about as honest an answer she felt like she could safely give.

“I know how you feel” a sentiment they both shared; not necessarily presently, but not so very long ago Kazenite felt the same way. Leaning forward the teal haired woman rested her elbows on her knees and fixed her gaze at the red fire hydrant across the street surrounded by short arborvitaes.

“Everyone has a place in the Negaverse. Somewhere in this ever expanding family of ours is a niche only you can fill where you’ll shine brighter than anyone else Sherwood. There are so many subdivisions that the key is finding the right one for you.”

“For someone that enjoys looking up at the stars, I don’t see you as being someone who enjoys fighting all that much. Am I right?” Teal-blue eyes turned to lock with those of emerald green as the Queen waited patiently and watched carefully for any sort of ques that a connection may have been made.

“You’re right.”

Mostly she considered the bow a tool rather than a weapon. In her hands it was effective and she rarely had to ask a question more than once before she had an answer. When not in use she usually wore it slung over her shoulder for easy access with her arrows.

”Where does your niche lie?”

Sherwood heard about all the different sub factions within the Negaverse and not a one sounded appealing. She’d dabbled in Information and Infiltration, her intent to suss out hidden White Moon agents. In that she’d been moderately successful, delivering a few civilians to the Science department for testing to see if they were knights or senshi.

“I did some work for Science. Mostly gathering unwilling recruits. You can get a sense for it sometimes, who a civilian is deep down. It’s a tingle, I can’t explain it.”

“I can’t say that I’ve spent much time in that division. Where as you have a fancy bow, knowledge is my weapon of choice. I tend to stick to information gathering, learning what I can even if it means opening doors that should otherwise remain closed.” Her response was otherwise quite vague for the time being considering nobody, aside from Metallia, was truly safe from her prying. Light eventually gets shed on those deep dark secrets, all it takes is patience.

Not liking to be forgotten Xyla mewed behind the two women and leapt from her perch to the bench beside the brunette General and nudged her elbow, a request for permission to nestle in Sherwood’s lap. A loud purr met both of their ears as yellow eyes looked up questioningly, waiting patiently to be granted a more comfortable place to rest.

“Why do I get the feeling you don’t particularly care much for that division?” Perhaps it was a wrong assumption to make but in part she hoped it to be true. Oh how Kazenite would truly love to add this gem to her own family of sorts. Now if only she could figure out how true her loyalties to the Negaverse truly are. “You don’t like herding the sheep, as some might call it, do you? ”

“Oh!”

Sherwood crossed her legs to allow Xyla a nice place to rest, maybe a habit left over from having a cat of her own once upon a time? She wasn’t sure. The furry company was welcome, however, and she idly stroked the feline as she thought about things. It seemed she was always thinking about something serious, part of what dulled the light in her emerald eyes. She never used to be so somber.

“I don’t like watching General Queen Sakuradite work.”

She’d had the misfortune of seeing the beginning of an “experiment,” an experience she didn’t care to repeat ever again. It had served to make her thankful, however, that she was on the right side of the sterile laboratory doors.

But yes, maybe herding the sheep as Kaz said was not her cup of tea. Being invisible and intuition, however, was.

True, the woman’s methods had a tendency to make even her own skin crawl. To each their own as they say Though torture isn’t my style of choice I can’t completely say I’m much better… Which was true for the most part. If starseed fondling didn’t get her point across than old style war methods of torture were typically her fall back as oppose to these new age scientific experiments. There was no denying their effectiveness, still… leave it to the brainiacs to dabble with that s**t. “So what is you’d like to do instead? Where do you find yourself fitting in?”

“I don’t know.”

Which was more or less the whole point of her nightly frustration. Sherwood had no past and, as far as she could tell, was not really living in the present. Being aimless might have been the aspiration of stoners and lazy people but it was certainly not something suited to her sense of well being. The General needed to keep busy and she needed to know what to do next.

“I’m up for trying anything if it means maybe finding something that I like and that I feel useful doing.”

Benitoite said that she’d told him she wanted to be an artist when he met her. It was one of their talking points and probably the only reason the knight was alive and now a General. She didn’t think there was an artistic faction of the Negaverse and if there was her creativity still seemed pretty dampened by the recent turn of events.

“I guess I like being invisible.”

It left her time to spend on her own devices and when left with her own thoughts Sherwood was confident that eventually she’d be able to puzzle things out.

Now it was time for business, to show a glimpse of her hand now that the door had been unlocked if not left slightly open. “Have you ever considered information gathering? Spy work or whatever you’d like to call it?” Spy… though an appropriate term to use always seemed so 007 minus the fun gadgets but hey we got weapons and teleport…. yay?

“It allows you to remain invisible, or rather tests your ability to do so, all the while learning about specific targets; habits, patterns, tendencies, daily routines…” and more so much more. It was one of the many reasons she got as far as she did in the Negaverse, learning all she could about her opponents and never going in without at least some basic information. This current encounter was however one of those rare exceptions to that general rule but no matter, things were being guided towards her reason for being here quite nicely.

“A spy?”

An immediate image of James Bond flashed into her head. The images of spies like that were classic things and she would have been lying if she said the idea didn’t have strong and immediate appeal. Sherwood flashed a smile, her first in this conversation, and looked at her companion.

“Who would I be spying on?”

She wanted to make sure what she was doing would not be violent. A lack of spy toys aside (and possibly she would mention this to the Science department later if she found this lack of gadgets detrimental) Sherwood wanted to make absolutely certain that she was not going to have to harm anyone herself. Identify them for harm, sure, but her hands had to stay clean.

Kazenite offered the general a smile of her own before producing the picture of the officer in question from her side pouch. Though slightly bent on the corners she handed it to Sherwood so she could get a good look at her target. “His name is Deman.” The blond haired man had a serious look on his face as he donned his police uniform for a mandatory photo to receive his ID. “It’s been brought to my attention he may be either a sympathiser or a traitor; which one, I’m not sure at this time. But he’s been going through several partners at an alarming rate.”

“Unfortunately it’s not something I can do myself. He’d likely recognize me two blocks away.” Not true, she’d never personally met him, only observed for a few days as he settled into his role at the precinct before leaving him in Kadavadite’s charge. “What I’m looking for is more information, nothing more nothing less. Where he goes, who he meets, conversations he has if at all possible. It would be to your discretion if you wish to remain at a distance, take photos and notes or if you wish to get closer and use a recorder to catch conversations. There’s no need to chat with him unless you feel you can pull something useful from him or if he approaches you; whatever the case may be.” Which hopefully shouldn’t happen, then again he was a cop so s**t happens sometimes especially if he was one of the paranoid bunch, as he should be…

After a few minutes Kazenite broke the silence “What do you say? Up to giving it a try? Giving intel a shot?”

“Will he be powered?”

If he was he’d feel her aura a mile away and that would make things more difficult. Still, though, the idea was appealing. No fuss, no muss. She wouldn’t have to hurt anyone though the brunette was confident she could if she needed to.

“No. He shouldn’t be at least.” The only uniform he should be wearing was his police uniform. There really was no sense in having too many powered individuals running rampant throughout the streets. “I however can’t guarantee he won’t be without his new partner though.”

“Oh.”

Caydence would have been nervous about confronting a cop but Sherwood didn’t bat an eyelid about it. The only authority she cared about was the one with the power to bring her down. Those people she wanted to keep as far on her good side as possible so that they wouldn’t suspect her for her own activities. Meeting a knight in secret without hurting him would be an unforgivable offense and a hell of a blackmail if she was found out.

“Yeah. I can give it a try. Sounds like a fun night out.”

Excellent! Kazenite placed a reassuring hand on the woman's’ shoulder “I’m sure things will go smoothly, though if s**t hits the fan use your communicator and call me.” Though she really did not wish to get involved with this little spying gig outside of recruiting Sherwood, it would be a sign of good faith if the General at least knew she was not without backup. “I suggest you take a camera with you, or a phone that can take pictures; that would work too. Also a notebook! Even if things seem insignificant or silly jot them down. It never hurts to have too much.”

“I think I can manage that.”

Sherwood had lots of technology at her disposal if she wanted it. The people in the Science department owed her cooperation at least, if not a full favor. Information and Infiltration, too, probably had things that she could use since that was their main focus. Or had been, not so much anymore now that they were all out of the coffin, so to speak.

“Tomorrow then. Your day starts when his does; 5 AM” Butt freaking crack of dawn. God why do people get up so early?

Reaching into the same pouch that held the picture, Kazenite produced a folded piece of computer paper and handed it to the brunet. “Here’s his address. I suggest you bring snacks, I have a feeling it’ll be a long day.” The teal haired woman flashed Sherwood a rueful smile, a bit of an apology perhaps. “We’ll meet back here the day after; Tuesday around noon. We can discuss over lunch what you’ve learned, it’ll be my treat.” A small olive branch and show of good faith. Perhaps the girl would open up a bit more so their next chat would be a little less teeth pulling and a bit more relaxed.

It was a fair toss up on just how relaxed Sherwood would ever be but it was sweet of Kaz to expect it of her.

“I can manage myself.”

Though she wasn’t exactly thrilled about the 4am wake up call or the indefinite job duration. She’d done worse though and wasn’t about to snub a potentially helping hand. If this was her family she was going to embrace it and make herself as indispensable as she could.

“Tuesday then.”

Kazenite nodded her head then pushed herself up off the wooden bench, que for Xyla it was time to go. Just like earlier that morning the little feline stood up and jumped into her Queens arms, nestling herself quite comfortably across her forearms. “We shall see you in two days then.” With that said the teal haired woman teleported away leaving the General by herself save for the lapping sound of the water beneath the pier and couples walking hand in hand down the boardwalk.