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 Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:21 am
Amphitrite didn't know how long it had been since she'd woken up -- had it been minutes? Hours? There was nothing to keep track. Just a musty room with some covered surfaces, no distinct markings other than that. She was chained to the far wall away from them, her arms bound behind her.
Everything about her ached with pain and exhaustion -- the pain was mostly centered around the lash on her back, trickling with red, and her stomach, with a kind of throbbing around her left side that was probably a bruised rib at best. But the exhaustion was all encompassing, and all she wanted to do was give into it and slump back down to the ground. What was really stopping her?
At first, she didn't remember what had happened. She didn't know why she hadn't woken up back in her room with her mom calling her for breakfast. When it came back, piece by piece, regret swarmed her the same way ants engulfed something sweet in the heat of summer. She could have stayed Natalie. She could have avoided this, whatever this was. She could have left with Spike to find Michael, and she could have been home right now. She could have been safe, she could have been -- every time she thought she was making the right choice, something happened. Just what the hell was she supposed to do? She tried to stop being a senshi, and it pulled her back. She tried to be a better senshi, and then...
She choked back a sound that wasn't quite a sob as she forced herself to straighten up. A hiss escaped her as she twisted in such a way that made her back split with fresh pain. Her shoes were gone, she realized dully; so she wasn't the only one that thought they could have use as a weapon, huh?
Amphitrite tried to pull herself together. She was here now, there was no taking it back or changing it even if she wished so hard it ached; so what now?
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:43 pm
"You look a little worse for the wear, Starfish."
Red lips stretched wide over white fangs as Cinnabar glided out of the shadows, her thumbs hooked in the belt around her waist. Her tail followed her, swaying back and forth with each step.
"Comfy? Need anything? Maybe something to eat... something to drink?" The offer was playfully made as she came forward to stop in front of the senshi, bending forward to give her a long look up and down.
What a cute little thing... shame she was on the wrong side. That could be remedied, but it would be up to the General-Queen what became of these captives. Her duties here were clear... keep them drained, but not insensate. Calm and under control. Information extraction was someone else's job and she wasn't real broken up over it. That took a sort of finesse she didn't really care for. Draining, she could do. So much easier.
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:45 pm
Amphitrite gasped, and then immediately wished she hadn't. She didn't recognize the voice right away -- but when she stepped out from the shadows, it clicked pretty quickly. Even if she didn't have a name to go with the face, as far as negaverse agents went, this one was pretty distinctive. If nothing else, the tail was a dead give-away.
Had she chained her up here? - was this some sort of revenge ploy for tackling her like that? She remembered there had been another one too, the one that had struck the final blow, but Amphitrite hadn't gotten a good look at that one at all. She made a face as the other woman leaned down to look her over, scooting back as far as she could manage.
"Why did you take me here?" To her credit (and it surprised Amphitrite a little to be honest), she didn't sound afraid when she asked. Score one for Team Order, right?
The unspoken question was, why am I still alive?
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Posted: Mon Jan 05, 2015 11:46 pm
The captain's smile pulled wider as the girl scooted back to put more distance between them. Knees bending, Cinnabar crouched down to put herself more at a level with the captive and rested her forearms on her thighs, her tail sweeping gently from side to side along the floor.
"Nothing personal, really, Sweetheart. You were sort of in the wrong place at the wrong time... for you anyway." She chuckled softly. Reaching out, the half-youma ran the tip of a forefinger down the senshi girl's cheek, letting a sharp black claw scrape her delicate looking skin. Her hair made quite a contrast with her olive skin tone... but really, she shouldn't be appreciating the appealing features of the enemy. Shame.
"I had orders and I carried them out. I brought you here specifically, because I was told to. Just like I've been told to keep you tractable... which means a little bit of energy drained every so often, just so you don't have enough to do anything... unfortunate." Dropping the hand from her face, Cinnabar held it palm up and began to pull energy from the senshi with a surprisingly delicate and gentle touch. A glowing spot appeared above her palm and the more she drew, the larger it got. Not too large though... She had enough control that once the room started to spin a little, Cinnabar stopped and closed her taloned fingers around the energy orb.
"There you go! That wasn't so bad, was it?" She hummed as she rocked back on her heels.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 11:50 am
The wrong place at the wrong time. The words sank like stones in her gut, and it took everything in her not to panic. Just another affirmation that this woman had been a thousand percent right when she'd told Amphitrite she'd made a 'big mistake'. "Are you sure it wasn't personal?"
She stiffened as that claw dragged over her cheek, turning her head to no avail. For a brief, fleeting moment, she seriously considered whether or not she'd be able to turn and bite fast enough to catch that stupid taloned finger. But would it be worth it? Hadn't she gotten herself into enough trouble already?
"How's your leg?" she asked with mock-concern; not so much to get a biting edge in, but more to insinuate that maybe there'd been a little more to this kidnapping than chance and fate. After all, Amphitrite knew as far as senshi went, she was nothing special. So why bother with her?
She expected the touch to be harsh, and the way her shoulders tensed gave it away. But no. It didn't hurt, it just... it made her feel the way she had at the ball, before she'd collapsed onto Spike. Her eyes widened, even as she swayed. "This happened at the ball, " she hissed out loud, more to herself than to the officer. If only she'd realized sooner - but so sue her, she didn't really make a habit out of having her damn energy drained!
"Who are you?" Now, Amphitrite was blinking furiously, trying to will herself to remain together and here instead of drifting off again. "... What are you?" The tail, the scales, the claws. Maybe she hadn't seen many negaverse agents, but... she'd only come across one sort of like her, once.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:51 pm
What a cute little question... 'are you sure?' The insecurities were bald in it. Poor little thing... obviously not made for war and only now starting to realize the mess she was in.
"Why would it be personal, cutie? Have you done something worth being singled out? Are you some big hot shot senshi taking down officers left and right and being a huge pain in our collective asses?" Cinnabar laughed as she tucked the orb of energy down the front of her corset, settling it securely in her impressive cleavage. "I don't think so. You're not much of anything, as far as I can tell, but the orders didn't specify specific people to catch up... it was more 'everyone you can get your hands on'. Sort of your own fault for landing in here, if you hadn't rushed me I might have over looked you completely."
She brushed off the question about her ankle, instead pushing herself up onto her feet so she could stretch, vertebrae popping in her back.
"As for who I am, my name is Captain Cinnabar. What I am is a bit of a convoluted question... I was a fairly normal woman once. I'm what happens you get over confident and think you can do things you can't." She said as she gave the girl a bit of a side-eye, her lips curling. "It was only because of Metallia's generosity and the mercy of a General-Queen that I'm here at all and not down some Youma's throat... ******** tried to eat me, but General-Queen Laurelite gave me the power to eat it instead. I'm the product of merging with a youma, cutie."
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:28 pm
Drained as she was, her head spinning, Amphitrite felt her cheeks grow hot with shame as she looked down. This woman, she wasn't wrong. Amphitrite hadn't made much of a ripple in the world, not enough to take notice of. She'd shown up at a meeting, gotten dragged somewhere, had a couple of stray meetings here and there, but nothing worth writing home about. This situation, this place she was in now, it was no one's fault but her own.
Heat rose behind her eyes, and she willed it away with what she thought was a deep breath. It was really more of a prolonged sniff.
She looked up again, though she was straining. The urge to crumple back to the floor was close her eyes was strong. But still, she listened to what the woman, Cinnabar, had to say. The jab at Amphitrite was pretty obvious, and she worried her chapped lower lip between her teeth in response, but otherwise remained unflinching.
"That can happen?" she breathed out, and wondered if that had been the blue monster's fate from the ice cream shop. "But you're... wow." She bit her tongue to keep a half-baked compliment at bay. Let's face it, Cinnabar might have fused with a monster, but for the accessories, she'd gotten the good end of the deal, hadn't she?
"I'm Sailor Amphitrite, " she offered suddenly, like maybe it would make some sort of difference to attach a name to her face. "Can you tell me, I mean... if you were supposed to grab us and go, that means I'm not the only one that was taken, right?" To be honest, she didn't ask out of concern. Any other time she would feel guilty for being so shamelessly self-serving, but let's face it. No one really knew about Amphitrite enough to notice she was gone.
If she'd kept in touch with Ash, then maybe... the only other person who might take notice was Ganymede, and even that was stretching it. Natalie was one thing, but even if her father knew she was a senshi, he didn't know which one she was. But if someone else was here, someone that people cared about, then maybe she stood a chance of getting back home.
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 7:58 pm
Mmm... was that the shine of tears in the sea-blue eyes? It seemed she'd hit a sore spot. Poor little girl... all lost and alone in the woods where monsters prowled.
Turning, Cinnabar strode to the door and opened it, disappearing for a moment before returning with a Styrofoam cup in her hand. Her walk was less threat and more even pacing this time as she came back, crouching closer this time as she reached out to help the girl straighten up a little.
"Here." She said as she offered the cup, holding it up so the senshi girl could drink from it. It was water, clear and cold. "Yeah, I'm not the first officer to merge with a youma. Its not all so bad, really... I'm faster and stronger than I was before, more useful as an officer. By all rights, I should have died for my stupidity, but... the Negaverse takes care of its people, when they prove themselves useful. Sometimes even when they're not."
Cinnabar's touch was gentler this time as she brushed Amphitrite's hair back from her face, smoothing it down.
"Amphitrite... that's a pretty name. Goddess of the Sea, Poseidon's wife." She smiled, softer this time. "You weren't the only one, but I wouldn't look to anyone for help, Starfish. Those other people, they've got their own problems to deal with. A lot are putting up quite a fight and being all tight lipped. They're getting punished for it and things aren't going to go well for them... You're a smart girl though. Pretty little thing like you, you know the generals would eat you up."
There was concern in Cinnabar's voice and she kept up her careful holding of the cup until the water was gone.
"All you have to do is be polite and answer their questions promptly... they'll treat you well. I can even put in a good word for you, if you promise to be accommodating. I can get someone to talk to you who'll make sure you're not hurt any more." She offered up an encouraging smile. "We take care of people who deserve it."
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Posted: Tue Jan 06, 2015 11:49 pm
When she disappeared, Amphitrite wasn't sure whether she was relieved or petrified. On one hand, Cinnabar clearly had the potential to be dangerous, and she had already drained her to the point of exhaustion. On the other hand, Amphitrite had been able to strike up some kind of conversation with her, and... maybe it was a glimpse into her own nature, but she didn't know if she really wanted to be alone in this place either. Especially when she didn't know what was coming next. She didn't really have anything worth offering these people, so that could only mean --
Then, after what felt like much longer to the senshi, Cinnabar returned. There was something changed in her stance this time, so even if she still tensed on reflex, Amphitrite did not squirm or resist when she helped her straighten up to drink.
The water was cool, tantalizing on her lips. Before she could even question whether or not it was safe to drink, Amphitrite was already sipping it eagerly. You know how starved men would say that a first meal after being lost in the desert or whatever was the best meal of their lives? ******** meals, this was literally the best thing she could ever remember having.
"It seems like, " she gasped out between eager gulps, less hesitant to say it now, "If you ask me, if you gotta merge with a youma, you got the best end of the deal -- the last guy I saw didn't look so -- " Human. Amphitrite didn't get much more into detail than that.
Amphitrite knew what Cinnabar was playing at. Even if she was being kind (surprisingly so, actually), and Amphitrite was grateful (exceedingly), she knew better than to just let her guard down. But it didn't make her weak to sit here and play ball, did it? She didn't have anything for them. She knew barely any senshi, and she didn't know who anyone was beyond their powered personas, or... much of anything, to be honest. Maybe if she was careful about what she said. Maybe -- there were ways to do this. She could survive this. She had a family to get home to, she couldn't die here.
"Thank you, " she breathed out when the water was gone, sparing Cinnabar a small smile for her trouble as she nodded slowly. "Really, I -- thank you so much. I don't know much, but I won't cause any trouble." A tiny spark of fear ignited in her chest, spurred by the blurred dream of a future that wasn't. The desperation to stay whole, pure. "I just want to get home -- as me, if I can." Even if it had been a dream, she knew what those in the negaverse were capable of.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:29 pm
A rough chuckle rolled from her throat as she set the empty cup down, letting the girl sit back.
"I suppose I did. It could have been worse... could have had scales all over and a mane to boot. Not everyone is so lucky." She said as she smiled, giving the girl's chin a little squeeze with her fingers. "You're welcome, sweetheart. I know you'll do just fine, as long as you keep your head down and do what you're told."
She ran the backs of her fingers down her cheek before she rose, her tail giving a flick behind her.
"I'll come in and check up on you later, ok? See if maybe I can't wrangle up something for you to eat... maybe somewhere more comfortable. As long as you're good." Cinnabar said with a wink. "Rest up, sweety."
The tall woman waved her fingers as she headed out. There were more prisoners to see, more energy to drain... and she had to see what she could do for a cute senshi girl who showed promise.
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Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:13 pm
Whether Cinnabar's soft touches and sweet promises could be owed to pity, mind games, or something that fell in between, Amphitrite would not argue. She refused to waste her limited strength and breath on a struggle she knew she couldn't win.
Better to save it for when her life depended on it - and as desperately as she hoped it never came to that if she played the good girl, she wasn't stupid.
"Thank you, Cinnabar, really - I'll see you soon, " she said, making sure to play up the hopeful edge in her voice when she said it.
Bluefire Dragonz Yeah, I'll take a tomato wrap with turkey, tomato, and - *shot*
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