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 Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:49 am
Paris rarely made it a habit to leave the house alone these days. If she wasn't with Chris, she was with her mother, or her mother-in-law, or Peter, or any one of her friends. She couldn't handle the loneliness and unforeseen danger of a solitary walk unless she was in the safety of her large walled and gated backyard.
Her time in captivity had changed many things about her, from her habits (she didn't like the darkness or the solitude anymore) to her appearance (she bore more scars, and her damaged hair had since been cut). Her expressions were often melancholy, guarded and distant despite how chipper she endeavored to make herself appear.
Her outlook on the war had changed. She'd come closer to death than she ever had before—had craved it at times. She'd experienced pain beyond anyone's imagination. No one could come back from that the same as they'd been before.
On a cold winter morning just a day after having the cast removed from her left forearm, Paris sat at a table, alone, inside a warm, quaint little cafe, with a bowl of tomato soup and half of a turkey sandwich on a plate in front of her, and a cup of hot chocolate close at hand. She looked out the window with her chin resting against her palm, staring at the large flakes of snow that drifted down to collect on the streets and sidewalks.
Patiently she waited for her company to arrive, one leg bouncing up and down in a show of anxiety. Every once in a while her eyes would dart about the establishment as if she were looking for signs of danger, but hardly anyone paid her any attention. Most of the other patrons were focus on their own food and drink, while the employees looked out the window nervously, perhaps wondering if the snow meant to worsen and disrupt that afternoon's travel.litian Went ahead and wrote up a start for us! <3
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Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 4:40 pm
Arian had come across Paris in hospital whilst recovering from injuries that he'd picked up courtesy of a bow and arrow wielding Nega-General who had used said bow and arrow to try and turn him into a pin cushion during the Order mission to rescue those who had been kidnapped during the New Year's Eve ball. The meeting had been a chance one, but had been enough to confirm that the voice that he'd heard that night in the very not fun 'fun house' - the unfamiliar one that had mentioned that Ganymede was safe - had been right. It hadn't really been the time or the place to talk though or to do more than agree to meet up once they were both out of hospital. Which brought him to today and his morning meeting, his right arm finally free of the cast that had covered it for a month, a hot chocolate of his own in his left hand, one topped with whipped cream and marshmallows, and a slice of gingerbread cake that he hadn't been able to resist in his right as he made his way over to the table that had been pointed out to him. "Hi Paris," he smiled as he caught sight of the blonde, his quiet voice friendly as he set first the hot chocolate and then the cake on the table before sitting down in the seat opposite. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting for too long." Sunshine Alouette your start is lovely <3 I'm sorry it's taken so long to tag back and should have the Lucasta & Liryn one up at some point tomorrow
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 11:28 am
Paris gave a start at the sound of Arian's voice, jumping out of her daze and tearing her eyes away from the snow that fell just outside. She shouldn't have been so startled, she thought. She was meeting with someone she was fast considering a friend in a safe place. Nothing untoward was going to happen.
She had to keep telling herself that these days.
She didn't always believe it.
Even so, she forced a smile onto her face as she greeted Arian. They'd not often encountered one another in civilian garb. In fact, Paris could think of only few times before in which she'd seen him out of fuku—particularly on a planned occasion like this. But it was a relief to see a familiar face. It meant some things were still normal.
“Hey,” she said. “It's alright, I haven't been here long. Just go here a little while ago, actually. My soup's still hot,” she explained.
She picked up her spoon to stir it through the steaming soup, clearing her throat of any awkwardness as she asked, “How are you doing?”
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2015 8:40 pm
"I'm doing okay" Arian said as he stirred some of the marshmallow-topped cream into his hot chocolate before setting aside the spoon onto a napkin and taking a sip of the contents. "I've been having to take things easy and even with the cast now off the doctor's have advised me to be careful with the arm for a bit." He drank a bit more of the hot chocolate "But I'm really glad that it's finally off and even kind of glad to be going back to classes again" a rueful note slipped into his quiet voice as he admitted "Although I'm not much looking forward to all the catch up waiting for me." Resting the cup back on the table he stirred some more of the remaining marshmallow topped cream mixture, but his attention was on Paris as he asked the question that she had just asked him "How have you been doing?" There were changes from when they had last met such as Paris' new hair style. Arian didn't kid himself that there weren't others though - after all he had been part of the rescue mission - had seen the very not fun 'fun house'. He wouldn't push though - it generally wasn't in his nature to push.
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 7:28 am
“I've been... okay, I guess,” Paris said.
It was the best she could come up with. She wasn't “good” or “well” or “wonderful,” but she was “okay.” She was getting by. Aside from some nightmares and a little discomfort here and there when she was out on her own, things were slowly returning back to normal.
She wondered how long it would take before things went back to the way they'd been before her imprisonment, of it her life had been changed irrevocably.
“I just got my cast off, too,” she said, and lifted her left arm to roll her wrist and demonstrate. “Senshi healing has its benefits, huh? It wasn't on too long. Just long enough to be annoying. But at least I can get back to dancing now. It's going to be hard earning a decent grade with the amount of time I've missed, but at least I could still sit in on classes even if I couldn't always participate.”
Paris soon realized she was rambling and suddenly stopped speaking. She cleared her throat again and took a quick sip of her soup.
“Have you heard from anyone else?” she asked. She sounded sad. “I mean, the captives. I only knew two of them while I was there. Chris's told me the names he was able to get from an officer, but I didn't recognize many of them.”
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Posted: Sun May 10, 2015 11:12 am
Arian listened quietly as Paris had told him that she was doing okay. Okay. Not good. Okay, not great - just okay. But given that those kidnapped by the Negaverse had been at their 'un-tender' mercies for about a week it was perhaps to be expected. The 'fun house' had been bad enough and that was just from the outside - Arian knew he couldn't even begin to imagine what it had been like. Although that Paris was here and still going about her life (or at least looked as if she was doing so) told him that she was strong - he personally didn't think that he could have been that strong - not after something like that. He managed a rueful smile at her mention of senshi healing, eating some of the cake that he had half-forgotten before setting down the fork and tapping his right arm. "True, I guess a month really isn't that long to be stuck in a cast in the scheme of things, although I'm still really glad that the thing's finally off." The small smile lingered as he continued, his quiet voice rueful "And I wish I could have sat in on my classes, so many of mine are practical-based though so I probably would have just gotten in the way." He ate a bit more of the cake "I'm pretty sure that I can catch up on stuff though if I work on it" even if meant using some of his weekends to play catch up. "I was pretty on top of things prior to ending up in hospital" not hard since he actually enjoyed his degree course. He shook his head at Paris' question about the other captives "Not directly" he admitted as he turned his attention towards the hot chocolate and stirred some more of the marshmallows and what was left of the cream into the chocolate. "But I know there were others in the hospital who I think were part of those rescued and I know for sure that Orah mentioned getting someone out." He stopped stirring and for a moment stared at the contents of the mug before taking a sip of the contents "Liryn mentioned that he bumped into someone who he'd helped" for a moment a rueful note slipped into his quiet voice as he added "I got the impression that she both scolded and thanked him." His quiet voice turned solemn as he set down the hot chocolate, as he tapped the table somewhat awkwardly up to the count of five. "I know of five who got out" he said "Although I don't know anything past that," and that number included Paris herself. "But I can ask around and try to find out for you. I can ask around the Watch too" because he had asked Black Watch members to help search after Liryn had raised the alert.
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Posted: Mon May 11, 2015 7:22 am
Whether Paris was strong or not was probably up to interpretation. She knew she wanted to be strong. She felt like she had to be—for Chris, for her family, for her friends and allies. But she wasn't always sure she managed it. She was certain there were others out there who thought her quite weak, people like Castor, people who weren't the type to hole back their criticisms.
Pulling her thoughts away from such things, Paris instead listened to Arian discuss his classes, nodding here and there and making noises of acknowledgement where it was appropriate to do so, but it should be obvious that half of her mind was elsewhere. She didn't mean to seem so distracted—she worried she came off as a little rude—but the subject matter brought forth memories of her imprisonment, ones she was struggling to come to terms with.
She took another bite of her soup and let the warmth of it drift down to her stomach, where she thought she could still feel the cold burn of the starseed.
At the mention of Orah, Paris managed a look of relief. “I'm glad she wasn't there,” she said. “Orah, I mean. I'm glad she wasn't one of the ones that was captured. They were looking for people like us. Me and her. I was afraid for a while they'd managed to get her, too.”
Not that she didn't feel a sympathy or a kinship toward those who had been taken, but at least she could be relieved that one of her friends had been spared the ordeal.
“If you could ask around the Watch, I'd appreciate it,” she said. She stirred her spoon around her soup and tried not to feel guilty. “I feel bad that I haven't been as active with it as I wanted, but... well... with everything that happened I guess I just... it's hard to focus on other things, you know?”
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Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 4:38 pm
It kind of felt odd being the one doing most of the talking, since he generally tended to quiet. Arian wasn't sure how much Paris was listening though as she seemed kind of distracted and kind of lost to her own thoughts mostly. Orah probably would have offered a hug, Gwen would have asked who she needed to beat up and Liryn would most likely have plunked his furry little body a lap and offered an ear whilst purring. But Arian wasn't warm like Orah or in your face like Gwen and he wasn't mad-impulsive like Liryn. And perhaps he'd been imagining the not listening anyway given the look of relief on Paris' face when he mentioned Orah. "It's probably selfish of me but I'm glad that Orah wasn't among those taken" he admitted after studying the table for a few moments. Not to say that he had been happy about the others being taken, because he wasn't, but he still felt a sense of relief that his team mate and friend hadn't been among them due to the fact that she had been on Ida at the time - well she had right up until the point where the message that Ash had sent out to the senshi phones had called her back. "And I don't mind asking" he added simply, as he mentally filed away that the Negaverse - for whatever the reason - seemed to have specifically been looking for people with the glowing markings like Ida and Ganymede and like the red-haired woman that Thraen had carried out from the Fun House. He hesitated for a moment before reaching out for one of her hands, intending only a brief touch in an awkward attempt at reassurance as he continued "And you shouldn't feel bad about not being active. It's pretty understandable" and he was pretty sure that no one blamed her for not being active - he certainly didn't. He ate some more of the gingerbread cake "By the way you're welcome to drop by the apartment whenever if you want to" he added "Orah and I share," he thought about it "Well Orah, myself, Liam, Liryn and Lola - Orah's cat all live together and if you drop by I can make cupcakes or something." He left it at that, an offer, as he picked up the hot chocolate and drank a bit more of the dwindling contents of the mug.
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Posted: Fri May 15, 2015 4:09 am
If Arian felt odd doing most of the talking, Paris felt odd not doing most of the talking. On the one hand she felt bad that she apparently failed at carrying a conversation at the moment; on the other hand, she didn't think the silences were awkward. It was nice sometimes to simply sit quietly with a friend and know there weren't any expectations either of them were required to fulfill.
At the subject of Orah, Paris shook her head. “That's not selfish,” she reassured him. “I was afraid for her the whole time I was there. I didn't know if she'd been captured during the New Year's party, or if maybe the Negaverse was still out searching for people to bring in. I don't... I didn't want her to have to go through that hell.”
She hadn't wanted anyone to go through that hell, but some things couldn't be helped.
Paris managed a smile at Arian's offer, taking another sip of her soup before she answered. “I'd like that,” she said. “It's been a while since I got together with friends. Not just because of New Year's, but... before that. I guess Chris and I are bad for one another in a way. We've turned each other into shut ins.
“But you're welcome at our house at any time. I know it's a bit out of the way, but it's quiet and safe and we have plenty of room for people if anyone needs time to just... get away for a while,” she said.
She hesitated then, not because she had any qualms about offering anyone a place to stay, but because her thoughts drifted toward two of her other friends, and the situation they currently found themselves in. She wondered if it was something to bring up with Arian, knowing the identities of two Negaverse officers—and knowing them intimately. She grew a little distant thinking about it, but eventually decided this wasn't the time or the place.
“Speaking of the Black Watch,” she said, forcing another smile onto her face as she returned to a previous topic instead. “Have there been any other meetings? I still feel kind of bad that I haven't been giving it as much attention as I wanted to. I know I needed some time to recover, but now that I'm well on my way, I figure I should focus on something that'll do some good for people.”
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Posted: Sat May 16, 2015 11:43 am
"We can make an afternoon of it perhaps, or an evening" Arian said with a smile of his own. "Maybe watch some dvds or dig out the board games or something." Come to think about it, did he and Orah actually have any board games at their place? He couldn't remember seeing any, perhaps because he and Orah didn't really play board games, it being more a thing that he did when over at his cousin's. Then again perhaps he could borrow some from his cousin given that Saffy had a whole ton of different board games. His thoughts turned rueful - of course it would depend on whether Paris wanted to do something as silly as play board games. Mayhaps he'd just leave that part up to Orah and stick to baking the cupcakes. "And I'd like that too" he continued in answer to her counter-offer, before absently drinking what was left of his chocolate, which by this point was more lukewarm than hot. For a few moments, silence drifted up between them, but it wasn't one that Arian felt uncomfortable with as he ate some more of what was left of his cake. He shook his head however at Paris' question about the Black Watch. "No" he said, before amending it to "Well there may have been during that bit when I was in hospital, but I'm pretty sure that there hasn't been one since" because if there had been one then he was pretty sure that if he'd somehow missed a notification about one that either Liryn or Orah or both would have told him.
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Posted: Sun May 17, 2015 10:17 pm
“I'd like that,” Paris replied.
She could do with some time around friends. Being around Ladon was awkward these days, what with what she now knew about him, and most of her other friends... she hadn't heard from some of them in months. Penelope, Christa, Tallulah... where had they gone?
It was a question she had no answer to. A fact that brought a frown to her face. She felt guilty for losing touch with them, but hurt all the same. After all, it wasn't entirely one-sided.
But there was Arian and Orah, two people whom she was quickly beginning to consider friends. It was they that she saw in the midst of battle now, and they whom she was growing to depend on. Once, that role had been given to the Jovians, but no more.
It was a difficult pill to swallow. Paris washed out some of the bitterness in her mouth with another bite of soup.
She nodded at Arian's response about the Black Watch, glad she hadn't missed much on that end, even if she still felt as if she wasn't doing enough.
“I'm sorry if I'm not much company,” she said. “It's been... difficult. I don't know how to act around people or what to say. I want things to be the way they used to, but I guess that's not really possible, is it? Everything's different now. I've changed. It... it was an awful experience,” she admitted, staring sadly into her soup bowl. “I'm glad you didn't have to go through that.”
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Posted: Mon May 25, 2015 1:35 am
"You don't need to apologise" Arian said quietly. "I'm glad you're here, that those we got out are here and although I know that I don't what it was like" knew that he could never know what it had been like. He studied the table for a while and then admitted his voice quiet "I wish that we'd managed to find the Fun House sooner." He hadn't even been in town when the party had happened. Liryn who had been there, the one to call the alarm. He looked up "But mostly I wish that it hadn't happened - that you and the others hadn't had to go through whatever they did to you in there." He reached out again, the gesture as awkward as the other had been, although the intent to try and comfort was there and genuine as he repeated solemnly "You don't need to apologise." Sunshine Alouette Arian doesn't think he's very good at this offering comfort thing but he is trying in his awkward way.
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Posted: Wed Jun 10, 2015 10:45 am
Paris smiled sadly and shook her head, though she didn't know what she was shaking it for. To force the memories away? That didn't always work. To reassure Arian, then, that the rest of them had done all that they could?
“I'm sure the Negaverse didn't make it easy to find us,” she said. “They didn't make it easy to escape, so I can imagine how difficult it was for the rest of you to search for us. I'm just... thankful that you did, otherwise I don't think any of us would have made it out of that place.”
Again, Paris's thoughts turned to those who hadn't been there, people she would have expected to be part of the rescue party only to be let down. The Jovians were fracturing. First with Cyllene's corruption, and now this... losing touch... Her former support group was quickly crumbling.
Arian's comfort was all the more appreciated then. “I'm just glad it was me and not someone else,” she said. “I mean, obviously I wish it hadn't been any of us, but the things they did... I'd rather go through them than have someone else take my place, especially since... they were looking for Senshi like me...”
And that made her feel guilty, responsible even.
“If it ever happened again, I'd gladly take someone else's place to spare them the pain.”litian Arian is a sweetheart. <3
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2015 6:31 am
For a moment Arian found himself thinking about that horrible week, about nights with too much coffee and too little sleep and of going out night after night in an attempt to find information no matter how small whilst Liryn did the same. No. The Negaverse hadn't made it easy, which is why it was ironic that the breakthrough when it had come, had ended up coming from one of their own officers. To this day Arian wasn't sure what had happened to the Lieutenant that had pointed towards the fairgrounds, although he doubted that the young man still lived - particularly given his experience of the Negaverse and given what they had found in their search to find those taken... Like the once senshi, that the Negaverse had turned into a youma that the Negaverse had set as some sort of twisted guard at the fairground gates. For a moment there was a distant look in his eyes, as he remembered the youma and his own hand in dusting it... Perhaps if they'd been faster then it would have never come to that. He looked at Paris as she mentioned preferring that the Negaverse took her over someone else and he nodded, her words something he got... Because if it came to it, he knew that he would also prefer to step in place of someone else rather than leave them to the Negaverse's 'tender' mercies. Even if it was something that also scared him because he wasn't particularly brave. "I get it" he said quietly. "Because I wouldn't want them to take away anyone and hurt them like they did at the Fun House" even though 'Fun' House was really a misnomer because there wasn't anything even remotely fun about the place where the Negaverse had taken and held those that they had kidnapped. "And I hope that nothing like this ever happens again."
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2015 6:40 am
Paris didn't think of herself as particularly brave. She certainly wasn't without fear, and there had been moments during her captivity where she'd given in to it. But she cared about her allies—at least those who'd proven themselves genuine, people like Arian who faced the trials of being a Senshi without losing a piece of himself to the darkness that followed them like a plague. She would put herself in their place if she could, take a little of the pain and fear so that her allies didn't have to bear it alone.
Again, Paris thought of the Jovians. Europa, who had been a constant support since Elysion; Kallichore, who she was only just beginning to claim as a friend; Pasiphae, whose perpetual kindness made the war a little less lonesome. She hadn't seen them in so long. When she looked back, the only one she could remember from the masquerade party was Chaldene.
Where was he now? Was he safe? Where were the others? What had become of them after all this time?
She thought of contacting them, but was afraid that she might not be able to. If anyone else went the way of Cyllene, Paris didn't know what she'd do.
“We'll have to make sure it doesn't,” she said. “Happen again, I mean. We've been negligent. If we were more alert, or... more aware of what the Negaverse was up to, things like this might not happen. It seems like we spend a lot of time waiting around for the Negaverse to do something instead of confronting them on our own. Maybe that should change.”
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