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 Posted: Sat Apr 04, 2015 9:17 pm
Elpis walked along the edges of the City where normal civilians didn't want to be after dark. In the party areas of town a few drunk men and women had been lingering in the dark and avoiding detection by as many as possible as she walked along the path of patrol for the night, thinking quietly. While ever alert, Elpis was thinking on the new information she'd gleaned simply patrolling and talking sine her awakening, and the Senshi of Metal was finding herself annoyingly conflicted, frowning as she moved. On one hand the goal was clear. Drive Chaos back and save the world. On the other she recognized things needed balanced out. Too much order would stile. All the same, for her, she knew where she belonged, but worried for others - some agents of Chaos were too kind to belong there, and she worried desperately. Others - well, it was where they needed to be, and Elpis knew that. She just didn't appreciate being accused of invading. That, to her, was rude, and she sighed, shaking her head. "Bleh." She grumbled. "Bleeeh."
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 2:59 pm
Merlinite had been hiding ever since he was changed. He did not know where to go, or what to do with himself. When he could manage it, he hid behind his glamour, but it only lasted for a couple hours before he was too tired to try again.
And he refused to take energy or starseeds, though now he wanted them more than ever. He mostly stuck to trash cans and stealing things when he could sneak into buildings. At least he had strength and speed to help him, but he still felt miserable and alone.
He was hiding from Painite, hiding from the Negaverse. But how long could he really get away with it? He was more closely tied to it than he ever had been before. Chaos had taken his starseed, and turned him into a monster.
Sitting on the roof of a building with his wing folded down by his shoulder, he watched the streets below and pretended he was a gargoyle. His tail was coiled around his ankle. He felt the aura of a senshi too close for him to hide from, but he crouched down a bit and hoped for the best.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:25 pm
It was a stronger Chaos aura than Epis usually encountered and that gave the senshi reason to pause, look around, and then determine if she wanted to investigate. Ignoring all common sense, however, she decided to do so, beginning to move for the source slowly, although it was close, and tried presenting herself as a non threat, despite the feelings of impending danger her senses were giving off,.Several worst-case possibilities were running through her mind as she walked - a General, or very potent Captain, or - something like Coffinite, whom Elpis very much wanted to squish, or the agent who'd gotten her thrown out a Window, or worse, Painite, whom she frankly wanted to train herself further in combat before ever risking a meeting, but instead as she drew near, she had to blink, head tilting. It was... Some sort of half youma... Youma? She presumed, but they made no cohesive appearance - not like one which was clearly a spider, but more like another creature. Still, not something to pick a fight with, and she didn't dare speak, instead assessing the area- and the half-youma, before swallowing. Well this could go well, or badly. "You aren't going to kill me are you?" She asked cautiously. And immediately kicked herself. So much for silence,
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 3:59 pm
No luck in the hiding front, but he supposed that had not really been an option, anyway. Who would be able to avoid his aura? He was a General now, or he would have been if Painite had not... ruined him.
Standing up, he turned to face the senshi, wing spreading out on an instinct he could not yet control. It tended to respond to his emotions, much like his tail, and he was still learning how to use these extra limbs.
His expression saddened when he saw Elpis, eyebrows tenting a bit as he frowned at her, tail once again curling around his legs sadly.
"Uh... hi."
What else could he say? He supposed he could answer her question, but if the answer was not obvious by now, he was not sure how he could make it clearer. He had no intention of attacking any senshi or knights, or anyone, if he could avoid it. At the moment, all he wanted to do was shrink into a shadow and never be found again. His gaze fell to the ground, unable to look her in the face, ashamed of his new appearance. Maybe she wouldn't know him, or maybe she would dust him and that would solve any problems he was facing easily enough.
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Posted: Sun Apr 05, 2015 4:10 pm
For a moment, Elpis mentally seized - and then froze a moment, studying his face, then his appearance, before Elpis moved for Merlinite briskly and hugged him as tightly as possible. Sure, it wasn't a smart move, but she didn't forget the scared, friendly Negaverse captain by a long shot, and she held on several moments before she made sounds of concern. "Oh, God, Merlinite. What happened? Can I do anything?" Breifly, her mind trailed to Coffinite, the half-youma's appearance, and then cloudy memories of another winged man, and swallowed. "You want something to eat? Or - want to hide somewhere or something? Oh, geez.... Just. I thought you were someone else who might try to kill me." She frowned, making a concerned noise, and frowned. He didn't need this. He didn't.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 12:25 pm
merlinite felt fear jolt through him as Elpis clung to him, and he did not dare move. What if he hurt her with this giant claws he had not gotten the hang of? The monstrous strength he had now? He did not trust himself to know how to be gentle any more, even if it was what he honestly wanted to be.
He knew what Youma were capable of. So did she. He did not want to prove them both right by being the same.
"I... I don't want to kill anyone, if I can help it. Uh..." he spoke a little strangely, with large fangs in his mouth now. He had been keeping to himself ever since his encounter with Lysithea in the park, so talking was still odd. "Painite found out what I was doing... I thought maybe she would want to purify... she uh... didn't..."
He crouched down, curling into himself as if he might be able to shrink away and vanish. He knew how hideous he looked now.
"I'm... I'm sorry..."
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 12:59 pm
Merlinite was, as far as Elpis was concerned, a victim, just as an energy draining target (With some exceptions), or any other innocent harmed by some act of war, and Elpis managed to choke down the snarl in her chest as she knelt next to Merlinite, deciding to ignore the monsterous capability to bring harm to her to stroke his hair lightly, biting her lip. She did not force him up, nor did she try to coax him for another hug. "It's not your fault." Elpis said softly. "You didn't know she'd do this to you. You only wanted to help. You aren't to blame and you don't deserve the response she gave you. You're still a better person, Merlinite." Elpis frowned softly, maintaining her level near him. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry, if anything, I couldn't be of more help. You don't deserve this, nobody shoud be kicked when they want to do right. You're not at fault." She swallowed, sighing. "Maybe we can figure out- what to do. Something - but you don't deserve to be punished for wanting to purify. You have free will. You deserve to act on it and offer that to anyone." She paused. "Even the worst people deserve choie. I know you did your best. I know it." She offered a faint smile, and nodded. "You're not a bad man, Mlinite. Even good people can and do make mistakes."
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:37 pm
"I guess this monster was what was inside of me, anyway," he said, looking at the ground and not looking up at her as he spoke sadly. "I was so scared of being killed , I made a lot of mistakes and got a lot of people hurt. I ended up being a monster anyway, so I guess... this fits."
He blamed himself for Camelot's injuries, and for all the chaos and pain at the fight in the clearing. He could have stopped all of it by telling Camelot where Navi had been kept. Or better yet, just letting her go himself.
Fear kept him from acting.
"I don't think anyone can fix me now. I think I'm going to be consumed by chaos, and it's going to take my whole starseed. I'll never be a knight now. But hey, that's the way the cookie crumbled for me." He tried to perk up a bit, looking at her at last and forcing a half smile, a shadow of his usual confidence, "I don't want you to feel bad about it, there's nothing you could do."
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 7:24 pm
"We all do monstrous things when we're scared." Elpis said slowly."I would too. That's how people are - they respond to fear with anger, indifference, compliance - but the fact remains you were afraid. Doesn't make you the monster, it makes her the monster." Elpis shrugged before looking guilty. "I was ready to kill someone for hurting another friend of mine, a knight. You - I'm not giving up on you Merlinite. This isn't your flt, and maybe there's a way to fix this, maybe. Even if it's not - perfect, I won't give up until there's nothing, and there's still a lot of you in there, or we wouldn't be capable of talking. We'd be fighting. Please don't give up." Elpis heaved a breath. Was he her friend? Maybe... "I'd like to be your friend some day after all, and if it means doing all I can to figure out how to help, I will."
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:25 pm
Merlinite watched her, then nodded his head slowly. He did not take much comfort from her words, because he imagined she would never be as cowardly as he was. It was in his head that this was a just punishment for him, though it was terrible. He had been terrible.
He made way too many mistakes. There was no way for him to make up for them now.
"I don't want you to kill anyone. And I don't want you to get hurt because of me. You have to stay away from Painite, and probably from me, too. I just get people hurt."
Taking a slow breath, he swung his tail behind him thoughtfully, sitting on his haunches, though he did not really notice the animal like way he moved now. It had to be normal to him, because this was how he was built now. He also was just trying not to focus on the fact that he had a tail and a wing now. It would all become too normal in time.
"You are my friend. I want to do what I didn't before, and protect the people that deserve it. Not myself. I should do what I can to help you, not the other way around, so..."
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:29 pm
"I'm also not abandoning you because you're in trouble, then, because I look after my friends, Merlinite." Elpis watched quietly, frowning. "I'll be careful - I can promise to do my best at that. But I also want you to be safe and aright." The Senshi frowned faintly, brows raising. "How about we look out for one another? That's something we can do until we figure this out... Right?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:44 pm
Merlinite watched her and felt a weight of sadness on him. He had a strong urge to move toward her and just lean against her, and he realized that was the more animal side of him. He frowned, wondering if those kinds of instincts would become stronger, or if he could keep himself as the master of them.
He watched her and looked sad, wing drooping down, claws clicking together in pensive thought.
"Okay. We'll look out for each other. That makes sense. I mean, I don't have anywhere to go or be any more, so I can just... if you go on patrol and need a partner or something, I can come find you. And I'll be... I'm not going to be a monster for the Negaverse. I'll... I'll hunt other youma while I'm here, and I'll do what I can to... to support the senshi and knights. That's what I should have been doing before."
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:05 pm
Elpis smiled, brows raising a bit. "Hey. We'll find you a place to keep safe, and I'll help any way I can." She offered a look - not understanding, or pity, but trying to reassure him he was alright. "And I'd like a patrol buddy. I can introduce you to Kells sometime too, so - he doesn't try thwapping you. And Ausonia. They're good people. You can trust them both." Elpis looked a bit worried then. "I just don't want you to get hurt any further. You don't deserve it."
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:37 pm
Merlinite nodded his head.
He was not really sure how to live like a youma. He did not really want to. What was he supposed to eat? He'd been scavenging and it seemed to be working so far but... would that stay that way? Did he need to eat energy or starseeds?
Did he have to go back to the rift? Be a part of the negaverse? Would he die if he stayed out here, pretending to be something he wasn't?
He would have to face all those questions as they came up.
"I'd love to meet your friends... any help you can give me, I'll try and repay as much as I can. I promise." He swung his tail behind him but now he looked rather excited, like a dog wagging his tail at the promise of something good.
"Thank you, I really... I mean. I don't deserve it. You being nice, I mean. I think the punishment fits but... anyway, just. Thanks."
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Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 4:46 pm
"Y'don't have to repay me though." Elpis smiled softly. "That's what friends do is all. We help one another. You're not obligated. Friendship isn't about that." The senshi grinned then, winking. "I'll see what I can do, though. Kells might need convincing but Au is a cool guy, and he doesn't panic as easily. Kells and I just had a bad experience with some Spider-manguy, so he might be overanxious, but I doubt he'll be dangerous. I can handle Kells.:" Especially by threatening his honey. She'd do it.
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