Welcome to Gaia! ::

There was no hiding a bruise that took up a good third of your face. Jun had learned that the hard way at school. The girls had jeered at the girl over who she had obviously lost to, and the sisters had been hounding her to find out which girl was clearly responsible for the purple-blue blob infesting the girl's face.

However, Antiope was a good teacher with an amazing sense of duty. Despite her obvious shame, she came to the park, ready for another sparring session with Galena.

Instead of her usual set up with tea, or starting up with her own exercises until her student showed up, the Mantis Senshi was seated on the grass, legs crisscrossed like applesauce with arms to match.

How do I get stronger? The Starcat said she would find me when I was ready, but how does one get ready if you aren't told how to get ready?

There was a good chance that if a UFO could have crashed nearby, Antiope wouldn't have noticed because she was that deep in thought.

Jokes from the Captain Galena was a bizarre thought to say the least. If Antiope were to think just as hard on that subject combined with her current topic, her hair might have combusted as it was suggested.

Fortunately, only one serious topic at a time seemed like the Mantis senshi's limit.

Oblivious to how long her student had been waiting for her to return to reality, Antiope cluelessly asked "Did you just get here, Gal?"

The serious moment seemed to pass when her student noticed the obvious injury.

A drawn out "Ehhhhhhh..." that seemed to reek of embarrassment escaped her before she did finally confess.

"I got slapped. I think the Starcat said that Iris-girl was an Eternal senshi.... 2 hit KO... sucked..."

She had a Galena pressed up against her, pulling her in against her body. However, Antiope still sat there, crisscrossed like applesauce, and sitting firmly upright. "Oh, I don't care about her!" At least, for now she didn't care. Once she was upon a more even playing field and an eternal senshi, there would be another fight. The Mantis senshi had already promised that to herself.

"I just want to find that Starcat of hers again! She promised to make me stronger next time I saw her!" It also was not an accurate report of the information, but Galena didn't need to know the finer details of it all.

Rather suddenly, Antiope just leaned against Galena's body, seemingly melting into place as she should have to start.

"Let me know when you are ready for training, and we can begin!"

"It's not that bad, I promise! Just the cheek and my core have bruises... I'm fine, really!"

It didn't seem like Galena was going to let Anti have her way though, so she resigned herself to being stroked like a pampered feline.

Speaking of felines, the Captain mentioned the other starcats.

"Do you know how hard it is to find those Starcats?! I can never find one when I want to!" So Iris was dangerous? That was only a small price to pay when it came to becoming stronger. Iris wouldn't be nearly as dangerous if Antiope leveled the playing field. It was simple as that!

Despite her protests, she had a feeling she wouldn't win this argument. Rather than worry about it, the little senshi asked "So what training have you been doing outside of this, Gal? You know I like knowing what sort of practice you get so I don't accidentally overlap too much!"

"Chaos?" She had heard Galena use that term before, though her focus on the actual descriptions weren't necessarily as stellar as some other things she'd pay attention to. It took her a moment or ten to figure out what the context had been before, which gave her student ample time to play with her hair as she desired.

"....that was the thing you mentioned about me being on the same side as you, right?"

She didn't even give Galena much of a chance to reply before she was already stewing in thought, just as involved as she had been before her student had shown up.

If they have Starcats... does that mean they are easier to get to? I mean, if they are easier to get to, that could be super helpful! Would I still have the same problem though about getting stronger and having to figure out how to get stronger? STARCATS?!! WHY CAN'T I JUST SHAKE YOU AROUND LIKE A MAGIC 8 BALL AND GET AN ANSWER ON YOUR STAR-SHAPE?!

She wasn't aware of it, but her nose crinkled up quite drastically as she had that final thought before returning to reality.

"...Maybe... I don't know still, I think I'd still have the same problems I am having now apparently..."

"...I still don't think it would work..." She didn't mean to murmur that out loud, but the words came out anyways, against her will. It just seemed as if the same problems the fat tailless Starcat had mentioned would be applicable.

Leaning back more into the captain's chest and looking up at Galena with wider eyes than usual (cheery green eyes were looking at her), Antiope mentioned "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I have something for you from when we went to space! I forgot about it until I got back home, and by then I couldn't give it to you!"

Rolling around awkwardly to face her student better, she suddenly shoved a hand inside her fuku's top and pulled out a small drawstring gift-bag.

"For you, Gal!"

"Well, yeah, why not?" Antiope scratched her non-bruised side of her face with her sleeve before she patted the top of her own head, jostling the ornamental headpiece resting there.

"Truth be told, this is the fanciest thing I have ever owned... and... um... I hate it!" She laughed in an embarrassed manner at such a confession, but it was legitimately the truth.

"I just don't like fancy things I guess! I rarely dress up... it's not that I don't dress up, but I rarely do... it just seemed more suited to you, Gal!"

Rather suddenly, the mantis senshi flopped back, seeming to roll into the grass of the park in a nearly dramatic manner. "Are you sure you don't want to do any training? I promise I am fine!"

Oblivious to what Galena had been attempting to do initially, Antiope initially attempted to pout at the lack of sparring. The playful pounce would have gone over a lot better if the tickling wasn't basically around her large bruise that covered her full core.

Letting out a sharp hissing sound, the little senshi cringed a bit, turning away from the affections. "Ahhh..." she groaned. With a sheepish grin, she confessed "This one was easier to hide... but more sensitive..."