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 Posted: Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:09 pm
It took Nazca a while to start making his rounds again. It certainly wasn't the sort of thing he could do with his parents in town. The closest he'd come in over a month was driving by what he'd come to think of as "his" intersection, checking "his" lamppost for messages. There never were any, but that was no reason to stop checking.
Eventually, things calmed down enough that he was able to go for a late night stroll in his now-familiar spandex and fur ensemble. There were still no messages at his post, but he did find a dollar on the sidewalk not far from there, which he used to buy a bag of popcorn from a deli clerk who stared at him suspiciously. Nazca left the store quickly, shooting furtive glances over his shoulder until it was out of sight. Was it the weird clothes, or did he look like the sort of guy who'd cause trouble?
Feeling discouraged, he headed into the park, hoping to avoid attention for a while. Which was a pretty silly idea, when he thought about it. Most of the so-called terrorists he knew, he'd met in that park.
That night, the only one nearby was a stray cat. Remembering his last encounter with an unusual feline, Nazca raised his eyebrows. "As long as you don't turn out to be an alien possessing someone I know, kitty," he said jokingly, "I think you and I will get along just fine."
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Posted: Fri May 01, 2015 4:49 pm
Now, ********* was not a stranger to knights. She knew what knights were, knew their auras, and generally found them to be excellent allies.
However, knights with popcorn were generally a bonus, in that they had a snack they could share!
The Mercury knight's statement about aliens possessing folks came across as odd, especially when considering the fact was that she was an alien.
With a rumbling purring sound, she mentioned "Weeeell, I am not possessing anybody... so I would like to think we will get along just fine!"
She couldn't help but pad forward, licking her maw in the process. "...though... um... I think we'd get along even better if you share your snack!"
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 8:15 pm
One would think, after the events of the past several months, that Nazca would be able to accept something as innocuous as a talking cat with grace and poise.
One would be mistaken.
"Augh!" he spluttered, stumbling backwards. He tripped on his boots, fell on his a**, and scattered popcorn all over the place. But all of these were trifling matters. Zia had warned him, in her own weird way, about the alien cats. And now he was meeting one. One who probably wasn't secretly his sister's friend- but then, there was no way to be sure. And Nazca hated not being sure.
So instead of asking for more information like a civilized person, he shook his now half-empty popcorn bag at the cat. "Wh-what do you want from me?"
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Posted: Sat May 02, 2015 9:08 pm
The manx couldn't help but tilt her head in an ever so curious manner as this Page legitimately fell on his butt. However, her eyes sparkled briefly as he made the sky rain popcorn.
It was perhaps one of the best weather patterns she had seen in a while.
As fast as her chubby little legs could manage, the tailless animal was scurrying about, gobbling up the precious chunks of popped corn. She had made quick work of half the fallen popped corn when the simplest question was asked.
Pausing in her spot, she gazed up to the sky, looking very thoughtful for a cat before replying "....well... nothing... unless you consider the snack-sharing to be something I wanted, which then I am guilty as charged!" She giggled in her light and airy manner.
"...So how has your evening been so far?" she asked conversationally, still failing to understand what stress she might have been causing.
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Posted: Sun May 03, 2015 1:15 am
Could cats even eat popcorn, Nazca wondered, watching the alien apprehensively. He'd never owned a cat himself, so while he knew there were some human foods that were poisonous to them, he wasn't sure which ones they were. Then again, the rules probably didn't apply to talking cats from outer space, so why was he even thinking about that?
He reflexively scooted backwards when the cat came closer, perturbed by its nonchalance. "I don't think you came out here to ask about my evening," he said cagily. This was one of the things that was possessing Zia, one of the things that went around making senshi. It had to have an agenda, and that agenda had to have more on it than popcorn devouring.
"I know you're one of them." Star on the forehead, check. Talking, check. Laser beams- he hoped he didn't have to find out about that one in person. "So what's your game? What do you get out of turning a bunch of kids into super-soldiers?" A thought occurred to him, and he tugged at the collar of his jacket. "Are you responsible for this, too?" He hadn't seen any cats around when his book had made its first appearance, but that didn't mean anything. Maybe all of his problems could be traced back to these deceptively cute critters.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:35 pm
Despite all the sudden questions that were sprung out, ********* didn't seem bothered at all. She had no tail, so it couldn't flick about as she considered his words. So instead she continued to collect the popcorn from the ground, almost mimicking a pigeon with seed.
After the ground had been thoroughly cleaned up, she sat down as close as this knight would allow her, leaning her head upward to face him with her still pleasant smile upon her maw.
"I would like to think there is no game, considering that there is a war against Chaos. And it really isn't me 'turning' anybody into a senshi. They are senshi, whether or not I deal with them. It is destiny the decides, not so much me."
She quietly considered the man's uniform, but it wasn't because she didn't know how to answer his question. She was more inspecting something else. "And I also cannot take any responsibility for the uniform you wear. That would be more of a thing dealing with Mercury. Cats work with senshi traditionally... not the knights so much."
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 9:46 pm
For a potentially dangerous alien invader, this cat wasn't seem particularly threatening. Considering some of the accusations he was flinging, Nazca wouldn't have been surprised to catch a laser in the face. But it was calm, more rational than most people he'd met who were involved in this whole mess, and clearly had information that he lacked.
So he relaxed, slightly. Letting his guard down all the way would just be stupid, but he stopped looking at her with thinly veiled suspicion and let his arms, which were held in some weird half-blocking position, drop. "Why don't we start from the beginning?" he asked, an idea starting to form. "Treat me like I have no idea what's going on, and let's take this from the top, okay? How senshi work, and knights, and where you fit into all of this."
Though he wasn't quite that clueless, Nazca wouldn't have to pretend much to be on that level of understanding. It was past time for him to get a thorough grounding in the basics. And if the cat turned hostile, he could always distract it with the rest of the popcorn.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 10:04 pm
Lifting a paw to touch her nose, as if she was mimicking a person who was deep in thought, she eventually stated "Well... truth be told, it all revolves around starseeds... or more commonly called the 'soul.'"
Planting her paw back down on the ground, she easily offered more information. "Every person has a starseed., each different in their own unique way. They basically function as a person's soul. If one were to remove the starseed from a person, that person would eventually die."
A pause for a breath.
"...Some starseeds are more special than others. Some have the potential to become the senshi you have seen around the city. Those are the ones I have more familiarity with, as does any other cat like myself. It is more like instinct for us to locate senshi. Then, there are starseeds that have the potential to become like you." She lifted a paw and pointed at him.
"The potential to become a knight. However, we cats have nothing to do with that!"
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 10:49 pm
The term 'starseed' was one Nazca was familiar with. Was it Noah or Laney who'd given him that bit of info? He couldn't quite remember, but was relieved to know that his grounding maybe wasn't quite as incomplete as he'd first thought.
So, starseeds were souls. All were different. Some were special. So far, he could follow most of what the cat was talking about, but something in its explanation made him frown. "What makes a starseed special, though? This potential you're talking about- where does it come from? Is it something you're born with, or something that happens to people? Or is it totally random?"
He could almost see an argument for Tara being one of these special people. She'd had unusual experiences that could have prepared her for this kind of power. But he was pretty much a normal guy, and the worst bits of his life had happened to other people, so how was he supposed to figure into the grand scale of special souls?
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 10:54 pm
"Well, it's a bit of something you are born with and a bit of totally random!" She smiled once more with a giggle. "Do you believe in reincarnation, Mr. Mercury Knight?" She stood up and stepped forward a couple steps, leaning in as she awaited an answer.
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 11:01 pm
It had started so promisingly, but now the cat was back to not making sense. Nazca was about to say as much, but the question caught him by surprise. He'd never cared much about religion. All faiths seemed to make promises they couldn't keep. Being a devout so-and-so wasn't going to save anyone from falling into bad situations, so what was the point? Thinking that there was something waiting for you after death, either in the form of reincarnation or some sort of afterlife, was probably comforting. But how was it possible to know for sure?
"I'm a realist," he said, as if that explained everything. "I wouldn't say that I disbelieve it. It's just, there's no way to prove it, so why believe something that might not be true?"
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 11:38 pm
"Ah, I see!" she purred a bit, settling back into place as he explained his beliefs.
"Well, the easiest way to explain it would be to state that a starseed is the source of reincarnation from what I have observed! So the starseed's potential is really fate matching it up with you... However, that might not be a conversation for now... I have a feeling it could lead to debates."
She licked her paw and ran it over her head, as if she was cleaning herself. However, it didn't last very long. "Either way, some starseeds are meant to be that a senshi, and some are meant to be knights... the starseeds of a senshi seem to be synchronized with the celestial object they are named for... sort of get their power that way. Knights... as I mentioned before... are not my specialty, so I am not as familiar with what gives them their potential... but I am pretty sure it is something you were born with."
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Posted: Tue May 05, 2015 11:57 pm
Since he'd been to space and back, Nazca decided that he could let the possibility of reincarnation slide. The cat probably had a reason to have that theory, and he didn't really want to get into an argument over metaphysics with something he could barely accept the existence of.
So, reincarnation was a thing, maybe. Fine. But that didn't explain the way the timeline worked out. "If this was something I was born with, why didn't I find out until a few months ago? Why couldn't it have happened before, when it would have mattered?"
It already mattered. Tara was home, at least in part because of him, and he was grateful for that. But if he'd had this power all along, why hadn't he been able to use it before the demons she was fighting chased her away?
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Posted: Wed May 06, 2015 9:04 am
The manx gave the knight a friendly reminder of "As I mentioned before... I am not as well versed with knights." However, she still seemed to be smiling, which meant his questions still were within the ballpark of "acceptable."
"If I were to make a guess... the balance shifted enough a few months ago for your power to be needed. Senshi... and I am assuming knights... don't have their powers awakened unless there is a need. If there is no threat, then there would be no need to awaken the powers within oneself."
Cautiously, though still keeping up her cheery tone, the tailless guardian asked "...might I ask why you say it does not matter now, but mattered before? Was there something bad that happened to you before?"
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2015 12:23 am
Rather than placating Nazca, that explanation just served to add fuel to the fire. "There was a threat," he practically snarled. "Not to me, but to her. If I'd known earlier, maybe I could have stopped it before it got out of hand. She needed me- or at least someone, dammit- and I couldn't do a damn thing. So tell me, cat- who decides what's a threat?"
He thought about Aludra, who was out saving idiots like him when she should have been home in bed. And Amphitrite, who was breaking under the pressure from her family and a job she'd probably never asked for. Tara was his sister, and he'd be upset even if she was the only one suffering. The fact that she wasn't made things much, much worse.
"You say you don't know about much knights. Fine. Let's talk about senshi, then. Do you ask them for their help fighting this amorphous threat? Or do you impose a bunch of responsibilities on them and thrust them into situations they're not prepared to handle?" He didn't really know the answer to this one, but he had a hunch, and thinking about it made him angrier still, until he was practically shouting.
"Tell me, what should I consider more of a threat? Some evil organization lurking in the shadows? Or a group that routinely puts young girls in situations they can't handle? Their lives are at stake here! And then assuming they do survive, there's still the aftermath to deal with, what they've done, what they've seen. Who's there to stop them from becoming threats to themselves? What are they supposed to do when everything goes wrong?"
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