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 Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2015 8:28 am
Teide was feeling okay tonight. The heat wasn't so bad, and she'd found a nice fountain to sit beside. She hadn't run into anyone or anything upsetting, and she had a few dollars tucked into the pocket of her skirt to go get bubble tea later. However, bubble tea was best with friends, and if there was anything Teide's otherwise perfect night was lacking in, it was friends. She held her hand up to her face, considering her signet ring. She could call anyone she wanted - so who should she call? Anyone too serious would tell her she was neglecting her duties. (Teide had already done her whole patrol, but that didn't seem to matter for some people.) You couldn't drink bubble tea with just any friend. And then, she knew. "Aludra," she said to her ring. "Would you like to drink bubble tea with me?" Ruriska Knight hologram messages sent to senshi phones appear as video calls!
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:22 pm
Aludra had found her inner strength. After everything, a core of determination had been built. There was no going back, no running about from being a Senshi. This was who she was and she would give everything she had to help everyone find their way into the light. However this new found resolve had absolutely no ability to keep her on patrol when she’d just been invited to drink bubble tea with one her best friends ever. "Teide," she squeaked in excitement, standing on top of the neighbour’s roof, which was as far as she’d gotten with her nightly neighbourhood watch, "I love bubble tea! Where should we meet? I hope they have watermelon flavour, or mango, that will be the best."
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 9:03 am
Teide beamed at the tiny image of Aludra that stood on the face of her ring. "There's a teahouse near DCU that's open late," she said. "I think we could even go in in our uniforms and they wouldn't mind." She rattled off the address, and then added, hopefully, "I'll meet you on the roof?" She was already close enough that it didn't take her long to get there, but Teide wasn't sure where Aludra would be coming from. So many of their interactions had been as Negaverser and Senshi, and you did not exactly go about telling the enemy where you lived. Before, Aludra had been too-sweet buttercream icing. She'd been brick dust. She'd been cherry filling, a little too sour and a few days past best-by. That was what Chaos did, though. It made everything good in the world seem unappealing. It made everything bad seem right. Now - now she sat on the roof and tried to feel for Aludra's approach. She'd been so tired the night of her purification that she could barely remember if she'd sensed the senshi at all afterwards. She stood up and scanned the rooftops, searching for a bright spot of red and green.
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2015 11:58 pm
"See you there," she chimed. The location they had decided on was actually quite far from Aludra’s current position, but thankfully, if there was but one skill that Chibi’s possessed, it was their ability to run very fast. Probably worth noting that running for an underage magical girl was always going to be better tactic than sticking around in a fight but Aludra had never gotten the hang of turning the other cheek. So she ran and jumped and leaped and made really good time considering. Still she was out of breath when she made that finally hop up onto the roof of the teahouse. Aludra managed a wave and smile to her friend before she popped her hands on her knees and caught her breath. Teide’s aura had been clear as day once she’d reached the right block, much stronger and so utterly pure. It made her so giddy tears collected at the corners of her eyes. "I’m so glad to see you" Aludra said once her breath was back, moving straight in for a delighted hug. "Wow, you look so pretty!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:25 pm
Teide scooped Aludra up and spun her around. That was right, she thought - she'd looked different last time Aludra saw her. "Thank you," she said, blushing as she set the senshi back down on her feet. "I - I went to Hvergelmir's wonder, and her well made me a knight." Somehow. She'd bathed in the waters and emerged renewed. In another lifetime, she'd gone to Catholic school and learned the rites - baptism, first communion. All of that had been left behind. Jenna didn't have that point of reference. She didn't live in a world governed by saints and prophets and demons tempting her into sin... but she also sort of did, just with none of the old words. She would need to create her own cosmology. She leaned down, breathing in the smell of the little senshi's hair. Flowers held in a wicker basket, she thought, and brick dust. Buttercream brushed with gold. Street lamps showing the way through the dark. "Let's go get drinks," she said, taking a step back. "You smell good."
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 9:13 pm
As Aludra’s feet left the ground and they spun, bright and merry laughter bubbled up and was set free. The happiness she felt from this moment was almost impossible to give words to. "That’s wonderful!" She exclaimed after she’d been set down, cheeks flushed as she stood on tippy-toes to lightly kiss Teide’s cheek. "You’re so sparkly now." "Really?" Aludra sniffed, as if expecting to smell herself and then realized how silly that must look. "Maybe ‘cause I washed it yesterday night. Thanks and yeah- I’m really thirtsy." She held out her hand to Teide as she stepped towards the edge of the building. It felt so good to have a friend, something uncomplicated and perfect. For Aludra, Teide represented hope; a bright star to hold onto in the darkest times.
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Posted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 11:20 pm
Teide laughed. "I mean - it's not how you smell smell," she said. "It's your aura. Your aura is nice. Like flowers and fresh pastry." Auras were hard to explain - they were entirely subjective, as far as Teide could tell, and you couldn't very well sense yourself. "It's other things, too," she added. "Things that are harder to quantify." Light and brick dust leading you home, home, home...Taking Aludra's hand in hers, she followed the senshi to the edge of the roof. "I am sparkly," she agreed emphatically. "I especially like my cape." As they jumped off the roof, said glittering meter of gold lamé fanned out behind her, catching the light spectacularly. "Capes are fun," said Teide, turning towards the storefront. A pair of cartoon animals frolicked on the window, huge glasses of bubble tea held in their outstretched paws. "We should be okay to go in just like this," said Teide. "Another Cosmos knight bought me ice cream the other night and she wasn't worried about civilians seeing her in costume. We just look like we're wearing party dresses."
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 3:00 am
"Of course." She said, because Teide’s aura had those feelings too; that pure feeling of stars and hope, of gentle warmth. It was nice to know her friend found her equally pleasing in the almost undefinable aura department. "Well, I do like both flowers and fresh pastry. I even baked a lemon semolina cake yesterday." They jumped and the cape was indeed an impressive sight, which Aludra made sure to witness, even if it meant turning her head at an awkward angle. "“I’d complain about not having a cape," she said merrily, "but I have a hood." A hood that had fallen back during the descent and she was currently tugging forward again. "That makes sense," she agreed, looking up at the building. When she’d first started on out as a Senshi, she’d had no problem helping random strangers or walking around in broad daylight. It was only as time went on, that she kept to the night and shadows, avoiding unnecessary contact. It was nice to be able to simply relax and not care again. "In!" Aludra tugged Teide into the brightly lit shop, dominated by a counter and huge menu with nearly every flavour you could ever imagine. A small group of university students were sitting at one of the tables but only gave the new arrival a cursory glance. "I know I said watermelon or mango but I think I've changed my mind..."
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2015 8:50 am
Teide bit her lip against saying that she did not know what a lemon semolina cake was, but it sounded delicious. When she'd purified, it had literally been like being born again with all of her civilian memories washed away. She'd retained some instinctual things - reading, a little math - but not books or recipes or practical knowledge. (And she wasn't sure that she expected Gemma to have known what a lemon semolina cake was, either - her life before had not been particularly privileged.) The only concern with going places in uniform was that there might be officers lurking and ready to cause trouble, but Teide didn't feel anyone nearby. Any Chaos would have to be lying in wait in civilian form - they'd have to give their identities up, and as a knight and a super senshi, they were a match for most officers they could expect to encounter. "I like strawberry flavor," she said, and added, "Which is weird, because I don't like strawberries? But that's because of the seeds... So maybe it's not so weird?" Bubble tea didn't have seeds. If it did, she was pretty sure she'd cry. "Get whatever you want," she said encouragingly to Aludra, and pulled her wadded up dollar bills out of her pocket. (Her dress had pockets! It was truly the best dress.) "This is on me."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 2:48 am
"It’s not weird at all," Aludra reassured. "I’ll only eat avocado if it’s mashed up a lot. I don’t like it just cut up in pieces." It’s the texture, her mother had laughed as she turned it to green mash with a bit of salt and oil. "Are you sure?" She’d tucked a little pocket-money purse into her sash and she tugged it out, opening it up to show Teide the notes within as proof. "I’ve got money too… or, I guess you can pay this time and I’ll get the next one. Sound okay?" And that would at least half-guarantee a follow up bubble tea date! As she studied the menu, it occurred to Aludra that this was the first ‘friend’ outing she’d had in a long time. In fact, not counting Dionysus, Teide was probably the best friend that she had. The days of popularity at school were long gone. She’d been too-preoccupied by her life as a Senshi to bother with such things as girly-sleepovers, hangouts or birthdays. The truth was, she had been horribly lonely and this simple moment, deciding what flavour of drink to select with a friend beside her, was exactly what she had been missing. "I think I’ll get the honeydew!"
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 8:29 am
"Strawberry for me!" Teide chimed, and focused on the boy behind the counter as he mixed their drinks. "Did you know that you can just buy like big bags of raw tapioca pearls online?" she asked Aludra, eyes not moving from their drinks. "And the tea powders and the straws, too. I've been thinking about it - but I would probably just wind up boiling the entire bag at once and then sitting and eating it like, I dunno, a thing you eat out of a bowl with a spoon. Cereal." She scooted down to the register, paid, and dropped her change into the jar on the counter. Then, softly, indicating a missing poster on the side of the pastry case, said, "They won't find her." - Mostly for Aludra's benefit. That was strange, though - who was looking for Gemma? Trixilite, probably, she thought uncomfortably, picking up their drinks. She handed the green one over to Aludra. "It's kinda nice out," she said, trying not to sound perturbed. "Let's go find somewhere to sit."
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 1:41 am
"Wow, really?" Aludra’s gaze kept shifting between Teide and their drinks, smiling once at the boy. "That’s probably a really bad idea, or maybe the best idea. It’s kind of nice just to go out and have it. You know, makes it extra special when you do get bubble tea." She moved along with her friend, palms pressed eagerly against the countertop. The smile that had not left her face faltered slightly when Teide called the poser into focus – confusion and then sad understanding causing that grin to droop. "As long as she’s happy wherever she is," she said pointedly, "then that’s all that matters." Not that the people who had put up those posters would know that. Somewhere another family was caught in a cage of hope and despair. Aludra accepted the drink with a soft murmur of thanks and took her first sip. "Let’s go." She tugged lightly at Teide’s cape and led the way outside, leaving reminders of the past behind.
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Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 10:05 am
Teide was happy to leave. Seeing that face had made her nervous, but perhaps not for obvious reasons. "There was a General in Boston," she said as they walked away, teas in hand. "An aunt or a stepmother or something. I used to have to go visit her, and she... she didn't think that the Negaverse here in Destiny City was doing a very good job of training me." She fussed with her straw, repositioning it for maximum boba capturing, and then took a long sip. "I mean. I don't know who put the posters up. I have a feeling it wasn't Gemma's mother, though..." Based on what she knew about Gemma's family, it didn't fit. She sighed. "If Trixilite tries to come here," she said. "I'll be ready. I have friends, and if she tries to take me, she'll lose. Definitely." With that, Teide flashed a sunny smile at Aludra and hoped that it would be convincing enough for the both of them.
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Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 11:39 pm
Aludra walked and listened, her ability to reply stymied by the straw in her mouth, hungrily sucking up the honeydew flavoured bubble tea. A couple of boba flew up the straw and she took the time to chew them, her thoughts wondering to what life Gemma had had before. She’d never asked Astrophyllite about who she was beneath the mask, but that wasn’t something you inquired about your allies, let alone someone on the other side. It made sense that to choose the darkness; maybe her home hadn’t been very nice at all. "She’ll lose," Aludra said finally, having swallowed. She meant her words absolutely. This Trixilite could try but she would fail. "We won’t let her hurt you." No matter what, the young senshi had made the promise and would always stand by her friend, against the strongest enemies and darkest times. So she smiled brightly back, stubbornly hopeful. "This is really yum!" She changed the subject, giving her drink a little wave in the air. "What’s yours like?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 9:21 am
Teide smiled at Aludra, feeling a bit more hopeful than she had moments ago. "We'll all need to work on getting stronger," she said, "In case she comes here." Experience said not to underestimate the power of a general. She and Trixilite might have been theoretically an even match, but Teide knew that a fight between them would be a no-contest loss. Trixilite's staff was made to crack skulls. Teide's orb was made to sparkle. "It's good," she said, giving her cup a little squeeze. The straw whistled. "When I drink things that I know my old self liked, it makes me a little sad," she added. "But not in a sad way. Or even a nostalgic way. Because I don't really miss being Gemma? Because Gemma was Astrophyllite, too, and I'm glad I'm not Astrophyllite anymore." Gemma never asked to be Astrophyllite, she thought. She never asked to die. In another life, I could have been Teide and Gemma both. And Trixilite would have killed me in Boston."I'm happy to be Teide and to be here with you, I mean," she added.
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