Pompeii had found a quiet park to power up in and to stretch. She needed to work out the sore muscles that still persisted even after the countless hot showers and baths. She had tried nearly everything from plain hot showers to Epsom salt baths and still she felt like she had been pummeled by an entire football team. Luckily it wasn't anything more than sore muscles and countless bruises because she shuttered at the thought of the potential infections any cuts that were received during the battle could contract. It had taken a few days before Pompeii was even sure she no longer had any of the goo left in her hair.
The only good thing about being a senshi is she didn't have to clean her shawl. The fluffy, gray, wool wrap was fresh and spring fresh as the first day she had received it. Just because she could Pompeii called her weapon in and buried her nose in the cool wool. Where ever it was stored when she didn't need it gave the fibers a clean, slightly musty smell as if wherever it was stored it didn't get any air circulation. As she absently fingered the weave she wondered if it was possible to return her shawl with a sachet of lavender or the like to alter the scent of the shawl. It would also be interesting to see if such an item would survive in the metaphysical location that was where ever her weapon went.
With a sigh and a quick stretch she let the bundled shawl unroll until just the end was in her grasp. She needed to figure out how to use the weapon without activating the magic, Pompeii had been practicing with it and was better with it but she felt she needed to work on it more. But rather than the length of woven fabric snake out and snap on the end it curved back and lost all it's forward momentum. She tried it twice more only to have the same results. It had worked on the subway platform why was this night any different? What was she doing wrong? Normally when she lashed out with the shawl she charged it with magic but in theory it should have worked the same sans magic right? She stood there studying the wool as her arm and wrist started to ache from the extra strain they were being put under. She absently rolled her shoulder and rotated her wrist like a sportsman, trying to ease the tight muscles. "What if I roll it?" She murmured to herself her mind lost in the thoughts of towels and other makeshift whips.
litian
Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:42 pm
Arian hadn't had any particular destination in mind when he powered up for the evening.
Unlike the last time that he'd powered up however it had been relatively quiet, the bronze heels of his dark jade boots tip tapping quietly along the ground as he walked the streets and - from time to time - took sips from the take out cup of hot chocolate in his hands.
The contents of the cup was half full when he picked up on the aura, his first for the evening and with the feel of a Squire.
It had been relatively close by and so hadn't taken him too long to track it down to a dark-haired Squire who seemed to be practising with some sort of fabric thing.
It brought back memories of a different park and a different knight, although Hara hadn't been a Squire and she had had a scarf rather than the fabric thing.
For all of that though the Squire did seem familiar, in fact Athene was pretty sure that he remembered her from the fiasco with the subway and the psycho train and he thought that he had perhaps seen her on Maia when they had fought the equally psycho tree in order to help Maia.
He walked over, waiting until he was within ear shot before calling out "Good Evening."
Athene was pretty sure that she had probably picked up on him though - after all auras were kind of a two-edged sword.
Pompeii was absorbed in her thought process but not so absorbed that she missed the slowly approaching order aura... a much stronger order aura then she herself had. It wasn't someone she knew well but it still felt relatively familiar so she had at least been around whoever was approaching before and since it didn't seem like they were in any hurry she continued with her experiment. Most of her learning to handle her weapon was done with trial and error since her ancestors idea of help is 'figure it out'. The b*****d had been dead for how many years and he still couldn't find time to give a crap about her? As her thoughts turned towards her ancestor and the lack of help he gave her she mentally sethed as her fingers dug into the shawl like claws. He was the reason she didn't visit her homeworld since what was the point if there wasn't anything he could do to help.
The squire had sunk deep enough in her own thoughts that when someone called out a greeting she froze. Her shoulders tensed and would have likely stayed that way if a sharp pain from abused muscles hadn't zipped across her back. She knew that the voice was order, the aura had revealed as much, so with a deep breath Pompeii did her best to release the tension she had built up. Once she had her emotions under control she took a deep breath and released it as she turned towards her guest.
The sigh ended in a surprised gasp. She knew the senshi standing a short distance away. He had been in the subway with Maia and had actually helped to stop the train. "Do you still hurt or is it just me?" Her question was blurted out and then quickly followed, "You were at the platform right?" Her brow furrowed as a few more thoughts surfaced, "and at Maia?" She knew the city was relatively small when compared to the state/country/globe but it sure felt tiny now. It also gave her a feeling as if she was missing out on so much by being such a loner since maybe if she worked with more order members she wouldn't be encountering others again and still have no idea who they are.
"Oh, um, pardon." She gave her head a soft shake as she realised her mind had started to wonder, "Good Evening. Don't think we were officially introduced before. Pompeii, Squire of Saturn." She vanished her shawl and stuck her hand out to shake. Pompeii might not always remember her manners right away but she did normally remember them before the interaction was done, so right then she was ahead of the game.
Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2015 5:56 am
Athene wondered if perhaps he had startled the Squire after all as she seemed to tense at the sound of his voice.
The apology was on the tip of his tongue as she turned round, however her next words had taken him a bit by surprise and all that had ended up coming up was a startled but quiet "Uh?"
He had managed to recover enough however by the time when she queried whether he'd been at the station to nod, a rueful note slipping into his quiet voice as he admitted "Yes I was at the platform and yes I guess I do a bit." A 'bit' was perhaps something of an understatement given that he still felt pretty sore after the pummeling that he'd taken from the pyscho youma thing that the train had suddenly turned into. "And it felt like it took forever to get all the gunk out of my hair once it was all over."
From her words it seemed like he'd been right about seeing her on Maia too and so he nodded again.
He freed one hand from the take out cup "No we haven't officially been introduced" he admitted as he reached out to take her offered hand, his grip firm but not squeezing "But it's nice to meet you Pompeii. I'm Sailor Athene, senshi of beads but feel free to use Athene" because after it wasn't as if he had ever particularly made a big deal about rank.
Fiction1119
sorry this took so long Fiction, my RL has been kind of crazy lately
be warned... answer one question and he will be buried in 20 more. Jessie is the hydra of questions mrgreen
"Ha! I knew I recognized you." Her pleasure in knowing she had met him seemed wildly unnecessary but for Pompeii who rarely remembered people it was a big deal. “Oh I know. I feel like I still smell that stuff.” She wrinkled her nose at the mere thought of the goo that the youma had produced. Absently running her fingers through the strands of her updo that she could reach Pompeii added, “I think I went through a whole neighborhood’s worth of hot water before I was sure that I had gotten it all.” The Squire had actually had a stroke of luck by discovering the baths in her wonder…. after she had gotten clean.
With a chuckle Pompeii returned his firm grip while adding, “could you imagine stopping in the middle of a fight to formally introduce yourself?” The very idea of such an event had her cheeks hurt with the smile that stretched across her face. She could just imagine how a nega would call a stop to a fight just so the introductions could be made, right before the skirmish resumed. “It's really nice to meet you properly Athene. Beads, hum?” She hummed in contemplation as her fingers wove through the soft yarn of her shawl. “How do beads factor into your magic? What does your magic do? I know you used it against the train but to be honest so much was going on I didn't fully catch it.” It wasn't often that she was able to quiz a senshi on their powers. Most of her encounters consisted of fights or just passing in the night, not really the best time for heart to hearts. “I don’t really get a chance to observe and analyze other’s magic while not in danger. I would love to catalog all the different types and effects that the magic takes, even the negaverse but I think they will be harder than anyone else to pin down.”
Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 8:44 am
Athene's lips quirked up in a rueful smile "True the middle of a fight isn't really the place for formalities" especially if the fight was against a bunch of Negaverse agents and a youmafied train. "A youma train is kind of a new one for me though" and he'd seen some pretty strange things since becoming a senshi. The small smile faded "I'm glad that we managed to get the train stopped" because it could have been so much worse "Even if the cost was all that awful gunk."
The barrage of questions from Pompeii about his magic took him a little by surprise, but Athene didn't have a problem talking about it.
"Well my magic's on the supportive side" he said quietly, a part of him noting the irony of the fact it was once again a Saturn knight that was showing curiosity in his magic. "My base and super level magic can trap things for a little bit - at least it can when it works" with when it work kind of being the operative set of words. "My eternal magic forms a protective barrier of beads around people, but it's pretty tiring to do. I don't think it works on me, but I've only used it the once."
He hesitated for a couple of moments before adding "I can show you my base or super level magic if you want" he thought about it, before amending it to "Well I can try to show you but I can't promise it will necessarily work."
Fiction1119
Athene is pretty bemused that another Saturn knight is taking interest in his magic :3
Pompeii nodded in agreement. The train youma had been the strangest thing she had encountered as well and as far as the squire was concerned it had better be the last. At the time she didn’t really have the ability to process just how horrifying the youma was but now, with the time on her hand to do so, she realized just how bad things could have gone… how many were killed as it was? Natural disasters are one thing but youmas, they are on a level all their own. She feared that the nightmares that were already beginning to disrupt her sleep will continue for a long while yet.
She focused on what the senshi was saying, it wasn’t every day she was able to delve into the magic of a senshi. “Oh like my shawl… wait did you say ‘when it works’? Does it not always work? Do you know why it doesn’t work?” Pompeii was confused. Why would the senshi’s magic fail him if he needed it? When Pompeii had been granted her shawl one of the first things she did, after asking her ancestor and being shot down, was to experiment to figure out the limitations of the soft gray yarn. Didn’t the senshi do the same thing? Could something be affecting it? With her mind wrapped up in the first bit of puzzle Athene provided she could only nod absently as he continued by explaining about his final move.
She nearly got whiplash as she looked over at Athene when he offered to show her his magic. The brunette had been absently staring off into the shadows as her mind was toying with the whole ‘when it works’ tidbit but his offer had hijacked her train of thought and derailed it completely. “You can do that? You would be willing to? Hell yes! I would love to see your magic in use.” The grown woman was practically bouncing in her boots at the thought of having Athene use his magic on her.
Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 6:21 pm
Athene nodded "No it doesn't" he said quietly answering the first of her follow up barrage of questions before moving on to the next "And no I'm not sure why it doesn't, but it's pretty much always been that way." He absently tugged on the end of his braid as he added "Although my super level magic is a bit more reliable than my base magic."
Athene tugged on the end of his braid again, the action something of a habit as he continued "Yes I'd be willing to," it wasn't something that he tended to make a habit off and if truth be told he wasn't sure if his magic would even co-operate, but it wasn't as if his magic was of the harmful variety and at worse she'd be treated to a pretty glow effect prior to the magical beads fading away. "I'll use my base level magic..."
He clenched his right hand into a fist and raised his left hand as he spoke and then called on his magic "Blue Beads of Nazar!"
The glowing ball of beads that formed were directed at Pompeii and Athene found himself wondering whether this would be one of the times that the magic decided to work as they headed towards her.
Fiction1119
Sorry to have taken so long, attack deets are as follows: Blue beads of Nazar: Athene’s basic attack takes the form of a ‘ball of beads’ that can trap a target with ill will towards Athene in a barrier of beads if it connects. (Ill will means that the target wishes to cause some form of harm to Athene). Target can still jump, block, or strike with their weapon - but they cannot leave the ring of beads, however corrupted beings with the ability to teleport can teleport out of them. Beads can be smashed by someone outside the barrier, smashing half (12 to 15) will bring down the barrier. Duration: About 15 seconds (or 1 post). If Athene directs the attack at someone/ something that does not have ill will towards him then the attack will automatically fail (beads will glow and fade away)
"Interesting" Pompeii was intrigued to see what the beads would do and if they didn't work at all, why that was yet another puzzle to figure out. There were so many variables that could affect his magic, she knew that her own was dependent on her energy level as well as distance. To up there chances that it would work she took a few steps closer, "Ok let it fly."
She remained silent as he called out his attack and the glowing ball that formed started to head towards her before glowing brighter before fading away. The purple squire hummed to her self as she began to walk around a bit. "I'm guessing it wasn't suppose to do that. I don't feel different or seem to be trapped at all." She came to a stop and turned to face Athene. "What is different between now and the last time the attack worked? Could it only work against chaos? Is there magic that has that kind of limitation?" Pompeii itched to write all these questions down. The study of the different types of magic would be quite interesting. Seeing how each attack corresponds to the person casting it, figuring out how it works and what its limitations were, even speculating on the uses of each type of magic. The possibilities were endless.
Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 10:18 am
It was perhaps just as well that there weren't any youma about Athene decided as he watched as the magical beads glowed before fading away.
Pompeii's voice brought him out of his internal musings and he shook his head at the Squire, his quiet voice wry "No it's not supposed to do that."
He thought over the rest of her questions "I didn't do anything different" he said at last, that particular question one he'd thought about in the past "The only difference is that my magic worked last time I used it" It had been back during the whole youma train thing and he'd ended up using both his base and super level magic.
"And I'm not really sure if it's limited to just chaos, but it's failed when I've tried using it against them in the past." It was part of the reason why he'd come to the conclusion that he'd been lumbered with magic that had a mind of its own.
Pompeii went back to pacing around as Athene did his best to explain the last results. “So it's worked against chaos before, just not always…” Her musing faded as her mind went to work on the problem. “Has it ever worked against an order fighter?” She had an idea but no way of really proving it.
“If it worked before but not now and there were no changes between then and now,” she came to a stop and faced the senshi, “then the veritable is me!” Pompeii was probably too happy to announce herself as being the issue keeping the magic from working. “If it's worked on both order and chaos then the magic isn’t dependent on faction but on the person themselves.” Her happiness in figuring this out faded a bit as she realized that determining the exact factor in making the magic work would be so much more complicated if it depended on the individual person. “Well crap.” Pompeii returned to pacing, her body trying to keep up with her mind as she tried to work everything out.
“It can’t be something as simple as what we are wearing,” Her muttering was mostly for herself as her heels left divots in the ground with each pass. “It would be stupid if it was something like a color or jewelry that kept it from working. Something that arbitrary doesn’t really make any sense so it has to be something internal. Gender maybe?” Pompeii came to a stop and asked Athene. “Did it work on both male and females? I honestly can’t see why that would affect it but other then our thoughts there isn’t really anything that makes sense and how could your magic tell what I’m thinking….” her rambling question-thought faded as she realised something new. “When the magic worked was the target coming at you? Could it be motion activated? Like if you feel threatened the magic works? I wasn’t moving and you aren’t afride of me so maybe that is why it didn’t work!”
Posted: Sat Mar 19, 2016 4:59 am
Athene looked thoughtful at Pompeii's question "Well I've never specifically used it against an Order fighter" he frowned slightly. "Well not unless you count something like just now, but..."
For a moment he hesitated before continuing "I'm not sure if you were around during the time when there were clones running around but I.."
He hesitated again for a moment, his thoughts turning back to the period when clones had seemed to be everywhere and when he, Tsui and Ida had ended up facing off against both his and his cousin's murderous clones.
"I had a clone" he said abruptly as he shook his head slightly as if it would shake the memories away. "And it attacked both myself and my team" he had been the real target though - had been the one that it really wanted to get at. "And it used my magic against us. It worked on one of my team mates" the magic had caught and trapped Tsui for a time, "But it didn't work on me."
Another slight frown "And I used it during that period against the doppelganger of one of our Royals, although that's probably as close as I've ever gotten to using against someone from Order." And Athene wasn't sure how much that counted given that in both cases it was against clones rather then the actual people themselves.
No worries dear heart though we might want to start shifting this towards a wrap ^.^
Pompeii remained silent as Athene contemplated the previous times he used his magic. Her mind was trying to logically come up with the parameters of the rules that governed the senshi's magic but with a frustrated tisk Pompeii shook her head. "There is just not enough data!"
The squire started to pace again in frustration, "The clones could have been read as 'bad' by your magic and therefore subject to it or it could have been because they were not true order members. Your doppelganger's use of the magic might not have the same limitations that yours does... or even the opposite requirements. Like a mirror." She stopped and faced Athene, "There are too many variables to determine what is causing it and continuing the experiment tonight would put you at risk if something chaos tainted appeared."
She sighed and turned to study the darkness. "I can only suggest documenting every use of the attack, the results, what the other person was wearing, doing, who they fought for, or against, everything. Past and future. Maybe over time a pattern will emerge. If you're able to experiment with it. Try different things like you did with me. Different people, different times, different distances, different reactions. Try something different each time, document it, and with luck a reason behind it will appear." The brunette glanced at the stronger fighter and gave him a half simile, "Albert Einstein once said that the definition of Insanity is 'doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.' So do something different. If the results are the same then you know that your magic isn't triggered by that."
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 8:39 pm
Pompeii didn't seem to think it counted either. Well okay whilst Athene couldn't say for certain that she didn't, it didn't sound like she did - at least not going by what she was saying.
"I'm sorry that I don't have any more information" he said and his quiet voice was rueful "But I can make a note of the things that you've mentioned" or at the very least try to..
And perhaps he could try using his magic on other Order members as part of that, much as he was usually generally loathe to do so.
Although probably not tonight - because unreliable as his magic Pompeii did have a point - especially since Athene had learnt the hard way about the aftereffects of casting too much magic.
He had been exhausted in the aftermath of the 'demon train' incident with Maia having to help him home and once there he had about enough energy to drag himself into the shower and then later on to bed where he had slept like a stone.
"Do you want me to let you know if I find anything?" It was a quiet offer as much as it was a question.
Fiction1119
This works for me Fiction, I can fin for Athene on my next tag :3
First quote was by Daniel Keys Moran ^.^ and yours can probably wrap it. I'm always up for some follow up rp or even a continuation patrol/fight but up to you on that one heart
The darkness was quiet and empty, it seemed like they were the only ones still awake in the whole city. “‘You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.’ Not sure who actually said it but I would say it fits for this situation.”
With a shrug and a sigh she turned to face Athene, “besides even Edison said that he didn’t fail, just found 10,000 ways that a light bulb won’t work. So each time you use your magic your just that much closer to figuring it out.” Unlike the senshi, Pompeii at least had an ancestor to guide her…. sort of. When it came to her own magic and her ancestor the little bugger had left with a few choice parting words. He had left her to figure out the limitations of her weapon alone, it was only through observation and a lot of practice that she had found the magic’s restrictions… she hoped. Her more serious look broke into a wide grin and a spark of interest in her eyes. “Yes please. I would love to know about anything you find. I honestly would adore just picking everyone’s brain about their weapons and magic and history and everything but…” Her face fell and she finished her sentence, “There is no real safe place to document all that information. Not really.”
Pompeii made a face and turned back towards the darkness, “Ah well. That is life.” She paused a bit before adding, “We really should be on our way. I was courting danger just by myself… both of us and after using magic? Forget about it.” She was nearly ready to leave when she paused again and glanced over at Athene, “unless you want to patrol together. If our little experiment didn’t really affect you too much that is.” It was always possible to maybe get a first hand look at the use of his magic in a real life situation, granted it would depend on if they encountered anyone, or thing, and if the use of magic was necessary. It never hurt to ask anyway.
