It had been awhile since he’d been out, especially on his own, but tonight was one such night. Gloved hands were sunken into the pockets of his coat as he walked through the park with all the confidence in the world. He was a General and he was comfortable with his rank and his powers, with the chaos which traveled through his veins. He had spent enough time filled with chaos that he was comfortable with it and everything which came with it.
Walking down the path, hands in pocket, he paused for only a moment as he felt something ping off his senses - a small something. Tilting his head to the side, curiosity entering slate hued eyes, he went back to walking as he wondered just what he’d felt. It was something small...weak..but not something he was all that familiar with.
“Hmm...interesting.” A smile curled delicate lips as he headed toward that signal, wanting to figure out just what it belonged to.
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It was another practice sort of night for Urda. He'd been getting better and better at using his powers from any and all directions with his body at just about any angle he could manage, provided he was focused and his palm was flat on the ground. Even if it was still a weak ability, the idea of it getting better the stronger he got was motivation enough to keep practicing. It was all he could do for now, especially considering he'd never actually...met anyone of the "opposition" other senshi have told him about. Warned, really.
A bead of sweat rolled down his young face. His mom was starting to go on and on about how he was starting to look grown up, but...he was ten. How grown up could he possibly look at this point of his life?
The thought was accompanied by a snort as he plopped down in the grass beside the last bush he summoned for the night. Part of his exhaustion was all the running around and flipping he was doing, the other part was actually using his powers, but either way he was done and ready for a good rest.
Ready until he felt something in the distance...something vaguely familiar, but significantly stronger. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but Urda stayed put and decided that waiting wasn't a bad option. It was moving slowly, whatever it was, and once it was in view he could decide then whether he needed to run or if he was fine just staying put.
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He had no reason, in his opinion anyway, to hurry his pace in the slightest. So when he finally did round a small bend in the path he spied someone - a very tiny someone. Well...that explained the signature. For a moment he paused and stared before he continued toward the seated figure.
“Well, well. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” He questioned while raising a brow in question. His voice like a purr as he ran his gloves fingers through his loose hair. One booted foot in front of the other, the sound of his heels hitting the pavement, as he approached only to come to a stop a foot or so away from the other, the grass silencing his foot falls. “It is rather late - don’t you think.” He added whilst tilting his head to the left side. He didn’t cross his arms, didn’t do anything but shift his weight so his right hip was up a bit higher than the left side.
While he looked young, but wasn’t, this one here not only looked it but most certainly was young if the signature was anything to go by. A chibi...he’d only met two before so it explained why the signature wasn’t quite known to him.
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When a person rounded the corner Urda tilted his head out of curiosity, wondering who it was and what they were doing there. For a moment he thought that they might just pass him by, but it soon became very obvious that they were headed straight for him. He stayed put and just watched, a little curious about the person that came into view.
Short person, it seemed. Maybe just a few inches taller than him…
"Good evening!" he greeted as whoever it was sort of chided him for being up at such an hour. Barely chided, but it sounded like an older person talking to a younger person and strongly suggesting they go to bed. He wasn't a fan of the tone but it wasn't that big a deal, so he left it alone and instead just shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm used to it now," he said, wondering what to call this person. Looked a bit like someone's sister, if he were to be honest. Something about the hair...and the height. "My cousin told me height depends a lot of genetics and stuff, and my dad's tall so I'll be fine!"
He sat up then, and patted the seat beside him. "Have a seat, miss!"
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Surprise, that was the first thing he felt. The other didn’t seem to be worried or scared that he was facing a General. Well, this was perhaps a bit different for him. “Good evening…” Very odd for him, it threw him off, as the other didn’t seem to care about his words, not one bit.
“Miss?” Laughing he shook his head. “I’m sorry to say but I’m no miss. I’m General Benitoite.” benitoite for short, but he didn’t say that.
Staring at the child senshi he finally decided to seat himself on the grass, getting closer, he eased himself onto the ground and stared at the smaller male. “You’re used to it...I see.” He said slowly before he blinked at the other. “Genetics...height...I’m not going by your height. You look rather young and it is late and you are alone - it is not safe.” he said slowly, hoping the other understood what he was saying. he could have, and did for a few moments, wonder if the other was pointing out his own height. The General knew he was short, he always would be, but it didn’t much bother him to be honest. he’d gotten used to it and accepted that he would never get any taller.
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He might have worried if he were aware of who it was he was speaking with and what rank they were, but considering he wasn't there was no real worry. Not even about being late nor being alone. Actually, it was rarer that he find company while on patrols or during his little training sessions, so this was kinda nice. He leaned back on his elbows and turned his head so he was facing the General, a little curious about his monicker.
"General?" he asked, clearly unfamiliar with the term. "Um...and sorry about calling you 'miss'. You just reminded me of a friend's sister, so I thought…"
Urda let the thought trail and quickly recovered with an enthusiastic nod. "Yep, more than used to it!" he said, smile returned and wider than ever. When the statement about his age came after, he nodded again. "Yeah, I'm only ten but I'm fine, promise!" Not that he was at all certain that this General Something-he-couldn't-pronounce was actually concerned, but he certainly sounded like it. So he smiled up at the other, wide and bright and genuine.
"Your signature is stronger than anything I've ever felt," he said plainly, "does that mean you're like...a boss or something? My friends play video games with bosses and my cousin showed me a clip of Dragon Ball Z and they have these energy reader things and characters with high readings are like the big bad bosses. So is that what you are?"
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Holding up a gloved hand he shook his head. “It’s fine. It isn’t the first time my gender has been mistaken.” No, and likely not the last. He did wonder if he really did look that confusing to other people, and why. Perhaps it was the uniform or the uniform and his short stature mixed with his longer than common hair? It wasn’t like he’d change anything anyway, not that he could change anything save for his hair length.
“Yes, General. We have ranks in the Negaverse - like the military does only less. Lieutenant, Captain, General and General Queens and General King’s.” He under the General King’s and Queen’s he was next in ranking, but there were several Generals within this city. There weren’t so many of the higher ranks around.
“Alright, so long as you’re safe.” Though he did still dislike it, he disliked the whole business of children being involved in this war, a child solider of a sort. Someone should make sure they were all trained, if they were going to insist in joining in on this war, though he’d prefer it if some older senshi kept these little ones out of the fighting completely. He didn’t mention this, not wanting to offend the little senshi, plus it seemed he had something more to say and it was an interesting something for sure.
“I suppose you could say that...or a mini boss. I would think the General King’s and Queen’s would be the real bosses. I’m under them in rank, their signature suffocate’s mine.” It was overwhelming and the darkness you could feel from them and what they could do. It eclipsed what he could do as a General and yet he hadn’t seen nor heard of their General King’s or Queen’s in a while - how troubling.
“You know what an Eternal senshi is? Or a knight - right? I’m the same as that just...darker. If I were to purify I’d be a knight.” He didn’t know why he was saying this all but perhaps it was the best way to explain it to the little senshi?
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Ah, so he was one of those kinds of people he'd been told about. Truthfully he didn't seem all that bad...sitting there talking to him like any other senshi would be if they had been the one to round the corner and make their way over out of curiosity. Urda listened and nodded his head along, his mouth agape as the rank system and their corresponding energy signatures were explained in detail to him.
"Makes sense," he said as he tried to wrap his head around the whole idea. The more he learned about the different powered people around the city the more confusing things got. If there were any more layers in that particular onion he wasn't sure he'd be able to completely understand anything beyond just being a senshi.
And being a senshi was complicated enough all on it's own!
A worried expression etched itself onto his features before he pushed off the ground for only long enough to cross his arms over his chest, and he landed with his back flat on the grass with a soft thud.
"It's all so confusing," he started to say in answer to his question. "Higher levels and dark and light. Books are a whole lot simpler! Like in Harry Potter, there's just Voldemort and his minions. There were only two differences between the bad guys. Voldemort, and then everyone else!" The chibi senshi sighed rather audibly, the saying his cousin has said on more than one occasion suddenly coming to him.
"'Life's complicated, dude,'" he said in a mock-adult voice in an attempt to mimic Dominic. "My cousin always says that. It's true, isn't it? Even with all of us with powers and stuff. I bet we have it worse. Like a thousand times worse, huh? Huh?"
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While the little one found the system complicated the General beside him never had. It worked, he liked it even, it let people know where they stood in the scheme of things and made keeping order easier. It meant there was a system and things could get done. They didn’t just have ranks in the Negaverse but they used them, perhaps some even threw their weight around, and in his opinion it put them above the senshi and knights who seemed to have little to no order at times. His one dislike had always been the idea of being spied upon by your fellow members, it led to lack of trust in your fellow officers - in his opinion at least. But none of this was mentioned to the child, he didn’t want to confuse him with the idea of their branches and it was information he wasn’t to give to a child as they were prone to spouting off things to people at random.
He had given the information to Polaris however but he could trust her, she understood the risk he was taking and wouldn’t risk his life like a child might unknowingly do. She also needed the information, could use it, where as the little chibi senshi couldn’t use it. He just hoped he could continue to help her and her side, help find a balance, so little children like this innocent chibi didn’t have to fight and see as much death as he himself had - as much as others had. Maybe this war would even end and he could still be a child...or a teenager? As much as he wished for that he doubted it would happen .
“Yes, I suppose it was easier in Harry Potter. But this is the real world and such things will never be easy. At least however the ranks aren’t so hard to figure out. I could make it far more complicated but I won’t do that to you.” Lifting a hand to ruffle the child's hair.
Chuckling he nodded his head. “yes, perhaps we do. I won’t compare our lives to everyone else but compared to the people I know - yes. The magic added to our lives at the price of entering a war has complicated things a lot for all of us.” Children who fought to live and killed others. What sixteen year old did such things? What child younger than that did such? Yet it happened how often within the confines of this city?
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"Guess that's what makes them stories," he said as far as the Harry Potter reference was concerned, then gave a sagely nod as though he'd just pieced together a mystery of the universe. Of course, the General had basically said the same thing though it didn't quite register that way in the young senshi's mind. He gave a grateful smile when he was told that he'd be spared from even more complicated information, and he sat up then turned to face the General properly.
"All wars come to an end though! That means this could just be a chapter in all our lives, right?" Or at least he hoped so. It was getting harder and harder to keep up with school and homework and soccer and senshi things, so with any luck the war would end and he would go to just being normal.
Having powers was great and all, but it was hard! And he had to actually lie to his parents about a lot of stuff, which made him feel really, really bad whenever his mother asked him about a new scratch or scrape. Luckily being as energetic as he was a new scrape was nothing his parents concerned themselves with, so that made an aspect of his life a bit easier…
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“Indeed, they do. But some take a very long time to end. This one may be one such war. I do not see it’s end in sight as both sides differ too much. It’s not a war which can be ended easily...unless one wishes to create an ocean of blood.” He responded honestly. He would not give the child too much information but he would not hold back the truth or sugar coat things. It was the truth. The only way to win this was to stop one side, or the other, from creating any more members and thEn kill those who were already there. If you cut the roots and then killed the tree it was possible but so much blood would be spilled. He was trying for some middle ground but he honestly, deep down, doubted it would ever be possible.
“Yes, this could indeed be a chapter in our lives - I hope it will be. But I am not so confident in that being the outcome we’ll arrive at. I do hope for it though, I do want to see this end.” And not how the future showed him. he didn’t care to die as he had then, and not because he’d died as a traitor but because of his poor family who would suffer and the loss of his loved ones.
“Some advice though - don’t let this war run your life. Do not let it become you. If you do...than it wins in the long run. You can fight, you can train, but remember to be a child and live as such. This is war and you can die, any of us can, you should live life every day as if it may be your last; meaning you should enjoy it. Don’t say no to trying new things, don’t deny yourself something...because you may never get another chance.” he knew some might see it as bad advice, or that he left it vague and rather open ended, but it was true especially for a child who could die soon...or could live a long time and look back and see...nothing for a childhood. He had tried, at times, to throw himself into the war whilst other times he had shied from it. He had a balance now, or so he thought.
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The young senshi listened carefully, knowing an adult sort of conversation when he heard one. Dominic occasionally went off on tangents that were similar to this one, which made Urda wonder if he was around the same age as the General however fleeting the thought. When the General was done Urda sat in thought for a moment before bolting up and onto his feet, taking to heart the advice mostly about how he shouldn't focus solely on being a senshi. He did have other responsibilities...he did have a life outside of these late night excursions.
And he had a responsibility to his parents as well, which seemed far more important right that moment.
"Right!" he started to say, energy restored and rejuvenated. "No matter what happens I like my life as a kid," he went on, extending a hand to the General to help him up. He was smaller, but the General wasn't so much larger that his help wasn't completely pointless to offer. "I won't let being a senshi take over! That's like Superman being Superman a hundred percent of the time! What would happen to Clark Kent's life and the reason he became Superman to begin with? He's supposed to be protecting people he cares about, right?"
It was probably a weak sort of analogy, but it was one that he sort of understood to be similar to his own situation. With a bright smile he looked toward where his house was and nodded a bit, mostly to himself.
"I should head home. I have school tomorrow and there's a big math test. I wanna practice my fractions, I'm still really, really bad at them."
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Taking the offered hand from the little senshi he stood up, dusting off his uniform with a few quick movements. “Yes, that is exactly the point. Live your life whilst you can - enjoy it. That’s what we are fighting for after all...people's lives and ability to live them. It would be unfair if you fought for that and didn’t live your own life.” it would be….a sad thing really. To live fighting for others to enjoy life and never to experience or enjoy it yourself. How can you fight for what you do not partake in or hold near and dear...what you don’t have a passion for.
Smiling down at the little one he nodded. “Be careful on your way home, it is dark and full of dangers.” people like himself and youma, neither would be good for the little one to cross paths with. “Good luck on your exam.” For a moment he wondered if he should but after a moment he did.
“You should, if you want a friend on your side, look for Sailor Polaris or Sailor Acrucis. If you find either of them tell them I sent you. Both are friends of mine and will answer any questions you may have and help you with anything you may need. “He also felt that having Polaris around would be good for them both, she seemed very motherly in nature so sending her a chibi was good. She’d keep him safe and train him as well. Acrucis was a healer and could help him with injuries he may gain, it would help him cover them up from his parents and friends, but it would keep him healthy and in this war...that mattered a lot.
“They’ll both help you greatly I think.” Once more he reached out and ruffled the others hair.
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The General seemed to have plenty of sagely advice up his long, blue coat sleeves. It almost made Urda want to ask where he learned all of this, but something told him it was learned through experiences in his life. The chibi senshi simply nodded, not really sure what else he could do save for that. He had nothing to offer the General either, except for promise to take the advice given to him.
"I'll be living my life, alright!" he reassured him before turning to run off in the direction of his home. Urda put the names of the two senshi mentioned to memory, chanting them for a second before looking back toward the General.
"Thank you! It'd help to have a few more allies...I still have a lot to learn. I'll keep an eye out for them!" And with that he bounded off, ready for a good night's rest after a bit of studying. He hadn't been too good about his studying as of late, so he had a lot of making up to do.
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