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 Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 9:40 am
Eternal Sailor Corvus was a creature of habit when it all boiled down. There were a few places in Destiny City that she had claimed as her own; specific places that she went to think, other places that she went to fight, and places that she went just to be. The park was one of those places. There were memories in the park; things that drew her back to patrol over and over again, determined to keep at least one piece of the city safe. On the swing set she could see herself, a few years younger, kicking her feet while rocking back and forth during a conversation with Sailor Eridanus. On the wooded path she could hear voice of Sailor Saiph, and sometimes the laughter of Sailor Alshain. By the tree she could feel enough hope, joy and fear to see her through a lifetime... Tonight, though, tonight she went somewhere different. Tonight Eternal Sailor Corvus went straight for the castle playground. It was a newer place in the park; an addition that had been made before the start of summer that she had watched from a distance as it had drawn adults and children alike to create new memories. It was different now, dusted in a light layer of snow; so perfect, so pristine. She disturbed the silence by stepping over the wooden frame holding the spongey turf bits together, listening to the soft crunch of frost and snow beneath her heel. She smiled, feeling that bit of childlike wonder return for the briefest of moments as she took to the stairs, climbing up to perch inside one of the bubbles, temporarily shielded from the wind and the outside world. She could hover here for a bit and contemplate things... And if anything, or anyone, drew close to her energy signature, at least she would have a good vantage point.
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 1:10 pm
He felt unsteady.
The ground beneath Celsus' feet was as sturdy as ever, but he swayed as he walked, as though it was uneven, as though each step took much more effort than it was supposed to. He was not injured - at least not presently, and at least not physically - but his eyes were unfocused, rimmed in dark circles, and he looked paler, thinner than healthier.
The park was where he normally patrolled, and where he normally felt safest. A safe haven from the rest of the world, but it brought him no comfort now, nor would it. Celsus trudged along, his hands trembling, and caught the faint whiff of a power signature somewhere close by.
He was not in the mood for company. He was not in the mood for anything, the whispers sifting through his head like a physical presence, reminding him of his inadequacies, at all that he was insufficient at, at all that he had failed at.
But he kept walking, kept moving, body moving on autopilot. Celsus came in view of the castle and knew that it was an Order side signature as he lifted his gaze, the hem of his cape dragging along the frosty ground and gathering slush.
"Who are you?" he asked quietly.
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 2:54 pm
Stirred from her thoughts by the nudge of another powered individual edging into the area, Corvus had been watching his approach from her bubble. Wariness kept her from rushing to him to see if he was injured at the way he shambled towards her; caution had her hold position even as she rose from the window to take a higher perch atop the plastic that housed it. "I am Corvus." A simple answer, softly spoken and easily to the point. He looked heavy; tired and worn. It was an appearance that she was far too familiar with. It was something that she had spent a long time staring at in the mirror... "Are you lost?" He had asked a question, and so she did, head tilting slightly to the side as she weighed the pros and cons of jumping down. She did not want to startle him in doing so, not wanting to start a fight against someone in whatever condition he might be in. Corvus hoped that he could at least see the white eternal wings now that she was no longer 'hidden', and that even if he could not see those he would associate the white tips of her bodice peeking up above her corset with Order, and not Chaos. "Have a seat with me?" Questioning out of order now, asking a second instead of waiting for him to answer and ask another.
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:10 pm
Snow was falling softly around them, quiet rustling sounds in his ears. Celsus raised a hand and pressed it against one of the plastic pillars of the castle, the cold seeping into his fingers, startling against his overheated skin. Hooded eyes traced the face of the young woman above him, dark hair tumbling around her face.
"Corvus." Celsus repeated the name quietly, barely audible as he shaped it. He ran bruised fingers up and down the pillar absentmindedly, an unconscious gesture that brought the trembling in his fingers in stark contrast against the slumped shoulders and sharp tension of his body.
"I'm not lost," he murmured, but it came out sounding uncertain. Whispers slipped in and out of his thoughts, and Celsus looked away, following the line of the lines of the castle with vacant curiosity, his gaze far away. "Not lost. Maybe. I could be. Maybe I am."
He shifted his feet, which carried him up the stairs, towards the platform and the little plastic house where she sat. There was no verbal answer, as though Celsus was moving on autopilot, and soon he reached where the senshi sat, watching her silently for a moment.
"What are you doing here, Corvus?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:57 pm
"Waiting for you." The slightest of smiles touched her lips, barely masking the sadness at seeing someone who looked like one of the good guys so worn down and alone. "Or someone like you, I suppose. Someone who needs to be saved. I'll be honest, more often than not I'm just searching for myself." She leaned back on her hands as she watched him climb the stairs to join her, gloved fingers grasping at the plastic to hold herself steady least she make a sudden move or shift to aide him. Her voice was soft and she hoped that it was clear she did not want to startle him and she meant no harm. "It might be warmer if we sit together." Her glamour was keeping her from noticing much of the cold herself, but the way he trembled... "Can you tell me who you are?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:23 pm
Her answer made the corners of his lips quirk upwards just the slightest, a ghost of a smile that was not fully there, something sad and lost. Celsus' cape shifted and swayed against his legs as he stood there beside her, eyes not quite focused. Corvus was not forcing anything out of him, which he appreciated. Talking was a great deal of effort, and so was just thinking.
His feet moved forward, automatically once more, until he was right next to her. Celsus sank down to his knees and crossed his legs beneath him, drawing his cape into his lap and toying with the fraying edges of it.
He heard the question, but didn't answer at first. Snow fell softly around them, a quiet rustling noise.
"Celsus," he said at last. "My name is Celsus. I'm..." Not a knight. Not anything. "...of Chronos."
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 7:08 pm
When he seemed to settle she sank down beside him, glad that she still wasn't noticing the cold to much and certain that she would regret it when she did. She shifted just enough to let her shoulder brush against his, resting it there in an attempt to be reassuring without invading too much of his space no matter how many instincts made it tempting to gather him into her arms and tell him that everything would be alright. "I remember Chronos." She smiled, voice taking on a fondness for a moment. "Chronos and her Zodiacs, guarding the Surrounding and keeping us all safe. She seemed warm and kind." A lot like the stories that had been told of the Moon Princess. "Why are you alone tonight, Celsus of Chronos?" She murmured, eventually reaching a gloved hand over to cover his fingers before he could pick his cape apart... Maybe to try and keep him warm as well.
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:47 pm
Under normal circumstances, he would have smiled at the warmth that started to leech into his shoulder the moment that Corvus leaned against him. Maybe he would have smiled at her, laughed at her, with eyes full of amusement and curiosity, asked her some sort of lighthearted question about herself.
But he didn't. Instead he gave a little jerk, as though startled by the touch before he relaxed again, his back easing, until he was partially hunched over. Lank red hair fell in unflattering curtains around his pale face, and his breath gusted out of him in visible gusts of cold.
"She was," said Celsus, and the memories stirred, shifted, then faded. He closed his eyes against them, felt the snow sliding down one of his cheeks, starkly cold against the warmth of his skin. Thinking of Chronos made his chest ache, a dull reminder that shifted into the whispers of her voice, cold and clear and mocking inside of his head.
You were never meant to be one of mine.
He did not seem to notice her hand above his own, Celsus still twisting the fabric between his fingers and gazing out in front of him.
"I'm always alone," he murmured. "There's no one in this world for me, I wasn't really meant for it."
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Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2016 8:58 pm
She was. The words chilled her and she wondered if something had happened to the Princess of the Zodiacs. Was that why this man, one of her knights she now assumed, was so tattered? Had something come of the young woman who had stood strong to rally the defenses and save them all at the Surrounding? Corvus refused to believe that, pushing back the part of her own mind that wanted to surge so badly into a rage while demanding answers. That would do no good now. It would serve her no better than it would serve him. Her hand lingered above his for a moment before drifting down to lightly take hold of his fingers. "... It seems that way sometimes, doesn't it? I've thought those things before. I thought the only way to be was alone." Provided he didn't snatch his hand away from her she would give it a gentle squeeze. "You aren't alone right now, Celsus. I was waiting here for you tonight so you wouldn't have to be." Her voice was soft, attempting to bring him some sort of solace.
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:50 am
Thinking of Chronos meant thinking of a place in time that was far, far away, gone and lost forever. Like a far off memory that wasn't even really there, a figment of his imagination, as though he'd dreamed up the entire thing one day while sleeping. Bits and pieces of it floated through his mind, disconnected and fragmented.
Corvus' hand was gentle. Celsus hardly seemed to notice the touch at all, his fingers cold and still moving against the hem of his cape, staring off with a half-lidded gaze towards nothing in particular.
A light, hollow laugh escaped him, not humorous in the slightest.
"That's hardly true," he said, and the voices shifted, whispering like the hisses of snakes through his thoughts: No one wants you, no one waits for you, no one will ever even notice if you're gone. You could disappear right now and no one would care.
His dark rimmed eyes fell shut.
"It's not a thought," he murmured. "It's a fact. There is no one else out there."
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 3:15 pm
"It's not a fact. It's an opinion; likely one that has been tainted by something, or someone. There are a number of people out there. Normal people are a bit harder to explain all of this to, but there are others. Senshi, knights, phenomenal cosmic powers..." A bit of passion started to blossom in her voice. She was familiar with this level of despair. She had drowned in it before to the point where she had almost forfeit her life to a General as a result. Even if Corvus did not know Celsus personally she would not leave him to that fate; she would not leave him to himself. "You aren't alone, Celsus of Chronos." She shook her head slowly, giving his hand another squeeze. "I'm hardly a figment of your imagination... Unless you're in the habit of imagining beautiful women often when you're exhausted and alone." It was a poor attempt at a light tease, trying to draw even the slightest trace of a smile from him again. "I bet you could use something warm to drink. Maybe something to eat? When was the last time you had some rest?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:19 pm
A low, rasping laugh was pulled from his throat.
"You sound," said Celsus quietly, and his head throbbed, beat out a terrible, aching rhythm against the inside of his skull, "just like her. Pretending that you know what's happening in my life. Acting as though your mind is the same as my own."
He couldn't work up enough energy to get angry. Instead, it came out flat and emotionless, simple facts stated, and he felt the shame inside of his chest, burning painfully, because he knew, somewhere, that he was being rude. That this young woman was trying to help and he was throwing it back in her face, and he couldn't stop, his heart and his head breaking apart at the seams.
"No," he said, and shook his head, finally pulling his hand free of Corvus', fingers trembling. "No, I'm not hungry, nor thirsty. And it's not - not true - "
The voices rose, swelled inside of his aching head, the whispers almost deafening now.
" - it's a lie, you don't know, you couldn't possibly - I've - no, you're just saying that, you don't actually mean it - "
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 9:10 pm
"No. No." Her voice was soft but stern as she shook her head slowly. "I'm not pretending that I know what's happening in your life. I'm not acting like our minds are the same. I'm..." Her lips pursed together as she tried to search for words, the sternness in her voice seeming a bit less when she spoke again. "I'm speaking about things that I know from my life. I was lost and I hated everything, everyone. I hated myself. I shouldn't have existed. Who was I to live while the rest of them..." Frustration was edging into her voice again; passionate irritation and remembering something that had been so painful. "I lost people who were important to me. I thought I was alone. I thought that I would always be alone..." Her chest ached at that reminder as she settled her hands in her lap, clasping them to resist the urge to reach out to him again. Her shoulder remained brushing against his, however, keeping that slightest bit of contact. "There's no point in lying. You aren't alone, no matter how much you think you are. There's always someone out there, waiting in the wings to swoop in and either save you from yourself or push you over the edge. Tonight it's me... And, if we're being honest, I'd still rather save you than push you, Celsus."
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:42 pm
He heard the words as though from far away; as though he was hearing them from a very long tunnel, far away from where he was capable of understanding them. They sifted in and out of his thoughts, disconnected syllables and broken letters.
A shaking hand had risen. Celsus pressed his trembling fingers against his face, covering it from view, so that his pallid expression wasn't visible beneath. Corvus could have been saying the things that were inside of his own mind, and yet he found no comfort in them when he should have.
You don't deserve to hear them, anyway.
You're not worth her time.
"There - "
His voice choked, his chest heaving, and the breath came out of him in sharp, staccato gasps. "There's no one, my brother, he left me, and he was all I had, and there's just - there's nothing, there's nobody - "
Because nobody cares.
Because no one cares about you at all.
You're better off alone.
A hollow, almost manic laugh escaped him.
"There is no saving me."
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 7:37 am
"Let me try." Her voice was soft as she shifted to her knees, lifting herself up enough that she could loosely drape her arms around his neck. Her own chest ached at the sound of his breathing, the hitch and gasp so familiar that her own breath almost caught along with his. Corvus pushed her own fear and worry back, drawing him to her. What if this is a trap? It could be an act. You could be in danger.. He could need help. Corvus closed her eyes, resting her head lightly against his, raven black curls tumbling along the side of her face. "You're not alone right now. Right now you're here with me and I'm not going anywhere. Shhhh. Just breathe."
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