Welcome to Gaia! ::

Snow had fallen earlier in the evening; it hadn't been enough that it had stuck to the ground, but Caedus was busy examining an icicle when he heard the Senshi's voice behind him. His bandaged hand was still touching the cool ice crystal when he turned to see who was approaching him.

This one, he recognized.

He lowered his hand and slid it into one of his hidden pockets. "I am here," he announced; he approached, slowly. "It is good to see you, Sailor Lenka," he added. It never hurt to put a face to a name. "What have you come to see me for?"

He nodded when she offered sustenance, and company, and he certainly wasn't going to complain about a discussion not involving forty very loud people.

"I get cold," he replied. "My planet has controlled weather. It is programmed to be as we need it."

He tilted his head at the instrument she produced. "What is that? I do not come from a book. I come from a planet. Is that a weapon?" he asked, and almost reached out to touch it. He retracted his hand quickly, as if second guessing himself if it were.

He did not seem to think her question was silly at all.

"Weapons are very dangerous," he said, finally reaching out to brush his fingers across the plastic. He seemed interested in it, and continued, "It is not wise to play with something you do not understand. Forgive my caution. The weapons of my homeworld can do great damage. We have crystals," he paused, as if debating whether or not he wanted to share the information, and then continued, "Capable of burning through metal. Or with highly explosive properties. We have weapons. I cannot say they look exactly like this," he said, wrapping his fingers around the hilt of her light saber and holding it thoughtfully. "Ours are all white," he said, tapping the plastic blade. "Naturally, at least. Modifications can be made to change the color, but it is superfluous and unnecessarily extravagant. If you focus the flow of the energy from the crystal, it can be used as a blade. But I cannot compare it to any information from a book, I am sorry. Did you make this one yourself?"

Caedus blinked, head cocking a bit as she shared her theory. "I think you would know if any of my kind were here. We are…hard to miss. But I cannot say. Much has happened in the past thousand years. I would like to think members of my race have come to Earth. I would like to think someone, somehow, has been able to maintain our treaty. Perhaps it is not so impossible."

Or perhaps he did not like crushing someone's dreams. She seemed too excited.

But he couldn't stay, and if he had to lessen one blow, let it be the one that wasn't certain. "I am sorry I cannot stay. But if things go well, perhaps I would return. I thank you for your help, though, Lenka. You are very kind."

He glanced back to her lightsaber.

"…Can you make your own?"

"I do not think you are all…jerks." He tried the word, but it did not seem to fit his vocabulary. "It is logical to be concerned of strangers. I am more impressed in those of you that chose to help me than I am disappointed in those that chose not." He was happy, though, to see her enthusiasm against striking the Negaverse. His anger and hatred towards them burned deep, in a way he suspected many of the Senshi and Knights—and even Mauvians—would never understand.

A thousand years of anger and a thirst for vengeance was hard to replicate in a species that lived barely a tenth of that span.

But she had a passion he did not think could be feigned. He still did not understand much of what she said, but he did not attempt to stop her. Instead, he reached into his robes and searched for a moment, silently. Finally, he pulled out a bag—different from the one he had showed the crowd during the meeting. This one was much sturdier; it was a thick, faded purple, with a braided string. Carefully, he slipped his hand into it, fished around, and then withdrew a crystal. It was not large, but it was wrapped tightly in a thin fabric, and a small string tied it. Upon withdrawing this crystal, he closed the bag and returned it to its hidden spot beneath the folds of his fabric. Carefully, he unwound the string and peeled away the fabric.

In his hands, was a brilliant, blue crystal. It had no energy, no special signature, but it glowed.

"I have had this for many years," he said; he had raised his other arm to hold between him and the glowing crystal in an effort to conceal his face. He looked from it, to her.

"Perhaps when you learn how to make yours, it will aid you."

Caedus tensed immediately with the contact, and it was in his nature to draw away.

But he didn't.

It took only a second to determine that this was not an act of hostility; it was an act of…affection?

"It is the least I can do," he said after an awkward moment of his arms pinned to his side in her hug. "I hope it serves you well. That light has never dimmed, not once in all these years. It will not turn off. If you want to conceal the light, you will need to wrap it tightly. You must take care of it. And perhaps it will take care of you. I hope you get your light…saber. I hope I will see it one day."

Caedus watched as the senshi ran off; he could not exactly put into words what he had just felt, but it was…refreshing. She had left him with warmth, and food, and he may have been one crystal less than he had been this morning, but compared to this meeting, he had lost nothing.

Carefully, he picked up the items she had left for him and retreated into the grove of trees. There, the wind was less fierce.

He wrapped the blanket around himself, nestled next to a tree, and opened the thermos.

The hot chocolate and cookies did not last the hour.