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 Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2016 11:08 am
Candice had seen the bulletin a while back and had saved the number and email, but she couldn't understand why someone was curious about what had happened at the Surrounding. She had, for a very long period, issues with what had happened. There had been fear it would happen again, but then she powdered up and had a whole other life. Now, she was protective of what was out there, especially knowing her own home star was out there.
But after all this time, why the desire to know now?
To settle her own curiosity and possible learn more of what this person knew, Candice had sent them an email a while back and exchanged a few back and forth. Eventually, they set up a meeting at a coffee shop. She was there now, reading from her textbook while sipping a cold frappuccino. Cotton, her American Eskimo dog, was under the table, chewing away at a fresh treat that they picked up earlier in the morning.
She had been given his description of short brown hair and green eyes. Candice had provided the same and included Cotton, as there was a high chance she wouldn't be the only one at the coffee shop with shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. With her head in her book, Candice never noticed the man's approach until he was already at their table.
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2016 1:40 pm
James opted out of purchasing a beverage when he'd arrived at the coffee shop they had arranged to meet at. Between all of his responsibilities, the cryptic message impressed upon him by his sister, and trying to sort out his memories he was too tightly wound to risk dropping caffeine atop that.
It only took him a moment after arriving to locate the girl that had been described to him over email. It was, in fact, the dog that clued him in that he'd found the right person and he strode over to their table with a mix of confidence and anxiety.
Inwardly he sighed at himself, he used to have so much more confidence than this.
"Ah, Candice?" He greeted with what he hoped was a charming smile and not something too strained. "My name is James, we're arranged to talk about uh the space incident a few years ago?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2016 10:38 pm
Candice looked up and saw that the person that spoke matched the description. She smiled up at him and pulled out the other chair. "Nice to meet you, James. Here have a seat." Cotton was wagging her tail, but knew better than to approach a stranger. "She doesn't bite and will only come if you show her you want her to come."
"Not interested in a drink first?" She took hers and took a sip. "Their frappuccinos are pretty tasty. They're more sugar than anything though." Candice knew it wasn't very good for her, but it's not like she had them all the time.
There was something bothering her though, and she felt like she needed to ask him before anything else. Candice looked at him straight in the eyes. "One thing before I say anything about what happened... Why now? Why are you asking after all this time has passed? I hope you don't mind me asking that first." She hadn't revisited her memories from then recently. It was easier to know it happened than to recall everything.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 10:24 am
"Noted," he replied, peering at the dog curiously before slipping into the seat she'd pulled out for him. "Thank you."
James shook his head at her question, "I'm alright." He certainly didn't need caffeine to exasperate himself. "I'll keep that in mind though, I'm sure they're delicious." Maybe Kat would like to come here some time.
Any ease that had begun to settle over him was gone when Candice very simply asked him why he was asking. Why he'd waited all these years before looking for answers.
"Because you spend a couple of months, years even, thinking that everything you remember is a little crazy and then, you get some information later telling you that what you remember is wrong," he folded his hands together on the table, tried to keep a level gaze on the woman. "You go looking for the stuff you wrote and find all of it gone or altered and think that maybe it's time to start asking questions."
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 11:38 am
Candice watched as James sat down and answered her question. She didn't know if she had anymore questions for him, but at least his answer sounded reasonable enough. "I guess that sounds fair."
She had to admit that she didn't think any of her memories changed. There was no reason for her to question them anyways, even after she became a Senshi. "I think what I remember is true, but memories do fade with the passing of time. I'm not sure if that's your case, but you're free to ask."
Cotton had sat up, put her paws on Candice's lap and rested her head on top. Candice pet her darling's head and smiled at James. "Okay, fire away!"
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 10:52 am
James knew that he probably sounded a little crazy, it'd been years after all but he couldn't shake the instinctive, gut feeling that told him that he wasn't misremembering because of time. He was misremembering because of something else. And yet -
There was no way to explain that without compromising himself, his identity, and the people he cared about.
So, he was grateful when she didn't keep asking questions. "Well, first I'd like to ask what you remember about the events, like the people you were with or what the scenery was like. From there I might be able to ask for more...specific questions."
Though James' participation on most things had been minimal, but he wasn't going to tell her he'd died so soon.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:41 pm
"Hm..." The question wasn't loaded or anything, but it did take a bit of thinking. Candice had been a bit traumatized after the Surrounding and before she started learning more about her second identity. "Let's see. I do remember hurting my arm on the initial landing - it was actually the reason why I'm aiming for my MD. The healing thing was actually better up there, which was nice."
Candice was having a hard time with the details, but she probably could use her other experiences with space. "Definitely a more gorgeous night sky, since we pollute our skies so horribly... Another girl and I stumbled upon a hot spring and enjoyed ourselves."
"I think a lot of it was pretty mellow. That was until the... I believe they called them 'youma' showed up. Giant evil energy monster things? I think they hurt people too... I don't remember dying then, but I know I eventually did die when more of the... 'bad' guys popped up?"
She couldn't help but sigh. "I really don't have coherent memories. They're all kind of spaced out. If you have any more specific questions, maybe I could answer better?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2016 1:55 pm
"Do you, uh, remember any sort of...space whale?" James asked tentatively thinking of his conversation with Roxy and how that was one of the few experiences they were able to truly remember together. The journey to the surrounding seemed to be untampered but anything after his death and the surrounding had been flooded with powered individuals...that's where all of his gaps were.
"I don't remember a hot spring," he said, frowning because that would have been something the James from five years ago would have been all over. "Do you remember the outpost you were on?" Clearly they'd been on different ones.
Candice didn't look familiar anyway, but he'd died pretty early on.
"What do you classify as a 'bad guy', like what did they look like? Do you remember how they got there or how they were ejected - er left?" He only remember white light.
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 8:58 am
"Ohh!" She remembered it slightly, with the whales. "Was that the time where there were these different colors and depending on what you got it felt... Different?" There was the memory of her having kissed one of her close friends, but the rest of the battle was faded. "Everyone was fighting together so it was pretty awesome now that I think back to it. I mean, at the time we feared for our lives, so not then, but yeah..."
Candice shook her head. "Sorry, I don't remember that part. I can't even remember if I visited more than one or not. Do you remember which you were on? Part of me wishes I experienced more, but that's only reflecting on it now. Can't say I was happy to be up there during that time."
The next question was a bit hard. Candice knew that being what she was, there was a bunch of bias, but at the time... There had been other Senshi there trying to figure out how they got there in the first place. She carefully started her response. "There were people up there trying to figure out how we got there and how to bring us back. Well, not the average person, but they had powers and such, yah know?"
"Does that even make sense to you?" She scratched her head, unsure of how to explain it without giving herself away.Nuxaz (( SORRY. I didn't save all the ORPs and I don't remember it well myself XDD ))
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Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2016 11:22 am
"Yeah," James replied, remembering how he'd been purple when they landed. "I wasn't - " he sighed, leaning forward and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "There's a lot of...white noise with the memories for me. He'd died so early that he was more of a viewer than a participant. "I think I was at the Leo outpost but I didn't get to see much before..." He trailed off, hoping she'd understand what he was implying.
"The 'good guys', what did they look like?" That was probably the most important aspect of information he wanted to know. "I'm not obvious to the Hell's Kitchen thing we've got going on here." That was the best way to phrase it he was sure.
"I makes sense, I just need more information. What do you remember about the people who were trying to help us?"
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:06 am
"I was at the Virgo outpost... Maybe." Candice noticed what he was implying. "Though.. Why are you afraid of saying you died? We all did, but what counts is that we're here now." She gave him a smile. "I know I had the same issue as you did before, but it's better to know that you are alive and well than dwell on the fact that you died once before."
Candice didn't remember who she met or saw up there, so she could only assume from her own. "They had white bodices, I think?" She motioned towards her chest and stomach areas. "The ones that attacked had black? I know there was some there that had different outfits, but I think the basis was white?"
"I don't remember specifics, to be honest. My apologies for that. I just knew they were trying to figure out why we were there and tried to get us off. I've never even heard of a reason why even now." She shrugged. It would have bothered her before not knowing, but she didn't want to live in the past.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2016 10:36 am
"It's not that I'm afraid of saying it...It's complicated." James sighed, hand lifting to punch the bridge of his nose before his fingers spread up and over his brow. He didn't know how to explain that the whole 'coming back to life' part of his memories had been corrupted and that's what he was trying to figure out. "Trust me, brushes with death weren't exactly uncommon."
He'd been way more adventurous before.
"No, this has all been really helpful." James assured, jotting some things down before tapping his pen against the notebook. "It's been years, I just needed to clear some stuff up." He shrugged, thinking about everything that had happened and how what he remembered conflicted with what people were recounting.
"I died really early so it's hard to say if what I remember is true or not."
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Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:24 pm
"Did you have any other questions? I'm still not sure how much I can recall, but at least you have my contact now. You're free to contact me whenever something is bothering you and I'll definitely try." Candice smiled, hoping to reassure him.
She had never thought of her dying compromising her memories. Not that she could remember, anyways. "Have you spoken to any others in the same situation as you? I remember talking to some people afterward and it seemed fine, so I can't say I've heard of others in your situation."
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Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 1:07 pm
"No I think that's everything," James replied, jotting a few things down in the notebook he'd brought with him and then stuffed filed into a manila folder before sliding his belongings back into his bag. "I appreciate the time you took to answer my questions and meet with me." She was informative enough even if he lamented her inability to remember too much.
He didn't blame her, it'd been years and he was probably on a fools quest.
"Yeah, I've made a few other contacts," he said absently, sliding the strap of his bag over his shoulder. Everyone wanted to know why and he had no answers to give them. It was complicated, a puzzle he was still deducing.
He had some pieces, now he just needed to slot things together.
"Thank you Candice, again I appreciate your time. I'll be in touch if I have any more questions."
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Posted: Wed Oct 12, 2016 10:22 am
"I really hope you find whatever answers or... clarity? you're looking for." Candice finished off her drink and looked to him again. "Remember, it's the past, so sometimes it's better to move forward than let it drag you down!"
Candice pushed back her chair and stood up, untying Cotton's leash from under the table. "You're very welcome, James." She held the empty bottle in her hands and fiddled with it slightly. "Have a great rest of your day! I think we'll be headed to the dog park!" She smiled as she watched Cotton stand up and wag her tail.
"Take care! I'm always available via email!" She waved at James and headed down the street.Nuxaz (( Thank you for RPing with me! Not sure if you want to do a closing post <3 ))
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