The nights were starting to get colder. Which meant Sabine was all too happy about her long sleeves, but less thrilled by the short skirt. Still, the thermos of tea in her backpack was doing a good job of keeping her warm, and if she really had to, there were a few packs of handwarmers she could sit on if needs be.
Didn’t make patrolling any easier tho.
With a sigh, she cleared her mind and scanned the area for other powered individuals. While she wasn’t looking for a fight, she was prepared for one if need be.
Despite the apparent magical boost of sorts that sort of kept her warm at times, Cassiopeia had long taken up the habit of wearing a heavy… well, what she considered a military styled cloak. Black, buttoned up, and with sturdy pockets hidden around inside the material for her to stash a travel wallet and snacks for when necessary, she was amused at how well it sort of helped her blend into the scenery at night. At least in comparison to her rather bright and glimmery uniform beneath, anywho.
She'd… well, pulled back a bit from senshi patrols and related dealings. Ever since the infiltration of Negaspace, and then racing around trying to track down those starseeds--and the subsequent death of one senshi, and the awakening of another…--Cassiopeia was feeling… a tad glum with the whole thing.
Plus it'd been a while since she'd spoken to any of her kinda-friends so… that was fun.
But there she was, out and about again, keeping her senses open for youma or Chaos-auras. She'd dealt with a youma earlier on, a small fry but one she'd been happy to remove regardless, and now was surprised--and delighted--to feel an Order signature instead.
Cassiopeia picked up her pace, quickly closing the distance between herself and the slightly stronger aura. When she spotted the red, white, and gold figure, she blinked a bit, and narrowed her eyes in private thought. It took a moment, but when it clicked, she blinked again, giving a small huh! before continuing her approach, lifting a hand and waving. This was… one of the senshi from the barracks, if she remembered right. At least, the uniform kind of looked similar. She didn't recall speaking to the girl, but she was pretty sure it was her…
"Hello! Bit of a chilly evening, wouldn't you say?"
Sabine had felt the other Order aura approach, and so as the other woman had arrived, she had taken the moment to unsling the backpack from her back and fish out her thermos and a few of the snacks she’d been bringing with her as of late. As the other figured appeared she nodded her head in reply.
“Yeah, I’d rather it be spring, but I suppose we must suffice with fall.” Sabine said with a small smile, bowing her head. The other senshi was familiar, in the sense that she was sure she’d seen her somewhere before, but she didn’t recall meeting her.
“Have we met?” She asked, then, holding out one of the shrink-wrapped packages of snack cakes to her guest. “I don’t know why, but I get this feeling I’ve seen you somewhere before?”
She just couldn’t pin down where.
"Fall's better than winter," Cassiopeia sighed, pulling the cloak tighter around her as she shivered. And then it'd have been a year since she first powered up. Wow. Time flies. Giving a small hum of surprise to herself, she smiled and figured hey, if she got through winter once…
The other girl's question made her pause, and wince a little. Well, had to get the subject out of the way at some point, she figured. "I um, I think so, kind of?" She fidgeted with the buttons on her cloak, before blinking at the snack cakes. "O-oh! Thank you! That's super sweet of you. And super smart." She took the offered package and moved one side of her cloak, showing off the pockets underneath. "These aren't big enough to fit big snacks, so you've definitely got the right idea."
"But um… yeah, we were um… both at the barracks..?" She kinda figured further explanation wasn't needed. Weren't many barracks senshi really went to recently…
"How have you… been?" It wasn't easy in there…
It was like a switched flipped, and for a moment, the somewhat chilly cheerful girl that had stood before Cassiopeia became a completely different person. Any warmth from her eyes or smile faded. The facade was still there, but the light was gone.
“Yes, the barracks… I’m glad you managed to make it out okay, didn’t really have the time to properly introduce ourselves given all the… chaos,” Sabine said, her tone legitimately relieved to see the other woman was in one piece.
“I’ve been surviving,” She said again, pulling out to reusable camping cups to pour the warm tea from her thermos into. She took one and silently offered the other to Cassiopea. “Tea?”
She took a sip of her own, not speaking for a few moments. “They’re still very angry about what we did… I hope you’ve managed to avoid them.”
Y-ep. Cassiopeia couldn't help the guilt that bloomed in her chest, a tightness that made her wriggle where she stood, as color seeped into her cheeks. The effects on the other senshi were obvious, and she felt horrible for bringing the event up.
"A lot of us did, thankfully-- I mean, made it out ok," she amended, before giving a little shrug. "Not like we really had… time, to make introductions, but I've seen a few people since then and people… well. A lot of us got out."
Wow. Even had extra cups to offer others tea. Amazed, she took the offered cup with a smile. "Thank you." Taking a sip, she weighed the girl's words. Been surviving. Yeah… definitely was a way to put it… when she said that they were still angry, she winced, nodding her head. "Sort… of. I… wasn't quick enough to keep a Captain from taking two starseeds… a senshi died because of it, and the civilian who survived is hell bent on fighting any agent she sees…" The Senshi of Wonder sighed and rubbed her now warmer hand against her eyes. "What about you? Have you been able to avoid them..?"
“No, not that I have been going out of my way to,” Sabine admitted with a small sigh. “Moreso now that I have become that much stronger.”
She was not against going toe-to-toe now. Her self defense lessons were going well, so she felt far more capable now than she had starting out. It just hurt that she’d had to be roughly beaten and broken first. But oh well, life wasn’t at all a fairy tale.
She could accept that.
Taking another sip of her tea, she did manage a smile. “What is important is that even though they are up in arms and more likely to hurt us we are still here. You did your best, no one can fault you that. We will mourn the loss of life, but in the end, we must stand strong.”
And if a civilian hated the Negaverse because of it, well… good.
Well that caused Cassiopeia to smile a bit. "Has it been bad though? I mean, I expected some sort of retaliation but… it almost seems too quiet since our assault on their domain? Does that make sense? Perhaps I've just been missing things, though…" She envied the girl's… well, lack of apparent fear on it. Or at least, her new level of confidence with her new strength. It was rather inspiring, really.
Taking a sip herself, the Senshi of Wonder laughed as she moved the warm cup away from her lips. "That's a rather wise view of the situation, and rather philosophical." Something she was usually rather surprised to hear outside of some of her classes, especially coming from someone who looked so young. Not that it was a bad thing -- her smile was one of pride towards the other senshi, not humor or disbelief. If more people were able to learn that sort of view of the world, and understand the meaning of it...
Still, she huffed. "Maybe next time I see Morgan, I'll send her your way. I think she's taken it… even more personal that I have, the other senshi's death. But…" She looked down at the tea and watched the lights catch on the liquid's surface. "I… I know what war brings. I've studied enough of history and prehistory to understand it in many views. The winner's side, the loser's side… I've seen the effects on economies, on politics, on architecture, on bones... Really, I'm just waiting for this war to involve the governments of the world, and for things to just keep getting bigger."
Pausing, she gave a shrug, a small smile on her face. "But I never… once consider what it could be like if Chaos wins. I can't see it. Even if we continue to lose people on both sides, and I'm bracing myself for it now… I just can't see them winning. I'm not sure how naive that is, though."
“War is hell,” Sabine said, looking down into her cup for a long moment. “I’m Senshi of Tactics, I’ve probably studied more about War than a 15-year-old ever should, but it was important for me to have an idea of what my sphere entails so I can make better sense of my magic. And It does make a lot more sense now that I’ve studied up on a lot of the different aspects of it.”
She gave a slight sigh before looking up at Cassie. “Oh, I’ve met Morgan… She’s… Interesting.” She added, not sure if that was really the appropriate word to use. Granted, she was pretty sure that the two of them had not met on the best terms, but still, her interaction with Morgan had not been the worst.
“They can’t win, because the world would completely cease to be anything remotely livable. Could you imagine how awful it would be? People would probably have to donate energy or worse… and imagine it…”
She could have been horrible and quote Fallout with War Never Changes, but decided against it last minute to instead nod mutely. It was… fascinating to her, in a sad way, to hear the other girl's side, never mind her sphere. It… it was a heavy weight for a kid. Jesus… "How does your magic work, if you don't mind my asking..?" Blinking, she closed her eyes tight and laughed a bit, shaking her head. "And where are my manners while I'm at it… I'm Cassiopeia, Senshi of Wonder."
Though she lifted a brow to hear the other girl had encountered the um… stubborn senshi. Cassiopeia winced in sympathy. "That… is a good word to use. I'm kinda hoping to talk to her more, and for her to meet others to explain the war more… so she stops with her… um. Well, her hunts against the Negaverse." She wasn't trying to enlist anyone, but really… it was a bit more of a wakeup call to Cassiopeia that more resources were kinda needed for all the new people…
But she pushed herself out of that thought and reached out to rest a hand on the other senshi's arm, smiling softly. "It wouldn't be a living world. Period. But… I'm sorry, I got us onto a really, really shitty subject didn't I? Let's… let's talk about something else? I think we're both in agreement it won't happen, so let's talk about some of the good that can or will happen instead, hm?"
She didn't want to add more horrible thoughts into her head…
“Sabine,” Sabine replied, taking the other girl’s offered hand for a quick shake before lowering it and watching her for a moment. “As far as my magic… Well… You probably didn’t see it at the Barracks - but I give someone a command, and if they follow it, they can’t be seen or heard by the enemy while they perform it… But it has to be a directional thing… Like… If I called my attack now and touched you, and told you to attack something it wouldn't’ work. But if I told you to run jump to the next roof - you’d be completely unnoticeable.”
Or at least, that was what she’d seen so far. She was sure there were caveats that she hadn’t run into yet, but from what she’d seen nobody could see or hear anyone as they moved. Which was a benefit. “But like I said, it’s very situational…” She waved a hand. “Good in groups, not so good alone.”
As far as the heavy stuff went… well… She shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize. We have to be able and willing to talk about this sort of stuff. Pretending it won’t happen won’t stop it from happening. We have to face the possibility that we’ll lose head on, or we’ll freeze up when it gets really tough.” She said, taking another slow sip of tea. “But I won’t deny that its tempting to forget it all and just think of happier things.”
But that would be painfully unrealistic.
Cassiopeia shook Sabine's offered hand before returning her fingers to wrap around the warm cup, taking a few more sips of the cooling liquid. At the description of her magic, she let out a little whistle. "Oh that's really neat! Yeah definitely situational, extremely, but if you work well with others on it, and train together to be more aware of how each other's magics work best with one another's… that's a really, really awesome magic. Could really help to line up other magics, really…"
Which, she bet Sabine was already aware of, but it fascinated her without a doubt. "Mine's just… razzle dazzle. I love it though. It's rather fun to use and just… watch," she laughed, shrugging a bit. "I can use it to distract opponents, which can either help with a getaway or for someone else to take a clean shot." And it just… looked really cool.
She snorted a bit at Sabine's… painfully realistic view. "You're incredibly aware of the world for a fifteen year-old," she pointed out, before clicking her tongue. "But don't nix viewing the happier things, too. You need those in your head now and then, especially at the forefront of your mind, to remind yourself why you put yourself through all this s**t, that it is worth fighting for… something you'll need especially when all you want to do is cry, or freeze up, or feel like it's no longer worth the pain and the fear and the fighting…" Her voice trailed off, bright eyes dimming a little, before she forced a smile on her face and shook herself a little.
"Keep the reality close at hand, don't get cocky about things… but don't be afraid of just letting yourself relax and have some fun too, y'know?"
Sabine nodded at the assessment of her magic. That was a pretty accurate thought, and one she’d been trying to figure out how to make happen for awhile. It wasn’t that Phact’s magic didn’t work well with her own - it was that they were both… not damage dealers. Still - Cassie’s magic sounded really cool too, so she supposed that had its benefits.
Her statement about being incredibly aware made her puff her cheeks out a bit. “It’s not like I wanted to be thrust head first into fire, blood, and death... “ She said in an almost chidlike tone - almost… it was just a tad off. “But, charging headfirst into awful tends to make you realize life isn’t all rainbows and unicorns.” She said with a sigh. “But thank you, that’s good advice…”
At the mention of feeling like it was no longer worth it Sabine shook her head. “It’s always worth it. Every moment, every ache and scrape and cut. No matter what, we are the only hope this planet has… No matter how hard it is - it’s worth it just to know our families are safe just one more day.”
For a brief second, Cassiopeia felt she was seeing just how young Sabine was, and had to smother a smile. "You think any of us did?" It was probably a mean comment, but still. Cassie had been running away from a Captain when she ran into Pye and… history from there. It just… hadn't lost the magic for her, as it clearly had for this younger girl.
Something that hit her as rather sad.
"Like I said, you're very, very aware for your age. And I don't mean that as an insult or anything, and no, you didn't ask for this… none of us did." She held up a hand to hopefully keep Sabine from puffing up again. "But the fact you're aware of what's at stake, and that it's not all rainbows and unicorns, says a lot about you. There's still a lot of people in this war, especially on our side I've seen, that just… that do ignore it, and either laugh at the war like it's a game, or just haven't understood yet how real it all is. Even with all they see, they still just laugh or shrug it off. But please don't let yourself get swallowed up by it. If all you focus on are the grim realities, and don't let yourself smile a bit and just have some fun for a brief moment… believe me, you'll go numb to what's at stake. Because all you'll see is the grim reality and it will burn you out if you're not careful."
“Trust me, I…” Sabine paused for a moment, as focusing on something else in the background. She relaxed almost immediately. “False alarm, though I felt a Chaos aura…” She said quietly. “But you’re right… We have to keep some level of… hope.” If hope was even the right word for what was needed. “I mean, at the end of the day I’m still a 15-year-old girl with 15-year-old girl problems… like getting boys to notice you.” She again puffed her cheeks.
This seemed to be quite the vexing problem for her. One that she did not seem to care to elaborate on either.
“I have a few powered friends… We try to take breaks and talk about stuff as we can, but they’re all older than me so… I’m doing what I can for me when I can.”
Cassiopeia's eyes widened a bit, looking around and trying to focus on her own mental radar. Nothing came up even for a moment… but she guessed that was because Sabine was a rank higher than her now?
Her lips twitched, and she tried not to grin though, to hear about the age-old issues that people had. Getting someone to notice you whom you wanted to notice you…
"I'm glad you've got friends out here… though I'm not sure what to say about them being older." She paused and hummed, before sighing. "I know a Chibi Senshi, but she's like… six? Seven? Really young, so that won't help. She's sweet though." But it's not the same as having someone your own age to talk to about these things. "And offering to hang out doesn't fully help since I'm also older, though the offer's there if you ever wanted." She shrugged, not minding the idea of someone knowing her in her civilian life. But… definitely not the same, hm…
“I won’t turn down a friendly offer,” Sabine said, with a small smile, and reaching into her bag again, pulled out a small note pad and a pen. She scribbled down some numbers and handed the scrap of paper to Cassie. “My civilian number… Just, uhm… text me first, and I’ll reply.” She said with a smile. “But I never turn down a chance to network, as they say.”
After all, the more people she knew, the more people she could call on should things ever get… bad. And that was a good thing, especially since her power was reliant on other people to be even the slightest bit effective.
“Is it just me, or is it getting colder?” Sabine said with a slight shiver and rubbing her arms before finishing up her tea. “Probably should get moving so I don’t turn into a Senshi-cicle.”
She was surprised the younger girl took her up on it, but Cassiopeia grinned and happily accepted the offered paper, reading it over a few times to try and memorize it, before slipping it into one of the pockets on her cloak. "Yeah, definitely! I'd imagine it's pretty nice to just chill and talk to someone without the uniform, but still know it's safe to just… talk about whatever." Pye didn't count. He was feline and adorable, but feline.
Drinking the last of her tea, she nodded a bit and handed the cup back to Sabine. "Thanks for that, and yeah it definitely is getting nippier… Do you want to patrol together for a bit? Least it'll make time go by faster, and more help against any Chaos we might find." Though if Sabine more wanted to patrol alone, she wouldn't mind. Just felt the need to offer -- never hurt!
“That would be wonderful,” Sabine said with a small smile, taking the cup and stowing it away in a different pocket that before. Once the bag was sealed all back up, she slung it back over her shoulder with a nod. “Ready whenever you are!”
Of course, she was hoping they’d patrol back toward the Crystal Dorms, but she would go wherever Cassie felt the need. After all - she’d been the one to offer. So she let Cassie take point, and followed her into the night.
Torvil
Logged!
