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 Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2016 10:13 pm
Caelum's eyes narrowed in annoyance as he had to be one of the witnesses of this scene. The holiday season and the chaos that came with it was to be commonplace; people wanted to spend their hard earned money, not have it stolen from then. So when the blatant crime before him turned into a mess of a man yelling at random shoppers of being thieves and the real pickpocket making off with his wallet, the pink-haired boy felt inclined to turn a blind eye.
But he was the hero the mall was holding out for. Of course he had to be the one to save the day. Again. It never occurred to him until now that his sense of justice had been little skewed lately.
Rushing off into a dark nook in the mall, Caelum powered up into Cadmus, and swiftly dashed by the man and a number of his victims to let him know—sigh—that help was here.
"Don't worry, sir. I saw who took your wallet. I'll get it back for you," he was in the most half-assed heroic, half-assed deadpan tone. "Please wait until then."
Then, turning, Cadmus's heels clicked across the tiled floor and in the direction of the thief.
Kitomyx sorry for the wait on this!! i meant to have it up earlier today, but i feel asleep;;;
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 12:41 pm
Sinope had been idling about the eaves of the mall building, watching people as his mirrorwraith flitted freely among them to collect energy. When he heard some yelling he looked up, curious, but figured it wasn't really his problem. Lots of people stole around this time of year; including him if one counted energy.
His interest increased a great deal, however, when he sensed an Order signature flare up and peered over to witness a White Moon senshi tell a distressed man that he would get his wallet back for him. What interested Sinope most was the deadpan tone which the other senshi used to say it.
The Dark Mirror senshi snorted in amusement before leaping down from his perch into the crowd, careful to keep out of sight best he could. From there, he pursued the pink-haired powered being, eager to catch up to him.
"Hey," he called, trying not to laugh as he ran. Even with his heightened abilities, laughter still stole much-needed air from his lungs and slowed him down. "What...what are you doing?" He figured he could afford to stray from his wraith for a while while the creature collected energy without him.Unoderi ((Nooo, you're fine! XD Sorry I took a while myself.))
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 2:33 pm
Cadmus felt an irritable feeling creep up near his ear; prickly, like using sandpaper to scratch an itch. He stopped and turned slowly to the energy signature, internally ignoring the jab in his gut to keep heading in the direction of the pickpocket.
He expected a confrontation, but instead, his eyes were on a senshi in black. His body was still trying to adjust to the fact if this was either friend or foe; obviously, foe, considering the Chaos he sensed, but he was still a senshi. Even as a 'chibi' senshi of Order, the fourteen year old was still soft on all senshi, even those on the other side.
"Intercepting a crime," Cadmus said, internally crossing himself for answering so abruptly. Reflexively, his arms across over his chest to protect his starseed. Standard fare when dealing with a Nega, even if the boy wasn't sure if all black-cloaked senshi were aligned with them. "A thief... stole a man's wallet. I was going to get it back. What"—Cadmus's eyes narrowed—"are you doing?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 6:23 pm
"Suuure," Sinope answered with a sneer, but blinked in puzzlement when the other senshi stopped and put his arms over his chest. "Then why did you stop? That guy is getting away; you'll lose him. And what are you doing now? You're acting like you think I'm gonna strip you or something."
After quizzically circling the other senshi once, he started to go on ahead so as not to lose track of their perpetrator. Unlike other powered beings, this guy wouldn't be so easy to track if he was just a normal person.
"Me? I was just wondering why you seemed so annoyed doing something no one's making you do," he chuckled over his shoulder. "Keep up, or I'm going to end up getting your guy's wallet back before you do!"
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 10:45 pm
Red in the face from annoyance and the guy's statement, Cadmus spat, "'Cause I'm more concerned about losing my life then some guy's dumb wallet."
His arms parted only when Sinope cleared some distance between them, but when it was in the direction of the pickpocket's escape route, the boy's stomach lurched.
"It's the right thing to do, that's all," he said, sneering. "What— Oh, hell no, I'm—"
Gonna be the hero here. Cadmus caught himself before he said anything. It's not about that. Seriously. It's... It's not...
Dashing away such thoughts with a sharp shake of his head, Cadmus began to run without sparing another word to this black-cloaked senshi. The thief probably got away by now!
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 11:01 pm
"If that's what you think, why are you even bothering to go after it?" the Dark Mirror senshi questioned as he tried to spot the perpetrator ahead. He wasn't really sure what his peer was so worried about, though. "Why are you being so dramatic about this 'losing my life' stuff? Did the thief have a gun or something?"
Sinope looked back to give Cadmus an incredulous look. "You're not making any sense. Who ever said you have to do the right thing if you don't want to? And who even said this is the right thing to do? What if the thief needs the wallet more than the man they stole it from?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 11:18 pm
Cadmus slowed to a stop and lurched his head around looking for the guy. The only thing he remembered was the man had on a bright blue puffer vest, but there wasn't a shade of blue within sight.
Did he get away?
His annoyance began to edge on anger as his new companion started to ask questions, leaving Cadmus at a loss on how to answer. "You haven't been doing this long, have you?" he asked, wondering why he felt like he was lecturing the guy. "You're one of those... corrupted senshi or whatever. You can rip people's souls out. Like, their literal souls. Through their chest. You're the danger, not the thief. You can't blame me for being extra careful, okay?"
He grunted. "Listen, I'm not gonna talk riddles or argue semantics or whatever, it's just something I do. Heroes do." Saying that was more embarrassing than he realized, so he scowled to hide it.
He was just about to run off and make for the thief again when Sinope posed a question that did seriously make him stop and think.
"Okay, well, I never considered that," he said. "But there's gotta be other s**t in there important to the man if the thief was just after money. Credit cards and s**t. Maybe even a photo of, like, I don't know, his dead turkey or something. And he was threathening to beat up other shoppers. Over a wallet. Returning it was better than innocent people getting all black and blue."
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 11:32 pm
This time, it was Sinope's turn to halt the chase. He didn't stop, though, until he had found an area atop one of the store signs where they could get a better view of the premises with a height advantage.
"No, I haven't, but you don't seem to have, either, if you're confusing me for a corrupted senshi," he retorted. "Our signatures may both be chaotic, but our style of chaos is different. Dark Mirror senshi don't 'rip people's souls out', we just collect small amounts of energy from people that no one will miss or likely even notice." The red-head frowned at the other's description of souls being ripped out of chests. "I didn't know corrupted senshi did that, though. Yeesh. Sounds like a messy business."
He had to clench his teeth shut to keep from snickering when the other senshi mentioned riddles and semantics, because those were things Sinope enjoyed talking and arguing about most. Usually because he almost always ended up being right. The talk of heroes, though, made him smile, particularly when Cadmus seemed to get embarrassed over his own words.
He was able to seem serious enough for most of the other guy's reasoning until he got to the 'dead turkey' bit, at which he snorted and laughed aloud. "Okay, okay, fair point, hero. Now that we've established I'm not going to rip out anyone's soul, can we focus, here?" He gestured at the crowd of people below them. "Any sign of them?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2016 11:50 pm
"Well, excuse me, princess," Cadmus huffed. "To me, any senshi in black is a bad guy. Enough said. Besides, it hurts like hell to have you around." He tugged at his ear to emphasize this, the prickly pain throbbing now. "Your energy signatures are painful."
His red eyes returned to scanning the mall for the thief, but Cadmus couldn't hide his annoyance again. "Y'know, I don't really need any help with this," he said. "I... don't see them, though. He was wearing a vest, though. Blue. That's all I remember."
The boy didn't budge from his spot, and carefully continued to individually take in each person's clothing. That shade of blue, something he thought would be easy to find, just wasn't anywhere. He was just about to give up when: "There!"
He extended a finger to a tall man leaning against a decoration at the Santa Claus display. From certain angles, one could hardly tell he was there. No wonder they—he—he couldn't see him.
Just as he was about to drop down and take care of business, Cadmus said, "Leave this to me, okay? Like I said, I don't need your help."
Then he bounded off for the man.
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 8:55 pm
Sinope rolled his eyes at the 'excuse me princess', vaguely wondering if that was meant to be a quote from the show he thought it was.
"Maybe you should try to see beyond just black and white, then," he advised. "And what do you mean, 'it hurts'? You're just being over-dramatic. I've never heard that chaotic energy signatures are painful for others to sense. Is that why you can't tell the difference between our types?"
He waited until Cadmus spotted who he'd been searching for, wondering why the White Moon senshi had bothered pointing him out to him if he didn't want his help. The red-head smiled and said, "Sure, okay. Not like I came along in the first place to help, anyway." That didn't mean he couldn't continue following to watch, though. He hurried after Cadmus and the man in the blue vest.Unoderi ((That cartoon Link reference was brilliant. heart I didn't even realize Jack was saying 'hero' in my head in the same tone that Zelda uses until Cae's 'excuse me, princess'. XD))
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Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2016 11:53 pm
Inclined to explain yet again, as Cadmus felt that's what he was always doing, before he jumped into action to show this senshi some real heroic work, remarked, "I don't know why it's painful. It just is. Like, you know how you can feel me." He motioned with his hands as if encouraging the idea, but then gestured to shooing after the implication. "I-I mean not like that! More, like, how you sense me? Yea, well, people on the side of Chaos feel like... a cactus. For me, at least. Like someone is rubbing a cactus against my ear."
He gave a shrug next. "...And it's probably the reason why. Probably. Pro-ba-bly. I'm still not ever going to believe the words of a Chaos senshi over an Order one. Anyway."
"Hey, you! The piece of s**t in blue!" Cadmus called out to the man, hands cupped over his mouth to carry the sound.
The entire mall went silent as Cadmus strode through the crowd confidently. The man froze as the senshi narrowed his eyes at him.
"Hand it over," Cadmus demanded.
The man blinked once, then twice, before nervously laughing. "Ha... haha... What are you talking about, kid?
"Hand it over," Cadmus said again. "You know what. Just hand over the wallet and no one gets hurt."
"I don't—"
"Hand it over!"
The man cast eyes left and right tentatively, reaching a hand to his pocket. This satisfied Cadmus until he suddenly bolted, again, and tried to make it through the crowd. This time, the pickpocket didn't make it far before he was overcome by a focused blast of cranberries. It hit the man square in the back and he dropped like a board. Grunting, Cadmus dug a heel into the red splatter on the man's jacket and bent to retrieve the stolen property.
It was only after a beat that the senshi realized what he had done. The wallet parted when he picked it up, and inside he saw a small, pocket-sized photo of the man standing with a pair of daughters. Twins. Cadmus thought it would've been cool to be a twin...
If he hadn't just accosted the wrong guy. Suddenly, his eyes grew wide, and he dropped the wallet on the man's back as he backpedaled one step, then two. "Oh... Oh s**t," he cursed, covering his mouth. "s**t!"
Then the mall erupted into a mass panic, Cadmus at the center of it all.
Kitomyx huehue. 
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:01 pm
"Um...okay," the Dark Mirror senshi answered, wondering if all Order beings felt that or if it was just this guy. Or if this senshi was just making it up. Sinope made a face.
"Wow, biased much? If you want to judge people based on their signatures rather than them as individuals, though, that's your problem, not mine. Just seems pretty narrow-minded to me, especially for someone claiming to be a hero."
He listened to and watched the scene play out as Cadmus confronted the person he'd suspected to have stolen the wallet, leaning off to one side. Sinope couldn't help snickering somewhat half-way through the interaction, though, and by the end of it, he was clutching his sides in stitches.
"You see what happens when you make assumptions?" he asked, catching up to investigate the remains of the cranberries the other senshi had blasted his target with. A smirk stole across his lips at the dawning of Cadmus' realization.
"Come on, you," Sinope urged, tugging his peer toward an alcove above one of the nearer stores. It was easier to avoid being trodden on when you were higher than everyone else. "You really like attention, don't you?"
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Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 9:57 pm
Cadmus was overcome with a desire to just burn up, then and there. He was furious and in agony, almost inclined to lash out the first half of his feelings against Sinope when the other tagged him along. Instead, he willingly let himself be guided, and when they were well hidden, was both red in the face and seemingly on the verge of crying.
"S-shut up!" he finally spat, like a kid who was just denied something sweet before dinner. "It's not about the attention, it's about doing the right thing, and... and..."
Yea, it's totally about the attention.
The truth of the matter dawned on him like a punch in the gut, and he grit his teeth to the pain of it. It wasn't like he hadn't know the truth, but denying it was easier. Even now, he fully didn't want to give in to it.
He turned away from Sinope and crossed his arms, huffing. "It was a mistake," he said. "Just a mistake. I-it's not like I do it often. The guy looked like the thief and..."
A sigh.
"I screwed up this time. I really screwed up this time. Makes me just want to go to Cadmus and call it a day."
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Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 8:49 pm
When Sinope faced Cadmus again, he was shocked to find the other sailor scout in such an emotionally compromised state. He stared for a minute, his mouth slightly ajar, unsure of what to do or say. The White Moon senshi grit his teeth, unable to finish his sentence. Sinope allowed him time as he turned away and was gradually able to talk again.
After he thought the red-eyed teen was done, his Dark Mirror peer said, "Hey, anyone could have made that mistake since they were wearing the same vest. If you hadn't stopped to talk to me, maybe you would have caught up to him before I did."
Sinope held out something to Cadmus. "I managed to snatch it from the guy you were chasing at the beginning, but I don't think he noticed, 'cause he kept on running. I'm the Senshi of Slyness, so I usually prefer stealth to attention."
He chanced a small smile. "Because of that, though, I think you're better off giving that guy his wallet back. You were the one who said you'd bring it to him, after all, and...well, they might think I'm a bad guy if they see me wearing black. Best keep out of the spotlight and stay in the shadows where I belong."
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Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 4:56 am
There was a swirl of gratitude in the boy's eyes when he reached out and retrieved the wallet; even opening it and confirming it was the man's by seeing his ugly mug within.
To Sinope's explanation, he said, "Y-you couldn't have given me this earlier? Before I started c-cry"—Cadmus shook his head—"I-I mean, before I started getting upset? That explains a lot though, why I couldn't find the thief. I told you I don't make mistakes. But um... Th... Tha..." His tongue felt heavy as he forced out the phrase. "Thank you. Eugh..."
I'm never saying that again. Not to another Chaos senshi ever again.
Then, for a second surprise first from the senshi, he introduced himself to someone who wasn't on the side of Order. "I'm Cadmus. Of Cranberries. If that matters or whatever." He expected it to be a small token for this, it seemed.
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