Welcome to Gaia! ::

It really was bitterly cold, Scylla reflected as she stamped her shoes on the ground, trying to work some feeling back into her dainty feet. She wasn't wearing her bright red Burberry, this time, but she did have on a pair of warm, long pants under her skirt. The jacket had just felt so bulky, last time, and her legs had almost frozen off. She really did need to look into additional alternatives. Jada wasn't meant to survive in the bleak midwinter. She required warmth, and/or people persons to leech body heat from.

It had seemed that this winter was- no pun intended- cooling off in terms of activity. She'd met no agents of the Negaverse in her explorations, and only one other senshi. Perhaps they were avoiding being grouped together, or perhaps winter was now a cease fire since it was so damn cold? Or maybe she was just lucky.

It was almost startling to feel a signature moving in her direction, and she took a moment to analyze it, making certain that it wasn't Chaos. It didn't feel so, but it was certainly.... moving in her direction? Well, the least she could do was go and say hello. Wriggling her fingers, she moved into action, skipping up and in the direction of the approaching signature.

The figure approaching was faintly familiar, and Scylla moved to find a warm spot on the roof she had landed on. He could approach her-- it would give her an extra moment to search her mental databanks for who it was. Luckily, she wouldn't have to reveal she couldn't remember a name. Mannerly, the knight introduced himself. "Scholomance," she greeted, nodding her head. "I remember meeting you. It's been a while. Were you able to get your answers about Caedus?"

Caedus- someone she needed to uncover the resolution to. In her absence, had he been able to make his way home?

"A question is rarely a burden. Unless you're asking me to carry something." her lips quirked in a dry attempt at humor, and she summoned him closer to her and the warm spot on the roof with a wave, taking a seat and stretching out her legs. "Come on over. I won't bite."

She crossed her ankles, leaning back to watch the Knight approach, considering. She knew very few of his kind, since their appearance had been right around when her own frequent vanishing acts had begun. She knew of some, and she knew Gevaudan, of course. Perhaps this could be an opening and an opportunity for another look at the recent events. Gev, reasonably (she supposed), wanted vengeance for what her court had done to him. She had known Lina, but Lina... There had been Laocoon, but she'd not been able to reach him (or Johnny) since the Parallels... she assumed Johnny was dead, but she didn't stop looking. Other than that and a few she'd met in the peripheral... Scholomance made 4 she knew by name?

He took a seat across from her, and she pulled in her legs to give him some room, burying her bare toes closer to the dripping heater. "Shame he has vanished," she said after a moment. "Whatever happened, he was always very... willing to listen to my babble." She'd seen a pain and hesitation in him, and quite hoped he hadn't been recaptured. She would, perhaps, have to make an effort to seek him out. People didn't have to be seen to see- his would be another opinion she might benefit from, with the time that had passed.

Leaning forward, she settled her elbow on one bent knee, considering the golden eyes and the rather morbidly-beaming mask without revulsion, but avid curiosity. She'd not been able to see him quite so well, last time, with the trees and all. he had a question-- and his question was a need for advice. Which... Jada herself usually made reckless, stupid decisions, with little regard for her personal safety, or wealth. since taking on guardianship of her siblings, she'd done better, and as Scylla, she was even more careful for risk of revealing herself all-too-easily as Jada, but-

Focus, Jada. He has a serious question, if he's asking a total stranger.

Imagine that the Negaverse caught and disfigured you, then took your senshi phone which bars you access to your planet and your powered contacts. She didn't much have to imagine that- she had seen it, just from the other side. What the Blood Moon had done to the Negaverse- to Wolf, Tanz, Uranophane... She could still see-

Focus.

As a senshi, my first step would probably be to go to one of the Cats," she said honestly. "See if there was something they could do with the phone. While the loss of it is an inconvenience, if it can be replaced..." she pursed her lips, considering. "Being at the mercy of an enemy is never certain. In my position, the chances are too high that they would eventually go back on their promise to me, and either kill me, or forcibly corrupt me. Defying them... it only matters if they can find me." Such a situation, to sever her from Scylla...

To sever her from more hard-won memories of Andromache's life, and the world that was slowly growing under her careful hands... And then the added threat to people she loved.

Scylla huffed out a breath angrily, shoving to her feet, curls bouncing. "How ridiculous. Threatening someone else- what good will that do them? How will they find them? They can't use my phone- and it should vanish when I power down to myself, anyways." she spun, raising a brow and looking down at him. "Do Knight abilities work differently?" she inquired with a faint facade of guilelessness, "And do I know who they are threatening to hurt?"

It was some very interesting information about Knights, and Scylla's lips pursed as she pulled out her cell phone and considered it. The phone had always kind of... vanished... when she powered down, like the Ashen Lilac crystal did. Perhaps because she wanted it so, perhaps because of the way that she 'stored' it in her uniform, perhaps for another reason. And with the various upgrades that had been made to the phone, she had always assumed they would be replaceable, if broken or somehow lost. Her brow furrowed, considering. "Having them around must be incredibly convenient at times, but in situations like this..."

She put the phone away, pacing around the roof. "Honestly, though, keeping a signet ring on as a civilian is like going around with my henshin pen as a hairpin. It's asking for trouble." The information that the Negaverse had tracked down someone from Order enough to associate them with a home gave her a shudder, and she didn't try and pass it off as cold. "******** Negaverse," she sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. "They get all the cool toys. A massive force, a demon army, the ability to teleport and rip out starseeds... what's a senshi supposed to do about that?"

An option that didn't start or end with murder would be nice. But, apparently, was becoming less and less of an option. "How we're even still fighting this mockery of a 'war' I don't know. They outnumber us, overpower us, and we can't even win a brawl without phenomenal cosmic powers coming to haul us out of a pit." And yet here she was, all gussied up like she'd be of any more use than a speedbump.

Still, Scholomance had come to her with an actual problem, and this time, she wasn't sure she could come up with an answer. "You're right, it would be easy to say defy, defy. One senshi will turn into two, two into three, until you're doing all their work for them, and they can continue to work their way through civilians and rebels in a neat little line on the other side; destroying anything that doesn't belong to chaos and turning originality, beauty, into rubble and ash."

Execution. she could still remember the line of people on the stage in that nightmarish vision of the future, their names being called... Will you repent with your actions or your life?

"One thing is for sure, Scholomance, you can't just deliver them a helpless lamb. If you're going to submit, get someone who can fight back, for God's sake. You may be able to get your ring and still walk out of there without having sold that part of your soul. If not, at least they knew what they were risking."

She closed violet eyes, wishing that she had something she could say that was all pleasant and hopeful, but-- frankly, they were all ********, it was just a matter of when and how hard. "I suppose this is when I should be trying to give you a glimmer of hope in the darkness, but I'm just hoping maybe the beast will get too big and start chewing off its own heads. Eventually there will be nothing else to eat, and maybe we'll be able to hold out long enough for the auto-cannibalism to begin."

She shifted and spun around on the roof, continuing her pacing, mind whirling. She had so little she could say or offer. She had no contacts she could recommend to him who might be able to assist- the negaverse would never fall for the trap that was most the people she might still be able to reach. Jada pressed her hands to her head, raking nails through thick black curls, considering the rather unique predicament in which she now found herself.

"Just because someone is a 'fighter' doesn't mean they are worth anything," she informed the knight bitterly. "And there is more to fighting a war than combat prowess and power. Kindness will still matter, all the way up to the very end." Small acts of kindness were sometimes all that could be offered. And those small acts of kindness could save a life, or a spirit.

Running her hands down her face, she scrunched her nose, and turned her attention to him. "Take me."

Worst came to worst, her will was neatly in order.

The Knight's laughter startled Scylla, and she paused in her pacing, giving him a curious look. It's just the way you said it. his explanation sent fire through her cheeks and chest, and she buried her face in her hands to try and hide the embarrassed flush. It wasn't as though she hadn't inserted foot in mouth before, however, and she took a deep breath, shoving embarrassment to the side and moving over to sit down next to Scholomance again.

It didn't pass her notice that he seemed to be briefly... surprised? by the missing arm. And to be fair, she couldn't remember what had been his appendage situation when last they meant. Was that how the Negaverse had injured him? If so, she was certainly impressed by the Knight's healing ability. With the time she had spent in the hospital, and the years it had seemingly taken her body to repair some of her internal damage, after being gored by Zanazziite... It's been seven of ten days and I'm running out of time. If his arm had been cut off seven days ago, they were a hardy breed.

Her cheeks were still flushed from his explanation, and his comment on her rack made her stifle a little noise of humored despair. "Last time I was around," she said carefully, trying to keep her voice unshaken with her embarrassment, "The white moon didn't need any more leaders.If anything, they were suffering from a surplus of people with both power and ego, with a desire to be in that position." Scylla... Jada, anyway... had never been a leader. She just wanted to make the world a better place. And she wasn't afraid to do what she might have to, she supposed, but it didn't mean she had to like it.

If Scholomance was looking to make a martyr, then no; she wouldn't fit the bill. What connections she had were mostly gone, or were potentially alienated by the fact she went away. But she also wouldn't demoralize anyone in her loss, except for her family. There weren't enough senshi contacts who would miss the absent senshi of the Kraken. Her death would be a zero sum, with the possible exception of the retrieval of his ring. Something she wasn't putting much hope in, frankly.

"May I tell you a story?" she asked at last, already knowing what she would tell him. A warning- a story about a court, and a martyr called Rota.

Scholomance had a point, regarding the types of leaders, and Scylla gave him a nod of acknowledgement as she leaned back, settling her hands on the warmth and stretching out her legs. "More, maybe; each one effective on a different group of people." The similarity heuristic... "There isn't necessarily anything wrong with using past experience as a basis," she said mildly, "Though I know our experiences are going to differ, it is a good basis for a strategem. The saying that Hindsight is 20/20 is a good way of saying Maybe next time I should try it this way."

But the floor was hers, and Scylla closed her eyes, bringing to mind the face of a Cadet who had been named Rota. "There was a court- and you probably weren't around for it- that grew up in the White Moon. It was headed by allies- and friends. The Blood Moon Court. They were going to fight, willing to fight, for a greater good. Get their hands dirty, whatever it took. I can still recite you their manifesto." She still had their tattoo on her body. "One of the cadets... Rota. She was their martyr. But her death didn't energize. Her death was used to inspire, to encourage. It could have been-"

She gave a heavy sigh, feeling her shoulders slump. "Her 'martyrdom' caused the Dark Moon Court. It didn't help anyone. It led to kidnap, and torture, and divided friends. It lit the steps that led to Chaos. Before you go trying to make a martyr, you should research the ones we already have, and look at how their deaths were used, in the end."

Scylla was proud that her voice didn't waver or rise, but the heavy resignation in her tone was hard to disguise. "We all have a star in our heart, and two curled fists. To keep it Right. ********. There."

He listened, granting her a courtesy that was appreciated, with the difficulty of her stilted story. There were so many nuances she couldn't explain, so many little details of which she wished she could unburden herself. But Scholomance was not here to be her pastor, to take the weight of a burden she still bore, and willingly so. He had come to her for advice, and she was giving it in the only way which she knew how.

Golden eyes watched her, intent and focused. It didn't bother her; Jada was accustomed to being observed, and Scylla did not quail even in front of a General-Queen. it was only her heart which wavered in this uncertain space, between war and a desire for peace. that was why Ares had found her weak, she had always supposed. She was willing to fight, but it didn't mean she wanted to. She didn't crave it. Sometimes, it was what had to be done.

Now, it seemed more of the Orderly disorder had come to understand what the Blood Moon had been saying, while Scylla herself had crept into the shadows, hiding in the safety of a life of privilege.

"To keep it there." The words came out stronger than she had expected, but something told her it was already too late. her tale had been heard, her story understood, but the lesson learned was not the one she had wanted to share. Or, perhaps, his decision had been made before she had spoken. "A martyr-maker is responsible for all that comes after. That's what we learned. That's what Ares, and Leto, accepted. Gaia. Requiem." But not Scylla. She'd been unable to carry the responsibility, so she carried blame instead. Or, maybe, she was still the only one who cared enough and regretted enough- maybe the weight was absolved, at last, as those who lived in glass houses themselves grew unable to risk throwing stones.

"Whatever you are, Scholomance, whatever decision you make, just remember that the weight may not be on you, but you'll still be the one people blame if it goes wrong."

He stood, and she watched him move. Was she, now, to be as culpable for the murder to come as he was? Should she warn the senshi? Could she? One more sin to carry, and she was only a few days returned. "If I get put in a position where I need to try and lead someone," she told him dryly, "I'll try my best not to suck." after a moment, she sighed, and rose. "And Scholomance? Feel free to find me again. I'll try not to preach."