His nosebleeds lessened lately, and Ochre was grateful for it. He still knew not if their frequency depended on the weather, on atmospheric pressure, on the number of people in his immediate vicinity… No one offered answers on that, and he learned some time ago to stop looking. But when fortune showed itself in an instance like this, he took notice and found himself in a far better mood.
Evening granted enough light for easy navigation on rooftops. Brick, tar paper, roofing shingles each passed underfoot while he crossed the mishmash of buildings in one of DC's older districts, and down below, traffic accumulated into a chokehold. Each street stood packed with cars waiting to turn or impatient gridlocking that only further compounded the problem. But Ochre himself knew nothing about driving, and didn't care to critique traffic patterns; the more congested they grew, the easier he found it to drain frustrated energy from driver or passenger alike. And for those that cleverly chose the sidewalk en route home, the drivers were too distracted to spot him and call emergency services.
So while rush hour wasn't necessarily the most affable time for draining operations, it worked well enough for him.
The only downside, he found, was the increasing number of senshi and knights on patrol around this time. Ochre wondered vaguely if they each powered up as a simple way to cut back to their residences after a long day of work, or if they actually cared enough about the populace and anti-Negaverse sentiments to specifically carve time for patrolling now. As he slowed to choose his drop-off point to start energy draining, he figured the latter - already he felt the pinpricks of foreign stars on the horizon of his senses, and frowned for it. Fighting others solely to accomplish his daily duties grew incredibly taxing of late.
Instead, Ochre waited on the rooftop, hoping they would either make the decision to leave the vicinity or challenge him and get the fight out of the way before half of DC panicked at their presence again.
merurulince
sorry about the poor quality, muse is hard to pin down. but lmk if you need me to change anything!
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 6:48 am
It could be said that Deneb was foolish for going after targets such as eternal corrupts, but the lavender-haired senshi honestly didn't care. She needed to go after bigger targets, she figured, stronger than that of the youma she regularly defeated on a daily basis. Deneb knew not if this was the way to gaining the power she so desperately sought after, but if there was one way to prove herself in the eyes of those she felt were silently judging her, mocking her for still being only basic level even five years later. Chrysocolla's words had been tempting- the idea that she could get back at those who had wronged her, that she could get revenge- but Deneb wasn't the type of person to willingly go and hand herself over to the Negaverse, It went against what little sense of morality she still adhered to; Chaos was supposed to be bad, and Order the good guys.
(Of course, despite this, nobody really ever saw her as the hero she wanted to be seen as, despite her efforts.)
Rush hour was not Deneb's idea time for pursuing corrupt senshi and instigating fights, but perhaps the increased traffic could work in her favor for taking them down. At the very least, if she could stop them from draining anyone's energy, or stealing any starseeds, then Deneb would consider it a job well done, fulfilling her duty as a protector of the peace. Soon enough, closing in on the source of the Chaos-aligned aura, she landed on the rooftop in front of Ochre, a scowl on her face.
"So we can do this the easy way and you can go ahead and surrender now," Deneb began, challenging him, "Or, we can do this the hard way."
It was all laughable, really, someone as lowly ranked as Deneb challenging someone much more powerful than her, but she had had enough of being so weak. She was going to change the way people looked at her.
The staunchness in her voice caught him offguard foremost. Ochre very nearly jumped at the sound of it; so seldom had he run into any senshi that proved so matter-of-fact over their dealings that he wasn't entirely certain what he would do if he found one. And, as he was learning now, he sucked at coming up with phrasals for combating that succinct nature. I mean, ten out of ten for delivery. If she was more on my level, I'd have left. Perhaps that rendered him a coward.
Ochre wiped a few flecks of stray blood from his nose before he turned to face his target. As always, uniforms spoiled any seriousness in their conversation. Large, spherical bubbles encapsulated her shoulders, and the rest of her uniform consisted of a pleated dress and stockings. Or maybe it was ribbed. He couldn't really tell with their distance. Regardless, she looked about as dumb as he did. Why did they each have to look so ridiculous?
"Uh, this might be news to you, but I'm an eternal senshi. Like, above the rank that's above you. I like the delivery and all, but maybe you should give that to a lieutenant or something. Or maybe, I dunno, run the other direction when you run into an eternal Negaverse senshi. Something to show off your sense of self-preservation." If you have one. Sometimes Ochre wondered if a lack of self-preservation was the prerequisite to drafting into the war, but a short mental recount of his brother's preferred tactics assured him otherwise. Perhaps, then, most of the people participating in the war lost sight of something to live for. Or, maybe the war became their raison d'etre. He couldn't say.
"Seriously, though. Go bug someone else. I've got energy draining to do."
merurulince
Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:54 am
"I can see that you're an eternal senshi, yes," Deneb snapped, feeling impatient; this was the second corrupt she had met that didn't want to fight, and she wasn't in the mood for dealing with it yet again. A White Moon senshi not wanting to fight was embarrassing enough- and Deneb had encountered that before- but a Negaverse senshi?
Deneb had to wonder what their recruitment criteria was, and if they were that hard up for new members that they would just take in anyone off the street. Quite frankly, she felt offended that Ochre was dismissing her so easily, telling her to go bother a lieutenant instead. Here she was, an Order senshi, challenging him to a fight- he should be jumping at the chance for a battle, regardless of rank!
(She had half a mind to throw out an attack, to show that she was serious, but Deneb refrained. Self-preservation though, huh? She'd show him she had some... without running away.)
"The very fact that you're an eternal is why I'm challenging you," Deneb said, in a tone of voice that implied that this should be obvious. "Why would I go pick a fight with a lieutenant? I can do that any other time- in fact, I have been doing that for years now, and it hasn't exactly been getting me anywhere."
"You, though... like you said, you're an eternal Negaverse senshi," she continued, "If I can take you down, then maybe I'll finally get somewhere once and for all."
"So basically, you wanna die." Ochre sighed; while he understood having a deathwish from his own experiences, he felt like he should refer people to his brother for actual murder. Still, she clarified that she would not back down regardless of his commentary, and insisted that taking down an eternal senshi was somehow supposed to better her. Briefly he wondered how the White Moon even found motivation to go out at night - they fostered no overarching power to mete out tasks, so weren't they all just doing this alone?
How weird. He couldn't imagine going out and picking fights just to go out and pick fights.
The Negaverse often exerted enough control and structure that everyone had a clear idea of their duties for the week without asking another party. They knew where to turn in their energy after bringing in a haul, they knew where the new starseeds should be deposited, and they knew who to report to for training. Everyone owned a communicator with which to summon allies in case of an emergency. What did the White Moon have? No one told them what to do, who to attack, where to patrol at night. No one but themselves, at least. But did any of them even do that? He often ran into the lot alone, and it seldom seemed like a choice for solitude. Why weren't they all dead again?
"Maybe you haven't been getting anywhere because you're weak and your magic sucks?" Ochre offered helpfully. Often the White Moon's magic appeared so weak that contending with a Negaverse agent of any level seemed unlikely. "Like. Let's take a look at it. Sheikh's summon." Ochre extended his hand, and a small white orb formed. It sped toward his target immediately.
merurulince
Sailor Scout Attack: Sheikh's Prayer Range: 8 feet Number of targets: 1 Duration: Variable Number of casts: 3 Ochre extends his palm out and a pentagram forms just beyond his raised hand. It glows, and a spirit-shaped energy curves and swirls out at quick speed in a straight line.
If hitting a SENSHI... The senshi incurs no damage and no repercussions from being hit. However, Ochre is afterward allowed to cast one iteration of one of the magic attacks, up to the equivalent to his level. For example, if Sailor Ochre strikes Sailor Iris with his attack, he will only be allowed to cast one iteration of her Iris Rainbow Ribbon attack. His ability to make this one cast lasts for a 20 second window.
Posted: Fri Apr 21, 2017 9:43 pm
"I don't want to die, I want to fight," Deneb retorted, wondering why there seemed to be this assumption she had some kind of death wish or something. Being Basic level shouldn't means she should be restricted towards only fighting those of her similar rank, after all, and Deneb had thought her reasoning was sound enough.
And Deneb wasn't going to stand here and be scolded by a corrupt eternal who wasn't interested in fighting her.
When Ochre brought up the possibility that she was weak, and the idea that her magic was equally as lacking, Deneb bristled- he'd managed to strike a nerve with her, finding her obvious weak point, the one thing that had been bothering her for years now. But then... but then... he called out a spell, and for a moment, Deneb thought perhaps he was finally taking her up on the challenge to fight (finally)... only for it to seemingly do nothing once it hit.
"What did you do?" she demanded to know, growing impatient.
"I'm sure you do," Ochre returned offhandedly. "A lot of people want to fight. They just end up dying."
Ochre shrugged, hand held his hand, palm toward the sky, before his mouth. His fingers stretched outward toward his target. Instinct urged him onward, and he took a measured breath to blow toward the frustrated senshi. Bubbles emerged then, as thick, transparent globes, heading in her direction. "Bubbles?" He inquired, more to himself than the senshi standing before him. Soap maybe? They didn't exactly taste bitter coming out, but…
"Wow," he continued, strolling along the path taken by the attack, 'that's intimidating, isn't it? All those bubbles might like, pop in your eyes or something. Yep, that's really gonna scare a Negaverse agent away. Or kill them, even. Well, maybe they'd have to be standing at the edge of a building. But I mean, if you've got the assistance of a strong breeze too, it has to do something, right?" Ochre figured that saying so would incense her, but his other options for what to do here were either Permanently Lethal, ******** Her Life Over, or Leave Her Unconscious in a Dumpster. And if she wasn't about to storm off from mocking her bubbles, then he supposed he had to choose the last option.
"Look, if you don't leave, I'm just gonna use you for my quota." Ochre pushed his sleeves up to better expose his hands. Holding his hand outward, he summoned forth the concentration to will the energy out of his opponent bodily, his touch still far from her.
merurulince
it's cool, i know characterization is a struggle right now!
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:44 am
That Ochre was capable of using her own attack against her took Deneb by surprise, but, perhaps, she should have expected it- who knew what kind of magic Negaverse senshi possessed? For the most part, she managed to awkwardly dodge the bubbles, though some did ultimately hit, much to her annoyance.
And then...
He was mocking her. Mocking her magic, for what little good it even did for her. It had managed to incense her, alright, and Deneb felt her face flush in anger. She lacked a proper response, a proper retort for his insulting, and she honestly didn't want to leave without a fight.
... At the same time, Deneb still possessed some tiny shred of self-preservation, and she didn't feel like adding to Ochre's quota. Muttering something incomprehensible, she turned heel and ran off, It was the most shameful of shameful retreats, and not only did Deneb know it, but it only served to further foul her mood.
Ochre Never understood Order senshi. He never applied a lot of energy to understanding them, but he imagined their lives went pretty roughly if they had no overhead structure to determine when they were ready for more power. Instead, they did what? Plead to their separate stars and hope they might get more power before they died? What an awkward way to coast through the war.
Ochre gave no chase, instead muttering parting words at the air where she once stood. The Bubble Senshi slunk away, and Ochre had a face and magical ability to apply to the Negaverse Database later. And while he felt a little more tired for having cast his magic, the exhaustion was bearable; he could finish his quota and return home on schedule. Maybe he shouldn't have let her off the hook to go back and tell her friends what happened, but with magic like that? She wasn't about to kill anyone anytime soon. The Negaverse would put her down long before she grew to eternal and became a threat.
Her loss, I guess. Ochre turned back toward the vast expanse of the city, considering it for a moment before he disappeared into its sprawling depths.
Merurulince
that's fine! sorry it wasn't more helpful for your plot.
