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Themisto thought he was safe that night, until a choking, oppressive Chaos energy signature told him otherwise. He was patrolling around the park, partly because it was familiar, and partly because it afforded the senshi many places to hide. He was getting more adept at running and jumping from practice with Cetus and his civilian form, Fai. Youma were still difficult to deal with, depending on their size, but overall, Themisto thought he was getting the hang of things.

He almost felt confident, but fate had its own way of dealing with ego.

He felt her long before he saw her, and instinct told him running might be futile. The signature was Chaos, but unfamiliar. Dismal, dark, sinister, parasitic. As the woman in black approached, Themisto had to squint due to her energy signature being so overwhelming to his senses. He held his arm up to shield his eyes, taking a few steps backwards at the woman’s approach.

She… wasn’t a General?

Her hair was so long, cascading behind her like a cape, strawberry blonde and shining. Her outfit was reminiscent of a ballerina, and her shoes definitely made her appear so. Themisto didn’t know what they were called but the shoes were incredibly recognizable. However, instead of the white wings his own sister sported, this woman’s wings were black.

At first, Themisto hadn’t the slightest idea how to respond. Just as with the blonde General Benitoite, Themisto felt himself staring into the face of Death itself. Only this time, Death was a lovely blonde woman. “....uh… you… could say that…?” What was wrong with her forehead why does it have a hole in it???

Themisto was still very obviously frightened of Albireo, both because of her appearance and her incredible power when compared to his own. Her aura was blackened, heavy... Her beckoning offer to sit on the swings with her felt like a death trap for certain. Naturally, he wanted to believe in the black ballerina; believe that she wasn't simply a Venus flytrap, as it were - beautiful and yet very, very deadly to a fly like Themisto.

Against his better judgment, he edged closer to the corrupted eternal senshi, but did not sit on the swing just yet.

The boy looked as though he was weighing his words with painful consideration before speaking. "...look, um... miss, I uh... I don't mean to be rude but... what... why do you have..." He gestured to his own forehead, which was the injury he could most easily see on Albireo in what little light the moon offered. "...are you okay...?"

Obviously, the black wings and incredible, thick aura told Themisto that the girl before him was very clearly unwell but he desperately wanted to know... why.

Corrupted senshi? Oh god, this was one of the corrupted senshi Denebola was talking about!

Themisto seemed quite hesitant to inch any closer to Albireo, but he was weighing his options - risk angering her and being chased down if he tried to run, or risk being so close she could reach over and snap his neck. Both options ended in death, and Themisto decided not angering Albireo by complying with her requests was probably the safest option.

Hesitantly, almost robotic, Themisto situated himself in the open swing seat next to the corrupted senshi. He nodded to her question about his lack of knowledge. "...yeah, I'd uh... heard about it but... never seen one before. Are you... sure you're okay?"

He was convinced that hole in her head had to be painful. Maybe that's why people lost their memory when they corrupted - that hole in their head could be a leaking point. Anything was possible when magic was involved. "I'm Themisto, senshi of the lost. It's... nice to meet you, Albireo."

Themisto sat quietly, watching Albireo start to swing. He wasn't a man of the written word - he wasn't able to easily articulate his feelings about people or events, but Albireo had an almost... forlorn aura about her. Something sad and lonely pierced through the malignant energy signature which followed her everywhere she went.

She seemed like a very sad child.

"...I don't know who or what is lost... I just... try my best." He wasn't sure what to say, really. It felt as though she just needed someone to talk to, and while he was hardly knowledgeable when it came to corruption and the war itself, Themisto did have ears to lend.

"Did you lose some of your memory when you... switched sides?" He hated to use the term corrupted to her face and aloud, as she might find it offensive or hurtful. Denebola mentioned people had their own reasons for corrupting willingly, if they were willing at all. The more trauma to the starseed, she said, the worse the memory loss. And, perhaps, other effects. Is that what happened to Albireo.

Themisto almost swallowed his next question, fearing it might be too invasive or disruptive to her. He knew precious little about corrupted senshi who worked for the Negaverse. "...are you trying to find your way back...?" came the quiet question, the senshi working to make his inquiry as gentle as possible.

So she did have a few memories since corrupting. She even remembered her previous name! Themisto was surprised about this, but it reinforced the information Denebola had given him - the level of trauma to the starseed seemed proportionate to how many memories remained. But whatever happened to Odette's family? Did they know what happened to their daughter? Themisto couldn't help but think of his father, who would be devastated to find something happened to one of his children, even if he didn't know all the details.

She killed someone. Themisto hung his head in honor of that person, even though they were a Negaverse lieutenant. They still had a family somewhere.

"...how do you come back, Albireo?" he asked quietly, lifting his head to look at her. He didn't doubt her story one big, but was gloriously naive about the process of... recovery? Themisto didn't even have a word for it. Katya explained the process for corruption, but not for the recovery from it. That made sense - she wanted people to convert to the Negaverse, not leave it.

If I remember, that is... She seemed so sad again, like someone desperate for someone to remember her. Themisto thought for a moment and then asked, "What if you write a note? Write down something like... go to the park at night. Maybe... maybe I can be here. ...and I can ask someone else to come with me?"

His sister would likely want to know about this.

He'd never met anyone quite like Albireo, or anyone in Albireo's position. The fact that there was so much... moral complexity behind either side of the war had really escaped Themisto until it, as Albireo, was introduced to him. He wanted to ask her what she meant about Chaos and its destruction of the past, thinking perhaps someone on the side of Chaos would have another viewpoint on the event. But Albireo didn't need his questions right then. She needed ears.

Her tears made guilt well in his heart and he swallowed it down, lest he do something rash like grab her for a hug. She was a complete stranger, someone infinitely more powerful than himself. Would she find it offensive? He kept that notion to himself.

"I don't know Jarosite but... he should be there. If he's a real man, he'll be there for you. I'll... I'll be here too, okay? Tomorrow evening, I'll be here, with a friend, too. Maybe.. maybe she can help?"

Themisto stood from the swing, watching the corrupted eternal as she drew away. In four hours or so, she said, the event would take place and something huge would happen to her. Themisto couldn't conceptualize what would happen to Albireo upon being made on the side of Order. He didn't know where she would be, or who would be there, but he sincerely hoped this Jarosite would show his face and be with Albireo during the process.

"...good luck, okay...?"