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 Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 8:51 am
The front door was shoved open and slammed against the wall loudly. Not as loudly as the sudden, desperate cries of, “Cambria! Cambria, help!”
The front door slammed shut even as the Senshi bolted through the house, rapidly, sticking his head in every room before running to the next. He tripped over a few boxes, still unpacked from the move. Cambria’s car had been out front so he knew she was here. He was frantic and out of breath and, when he finally found her he looked like he might collapse to the floor.
“Cambria,” Malus said, running to her. “You have to make it go away, how do I get rid of it?”
It didn’t register to him that, behind the Senshi outfit, she might not recognize him. His only thoughts had been, ‘Find Cambria, she can fix this’. Fix what that cat messed up and help him get back to normal—again.
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 8:54 am
Cambria had been changing for bed, thinking that tonight she would have a nice, easy early night and perhaps just sit on the couch and eat pizza and watch Netflix. Of course, when she wanted something easy, that was always the thing that would never end up happening, so she was in a state of pulling the overlarge shirt over her head when the senshi barged in to her room.
“Woah!” She yanked down the cotton fabric so it fully covered the top half of her and stared, blinking at the purple clad senshi. “Who…who are you?”
Well. It was a senshi, obviously…one who knew her…and one who knew where she lived...and he had purple tipped hair so…
No.
No it couldn’t be.
The black haired girl drew in a long breath as she realized that it was Evan. There was nobody else who fit all of those descriptions. Nobody else that it could be. Cambria shook her head, reaching out and taking both of the senshi’s hands, adapting what she thought was her ‘stern mom’ voice. Commanding, yet gentle. It helped Evan to know that she wasn’t so wishy washy…even though she totally was. “Evan. Calm down. Breathe. You’re fine. I’m here and you have nothing to worry about.”
There. If it was Evan, he would listen to her…and well. If it wasn’t…she’d cross that bridge when she got there.
“Are you hurt? If you’re hurt, tell me now, if not…to go back to you…just think of you. Think of who you are, what you look like, and you’ll stop being powered up. Breathe, Evan. It’s going to be okay.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 8:57 am
Evan nodded frantically, but barely followed directions. He could barely control his breathing; instead, he was taking long, deep breaths—just still far too rapidly. As the seconds ticked on, all he did was make himself more lightheaded but, slowly, he managed to breathe a little easier.
He griped her hands tightly; his skin was cold and he was trembling.
“I’m not hurt. I’m fine. I mean—no, I’m not, because I’m this all of a sudden, and,” his voice cracked and he squeezed his eyes shut.
For a split second, he imagined a tiny black youma, but the thought was so horrendous he nearly vomited. He tried to imagine himself, tried to remember what he was wearing and what he looked like, but eventually he had to force himself to tear his gaze away and face her mirror.
He could see the person in the room that wasn’t Cambria, but it didn’t look like him.
His mind was empty, suddenly; he couldn’t focus on any single thought.
He turned back to Cambria and shook his head. “I can’t!” he blurted. “Who am I? –What do I look like?” he demanded helplessly. “I need a picture, I can’t imagine it!”
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 8:59 am
“Okay, Evan. It’s okay. You’re okay.” Cambria kept her voice soft and tugged the senshi over to the dresser where her phone sat. “Sit on the bed with me, okay? Sit on the bed with me and we’ll talk. This is okay. You’re safe. You’re not hurt, everything is going to be fine.” She pulled him onto the bed and opened up the photos on her phone, wrapping an arm around Malus’s shoulders as she did so. “See? This is you.”
It was a selfie that Cambria had taken the day before, with herself and Evan. At least she was smiling, and he didn’t look too unhappy about it. “You’re Evan. You’re one of my best friends, and a sweet guy who I would go to the ends of the earth to help…and I did go to the ends of the earth to help you. This is okay. This isn’t bad…you’re like…you’re like me now. A senshi…but you don’t have to be, Evan. You don’t have to be. But I can help you if you ever want to be. You know I’ll always help you. No matter what the problem is, I’m here for you.”
Cambria leaned closer and kissed his cheek gently, smiling and flipping through the phone, showing Evan some more pictures of himself.
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:01 am
He sat on the bed with her, resting against her and keeping his eyes solidly on the screen of the phone. He was still struggling to keep his breathing even; it took a few seconds, and quite a few pictures, before his form melted away from the Senshi he’d become and back into the civilian he was supposed to be.
“It all happened so fast,” he said after a few seconds; his eyes were still glued onto the screen. “I didn’t get to say anything. I didn’t get to say no. This cat showed up, she was just talking to me. She told me to say something, so I did, and then I was—was that!”
His voices seemed to have left him; he was still trembling, but he could tell by his hands that he was back to being him—and as soon as he realized it, he seemed to just collapse against her. He buried his face on her shoulder and squeezed his eyes shut as tightly as possible.
“I don’t get it. I wanted to be done with all of that. No more Senshi stuff, I wanted to just live a normal life. But, it’s never going to be normal, is it?”
He sounded defeated—not quite hopeless, but just exhausted.
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:03 am
Quietly, Cambria tucked the phone away beside her on the bed and held Evan close, running gentle fingers through his hair. “That was quite rude of that cat. You should have at least been told what was going on…and Evan, sweetheart, nothing in this city is normal, that’s just the facts…but just because you have this magic…it doesn’t mean you have to use it. If you don’t want to be a senshi, then don’t. Nobody’s going to force you to power up. Nobody’s going to force you to go on patrols, nobody is going to force you to do anything that you don’t want to do.”
It wasn’t that much of a bad thing in her book though. At least now he would have the power to defend himself a little…and that might help him out if she or Zac weren’t around at some point in time.
“But, on the other side of that, if you ever desire to embrace that part of you, I’m here to help. I have a pretty good handle on what I’m doing, and I can help you get stronger. If you get stronger than you have a much better chance of getting away should anything happen to you. But, again, that’s your choice, and your choice alone. And whatever you choose, you know I’ll always be right beside you. You know that.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:04 am
Evan mumbled something disgruntled and disappointed, but the words were too muffled to make any sense. He seemed to be perfectly aware of it, too; as was his habit when he wanted to say something but didn’t want it to be heard, he made sure his voice wasn’t understandable.
He didn’t move for a long moment but, not wanting ot leave Cambria without a proper response, he moved so that his eyes were still hidden against the sleeve of her shirt but his mouth was free to speak. “But if I power up, they can find me, Cambria. You told me that, you told me that they can chase you down. I can’t—it doesn’t make sense! If I had that power in me, why didn’t the cat give it to me before anything bad happened?”
He sat up; his hair was messed up and his face was red already. “She could have made me a senshi years ago! Years! Before anything bad happened. I would have been able to take care of myself then. It’s too late, now! Everything bad has already happened! Except for dying, but—like—really?”
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:04 am
“Maybe you just weren’t ready to become a senshi then. Sometimes...I mean, I’m no expert on why Guardian cats do what they do, but I’m sure they have reasons for what they do.” Cambria had to admit...it would have been better if that had happened...but then where would Zac be now? He would still be tainted by chaos and...and everything would be messed up…
Things had happened the way they were supposed to.
Not that she was going to say that, ever...but.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not going to do anything to you to have this power now...it won’t change anything unless you want it to change. And Zac and I are right here with you, it’s not something you have to deal with on your own, so don’t you worry about this. Honestly...I’m kind of excited to think of you patrolling with me. It could be fun...and I loved the purples on your outfits...we match.”
She grinned, kissing his cheek and sighing happily. “We’re all purple now.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:04 am
“What purple?” Evan muttered; he glanced at his outfit as if he might still find it. He hadn’t been paying that much attention to his outfit; he’d just been thinking about how badly he’d wanted to get rid of it.
She was right, though.
Like always.
“I don’t know. I need to think about it. I want to go play my game for a little while.”
He seemed exhausted and looked behind her at the pillows in the bed she shared with Zac, and then back at her face.
“…If I make some mac and cheese, can I eat it in here?” he asked, and then, a few seconds later, “And also sleep in here tonight?”
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:05 am
always welcome to eat or sleep or play in here, you know that. You don’t have to ask. I love spending time with you.” Cambria stood up, stretching slightly and held her hand out to Evan. “Come on. I’ll hang out with you while you cook the mac and cheese...you’ll make some for me too, right? Or are you in the mood to eat the whole pot?”
Her voice was teasing now and she winked. “I’ll play my game too, maybe you can show me how the mulitplayer mode works again. I want to go and visit your farms and things.”
There. Now that the subject was changed...they could move on with it, and she could talk to him about it when he was calmer. If there was one thing she was good at now, it was taking care of Evan...which was a good thing, for he needed a lot of care.
But he was worth it.
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Posted: Sun Jun 04, 2017 9:05 am
Without much hesitation, Evan reached out to take her hand. “I’ve showed you that like five times, Cambria,” he muttered, pulling himself up. It wasn’t a no, though, just an exasperated attempt to remind her.
“…I’ll make you some mac and cheese,” he added, “But I’m going to eat at least a whole pot, so we’ll have to make two.”
He didn’t drop her hand when he was off of the bed; he was still shaken up but having something else to focus on was a good first step—and he didn’t have to do it alone.
Cambria would be with him.
Things would be okay.
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