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 Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 6:31 pm
Malus had been out with Michel, on a routine patrol in a fairly familiar area. Things had been going well until—well, until they weren’t. They had been separated in the middle of battle, partly by fault of battle and partly because Michel had told him to run.
Michel didn’t have a hard time with the youma, that wasn’t it. It was that it moved quickly, and Michel couldn’t be everywhere he needed to be when he needed to be in order to keep Malus safe. They’d had an understanding; if Michel told him to run, Malus did it without question. He wasn’t supposed to feel guilty, or question it, or feel like a coward; he accepted that it was safer for himself and Malus to let him handle this on his own.
The youma could teleport—too quickly. Michel could get a good hit on it, but it would teleport too close to Malus for comfort, so he’d sent him away, promising to meet up at the fountain when he could.
He was still a little nervous; every noise put him on edge. The shadows out of the corners of his eyes seemed to move quicker and he had goosebumps. He had enough putting him on edge but the sounds of battle were long behind him. He was distracted, waiting for an enemy, waiting for someone to jump out at him or for the youma to teleport into his vicinity and attack, that he didn’t realize there was an order signature—right in front of him.
He saw her white before he registered that white was good and yelped, clearly startled, before bracing himself.
He realized, a few seconds later, that it was a Senshi, and blurted, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see youma. No, you. I didn’t see you. Didn’t see you, there. Not youma. I haven’t seen any youma.”
The goosebumps on his skin would imply otherwise, even if the guilty expression on his face didn’t already. He scratched at his arm nervously and averted his gaze for a second before he managed to clear his throat and return his attention to her. “It’s been a weird night, I’m sorry.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 9:18 am
Phact had been on her own this evening decided more that she needed some fresh air over a full on youma hunt. Sadly, as always, irony seemed to have tuned her into the aura of just that... A youma. The woman had not been far away when she had picked up the auras of two others. Order. They beat her to the target but with a surprise, one had ended up changing directions? Her feet changed direction and she was off. A youma was one thing....well, more than one thing now that she had discovered the truth. Youma were humans... The yelp broke her out of her spell as she gazed up. A young male was looking at her, scared out of his mind from the way he was talking. As quickly as she could, Phact shifted from protector to mother bird. Her shoulders softened and her lips formed into a smile. Crossing quickly, Phact came up to him and reached out to hold his hand to stop from scratching. "It's alright. I'm not a youma and I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Phact. Are you alright?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 4:35 pm
Malus found himself nodding before he had even really processed her question, though he shied away from her hand. It was an instinctive thing; he moved with necessity rather than intent. He didn’t even seem to register that he’d drawn away, or deliberately moved to keep a little space from them.
“I’m fine,” he assured. “Sorry. You just surprised me, that’s all. I’ve got—you know, youma on the brain. My partner,” he nodded back to where he’d left Michel, “We ran into one, and we were fighting it. But I’m not fast or strong enough not to be a liability, so he told me to leave, to keep me safe. I know he’s got it under control, I don’t doubt that, I just. Still thinking about it.”
And thinking about how he hated to be alone, how he hated being out after dark, and how he hated how unprepared and not cut out for this he was.
He shuddered, visibly.
“I—Sorry, I’m Malus. I forgot to say. I’m just heading to the fountain to meet him over there when he finishes with it.”
Finishes with it.
Kills it.
The youma was a bad one, it deserved to be destroyed—needed to be. Malus knew that, but he couldn’t help the cold, clammy sweat that suddenly coated him, or made his stomach flop at the idea of dusting.
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 5:06 pm
Phact quickly pulled her hand back, making a mental note not to touch him as an attempt to comfort. Clearly it was something that appeared to give him pain...mental or physical she wasn't sure yet. Either way, something in how he was standing made her concern grow. "Maybe I could wait with you? Keep you company and keep your mind off it?" Phact offered, eyeing the direction he had nodded towards. They must have been some distance because the senshi couldn't sense the other auras. That or the youma was already dusted. "It's a pleasure to meet you Malus." Making sure she didn't touch him, Phact extended her hand in the direction of the fountain. "Have you been a senshi long? You said your partner as well. Another senshi?" "It's nice not to have to work alone. I've done it both ways and I must say I prefer the company."
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Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2017 9:31 pm
Though Malus seemed reluctant to accept her offer, he eventually found himself nodding. It was better to be with a stronger Senshi than to be alone; he could at least try to trust her. Order Senshi were supposed to be good anyway, right?
“It’s nice to meet you too,” he said, trying to remember his manners—even if he was still feeling shaken. He began to walk slowly towards the fountain; there was a little bit of a jump in his step, as if he were prepared to bolt at any second, but he seemed to have it controlled for the time being.
“My partner’s a Knight. I don’t know how long he’s been around, but he’s strong. I haven’t been a Senshi for very long. I’ve been around Senshi for a while, but I haven’t been one for much time.”
He hadn’t really kept track; time sort of seemed to just blur together anyway.
“I don’t think I could do this if I were alone. I have another Senshi that I travel with, though. Lysithea? She’s an eternal. She’s great, but she couldn’t come with us tonight.” He liked it more when the three of them were together, that much was clear. “…She knows just how to deal with youma, though, so if she had been here maybe none of this would have even happened.”
He sighed heavily and reached to rub at his arm while they walked; it seemed like an absentminded gesture and he picked at his sleeve as if he were almost trying to pinch the skin underneath.
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Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2017 3:36 pm
He was nervous, almost to the point that Phact was starting to worry something was far more serious than he was letting on. It was one of those times she really wished she had the ability to mind read. Then again, maybe not. Scary what you could learn that way. Holding back from trying to reach out and comfort him, Phact took to using her voice as an effort to calm. Keeping it steady and soothing, she turned her eyes back onto the path she was walking. "I have never had the pleasure of meeting this Lysithea but I'm she provides you with help along with you Knight. I was a senshi for almost three years before I even considered working with a partner. Now I somehow ended up the leader of a Court. " With a shrug and a light, innocent laugh, Phact took a second to glance back. "You know Malus, having friends to help might be the biggest lesson I personally had to learn as a senshi. None of us can survive in this world alone even if we try. I know I tried for a very long time. I thought the rest of the White Moon was a bunch of idiots. While I might not have been wrong on all accounts, there are many friendly faces out there. I hope you can see that."
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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2017 6:51 pm
Malus had to draw in a shaky breath; he was trying to focus on just one thing but it seemed like he was failing miserably. A rustling in the bushes made him jump and his eyes sought out the shadows as if he expected some evil creature was going to jump out. At worst, some rat was scurrying around, but he seemed like he expected the worst.
Malus swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to walk a little quicker.
“Lysithea’s in a Court,” he said after a second, trying to find some conversation to latch onto. “They do a lot of things together. A lot of good. Like youma, they help youma. Have you seen any?” he picked his gaze up to glance at her, for only a second, before he turned his gaze back to the path before him. “I mean, have you helped any. You can, you know. When you’re in a Court.” He seemed a bit disjointed but still tried to cling to one topic, tried to keep his mind settled on just that. “Purify them. Make them into a human again.”
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Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 5:50 pm
The words made Phact nearly trip over her own feet. It should not have been so much of a surprise to her that another Court would exist but still it had caught her off guard. Another group out there with the same abilities. She could only hope their leader had a good head on their shoulders. "We have." Phact finally responded, shaking off the surprise and looking back at Malus with a soft smile. "With the ability of Cosmos, our strength and the use of the wand, we have seen that it is possible to return a youma to its human form. Sadly," Glancing towards the ground, Phact remembered the night. The scar on her back was a forever reminder. "The shock of when he returned to his human form caused him to stumble and fall. He's been in the coma ward of the hospital since. Though Sabine, my right hand lady, checks on him often." Silence as allowed between them for a moment before she allowed the words. "Are you part of her court? Did you help them to purify a youma as well?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 9:04 am
The question seemed to surprise Malus, who looked up quickly. “Part of her…? Oh. No, I’m not. I was just there. I mean,” he faltered. “I didn’t help them with anything, I just gave them more work.”
Malus wasn’t sure if it was something he could freely talk about, or if it was best kept as some dark, hidden secret. It’s not like he wanted people to know what he’d been through and, while he didn't outright say anything, he barely seemed to have the mental strength to choose his words carefully enough right now. Even if he didn’t offer the truth, it was easy to infer; he was too interested in youma, and he looked worried when she mentioned the person in the hospital.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and asked, “Do they know why he went into a coma? …Do they think he’s going to be okay?”
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 9:20 pm
More work? The phrasing sounded strange to Phact as she raised a brow. How did one make more work for a new court? Well, by being a trouble maker or always getting in the way. But from the short time she had spent with him, Phact guessed the worst he might do was trip over his own feet. But his second line of questioning made her take a long breath and exhale it slowly. "Oh they know part of it." Phact cocked her head to the side, innocently dodging around the memory. "He smashed his head into a half of a weight when he started to panic after returning to human form. Knocked him out cold. They say his vitals are steady and hope that one day he will awaken." Now she looked down, running a hand over her head. "Though I have to wonder if it is kinder to just let him sleep. My Court's deepest fear is that he could have been from a time before ours. It's just a guess but if he isn't from the present..." She didn't finish that idea. It was too cruel.
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Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 7:32 pm
Malus absorbed the information but shook his head almost immediately. “He should get to live his life. It’s not fair if he went through that and now has to sleep for the rest of his life.” He seemed skittish, and yet there was some sort of determination behind his words; whatever fire was there burned brightly and then seemed to flicker and extinguish. As soon as he spoke he swallowed and shrugged meekly, forcing his eyes to the ground.
“I mean, I guess. I don’t know.” There were days when he thought it might be better to stay in bed and sleep and just never wake up, but he had to keep forcing himself to move forward.
He had bad days, but he had good days, too, and he kept pushing forward because he hoped that one day the good days would outnumber the bad.
“…Even if he’s not from the present, it might be hard to adapt. It’s not like it’s easy coming out of being a youma. I hope he wakes up soon. But it’ll be hard if he doesn’t have anyone supporting him.” Malus’ hands slid into his pockets. “I’d be more worried about him waking up and feeling alone than anything. I mean. I’m just speculating,” he added quietly, but it wasn’t very convincing.
He sympathized, for this stranger he’d never met. A man who’d been a youma for who knew how long, who was now trapped in a coma, who might not have had people looking for him, or friends who could help him through this.
“…But, I hope things work out for him. I wonder if he’ll remember anything about being a youma.”
It would be best if he didn’t, but that would be a small mercy at the end of a long curse. Malus wasn’t so optimistic to put much faith in the idea, but he hoped all the same.
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