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 Posted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 8:51 pm
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There was another senshi of the Negaverse lurking close by. Kamacite could feel it as he carefully drew himself back up to his feet after drawing the energy from a passerby he’d lured into the alley. Whoever it was felt similar in power to himself, although he had no idea who it might be. He hadn’t exactly met many like himself.
The pull of curiosity and the push of fear of the unknown had him hesitating, even as the similar dark aura drew near.
Although he knew he shouldn’t push his luck, Kamacite bent down to sink his hand into the man’s chest, drawing the glimmering starseed before taking a step back. As… interesting as it would be to meet someone like himself, he really just wanted to go back home and curl up on the couch with his boyfriend. He knew Adrien got worried when he was out too late.
He gathered up what was left of his hair and instead of teleporting he decided to slip further down the alley, just far enough away to power down.
But as he walked, the hem of his robes brushed against a mirror that had been propped up against the alley wall, and before he knew it, he was being sucked in. He remembered letting out a yelp of distress, but after that he didn’t know how he was bodily dragged into the dark room on the other side of the reflective glass.
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 11:25 pm
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He felt it, so much clearer and even pleasant now: another's Chaos aura. Near enough he felt it prudent to seek the other out - not because he was particularly gregarious (he wasn't, in the slightest) - but because he wanted to continue as he'd started and make a good face for his Pack members.
He caught only a glimpse of bright cloth and dark hair being pulled into a piece of mirror, the power signature disappearing strangely as the senshi (he assume, with hair like that) disappeared without a trace.
Aue stepped through the alleyway and carefully approached the mirror where it leaned. The glass didn't look any different than any regular mirror glass he might have used to shave in the morning.
Knowing there was something strange and other-worldly going on with the mirror, Aue was leery of getting too close, but he absolutely needed to gather information for his Pack. The mirror was beautifully reflective, showing the alleyway in great - if shadowy - detail, but it did not show him...and when he brushed his fingertips against the surface almost reflexively, he too was drawn in.
And who should he see but his absolute favorite Packmate, Kamacite.
Aue hissed his name, swore in Finnish, and then asked a question that was almost more a statement: "What did you do-"
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 1:09 pm
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Kamacite had no idea where he was or what happened to cause him to end up in this situation. Once he gained his bearings and took a look around into the darkened room, panic began to set in.
And to make matters worse, it was soon very obvious that he was not alone. The other senshi had apparently followed him and got pulled into the strange magical room as well.
So Kamacite did the only thing he thought was best in that situation, especially when someone else was there with him. Someone else in the Negaverse, too.
He focused on a place, safe and inside Negaspace, and teleported.
Or tried to.
It wasn’t working.
Why wasn’t it working??
Kamacite jumped when he heard his name being hissed out, his eyes wide as he peered through the darkness at the other senshi, whom he honestly hadn’t paid much attention to in his attempt to flee.
What did he do?
What did he mean?
It only took a moment to realize that the man supposedly trapped in the room with him was none other than Aue; the man who claimed to have ties to Kamacite’s General as an informant.
But he was no longer White Moon. His clothing was dark and there was an unmistakable aura of a Negaverse officer.
What did he do?
Had Kamacite done something to cause this? Was it his fault they were there and unable to teleport out? And of all the people he was trapped with, why was it Aue? The only person he would want to be trapped there with would be his General because he would know what to do to get out. Even though he wished he could have Adrien with him to tell him things would be okay, he would never want Adrien in this situation.
"I’m sorry," he choked out, his voice thick with the panic that was welling up like a quickly rising tide. Kamacite took a few steps back, hands unconsciously lifting to clutch at the robes over his chest, pressing them over his heart as if to try to calm himself down. "I d-don’t know – what I did –" he gasped out.
He wanted to be annoyed that it was Aue stuck with him. But he couldn’t even catch his breath long enough to be ashamed about his reaction to being otherwise stuck there. With Aue. He didn’t want to appear weaker than he already was, but stuck in small rooms with someone who very clearly disliked him and probably thought of him as little more than a waste of space definitely wasn’t on his list of things he wanted to experience.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:07 am
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Calm down? This man expected him to calm down after getting pulled into a mirror with probably the last man on the planet that he wanted to be stuck with. Not because Aue had hurt him last time they crossed paths, not really, but because Kamacite knew his claim to being recruited by his own General was… unfortunately true.
He shook his head when asked about the mirror, trying to remember how he was pulled into it in the first place. “I don’t know,” he mumbled again, trying to will himself to calm down, as much as he didn’t think it was fair of Aue to expect him to be calm.
“I didn’t - even know I touched it,” he said as he shrunk down to the ground, burying his face against his knees with his stupid long hair all around him. Maybe if he ignored Aue, he would leave him alone.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 7:32 am
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Honestly, he had no idea how to deal with someone like Kamacite, not when he was so touchy and also delicate. It was like having to navigate a firing range designed by a cranky toddler, honestly, and Aue was not long from his corruption and while it had been fairly easy there was still a lot to adjust to.
In fact, he was still sometimes losing words from Finnish to English.
Kamacite might have been difficult for Aue to deal with, but he was still pack and it had been drilled into the senshi to care for his packmates above all else. "It will be well. We cannot stay here over long. It is waiting." Probably not comforting, but it was the best he could manage, under the circumstances.
In the small space, both of them having long-a** hair was a problem, so Aue began the arduous process of braiding his own up so it would sprawl less.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:15 am
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This was stupid. Why were they stuck there. What did the Dark Mirror Senshi want with them. He’d never even met a Dark Mirror Senshi before. Weren’t they supposed to be on their side? Sort of? He knew it was strained between them and the other faction, but they were all trying to collect energy and fight off the White Moon senshi and knights, right?
At least Aue stopped talking. Not that his voice was horrible to listen to, but there was just nothing for Kamacite to contribute, so it was awkward and pointless.
After several minutes, Kamacite shifted, lifting his head up to see what Aue was doing, being so quiet, and blinking curiously as he saw the other braiding his hair.
“Does that help?” he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. It seemed like the more Aue’s hair was braided, the less it was in the way. Meanwhile, Kamacite’s was just all over the place.
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 8:24 am
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Aue left Kamacite with his thoughts, not bothering to intrude; unlike many Americans, he had no issue with letting silence fill the spaces between himself and another person. He was aware when the other senshi shifted, the sound of all of that hair and fabric a clear indicator of when Kamacite moved more than anything else in the small space.
"Yeah. Cutting it is better, of course, but I don't have shears." It got big and unwieldy in places, of course, because it was a massive amount of ******** hair each time, but it was still better than having the lot of it trailing around on the ground like so much limp spaghetti, catching god only knew what refuse and debris. Aue tied his work off with an elastic band that he kept inside his subspace pocket - one of the few things they had access that did still work! - and then looked over at his forced companion.
"Want yours done too? Might as well, we could be here a while."
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Posted: Sun Oct 22, 2017 10:26 am
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Kamacite watched Aue a bit skeptically. Whatever his ties were to the wolf, Kamacite still didn’t know what to think of the other man. Yes, he acted as though he meant no harm, but was that really truth or just intended to calm him and keep his guard lowered? Would his General really be that upset if Aue, a stronger, more capable senshi of the negaverse, ended up offing someone small and insignificant like himself?
What could either of them possibly gain by keeping him around, other than maybe not having to collect all the energy and starseeds on their own?
No one would even know. If they were trapped there, maybe they were supposed to fight to the death or something dramatic. The winner would be freed. It seemed ridiculous, but being sucked into a mirror was ridiculous too.
“Wouldn’t you want me to have a disadvantage?” he asked, still trying to decide if he wanted to trust the other man or if Aue would kill him the moment he let his guard down. “That’s how you stopped me before. I tripped on my hair. I would have escaped if I hadn’t,” he said bitterly, flicking at some of the raven colored strands that cascaded down in front of his face.
“You might be stronger, but I bet I’m faster…” Kamacite said, and then lowered his eyes in shame, knowing that there was no point in being faster if he was going to just trip when he tried to run.
And it especially didn't help when they were already trapped together. No matter how fast Kamacite was, if Aue decided to kill him, for whatever reason, there was no way for him to escape.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:39 am
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Something was getting lost in translation. That had to be the case. There was something that was being missed between what Aue was telling him and what Kamacite was understanding. There was no other explanation.
Kamacite flinched when he was called stupid, his shoulders tensing and teeth clenched together. He was glad that it was somewhat dark so that Aue wouldn’t be able to see the emotion flickering across his face. Perhaps he was stupid.
"You’ve said that before. Pack. What is that?" he asked through gritted teeth, his heart already on overdrive. "What does it matter that your General is the same as mine?"
Wouldn’t Aue want more favor? Wouldn’t he try to push Kamacite down if he could? To step over him for more power? It didn’t make sense. Wasn’t that how the world worked?
There was a long moment of hesitation. He still didn’t like that he was called stupid, even though he apparently was. Eventually, he reached up to carefully gather all of his hair at the nape of his neck, and had to work to pull all the loose strands back over his shoulders so it would be easier to reach.
Carefully, and still cautiously, Kamacite rose to his feet and took the few steps towards the other man. Putting his back to someone he didn’t know if he could trust was terrifying, but… If Aue was going to do anything, he might as well get it over with.
"I don’t know how to braid," he mumbled a bit dumbly, once again feeling, well… stupid.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:28 pm
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Dark or no, there would likely be no mistaking the shock that passed over Aue's features at Kamacite having asked what the Pack was. Clearly, it was something he felt that the other corrupt should know about and was absolutely flabbergasted at being told did not. The understanding that their shared General had not, in fact, given Kamacite proper instruction in what the Pack was and what it meant dawned on Aue, as did a low and creeping anger at the careless stupidity of the Wolfe.
I will have to express my displeasure the only way he will understand. General, you are too much...to not teach him properly. You have grown careless...we will fix this.
"The Pack is what we belong to. It is our working group within the Negaverse. It is...something of a team, but more. We train together and have each other's backs. The Wolfe brought me as he brought you, so we are packmates. We are stronger together than apart. This is all." It was a lot more than that, but Aue was uncomfortable with making pretty speeches, especially when that sort of thing wasn't supposed to be his responsibility at all.
Kamacite settled before him and Aue leaned in bit, "I'm going to touch you to do this, neck, shoulders, and back." Deft fingers combed through the long hair, separating sections with practiced ease; the length posed special problems, but it seemed as though Aue had experience with hair of unusual length. "It is not so hard, but this long, it can get tangled badly. I can show you, in better light."
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:05 pm
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The shock on Aue’s face was a little startling to Kamacite, because was there really something that he was apparently not understanding. Aue could tell him all he wanted that he was stupid and didn’t know anything, but to see the expression shift was, well… it was more truth than just words.
He said nothing about the way Aue looked at him though. Instead, he just moved to settle down in front of the other man, feeling tense and awkward and nervous. He was fairly certain Aue would be able to hear the way his heart was trying to pound its way out of his chest.
Aue was explaining what this Pack thing was. A team? He didn’t realize that this was a team. He thought the only one that mattered was his General, and pleasing him was what he was meant for. He didn’t know there was anything more to it.
Maybe he was going about this all wrong. If what Aue said was true… but then why hadn’t this been fully explained to him? He was supposed to work with others, even though he’d never met them? He’d heard his General mention a few names to keep an eye out for, but he didn’t think it was because they were meant to work together.
Unless Kamacite wasn’t trusted enough yet. Maybe he hadn’t earned a place in this Pack that Aue spoke so fondly of.
He nodded silently in response to the other things Aue said about his hair as he worked, feeling his throat tighten and eyes sting, his whole body tense. He was glad Aue couldn’t see his face, because he didn’t feel comfortable revealing just how pathetic he really was.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 11:15 pm
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Aue could not help muttering, every once in a while, in Finnish a very simple phrase "tyhmä koira". It was not directed at Kamacite, which was explained the first time only with a "That is what I call our General when he has not done something important." It was a sign of disrespect, which he generally kept behind closed doors so as to keep the balance of power between ranking officers clearly delineated, but so great was his disgust at how the other corrupt had been mistreated he couldn't quite keep to his usual rules.
"Wolfeite," Aue braided sections together that would then be braided again just so it would be neater - corrupted senshi had entirely too much hair to deal with - as he spoke, "May have kept you for a special task, as he kept me." He wasn't doing his ******** job by not telling you about the pack though, that piece of s**t worthless mutt, I'm going to string him up by his balls-- "General Labyrinthite. General Tourmaline. Captain Uvarovite. Captain Zircon. Sailor Dia. Mauvians Silk and Lace.
The Pack has trusted allies, as well. Captain Moonstone. The Mauvians Bob and Tiberius." There was much to be told, as he carefully put Kamacite's hair into a thick braid, tying it off at the end with another elastic; about training sessions, capsule synopses for each of the members he had mentioned so that Kamacite might know them at least somewhat.
"There. Now, you will not be hindered by your hair if we are attacked." Either the two hair-dressing jobs or the long stretches of talking had tired him out, because Aue felt strangely drained as he stretched his legs out, using the knuckles of a closed fist to force his blood to circulate through stiff legs once more.
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Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 5:31 pm
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This was definitely not what Kamacite expected to happen, especially when thinking back to the first time he met the intimidating senshi. He’d been pinned down and thought Aue would have killed him the previous time they crossed paths, and now he was even more powerful. Yes, Kamacite had more power too, but he didn’t know how much that would matter if they really ended up trying to kill each other.
Instead of a fight, Aue was braiding his long, dark hair, and telling him all these things about people and who they were supposed to be, a team, working together. Kamacite hadn’t known to ask about any of this because he didn’t know it existed. And Aue seemed pretty irritated, not with him but with their General, for not telling him these things.
“Thank you,” he mumbled as Aue finished with the long braid and moved to stretch. Kamacite took the plait of hair and pulled it back over his shoulder, fingers smoothing along the strands, feeling how each section was woven together. He still felt a little frazzled and out of sorts, but his heart had calmed some.
“Wolfeite… is that his name? He never told me,” Kamacite said quietly, a little cautiously, because he wasn’t sure what would spark more anger from the other man. “I’ve always just called him ‘sir’ or ‘general’ since that’s what he told me to call him when I asked. I wasn’t sure he had a name.” It sounded silly now that he said it out loud. Of course he would have had a name.
There were a couple other names that had stood out to him. Bob and Tiberius were the names of cats he met once. Twice with Bob. But what Aue called them was unfamiliar.
“Mauvians…? Are those like youma?” he wondered, frowning a little. “I can understand why you think I’m stupid. I hope it was okay you told me everything you did. Maybe I wasn’t told because I wasn’t meant to be part of your Pack,” he theorized, his throat tightening once more because the very idea of not being alone was incredibly appealing. He’d always suspected that he was disposable, even with the new promotion that Wolfeite had given him. He was useful just enough to keep around, but he was physically weak and tended to keep to himself.
“Tyhmä koira…” Kamacite repeated quietly to himself, trying it out. Realizing he might not get the best reception for repeating the phrase, he glanced up at Aue, trying not to look as intimidated as he felt. “Sorry, I just wanted to try it. I like languages… What is it? Estonian?”
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