|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 9:57 pm
It had been awhile since Kamacite had seen Ochre. Then again, Kamacite tended to avoid social interaction whenever possible, so it wasn’t too surprising that he hadn’t crossed paths with the other corrupt since the first time they’d met. While he often considered reaching out for help from the other senshi, he was also concerned that he might just be a burden. An offer to help just something said in order to be polite.
“Are you feeling better? You weren’t well before,” Kamacite said as he cautiously approached the other, remembering how after teleporting the other had suffered from fatigue and a nosebleed. They were in Negaspace. Kamacite had just delivered his energy and the couple starseeds he’d collected to his General, and while he was eager to get home and curl up in his bed and sleep, the sight of the other man’s bright hair had caught his attention.
It was probably a stupid question to ask. It had been months since they’d seen each other. If Ochre had been sick then, surely he was better now. The realization of this colored Kamacite’s cheeks pink, and he took a step back, unsure if his presence would be looked at with annoyance or maybe even confusion.
“Were you… busy? I didn’t mean to intrude,” he mumbled, feeling awkward and anxious now that it was pretty obvious how strange randomly approaching someone he’d only met once before was. But Ochre had offered him help, so unless it was just to be polite, maybe he wouldn’t be too frustrated with him. Maybe not.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:49 am
Ochre normally spent his patrol days alone — and he very nearly preferred it that way. Alone meant he didn't have to worry about accidentally giving orders, or screwing up someone else's training plans, or opening his mouth and saying something that might drive someone to purify. And while patrolling alone worked well enough for avoiding damage to others, it left him feeling his own loneliness with a certain acuity. Xenotime had since been engaged in other affairs, so Ochre discovered a whole new set of hours in which to feel lonely.
He also discovered he was pretty good at feeling down about himself, too.
So when Kamacite appeared, Ochre was still a little too lodged in his own head to realize who was around him or where he was going. Only when Kamacite spoke was Ochre suddenly startled from his frame of mind, and he blinked a couple times to clear his headspace of such cloudy thoughts. "Oh? Uh, sorry about that, sometimes I get a little stuck in my thoughts, you know?" Ochre flashed the Negaverse senshi a bashful smile as he scratched the back of his own head.
But the senshi didn't look familiar. Well, he did, but in that weird way where Ochre felt like he should know this senshi from somewhere, yet his addled memory came up blank. Maybe he could play it off for a while and pick up some context clues… "But um, yeah, I'm doing okay now. I think. No more weird shower nosebleeds, haha." A shot in the dark, but maybe that's what the senshi was referring to? He hoped so, anyway.
Yet the other senshi looked just as nervous as he was, if not more so. Ochre wasn't really the type to jump down anyone's throats, or he didn't think so, so the sudden bashfulness was cause for concern. Sure, they must've met before, but Ochre never heard tales of himself flying off the handle at people even though he couldn't recall those blackout periods. So… Something must've happened to the senshi, right? People didn't just come out of the womb with every reason to get embarrassed and regretful.
"Uh, no, no actually, you weren't interrupting anything. Actually, I really like having company. It makes the night go by faster, you know?" Or it does if I don't accidentally put my foot in my mouth. "So uh, how've you been? Is there anything good going on in your side of the Negaverse?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2018 8:30 am
There was something different about the red haired man, and it had Kamacite pausing to stare. Something was off. He couldn’t figure out what, though. Maybe he was just imagining it, overthinking things like he usually did.
It was rare that Kamacite bothered to approach someone, but even if Ochre said that he didn’t mind and that he liked company, there was that strange feeling he couldn’t quite shake. The feeling like he was being looked at and not remembered. Not that he expected to be memorable, but Ochre had been kind to him before, so of course he would want to speak with him again.
“I was just… turning in my quota,” he said quietly, trying not to make it too obvious that he felt like he was deflating. “I’ve been okay… but…”
Kamacite paused again and frowned, his brows furrowing as he looked at Ochre and that smile he flashed him and that slightly awkward demeanor. Ochre looked nervous.
“Are you okay?” he asked, feeling his face turn a shade darker from practically repeating a question as if he didn’t believe the other man. He didn’t believe him. He wasn’t okay. There was something… something… he couldn’t quite figure out. Ochre was not okay, even if he was physically better than the last time they met in the alley, and then experienced Ochre’s extreme fatigue after he’d teleported them both.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 15, 2018 8:53 am
"Hey, that's good though, right? Everyone likes being done with their quota for the time being. At least I do. You get all that extra time on your hands to address the things that you've, uh, may or may not have been putting off. Like paperwork…" Ochre sucked in his lower lip then sighed, the curve of his shoulders deflating with his breath.
"I guess that joke wasn't very funny, huh?" Ochre's hands moved to tame the forest of hair just enough that he could manage a few steps. The braids dragged as always, too heavy and too saturated to form anything but a burden.
But the other senshi was observent, or Ochre sucked at lying, or probably both, and Ochre's attempts to lead on into a continued patrol route were promptly dropped. He already felt caught in a lie, and he was pretty sure his body language spelled that out to the world around them, so there was no way he could brush off the question a second time and save face. s**t. Well, maybe I won't get in trouble for this. "Um… It's like this. I don't really know." He paused, searching for how to add to an unsatisfying answer. Gestures usually helped, so he started pawing at the air with any explanatory gestures that came to mind. "What I mean is, I haven't exactly been to a doctor to find out. Not that a doctor would really be able to tell me anything, if it's magical or whatnot, or maybe it's a brain tumor, or I dunno…
"But uh, basically, I can't reember the past several months of my life?" Ochre scratched the back of his head. "And I don't know why. I mean, it's not like I hit my head or anything, it just… I dunno. Everything's gone. Like I've been checked out for the past year or more.
"So don't take this like an insult or anything but, I don't… Really remember meeting you." Ochre cringed, already figuring on another Negaverse relationship crumbled.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 3:41 pm
It took a few moments to sink in that Ochre didn’t remember meeting him. This wasn’t the first case of second meeting he’d had with someone. Lauri had lost his memories as Pasi, and now Ochre was saying he couldn’t remember the last several months.
Kamacite wondered what that was like; to lose one’s memories. He wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to go without his memories, if his memories were what made him and without them he would really be nothing. Or if maybe his memories held him back from really doing anything with his life.
“My name is Kamacite. Senshi of solar flares,” he said quietly in order to reintroduce himself. “I met you when I was still just starting out. You offered help if I needed it. I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with you since,” Kamacite explained, his hands kept by his sides as he watched Ochre with continued curiosity.
If Ochre hadn’t bothered showing him some kindness before, Kamacite probably wouldn’t have bothered speaking with him, but knowing that there was something wrong that caused him to lose his memories…
“If there’s anything in my power I can do to help, please let me know,” he said, feeling heat rise to his cheeks, because why would an eternal senshi need help from someone like him?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2018 8:21 am
"Kamacite, Kamacite…" Ochre repeated to himself, hoping that turning the name into a mantra might stick it into his memory more firmly. He then wondered if his brain really retained memories anymore, but he could still recall what he had for breakfast and when he last shaved, so there must be something still rattling around in his brain case. Maybe, this time, he could keep this super senshi in his head.
"I'm, uh, really sorry about that," and he wasn't sure how else to cover for the unintentional slight. It was a slight, right? Ochre was pretty sure it was a slight. At least, he knew he'd be offended if someone forgot his name. But Ochre did say he lost the past several months, too, so maybe Kamacite knew it wasn't personal. Which means Ochre wouldn't really have a right to hold that against himself. Except some people did anyway and logic didn't matter. Was Kamacite one of those people? He wasn't acting like one of those people. Ochre felt that, by the time he ended his internal run-around, he had thoroughly confused himself.
"Okay, so I didn't like, threaten to kill you or anything. That's good to know." And he wasn't being facetious, either — not once remembering what he was doing meant he couldn't even validate what behaviors he was showing. It was like some youma came along and kicked him out of his own head and piloted his body. What if it tried to corrupt all his relationships.
Ochre sighed. "Actually, yeah, there is something. My brother sorta vanished. And I know that sounds weird, right? We're Negaverse agents, not um… Oh, who goes looking for missing persons… Well anyway, he is — was, I don't know — a Negaverse general. But… I haven't heard anything from or about him in a while. I mean, after I started remembering things again. I dunno when he disappeared. Or if he disappeared at all and didn't just like… Want to ditch his useless brother. That's still pretty unlike him, though.
"Oh, um, his name is Umber. As a Negaverse general, I mean. And since we can just look up each other's civilian names anyway, his is Shale Blackwell. Though he usually just lives in the woods so I dunno if you'd see him…" Wait, was that a judgment pass? Kamacite didn't look like he was the type to go out hunting to run into Shale, but he could be.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 9:44 am
Kamacite stared at the other senchi, not quite sure what to make of him. He didn’t seem all that different than when they’d first crossed paths, so that was a relief. But the loss of memory was concerning, even though nothing much had passed between them.
“It’s okay,” he quietly promised, and then shook his head to confirm that Ochre had not, in fact, threatened to kill him. Why he would have threatened to kill him, or anyone, in the first place was also a little concerning, but not enough for Kamacite to turn and run.
Was this pity he was feeling? This man he barely even knew had lost his memory, couldn’t find his brother, and seemed to just be floating around, going through the motions he knew but not quite understanding.
He didn’t like the feeling at all. Pity was something he expected others to feel for him when he couldn’t get his anxiety under control. He didn’t want to feel it for others, but couldn’t quite help it.
“General Umber,” Kamacite repeated with a nod to let Ochre know that he heard him correctly. “I will see if I can learn anything about where he might be. I hope he’s found soon.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 6:13 pm
"Thanks, Ochre offered with a wide smile. "I mean really, thank you. Cuz nobody seems to know anything or really care? So I'm kinda… At a loss here. It's not really my forté to go investigating, you know? That's sorta something better reserved for smarter people. Or more suspicious ones, I dunno. Err, paranoid? I think that's the word." Ochre scratched the back of his head.
"Are you, um… Do you need anything? I feel kinda bad with you helping out if I can't do anything in return. You know, the Negaverse is all about favors and stuff. Gotta scratch the other person's balls if they scratch yours." Ochre knew it wasn't exactly the best rendition of Negaverse protocol, but it sounded close enough. Most of the officers he knew liked to make sure they were self-sufficient and didn't ask for help unless they absolutely had no other option. Xenotime was the very same way with how she preferred to lead her team on her own, live on her own, work on her own, and fight on her own. Granted, Ochre knew she was incredibly capable, definitely more capable than him, so that probably had something to do with it.
Maybe Ochre just sucked compared to all his Negaverse comrades. Yeah, that was probably it. His brother did fine, comparatively. Assuming he wasn't killed or purified or something.
Ochre shuffled around until he could give Kamacite a light smile. "Sorry for rambling. I do that when I get a little nervous." He hoped Kamacite could understand his position — not remembering someone once met, or the instance surrounding their meet, or the last several months of his life left him in a deeply concerning position. He tried whenever possible to forget about it, but when confronted with its evidence? That was tough.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
