Welcome to Gaia! ::

Roddy had agreed to let Julian patrol on one condition - he stayed in the neighborhood. While it wasn’t safe to power up near the house, Julian was able to go out jogging and find a secluded spot to power up in secrecy. Roddy had had an exceptionally long day that day, and after dinner, nearly passed out while seated at the kitchen table. After being tucked into bed, Gravina went about his rounds to help keep Roddy, and the neighborhood, safe.

He was sitting atop one of the swingsets that dotted the playground in the park near the house, swinging his legs beneath him, watching the passing traffic through the trees. This late at night, there weren’t nearly as many cars, though the red lights of brakes were distinctive. Sometimes loud music could be heard, passing in the night. Everything seemed quiet, peaceful. A frosty dew was beginning to settle on the grasses below, and while Gravina couldn’t find any enemies, being out here and keeping watch made the task feel important. At least he would be there in case anything did show up.

Pulling a thermos from subspace, the Cosmos knight opened the lid to imbibe some of the hot apple cider he’d poured earlier. Yummy!

Gravina was humming a Christmas carol he half-remembered from one of the holiday CDs Roddy had playing over the last few days. Something about riding in a sleigh in a wonderland of snow. It was rhythmic, fun and exciting despite the Knight forgetting some of the words. Before that moment, he hadn't ever heard the song before.

It was then, in that distraction, someone happened upon him. With a start, Gravina fumbled the thermos for a moment (thankfully not spilling its contents) and twisted the lid on top before dismissing it back to subspace. With a nervousness, he fixed up his uniform and slipped off the top metal bar of the swingset to drop to the ground. This senshi was oddly-dressed, but definitely a senshi. Cold air bit at Gravina's nose, and it shone pink in contrast to his incredibly pale skin and hair.

"Oh! Um... hello, Mister Senshi. Um... you have very unique boots. Are they squishy?" Confused, Gravina paused for a moment, twiddling his thumbs. Wasn't he forgetting something? Oh! "I'm just... watching the neighborhood. Looking for any signs of trouble. It makes it easier to sleep, knowing I tried. Does... does that make sense? Oh, I'm sorry, haha." It was a nervous, somewhat tired chuckle. The senshi's cheer was infectious though, and for that, Gravina was quite grateful. "My name is Gravina. What's your name? Are you cold? I have... I have an extra sweater and a scarf, if you need it."

"O-oh! It's terrible to be cold, especially on a night like this. Here, you can use my extra sweater and scarf. Do you like hot apple cider?" Tittering in his soft and gentle voice, Gravina wasted no time in pulling a hefty fleece sweater from his personal subspace pocket. It was festive, as it should be for the season. Cream in color with a dark green Christmas tree sewn on the front. It was a pullover, perfect for snuggling and lounging by the fire. The scarf was tartan in pattern, reds, creams and greens matching the sweater. "Here, please put this one. I wouldn't want you to be cold and uncomfortable. It's... very brave of you to be out here, all by yourself, Nix."

Truth be told, the frog senshi looked rather young, though Gravina had difficulty guessing his age. Half the time, the Knight either couldn't remember how old he was, or had to stop and count when asked.

Something Nix had said seemed to weigh on Gravina, the Knight's head tilting as he nervously decided exactly how to ask. "Um... Nix? Have you... run into... any of the dangerous things?" came a quiet question, Gravina intertwining his fingers as blue eyes stared off somewhere to their right. "Are... are you alright?"

Gravina nodded slowly, seemingly intent on trying to keep eye contact with Nix. The Knight’s body language indicated an interest in what the younger senshi had to say, and a genuine concern for him. “...mmm, yes, brave. Because… when you’re like this, with your squishy boots, everybody with powers can sense you. If… well, if they’re close enough, anyway.” Gravina wasn’t certain of his own mental radar’s diameter, but he was well-versed in its use from years long past. “But, I’m glad you’re keeping yourself safe. I like your squishy boots.”

The Cosmos Knight’s breath fogged the air before him, and for a moment, he seemed delighted by that, and smiled in response. He was an odd duck, this one.

That smile remained in place as Nix marveled at the subspace pocket. “Oh, yes, it’s… about… the size of a shopping bag, I think. I can’t put too much stuff in there, but… if you fold things, they seem to fit. I like to carry… a first aid kit,” Out came the fingers to do some much-needed counting. “...and the sweater and scarf, for weather like this. Oh, and a hat, and a flashlight.” The starchild was fairly certain that was all he’d stored in subspace, anyway. The thermos wasn’t a regular item he typically carried with him, so that didn’t count by his estimation.

He listened intently, looking around during Nix’s pause to see a scant few soft snowflakes making landfall around them. “I’m glad you’re okay, Nix. I bet… you have a lovely family who would miss you, if something happened. And friends, too. The Negaverse, they…” Gravina’s pale eyebrows touched for a moment, anguish flashing across his features before disappearing again. “...they don’t really care about all that, I think. They might say they do, but… I’m not sure I believe them.”

The question of are you okay? perplexed the Knight, and he tilted his head in response. “Oh!” Twiddling his thumbs, a chuckle soon followed. “...yes, definitely. Better than… better than ever, I think. Thank you, for asking.”

Gravina admired the desire to want to become stronger, but he worried for Nix and his family. "Maybe... do you think you could... train with someone else? It might be safer. I'm usually with someone else, too, but I'm by myself tonight. Heh, obviously. Sorry, that was... that was silly." With a nervous chuckle, the Knight scratched his fluffy hair. It was a like a cloud on his head.

With a grand smile, Gravina reached out to touch Nix's outstretched boot and was delighted to find they were, indeed, squishy! Not wet or damp like a frog's skin might be, but dry. It made sense, to have dry boots, but the texture was definitely what Gravina imagined the skin of a frog might feel like. Strangely, he couldn't remember ever feeling a frog or a lizard or a snake. "They're very nice! I like them, very much. Do they keep your feet warm? That's important, you know." With another gentle nod, the Knight smiled. He liked Nix - the senshi had a brightness in his eyes.

His blue eyes dropped to the snow for a moment. "...no... maybe some of them, but..." Gravina shook his head. Now wasn't the time. Now was a time to enjoy the company of new friends. Tis the season, after all. It was then that Gravina had an idea.

"I've... made my first snowman, not too long ago. Should we make a... a snow frog?"

The Cosmos Knight nodded, smiling. “Um… yes, it’s probably a good idea to train with someone, so they can protect you while you learn. Your enthusiasm is… it makes me smile.”

It truly was a shame they didn’t have an organization of some kind, now that Gravina thought about it. He never thought to ask, really, as he had a great many other things to focus on. The fact that no such training existed seemed both shocking and perplexing to Gravina, quite plainly. “...really? There’s no camp or… something? That seems… odd to me. School is nice, though, but… it’s probably because I don’t remember much of it, haha.” Gravina was older now, much older than he was when corrupted into a slavering beast. Even that was difficult to keep track of, sometimes.

Kneeling down, the sparkling knight started to scoop the powdery snow into piles to form the base of the theoretical snow frog. Nix’s question was relevant, and thoughtful, though Gravina didn’t wish to lie. The snow-frog base needed more work, so Gravina was hunched over as he replied. “Oh, um… no, I was… very sick, for a very long time. I only recovered… a few months ago. Sometimes days are more difficult than others, but…” Rising to a standing position, Gravina dusted himself off with a smile. The base was relatively uniform, though slightly lumpy It rose to just below Nix’s knee. “...as long as I try my best every day, that’s good enough, right? Now we need a head, and some legs, for the snow-frog. You’d be an expert in that, right?”

A frog's head was something vague in Gravina's mind, and initially he had trouble trying to visualize it. A lump here for an eye, a lump there for... no, wait, they didn't have noses. Laughter had filled the air as this snow frog slowly came into being. No, it wasn't perfect. It was really only vaguely frog-shaped, and small stones were dug from the playground for the eyes. Gravina took off one of his gloves to use for a tongue to finalize the snow sculptor.

Stepping back to admire their handiwork, in all its imperfection. The Cosmos Knight seemed... appreciative. Happy. Satisfied. "Yes! It's... well, I think it's perfect. What do you think, Nix? Our first snow frog. Thank you." It might've been too early to consider Nix a friend, but acquaintance seemed satisfactory. Roddy would be proud to know he'd gone out and met someone new. And a senshi too, no less! Someone outside their usual circle of friends, people who were immediately connected to Gravina's rebirth.

"...Nix, I'm sorry to bother you, but... it's getting late. Do you... have a safe way home? I'm sorry to distract you from your training. ...I really do like your squishy boots, though."

Gravina seemed proud of their join creation as well, no matter how lumpy and misshapen it might have been. “Yes! And… here’s to many more? I’d like that, anyway.”

The Knight was intrigued by Nix’s lovely phone, which appeared and disappeared out of thin air, much like the sweater and mug of hot apple cider. That was neat, that Nix had a lovely matching phone for his outfit. Were those standard-issue? He might have to ask Roddy about that sometime later. “I’m glad it’s safe, but… still, please be careful. They don’t usually come out this far, into the neighborhoods. Mostly, they stay in the city, where there are more people. So I guess… the neighborhoods are safer? If your neighborhood needs help, I’m sure Manu and I can go over there and help.”

Not that Gravina had any idea how to contact Nix, or vice versa, but Manu was more knowledgeable on those subjects. Maybe Phact would know, too! That was a good homework assignment for him - find out how Senshi and Knights could communicate with one another.

Taking the sweater gently from Nix, gravina slowly folded it back up to have it disappear into subspace like Nix’s phone did earlier. “I’m glad it could keep you warm, but I don’t want you to get in trouble with your mother. Have a good night, Nix. Please be safe, and… get a good night’s rest.” The frog senshi’s hand was grasped gently and with a hint of awkwardness, as if Gravina wasn’t skilled at having so many fingers. “It was very nice to meet you. Guard-Frog can take it from here, I think.”

Their goodbyes said, the Cosmos Knight kept watch while the new senshi made his way home, out into the distance.