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 Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2018 5:30 pm
It was so easy to get in touch with the chaos inside of her. So easy to let it fuel her actions. Cavansite had tried to just heal normally, but Painite had insisted that she consume a few starseeds to speed things up a little…and she had to admit the effect had been…well.
A good one.
She had never been a big starseed eater…in fact, she had only ever eaten one before the three she consumed to heal her wrist and shoulder…and that had only been for the effect of seeing that little senshi get worked up. It had been utterly satisfying, of course but…
But it had been nothing but a game.
Tonight though. Tonight had been nothing more than a game too, and the poor young man who sat, slumped in an alley a few blocks back had obviously been the loser. And now, the General sat on the edge of a building, her legs swinging as she considered the small gem that was between her fingers.
She could eat it…it would provide a rush, wouldn’t it? The others had, and it had been a nice rush. It had been power.
Cavansite paused, feeling the sickly aura of a knight coming closer. Well. Perhaps she would have a reason to eat this after all…but…it would be so much nicer to do it in front of the knight. Let whoever it was see that she didn’t give a s**t about useless lives. Nobody mattered by herself.
Standing, Cavansite let out a slow breath, ready for the inevitable conflict that she would start.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 2:52 pm
The feel of a dark chaos aura had been the draw, but the discovery of a body, still warm on the cold January cement of a back alley, had clinched it. It had started as a vague idea; that Negaverse agents were far too bold in their nefarious actions. Each time she found one like this, with a trail of corpses and drained victims marking their path, the idea hardened and crystalized, becoming something solid to anchor to.
The Negaverse had gone on for far too long without a suitable opponent, someone strong enough to stand against them and dare to deny them an easy time of it. This city had waited a long time for someone like her, someone willing to take the fight to them, and the sense of purpose made her blood sing as she stepped away from the wall and sprang upwards, cutting through the air to land heavy on the roof.
Her profile found the direction of the source as though she could smell it and Tanais took off running, sliding easily into motion with a body that seemed to be born knowing how to do these things. How to move, how to fight, how to... other things. But questions of a certain dark eyed man had no place here, in the bright light of her purpose.
The aura felt like a general, but she didn't sense any support nearby, not event a youma. Unless some where summoned, this might prove a fairly even fight, and Tanais was counting on experience, how ever buried under lost memory, to stand her in good stead.
"Come and face me!" She called out to the slender figure that came into view, staff in hand that glinted with metal and gems. Hand-to-hand would only work if she could get inside the reach of that nasty looking thing and she was not slowing down to risk being stopped.
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Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2018 3:17 pm
Cavansite managed a soft laugh at the boldness of the knight who seemed to be trying to charge her down and leaping lightly off of the rooftop she spread her arms, holding tightly to her spear and the starseed. “Come and face you? And tell me, knight, why should I do that? There’s no good reason for it, is there?”
Quietly, the General put the starseed into her subspace pocket. There was no reason to risk her snack with a premature shattering, now was there?
“Let me guess. You’re on a holy mission to do your very best to purge the world from darkness, and since I’m the darkest thing out tonight, you have been drawn to me in the most inexplicable way possible, and now we will fight until one of us is dead, and either the city will cheer from the loss of one of the great Generals of the Negaverse, or will weep from the loss of one of the brightest Knights on the side of order? Does that about cover what you’re doing here?”
There was a frown on Cavansite’s face as she studied the knight. The golden armor gleaming in the weak light provided by the street lamps, the long ebony hair with curious red streaks in them that…were quite beautiful.
“What’s your name, Knight?”
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 1:50 pm
Tanais slowed as she came within range, watching the surprisingly young looking woman drop from the roof to land before her. The body under the uniform was lean and shorter than her, which lowered her expectations somewhat towards what sort of fight this might be. She could be wrong, but at their level, they should be at least be even, power wise, so her advantage was in her reach and her greater weight.
Ah, the villain monologue. A dark brow arched upwards, mirth in the line of her lips. Calling her out on her righteous purpose while monologing? Pot, meet kettle.
Tanais spread her hands, shining in their metal casings.
"You think there is some divine drive behind this? Pixie, there is nothing holy about any of this s**t, and the greatest purpose I have is to show the Negaverse that they aren't the biggest dogs in the yard any more." She said as she paced with smooth, even steps around the periphery of the general's reach with that spear. "You've all had it far too easy for far too long and you seem to have come to believe you have the right to do whatever the ******** you want. Stealing what doesn't belong to you, taking advantage of those who don't have your abilities, and taking lives, as though they mean nothing."
The knight smiled, and it was sharp edged even if it lacked the fangs she used to wear.
"I'm Tanais, Knight of Mars. The Red Lion. I want you to remember that, and take it back with you, if you make it out of this alive. Because I will be waiting for your kind, from now on." She might have been a bit cocky about, a bit full of herself, but she was fully confident she could back it up. Or die trying. Either way, she would leave as large a mark as she could. There was only a little warning as she tensed and then launched herself forward, arm cocked back for a harsh, snapping punch aimed for the face as she closed the distance between them.
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Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2018 3:49 pm
”Pixie?”
Cavansite’s eyebrows rose and she almost had to laugh. That was the first time anyone had called her pixie before. She had never considered herself as such, but hey. This woman was quite large so, she supposed she could see where she was coming from.
The words coming from the Knight’s mouth droned on like the buzzing of bees, and honestly the General didn’t give two hoots about what she was saying...until she smiled. When Cavansite saw that smile, it felt as though the earth had shattered beneath her.
No. No that was...that was utterly impossible.
So distracted was she that she didn’t realize the knight had gone on the offensive until she saw the flash of the gold gauntlet coming right for her, and only a quick jerk to the right saved her face from an ugly bruise. Her shoulder was a different story, and as it had only just healed from the claws of that half youma, a cry of pain left the General’s mouth.
Quickly she stumbled backwards, clutching on to her spear and reaching up to hold her shoulder which she knew was bleeding again. “Tanais...you…” She swallowed hesitating and dropping the spear. It wasn’t a sign of surrender, but she wanted to speak. “Have you always been a knight…?”
There was an edge of pain to her voice, as well as a not of disbelief. “You weren’t...you were never with us...were you?” The question made her feel vulnerable, and she didn’t really want to know the answer. If this Knight really had been Cin…
Cavansite didn’t quite know how she would handle that information.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 3:51 pm
She felt the hit connect solidly with a deep sense of satisfaction and when the spear dropped, she thought it had been from the blow at first. She was gearing up for another swing when the other spoke. The tone of it slowed her, some buried sense of fairness about attacking someone unarmed and unprepared staying her hand, at least for a moment.
This was a war. You couldn't discriminate just because a murderer surrendered their weapon.
The questions killed Tanais's smile and the taller woman grimaced, her brow creasing with something between annoyance and discomfort as she rocked back, falling into a stance that was more defensive, at least for the moment.
"I came into being as a knight." She asserted forcefully. "Whatever came before, it doesn't matter, and its not going to save you. Whatever you think you remember, its in the past. Dead. So bury it."
Those who remembered her before were always the hardest... but whatever had been there was gone now, and it wasn't coming back, not if she had a say in it. She just had to deal with those looks of disbelief on some of the faces she encountered... deal with knowing they knew something about her she didn't, and didn't want to. Cinnabar had been, from all she had seen and heard, a monster. Why dwell on that when none of it mattered now?
"Pick up your spear, or I'll use it to run you through." She demanded, her hands in fists by her face.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2018 4:28 pm
Bury it.
Whatever you think you remember is in the past.
Cavansite felt her stomach sinking, and she shook her head, forcing her spear to vanish into subspace. “So you were Cinnabar.” She felt as though something inside of herself was shattering and finally she just shook her head. “Why…do you…why did you leave. Answer me this and…I won’t bother you again but…I need to know.” Her throat felt dry and her voice sounded rough even to her own ears.
“I can’t let it die. I can’t just bury it…I…You…”
Taking a step backwards, Cavansite ran her hand through her hair, shaking her head in disbelief. “Of all the people…you were…you were never someone I would have thought would have turned traitor. Never in a hundred million years…Cinnabar…” She forced out a breath. “Excuse me. Tanais. I don’t understand. You were my mentor. I looked up to you—respected you. How could you…did they force you into this?”
She swallowed again, blinking quickly. “Did they hurt you? I can help you, I can bring you home…if they forced you into this. You don’t have to be with them.” Nonsense. This was all nonsense. Her words were coming out more and more frantically, with less and less reason behind them…and she didn’t know what to do about it.
“I don’t understand.”
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 5:07 pm
The spear vanished and Tanais felt a flood of disappointment. Her opponent was now unarmed and doing nothing provoking. Attacking her like this, in what was essentially cold blood... it grated on her, as much as she argued with herself that this one likely had done things, recently or in the past, that deserved retribution now. Times there had been no one there to administer punishment.
The look on the girl's face, the way she begged for answers... it twisted her stomach and left a sour taste in her mouth. It made her angry, and vaguely... ashamed. She hated that feeling.
"I DON'T REMEMBER." The knight finally burst out, dropping her hands as she stalked forward. She made sure she loomed, large and menacing, as she got into the general's personal space, scowling and baring her teeth. It was a dangerous position to be in, a gamble that the other wouldn't wake up suddenly and take advantage of it.
"I don't remember anything! I could have done it on a whim, for all I know, or because I got tired of nasty little shits like you taking advantage of people weaker than you are!" She snapped. It was ironic that the girl would correct herself on the name she used, as though they weren't enemies now. "Maybe I got tired of being a ******** coward, and depending on someone else's power to make me stronger."
She reached then for the front of the uniform to ball it up in her fist, right below the sparkling bow, and jerk the girl closer, giving her a little shake.
"I am not the same person! You might as well think of her as dead, for all you're ever getting her back. I would kill myself before I let you take me. Home..." She spat as she said it. "Is a river on Mars. Not whatever hole leeches like you crawl out of."
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 9:11 pm
The words made whatever hope had coiled up in her stomach die. So she didn’t...remember why she had done this. Leaving had completely wiped away the reasons why...why she had left. Cavansite didn’t flinch as the knight drew closer, or even when she suddenly felt her body being shaken.
This all felt like a ******** up bad dream, and she was waiting for the moment where she woke up and this was over.
The moment that Cinnabar was home.
The moment when things decided to start making sense again but…
But if she were going to be honest with herself, she knew that moment would never come. Life was a b***h like that, wasn’t it? When Painite had gone...she had gotten Cinnabar...and now that Painite was back...there was no real need to have Cinnabar anymore...was there?
Slowly, Cavansite reached up and attempted to pull the hands off of her uniform. “I would appreciate it if you would let me go, Tanais.” Her words were calm...but they didn’t feel as though they were real either. It was the voice she used on her students, calm, collected. Adult. It was an adult voice. But, obviously she was an adult. She had been for well over a decade but…
Now wasn’t the time to think about voices.
“You might not be the same person, but I will mourn her. Cinnabar was very precious to me. I may have loved her, not that I ever said such a thing. She was beautiful and strong and she inspired me. I hope…”
Cavansite’s voice faltered now and she finally managed to wrench herself away from the knight’s grip almost at the same time she again began to lose the control of her emotions. “I will miss her. I...I hope whatever your choice was...that it was the right one...and…”
The General took another few steps backwards. “And...and I don’t know.”
Finally she just couldn’t take it anymore and teleported. Teleported far, far from Tanais. There was too much to think about, and she didn’t want to look even weaker in front of a woman who used to inspire her to be better…
If Cinnabar had purified…
...She just wished there was a reason why. What had been so bad that she would have left…
It didn’t make any sense. None at all. But…
But just because it didn’t make sense didn’t change the fact that it had happened. And Cavansite couldn't have been more miserable.
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