|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Feb 02, 2018 5:52 pm
Ochre never knew what to expect when he sent out a summons — especially if the summons went to someone with which Umber shared contact. Really, Sylvite's file didn't offer much on Sylvite. Some graphs about quota fulfillment, a mention of who corrupted her, and a few photos of the recruit were all he found on the Database. But that never told him if she was an introvert or an extrovert, if she liked coffee, or whether she responded well to positive reinforcement.
It didn't give him any ideas on whether he should meet her at a coffee shop, or in the Mauvian headquarters in the Citadel so they could each pet cats while they talked. Maybe that was a little presumptive for the Mauvians, but… No one ever faulted him his penchant for kitties before.
Sylvite could be nice, he told himself. She could also be a total b***h. Or someone who prefers to never be noticed. She could be anyone, really, for all the Database told him. He had to keep his message succinct, clear, and uncolored by any questions painting his mind.
Steadily he started into a mic, his voice as clean of nerves as he could make it. "Lieutenant Sylvite, this is Ochre. Err, Eternal Sailor Ochre. If you have a moment, I'd like to speak with you about Umber. If you could meet me down here in the Citadel today —
"Wait, no, it's hard for lieutenants to get down here…" The message cut off a moment as Ochre fumbled through nerves. Where should they go, then? Meeting as civilians seemed so personal, especially for someone who might not want that sort of intimacy with anyone else in the Negaverse (but maybe she did, he reminded himself). Conversely, going out there as an eternal senshi and a lieutenant begged for some big Order schmuck to bust in on a simple conversation. "How about at North End Park? If you've got the time to meet around one, that'd be great.
"Oh, uh, PM. Not AM. Thanks, Ochre out." The redhead stopped his transmission as he heaved a sigh.
Another half hour would have him at the proffered spot, loitering with a certain skepticism for his surroundings. Hopefully she won't just blow me off.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 10:27 am
Sylvite was almost always out on weekends during the daytime. It seemed like everyone else liked to go out at night for some reason, leaving her free to raid the mall for energy for the most part undisturbed. She wasn't used to her communicator going off, on the other hand, especially with someone asking for her. Other than, like, when she was turning in energy, The Negaverse didn't really seem the type to chat. Then the guy said he was an eternal, and mentioned Umber, who was possibly technically still her general, who even knew at this point, but still. Authority figures. Did this mean she was in trouble? Was this because she hadn't met her quota the other week because of that stupid knight? It took her a minute to find privacy, which ended up being a changing room, but she pulled out her crystal to reply. "Yeah, this is Sylvite. The park would be a lot better, yeah." To cut down a bit on the awkward, she paused for a moment to watch the little communicator reflect the florescent lights. Pretty. "Okay. Cool. I'll be there." One 'o clock was pretty soon, but Sylvite had time for a quick stop at the snack bar before bounding off to the park. She was doing her best to be prompt, but she could feel the distinct aura standing still as she approached. She slowed down from her superhero bouncy run to a regular walk as she actually caught sight of the guy. He had a flashy outfit, wings, tons and tons and tons of bright red hair... "Man, you're so cool!" she whispered, although to Sylvite, even a whisper was not exactly quiet. She really hoped they could get along and he wasn't just here to chew her out. In a regular voice, she said, "Um, Ochre? Sir... or something? Hi. I'm Sylvite." She reached into her puffy shorts and pulled out the bag of mini Ores she'd just bought and the energy orb she'd gotten from the lady in front of her in line. "Cookies? Energy? I've also got giant magic lollipops if you're into that."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 7:07 pm
The wait wasn't long. Ochre had more than enough on his mind — others to interview, places to check, festering doubts to feed — and the span of time grew ever shorter. As his thoughts nimbly nibbled away at countless concerns, he folded his palms flat against an old birch tree and leaned into the backs of his hands. He didn't expect to glean much from any one person, but he held a secret hope that Sylvite would suggest checking the University bathroom and bam, mystery solved.
Ochre was in the midst of entertaining that idle daydream when a voice pulled him back to reality, and he straightened with a start. "Oh!" Immediately a bashful smile presented itself, and Ochre studiously carved his bangs out of his face. By the pictures on file, Ochre assumed he now faced Lieutenant Sylvite. "Wow, really? No one's actually told me that before. I mean, that's really nice of you to say. Most people are just like, 'oh great, another corrupted senshi. Don't you trip on your hair?' And then, yeah. Um… Anyway." Damn, that totally came out wrong. How do people talk to subordinates? Wait, is she a subordinate if she's not under me? Can I ever have people under me.
I probably shouldn't.
"You can just call me Ochre." He relaxed a little, and settled into a lax pose with his hip flush against the tree. "And thanks, I love cookies. Energy is kinda weirdly tasteless. And I always wonder if it has calories… I mean, calories are for energy, right? And then we eat pure energy and that regenerates and stuff, but does it get stored as fat later if we don't use it all? It's always been this, like, weird conundrum." To stop himself, he accepted an Oreo and pushed it into his mouth.
She was cute. Her hair curled all perfectly, and her uniform looked like she worked straight out of See's Candies. Or maybe more of a Negaverse-oriented equivalent. She looked pretty happy and peky, too. At least, she sounded that way, or maybe she knew how to put on a really good farce. Like, way better than him. That was definitely something on his list to learn from her — if that's what she was doing, of course. Plus she offered giant magic lollipops, which got Ochre wondering — was that a Lieutenant weapon? Ochre vaguely recalled that they got ridiculous weapons, but a giant magic lollipop seemed less ridiculous and more a sensible choice for if their agent was diabetic and suddenly needed a carb infusion.
"Anyway, uh, I just had a couple questions for you. And I thought it'd be nicer to ask about it out here where it's less…" Depressing. "So. Uh. Umber was your corrupting officer, right? Have you seen him again lately, or worked with him, or…?" Ochre braced for a definitive no.stari_maga essays and group projects are the bane of rp
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 4:38 pm
When she realized that the intimidating Eternal had heard her whisper, Sylvite started. When he cracked a bit of a smile, she released the tension in her muscles that she hadn't even quite noticed that she'd been carrying and she grinned back. "Really? That's weird," she said. "Compliments are good! They're fun, they're good for team building, and everyone in the Negaverse is so strong and has such pretty outfits, so it's not like it's hard." She sucked in her cheeks as she realized Ochre's full meaning. "Oh, because of the senshi thing? Yeah, I don't get that. You've got better hair, better clothes, real magic, you're clearly not space pirates," she counted each point off on a finger, energy orb pushed awkwardly into her palm, then shrugged. "Sorry people are jerks." She noticed that he seemed nervous, which she thought was weird 'cause he was supposed to be in charge, but it wasn't a problem. She'd rather be around someone scared than around someone scary. She offered up the cookies and popped one into her own mouth, then gave a close look to the energy orb in her hand. "They're like, magic energy, right? Otherwise we could just use sugar or coal or something. You're right about the taste, though. They're so pretty I feel like they should taste better. That's wrong. I know. Don't eat Tide Pods." She pocketed the orb and sunk down to sit cross legged in the dead grass as the conversation got more serious, Oreo bag leaning against her knee for moral support. "Umber. Right. Yeah, he corrupted me and I think he's still technically my General? I dunno. I ended up training with a bunch of different people and then some stuff happened and it got weird," she cut herself off and refocused, "But basically no. He might've been at those big meetings a while ago but I haven't seen him in like, at least a year."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:50 pm
"Space pirates?" Ochre's eyes widened in shock. Initially he felt a wave of nervousness — what if most of the Negaverse thought he was a space pirate? — until he realized that was probably a dumb thought to have when Sylvite already told him he wasn't one. She was pretty nice about it, too, what with all the complements and exctement and generally not being either emotionally damaged or emotionally abusive. It was a nice change, really. He could relax. Finally.
Well, sort of. He still had to learn a few things. And he should repay her for taking the time out of her day to meet him. And for the cookies. And he should see if she needed any help with her Negaverse duties since she was a lieutenant and he sorta had obligations as an eternal senshi, even though he wasn't her direct commanding officer. Wow, hierarchy was weird.
The Tide Pod comment finally got him, though, and he erupted into a laugh. "But they look so good. And they're bite-sized." He wondered if energy was on par with Tide Pods for poison content, however. Nothing really happened to anyone eating energy that he knew of, but what if it's a long-term thing? Sort of like how people lived in asbestos houses for a long time before they developed cancer. Or how people could smoke for years and then end up with emphysema 30 years later. What if old Negaversers got some sort of weird starseed cancer?
Yeah, that was a thought for another day.
As she sat, Ochre retreated to the grass too. "Oh, um, I'm sorry." Grimacing, he felt partially responsible for his brother's poor treatment of her. Sylvite seemed like a good kid, very bubbly and optimistic and full of good planning, so definitely not Umber's type of subordinate. And if she was left to just float around and learn things on her own… That wasn't much good either, was it?
Ochre picked at the grass for a moment before he committed to his decision. He should help her. Or at least offer; she might not actually want the help. "Sounds like you got kinda lost in the lurch. That's not too great, huh? I could help you find another commanding officer, though. I mean, you were nice enough to meet with me and help me out. It's the least I could do."
Could senshi become commanding officers? Even if they could, offering that straight up would put her on the spot.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:05 pm
Sylvite shook her head at the apology. "No, no, no. It's okay. Really." She squinted at Ochre's face. He seemed pretty relaxed and he had nice hair and he could joke about Tide Pods and he was overall acting like a real person and not like, well, a stoic, scary boss. That didn't make him outrank her any less. Those buttwings were cool, but they also meant his magic was probably nasty. She was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to take bad about other agents, but hey, this guy, her superior, had asked her to talk about Umber. She'd talk about Umber. "I've been kinda avoiding him, honestly." She took another Oreo and then pushed the bag between them. It was up to him to decide if they were a peace offering or gossip sesh snacks. "There was this girl, Chrysocolla? She was the one who ended up helping me out. Not officially or anything, but she was teaching me for awhile, the basics and how to get my quota in and stuff. She's great. Apparently Umber was pretty mean to her, though? I dunno, he kinda rubbed me the wrong way anyway." "I've been doing okayish on my own, I think, but," she paused for just a half second, considering his offer, and then nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I have been stuck as a Lieutenant for awhile now. A commanding officer would probably be good." Sylvite's tension wasn't totally resolved, though. Had Ochre really called her, a random Lieutenant, just for this kind of small talk? Feeling fidgety, she pushed up onto her hands so that her legs were a few inches off the ground. "Is that what this is, like, about? He's finally giving up on me? Or is there something else?" She looked into his eyes. "If I messed up or something, I wanna know."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2018 8:36 am
"Yeah, that…" He couldn't help but laugh. "That sounds normal. For Umber, I mean. He's not really everybody's cup of tea, you know?" They had their own problems despite familial ties, and seldom saw eye-to-eye for all the ways they stuck out for each other. But Sylvite's account warmed him in a paradoxical way — if only in the assurance that she did indeed meet Umber, and her reaction wasn't too distant from his own usually. Plus, it sounded like she got some good footing going with Chrysocolla, who was now someone else on his list.
And it was great to hear that Lieutenant Sylvite was getting along pretty well on her own. "Yeah, they're pretty good for getting direction and stuff. Commanding officers, I mean. Mine was good at what she does, I mean, she got me where I am now. And I heard there's a bunch of new captains and generals looking for subordinates now, too. Everybody wants to stretch their leadership wings, you know?" Ochre gave her a smile.
Absently he scooped up one of his braids and fumbled with it on his fingers. Nails poked throuhg the space between the strands, felt around, and retreated. "Anyway, um, I'll be asking Chrysocoll—"
Sylvite's question startled him, and he laughed bashfully. Wow, what a sweet kid. She's gonna make someone proud someday. "No, uh, I don't think so. This is actually kind of embarrassing…" Ochre breathed a sigh.
"So, Umber's my brother. And that didn't really seem very professional to bring up, but basically… He's been missing for a while now. Like a long while. And, I mean, he'd do his trips into the woods from time to time and be gone for months, so that's not super unusual? But to abandon everything and then just up and disappear for as long as it's been, well… That's the worrisome part. And don't worry, I'm not mad at you or anything for not getting along with him all that great — I actually have a lot of trouble myself — but I just… Want to know where he is, you know? And the rest of the Negaverse doesn't seem to have any answers on that. Like the whole team of Information is just… They don't have anything.
"I called you because you were someone who knew him. There wasn't really anything in the database about what your relationship was like, if you were just a subordinate or if you were also friends or anything, so I wanted to see if you saw him recently. And while I'm almost back to square one, I have Chrysocolla now to look into too.
"Sorry if I worried you." His hand retreated from the braid to the back of his head. "I'm not the greatest at this investigation stuff."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 26, 2018 5:27 pm
Sylvite's eyes went wide at the reveal. "He's your BROTHER? What!?" That was kinda a big thing, and one she had not considered at all, although now that he mentioned it, it seemed really obvious. They had the same eyes and the same face markings and everything. Identity magic was weird. "Okay then. And he's gone." She pursed her lips and dropped back to the ground, processing that for a good couple seconds. "I would say people don't just vanish, but this is a war. It happens." Her face went properly dark for the first time. Anyway, at least it seemed she wasn't in trouble for not liking Umber or for anything else, so she relaxed a bit. When he mentioned following up with Chrysocolla, her eyebrows squished together once more, just for a moment. She didn't wanna be sending any extra stress in her old friend's direction, but Ochre was being super sweet and polite about all this, so it'd probably be okay. "Yeah, Chrysocolla would be good to talk to. I think she knew Umber better than me," she said. She leaned forwards onto her elbows and gave Ochre a good strong look, as if a five foot severely outclassed girl could be intimidating. "Just be nice to her, okay? It's kinda a sore subject for her if I remember right." She straightened. "Okay. Who else have you talked to? Speaking of CO's, he's gotta have had one, right? He seemed pretty into structure from what I saw. If he ended up recruiting anyone else, he probably would've put more thought into it than he did with me, so you could check the records for that?" She was zoned out a little, rambling to herself. "I dunno. Friends. Family. It's probably Order, though, and they're gross. They're not just gonna tell you stuff." She snapped back, her cheeks flushing a little. "I mean, you don't have to tell me, obviously, but I kinda wanna know what's going on now, too. I can try to help, even? I've been thinking of Information, plus then I'd actually have a leader for a bit." Her eyes went big and pleading, because this was juicy.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 01, 2018 8:39 pm
The corrupt's expression was one of naked shock at Sylvite's sudden (though appropriate, he figured) outburst. "Uh…" Ochre's eyes fell to the grass where he stared at the individual blades, feeling his cheeks heat up. "Yeah…
"I guess we're pretty different, huh? No one thinks to peg us for brothers unless they uh… Know us in person. Glamour's a pretty weird thing like that. I mean, Negaverse glamour. Err, powering up. Anyway," he paused to wave away his stumblings, "that's been my other major thought. But I don't really want to think that he's just… Lying face down in an alley somewhere, you know? Like there's gotta be a way to at least find out where he last was or something. I mean, we've got all kinds of redundancy programs like check-ins, routines, the Negaverse database that tracks who we are and where we live and how often we use the bathroom… Someone shouldn't just up and disappear without some clue of where they went. I think, anyway." Ochre sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
The look didn't escape him, nor did it quite faze him. It did, however, reaffirm that he should be nice to the people his brother probably hurt. If anything, the look stoked a little more empathy for the potentially long (or potentially short) list of people he'd have to talk to before this giant mystery was finally solved. And Chrysocolla sounded like she'd probably have a lot to say.
A lot to say.
"Well, let's see…" Ochre pursed his lips and angled them off to the side while he scoured his mind for answers. "I tried Xenotime, who's my CO, and she was also Umber's CO before he went off to become his own general. Then I guess it became, uh… Oh man, I'm so bad with the General-Sovereign names. Hess… Uh. Hessianite? Or something like that. The new girl that led SpecOps before like half the branch walked out on her.
"Then I've still got Ashanite to talk to, who he lived with for a while. Then there was Haüyne, who used to be Sandrine, who was brought in by him in this operation that I can't really remember. And Faustite, who was the only other recruit on his list. I mean, of the people he corrupted himself. It was just you and Faustite, with Chrysocolla and Haüyne being the two he poached from the White Moon. So, not exactly a long list of people, you know?" Ochre blew out a sigh, contemplated the cookies at her side, and reached for one so long as he had permission to take another.
He popped the cookie into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully, if only to provide a short break in the conversation to mull everything over. He flatted a hand against the trunk of the nearby tree as fingers drummed against the hearty bark. Swallowing, he spoke again, this time more animatedly. "Yeah, I mean, I'd never turn down help. This isn't exactly my, uh, expertise, so if you wanna help out, that'd be awesome. If you want to help me talk to some of these people, or maybe see who you can interview on the Order side of things, that'd be really awesome. Just be careful if you try to talk to anyone Order, okay? They're a real mixed bag when it comes to just talking, but I'm sure you know that." Way to open mouth and insert foot, Ochre. Of course she knows. She's in the Negaverse.
He couldn't resist smiling at her enthusiasm. "So I've got four more people to talk to." He counted them off on his crumb-laden fingers. "General Ashanite, Eternal Sailor Chrysocolla, Super Sailor Haüyne, and Captain Faustite. Wanna split it up? You take two, I take two?"stari_maga gonna work on your start tonight <3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2018 8:01 pm
Sylvite found herself reflexively shaking her head when Ochre started getting flustered. "Oh, no, no, no, it's okay! There's like magic and stuff, it literally would've been impossible for me to guess, and I'm not judging you for being related to him or anything." She rocked back and forth with her fingers firmly gripping her bloomers to keep from trying to pat his shoulder. He was her superior. This was casual and everything, but there had to be some limits. Luckily it was short lived enough, and then they were back to discussing investigation stuff. Sylvite took a moment to consider if she wanted Umber to be dead or alive. On one hand, he was apparently kinda a jerk. On the other hand, she'd managed to avoid him pretty well even when he wasn't technically missing, so even if he turned up it would probably be okay. If she found him, maybe he'd even be happy with that and like... teach her to be awesome like she's thought he might. That probably wouldn't happen, honestly, but hey, it was a decent fantasy. It seemed like Ochre had actually gotten a decent list together, so that was good. She also took another cookie and chewed it while she thought. "Okay. If you wanna talk about this stuff with Chrys, that's your business. I don't know any of the other people you said, but if there's another corrupt I could try talking to them I guess?" Yes, her secret motive was to meet all of the senshi. "Um, one of the agents, too? I think I can do that." Talking to agents over her level seemed a bit crazy, and it came through as her usually breakneck babbling slowed a little. Strickenized Sylvite is being all ambitious. I will try to do these RPs. I'm also not sure what you want to do about Faustite since he did it?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 5:30 pm
Ochre nodded along to Sylvite's gradual choices. He was glad the pair of them got past all the confusion about Umber as his brother; he was worried he'd have to weather another hatestorm. But now that she made her choices…
"Yeah, that's definitely okay. Haüyne is on that list. They're all knida above your rank, which makes it awkward, but maybe one of them would also make a good commanding officer? Just in case you want to have other options or something. Not that I'm not interested in taking you on as a subordinate, because I definitely am, I just want you to have some options, you know? Um, anyway," he added with another nervous head scratch.
"So if you want to take the super and captain, I'll take the general and eternal. That way we're sorta close to our own ranks. And also, if they tell you to do something that you don't wanna do, you can just call me and I can outrank them," he added with ha slight smile. He didn't want Sylvite sent out to do their energy draining bidding just for some information on his brother — especially since he'd be the cause of that mess. But Sylvite seemed like she was really good at navigating social boundaries, and she brought cookies and stuff, so she could probably get out of an interview unscathed. But he didn't know too much about half-youma officers, so that one might be a stretch.
Or maybe they were perfectly normal and he was being sorta racist.
"Okay." Ochre summoned his communicator from subspace and opened a notepad app almost immediately. "I'm taking… Ashanite and Chrysocolla. And Sylvite is taking Faustite and Haüyne. And we cannn… Meet back here in a month maybe? I think that should work. And if we can't catch these officers before then, or come up with some really cool leads, we can just postpone and meet up whenever. Sound good to you?"stari_maga sorry, company over this week so i've been super slow
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:36 pm
Sylvite nodded along, glad that Ochre seemed to have at least a little knowledge of what was going on with these people. Although she did have to wonder, with him seeming like a sweet guy and everything even to a lieutenant like her if he would actually come kick someone's butt or whatever superiors did if stuff ended up getting weird. "Okay," she said. "Super Sailor Hayüne and Captain Faustite. I should be able to talk to them. I mean, I found out that these communicator things work, right? So I should be able to get back to you, too, to check in in like a month." She gave a quick smile. It would definitely be good to get more connections, especially among the higher ups among the Negaverse. He was right. Also, she did kinda really wanna know what had happened to Umber, and if she could get some practice with like, official investigations, that would be good to. Also, doing stuff for Eternals had to be good, right? This was like a real mission! "So, basically, yes sir!" she finished, doing a cute little, although technically incorrect, salute before her business manner completely dissolved with a laugh. "Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you, Ochre." She reached down for her cookies and rolled up the top before standing up. "Are we good?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 10:10 pm
This whole interview went way better than he thought it would. Miles better, even. He hadn't exactly had a lot of great experiences with Negaverse personnel, especially with his brother being who he as, so he half-expected a teeth-pulling meeting with some butthurt lieutenant. Thankfully, that's not where their interview progressed at all.
Ochre chuckled at the salute, entirely oblivious to its accuracy. His hands rested in front of them where they toyed idly with his many rings. "Yeah, I think we're good. All you need to do is call them on your communicator and see if they're interested in talking about it. I'm really glad they upgraded these things… Talking into rocks felt really dumb, even for… Um, nevermind. That's not really important, you know?
"Anyway, you're dismissed, Lieutenant!" Ochre tried his best at an authoritative tone, which spoke to his lack of practice, but he didn't mind. Sylvite was good-natured, enthusiastic, and so refreshingly easy to get along with compared to the rest of the Negaverse. He didn't feel pressured to go impressing her with any shows of force or terse reactions like some of the other officers, nor did she think he didnt have any business commanding anyone because he was a senshi. And since she knew exactly how to schmooze, she was the perfect pick to go around conducting interviews. Afterward, he figured on putting in a recommendation on her behalf to one of the General-Sovereigns. Everyone deserved something good for helping out, right?
So after bidding her adieu, Ochre cast a passing thought back to the memorized alley by Porsha's apartment, and vanished with the wind. He had a little more record-keeping to do.stari_maga fin! and i forgot to answer your question earlier — the end result for faustite is already oocly worked out, and i intended to draw him into the plot. it will ultimately come about that he did it. i'd be happy for sylvite to interview him if you're down for that / have the time!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
