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It had been a long while since Acubens had spoken with Logos in the castle, and she realized with no small amount of regret that she had neglected to reach out. And with everything that was happening -- renovating the church, her falling out with Lavender, and starting her seedlings for the spring -- Acubens barely had any time to spend any real time powered up. Just enough to get quota and then power back down and work on her real-life projects.

Real life...

The phrase gave her pause in her strides. Acubens hadn't had a real life in so long... Acubens had been her real life. The Court, Mirrorspace, it had all been her real life. It was strange to think now that she was redefining herself as a civilian with a powered ego as opposed to Acubens with a civilian ego. She smiled at the thought and allowed the feeling to swell and heat her chest. Balance... she thought it was called. She was finding a sense of balance. And it was... comforting. Acubens could fall back on that comfort now with confidence that it would catch her and keep her safe. Not that The Court wouldn't it was just... something that she could call her own. The Court belonged to everyone but the Church, her apartment, her farming... that belonged to just Rhona. It was nice. Safe.

Acubens broke her musing as she approached the mirror she had asked Logos to meet her at and paused, rippling the surface of the mirror briefly as was her habit now that mirrorspace had freaked her out so much so often. Just checking to make sure everything was working the way it should. She was excited to spend time with Logos again, the other girls' admission that the family aspect of the Court seemed nice bolstering Acubens confidence considerably. If Logos wanted a family then so be it. Acubens would help give it to her. Teach her what she knew and introduce her to Kiuchi and Crocus. And Mithra. And everyone else she hasn't already met.

Ideas about how to help Logos feel more at home flew back and forth across her mind like beebees in a boxcar, bouncing around indiscriminately, refusing to stop and rest on anything for longer than an instant. With each passing moment and each whizzing idea Acubens could feel the excitement building in her bones until she was bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited. Whatever she did with Logos, however, it began here. Taking her to mirrorspace and asking what she knew and what she didn't know. Showing her about the crystals. Taking her to her realm and exploring that with her.

Acubens felt the energy signal approaching, but opted to lean heavily against the cool glass of the mirror, one ankle crossed over the other as she waited. No need to look as overeager as she felt. Be cool, Acubens, be cool. But as the signal approached, Acubens found it harder and harder to be cool and found that her free ankle bounced in anticipation. Her hands found the hem of her skirts and twisted and pulled. She began chewing on the inside of her cheeks. As Logos arrived, Acubens was nearly bursting with excitement and pushed away from the looking glass to pivot and face her in one fluid motion. She smiled easily, her natural expression resting easily on her face.

"Yeah, I've got some projects going right now," Acubens chirped happily, though at the mention of Altea, Acubens found her hand resting involuntarily against he pale scar under her fuku from the surgery the queen had sent her screaming into. "Survived... barely. The thing is that Mirrorspace is going to throw you curveball after curveball. You're going to run into a lot of 'well this is new' situations. And as for the exercise... you'll find you're going to get as much of that as you do of surprises." Another warm and easy smile as Acubens rippled the mirror one more time and held out her hand.

"Speaking of exercize, I was thinking we'd take a walk in Mirrorspace. I'm looking for more of those neat little crystals. See what all there is to be had and be done on the Realms. Who knows, maybe it'll have a curve ball for us when we're looking. Of course if you want to do or see something, we can do that too.
What do you say?"

"Eh," came Acubens uncertain answer as she stepped through the mirror, the sensation familiar and soothing, "not necessarily like Altea, but I mean it's not uncommon for Mirrorspace to pitch a fit. Earlier last year there was a horrible incident with another dark mirror who let out two tremendously huge mirrorwraith. That was a trip. The thing about it is that we have only just begun to try and understand this place," Acubens cast a hand around the Common Room, "and who knows how much there is to know. So because of that, these things can sometimes happen. Mirrorspace might puke up some terrifying creature, or send us somewhere else, or who can even imagine what else. But I mean... not all of the curveballs are bad. The Realms for example... they seem pretty alright."

Acubens shrugged and moved easily through the milky white space, careful to always keep a hand on Logos so that Mirrorspace didn't spit her back out.

"Realms are... well to tell you the truth I don't know much about them... I'll show you mine when we find a crystal... but so far as I can tell they are plots of land that we can build on. Mine is sizable, and started out flat and white... but I crushed a grey and green crystal and suddenly there was a little hill where I was standing. So they're like blank slates... and that's what the crystals are for, I guess." So many mysteries... so much to learn and understand... Acubens could feel her pulse quicken and her speech follow suit as she spoke to Logos, clearly excited to get started on whatever project she had in mind... and to be fair she had about a million swirling around her brain in that moment.

"Remarque talks endlessly about a back door out of the war between the Negaverse and the Order. They are fighting for the earth... we're just trying to find peace somewhere else. Who knows... maybe Mirrorscape and the realms are the home we were meant to find." She left out her concerns about the Chaos Seed, of course. No need to worry Logos if she didn't already care.

"Training," Acubens parrotted. She already trained the senshi under her care but... it wasn't really formal. And she didn't really do any physical training... maybe she should. She laughed easily at Logo's zeal and squeezed her arm affectionately. Oh no, Acubens was going to end up adopting this one as her own too. "I'm glad you're excited about this. I'm excited to see you grow. Watch how you find your place. And I'd be more than happy to help. I've been doing some training informally but... maybe a formal education is exactly what people need. A reliable place to meet and grow and learn. Yeah, that... that's not a bad idea..." And with the presumed common area around the citadel, there was already an ideal spot to meet and train. Assuming one could build on the land there as they could on the realms...

"Besides you and the senshi already under my care, who do you think would be interested?"

Acubens recognized the rapid-fire stream of questions as her own nervous tick. Now whether Logos was nervous or excited it was difficult to tell -- the woman was so stoic... but Acubens smiled none-the-less. Tracking easily, she picked up the first question and answered that one first.

"Yeah, the realm is this flat expanse of white dust, almost. And it's huge. I crushed a couple of crystals... grey and green, I think... yeah, grey and green. And then suddenly I was standing on a grassy hill instead of a flat plane." It was still so magical to think about... of all the things Mirrorspace had thrown at them, this was easily Acubens' second most favorite -- her very favorite being her royals, of course. But enough gushing, next question.

"It was strange, actually. When we came back from Altea's, in that huge... I don't know... courtyard thing before the citadel... I saw through the door a huge mirror on the floor of the interior. At first, I didn't think much of it. It was just another mystery that may or may not have an answer. As an interjection, I am a very instinctually based woman. My gut is what drives me, not my head. Which has... well you've seen what it does to me. I didn't really start investigating until my gut starting pulling me towards the mirror. But it wasn't... I don't know... undeniably strong until I got the second crystal. Then it was like... I have to do this or I will literally explode." Acubens shrugged then, keeping an eye out for any cracks or nooks in the walls that might be hiding something... she was secretly hoping for another green or grey one... try and see how big she could make the hill.

"And so I stepped on the mirror inside the citadel and it transported me to this big disk of white dirt and I just... I don't know, I just knew. Like how I just knew the name of my attacks without being told or I knew that this was going to be my home. But as for the crystals and how I found them, Mirrorspace just kept throwing them at me. Were you here when mirrorspace first started acting up before Altea? I can't remember, but we were sucked into a deeper part of it and everything was breaking... but at the end, there was this beautiful green crystal and I knew that it was mine. And then when I was wandering around Mirrrorspace last week sometime it just kind of... spat out a grey one. But they look like cut diamonds with different qualities. So the green one that I had smelled like fresh cut grass -- it was amazing -- and the grey one was heavier than I thought, and dust kept falling off of it. Rocks and grass, I guess. So when I crushed them together... a hill was born..."

When the conversation shifted to planning, Acubens followed it seamlessly. The Common Room was good but it was... cluttered. They would need somewhere open... somewhere... outside but... not... Logos was right, the Realms weren't realistic but something closer might have been.

"What about that space outside of the citadel? It's huge and looks just like what the realms are made out of. There's nothing to suggest that it can't be shaped like the realms. I mean, by whom would be a question but... if we can figure that out..." Acubens realm could wait. If they could shape the spae around the citadel, then a training ground would be her new priority.

"As for classes, Remarque taught me out to box, and I train with him pretty regularly. I'm sure if you asked him he could teach you... or I could no problem. Or we could take a new class together and be co-teachers." Again, excitement rose in Acubens' throat and she was helpless to stop it. "I mean this is as much your idea as mine, in fact more. I'd just be more of the... I don't know, organizer? We couldn't require it, but if we get enough involvement, the majority might just join in because it'd be a good social opportunity." This could work. It could really work...

Logos' excitement was infectious, and Acubens felt herself walking a little faster and gesticulating a little bit wilder. Even her smile seemed impossibly wider, closing her eyes with its force.

"Of course you're not afraid. But the neat thing about mirrorspace is that it resets when you leave. So if you ever get lost, head into a room. They all have mirrors, so you can mirrorwalk out, and then come back. You'll be safe and sound in the common room every time."

That kind of strategy had saved Acubens' butt more times than not. She was nothing if not directionally challenged after all, and throw into the mix the ever-changing nature of mirrorspace... she'd gotten turned six ways around more times than she cared to count. Thank god for the reset button that seemed to be built into the nature of the place.

"I'll need to see if basic senshi can even access the citadel... because if they can then that'd be the best option..." It wouldn't be impossible to do these things as civilians, but not everyone wanted to advertise their civilian identities... "Of course if we had to do it as civilians we could easily make it like an open thing. That'd also keep the civilian identities of some more private senshi a secret..."

Acubens' words halted on her lips as she turned a corner to be faced with a rather nasty looking gash across one of the walls. For just a second, she forze with fear, wondering when Mirrorspace would start crumbling around her. But then the second passed and nothing happened. She glanced back at Logos to make sure she was still alright and then, with cautious movements, she reached into the gash, feeling around gently until her fingers closed around something familiar. Her knitted brows suddenly loosened and her smile returned as she pulled a glittering green crystal from the wound in the wall.

"What do you say we make a trip to the citadel to see if we can't make some adjustments?"

Retracing their steps, both Senshi made it back to the imposing citadel. Acubens craned her neck back to try and see the top, failing to do so as close as they were.

"Moment of truth, Logos," Acubens muttered, crushing the crystal between her fingers. For a moment, nothing happened and Acubens' heart fell. Her plan wasn't going to work and she'd wasted a crystal. But then, slowly, grass and flora began to creep out from the foundation of the stone building. out and out, about three feet on all sides. Acubens' smile nearly split her face in half.

"Logos. We have work to do."