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 Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 3:32 pm
It was still stupidly cold outside. Gelria was thankful that he had pants now…but he wished that his new uniform had come with a scarf or a heavy down jacket too…that would have been far more sensible.
Or gloves. Gloves alone would have made a world of difference. Big…thick gloves to keep his poor frozen fingers warm.
Perhaps…he should just call it quits for tonight. It was too numbingly cold to get anything done…so maybe he should just go…
His mind drifted for a minute and his expression hardened. Well. Not…not home…but maybe to the lab? He could get things done in the lab.
He needed to get things done in the lab.
So, drawing in a breath, the senshi took a few steps towards his school, though paused when he felt the soft tickle of an aura, and glancing down a smaller street, saw a small black blob with some bright flowers.
“…Ember?” Gelria took a few steps closer, a smile growing on his face as he neared, hoping that it was indeed the cat who had awakened him. He had so much to tell her if it was. “…Is that you?”
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Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 6:40 pm
Ember was bored. Bad things tended to happen when she was bored, in the form of furry mayhem. She was wondering what kind of a ruckus it would throw up if she ran into the shop in front of her and snatched the beautiful cuts of turkey someone had left on the counter, just waiting to be eaten. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she did want to be able to do something exciting and that would certainly do it. She crouched down, swishing her tail as she prepared to run in, already hearing the cries of the people inside.
Luckily, she heard a familiar voice calling her and turned around, a soft murr in her throat of question. One of her front paws remained up as she turned around, looking at the approaching figure. She knew the signature and the face and hers lit up in response. She scampered toward him, bouncing around at his feet.
"Red!"
She hadn't seen him since he awakened, what felt like ages ago. It was good to see him and, by the feel of it, thriving. Not all were so lucky and perhaps if she'd been better, she would have checked on him before now. A little pang of regret hit her, but the past was the past and she didn't need to go sulking about it.
"How have you been? You look different than the last time I saw you."
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Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 7:04 pm
Gelria looked utterly happy and reached down, scooping the cat up into his arms, heedless if that was what she wanted or not. It was just…so…so good to see a familiar face.
“I’ve been great, honestly. Mostly. I mean. You know how life can get but…but I think I’m doing pretty good with the whole…senshi thing. I was good enough to catch the attention of another cat who helped me get to this…I got pants, Ember…which is pretty good for this time of year, I have to admit.”
He raised the cat up to his face and pressed his forehead against hers, grinning happily.
“I…didn’t realize how much I wanted to talk to you until just now. I missed you. Have you been doing okay? Staying warm?”
There was more expression to him now. More warmth. Heck, he had more of a personality now than he did back then…and he was happier. Mostly. At least he was happier as a senshi, he knew his purpose and he enjoyed it…that was what mattered. He had people to protect. An entire city to protect.
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:53 pm
Ember gave out a yelp as she was picked up, though she didn't protest when she started getting petted. If she wasn't being petted, she head butted him to get him to take the hint. She returned his grin as best she could, overjoyed to be so wanted. She did consider Gelria to be hers since she was the one that awakened him.
"Yes, pants are good."
She assumed, anyway. She didn't have that problem. Her body was always covered in fur and pretty much regulated itself with the seasons, but with the chill in the air pants seemed to make sense. Not that senshi got to choose their uniforms or how they evolved.
She shook her head as he pressed his skin to her fur and murred softly. She licked his cheek before he could pull his face away, purring loudly. He seemed so genuinely happy to see her. She cuddled against him and continued to purr, happy to be wanted. That wasn't always the case, she'd heard. Not everyone was happy to be put on this path so it was nice that he seemed to be doing so well with it.
"You've changed," she observed. "You look happier, better. I'm proud of you. I've been alright. Free to come and go, that suits me well."
She nodded down the street to somewhere that wasn't as public. She really didn't want to be the talking cat in public.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 7:44 am
Ember seemed almost as needy as he felt, and Gelria couldn’t help but laugh a little, enjoying the feel of her warm fur against him.
He took the hint and slowly made his way somewhere more quiet, finally just ending up sitting in the corner of some lonely rooftop, continuing to cuddle and pet the soft creature. “You think I’ve changed? I mean, I’ve gotten stronger…but if you mean some other change…yeah I guess I am happier. I feel like I have some sort of…some sort of purpose now, thanks to you. You’ve…” He drew quiet, his fingers working to scratch a spot at the back of Ember’s neck.
“You opened my eyes to everything. All of the secrets about the city…and as I was going around…I realized that…chaos is a horrible taint that has to be destroyed. And I want to destroy all of it.”
His voice got a slight edge to it, and there was something bitter about his tone. “They’re assholes who need to just stop existing. That would be better for everyone. But…we’ll crush them one day, Ember. We’ll get them, I’m sure.”
After a moment, the senshi grew quiet. He glanced down at the cat and seemed to be thinking over something. “You know…if you ever want a place to crash? Or somewhere warm to sleep, you could always come over to my place, Em. I’d love to spend more time with you.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 7:24 pm
Ember snuggled into his arms and was content to be carried around by him for as long as they were talking. She let out a little mew as he scratched the back of her neck, wriggling against him happily. He seemed to enjoy who he was now, which was great. She liked this new spurt of confidence. When he was awakened he was very quiet, a little withdrawn. Sweet, but quiet.
Now he was quite passionate. When he spoke about the war he sounded like he really believed in every word he said. It was good, but also a little definite.
"Remember, some people can't help that they were corrupted. Chaos is the enemy, not the people tainted by it. Unless they've gone too far."
After a certain point, some of them weren't able to be saved she thought. But early on they might be reasoned with, talked to, swayed over to the right side. That was part of their mission, aside from just eliminating the taint of darkness from the world. It was her job to be cautious and counsel them in their journey. One of these days the war would be over, but she was afraid it would be quite a long time until then.
"I have no where to sleep tonight..." She admitted quietly. Not that that was always a terrible thing. She had her places but it was chilly. "If you're offering."
She looked up at him and wasn't sure if that was just a token offer or a genuine one. It had been a while since she'd stayed at Themisto's, too. She had just sort of been on her own, spending time in the wild and trees.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 8:46 pm
“Mmm…” Gelria shrugged, getting up again and stretching a bit. “Then, I’m pretty sure that the one’s I’ve met are way too far gone to be saved. There’s not any…any sort of hope for them that I could find.” He utterly adored this cat. And it was so much easier to love her now that he really knew what he was doing…and she was just so soft and wonderful and cute..
“Of course I’m offering. You can come and live with me if it suits your fancy…I mean, you might have to lay a little low, it’s me and my boyfriend, but…he’s not home all the time…besides…he…”
The senshi broke off, shrugging. “It doesn’t really matter, but it’s my apartment, and if I want to invite a beautiful lady to live with me, than that’s what I’ll do. It doesn’t matter what he wants. But…I’d love to offer you a place that you can be warm and safe and taken care of.”
He smiled at her again and gave a long stroke of her fur, going from the top of her head to her tail. “You’d be free to come and go, of course…but you could have a home.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2018 9:59 pm
"I..."
Ember hadn't really had a home before, somewhere she was wanted and could call her own. She liked the idea of it, almost as much as she was worried about being caught in the expectation that she needed to be somewhere. She frowned, thinking about it as she listened to him explained. It sounded nice, a warm bed to sleep in.
"You're living with a boyfriend?"
The idea of being a secret to someone sounded less appealing. She wasn't sure if the boyfriend was powered, but she liked to talk and dance and do things most normal cats did not. Besides, she looked very little like a normal cat with her sash and charms that tinkled pleasantly when she walked.
"I don't blend in as a house pet." Perhaps why she spent so much time alone. "Your boyfriend might begin to wonder."
She certainly didn't want to cause problems for him just by being around.
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Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:15 am
Gelria paused, quiet for a moment and finally began to almost tremble, and after another moment of quiet, the reason became clear as he burst into laughter, needing to sit back down after a moment to catch his breath. “Oh lord, Ember. No. He wouldn’t even realize that I had you there. He…”
Wiping at his eyes, the senshi shook his head. “He…doesn’t notice much. I bet you could live with us a month or two before he realized we even had a cat. Once, I came home after this huge battle…”
Slowly he pushed up the sleeve on his right arm and exposed the large round scar that still adorned it. “I got bitten by this giant bone…snake youma, it was my first big thing…my first big fight and. Well, when I got home, I had to clean up all the blood. Must have taken me an hour or so in the bathroom. Being loud. Wrapping my wounds up.”
The mirth in his voice was quickly sliding to annoyance and he sighed. “And he never bothered to come check on me. When I got into bed he never noticed the bandages, and to this day…he’s never even asked about the scar. He doesn’t notice anything, Em. So really, a cat in the house isn’t going to be an issue. I want you there. It’ll be nice to have someone to talk to that listens to me.”
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Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2018 9:50 am
Ember's expression went from confused to concerned as he spoke. It seemed strange that he would be with someone that didn't actually seem to care, by lack of attention. She blinked slowly, shaking her head as she turned over and butted him. How did something like this happen? She should have been there to prevent it, or something. She was beginning to realize she'd done something wrong by awakening him and then not being there when he needed her.
"That's no good."
Not the attack from the youma, not the boyfriend.
"You deserve better," she murmured.
She nuzzled him to reassure that he was not alone, and did not have to be lonely. She suspected that's what it was, the subtext beneath what he was saying. Maybe they could be good for each other, a learning experience.
"Well, Red, let's go home."
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Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 9:07 am
Gelria gave a soft chuckle and leaned down, kissing the top of the cat’s head softly. “Yeah, Em. Let’s go home. We’ll deal with the other drama later, but for now I want to make sure you’re warm, and fed and comfortable. Nobody should be living on the streets in the winter.”
He began the walk home, his excitement building with every step he took…he had always wanted a cat, and now he had one who could actually talk to him.
“We’ll have a good time, I just know it.”
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