Welcome to Gaia! ::

Cybele had been trying to put a little more effort into the communication with her own allies. Part of this meant getting over her fear of the senshi phone. She'd gotten to her asteroid with the help of a cat, she'd registered a new contact for the first time in a possibly years, and she'd even managed to download a new app.

Connections. It was almost like some type of social media, which seemed fairly interesting. Then, she got a message. His name was Sailor Alya, and she didn't think that she had seen him before, even in passing. She supposed that meant that the app was doing its job. From the two screens worth of profile information, he seemed like a sweet enough person. The profile also said that he was a talker, and in the message he said that he was interested in strategy. Between the two, Cybele hoped that they could figure out something so that when faced with a potential fight she had more options than simply throwing punches at people's faces repeatedly.

So she answered the message, set up a time, and found herself heading to their planned meeting. It was a different park than the ones she usually found herself in, so she gave herself a little time to get lost in, and then, when the park was easy enough to find, she took a short walk around before heading over to the fountain right at their planned meeting time.

Rounding a pile of rubble, Cybele could see that a man matching the profile picture was waiting there. He was prompt. That was always good. She took a moment to admire the detailing on his outfit, then his lovely long hair, and then, with only a smidge of embarrassment, his jawline.

Then, she closed the distance between them, giving a small wave. "Alya?" She smiled. "Hi. I'm Cybele. It's nice to meet you."

She returned the handshake with a practiced motion. A professional motion, even, as if she were in an audition. In a way, she was. If she made a good enough impression, they could be allies, even friends. Cybele felt the pressure of that even as she smoothed her skirts out, at least as much as she could with all of the ruffles, even as she smiled.

"Of course," she replied. "Thanks for reaching out. It's so nice that we have a way to meet each other besides just walking around and hoping that somebody shows up. Also, you're very kind." Her hands moved from her skirt to fluff her ribbons a little. She was not completely above showing off.

"Yours is lovely, too. Luckily, this is the best weather to be out in these outfits in." She would have almost expected a plainer outfit for a sesnhi of apathy, and maybe a plainer person, as well, but things didn't always work out like that. After all, she wasn't exactly a hunter in the traditional sense.

"Apathy seems interesting," she said instead. "I met the senshi of moods once, which would almost be the opposite, but anyway, it seems like magic that can effect emotions is very powerful." It was a bitter memory, but with some effort she kept her voice flat.

She faltered when he showed too much interest in Warhol. This was not what she had been expecting to think about. Still, she took a small breath and licked her lips, and even though her words felt tight, she said, "She's corrupted now, and with her magic, she's dangerous."

Cybele allowed herself one sad shake of the head, and no more. The other things were easier to answer, and she moved on quickly.

"I think it's been about six years now? It seems strange to think about it like that, but it has been a long time." It wasn't like the magical part of her life had been all she lived and breathed for that long, but it was true that she had been through quite a bit at this point. At least Alya seemed to be close enough to her age that she didn't feel old reminiscing a little.

"My awakening was," she trailed off, having to think back, "Pretty quiet, if I'm remembering?" Suddenly, she cracked a bit of a smile. "Oh, I thought the guardian cat was a youma. I think I was actually excited about the magic and the clothes." That had been a brief, sweet window when she had thought this was all games.

"My upgrade was a lot more exciting if you're looking for stories," she said. "I had to jump off of a burning building for that." Although that was a bit of a bitter memory, too, but if she was asked to share her experiences, she would.

Cybele had learned back at Crystal that the way to properly have a conversation involved often turning things back around to the other person, but she couldn't ignore Alya's quick description and polite question towards her.

She had offered stories. If he wanted them, she could tell them, although his small, encouraging smile made her chest feel tight. She had bittersweet things to say, at best. She wished she could have true encouragement instead of a warning, but she still brushed her bangs out of her face and stared at one of the buildings as she tried to decide where to start.

"Let's see. The power went out, that's right. By that point I'd been around long enough that it seemed worth checking to see if the Negaverse was involved, and it was one of those times that as soon as I powered up, there were auras everywhere." She spoke with her hands and gestured around, even though at the moment, the streets seemed quite empty.

"I followed them. I ended up at a warehouse. Something was happening on the roof." She sounded snappy and was grimacing just thinking about it, so she looked back to Alya and said, "I know. A lot of people like those places, but they're just," she suppressed a shudder, "Not safe. Still, that was where the fight was, so I went. The Negaverse had some strange hostage situation set up as a distraction, but we didn't know that at the time, so as you can imagine it was a mess, and then some senshi decided it was a great idea to set everything on fire."

Cybele exhaled through her teeth. She still remembered being cornered, almost getting burned, all because of someone who was supposed to be on her side. It was possible that she was still fairly bitter three years later. "I froze up. Two cats had to talk me into jumping down, and then one of them upgraded me. Then there was another fire." She shook her head, even as she half smiled. It was one of those things that at least made a good story.

Cybele could smile. She could make small talk. She could explain things. She could tell stories. She tried to be good at telling stories, even. The tough questions did not fit any of those categories, and unexpected, they hit her hard and left her biting the inside of her lower lip.

A few seconds of silence passed. "I don't know," she said. "Not. Not healthily."

Leaning back a little, she studied his face. He wasn't some fourteen year old, or someone fresh off the street with a pen. His questions told her that he was dealing with these things too, but there was something the way he was looking at her, like she knew all the answers, that made her want to play along, give some simple advice, and leave.

He deserved more. "I used to fight a lot," she said. "There's more to the upgrade story. The cat died. The next time I went out I killed the first lieutenant I could find." She swallowed. She hadn't talked about it in awhile. "I wouldn't recommend it. I thought it was vengeance. It was just something else to regret. I try to be more thoughtful about things now, but a fight can get your minds off things in a pinch."

She gave a wry smile. It was hard to worry about the future when you were choking on smoke and someone was trying to rip out your soul.

She straightened and tried to think of something lighter to say. "I keep things very separate, too. I don't think anyone even knows my other name. That girl has her own life, her own problems." That girl was real in a way that Cybele wasn't, although she didn't know how to say that without sounding crazy. It didn't even really help with the terrible things, but at least it was easier to put on a smile afterwards if that was what Alya wanted.

Nobody had ever just listened to her before when she spilled the darkest of her stories. She'd only been called a monster once, somehow, but people were always so quick to pile on the justifications and the encouragements and their opinions about what she should do in the future.

It was nice, if a little strange, not having that kind of pressure for once.

"I don't even know what I'd tell a therapist," she said. "Oh yes, I was chased by monsters." Her voice rose a pitch, half mocking. "That or another round of lies." They only had each other, really. With that thought, she took another look at Alya's face. He was hard to read, still, but then, could anyone who had been a senshi for more than a few months really be okay? "How are you holding up?" she asked, a hint of softness slipping past her formality for just a moment.

Magic was easier. Magic was something that she still liked talking about. "Right." She ran a hand through her bangs to try to reset and nodded. "Like I said, it boosts focus and speed. At least, that's the best I know how to describe it. In battle, it makes me feel like a hunter, but I was also able to help someone focus enough to get to space, once. As far as strategy, I've been trying to bring back a technique of everyone with this type of magic using it one the strongest person around, but that really depends on who shows up to a battle."

She didn't have to be asked twice to show her magic. It was with a smile that she said, "I can show you.Hunter's Deadly Grace!" She displayed the bow as it formed in her hands. "One on one, I just punch and use my magic in a pinch. I haven't had much formal training or even practice at all, so I want to see if there's anything else I can try."

She cocked an eyebrow as a brief are you ready, but released the bow before he would have too much time to psych himself out.

Cybele knew her own magic. It didn't surprise her when the arrow hit and everything went crisp and crystal clear around her. It certainly didn't distract her from the fact that he was likely sitting on issues of his own. If anything, it focused her attention on it, and in that first moment of sharpness, she thought that she saw a hint of tension in his expression before his face smoothed.

Still, the questions could wait thirty seconds. Alya looked like he could use every taste of living in the moment that she could give him.

"Run with me," she said. Her gaze flicked around the partially build courtyard, and then she grinned in a way that was more honest than normal, and even edged slightly towards impish. "I'll race you to the white door."

The door in question was near the edge of the courtyard, on a storage shed that looked like it had seen better days. The paint was peeling. They hadn't gotten to that, it seemed, but the door was new and very bright white.

Whether he followed or not, she ran. There was something about running under her magic that could always clear her head. It was the feeling her breath warm in her chest, and the wind brushing cool against her cheeks and through her hair, and the solid ground under her feet and the smell of the night air around her, always a little different.

For a moment, the world always managed to feel beautiful.