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 Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:01 am
Day One
It had taken only a few days to gather what she’d needed for this little jaunt, but it had taken longer than that to work up the guts to go through with her plan. As Chariklo stood in her rented suite, she eyed the small pile of camping gear she’d bought. Off to the side was a hiking backpack full of things she’d need while visiting the star whose name she carried.
Fighting down a whisper of panic and doubt, she paced around her supplies and mentally calculated. She had more than enough food and water for a weeks stay. Sleeping bag, travel pillow, couple of jackets for just in case. Hell, she’d even added her toothbrush to the list. There was nothing to worry about, so why the hell was she waffling so badly? She was finally going to go and visit her homeworld. This was something to be excited about, wasn’t it? Enough. Taking a deep breath, the senshi of seagulls hoisted her gear and got it settled. Then, she reached for her phone and thumbing the little icon that stood for her star, closed her eyes and really concentrated. She felt an odd jerk in her gut for half a second and then nothing. Hadn’t it worked?
Cracking open an eye, Chariklo felt her legs go rubbery. Oh, it had worked all right. She stood surrounded by ruined buildings and wreathed in a thick, silky fog. She could even hear the gentle crashing of ocean waves upon rock. Gear fell from suddenly nerveless fingers as Chariklo had to sit down. Holy ******** s**t, it had worked. She was in space. On her homeworld. Holy s**t. Of course, this place was worse than a ghost town, but it was hers. For a moment, she laughed in teary delight before the stillness of the place sank into her bones. Her world was, well… dead. She wasn’t sure how composed she could remain if she found bodies strewn about. Had she ever heard anybody else talking about finding bodies? She didn’t think so, but her memory wasn’t always the greatest.
“Right,” she murmured, thinking it was high time to do something. “First order of business. See if any of these buildings are gonna be good for more than kindling. And find a place to set up camp.”
Once she had a spot to call home, she could explore the place more fully. Unfortunately, the buildings closest to where she’d landed, for lack of a better word, were all ruined and rotted. Though, as the fog shifted, she caught sight of a building that looked a bit more permanent. It would be a hike, but hey. She had the time. And a feeling deep in her gut told her that that building was important to her somehow.
Hefting her gear once more, Chariklo strode in the direction of the building, keeping its lone tower in sight as the fog shifted and swirled lazily. As she walked, the tall blonde paused here and there to peek at something that had caught her attention: a faded and broken sign here, a bit of fabric that was nothing more than whispers and cobwebs after so much time there. And, at one point, a remarkably well-preserved feather that had floated by on a breeze. Chariklo had seized the feather, tucking it into her hair and looking upon it as a sort of good omen for her visit. Thankfully, there were no bodies, so presumably time had seen to that particular issue. In fact, this was the cleanest dead place she’d ever seen. Not that she’d seen many. Certainly Avalon and Celsus’ wonders hadn’t felt dead. Maybe it was different for planets and stars. How would she even know?
A flash of color and whisper of laughter tore Chariklo from her musings. Jerking her head up and glancing around, she saw, for the briefest of moments, fluttering, brightly colored bits of cloth hanging from the eaves of the buildings as ghostly laughter rang in her ears. Shivering slightly, she made herself move, determined to reach her goal before night fell. At the moment, the fog parted just enough to allow a weak beam of sunlight to illuminate the area. And to allow Chariklo to see that she was on a rather large island. Staring off into the horizon, where she could just see the white, foamy tops of the crashing waves, Chariklo once again saw ghostly forms, this time of ships in the distance, their sails providing welcome bits of color in an otherwise pearly gray world.
Squeezing her eyes shut as the vision provoked a feeling of deep, happiness inside, Chariklo ground her teeth and turned from the sight. She had things to do. Campsites to set up. A world to explore…
In spite of herself, Chariklo glanced back over her shoulder at the now empty sea. Then, with a sigh, she continued her trek to what she was sub-consciously calling a castle.
The remainder of the trek went by without incident as finally, Chariklo stood before the building that had been her goal. Unlike many of the other structures she’d seen, this one was built of seafoam white stone and was clearly a place of importance. Carefully setting down the things she’d brought with her, Chariklo reached out a tentative hand and laid it against the cool, almost soapy feeling stone. Something deep inside felt that this place was… had been home. Leaning forward until her forehead touched the stone, Chariklo rested a moment with her eyes closed. Then, leaving her things where they lay, she moved towards an empty doorway and headed inside. Taking a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the gloom, she was quick to note that there was a hint of luxury here that had been absent in most of the other buildings. Old furniture lay overturned while fabric tapestries on the walls had rotted away. Wrinkling her nose in distaste, Chariklo turned away, thinking that she wanted the flashlight she’d packed before trying to go any further.
A flash of movement snagged her attention and she turned, blinking in surprise as the room was suddenly filled with light and people. Which was startling enough. What made it worse was that whatever she was seeing was a party of the more… adventurous sort. Blushing hotly, Chariklo flinched as a ghostly hand brushed across her shoulders. Then, moments later, she was back in a dark room. Gulping, she hurried back for her gear and hope that she wouldn’t be witness to any more ghostly orgies while she set up her things.
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:02 am
Day Two
Adjusting the strap of the messenger bag she’d brought along for just such an occasion, Chariklo was determined to get outside and exploring as much of the island she was on as possible. After making certain she’d remembered flashlight batteries (just in case), the senshi of seagulls gave a satisfied nod and exited the ‘castle’ where she’d spent the night. Racing through the ruins of the town, she decided that she wanted to get as close to the sea’s edge as she could. She’d seen ships in a vision last night, so did that mean there were other islands? Or even continents? Would there be ruins of those ships that she could explore? The possibilities were endless and exhilarating.
Moving through the fog and feeling almost like a ghost, albeit a pretty solid one, Chariklo paused at a pair of rock and shell pillars at the edge of the town. Reaching out a hand, she ran her fingers against the rough surface and marveled. Though simple, the pillars were beautifully made and practically glowed white in the ever-present fog. And that they’d been meant as markers for where the town’s borders lay was quite clear. What a pity that the people who’d built them were, effectively, extinct.
“I wonder if I could ever bring people up here to live,” she murmured to herself, flashing back to the awful dreams that had helped to give her the courage to purify. “I know that Ida and Babylon had both talked about transferring people off of Earth. I wonder if you’d like that.”
She gave the pillars a final pat, realizing that she was talking to a planet. Shaking her head a little at the whimsy of it, she strode through the pillars and about twenty feet past, found herself near the edge of a cliff with a winding staircase made of stone going down to the beach below. And here, she thought, is why those pillars were built. To keep people from falling off of cliffs. She considered how visible they were, even in a fog and found the idea perfectly sensible. And there were probably multiple sets of pillars all around the town. Pausing for a moment to turn and reconsider the pillars, Chariklo decided she’d spent at least one night outside of the castle (Gull’s Nest, came a faint whisper from deep inside). If the stone seemed to glow in the fog, she was curious to see if it really was luminous. And if so, that might’ve been how ships kept from crashing onto the beach.
Satisfied with her plans for the moment, Chariklo took her time getting down the stone stairs, not wanting to place a foot wrong and end up taking a neck breaking tumble. The soft sound of gulls crying made her blink as she paused and looked up, delighted to see crowds of gulls nesting on either side of the staircase and flying about. Laughing, she began to skip down the rest of the stairs, followed by some of the birds. On the beach below, a small crowd of people gathered, bearing crates of bundles of goods to load onto the waiting ships.
And if some of those bundles involved one or two people in chains, why, who cared? It was all in the name of profit!
Chariklo froze, stomach churning as the thought, as well as the vision, faded back into the mist. That thought had come from her. That had been her watching contentedly as people were shipped off chains. And while the vision had been brief, she was convinced to her bones that she’d just witness slavery in action. And her past self had been completely fine with it…
Knees going weak, Chariklo fell to the sand and scrabbled as her stomach rebelled against the thought. How could a senshi be fine with watching people carted off in chains who hadn’t done anything wrong? Senshi were supposed to fight against such things. Otherwise, what made them any different or any better than the Negaverse? Shivering from reaction, Chariklo crawled a few feet away from where she’d been sick and sat, staring at the waves beating against the shoreline. For someone so fond of her own freedom, the vision was a sobering blow. And if the past Chariklan senshi had been willing to allow the transport of slaves… what else had she been willing to allow? It was an unpleasant thought and one that rankled.
Then, almost as if something had heard the unspoken thoughts and had an “Hold my beer” moment, Chariklo found herself listening to a whispered conversation coming from outjutting of rock at the base of the cliffs. Of course, the idiots talking hadn’t seen her. It was dark and the fog obscured so much. But they really should have remembered how easily sound carried near water. Chariklo smirked and shook her head at some of the whispers.
“Can’t be allowed! Her aunt never would have condoned such a thing!”
“Only because her aunt was too busy ******** everything that moved on two legs, y’idjit. This one ain’t much better. All she cares about is her own damned pleasures. Smaller islands are getting tired of her neglect. Wouldn’t be surprised if they revolt soon.”
Laughing silently, Chariklo rolled quietly to her feet and snuck across the sands. What dull little people!
Jolting from the vision to find that she’d copied her past self and moved down the beach, Chariklo felt tears of shame trickle from her eyes. Apparently, both she and her past self had shared a love of fun, judging by the scornful whisper. But I don’t forget everything when I have my fun, she thought. I don’t tell my responsibilities to ******** themselves.
Do I?
She was pretty certain that she wasn’t that selfish. She hoped she wasn’t at any rate. Certainly, no one she was was trying to stage any kind of intervention for her over her partying. Though… maybe a couple of years ago they might have done. But lately? Other than a few drunken makeouts with random cute strangers, she’d been avoiding alcohol and the party scene. She was happier spending time with the few friends she’d managed to make and hold onto.
“And you, poor, old world,” she murmured, wanting to apologize to the planet for what her past self had done. “It can’t have been much fun for you either. Unless, I’m just translating wrong and she was a decent enough senshi and just a s**t person in private.”
The thought made her go cold for a moment. She really didn’t need or want any more awful revelations today. She’d rather just watch the waves and have time to process what she’d learned so far.
Sighing, Chariklo opened her bag and brought out a bottle of sparkling water and held it against her forehead. It was a hell of a visit so far.
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:03 am
Day Three
The pillars had glowed with a soft, pale light that reflected in the fog. Chariklo hadn’t been able to bear going back to the Gull’s Nest to sleep and had stayed out on the beach all night. She’d woken up covered in sand and shivering, but it had been worth it to sleep and dream with the ocean so near. And it wasn’t like this was the first time she’d ever slept out on a beach.
Stretching languidly, Chariklo reached into her bag for more water and a granola bar. Nibbling at the bar, she thought that she sort of loved this world and it’s peaceful quiet. Other than the visions that provided horrible revelations, this place was a sort of paradise. Or would be if there were any animals or growing plants. Though she knew that at one point, there had been so much life here. And maybe, someday, there would be again. She certainly hoped so and silently resolved to make it so. But in the meantime, the quiet was exactly what she needed in order to get her thoughts sorted. The first of which was how she’d reacted to learning her past self had liked to party. Now granted, Chariklo had done more than enough partying of her own in her life, but the pleasure she got from it had lessened considerably since she’d purified. No, she scolded herself, be honest. Since she’d tried to kill herself and devolved into a drunken mess. Not that it’d stopped her completely, but the earlier thrill had gone. Looking back, she was a little appalled at how shallow she’d been. But now? She still enjoyed going out and doing fun stuff, but the drinking, carousing, party-hard life style just… wasn’t for her. Not now.
Which led Chariklo to how she hadn’t done much more than the occasional make-out since she had started to spend more time with Angus. He’d been completely fine with a more open relationship with her as they’d both been idiotic horndogs in the past. But even that paled compared to being able to just curl up against him and snuggle. Or even just the times she’d been able to lean against Cordy or tease her by calling her “Fun Size”.
She had friends. Real, true and close friends. And with Angus… well. She had the feeling that was something much deeper than she was really ready to admit. Even to herself. But even as she thought about it, she realized how much she missed him. And she’d told him multiple times she loved him. Only now, she suspected that love was really much closer to In Love and Need. And Chariklo wanted to be able to show Angus her world. She wanted to share the silence and just how pretty the place was.
And she truly did want to help her world heal, if it was possible to do so. If past her had been a damned garbage fire of a person, didn’t her world deserve someone that would care and try to make amends? She had a vague idea that Ida might be a good person to talk to about this. After all, Ida had visited her planet multiple times. And she was such a good person. If anyone would know how to start healing a planet, it would be Ida.
“I’ll talk to her when I get back home. I wonder if I could manage to get earth plants to grow here. Or if fish could live in the ocean here. Something to think about. Even if I don’t know a damned thing about actual ecology.”
Feeling a sort of weight lift from her chest with the thought that maybe she could[/d] do something to help, Chariklo finished her breakfast and stood up, brushing the sand away. Time to head back to her basecamp and get a few things to help get herself cleaned up. Then, she could explore a little more.
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Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 11:06 am
Day Four
“You have got to be kidding me,” Chariklo muttered to herself as she rooted through the basement of the Gull’s Nest and found all sorts of interesting things. Most fell to dust in her fingers, but a few things held together, having been made of rock or metal. And in one or two cases, a very hardy, purple tinged wood. But the thing that had caught her attention the most was an old telescope. It looked so much like the sort that everyone in the world ever associated with Ye Olde Days that she couldn’t help but laugh in delight. Assuming she could get it cleaned up and that nothing had been broken inside, she might have a way to seeing the islands that lay beyond this one. And since there weren’t any boats left intact, this would be the next best thing.
Tearing a strip from her trailing ribbons, Chariklo began to gently rub at the metal, trying to clean away some of the ages old grime. As she worked, she began to hum softly, content in her work.
Then, Chariklo blinked and the dark, dusty room was full of light as she sat and admired a shining version of the telescope as it lay in her hands.
“This is a lovely gift, my friend,” she practically purred, turning to smile coyly at a dark, bearded man who stood nearby. “And what might you be looking for in return?”
“I’m sure we could come to some sort of arrangement, my lady,” the bearded man smiled back, a predatory gleam in his eyes. “Perhaps we should discuss this in a more… private location?”
Placing the telescope down, Chariklo found herself answering with an equally predatory expression as she stood and reached out to seize the man’s face and draw him in for the sort of kiss that most porn directors got excited over.
“Lead the way, Ambassador dear.”
Once again, the room was dark and Chariklo stood, staring in bemusement at how she’d once again copied the past her’s actions. At least as far as setting the telescope down. She refused to let herself dwell on the fact that she’d just memory kissed some creeper. Far more important, at least to her, but the memory of deep-seated greed. That telescope had been something past her had wanted very badly. And had been more than willing to do anything that dude had asked of her as a form of payment. Worse, past her clearly enjoyed these sorts of deals.
Past her was a d**k.
Eyeing the telescope warily, Chariklo once again picked it up and went back to cleaning it. Gross as it’s means of acquisition was, it was still a useful tool to her. Though, she rather thought that if it threw anymore visions at her, she might toss it out into the ocean and deal with not being able to see the other islands. At least she was learning something about herself.
Namely that she’d kick the crap out of herself if she ever started acting like the t**t that past her clearly had reveled in.
All of a sudden, Chariklo just felt tired. She wanted to go back to earth and process the things she'd seen and felt so far. And she really wanted a bath to help scrub away the memory of just how awful she'd been in the past.
"I'm going to go home. But I'll be back soon," she whispered to the stone walls around her. "Promise."
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