Eyes blurry from tears that tried to clear something that wasn’t physically there. “Jesus Christ….” He coughed once more then spit on the ground before wiping his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “The hell was that?” he looked around noticing they were nowhere near the Obelisk before settling his gaze on the Captain standing not too far away.
---
Stibnite was using the back of her own sleeve to hold against her eyes as she coughed through a closed mouth. She had teleported them back to the gym she and her husband ran. They were outside and to the south of it where no one would bother them but the territory would be safe enough to allow them time to gather their wits.
“That, Dravite, was Senshi Magic.” Shaking her head slowly through the cough, Stibnite gazed up to the sky trying her best not to give in to the fading magic. “It will wear off in a few moments so hold steady through it. Little brat packs more of a punch then you would want to believe.”
---
That kid’s aura was no stronger than his own, in actuality it felt a bit weaker if that was possible, and yet she managed to render the both of them incapacitated. Worse than that he was they were robbed of the energy and starseed of the first senshi who was foolish enough to approach them. “I’m guessing there is no way to tell who has offensive versus defensive magic is there?”
If he had known the residual effect that the young girls magic would have had on them he would have been more preemptive and dealt with her accordingly the moment she showed up. How was he to know that a child would have magic bullets that felt like getting hit with paintballs she was so unassuming and full of herself when she burst through the shrubs. In the end she was no joke.
---
“None.” Stibnite offered as she finally looked over at him, her lungs finally starting to feel the fresh air return. “The aura gives us a decent sense of their power levels but not what their powers are. Though I find the cocky ones normally rely more on their magic than the ones that shy away. That or they have boxing skills…”
“I had forgotten about the chibis. The blasted moon bitches resort to recruiting children as well as adults. You will not find someone under their teenage years with us but I have heard of young children being drawn into the fight through their mangy felines. A shame...and a true testament to their lies of protecting the innocent.”
---
“I feel like there is a story behind that boxing comment.” Dravite raised a brow in her direction hoping she would explain but knew Stibs well enough that she probably wouldn’t. As it stood she was his superior and while powered up he was here to take orders but perhaps if they met up outside of uniform their conversations may be a bit different.
---
“There is a story behind almost every comment.” Stibnite offered with a look that shot in his direction warning about pushing her too hard for information she did not plan on sharing. “I wore a shin bruise for a week because of it so that’s all you need to know.”
With her lips closing, it was clear she would not address much more in the way of details regarding the matter. However, she instead chose to walk over towards him, dropping her hood and grabbed his chin. Turning his face back and forth, she checked to make sure there were not ‘lasting’ damages visible.
“Very few of them seem to have magic we need to truly be concerned about. Their magic appears to have more immediate effects than long term. However, that does not mean we should dismiss them as inadequate. We never know what tomorrow will bring after all. However, for now, if we can pick them off one by one, I believe the damage it will do to them morally will be worth it. When they appear in groups, one of two things will happen.”
Releasing his chin, she stepped back and held up a finger. “They will self-destruct and turn on each other or.” A second finger went up. “They will defect to a leader. That is when they may be dangerous as then they will fight smart and not with emotions. But I don’t need to tell you all this...you know more about how emotions make someone a fool in battle than even I.”
---
In the heat of the moment emotions were a powerful tool to be used against someone. But when it happened to one of your own dangerous things often followed and in some instances that included death especially when reason or rationale were forgotten.
“So what’s the plan for tonight then? They’re probably still at that spire thing if you think we should go back.” From what he had been told senshi weren’t able to teleport like Stibnite could so their means of escape would be rather slow, more so if the older senshi was walking the fine line between consciousness and blacking out when he let her body fall to the ground.
--
Shaking her head, Stibnite glanced back at him. “While the surprise attack back on them would be beneficial and smart thinking, I don’t have the stamina to get us back there and then carry on a fight. Not when teleporting the pair of us.” While she hated admitting the weakness in her having not practiced enough to build up her powers, she also wanted Dravite to realize NOW that their strengths did have limitations. Better to be told by her than to find out when his life might depend on it.
“No, tonight we turn in. You managed to hopefully scare some common sense into that foolish woman and we both found that this spire hides more than just itself. Before you leave though. Resummon your weapon. I would like to see if what I suspect to be true or not.”
---
Dravite did as he was told without question. Where as he had expected the broken weapon appear he found himself mildly surprised when the chain was whole once more. “Well I’ll be damned…”
“You knew it wouldn’t be broken.” It was more of a statement than a question since it sounded more like something she speculated to be true. “Here I thought the chain was kind of weak. Good to know it can be repaired so easily.”
--
“It takes a good deal for something to permintally cost us our weapons.” Stibnite offered, nodding as she eyed the whole chain. “Though they can be taken from us, we normally are able to get them back once the problem is….removed.” She smiled a bit at the last of the words.
“But all in due time.” Stibnite offered again, waving off his comment of the chain being weak. “Your attire is the same way so no need to feel pressured to keep it clean.” A playful smile followed then before she was looking away. “However your physical form will suffer damage and some can be lasting so just because we can get our uniforms back clean and our weapon back in one piece is no excuse to be careless. Understood?”
---
“Understood.” Dravite waited a moment in case there was something more she wished to add.
“I should head home then.” It was getting late and the last thing he wanted to do was worry Vera. Even though his home had a security system Dravite was well aware that there are times when even that isn’t enough. Although they didn’t talk about it he was sure Stibnite was aware of his living situation with how diligent the Negaverse was with keeping tabs on their agents.
---
Without another wood, Stibnite gave him a nod and a hand wave as a dismissal. “Should anything arise, I will reach out. Otherwise, I will see you next week for our normal training.”
If Stibnite new anything about her charge’s living arrangements, she said nothing. It was not her place after all who he shared his home with just as she did not wish for him to be involved in her own life. Should the need change, those gates would be removed. For now, she respected him as a soldier and an agent. He did not need to be coming over for dinner anytime soon.
Another difference between her and her husband after all. “Have a good evening Lt.”
--
“You as well.” Dravite nodded his head farewell and turned to leave to. However, before heading home he still had to retrieve his car.
Shanyume
