Quote:
The Holidays are supposed to be a time for cheer, and yet there's something strangely dismal about tonight. You're out by yourself and you pass by a building completely coated in a strange sheet of ice. When you catch your reflection, you're trapped reliving your loneliest moment. The illusion can last for as long or short a time as you like, but the hollow sensation lingers even after the memory fades. What memory did you find yourself reliving and, now that it's over, what are you going to do to shake this mood?
(( takes place after Lacerta comes back from events in the [Forgotten Things ORP] ))
It was nights such as these that no one should really be out and yet there was a slight, red-headed senshi absently twisting the ring on her finger as she stared down at the ground from the rooftop that she sat on. Heavens forbid she be sitting on the bare ground; no Lacerta had been wise enough to bring along a blanket in which to ward off the chill in the air. Although proving effective on that count the blanket was doing very little to fend off the sense of loneliness and feeling of hopelessness that had been plaguing the teen since she had stepped out of the house tonight. The air washed over any skin that was exposed and Lacerta couldn't help the shiver that wracked her frame. What was going on here? Why couldn't she focus on what she had set out to do which was to patrol? What was this feeling constantly battering at her mind?
Too many questions and so very little answers. The night seemed to reflect her position in the battle that she found herself embroiled in. Oh there were some bright spots that she could pick out but more often than not these days did Lacerta find herself seemingly alone. Heck, she hadn't even laid eyes on Mel since they'd been trapped in that strange place and she didn't even know if the Mauvian was still alive and well. Surely he should have come back looking for her. Eta had been helpful in the one meeting she'd had with the tiny feline but again she'd lost contact with her without even meaning to.
Wrapping the blanket tighter around her frame Lacerta hopped down from the rooftop and powered down. She'd play it safe tonight and just head home through the park.
Well that would have been the ultimate goal if it hadn't been for the oddity that presented itself to the teen before she made it halfway to her destination. Pale violet eyes took in the building and it's shimmering, beautiful surface before the realization of what she was staring at pierced its way into Izobel's brain. She found herself walking across the empty street to obtain a closer look at such a breathtaking sight. Reaching up with her blanket still wrapped around her Izobel let her gloved hand stroke down the side of the building's exterior before she peered intently at her reflection on the ice. It was then that the girl stumbled back as something washed over her...
~*~
Suddenly the ice-coated building vanished and Izobel found herself standing with an uncertain expression on her face. She stood amid the ruins of what had been a lovely circus atmosphere. It'd been warm, jovial and now she had nothing once more. Had she willingly helped destroy such a lovely illusion?
She'd had a wonderful, large family for such a short time. She'd been welcomed and accepted and now it was all for nothing. The peaceful time of belonging to something that was great and wonderful was gone. The circus was gone. She was alone once more. Alone with no one to lean on when times got rough. The illusion of belonging had vanished. She was left to the wayside even as she had fled from being stopped by the arriving joke of the Destiny City Police Force.
~*~
Although belonging with the circus had been an illusion Izobel still yearned for that feeling of being welcomed in with open arms once more. Now she didn't have that and who could she turn too? Who had spoken of a family? Why did it seem imperative that she seek out the one that she thought of as her closest ally and now confidante?
Izobel hadn't remembered dropping the blanket. Nor did she remember even shedding tears as the feeling of complete loneliness had washed over her in waves. All the teen knew was that she needed to get out of range of whatever had sunk its hooks into her. Leaving the blanket behind and wiping at still wet cheeks Izobel moved into the park in which she'd met and chatted with a fellow senshi. Although Acubens had registered on her radar as someone not like herself Izobel knew that she'd made a friend that night. Friends helped friends. Rushing through a copse of bushes Izobel once again drew on her powers to become the senshi of bandages once more.
She needed reassurances that she wasn't completely alone in this war. Her eyes were still red rimmed as she hunted for a specific bush. Would the mirror still be there? Would Acubens come at her summons? Or would she be left standing alone in the park; talking to a mirror and feeling even more alone than before?
(790 words)
