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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:42 pm
Work had been long and trying. With rehearsals coming up in two weeks the need for costume repairs was in high demand and unfortunately now that finals were over Melody’s intern had decided to find a part-time summer job elsewhere. To be honest she really couldn’t blame him; this was a high demand, and often stressful, job but it wasn’t without its rewards.
Eight days of work where the only break she got was to go home get something to eat and pass out on the couch, because lord knows that she nine times out of ten she wouldfall asleep with her half eaten plate of food on the coffee table, until it was time to rinse and repeat the same thing over.
Today, however, was different. For the first time in four days Melody was able to sneak out of the theater on time. 7:00 PM wasn’t bad, the sun was still out which was a bit of a surprise when she stepped outside and nearly blinded herself when a white car drove in front of her. Clearly the lights in the back studio were in need of replacement if natural light was this dazing. Nonetheless it did mean that home was not the first place Melody intended to go now that she was free.
How long had it been since she last visited her wonder. Three… four weeks…? Flipping open her phone she looked at the date and let out an undignified snort. “Yeah no… try more like two months. Where the hell has time gone?”
Melody turned off the engine and stepped out of her car. Two stalls away stood a sign that read ‘Gilman Interurban Trail’. It use to be a decent place to go on a day hike back when she was in high school by by the time she finished college unsavory people made portions of the trail their meetup place to do their shady businesses or set up tents to sleep in overnight. For a long while Melody avoided this area but since finding out she was a Knight and had magic of some sort this place did not feel as intimidating anymore and as of late served as her safe place to power up and down without much worry.
Only once she was positive that there was nobody nearby to see her change, Melody’s jeans and tank top were replaced with a full length lavender dress. The bag she had clung to with her taser was replaced with the golden tealight lantern and her hair which had been pulled back into a fish-tail braid now hung loosely behind her with a circlet of flowers wreathed around her head.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:51 pm
Ever since bringing the two siblings into the Negaverse, Cavansite had felt…off. It seemed as though everything were in a fog now, and no matter what she did, she couldn’t seem to draw in enough air recently and perpetually felt dizzy. Draining energy did nothing but add to the mountain of guilt that was weighing her down, so she had stopped worrying about any quotas, though she supposed she could go and bully Amesite and take his harvested energy to use as her own if she had to but…
But she just wanted rest.
Of course, when she felt the bright aura from a nearby page, she stiffened, and again was trying to just…tell herself that it wasn’t worth it. That it was none of her business, but…stupidly, she found herself moving towards the aura and when her eyes took in the beautiful blonde woman in the dress, Cavansite could do nothing but stare for a moment.
She was sure it was a cosmos knight. They were always the frilly white sparkling ones…but for a moment, she felt a pain in her chest, a feeling of longing, and the memories of the page she had met and killed flashed through her mind.
Quickly though, the General drew in a breath and summoned her spear, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing her expression into one twisted with contempt.
“Well hello there, Goldilocks. And what are you doing out here…and so…alone?”
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:52 pm
Despite wanting more than anything to run, just pick a direction and run from the overwhelming aura of the approaching general, Einhornhohle was no fool. In this dress she wouldn’t make it far at all. Increased speed be damned, meant nothing if she tripped over the hem of her dress and found herself kissing asphalt again. Though to be fair, the last time wasn’t entirely her fault.
Even so, powering down was quickly ruled out as an option especially knowing there wasn’t any place she could hide and well... with deductive reasoning it wouldn’t be hard to tell who the order signature belonged to with there being nobody else here along the path. Either way she was screwed.
Instead she crossed her arms in front of her chest mimicking the general’s posture and rose her chin up just enough to seem mildly unimpressed. “Can’t exactly afford a proper vacation so I figured I’d take a trip somewhere only I can go. It has been a while since I’ve visited my wonder you see...” Purple eyes watched the General keenly. “What about you Tinkerbell? What brings you out here?”
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:53 pm
A small bit of respect came into Cavansite’s eyes as the page stood her ground and faced her head on. Well good. That was the attitude that a person should have. And at the mention of a trip to the page’s wonder, a small spark of interest showed plainly, though was quickly squashed at the memory of the trip to Tanais. …She didn’t need to put herself through that again. “Tinkerbell, hm? It’s been a while since anyone’s called me that.” Chuckling the General moved closer, circling the page as though she were a mouse caught in a trap, and Cavansite herself was one very hungry cat. Maybe…this girl would make a new pretty trinket…after all, the last Cosmos Page had. “I’m just out here for fun, nothing big, nothing important, but of course, then I met you, and I’m going to bet my left ear that you’re a Cosmos Knight, am I right? And don’t lie to me, I’m pretty sure I understand Cosmos Knights now.” Her voice was a purr, sounding just the right amount of menacing. “But, darling. I don’t know if you’ve noticed…but I enjoy playing with my food, and before I take your starseed, I’m going to give you a nice choice and ask you where you’d like it displayed.” The Cosmos Page let out an undignified snort at the generous offer. She tapped the starseed which was on the bow at her chest. “Not here though. This was the first pretty Cosmos Page that I met…oh she was sweet. And kind, and just wanted us to be friends.” Her finger gently stroked the faded gem at the memory and she sighed softly. “What memories will I have of you, princess? When I’ve taken your soul as my trophy…”
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:54 pm
Einhornhohle eyed the starseed the General so fondly caressed. It had been a while but she remembered a conversation she had with Phact a few days after awakening. It was brief but the message was clear. Don’t let anyone stick their hand in your chest, if they manage to take your starseed you’re as good as dead. Not much more needed to be said beyond that.
Well s**t… Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. A mouse trapped at the end of a long hallway with nowhere to run. I guess it’s a good thing I have two older brothers.
“My guess…” The Page unfolded her arms allowing the one holding her lantern to hang at her side. “Probably what a pain in the a** I was…” She stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Because lord knows I’ll go down swinging. The grip on her lantern tightened until her knuckles practically turned white.
At a distance the General had the upper hand with a spear as her weapon but maybe... just maybe… if Einhornhohle could get close enough then she could take a swing at the womans pretty little face; bonus points of she could take that precious seed of hers in the process. Stories had been told of the miraculous things Cosmos had done when a band of senshi and knights invaded the Negaverse and retrieved a cache of starseeds. Perhaps she could do the same thing since this one belonged to one of her own Knights.
All in all it was wishful thinking because while she was imagining this hopeful scenario; Ein knew there was a slim chance in hell that she'd be making it out of this alive.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:54 pm
They always seemed to forget that she could teleport. Which…honestly was a good thing. Cavansite simply smirked, arms wide, watching the girl come at her with the lantern, and the next moment she was behind the page, locking her arms behind her in a strong, firm grip, and hesitating slightly, burying her face into the wavy blonde hair, allowing herself a moment to enjoy the sweet scent that came from it.
“You know…you are lovely.” Her voice was low, face still buried in the sweet smelling mane. Her free hand snaked around the woman’s shoulders, resting lightly on her chest, right over where her starseed was kept. She knew the place so well now…she didn’t even need to look. “How about I make you a deal then, since you think it’s fun being feisty…”
Finally removing herself from the wavy hair, Cavansite peered around the girl’s shoulder and nuzzled against her cheek, chuckling softly. “The way I see it, is you have three options. One, you be a good girl and let me call my friend Axinite here to bring you to our side and I’ll show you how to have a real good time. Two, you be a naughty girl and refuse me, and I’ll just…keep you with me in other way…you’d look good fastened to a hair bow, I think…” Her hand slid into the page’s chest a few centimeters just to prove her point. She was dangerous, and she liked it that way.
Finally, Cavansite paused, turning her head so her lips grazed the woman’s cheek.
“Or number three, where you escort me up to your special place, and work so very hard to change my mind about everything.” Her eyes glittered, though there seemed to be some hope buried deep within them. “You lie to me, and pretend that we’re friends. Show me how you’d go about saving me…if you could. If you’re convincing enough…maybe I won’t kill you.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:55 pm
“I-” Einhornhohle struggled to draw in a staggered breath. Air felt like fire in her lungs as pain radiated through her body until finally her knees buckled beneath her forcing the other woman to either carry the burden of her weight or drop her unceremoniously in a heap of lavender fabric on the ground at her feet.
Purple eyes glistened as tears clouded her vision of the cloudy sky. Not here, not now. Never would she allow the General to see her cry. “I’ll do it.” The page struggled to form even the simplest of sentences as the shadows of darkness feathered the edge of her senses threatening to take her into its cold embrace completely. “I’ll take you…”
With a pained expression on her lovely face the Page’s eyes closed and before her stood that which wished to escort her into the world of unconscious bliss. A hooded figure with a wide smile reached out towards her with its slender arm and claw tipped hands yet even here, standing on the edge of escape, Einhornhohle could not find the strength to accept its generous offer.
“Please…” She whimpered softly. “I’ll take you…”
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:56 pm
Cavansite purred softly, removing the hand from the woman’s chest and wrapping a steadying arm around her shoulders. “What a smart choice you’ve made…” Her voice was as soft as the lips that once again caressed the pale cheek, and for a moment, she imagined that they were friends. That this was going to be a good visit. That things would be okay. And then her eyes opened once again and she saw the fear on the page’s face. “Don’t forget the rest of my bargain, girl.”
The words came out far sharper than she had intended and Cavansite could have kicked herself. This wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want…to make more enemies. She didn’t want to see such a beautiful girl cry…but…
But she was who she was.
“You have to convince me that you care for me. That you want to save me. Convince me that I’m worth saving, if you want to continue your life on this planet in one piece.” She knew how quickly it could end. A spear through the gut and a quick tug of the starseed and it would be all over.
A too firm grip would end everything for eternity…and then…
And then this knight would be fully erased from memory. And it would all be Cavansite’s doing.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:57 pm
Einhornhohle’s body trembled and for the briefest of moments she felt relieved that the General hadn’t immediately let her go because without the woman's strength holding her upright she would have collapsed on the concrete like a marionette doll who had its strings cut.
Nodding her head she grimaced at the sharp pain in her chest. Thankfully it was slowly ebbing into a dull throb but the discomfort was likely to remain for a while if only because of the anxiety inducing threat she received.
How the hell was am I supposed to convince her that she is worthy of redemption? Definitely a difficult task when not even she believed the woman was worth saving. I’ll have to figure it out somehow… But for now the first request had to be fulfilled, they needed to visit her wonder however to do so she needed her weapon which currently laid on its side next to her foot.
“Just… close your eyes and don’t let go.” The page instructed. Truthfully it probably wouldn’t have made a difference but she had never taxied someone with her before so why not at least sound like she knew what she was doing?
Either way she needed her weapon and so Einhornhohle summoned the lantern back to her hand knowing there was a pretty high chance that the General wouldn’t let her go to pick it up. Probably thinking that she’d make a futile break for it at the first given chance which would be a fair assumption but after that teleport stunt ‘Tink’ just pulled Ein knew there was no real chance for escape in this game of cat and mouse.
“I pledge my life and loyalty to Cosmos and to Einhornhohle. I humbly request your aid, so that in return I may give you mine.” Please don’t abandon me, let us come… In her heart she knew her wonder would not close itself off but there was still doubt that any of this would work when an Agent of Chaos, a General no less, wanted to visit.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 6:59 pm
Don’t let go. Tanais had said that too, and Cavansite’s grip tightened, a sudden rush of fear enveloping her. What if this was a trick. What if this page just dumped her up there…what if she was stuck up there and died? Tanais had threatened that too.
There was that strange phrase, though the name was different…and this page said Cosmos rather than Mars…interesting. Her eyes had squeezed shut and she felt her stomach do that same uncomfortable flip as they moved from Destiny City up to…to who even knew where and when she felt the gentle breeze on her face, Cavansite’s eyes snapped open and she glanced around, eyes widening in surprise.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm
Suddenly the stagnant city air was replaced by a salty sea breeze. The hard concrete path they stood on shifted into that of warm soft sand. When finally she opened her eyes, Einhornhohle stared out at a vast turquoise colored sea that stretched out beyond the horizon.
Directly to their right was was a stone cliff that had been chiseled away by centuries of waves beating against it. “Welcome to Einhornhohle… also known as the Unicorn Cave”. There, towards the base of the cliff was one of the entrances to the place she was meant to protect.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:00 pm
“Oh!” There was obvious delight in her voice, and all of her tough demeanor seemed to melt away as she watched the gentle waves lapping against the sand, hearing the soft rush of the water.
It was beautiful.
“So…Einhornhohle? That’s a mouthful but…Unicorn Cave? What…what an amazing place…” She wanted to take off her boots and feel the sand under her toes…or go and see if the water felt as delightful and inviting as it looked. Cavansite wanted to explore, and she was so thankful that her hand wasn’t being wrenched and she wasn’t made to follow this page to go and find whatever the page wanted to find.
“It’s honestly beautiful…do you ever come here and just…build sandcastles?” The look she gave the page was eager, curious. Nothing like the monster she had been just a few minutes ago. It was as though she was a whole new person.
There was nothing to fear when there was nobody to see you, after all.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:01 pm
“Honestly, I didn’t even know the beach was this close.” Eyeing the General warily, Ein shrugged then held up her lantern. “I’m not really one to go exploring on my own. Especially in a cave where… go figure…Candle not included.”
“I knew the ocean was close though.” The scent of salt water had been overwhelming on one of her last visits. A tell tell sign of a coming storm so she wasn’t particularly keen on sticking around. It sucked because it meant that she had a while before her wonder would allow her to come back again but she didn’t exactly show up equipt to go on an impromptu camping trip either. “And that there was a third entrance somewhere I just hadn’t found it yet. To be truthful I kind of just wondered around wherever I arrived and figured I’d find it eventually.”
Einhornhohle for the distance between them no matter how small that distance was. It at least gave her a few moments to actually breath and get her bearings again. The pain in her chest had lessened, almost as if being here helped ease the comfort in some way; unfortunately it wasn’t gone completely.
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:01 pm
Cavansite glanced around the beach slowly, and finally took a few steps closer to the water, plopping down in the sand and closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the breeze on her face. “Why don’t you bring some flashlights up here with you then? I bet it would be pretty easy to explore…and it stands to reason if you can bring a person up here with you, you should be able to bring some lights so you can see where you’re going and what you’re doing.”
She glanced over at the page, and patted the sand next to her. “Why don’t you join me? You’re safe up here. I need you to get back to the city, so you don’t have to worry about me…you know. Being a…taking your starseed.” The General gave a smile that held no malice, though seemed to realize and adjusted her face into harsher lines. “For now, I mean. When we get back. That offer goes away, of course…if you don’t hold up the entire…bargain…”
Her words had no power. She had no drive at this moment. No inner fire that would allow for her normal threats to have their punch. Cavansite felt relaxed here. Calm. Peaceful.
Quietly, she drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, feeling suddenly drained. “…Sometimes. I think I might be in the wrong.”
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 7:01 pm
“You don’t say…” Einhornhohle offhandedly commented under her breath as she ran her hands down the front of her lavender dress and took a seat a good five feet from the General.Just far enough to be out of arm's reach, not that it mattered knowing that the other woman could just teleport again; that is assuming she could do that here…
“I don’t get you.” The Page watched her as if she were trying to read a book but the lock on the outside refused to budge. “As someone who conscripted me into trying to convince you that you’re worth saving; I will admit you’re making it difficult.” Gloating about the things she’d done or could do as if it was a manner of pride or honor.
“I have no intention on keeping you here as a prisoner, that’s not exactly my cup of tea; but so long as you keep threatening me, I’ll admit I’m less inclined to go back with you either.” And I have work tomorrow so stop making this difficult Einhornhohle mentally yelled.This was supposed to be a relaxing trip of peace and quiet to just wind down from the day and this General did a fantastic job of ruining it.
“I want to believe that you’re the puppet and there is someone pulling your strings, making you do these horrible things. But…” She paused. Lifting up a fistfull of sand she let the warm grains fall through her fingers until none were left save for the small mound in the palm of her hand. “You need to help me to understand what pushed you to go this far, to murder people.” Lavender eyes fell to rest upon the starseed resting just below the woman's collarbone. “Tell me there isn’t a large part of you that wanted to kill me, that was daring me to say no to your offer.”
“You weren’t protecting anyone and I was no threat to you.” Which the General made abundantly clear. “So why? Help me understand so I can figure out how to help you.” There was no anger in her voice, despite feeling it so wholeheartedly her body nearly shook, annoyance yes but at least she was trying to stay calm.
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