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 Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2020 10:18 am
If there was one thing Athalia didn't tend to mind in life, it was a curve ball now and then. However, when it came to those he tended to prefer that he didn't have a few other roadblocks in the way to cause additional challenges or headaches. It was safe to say that this evening he had one of those and as such, he would need to be somewhat mindful of what he did today as opposed to only being concerned with the other individual.
He showed up of course, on time as always.
He wandered idly on to the tennis courts, newly surfaced and otherwise bouncy underfoot. They'd been designed to have a little more give, softer on feet that needed to slam down at a sprint. Therefore the courts would serve him well today, protecting both him and his guest as they both came to terms with what each of them might be capable of. Sure, she might have asked him to train her, but given the disparity in rank it was a given that there might be some unintentional injuries.
Perhaps it would be smart to take things slowly in that respect, learn what she could do first and feel what she perceived to be a more controlled assault, and then provide her with guidance?
He wasn't entirely sure at this stage, but having powered up just before he'd rounded the corner, the senshi had seen fit to take a seat on one of the benches. Releasing a small sigh, he settled himself for the time being and nursed his otherwise wounded hand with the other. He wouldn't be using this one this evening, that was for sure, but he would have to remind himself not to fall on that side either.
...Next time, it was probably in his best interests not to block a knife with his bear hand again. Eh, whether he remembered that in the moment though would be a different matter entirely.
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:50 pm
Her skin prickled and the hair at the back of her neck stood on end. Gloved hands rubbed at her upper arms where lace meshed in with the fabric of the long gloves. It was paranoia, she knew it, and in this moment, very likely unfounded. But since the absolute fiasco that was the training event... and the subsequent Negaverse attack and capture of Cybele...
Metis couldn't help but feel more on edge each time she powered up. Even as a civilian, her nerves were frayed if she even for a second began to question who else could be lingering around the area.
The guardians' energy dampening had never failed. The attack had come from people outside the range, watching them. Probably hanging around as civilians to remain undetected--it's what she would have done, and made the most sense for their sudden appearance in such numbers.
Fury and anxiety mixed in a noxious brew that hissed through her veins and bubbled uneasily in her gut. Quick steps brought her along the fastest route to the appointed meeting area--every now and then, Metis would pause to re-listen to the digital voice reading out the text she'd gotten from Athalia to confirm where they were going to have their first real training session. More training. She'd been excited about this, and sure, still was, but...
The notion was tainted by the knowledge of what had transpired not long ago. Order had gathered in a small group to practice, to socialize, to train... and they'd been attacked, lost to Negaverse agents...
Only increased the necessity to be well-trained in combat, didn't it? Made it all the more important for her to learn from someone else who had more knowledge on how to fight, because maybe next time she could actually do something to stop Order from losing more people--
Her lip trembled, and behind the blindfold, Metis closed her burning eyes tight against the rise of memories of Vic. She wanted to prevent others from falling to Chaos... but she'd been useless in preventing this. Again.
Ahead, she could sense a senshi--Order--energy signature, and she dipped in past the chain link fence surrounding part of the tennis courts that were, in part, to prevent balls from going too far out of bounds. Along with preventing trespassers. Alas.
"Athalia?" Her voice ventured carefully, a stiffness lingering in her form and tension in her tone despite her attempts to take breaths to shove aside her.... fears. Concerns. Paranoia.
She could see a figure seated on one of the benches, could see the copper and silver energy radiating from the person as it highlighted the world around them. But no energy signature, in her vision anyway, was specific to any one person. While unlikely, it could have been anyone else there.
Metis turned her head this way and that slowly, searching the extent of her vision for signs of other energy sources. Any copper waves bouncing around that didn't seem to come from the two figures she could account for--herself, and who was likely the man she was there to learn more on hand-to-hand from. It was stupid. It was paranoid.
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:56 pm
Uncertainty was not a trait he would necessarily have given to Metis. In previous meetings she'd been someone who was relatively sure of herself, he'd even go so far as to say she was confident in who and what she was. For that reason alone the manner in which she approached this evening caused him to narrow his eyes suspiciously, and then finally raise a brow.
"Were you expecting someone else?" he asked in reply.
He didn't move from where he was, given the peculiar manner in which she was approaching it was clear she wasn't necessarily comfortable with her surroundings. At the very least he would need to get to the bottom of that fairly quickly this evening, but for now he could give her the opportunity to take control and move at her own pace. Nevertheless, he might have chosen to stay put but this didn't mean he couldn't pursue any lines of enquiry in the mean time.
"What's wrong, Metis?" he had always been direct, lacking in subtlety in almost every circumstance and this evening was to be of no exception. "You're not yourself," he added and glanced briefly over his shoulder. He'd been mindful when he'd approached the courts, always keen to keep an eye out for any sign of life (powered or otherwise) and he had been on his own at that time but if she was acting oddly then he did have to wonder.
"At all," he finished and finally turned his gaze back towards her.
He'd tended to find little value in teaching anyone exhibiting this amount of caution, and until he was able to pull her back out of her shell, it was safe to say she probably wouldn't find the lessons particularly fulfilling either...
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Posted: Sat Sep 19, 2020 9:12 pm
Metis knew, logically, that she was being ridiculous. She was scanning the waves that bounced around her vision more keenly those days, making sure she was all the more aware of her surroundings--as if she wasn't already. Even with her magical vision, she still clicked her tongue often in different ways, click the heel of her boots, snapped her fingers, all to make particular sounds for her to listen to the feedback, further highlight her world to her as she did as a civilian. Realta had once asked her about it, thinking they were nervous ticks. If anything, they helped alleviate her nerves, showed her the world around her that she couldn't see without needing to feel around, grope around... ha, blindly.
They were tricks and tactics, part of many, that helped her feel confident in her own skin.
Confidence that was currently out the window. Less about herself, though, more dealing with her surroundings. Which. She winced a little as Athalia pointed out the issue right off the bat. Blunt, direct. Were she in a lighter mood, she'd have laughed about his lack of tact. Instead, she sighed, lifting a hand to rub at her eyes beneath her blindfold, causing the olivine coins hanging from it to jingle and clink. "The training and socializing event that Cybele was hosting--I'd mentioned I was going, right?" The click of her heels sounded dull to her ears as she began to approach him, shoulders slumping as she neared the bench he occupied. There was plenty of space, so she didn't hesitate to settle into a small portion. She tried to recall--she was pretty sure she'd sent him a text after she'd gotten the notifications from Cybele's summons she'd sent out to everyone. "Things started out fine, met up with a friend, was able to meet some other people... it felt good to be actually out among other senshi and knights."
The corners of her lips tipped downward. Metis tried to keep her smile a constant feature as much as she could. Being pessimistic did nothing in any situation so far as she was concerned. But there wasn't a silver lining here. "The guardians' had been blocking our energy signatures. You couldn't even feel who was what standing in front of you, Realta had to keep dropping hints in conversations for me just so I'd know who was a knight or senshi, even rank sometimes. But then there was someone calling outside the protective zone, and I could see energy signatures across the damn street..."
Metis' hands twisted amongst the layers of her skirts, the teal ribbons, and golden coins. They fidgeted and wrestled as she spoke, real anxious habits till her voice tightened in growing fury just as her fingers tangled among the gold chain till the coins dug into her palms and digits. "I couldn't see them before, or I just... I just wasn't paying attention... but then there were signatures up on a rooftop, and there were a large bunch of Negaverse agents, corrupt senshi, even a corrupt guardian... they hadn't been powered up prior, we would have sensed them outside the protective zone. They must have been hiding as civilians till they were ready to attack and... they did," she finished lamely, a humorless laugh.
Again she fell silent, the anger still brewing beneath the surface. "...some got taken. I'm still unsure how many. But... Cybele was one of them. Others were hurt, I know one Squire got sliced pretty badly by a General... we were there to train and try to actually organize ourselves somewhat, and this is the result--more losses and injuries. It's the same thing every. Damn. Time."
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Posted: Sat Sep 26, 2020 6:25 pm
There were times in everyone's life when gloating about foresight was tempting and for Athalia this was certainly one of those. However instead of lowering himself to that level he remained silent, pursing his lips as Metis's story unfolded and resulted in the obvious conclusion. Gloating and chastising would serve no purpose here, the tone of her voice was more than enough to assure him that she was angry enough with herself.
"I see," His reply came after a moment of thought, short and concise for the time being as he processed the entirety of it. He recalled the message, brief and to the point, she had gone off to attend something. It hadn't been his scene and he certainly hadn't deemed it necessary to receive combat training on a personal level, but he had at least been aware of it to some degree.
"Hindsight is always perfect in these instances," he said finally. The measured tone remained, and he regarded the anxious senshi for a moment or two longer. He lifted a hand away from the back of the bench and nudged her shoulder lightly, a small sigh escaping from his lips.
"To have the level of foresight needed to predict that outcome..." He shook his head. Was it really right to lie to save someone's feelings, or would it do nothing more than insult her further?
"Honestly it doesn't require that much," he said finally. "But it also wasn't your burden to bear," he added. Any leader worth their salt, anyone who had been in the field for long enough would know that the worst possible thing you could do would be to gather a large number of vulnerable people in an indefensible area. In many respects the error might have been unforgiveable if the casualties had been higher, for now, it seemed limited at least.
"You didn't organise it," he pointed out. "You saw an opportunity like anyone else would, you sought a chance to make friends and allies," he cleared his throat.
"Cynicism is one thing you don't seem to possess much of and the only ones who might have called out the location would have been those who had it in spades."
Like him.
"Regardless, what's done is done and the only thing you can do now is to prepare for the worst," He continued and pulled his hand back again, resting his wrist against the back of the bench once more as he peered skyward. "That could mean battling against those you once considered friends," he added softly.
"You have the opportunity to set this right, if you are willing."
He paused to let this settle and squinted his eyes towards the moon, once a dominant and central power in the universe, and yet it had fallen as well. He'd heard rumours that they could still reach it but until this point he had never given much thought towards making an attempt.
"You also have the opportunity to make sure that you break the cycle," he spoke again at last and lowered his gaze back towards Metis. "It does not have to be every time," he pointed out. "It has just been that way because no one has chosen to break that cycle, that doesn't mean you can't be the one to do it."
"However you can't do that while you are tearing your own skirt apart and blaming yourself for failing to save everyone - you need to learn from it, but you can't let it fester."
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