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 Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 3:54 pm
It wasn't very often that Ogygia powered up to wander through the darkened streets of Destiny City. As a rule, she preferred to leave this war to other people who were better suited for fighting the things that went bump in the night. But then guilt took over and reminded her that people had risked themselves to help save her from the Negaverse.
Not that she really remembered anything about that. But she did remember the shining figure of Cosmos burning the darkness away from her. She was absolutely certain about that part of her life. Everything else was just... conjecture and little bits gleaned from talking to her cousin.
The squire's thoughts were interrupted by the sense of a dark aura slithering across her skin. Shivering, she summoned her weapon instinctively, feeling herself get a couple of inches taller as crystalline heels sprouted from her boots. She wasn't sure she would need them, but better to be safe.
Always better to be safe.
"I know you're there," she called softly. "We don't have to fight. We can talk instead."
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:46 pm
Rutile felt sick as he powered up for the first time in over two years. His stomach was completely in knots and he was already cold sweating. The summer heat that still lingered in the air honestly didn't help him out. Somehow he found himself in his old hang outs, behind the bars, where he used to creep on the drugged or drunk. He would take their energy, leave them in the alley openings to be found sleeping off a hang over or their high. An energy distinctly order aligned caused him to visibly flinch. The words spoken nearly made him flee. He didn't want trouble. He wanted as little trouble as possible, so his superiors didn't know he was actually active. For years Azurite had covered his a** and gotten energy for him. Guilt ate him to try to get it for himself, but... "Talk?" He didn't want to sound hopeful. The tall, lanky man came from his hiding spot in the shadows, thankful his coat hid just how thin he was. "It's rare for your side to talk..."
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 4:58 pm
Taking a step into the dim light, Ogygia felt decidedly out of place in the alley, but maybe places like this were where she needed to be. She had a dim idea that sometimes the peple who might need help the most were found where the helpers didn't always want to go.
"Just talking," she reassured softly. "And for your claim, I suppose that all depends on who finds you and what they find you doing. And well, there are folks on both sides who're just a bit trigger-happy, I guess. I think I might have been one of them, once."
As she squinted into the poor light to see exactly who she was talking to, the squire's first impression was that the officer was about to be violently ill. Her second impressions was, Wow. That is a lot of piercings and tattoos.
Doing her best to smile and put the poor guy as ease, Ogygia willed her crystal heels to vanish. She didn't think that they were needed right now.
"Unless you do something that might hurt me, I have no reason to do anything to you. I'm not here to hurt you."
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 5:12 pm
Not a senshi. A knight? There were too many kinds of knights to keep up with, and frankly, Rutile didn't care to. His weapon stayed at his side, the comically large sewing needle with a sharp edge and point. His head was shaved down, the natural red colors of his tight curls showing through, same with the goatee on his chin. When a sparkle of magic and her ... shoes? went away, he relaxed a bit more and stepped forward again, extending a large hand toward her. At least he felt it was large, given his gangly six-foot-two frame. "I'm Captain Rutile," he whispered, looking around. God forbid anyone saw this. "I don't want to fight."
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 5:25 pm
Taking the offered hand in her own, Ogygia gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled up into the Captain's face.
"Then we won't fight," she said. It's a pleasure to meet you Rutile. I'm Ogygia and I am a Squire of Cosmos. I used to be Captain Kadyrelite."
Catching his furtive glance and managing to put two and two together when combined with his whispering, the knight gave the large hand another squeeze.
"No one else is around," she murmured. "We would both feel if they were. And I hope you appreciate the trust I'm showing in giving you my old name. It's about all I can remember with any certainty."
It had been an impulsive move on her part and a desire to show him that she could be trusted. Niamh would be horrified. But since her darling cousin wasn't here right now to help, Ogygia was left with nothing more than instinct to drive her.
"Who has you so spooked, Captain?" she asked, deciding that it was best to get right to the point. Maybe she could help him since she had some definite concern given how twitchy he seemed to be. "Forgive me for being forward, but you're giving off a definite impression of someone whose about to either cry or throw up from nerves."
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 5:06 pm
He shook her hand, his tension still there, but way less guarded now. If it was a smart move was debatable, but Rutile couldn't muster up the energy to actually fight back should it go that way. Cosmos. He hadn't seen a Cosmos knight before. He took in the colors she wore, trying to put it to memory to guess if he ran into anymore. Kadyrelite. He hadn't actually heard that name before, but it piqued his interest to hear that she, herself, was a Captain and was no longer. God above, he longed for the release from the Negaverse sometimes. Years ago he longed for the corruption. How the times had changed. "Everyone. I haven't... powered up in years," he admitted quietly, looking down as he ringed his hands together in a nervous habit. He didn't have his engagement ring anymore, but his fingers moved as though it was still there. "...If you were a captain, you know what they do to people who run and don't pull their weight... So I thought... But I can't." He dropped his hands and sighed hard, his shoulders hunching. "I can't bring myself to do it anymore."
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:33 pm
Poor, poor thing, Ogygia thought, reacting to Rutile's clear pain. Acting impulsively, she released his hand and opened her arms, silently offering comfort. She desperately wanted to give him that, but she wouldn't force it upon him.
"I was a Captain," she confirmed. "But in the interest of honesty, I truly don't remember much. The memories I have are... scattered. But my cousin told me a little of what she witnessed of my time there. I was perilously close to becoming a literal monster. And I know that this," she held turned one arm just enough to reflect of the white shine of a long, thin and ragged scar, "was inflicted upon me when I was an officer. I think it was a punishment."
Sometimes, she wished she had more than wispy recollection. But then she thought about how white and drawn Niamh's face had been when she'd described how Ogygia had come to be purified. Perhaps the memory loss was a blessing all things considered.
"If you can't bring yourself to cause harm any longer, then don't," she replied coaxingly. "I do know this, when I purified, it felt like something that had been broken for a long time was fixed. I don't see why you couldn't purify too. But it has to be your choice and yours alone."
Sure, it was easy to say, hey you should do this thing, friend. But words were easy. Showing someone a better path in a way that they could trust was hard. And she didn't know Rutile, all she had were guesses and suppositions. But he seemed to be hurting so much inside. Well, at least she could listen and give him what little guidance and wisdom she could.
"You don't have to hurt anyone or be a figurative monster," she whispered. "You can be whoever you want and just... be. It sounds hard, but sometimes it's the easiest and best choice someone can make."
Ogygia sounded much surer of herself with that last. In that one little instance, she knew and she was more than happy to share that surety.
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Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 9:37 am
A hug? Here she was, the 'enemy' offering him more sympathy than most had in his own faction. It nearly brought a fresh round of tears to the lanky man's eyes. Instead he took a breath and went to her arms, wrapping his own around her for a long moment. God, how long had it been since Rutile had been hugged? When she started talking again, the captain pulled back and used his sleeve of his coat to dab at his eyes. Rutile suppressed giving her a it's not that easy look at her words of 'then don't'. She had experience. She was trying to help. It's not her fault he was in this mess to begin with, it was his own. "Can you really switch sides when you begged to join yours?" He had literally begged, it felt like, to be corrupted. To turn into a Negaverse agent. Buddingtonite... Well. Still had a special place in his heart. "If I switch sides, I'd still have to fight..."
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Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2020 11:34 am
Grateful that he had accepted what comfort he could give, Ogygia held him tightly until he made the first move to pull away. Tiliting her head, she listened as he spoke and thought hard before speaking. He was right. Something like this wasn't as easy as snapping your fingers. He deserved the best answer she could give. After all, she didn't know if she had asked to be corrupted originally or not. But she did know that she had begged to be purified. Whomever she'd been before hadn't been the same person that had clung to Cosmos' feet and cried out her anguish.
"I think it's possible," she began slowly. "The man who begged to be taken in, do you think that exact person is the one standing in front of me right now? Would he be radiating pain like you are? Did he enjoy causing the harm that you're so desperately wanting to avoid?"
She took a deep breath, nose scrunched up as she thought hard and fast.
"I believe people can change, if they really and truly want to. I don't think salvation is a fairy tale. And who," she continued somewhat indignantly, "said you'd have to keep fighting? Every knight's path is different. And certainly, no one has ever ordered me to go out and knock skulls together. And if they did, I'd tell them to get bent. I'll defend myself, but I refuse to go out actively looking for people to hurt. I did enough of that bullshit in the Negaverse."
She paused again, her face blank as if she'd surprised herself with her own words. But they'd felt right. Then, she gaze sharpened and she looked up into the Captain's face, her own expression open and welcoming.
"Every knight's path is different, Rutile. I suppose the real question is whether or not you're willing to take the chance and step off of the path you're currently walking and find a better one. I can offer help, but I can't make the choice for you."
Feeling daring, she reached out to gently wipe her fingers across his cheek.
"Who do you want to be?" she asked in a soft, gentle voice.
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 5:49 am
He was thin, even in her arms. More thin than would be healthy, but he could say he wasn't as thin as he had been before. He knew he was putting on a bit of weight, and he had to struggle to not work out or stop eating because of it. A daily struggle. "....I didn't want to hurt anyone to start with. I had... had someone to protect. She kept getting hurt. I ...wanted to do something." Pierced brows knitted together and he rubbed at his eyes, where he knew there were deep and dark bags. He watched her move, her facial expressions as she thought about her words. He had someone he had wanted to protect. Now he wasn't sure he even wanted to protect himself most days. He just knew she was trying to take up the burden he put on her and get his quota too. "Knight?" He almost gave a bitter laugh, but instead it was a bitter huff. "....I'm no knight. But..." This sounded like it'd be a long and hard journey. He was already on one of those. Would he survive? If he wanted to become a good guy, one that people thought about in such a positive light, could he? On top of trying to keep himself alive with actually eating, was he that strong? Her last words made him flinch. He was a captain, after all. "....I guess I've got some thinking to do."
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 2:57 pm
Wincing on the inside over how thin the Captain was, Ogygia listened as he explained and nodded. Those were motivations she could understand. While she couldn't quite agree with them from where she stood after her own experiences, she could understand them. The sudden bitterness in his voice did made her wince though it was followed by a burble of gentle laughter that she couldn't quite contain.
"Well, you're certainly no senshi, friend," she said with a smile, clearly not laughing at him or his pain. Then, almost too casually, "Others from the Negaverse who've purified became knights, so I don't think it's an impossibility in your case. And if it gave you the freedom you're craving so very much, wouldn't it be worth it in the end to try?"
Some inner sense combined with the play of expressions across his face made her stop there. She could do her best to persuade and cajole, but ultimately, this sort of thing was the most personal of choices. Though she allowed herself a dazzling smile when he said that he needed to do some thinking.
"Yes," she said simply. "I think that's a very good idea."
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:06 pm
"Thank you," he said, looking at her again before offering his own quirk of his lips. "I'll... Be around. I want to see about... finding more on your side who used to be like me." Maybe someone would be able to give a detailed recount of their journey to side swapping. Maybe ....he could find and make friends and connections even before he figured out how to start doing this. Rutile rubbed over his shaved head and then nodded again. "I'll leave first, but...Thank you again. Really.. It's... still overwhelming, but I feel a little lighter." With that, the lanky agent bent at the waist in a bow before starting to walk off, hands in his pockets. He looked almost like a cryptid like this.
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Posted: Tue Dec 01, 2020 3:18 pm
"You're welcome," Ogygia said. "I'm so glad I could help even a little. Good luck on your quest."
Smiling a little, she'd deliberately chosen the word precisely for it's knightly connotations. And while she was no expert, she felt sure that Rutile would find a way to shake himself free from the Negaverse. And when he did, she intended to be there to welcome him in as a brother.
Nodding as he loped off, she couldn't help but whisper to herself, "I told you it was easy."
Waiting until she could no longer feel Rutile's aura, Ogygia sighed a little and glanced up at what little she could see of the sky between buildings. Maybe she'd tell Niamh about this. Certainly, between the two of them, they could send out whispers that there was one Captain looking for information. She'd think about it.
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