Welcome to Gaia! ::

Even in the winter time, Arisha continued to care for the health and well-being of the stray cats that she was looking after near her mom’s flower shop. In fact, it could be said that now more than ever was the time to check in on them, with the weather getting colder, and Arisha constantly made a point to tell friends and family (and all of her teachers) about the importance of checking under the hood of their cars to check for heat-seeking kitties who may have taken shelter, repeatedly and to the point where they likely had grown tired of hearing it from her. She had also, of course, constructed a few winter shelters as well, for the strays to take refuge from the increasingly colder weather, mostly with the help of her parents, but also with some small amount of help from Charice, too. Admittedly, there was only so much one high schooler could do, but Arisha was the kind of person who cried at those commercials about abused animals needing homes, as well as any sort of sad pet video or movie in general, so it wasn’t very surprising that she’d go as far as she did on the matter.

It had recently snowed, but that wouldn’t stop Arisha; armed with cans of cat food and a small stack of food bowls, she set out after the plows had passed by the shop, to the private lot behind the building, where she had been feeding the cats. More had shown up lately, an increase from the single cat that had been hanging around just over a year ago, and she worried that she wouldn’t have enough food (or shelters) to go around. Ari also didn’t know the temperaments of these new cats too very well, so despite the cold, she did her usual routine of hovering around worriedly, after setting things up. Thus far, no scuffles had broken out, and the cats had left after eating their share, but Arisha always worried over the prospect of conflict.

“Oh, please get along…” Ari quietly whispered to herself, as she watched the cats eat.

A new cat had shown up, one that looked it could have been someone's pet, except Arisha knew that sometimes people would dump their pets, too. They could be quite heartless like that, and her heart broke every time she heard of stories of such things. Could someone have heard about the cats she was taking care of, and abandoned their precious pet cat here...?

"Oh, you poor thing! Are you hungry?" Arisha asked, though it was a bit of a rhetorical question, as she was already reaching for one of the food bowls that weren't occupied, opening up a new can of food, and offering it to the fluffy feline. She wondered... should she try finding this cat's owner? Or, if it was an abandoned housecat, should she talk to her parents about maybe taking this cat in...?

"I hope this is okay... they say this brand is one of the best for kitties..."

Normally, the expected reaction to a cat talking, like, actually speaking human speech, would be confusion and doubt- cats weren't supposed to talk, so surely it was a trick of the mind, some prank or just a result of being really tired. For Arisha, though, it was like a dream come true. Time and time again, she had wished she could communicate better with her feline charges, to better understand their wants and needs- had her prayers been answered?

For a moment, Arisha couldn't find the words to speak, and simply stood there, looking ready to burst into tears, if not pass away on the spot. To think a cat would not only acknowledge all her hard work, but offer a gift, as well? Maybe she really would start crying.

"I... I..." Arisha tried to properly formulate her feelings into words, to answer this heaven-sent being of a feline, though she was still fairly overcome with emotion at the moment. "I, I don't have any salmon on me, just salmon flavor canned food!" she finally managed, "But... but-! I can buy some at the grocery store... and I can cook it for you! I've been watching youtube videos on making homemade cat food... I'm sure I can do it!"

Or, she could ask her mom to make it for them, but Arisha was willing to do anything for the very lovely Julienne. Or any cat, really, if asked, but especially Miss Julienne.

It was a very emotional moment, but for two very different reasons. Perhaps one day, Arisha would know about the pretty kitty's sadness, and her story prior to their chance encounter, but for now, Arisha took the pen from Julienne, holding it gingerly in her hands as she listened to the Mauvian's instructions.

"P... Primula Power, Make-Up!" she repeated, tripping over the words but managing to get it out in the end. In the blink of an eye, her outfit had changed, and where Arisha Hadley had stood now stood... Sailor Primula.



At this point, she really did burst into tears, truly overcome with emotion. The power to change things... the power to protect the city, and the cats she cared very deeply for... Julienne would really give her such a gift?

"I... I..." Primula struggled to find the right words to say, in response to such a momentous occasion. So much was happening, but there was at least one thing she wanted to say. "Thank you so much!" she managed through the tears, "I... I'll make you anything you want! We can go to the store right now! I really want to repay you for this gift..."

"I don't... I don't want to take you away from your home if you have one, b-but...! But... if you ever want to, you can stay with me... I'll cook you salmon, or anything else you want- Charice, um, my big sister... she likes to tease me a lot, but she's still kind...! My mom... this is my mom's flower shop- we help her here with her work- she's very kind, too..."

She was starting to ramble at this point, but Primula just really, really wanted to be able to thank Julienne for such a magical gift. That, and, well... with the Mauvian being the first cat she truly was able to communicate with, Primula wanted to see her more, because if there was anything she had ever wanted, it was to be able to understand a cat's wants and desires, to be able to better help them.

(Maybe, also, she was a little lonely.)