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 Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:57 pm
Finding the food truck again had been a little more difficult since she didn’t have her phone, but she had figured on it being in roughly the same area that it had been, and luckily, Cavansite was right. It was getting late, and must have been close to closing time, and the General waited while a black haired girl picked up some of the litter around the truck and gave Evan a hug and a kiss on the cheek before hopping into a car and driving off, presumably allowing for him to drive the truck back.
Was that Cookie’s girlfriend? Good for him.
When the car was out of sight and the window shut on the truck, Cavansite drew in a breath and teleported to the inside of the kitchen, looking around with some interest. It was smaller than she had figured on it being, but at the same time...it seemed bigger than she had thought too. How interesting.
Her eyes slid to Evan and her face softened with a warm sort of fondness.
Hopefully...after all of this was over, they would get to be friends. Real friends.
It was such an odd thought, but one that made her feel strangely warm inside.
“Hello, Cookie. It’s good to see you again.” Cavansite kept her voice gentle, holding none of the biting sarcasm that it once did. She didn’t draw her spear on him either. She was here to ask for help, not to intimidate.
What a strange concept.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:07 pm
Evan was already distracted, finishing up the last of his cleaning and dreading driving the truck back. It was a horrible idea, he'd told both Cambria and Zack. He shouldn't be doing it, he was too small, the truck was too big, and he hadn't even had his license for that long and--
And, for as much as he dreaded the idea, they had faith in him, and that gave him strength.
Strength that was chased out of him like the blood rushed from his face when he heard her voice.
It didn't matter if it was softer than it usually was, it didn't matter if the tone was different.
Only one person called him Cookie, and he could feel his starseed stabbing with pain.
He spun to face her, pale and with none of the confidence, none of the happiness or hopefulness, that he'd had when he'd seen Karone. For a moment, he couldn't summon any words. His hand was groping for something, anything. He had no weapon, no means to defend himself.
He was an Eternal Senshi. He shouldn't have been so afraid of her.
And yet, he was. His only power was locked behind a wall of secrecy, and all he could do was fumble over his thoughts to try and muster a response.
Meekly, desperately, he whispered, "Please don't. I don't want trouble. Please."
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:16 pm
Cavansite nodded, holding her hands up, showing that she was unarmed. “I don’t want trouble either. Don’t be afraid, please. I simply want to talk to you. Talk with you. I...need to know about purification...I need to know what you know...I’m. In a bit of a bind.”
Well. Not really, but the alternatives weren’t good. “My Captain, I’ve...well. Somewhat adopted him as a little brother...but he found out that one of his boyfriends is a knight, you see...and he...obviously is unwilling to kill him. Or bring him over to our side so...we have to join them instead...and I’m just…”
She shrugged almost helplessly. “...You’re someone that I know who knows about purification who I trust. I know there are others out there, but I’m not in the mood to go hunting them down. So many of them dislike me anyway…” Not that she didn’t deserve that dislike but.
“Please don’t be afraid, I promise you, Evan. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Not ever again.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:21 pm
'Don't be afraid' might as well have been another language for all the effect it had on Evan, who stared at her like she might spontaneously combust at any given time.
His brows furrowed slightly as her words sank in.
She knew his name. She wasn't calling him Cookie. She seemed like she meant it.
She was crafty. This could be a trick.
And yet, he stared at her, for a long moment, trying to read her. Trying to remember how to speak.
"Y-you came to me?" he finally managed, voice drenched in uncertainty and confusion. "But I can't do--I don't do anything right, you made a mistake. I--I'm not good at that, you..."
...He did have the answers, though. He knew enough about it to set someone in the right direction.
If it wasn't a trap.
There was a lump in his throat, and even though he resolved to trying to pull himself together and answer her, he still somehow was trying to sneak behind the appliances and work his way into the corner of the truck.
"...You trust me? You--I thought you hated me. Why wouldn't you hurt me? That's...that's what the Negaverse does..."
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:26 pm
Cavansite was quiet for a very long moment, and finally lowered her hands, looking almost lost in thought for a moment. “I came to you, yes. You’re kind, and compassionate. And I watched you change, I watched you become corrupted past what I thought was any redemption. And then suddenly, here you are! Thriving and making the best food I’ve ever tasted.”
She drew in a deep, calming breath, feeling her skin prickle slightly, and then let her powered form fade away, leaving Karone standing there, looking hopelessly lost for a moment, not believing what she had just done, and not sure if she was regretting it or not. “The sandwiches did heat up very nicely, like you said. I believe that I ate about four that night, I had the most delightful stomachache.”
Karone tried to smile, but it seemed as though she couldn’t look up from the floor. She was nervous as to what his reaction would be. Nervous that she had just given up her identity to someone. There really was no going back now. Not unless Evan was added to the casualty list...and she didn’t want that.
“I don’t remember the last time I ate so much. I couldn’t seem to stop.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:31 pm
She powered down in front of him.
She was Cavansite, and then she wasn't. She was Cavansite, and then she was Karone, and he knew her. She was human. She was a person.
And she was seriously asking him for help.
"...T-today would have been...a good day....for you to ask me to make you your comfort food, you know. I don't have...I don't have time to make potato soup right now, but I could have, you know. I would--I would have."
The words came with difficulty, but he pushed them out.
He said them, and he meant them. He was having a hard time making eye contact with her but he was trying; his eyes darted up from the ground to her eyes, and back down, but he was able to hold his gaze for a few seconds at a time and seemed to be working up towards more.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:38 pm
Karone hadn’t known what kind of a reaction she was expecting, or what kind of reaction she was hoping for, but the words that Evan said made her heart ache for a moment, and with a hesitant smile she looked up, giving a shaking laugh. “...Maybe someday soon, yeah? I...I hope that you’ll be my friend after all of this is said and done. I know...I know that I seriously don’t deserve it but…”
But she was selfish, and wanted every tie of friendship that she could have.
“Maybe we can all have a big party when we’ve purified, yeah? You can meet my little brother...because i’m adopting him and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop me. I…” She swallowed. “I lost my last. I mean. Not my last. But I lost one of the officers who I had nurtured and...I’m not going to lose this one. Not for the world. He needs me, and I’ll see that he’s safe. I’ll see that we’re both taken out of the Negaverse somehow…” Her legs felt kind of wobbly then and Karone let out a slow breath. “...Do you think...I could sit down? Is the floor clean for that? You know? I don’t even care.”
Plopping down on it, she drew her knees up and rested her forehead against them. “...I can’t...believe I did this...I...I apologize this...I’ve never...I…”
She was going against all of the rules. Axinite would kill her.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:45 pm
"My floors are clean," he said a little defensively, and as if he meant to prove it, he sat down on the floor with her. "This is still a restaurant, even if it's a truck. I take good care of it. It's really important to me."
He hesitated and then scooted a little closer, uncertain and feeling a little stupid. He was waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under him, waiting for her to mock him--to power up and try to pull out his starseed.
"...You can't blame yourself for everything. Doing bad things, that's...sort of what the Negaverse does. It brings out the worst in you. It makes you a monster. Sometimes literally. Sometimes it just makes you into the worst version of yourself. Um. I know...some officers that have purified. A couple, even."
He swallowed, and his ears burned with shame because he wondered if he'd said too much.
"Once you decide you want to be free, it's not that hard. Honest. It doesn't even hurt. And--I mean, you forget," he warned. "You forget a lot of memories. If you're lucky, it's all the bad ones. One of my--one of my friends forgot his time in the Negaverse, almost all of it. But he...he says it's better that way. He didn't like what it made him. He almost killed his own brother. He says he doesn't remember the things that happened, but sometimes he remembers the feelings. He says he hated who he was. And that's a lot, coming from him, considering he thinks he's the most important person in the world."
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:55 pm
“I have no doubt that they are! I’m used to high school cafeteria kitchen floors...those aren’t clean at all...but I should have figured you wouldn’t drop any food ever.” Karone tried to tease, and closed her eyes, fighting back the panic that was rising in her chest. She had never had a panic attack before, but the idea of having the youmaglia forced back inside of her. Or of being turned into a youma herself for doing this...for thinking of this.
Oh god.
Squeezing her eyes a bit more tightly, Karone nodded. “...A couple? And they’re all safe? They’re okay? I know what it’s like...losing control like that. I know that…” She hesitated and then hurried on, wanting to get everything out of her head and into the open. “I was thinking about it before. A few years ago. My mentor left. She purified, she was a half youma and was...well. She was really hot...and I was half in love with her...I...was doing research, because of you and because of her...trying to see how youma were taken from us. How they were purified but...I kept finding different answers and...it was almost seeming...nice.”
She swallowed hard and bit her lip. “...I gave the starseeds I wore to a Cosmos Knight. He said he would take them to the cauldron. I...was so close to just...I...but they found out. Axinite, one of the General Sovereigns found out and he talked to me. Put...put a youmaglia in me...to control my feelings. My thoughts. To make more more obedient since I was so close to straying…”
God, she was saying too much, far too much. “...My Amesite died because I couldn’t...I couldn’t connect with him. His brother vanished and then his parents died and then he...Evan, it destroyed me. I...I don’t even know where I was going with this but...what if he finds out again? I’ll be in so much trouble. I don’t have…”
She didn’t have anything. No support system outside of Yu. There was Gale...but she wouldn’t put her through this...they hardly talked anymore...there would be no place to go, unless Sterling and Priam decided she was worth taking in, which, obviously she wasn’t.
“...I don’t have anything holding me back, really. I have a sister...but she’s not involved with this, and I don’t want her to be...besides.” She gave a hollow laugh, sounding almost bitter. “...She gets over deaths quickly enough. She had been dating Amesite. She had a new boyfriend within the month...I...still haven’t really forgiven her…”
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:14 pm
Amesite. Amesite sounded familiar. Wasn't--
"Oh, ********," he blurted, before he'd really even thought about it, and then he scrambled to try and cover it up.
"That--that sounds like a lot, Karone. A lot to deal with. ******** wanted to pull out his phone, wanted to call someone. Call Zac. Call Tobias. Call Loren.
"It--it's easier. To purify. When you're not a youma. You're not all stupid. But you're brainwashed, everyone is. There's a Senshi out there that can purify anyone though, I think. She purified me. She's been there for others, too. I--I'm not going to lie," he admitted. "...You should do it, fast. You should do it before someone catches wind. You should do it before they can try and stop you, or try and hurt you. And I--trust me--I know it's scary. But it's okay, because nothing is as scary as losing yourself, piece by piece. Knowing little parts of you are dying, and changing, and twisting into something someone else makes you. If you're serious about this--Karone, if you're serious--I'll call them. I can call the Knights I know, there--two of them, I know, are in the area. They could be here in a few minutes. You could talk to them. I could vouch for you. They could help you figure out what to do. You could power up and teleport us to the fountain in the park, it'd be safe and out of the way. That way there aren't a bunch of energy signatures going off in my truck. But."
He hesitated and scooted a little closer, heart pounding and reluctant. She was powered down. She couldn't take his starseed like this.
"...I d-don't care what you've done. Everyone has to start somewhere, if they want to get better. And leaving the Negaverse is a really big step. But it's a good step. I want...want to help you...if I can..."
He was scared. He was trembling. His hand was on a cell phone he was holding but hadn't mustered the strength to turn on yet. He was waiting for permission, waiting for approval, afraid to do anything that might earn ire or reproach.
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:21 pm
“Karone jumped a little with his sudden exclamation but put it down to his being worried about her, his next words all but confirmed that and he was right. He was right about all of it. “...I can’t back out now. I can’t do it tonight. I...I can’t do it right this minute...I have nothing planned...I...I mean the purifying...you...won’t they try to hurt me, Evan?”
Her voice was soft, sounding almost afraid. The idea of talking to Knights. Former agents of the Negaverse. People who knew what it was like to leave…
It could be a good idea, honestly. It could help. It could help get her somewhere to go after. It could be a support system that she could have. Friends that she could keep. “...I’m serious about it, Evan. I...I would appreciate if you would...call them. So that I can meet them. I...would appreciate that a lot, actually.”
He moved closer to her, and without thinking, Karone scooted closer too, opening her arms for a hug. She liked hugs. She needed some kind of comfort now. This was a lot to think about. A lot to decide. A lot to unpack. “...You’ve really matured, you know...You impress me greatly, Evan…”
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2020 10:32 pm
Was he ready for a hug? Is this what he wanted? Would that have helped him when he was feeling small and vulnerable and afraid and alone?
...Yes, honestly. And it didn't matter who she was, or who she had been, because she honestly seemed like she was trying to do the right thing. Hesitantly, he leaned against her, resting into the hug. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't relaxing; he shook the whole time and his heart was pounding so loudly that he thought he might pass out from the surge of blood through his veins.
"...I don't know how much you think I've matured because I feel like I'm about to pass out right now and my brain feels like melted cheese, but thank you."
He unlocked his phone and with trembling fingers swiped to his messages. The background was him and another young man, pressed close and smiling. The picture was him in Tobias' arms, in a candid selfie Tobias had taken while tickling Evan. It was genuine, and happy, and every time he saw it, he smiled.
Even now, it filled him with strength; he opened up his text messages to Zac and, a bit sheepishly, turned his phone away to text.
"When you go home, you should start packing up your important things and figure out how you want to do this. If you want them to know what happened. If you don't care if they know that you purified. Or you could stage your own death. Um. I don't know. But I can help. And they'll help. I think--I think they'll want to help you. How early can you do it?" he asked, looking up at her as he sheepishly rested against her. "The faster the better, that's obvious, but--I want to help. So you don't get another youmaglia. You have to move quickly, so no one suspects anything. You and--and your friend. You're sure he's going to purify, that none of this is a trap?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 9:16 am
Karone relaxed as she held him and she wished that she wasn’t...his nightmare. This would be much more pleasant if she wasn’t. “It’s always cheese with you, isn’t it, Evan? Thank goodness I like cheese so much...it would be terrible to be lactose intolerant and have you in my life. Seriously.”
She hated how he trembled. Hated how afraid he seemed. Her eyes roamed over the picture on his phone and she hesitated. “...Who’s that guy? Does your girlfriend know about him?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, and she didn’t really regret them. “That girl who was here, aren’t you dating her? She was so cuddly with you...I didn’t mean to spy!”
Karone had just wanted to talk with him alone.
“I don’t really...have a home to go to. I...kind of live in my office.” The confession was quiet and she shrugged. “I don’t have much stuff regardless, so that won’t be an issue. I want your help, I want it for my Captain more so than anything...he can’t...I’m worried about him. He took his boyfriend’s starseed without realizing it...and he had someone stalking him and them...ah...I wish he would have told me...I could have protected him…”
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 9:52 am
Evan flushed immediately and drew his phone close to his heart, like he'd been scandalized and needed to protect something. And then, he relaxed a bit, and opened his phone to pull up a few more pictures.
"He's my--he's my fiancé," he said, like a child confessing that he'd taken a cookie from the cookie jar. "He has been for a while now. And I love him. And he's good for me. I wouldn't have even been able to start my food truck without him. You--you probably saw Cambria. She was a friend of mine before...before I got turned. And she--she helped me, I stayed with her, while I was getting my life back together. I have a ring," he said, and reached into his pocket to pull it out. "I don't wear it when I'm cooking because I'm afraid I'll drop it in some soup or something and never be able to find it. We have matching rings. Um. We haven't set a date for the wedding because we're still figuring things out. But it's been really nice so far. Cambria's my moral support and is better with people than I am. Today--today's my first day driving the truck back on my own. I got my license last month. She was telling me I could do it. I'm--I'm really scared I'm going to crash so I was dragging my feet, but then you showed up, and..."
He swallowed and shrugged a little meekly.
"...I'm glad I wasn't eager to get going. Especially if we can help you, and your friend. Is--is there anything I can do to help? Is his boyfriend okay, did they save him?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2020 11:17 am
Karone’s eyes lit up and she snuggled close to Evan, laughing softly. “A fiance! That’s adorable!” SHe looked at the ring and cooed over it, nodding. “How can you say that you haven’t matured! When I first met you you were this poor timid little cook in a slummy bar, and now you have your own food truck, have learned to drive it and you’re engaged.”
For a moment, she almost felt jealous, the smile slipping off of her face.
“...You’ve got your life together far more than I do. As for Sterling...from what I know he’s still in the hospital. His starseed has been returned, thankfully my Captain hadn’t...hadn’t turned it in but...I’m not sure if he’s woken up yet. He has my phone since he lost his so I have no way of asking. I’ll be seeing him a little later.”
Sighing, Karone took a moment to press her face into Evan’s hair, relaxing once again. “...Let’s get this over with. Let me meet these knight friends of yours..”
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