Welcome to Gaia! ::

The whip of the breeze yanked his dreads back behind his head, body a rubber band strung taught and launched into flight, over rooftops, across manmade ledges and concrete barriers. Albite angled for the park - a swift swell of aura dragged his senses in that direction, something new, someone new.

Albite was all sorts of on one, hunting for someone's, specific someone's really - and if he ran into someone who didn't want to chat? A fight was always a good way to burn off the frustration for that. If they were willing to chat? Well heck, he was all sorts of in a mood to do just that. His last encounter with the other corrupt..no..Senshi..Dee? Did he get her name aside from that - and he'd been going with waterfall haired chick in the short dress----

Albite dropped off a ledge of an old brickwork home, into a roll, his slick black knee highs slid across dewy night grass and drug up mud from sprinklers long past gone on and off during the night - best to water grass when it was cool out - held better.

Albite made for the center of it all, where there were city water attractions. Plentiful bridges, ponds, running paths - all well manicured by city officials, local teen groups, girl scouts.

There he spotted it - her? - A Swan.

"Hey swan lake! Hold up a sec, I've got something to ask you!" Albite shouted across the way, hands held before his mouth to amplify the volume, honeyed eyes alight with the filtered gleam from the moons evening rays; just barely peeking through fading summer storm clouds.

Albite openly laughed, loud and baritone in the open air. Surprised to run into a Senshi with a sense of humor, everyone else he'd run into had been so hesitant, dour, or down right aggressive about things. Here this one was asking a l l the right questions - right off the bat!

"Ya kidding right? Snow straight up melts offa this." Slapping a hand over his chest as he approached her, grin wide and inviting. He almost wished it'd been cold enough out, once he got a decent workout going, he steamed~

"Though it could be the magic for all I know?" a shrug at the unknown laced in his tone.

"I've got..sooo many Senshi questions for you, or even a few? If you don't mind, because you wouldn't believe how hard it's been to get info outta anyone -- Black lace, white bodice, doesn't matter. Someone explain to me how the hell we're walking around all - 'beings infused with the essence of the cosmos'-, but like..basic info on our inner workings isn't on tap?" Albite went on, shuffing his dreads back behind his shoulder as he spoke, all nonchalance in motion. He spoke with his body and hands, just as much as he did with his mouth.

The snort of laughter for that, lovely imagery of draping some sweet thing across his shoulders - some warm clung embrace of some shivering cold person - and his bare chest made an amazing space heater, or so he'd always figured. The idea that they'd need to be drained to make a good human shawl was - interesting...

"I'll take you up on that hot chocolate, when the snow starts piling up and you're wishing you had someone to carry you through the drifts? You can call me, we'll make a whole thing of it." the idea of propping her up - swan princess style in a whole a** ballet carry through a field of snow? Priceless, hilarious, he woulda done it to, just to see the look on her face - to ask if tights were any better, and he might've been shirtless, but he'd never had problems with getting cold. Wondered if the snow or rain made her uniform miserable, where could always blend in, or throw on a hoodie if he really needed to.

Not that he'd ever have bothered with such a thing.

What she called luck, he called drawing the short straw, because of all the things he could've been? Magical girl on steroids was not, and never would have been, top of his list. Hearing over and over again that they didn't get a choice in this - from cats - and other Senshi. No matter their affiliation. Albites mirthful chuckle could only degrade into a knowing sigh. "Well I started out as a person thanks, but after that? Yeah, straight to the dark side of the moon n' s**t. I look better in black, and don't argue that, because I've had people argue it, but like - Asthetics are a thing, yeah?"

The explanation of that made sense to him. Listening to her, taking her words in, and she looked upset. "What - the corruption?" Why everyone kept calling it that was beyond him. He'd chalked it up to the way people spoke about their favorite sports teams maybe - black and white was easier than grays. Good and evil. Corrupt and pure. He felt it was rather generalizing, but it wouldn't have done to call out every single soul on it, he woulda been there dragging out conversations for eons if he did. "Sure it hurts, but so does life. I'm all about the concept of 'no pain - no gain', and I'm sure there are worse things..."

There absolutely were, he knew, just like he knew he'd heard parts of this before. The reincarnation part was new to him - sparked a little 'ooh' of joy and mental note jotting. He hadn't known that, and the planet part? He wanted that, almost demanded she give up the secret right then and there, but he could be patient. Maybe ask less questions, and one at a time so there was no getting lost in them.

That word again - corruption - and the way she said it like a slur. Like he was her and their experiences were one in the same and he should have known form the shared suffering of it all. Albite could feel it, visceral and real, and why was it everyone he ran into had had it so rough? He wasn’t blind to the past of things, the way Senshi had been treated at one point.

Met enough who had those stories - and wondered why with all the power at their fingertips - the power of the whole of the cosmos - the Senshi who swore themselves over into Metallia’s night hadn’t just banded together slaughtered the lot of them; taken those who’d made them feel so broken and monstrous and left them as corpses and waste beneath their pretty little heels.

Every single Senshi, some soft magical broken doll, who sought the cleansing of purity - washed their hands in the snow of the stars once they had the chance; or cursed the darkness outright from their sun washed side of the moon. This one reminded him so much of Nembus that it ached, made some fear twitch deep down, because didn’t she sound exactly like this swan sometimes?

His thoughts stalled like static - a tv being smacked on after fritzing out - she said she could take him there. Take a trip to her planet?!

“Wait wait wait - you can take me?” and no one had offered that yet, and Nembus hadn’t said they could hitchhike rides to the galaxy. Dead though - dead sounded unpleasant. Maybe if he saw it though, it’d make more sense to him. He’d always done better with visuals and actions - kinesthetic his boss had said, tactile was how he thought about it. Didn’t matter, it was to good an opportunity to pass up. To know if having a planet was even worth it.

“Oh, hunny, yeah? If that’s what’s on offer - also, like? If you want the hot coco now? I mean, I don’t know a coco place, but I know a place that’s open late and doesn’t care much about butt bows n sashes.” And he was gonna get the old naan at the Javanese store so much damned business form all sides of the city. She’d be able to afford an actual restaurant maybe, and some staff, and to retire.

“If it’d really ******** your up to do it though, ya don’t have’ta” arms raised in a loose surrender, because the girl had s**t to spill, and he wasn’t trying to tear old wounds out into the light, he’d just had questions was all.

Space was space, a hell of a place, and Albite wanted i n. So the knights got s**t too?! Was that the buy in? The reward at the end of the work horse rainbow - Sehnshi got entire swaths of stars, moons and asteroids to go dance around on. The knights got literal godamned wonders. Whatever they were - wonder was in the name; so it had to be something stunning.

The knowledge of such only begged more questions, if all of that was so, if everything she said was true - then why didn't they simply stay there? Why return to earth at all. Dead, her place was dead, but what did that even mean for a place like that?

Sure the people of earth were amazing - ******** - fun - all sortsa earth charm to be had for visiting space travelers if his interactions with the merchant were anything to go by. Still...why the hell was it that all that he and the others got - down in the deep - were a bunch of dark castle ruins n' rift dust. Where was the incentive there? No wonders, no planets, and Albite didn't do the whole 'honor and valor in the name of..blah'. Not his spiel.

"You say that like I'm gonna be picky about seeing this s**t? Oh, sorry - a wonder? Nah, rather just continue to kick dirt here planetside k-thanx." eyes alight and mirth in his tone, all playful sarcasm as he nodded eagerly in agreement. Hell yes he wanted to see their things, what sorta fool would've passed any of that up!?

"Hey, it's always a good time for hot coco - hot things help you sweat off the summer sun - can't be cooking outside if you're on fire inside, yeah? I like it though, it's a whole plan. You, me, and your man makes three - same time n' place next week for a space treck!" radiating energy and glee over it, little kid given a key to the whole candy store style. He'd bring something nice, they'd have fun with it - he could ask her more questions then. He'd always liked other Senshi anyhow - He supposed he should've, he was one, even if he felt a certain type of way about the whole 'how and why' of it.