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Pink

Overwhelmingly, blindingly.....

Like pepto-bismol, bubblegum, cotton candy.

No, like all of those things combined and she was the Captain Planet version of what came out after the catchphrases got shouted - P - I - N - K.

He knew she was speaking to him, saying words. Could feel himself nodding along even as he stared down with bright, vapid, amusement. Could feel his own dumb grin plastered all over his own dumb face.

This girl - woman? The ******** could anyone tell with all the powered glamor s**t really!?

Whatever - this General - he knew he was checking in on her - checking up? Faustite had mentioned something. That he'd be doing some sort of a task, and apparently it was important for him to continue to do more tasks, occasionally while assigned under other Generals. To show that he had those skills as well. His *bossette* had told him to mind his manners, he solemnly swore no *bodies* would occur from whatever this was. While his *boss*, the only person he'd really ever answer to besides Nemb's, he had seemed so wound up after the whole rift thing - and was this one of the one's that'd slipped off a cliff..or..into a hole? Maybe he'd feel better knowing the people'd come out okay on the other end of it all, after a little time'd passed.

Whatever, he was already agreeing to something without hearing what it was. Heard himself say yes as he went back to counting lace, bows, ruffled bits. Wondered how this one had managed to become an agent and not a magical girl, wondered if they could trade places. Freaky Friday side swap themselves so he could get to stab something, and she could get to wear even more bountiful dresses.

"I like your shoes" impulsively, out of nowhere, out of context, but he couldn't help himself. He had to say it "Except their like...is the missing buttons a thing, like fashion? Wait..what were you saying again? We're doing a thing right, or you're taking me to do a thing..." slow blinks, and that was the only thing out of place on her, a few missing buttons. Seemed odd against the whole of the rest of it.

Preened - peacock on display - and he appreciated being appreciated by the bouncy bountiful girl before him, giving compliments and getting them in turn, because damn the both of them looked good in their own unique ways. +1 to team darkside - all the outfits were the best. He would've curtseyed, if he'd known how. Would've thanked her for noticing, because yes! He ******** did have good taste. The best taste, and man, was it nice to hear someone say it every now and then.

To earn a compliment for the sake of it.

The mention of 'Swirls', sounded like a pet, sounded like - Ohgod a baby - glowing thing - sofft - odd and small. Albite cooed at it. Grinned at the creature while it hissed at him like a cat he'd offended just by being too near. <********, is she a baby, is she teething? She's so freaking cute~ Where'd you get her! No, wait, how'd you get her? Like...I swear...the only youma I get to have is my General, and that's like, soo un-freaking-fair sometimes. Not the having him part, cause he's the best, but like, only having access to youma adjacent things?" whine and want apparent on his face, in every bit of word that spilled from his mouth, and the fact that the youma had a penchant for buttons was too cute for words.

Though he had the orbies, precious little wisps, his fuzzy glroby babies. They weren't youma though, couldn't be called into battle, or fight. They were little better than plumped fluffed goldfish - with a labs intelligence. Only slightly smarter than himself, sometimes, he was sure of it.

Wanted to touch - so very very badly - was sure he'd get bit for it, and so he kept his hands to himself.

"Presentable - yeah sure - but like..you're a General? You should let her steal all the things, hearts, minds, starseeds. I c'n just put it back in after, wouldn't hurt much...." a moment of thought for that, the briefest of pauses as he considered what he was saying "N'less she ate it, then yeah, bad days all around for that..." the buttons were probably a good option, she was a very intelligent General, clearly. Good bedazzled bowed head on her shoulders.

Albite rambled, didn't expect answers, didn't even need them really. Tilted his bedreaded head because 'listening' - He was listening, she had ideas, needed his input for something...."Yes, whatever it is the answers yes. Info stuff, down for it - just uh..so long as it's not note taking, or desk work...You seem way too fun to be behind a desk though?"

Nodded his head like it was on a bobble - didn’t have to say, because yeah he damned well was in the rift, he had a whole a** youma leg in his boss’s office to prove it. He’d done good on the mission he was sure - dusted s**t - stabbed things. Thought maybe he’d seen her in a fleeing of pink? Who knew.

Listened attentively though, as she described her getting the cute winged thing, grinned all the harder for it because it sounded like a hell of a story. Youma lamps n salesmen n’ —-

Leaned back a half step when the sweet button baby launched at him - squirmy thing narrowly caught by her Generals waiting hands. Repressed the urge to coo more as the youma spoke. Amazing, absolutely amazing! Smart, sharp hungry looking little thing!

“S’right, I’m much more fun this way. Alive n’ such.” Hummed the words like a question, like he was considering things now “Have you maybe thought of talking to your presh new button baby about how us Senshi work?” let his own grin run a little sharper for the words. Like he was going to tell them a mean sort of secret.

“Starseeds on display - means we can dust youma allll day. N Senshi in white? Can kill in a fight~” rhymed it out, put bounce in the words like he was offering a particularly interesting nursery rhyme to a young child.

“Not that I ever would - I ******** love youma - but Swirls, button’s, baby? Ya gotta be careful who’s souls ya go reachin’ for. Don’t want anything bad to happen to someone as cute as you - lotsa flinchy folks out there who aren’t as restrained as me.” And he’d never feared youma in particular, thrilled for them, and what little fright existed for the truly powerful ones? He’d always manifested that sort of thing into adrenaline, let it drive him a little faster and harder for the sheer thrill of facing down something that wanted him dead - that could manage it.

“Now General, where’m I coming in on all this. Aside from yanno - being food for thought n also fun?”

Held his hands up placation, called a mental truce with the cute button loving lampette of a youma. Easy grin and easier at letting the slight bit of tension diffuse, wouldn’t threaten her again, not even sweetly. Unless she got handsy of course.

“Alright, alright, we’ll play nice with each other, cross my heart and everything.” Made a show of the motions and awwwd at the fact that she wanted to meet him just cause, it was kinda nice really, being something of notice, just for fun, just because she was being a curious General.

Big die brown eyes widened considerably as Sylvite kept talking. Perked up immediately, rapid whip of attention shifting from the youma to her General. Tag!? Did she just say they were going to play tag! No, wait, even better then tag - hide n seek with a *youma*.

“Ohmygod are we playing hide n’ seek!?!” Loud and joyous and “Hell yes! Oh, oh, rules? There’s gotta be rules yeah, and a time limit - and like parameters so I don’t make her chase me straight out to the reservoir? There is the pissiest squid youma living in that thing I swear! It’s tried to drown me twice now, twice!” relented because it was more of a lamprey mixed with an octopus, but whatever…..

Practically bounced where he stood; so excited to get going, get gone, to just g o!

"Aww, hell yess pinkie pie, you had me at hello, but hide n' seek with telephone tag in the middle? Oooh, ya hear that swirls! You're gonna get to hunt me down, n' were gonna letcha play parrot right back to your mama." glee over glee, a bright and tangible thing. Albites grin ate his face, because there were rules now, and parameters. Made it easy, made it nice and simple enough for him to keep track of.

Go for 3, hide for 5, talk to himself which kinda defeated the purpose of hiding, but maybe he could run and hide and chatter when he sensed her..wait..did youma have auras? Stared at the little button thief with intent and decided it didn't matter, he was going to wing it, they were going to have actual, honest to gods, fun!

"Okay, okay - I'm gone - start counting alright!!" didn't have the patience to wait for confirmation before he was off. Shouldn’t have said counting, because a timer made way more sense than that.

Whatever…

Looked for the nearest, hah, ledge area, that led to pipe work, that let him drop down to the street level and drop out of view. Loved this area - equipment and warehouses and a scarcity of people because that would’ve been problematic if they were training the youma - didn’t need her side snacking on any star seeds on the way to his.

Didn’t keep track in his head but made a beeline out and sought refuge. Tried to figure out what kind of place could’ve held someone of his size easily - a dumpster an air intake pipe - the water lines - oohed softly at the sight of abandoned drainage pipes and Siri ding and other construction materials piled high - the tonka style construction equipment with open barrels and big tires.

Grin a slash of light across his face, took distance in stride, long legs that devoured the space. Leapt a pile of girders, slid around the side of cracked and mangled pile of brick sand construction offshoot debris.

Fun. This one. This girl, and she looked like she belonged in a glitzy hot topic, pink bows and black gauziness, but oh so ******** fun. He'd thank his boy, his General. Tell him she was good, that he'd enjoyed himself. Getting a chance to chat up a General - grateful that they weren't all primed proper sticks made for little more than standing in mud and frowning with severity.

After - later - first though? He had to show off a little - show up and make sure her and her little button loving bundle of joy had a good time. So used to providing menial tasks. Being useful in other ways? That it was a breath of fresh air to be useful like this, to take all the powers of the cosmos and turn them into a goddamned game of hide n' seek. Spit in the eye of the stars, middle finger to the very ideal of it all. Of needing to be some vision of 'other' than what he was. What he'd always been meant to be. Fast, vicious, fun.

Heard the com's ring out - sing song pitch perfect voice that gave him ample warning. His eyes narrowed on a level of pilons two stories up, laid across a latticed metalwork frame - bare bones of a building yet to be built - and he made for it. Winced at the loud clang of impact, the clink of metal reverberating as he ducked up the beams like a ladder, moved around rivets and scattered haphazard hazards of items left to be used by whatever oncoming shift would roll in the next day.

Found something that looked like ventilation work - shafts not yet secured - and laughed under his breath as he slid himself into one. Figured it was the only place good enough to hide. He wasn't shoving himself into a mailbox or under a bench, little to big for something like that at this point.

She'd wanted him to talk - and he thought about it - waited - w a i t e d - would let the starhunting lampette get in close, listen real hard for the little skitter of her before he started trading messages like barbs.

It felt like the jaws music - crescendoing - the build up of drums and string quartets in his mind, and the anticipation that built with it. Like the shower scene from psycho, the longer he waited, the more antsy he got. The more he was sure that the little star hungry baby would pop out from anywhere, or maybe no where at all? What if she was the walls like the rift youma, and was everywhere at once!!

Mabye she was right behind him already!

He checked, habitually, fidgeted, wondered how long it had been, how long it would take - seconds, minutes, hours!? He wasn't sure how it worked with youma and hunting. How their senses worked from their end, got auras, knew if he held his starseed up they'd come running like he'd called for dinner. Reminded himself 'not to do that'

Not that he hadn't been hunted like this by them before, but...

The slight skitter of sound had him whipping his head around. Eyes wide as he stared down the toothy grinning creature that popped its head into view.

Screamed. Like a little girl, because nope, nope nope. <********> to the Nope

"No Johny starseeds! Keep your axes outa my door, buttons!" he was getting serious Shining vibes. Wasn't looking to be part of some Shymalan twist ending. Didn't want any little alien face huggers going ham on his soul. All of Sylvites careful instructions flew out the window. Albite bolted. Made to charge past the youma peeking in and demanding his soul on tap -

Was gonna turn the game of hide n' go seek into freeze tag real fast.

Skidded around in a whip of braids and ******** looked back to where the scrabbling claw of a hand had been - and - <********> scrabble gasp of words and he was stunned, because how, because where!? Wondered briefly in he was losing his mind over nothing at all, maybe the rift had jarred something loose? Maybe he'd imagined the little starseed sneaking, button chewing, baby on his heels and peering over with all those t e e t h.

Glanced over at Sylvite, and she was speaking, and she looked very unconcerned with the fact that her Youma had just vanished into thin air - out of existence - oh s**t what if he'd done something wrong?

"Yes, no..Wait!? Where did she go? Like, just now?" looked as if his eyes had betrayed him, looked a little sad for it even. "Did I poof her?" a tentative question, though he was sure it wasn't possible, he hadn't said anything magical. Knew that woulda dusted her, didn't want that, she was cute even when she was being starseed hungry.

Sweet little swirls - future nightmare fodder for when she got the hang of being attached to a General that was hell on pink combat boots.

"Are you sure she was here? Like, really here, cause I may be screaming at nothing? Which I swear isn't a thing I normally do - uh - getting psyched up over...." rambled - and the words really didn't mean anything, because it was damned hard to parse something vanishing. Eyes saying one thing and senses on fire, and now he felt bad because maybe he'd messed up, and it wasn't Swirls fault at all that he was a very nice piece of Senshi starseed on display. That was the whole point of it!

Albite made it a point to stalk over to Sylvite - looked about - frowned at the absence of Youma entirely. Stared at Sylvite and just - made it a point to very carefully reach out - hands around her be-bowed and bustled waist as he picked her up like a princess - like a ballerina - like she weighed not much at all really. Checked bodily behind her, beneath the dangle of her feet. That the youma in question wasn't hiding in her bountiful skirts. "Where's the baby? Please tell me I didn't dust the baby, I am like, so sorry if I did!?"