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 Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 8:40 am
Well, he had asked for her time and given that she had agreed to it, it was safe to say that he was probably passed the point of no return. It would be a disservice to back out of what he had intended to do now and despite the rather sickening sensation in his stomach and the overall poor timing given what they had just been summoned to... He thought it better to get it 'out of the way'.
Quite honestly he didn't know if he would get another chance and if it did go poorly he would much prefer to have some time to recover. He had promised himself (and by extension Paris) that he wouldn't be weird about this. Admittedly she had no idea that he intended to do this, he hadn't told the woman and he wasn't entirely sure she would have been interested anyway. However she had provided him with ample advice and even if she was only a member of the same running club he did have to extend his gratitude for that at least.
That didn't make this any either though.
He pulled his fingers through his hair as he strode with considerable purpose away from that accursed barrier and towards more familiar haunts. On this occasion it happened to be one of those much smaller parks. He wouldn't have called this a real park, to be entirely honest he'd have called it a communal garden, but that was neither here nor there. Regardless of what he may have defined it as, it was secluded and away from prying eyes - at the very least, it had enough privacy for any wounded pride to be saved from the added embarrassment of an audience...
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 9:30 am
She'd agreed for as soon as possible because her mind was whirling with too many things. The appearance of more than just Caedus, their proposal for a direct attack on Metallia. There were so many parts of those, so many things to process and try to speak to more people on to gather info, perspectives...
If Athalia needed to speak to her about something, she was happy to shove everything else aside in favour of focusing her attention on him. Her brain immediately threw out questions--was he okay? Was something going wrong? Did he need help with something? If there was some authority urging this, had she done something wrong and he was now confronting her about it? The questions just continued to spiral in more nervous and dark ways, even though he'd seemed entirely fine and not the least bit moody over it. It was a complete overreaction on her brain's part, and Metis knew it, so she kept her breathing steady and kept checking off most offered suspicions as likely not, next.
She couldn't help it. If something was up with him, she wanted to know. If she didn't know what was going on, she couldn't offer support to him for whatever the situation was, or advice if he wanted that.
Or hell, it could just be he wanted to know if they could go grab coffee or a bite to eat to talk about stuff, or he knew there was a new movie coming out she might like. It could be so simple, so unproblematic, and her brain would be spitting out worse case scenarios till she knew.
She bit back a groan and rubbed her forehead, following a bit behind the other senshi en route to a place to speak away from the dome and its aliens--and weaponry, and who knows what else--within. The potential distraction for something else was welcomed right now.
If she were to allow herself to be honest, she just enjoyed the reason to spend time with him. It was easier to relax when they were together, she didn't feel a need to put on a proper, well-mannered front. Even if there were problems to be addressed, if they dealt with it together, she couldn't help but be optimistic about the outcome. Her biggest concern was just, is he okay?
Everything else could be handled and dealt with so long as she knew the answer was yes or will be. She could process and handle everything else.
Her boots clicked over paved walkways that moved through the little 'park' between rows of planted flowers, bushes, and little trees. The green energies outweighed their copper-silver ones, and only a few tiny yellow blips caught her attention. Realta had gone back home, her own mind heavy with things.
"So, what's up?" She kept her voice chipper, hands clasped behind her back as she caught up with him. "I'm assuming this is something different than about... all of that?" One of her hands lifted and gestured vaguely towards the direction they'd come from. She ignored how her pulse thumped about when she had to tip her head back to better view the glowing silhouette of his face. That was a normal thing she was relatively used to, or at least anticipated, by that point.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 11:47 am
Where did he even begin? He hadn't had this much of a challenge communicating since he was a teenager and he could only assume it was because the topic had been less significant at that point in his life. Truthfully up until this point he also hadn't given it much thought either - no one had actually turned his head in quite the same way. You know what, perhaps it was simply easier for him to just be direct, rip off the plaster and call it a day. Rather than draw it out they could both make a quick exit in opposite directions and process the information at their own pace.
Yep, that sounded like the best course of action.
A deep breath and he turned round to face her, clapping his hands in a very British manner, a "right" included under his breath for good measure. You might be able to take the man out of England but you couldn't remove the English out of the man, especially in moments of genuine stress or anxiety.
"I think I might be in love with you."
There, he'd said it! Nice and easy right? Right? Actually no, he had forgotten about one tiny element of this whole thing that had been stressed to him. Somewhere out there, there was a civilian for judging him for forgeting to add that one small addendum. Given that only a few seconds had passed he certainly had time to fill in the gap.
He should fill in the gap. Yeah he was going to fill in the gap; it was only polite.
"To be clear you are in no way obligated to return any affection, I just...was advised it would be beneficial to put it out in the open so that the air could be cleared," he cleared his throat. "Just in case I ever happen to meet your actual significant other at which point it would be entirely too awkward." he shook his head.
"So yes, that was what I needed to say," he cleared his throat again. "I don't have the greatest sense of timing so...you have my apologies for that."
Very smooth. So impressive. Every man could only aspire towards being so suave and charming. This was absolutely how this should always be done. Not.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 12:53 pm
Energy waves that emitted from the main, glowing silhouettes didn't give things like clues to how someone was feeling. They didn't alter to express anxiety, or fear, or joy. They just pulsed out, filling the air around the person, outlining things that didn't have energy auras, or melding and crossing with those other emitted waves.
She could only see how he moved, how his hands were up by his head for a moment, and eventually moved and brought to clap in front of him as he turned about. Her brow lifted. Maybe he really wasn't alright? He seemed stiff. Tense. She waited, having already asked what was up, asking are you alright? just felt redundant. He was collecting himself, she figured, getting himself up for talking about whatever it was, and she tried to not overthink things or think about how her pulse was picking up with her own anxiety--
It took her a moment. A moment, to register what he just said. Behind the blindfold, she stared. Her shoulders slowly fell, her brows slowly rose and her eyes went wide. Red began to seep into her cheeks and across her nose, bright against her pale skin.
I think I might be in love with you.
She kinda felt like she just got hit with a wrecking ball.
"Y-you... said... I--" Her voice was barely audible, her brain trying to process too much at once. He was already talking again. She could only somewhat hear him. Something about not being obligated, clearing the air, and--
"What significant other?"
Now her attention snapped into focus, eyes narrowing behind the blindfold up at him. Her hands came to her hips, stepping closer to him. "I'm not seeing anyone, Athalia. I've been single for... a while," she said after a slight huff. She'd no ill-will towards her ex, of course. He'd been sweet, kind, and entirely what she'd needed then. She continued to hope only for the best for him. It'd been a little before she'd even met Athalia, actually, now that she thought about it.
"Since before we met." Considering the bombshell he'd just dropped, she felt the need to be as brutally honest as possible. Her pulse was going a mile a minute. Her hands were at her hips cuz if she released them, they'd be shaking. How her voice wasn't quaking, she'd no idea. It was excitement that was slamming into her, a nagging voice in the back of her head going on about remember that warning about things being too good to be true?
"So you just said 'I love you' to someone who's a hundred percent single."
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 1:29 pm
"Oh, well that's convenient isn't it?" An almost conversational tone came in reply, one that would have been more suitable when discussing the weather and how they were pleasantly surprised that they didn't need to use their raincoat. The weather man had said it was going to rain and yet it hadn't, how handy! Except on this occasion it was an entirely different topic and Athalia should have been genuinely grateful that she couldn't actually see his facial expression because his features had very much schooled themselves into something between philosophical, but ultimately stupid.
Nevertheless -
"You have met you, right?" He asked in much the same moronic vein as before and gave his hand a wave. "It's almost an impossibility that you hadn't caught someone's eye by now, especially if they literally aren't blind," he continued. He lifted his hand to rub at the back of his neck and pursed his lips. "In fact you had met someone,"That could have still been a thing."
"Should have been actually, how can anyone be that stupid?" he mumbled to no one in particular though she would have been within earshot.
"Regardless," he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "The point still stands, I just needed to get it in to the open, I'm not expecting anything back in return other than a little bit of clarity," he added. "Good, bad, neutral, just so I know what the full picture is. It doesn't have to be weird or anything."
...He was making it weird already but that was beside the point.
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 2:31 pm
He was lucky he couldn't see the full extent of the deadpan look she was giving him. Convenient? His continued talk did him few favors, standing up a bit straighter as she continued to stare up at him in a level of disbelief.
Especially if they literally aren't blind.
Metis flinched to that. Her hands fidgeted with the chain of gold coins around her waist, biting her lip. "I have met me, Athalia. And while I appreciate you saying, at least I think you're saying, that I'm attractive..." She lifted her hand, tugging off the blindfold from her face. Pale eyes stared up towards where his face was. Not tracking him, not responding to light. It was why she needed to be mindful to wear sunglasses--she'd still get headaches or worse from too much light hitting nerves that wouldn't respond to it. "I am blind, and I can't tell you how often that changes how people respond to me once they know, or how they freaking baby me from the get go because they think I'm incapable of doing anything without supervision. Worse, some people want nothing to do with me because they think me having a disability means I'm weak, or worthless."
The color in her cheeks grew as she added, "But you just worked with me to figure out how to best teach me how to fight." She turned her head away, to not see his silhouette. Shutting her eyes did nothing after all, to help her collect her thoughts. "You haven't treated me like I'm an idiot, or like I need kid gloves on everything. You've treated me like an adult. Heck, you've treated me like a person. You've listened when I explained things that help me, have been amazingly awesome at helping me navigate things when I need it and describing stuff to me... and you just... let me be... me."
She swallowed thickly, feeling her throat getting a bit tight as she spoke. Her free hand reached, tentatively, to grasp one of his. "And... I like feeling like just me when I'm with you. A lot. We get along great, I always like chatting with you or just hanging out. You make me laugh, you make me want to push my own limits and do more things, I... I feel a lot stronger when I know you're with me... and... I feel really, really happy when I'm around you."
Now Metis was the one babbling, and she knew it. "I just... kind of was hating the idea of losing some of that, whenever you got into a relationship with someone. Because I can't expect you to always be there for me like that, if you've got someone. But I just want you to be happy Athalia, so I figured even if I lost some of what made me so happy, then that's fine, because I'd know you were safe and happy and... that's... really all I care about. So I... I think I might be in love with you, too."
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 4:18 pm
Words came out of her mouth and they did go in but it seemed that there was a slight disconnect when it came to providing an adequate response. Oh he hadn't gone mute, on the contrary he was more than capable of speaking, it was just that every eloquent bone in his body had departed to a different plane of existence.
"Do you honestly think that anyone would put up with my s**t right now?" he asked incredulously. "Have you seen my work-life balance?" he continued. "I don't think I even know what real sleep is any more," he mused. It was the truth though, ever since he'd had to work out how to juggle his real career and this ridiculously new level of responsibility, he hadn't been the best at going out to socialise. He had once known what the insight of a bar looked like, the occasional night club; but now it was very much a in the 'distant' past.
Now though?
...Well he knew what the outside of a vacated one looked like.
"But lack of sleep or not, I think it's safe to assume that no matter what your answer might have been you could have called me anywhere, any time," he sighed. "Even if the direction isn't entirely to my tastes," he admitted. At some stage she had grasped his hand and apparently, in those moments, his mind finally processed that she had done so. A glance down with a contemplative expression and he lifted it up to cup it between both of his.
"So, where do we go from here then?" he asked finally and raised a brow, quietly acknowledging that he was not in need of a moment to lick his wounds, and that his timing was atrocious. "I can only assume I skipped a step in revealing who I actually am since we seemed to have missed that stop at some point," he added.
"Or, we can get back on at the next station and loop back round to do things the right way, it's entirely up to you."
Although, logically, it made very little sense not to reveal who he was. Suffice to say that wouldn't make for the most reliable or open of relationships...
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 6:25 pm
This time, she gave a wince, though it was in sympathy. His work-life balance was no better than anyone else's she knew of... her own included. Even when she tried dating people she didn't know from being a senshi... either things fell apart, or they'd end up being powered themselves. Which, the latter worked better for her, she found. It was someone who understood all aspects of her life. Or, tried to.
"I know I can count on you, yes... though maybe I'm resisting calling because I'm hoping you're finally catching up on a bit of beauty sleep," she offered in a tease, needing some light-hearted commentary in this. It was heavy, but her pulse was also fluttering about, a bird wild inside her ribcage. As he lifted her hand up and took it in both of his, that bird damn near tried to leap out of the cage...
Slender fingers curled around his hand, holding tight as she laughed a bit to his question. What indeed? He had a good point, though, about them not having met before without the glamours...
So. Metis just smiled up at him, and let that magic fall away. She'd taken a quick glance about and saw no other energies flitting through the area, so deemed the coast clear. White, teal, and black fabrics faded into nothingness, leaving behind a young woman in a massively oversized, thick dark green cardigan, a black turtleneck, dark skinny jeans, and brown hair tossed up in a messy bun. Everything had a slightly worn look to it--items of comfort rather than strictly fashion. Ignoring the rather pricy brand names on them, that is. Even the cardigan had a bit of a pilly texture suggesting heavy, heavy home use. Not the most impressive outfit to be introducing one's self to one's uh.... crush, but. Well.
If he was going to be mega blunt, so was she.
She squeezed his hand, offering a cheeky smile as she said, "Lilith Calchas. Nice to meet you. Care to grab a bite to eat some time?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 6:38 pm
His preference really wouldn't have been to reveal himself in a park where someone or something could pop out of anywhere, but sensing nothing of immediate concern he took a breath and permitted his glamour to fall. Not one for flourishes, that pretty little suit of his had fallen away to leave what could only be described as standard attire for the man. A shirt that for once had some colour on it (the slightest hint of blue), a light jacket that jingled with all of his possessions he had left the house with and a rather baggy pair of cargo pants - not that they didn't fit, he just preferred comfort in his downtime.
It was only when he really took her in that he continued with the current trend of having absolutely no tact.
"Well holy s**t you've been right under my nose this whole time," he murmured. He knew that name, he knew that face as well. In fact, he could remember the very first time he'd met her at that odd book signing Orias had wanted to go to, and then the next morning when he had gone to see her father with his colleague. To say he'd been in close proximity with the woman more than once over the course of several months had been an understatement.
...Well damn those glamours were good.
"Erm...Well Lilith it's an absolute pleasure to meet you but I can safely say we've met before. I'm Regula, Wilder to be precise. Your father is rather familiar with who I am and I'm almost positive I insulted your secretary one of the first times we met," he confessed with a small snort.
"And I think that a bite to eat now would be phenomenal as I'm fairly certain all I've eaten today is a kiwi and I don't have much fuel left in the tank," he conceded.
"Although," he paused thoughtfully. "Do we need to stop by and pick up your dog?" he asked. She might not need her companion, but he wouldn't make that assumption on her behalf...
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Posted: Sat Sep 18, 2021 7:08 pm
She expected a laugh and an introduction. As he'd lost his own glamour, she could hear a rustle of clothing as things settled into place. Jingling muffled by material. Her smile grew, excited to hear who he was.
Only then her smile faltered into a questioning look. "...I know I'm short compared to you, but really?" Because, yes, she was under his nose. She wasn't tall enough to be anywhere else.
But the fact his voice sounded kinda familiar didn't at first make her become aware of anything. Of course his voice would be--she'd been just hearing it as Athalia. Just without the glamour, she'd know he was Athalia.
Funny how that magic worked.
The odd start to his introduction had her brows furrowing together, frowning up at him. Met before? Who-- "....wait, seriously? Officer Wilder?" She drew up a bit, blinking rapidly. "Well. Hello. Regula. Wow, didn't see that one coming." Her free hand, no longer holding her blindfold, waved a bit absently. "Oh that woman was horrible, don't worry about it. She got heavily reprimanded for her stunt that day." But her smile returned, growing smug as she tsked, "So the guy from the signing, and one of the liaisons from the police department, is Athalia? My god... well. At least I don't need to warn you about my dad," she laughed, snickering a bit. That was usually a tough conversation to have with someone... She checked her pockets with the hand not still holding his. Cell phone. Key to get into her apartment. All good.
"If you're that empty, I'd rather get you food soon as possible so your blood sugar doesn't bottom out or something." She reached up to tap her forehead, where the third eye would be. "I... can see as I do as Metis, now. I think my world accepts me more now, so it's given me a sort of... blessing? So if you don't mind helping me a little with what it can't pick up, I'll be good for now." She didn't even have her cane, and part of her felt weird without it... but Lilith wasn't going to say she wasn't excited about a... well.
A dinner date.
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Posted: Sun Sep 19, 2021 4:16 am
"Yeah, tell me about it," he murmured as he took a step back to take her in. Sure she might have ended up with a few more frills and ribbons here and there but she didn't change that much when she turned into a scout. All things considered he should have been able to recognise her and yet the glamours had proven themselves to be particularly effective. Did that mean that he would end up being slightly caught out each time by her transformation and vice versa; or now that the cover was blown would it be more like Louis and Clark?
"That being said, warning or not I will still have to be mindful of your father," he mused. "Just as well I don't have an official criminal record," he rolled his eyes. Being classified as a terrorist group was not helpful, but at least one persona could be separated from the other and allow him to fly under the radar. With the exception of being tired a fair amount of the time he could still do his job, but what a surprise that would be if the time ever came that the game was up, eh?
Nevertheless as she checked her pockets for her own bits and pieces he couldn't help but raise a brow. She could see (sort of) without Raja or a cane? He supposed if he looked at her eyes they were certainly more aligned in the sense that she was looking in a more focused fashion than he would have been accustomed to. How cool, even if he was a little bit jealous.
"So you're telling me your planet was kind enough to restore your sight and mine just decided it would be funny if I glittered?" he snorted. It was useful in the dark when he was meandering about the house, but entirely invisible under his clothes. In essence he was a very walking, but very dim, nightlight with his shirt off. "I need to work on my planet's sense of humour."
"And I'll be fine, if you need to pick something up then we can go and get it," he pursed his lips. "My car is a few blocks down from here, I think," he looked over her and passed the hill the way he had previously arrived. He hadn't run or jumped at any great length to get here so in terms of what was humanly possible, walking back to it wouldn't be hard. After that it didn't really matter what they did or didn't need to pick up, or where she wanted to eat!
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2021 1:56 pm
His silhouette wasn't very different between senshi uniform, and not. His aura didn't possess the same silver tendrils that melded through the copper, human aura, but that was the only large difference she noticed. Close to him, she could make out bits of his clothing loosely outlined by his own energy as it radiated out from him, but that was about it.
She wondered, briefly, if she looked about the same as she did as Metis to him, too.
"At least dad knows who you are. I'm sure he's done background checks on you already before he started working with you, to try to n** any corrupt cop crap in the bud," she pointed out with a shrug. Not that a liaison would be in a great position to make any requests or gain favours, but people trying to get close to her father for his money and connections wasn't uncommon. "And if he ever has an issue with your 'unofficial criminal record,'" she huffed, her free hand forming quotation marks as she gave him a rather deadpan look, "he's welcome to bring it up to me, first. I'd be curious to hear his backpedaling."
Not that he'd be above double-standards, if she ever did come clean to her parents about her life and after hours activities. But oh would that be a conversation if it started out with him raging about someone else in her life living the masked life....
Though such thoughts were, largely, shoved aside in favor of focusing on the here and now. Bridges to cross another time. "Not really a restore," she corrected him, even if she had to try to smother the grin that was trying to spread across her face. Lilith shot him a sheepish look. "Just... was kind enough to let me see as I do as Metis, that's all. Nothing's changed here," she said as she waved her hand over her own eyes. "I just can see the energy I give off."
Which had her frowning at him. "Glitter?" Her head tilted, peering at his form in question. His probable directions towards his car had her nodding, her hand still holding his because she liked it, and only shifted her grip to a less awkward one when she moved around to stand at his side so they could start walking. "Let's head towards the car, then. If you see anything good as we go, we can just stop there? But please explain the glittering."
Now she couldn't hold back the grin, wide and bright, the corners of her eyes crinkled in mirth. There was s**t to be concerned about, of course. The aliens, the potential strike on Metallia, the energy required to pull that off. There were concerns, dangers, and questions that drastically needed answering if able. She absolutely, and without question, dumped all that to the side for the moment. It was a huge a** pile she could shift through later and reexamine. For the time being, her attention was entirely focused on her friend-crush-significant other(?)-whatever this was getting into. Because she felt warm, giddy, safe, and a tad bit annoyed at his absolute lack of tact that night. These weren't new feelings around him. She just hadn't anticipated them being reciprocated. Her heart fluttered in her ribcage, and there wasn't holding back the light, almost bounce to her step.
Things never stayed peachy and rose-tinted in Destiny City, so that just made her appreciate the joy and wonder of the moments all the more. And fight all the harder to protect the ones who made those moments possible for her.
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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 4:40 am
"Urgh..." He groaned. If there was one thing he would rather not discuss it was the fact that he sparkled, however the manner in which he had come to 'have' the odd and shimmering armour was somewhat interesting. It might not have served a purpose originally, but in the end he had been educated to understand what it was meant for and in doing so...well he had learned a trick or four.
She was at least entitled to that story even if she couldn't see the results in any great detail. Actually, one day he might ask if he did glow brighter or look different with it on or off.
"Well if you really must know," he uttered as he began to trace his way back towards the rough vicinity of his car. "It all started with a really hard knock to the head..." he began. He wouldn't cover all of it by the time he got to the car, but she would at least have some of the background to it by the time they got there. He could explain the more nuanced aspects when he was driving and where he couldn't be overheard...
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