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 Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:58 pm
Quote: One Foggy Night (5): As the seasons shift, the temperature changes too. It’s not uncommon for fog to roll in, sometimes from the mountains, sometimes out of nowhere. This fog is particularly thick and difficult to see through; Destiny City has issued several weather warnings and cautions being out or driving at night. It’s easy to get lost and difficult to see obstacles. Not to mention the strange, smothering sensation of dread and fear that rolls in with the fog. While there is sometimes the sensation of being watched, it worsens when the sun goes down. Some have even said they’ve caught glimpses of a tall, horned figure traveling with the fog. The news has reported that this is probably just a side effect of climate change and suspects that weather patterns should return to normal towards the end of the month.
If she was just a little less dedicated, she probably would have stayed home. But she wasn't, because she had a very bad feeling about this--about people describing being watched and seeing strange horned figures. The thought was more chilling than the weather, the idea that there might be some kind of monster lurking in this fog. That it might be a Chaos plot, and that people might be in danger.
So she was out, walking through the fog, and hoping that she didn't get too terribly lost.
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 6:22 pm
Even having been here for a couple of years now -- mostly hiding away in her home and work, for...various reasons -- Polyhymnia still didn't know much of the layout of the city. But...she couldn't ignore things forever, and guilt ate away at her until she'd caved, once more going out into the night after work to keep an eye on things. Her arms wrapped around herself, though, taking slow, deep breaths as she tried to power walk down the sidewalk. There weren't many people out, and honestly, she wished she wasn't. The fog was thick, there was a chill in the air that made everything feel wrong. There was still time to turn around, theoretically, but even if no one else saw her, she needed to look, to see, to check on things. Especially with aliens nearby. Sure, they were friendly, allies even, but...if they were out there, then gods only knew what else could be on the way. However...this looked like the same coffee shop that she'd passed twice now. "I swear, I need some sort of map telling me where to go, it's not even possible to pass the same place and yet..." Was she talking to someone? Or was she talking to herself? ...most likely the latter, though she made a turn around the corner, determined to find somewhere else, to look elsewhere, only to let out a startled cry. There was...there was someone up ahead...!
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 6:43 pm
Fólkvangr heard the startled yelp before she spotted another person, because she turned to the sound. Now that she was paying attention, she noticed the Senshi aura, and the poor woman looked confused, and scared, so Fólkvangr stepped a bit closer, so she was hopefully more visible. Her colors, at least, were hopefully enough to stand out against the fog.
"Are you alright?" She asked, as she approached. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." Which...she really hoped the other woman took at face value.
"I'm Fólkvangr, I'm a Squire."
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:26 pm
Yeah, no, Polyhymnia was not going to immediately trust this other person -- other woman, but then she was introducing herself. She might not know much, if anything really, about Squires, but surely there wouldn't be bad Squires. That would be too many Squires. Not that she knew how many there were. "Ah. Ah. Okay, right, okay, good. Gotta admit, that -- uh, couldn't...tell any sort of details. I'm Sailor Polyhymnia. I'm...not the best at fighting. Not that that's an excuse, people -- things happen, especially this time of year..." Halloween was terrifying. "I -- I, you weren't...hunting anything or anyone down, were you? I haven't really noticed anything solid, but..." But things were certainly creepy. Was there something out there, or was the fog just playing with her head?
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Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2021 7:55 pm
Fólkvangr relaxed, smiling in a warm, gentle way that she hoped made her look more approachable.
"That's okay, this fog is making everything so much creepier," she said, and she folded her fan closed, holding it in such a way that her hands were visible and Polyhymnia would be able to see it was the only thing she was carrying, even though of course her weapon meant her magic was easily at hand.
"I wasn't really hunting anything, no--I've heard all kinds of rumors about weird things in the fog, and I thought it might be youma? But I haven't run into any, or...seen anything concrete at all, yet," she said. "What about you? Everything okay? You haven't been attacked or anything, have you?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 8:37 pm
"Yeah, I was thinking the same, or I mean. Youma, kids with costumes and bad attitudes, animals, there are a lot of things that go bump in the dark and some of them are....well. They sure are." Nia cleared her throat before shaking her head, hands rubbing her arms a bit. "Nah, haven't run into anything myself. I mean. Nothing that attacks? Saw a stray dog that scampered away a few minutes ago, but...definitely just a dog. Normal dog. I think normal dog? There's not uh, talking dogs anywhere in everything, right?" She just couldn't seem to speak any slower, to not let anxiety show for all that she was watching around them. She didn't have a weapon, and her magic wasn't exactly good for fighting, but...
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:25 pm
Fólkvangr nodded. They sure were, for certain. And the Negaverse was glad to make all sorts of awful monstrosities to throw at everyone in the city.
"Is it weird that I sort of hope it turns out to be a youma?" She said. "Known quantities, and all." She looked back out into the fog, briefly, and sighed. "And as far as I know, no? Well, I'm sure...youma come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, and I've seen a dog-thing or two before, but they'll look...enough unlike a ral dog for you to tell. And they only sometimes talk."
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:49 pm
"Only sometimes talk, alright, I'll -- I'll make note of that." Disturbing as it was, she'd remember that, add it to her notes when she got home... And hope she never ran into a talking dog. One that looked like a normal dog or no. Talking cats and aliens were more than enough for her, thanks. "I mean, if that's what you're used to, better the enemy you know and all that? Whereas I'm just...hoping it's not, because like...dealing with people seems easier than dealing with, I don't know, magic and monsters? I'd be more likely to scare off a person than, well. Not person. Or uh. Magical people that aren't nice."
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:23 pm
"Youma in general are sometimes smart, and sometimes just feral creatures," Fólkvangr explained, and then she sighed, quietly. "I used to be an officer, so I know a lot about them." She reached over to brush her thumb over one of the scars on her arm.
She gave the poor Senshi a sad smile, and sighed. "Yeah, some idiot in a costume is better than just about any other option. But unfortunately, you're going to run into the other side eventually, and you should be prepared." She looked the Senshi up and down, briefly. "Have you gotten into a fight with the Negaverse, yet? Or....how long have you been a Senshi?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:36 pm
"I...I've been...well. I haven't had...I mean, I've been near a couple of fights? But...never really in the thick of it. I...I just..." Chaos, utter chaos, voices calling out, people attacking one another, someone's death-- "Old enough I probably should know more than I do, but too much of a coward for time to mean anything, really. It's...it's been a couple of years. Though I dug my head in the ground, hiding, after only a few months. It was...is, a lot to take in. But I can't be an ostrich anymore, y'know?" Polyhymnia's gaze looked sympathetic she looked over at Fólkvangr. "People change. Just because you used to be one of them, doesn't mean anything now, right? Like. You're here, now. And that's what matters. Or at least, what should matter."
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 10:42 pm
Ah, yes. Someone who had been tossed into this world and fled from it--Fólkvangr could sympathize. Certainly she'd let herself disappear for several years while she tried to find a way out of the Negaverse.
"Same to you," she said. "It matters that you're here now, and trying to do more." Her smile became more warm, and kind. "We need as many people fighting the good fight as we can get. Especially since the Negaverse is never going to stop grabbing people up to turn into soldiers. So...responsibilities, and all that."
She sighed, softly. "It's...hard. But there's always time to do more."
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2021 11:09 pm
"I'm -- the issue is, I'm not and never have been a fighter. Theoretically? I can sort of understand it, but my hands were made more for -- for reading. Helping. Not hurting. Even if the person I'd presumably be hurting was determined to hurt me. That's -- that's what kept me hiding. Even as I'd hear whispers, sense things that shouldn't be possible, I couldn't hurt anyone. Still don't know if I could. I'm best served as a distraction, the way I am now." She turned to look away -- the fog was still creepy, but...it didn't seem as scary as it had before. "But it's something I just have to learn. I never was any good at PE, but things can't always remain the same. I just...wish there was some other way I could help, but I'm...ah..." She cleared her throat. "...not the greatest at reaching out and meeting people. I do it all day at -- as a y'know, not-magic-person. So when I leave it's...well. Again. Things can't stay the same. There's time to change." The senshi paused before looking at Fólkvangr. "Even if it's a change I'd rather not have happen, it's probably better not to fight it, yeah?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 17, 2021 1:57 am
Fólkvangr nodded sympathetically. "I wasn't either, before I got pulled into this. And I've learned some things, but I'm still not great at it."
And she was having to relearn everything, because her fighting style had been built around having starseed pulling and teleportation in her back pocket, both of which she had sacrificed for pesky things like freedom and the chance to be a better person, out from under the Negaverse's shadow.
...A fair enough trade, she supposed.
"But...yeah, there's a lot that has to change once you commit yourself to the whole Soldier of Love and Justice thing," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "It's for the better in the end, though, I think--gives you a lot of chances to do something real and powerful in this world.
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2021 8:15 pm
"But...is it, really? I mean, yeah, doing good should be...should be good, I know, but like...there's a difference between volunteering at the local soup kitchen and feeding the homeless and helping them get their lives back together, and having to fight...with aliens and monsters and all of the things that go bump in the night." Polyhymnia let out a heavy sigh, closing her eyes and tilting her head back. "But, if I don't do it, then who will? I know, I know other people are. You, froggy boy, gods only know how many other people I've never even met. But...y'know, the old arugment, if I'm capable of doing something and don't...what's the point? I can do it, can do something, where others can't, even if it doesn't feel like much." Another sigh and she was looking down and over at Fólkvangr once again, expression warm. "If nothing else, I can do what I can, even if it's mostly distractions. Sorry, didn't mean to go all...philosophical and rambling on you."
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Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2021 10:48 pm
Fólkvangr nodded. "Great power, great responsibility, all that, yeah?" She said. "We all have to stand up and do something, or..." She sighed. "Or the darkness gains ground. And maybe it wins."
She didn't like to think about that prospect. About some terrible day where the Negaverse gained so much power, Order couldn't hold the line any longer.
But she didn't think that day was coming any time soon. There were too many of them, with stout hearts, like Nia.
"I get it. Sometimes you gotta talk things out, yeah?" She looekd deeper into the fog. "Id you don't mind, I'm gonna do a little more hunting. Stay safe, yeah? And--oh," her face lit up. "You should meet my Princess. And her husband. Ganymede and Valhalla. I bet they'd love to help you figure things out, and it's good to have a Princess in your pocket. Never know when you might need one."
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