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 Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2021 7:54 am
Adria didn’t like being out alone. It was dangerous. It was stupid. If the Negaverse could take Lysithea, they could take anyone.
Except, he didn’t really know what else he was supposed to do because he couldn’t just sit around and do nothing and everyone had different plans for how they could find her. He didn’t have the comfort of living with everyone else and he felt very much on his own.
He didn’t blame them for not visiting him in the hospital, he understood. They had other things to deal with. They had to grieve in their own way. He was closest to Cambria more so than them, and she was what held them all together.
He knew he wasn’t on his own, it just felt that way. It felt like he didn’t have the authority to say or do anything--and why should any of them listen to him? Monoceros and Malus were Lysithea’s. They were a part of her group.
...Her group, that was in shambles.
He wasn’t like Michel, who he suspected was out doing very stupid things. They weren’t close, but Adria had seen the look in his eye when he’d come to get him from the hospital. They’d hardly spoken, but he’d gotten home safely, and it was probably one of the nicest things his brother had ever done for him.
So, he was going to try and help get Cambria back--for all of them. He just didn’t know where to start.
So, Adria was out. Looking. For her, for answers, for help. For anything.
The park always seemed to have something going on so he’d made his way there.
It hadn’t taken long for there to be a weird energy signature--only, he couldn’t see anything. It felt like a youma, but with nothing there but an energy signature that he couldn’t quite make out, and a youma he couldn’t quite see, he wasn’t sure what was going on.
...Or, maybe he was just losing his mind.
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Posted: Sun Dec 12, 2021 4:29 pm
Sometimes Rhiannon liked to go out into the park at night, just for a chance to get away from the direct noises of the city. She enjoyed living with her aunt, who gave her all the freedoms and kindness that her own mother never gave her. But sometimes she just needed to get out of the house and sit and collect her thoughts.
Which was why she was out that night. After the strange battle with the aliens and the trip to the moon, Rhiannon had been thinking long and hard about her position in the magical war. Years ago, she thought she understood what she wanted. She thought she could find a place among the rest of the powered population like her cousin had. Like her aunt had, even.
But instead, Rhiannon focused more on her schooling so she could take care of immediate problems, rather than magical wars that could go on forever. Helping animals when they were sick was much more rewarding than getting hit with debris from an exploding generator.
She didn’t see the youma. Not until she heard the distinct crunch of leaves under its feet.
Out of habit more than use, Rhiannon grabbed the pen from her pocket and powered up, jumping off the bench just as the youma seemed to flicker temporarily into view. Some kind of ability like a chameleon?
She wasn’t the only one there, she realized. Another Senshi was close, and if she couldn’t see the youma, she doubted the other Senshi would be able to see it either.
“Snow slip!” she called out her attack, sending a rolling pile of snow across the ground where the youma had been. Not just to attack it, but so they could see where it was walking.
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Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2021 1:29 pm
The sound of another energy signature, another voice, had Adria spinning on his heels to face her–to face the youma that suddenly seemed visible. The snow collided with it and it flickered into sight: a six foot tall, skinny, scaled lizard creature that might have passed for some perfect hybrid of lizard and person.
They locked eyes and it hissed at him, even as it violently shivered to fling off the snow.
In the split second that Adria could see it he’d seen the talons. He’d seen the spikes on its tail. He’d seen the hunger in its eyes.
He wasn’t much of a fighter but he made for a pretty good punching bag, so that had to count for something. He could already imagine how much it was going to hurt when the youma slammed into him, but even as it scurried towards him in a rage, he had enough wits about him to at least cast his magic–which wasn’t particularly impressive, he thought; a miniature sun rippled into existence and caught the youma’s eye.
It slowed slightly and stared at the orb, and it seemed like Adria had earned himself a bit of a reprieve. Enough time to grab a fallen branch, enough time to draw it over his head and swing down on the youma. It fell in a heap, still disoriented and staring at the tiny sun slowly setting beneath some mystical horizon.
He swung again, begging in his head for it to just turn to dust. He wasn’t a monster, his eyes were watering as he beat the youma down. It didn’t even seem to feel any pain but it didn’t bring him any comfort. The sixth strike dusted it, but his heart was broken because what if it could have been saved?
Lysithea would be so disappointed.
There was a voice in the back of his head that told him it wasn’t dead, just gone, and if it could be saved, there would be more time. He was alive, for now. It couldn’t hurt anyone. For now.
His chest heaved while he tried to catch his breath, and it was with a sudden extreme awareness that he remembered the Senshi who had come to help. He dropped the branch and looked at her like he knew he was guilty. “I’m sorry. Thank you. I knew something was out here, I just couldn’t see it.”
He looked at the empty space where the youma used to be and then back up at her. She looked fine but, afraid of silence, or reproach, he asked, “Are you okay?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2021 6:05 pm
As soon as Varuna had her bearings again, she jumped into action and--
She watched as the Eternal senshi managed to handle the horrifying looking youma with not just magic of his own, but a tree branch. Resourceful. She didn’t have much in terms of offensive magic unless getting someone to fall off a building. Even then, it wasn’t always on purpose.
As the youma turned into dust, Varuna looked back up at the young man. He seemed distressed. Lost. Something pulled at her heart that she didn’t quite understand. She didn’t even know who this Senshi was, but he was asking her if she was okay. And he kept looking at where the youma had been.
She stepped closer with a nod. Yes, she was uninjured. She could see that he seemed uninjured as well. At least physically uninjured. There were tears in his eyes. And he looked like he felt guilty.
Which was why she slowly approached and reached out to wrap her arms around him. Probably unwise to do so to someone she just met, but Varuna had never been really big with words. She found that actions worked better for her, so instead of offering her sympathies, she wanted to give him a hug. If he was against the touch, she kept her arms loose enough to be able to be pushed away. But somehow he looked like he needed a hug more than he realized. Even if it was from a stranger. Although she knew she could be entirely wrong.
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Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2021 6:54 pm
Adria’s breathing was uneven well before Varuna embraced him. He’d registered that she nodded, that she was fine. He didn’t understand the hug at first but realized rather quickly that it wasn’t for her, it was for him.
The first blink after her arms were around him was warm, and he felt an empty horror that he was crying. It was weak and pathetic and he couldn’t even celebrate winning a fight because it felt wrong. He’d sunk so far that he could just fall apart in front of a complete stranger.
How shameful.
“Sorry,” he said, even as he sank into the hug. He reached a hand up to brush his thumb roughly over his eyes, like a little discomfort might force them to suck those tears back up.
“My Court, we try to save youma. It probably sounds stupid. One of the Senshi in our group used to be one, and he takes it really seriously. The others are really big on it, and I just want to help, too. I mean, half of them are gone right now, we can’t find them.”
Well, no. One of them had been corrupted but he couldn’t bring himself to just drop that on a total stranger who was already doing enough for him by trying to console him.
He felt like he was letting everyone down.
“I just don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’m doing my best. It’s not very good, I’m not a very good replacement. I’m very lucky you were here to help, I don’t think I would have seen that youma otherwise.”
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2021 10:53 am
Varuna had no idea who this Senshi was. She’d never seen him before, but then again she hadn’t exactly been focusing on being a Senshi while she was in school. But now after everything with the new aliens on Earth, she thought she should probably try and figure out a way to help. As much as someone with no friends or resources could help.
She’d heard about Senshi being turned into youma before, but not the other way around. It was a little surprising, but she felt as though she immediately understood one of the reasons why he’d been upset.
What if the youma he’d just dusted had been one they could have saved? But he probably also didn’t need to be told that not all youma wanted to be saved. And she knew that unless someone wanted the chaos removed, they would never be able to be purified.
Luckily for youma, most of them seemed to return after a while, even after they’d been defeated.
Unluckily for this young man, he seemed to be holding everything together by threads.
“My name is Varuna. Senshi of avalanches,” she said quietly, her hands rubbing at the Eternal Senshi’s back, and gently petting his hair -- that was more instinctual. She worked with animals daily and couldn’t help but want to offer some kind of comfort. “You are very kind to try and save them. It does not sound stupid at all. I… I understand wanting to help save those who can’t ask for help, or don’t know how, or can’t. I work as a veterinarian during the day,” she explained, already unsure if she was sharing too much, but he seemed like he needed something to help keep himself distracted so he could focus on what needed to be done.
“I can try to help look for your friends, if you’d like. I know others who can help look too.”
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2021 8:02 pm
A veterinarian? That sounded promising. Something dull in the back of his mind wanted to say that Lysithea was a healer but she was gone now, so they could really use someone who had any experience helping.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said, because manners were important. Even if he was resting against a total stranger while she rubbed his back. “I’m Adria, Senshi of Sunsets. And I will accept any help I can get. I didn’t tell you the truth, not completely. I just didn’t want to seem dramatic. But, if you’re willing to help, I know keeping secrets isn’t going to do anyone any favors. Lysithea, she’s the Senshi of Unicorns? She is missing. Except, we know the Negaverse has her. But we can’t find her to save her. The other one, Monoceros, we’ve just lost contact with him. I can only assume the worst, but.”
He shrugged a bit helplessly. “I don’t know. I hope it’s just a misunderstanding. I’m sorry, it’s just been a lot. She was the leader of our Court, and I’m just trying to hold it together while she’s not here. But we need all the help we can get, I’m not a leader like she is.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 10:06 am
Varuna was just glad that Adria hadn't pushed her away yet. Sometimes getting a hug was very important for someone's well being, and she was happy to provide them as quickly as she was happy to use her magic on any threats.
She nodded in understanding as she carefully pulled herself away from him, but took a chance to look him over. He didn't seem like he was insincere. Instead, he seemed like he really did just want to help. Somehow he reminded her of herself a little. Quiet. Maybe ignored at times because of that.
Was he spoken over, too? He was out, fighting youma that he didn't want to fight, because he was worried about the members of his court.
Once she was satisfied, she lifted her hand to gently pet at his hair-- oh, he wasn't an animal, but she hoped it was comforting regardless.
"You are still in one piece," she concluded. "Breathing is important. I will help however I can. I don't have many that I see often, but… my auntie is a Knight of Venus, and she has more connections." She didn't want to give away who her auntie was just yet, because it wasn't fair to Marissa. Just as she was cautious about revealing that Ganymede was her cousin. Since she didn't think Ganymede even knew that she was Varuna. Involved in the war, yes. But they never talked about how she was involved.
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Posted: Thu Dec 23, 2021 3:53 pm
Adria was not an animal, but he was as touch starved as any feral beast and seemed to take comfort in the head pat almost as much as he had the hug. He didn’t make eye contact immediately, and instead rubbed at his cheeks and eyes with both hands before exhaling and drawing his attention back to her.
He was in one piece, and he should feel happier about that so he nodded. Breathing was important, even if he sometimes felt like it was too much work and maybe just burying his face in the dirt would be easier.
“I know a few Saturn Knights, they’re out looking, too.” He didn’t volunteer their names only because he suspected at least Michel was getting into trouble.
Again, he thanked her, and then he said, “Anything you can do, anything from anyone, any help at all–that would be amazing. And the same to you, if there’s ever anything I can help with. I mean, the Court and I will do our best. Not that there’s a lot of us, but. Well–you’d be welcome to come with us if you want company patrolling or need help with anything. Can I give you my phone number, in case you find anything? Or–I mean, the Court tries to help youma, so if you ever find someone who needs help, you can call us for that too. I mean–I don’t know if we can do it without Lysithea and Monoceros, but.”
He chewed on the inside of his chee and then shrugged. “We could figure something else out. We’d do our best. I mean–unless you’re looking to join a Court, because, uhm. I mean. Well, it’s an option, if you were interested. Or just wanted to learn more about it. I’m sorry, I’m really not good at this.”
He might have been, if he wasn’t so nervous and overwhelmed.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2021 5:49 pm
Since it didn't seem as though he was too upset with the gentle head pats or hugs, Varuna continued to softly brush at his hair. It was easier for her, this way. She could offer touch as a means of communication easier than she could formulate words. It had helped her in her communication with animals, so this really wasn't that much different, despite the fact that humans were more complex.
"Court?" she repeated curiously, tilting her head a bit to the side as she watched his expressions. He obviously thought highly of the Court he was in. He talked about it with a certain sense of pride in his voice. Maybe it was the people involved or maybe it was their goals that brought him something to live for. Either way, she was glad that he had something and people looking after him.
Well, maybe not as well as they could be, if he was the one looking for their missing members.
"You may not want me to join," she warned, but there was more sadness in her voice than anything else. "I'm used to working alone." And it was probably why she was still just a Super Senshi after all these years.
"But I think you're doing a good job. You are asking others for help, and we will find a way to save Lysithea and Monoceros," she said with a small nod. Her heart ached a little, but she reminded herself that others didn't usually want her around in the first place. She was too aloof for them-- because she couldn't communicate with them as easily as she wanted. Animals were easier. They understood her, and she did her best to understand them.
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Posted: Wed Dec 29, 2021 10:54 pm
Adria pressed his lips tightly together because it wasn’t quite rejection, but he knew he was usually too quick to give up, and he wasn’t going to argue with someone about what they wanted. He wasn’t going to try and force her opinion to change or drag her into something she didn’t want to be involved in.
All he knew was that they hadn’t been strong enough with what they were, and he needed to find a way to get stronger, to help the Court get stronger. To find more people who wanted what they wanted and could help them.
“I wouldn't have offered if there wasn’t a spot. And it’ll be open if you ever want. There’s nothing wrong with working alone, but. I mean, we could be there if you ever didn’t want to be alone. And I don’t actually remember the last time I had a hug, so you could stick around even if you just wanted to dispense a couple of those. Mostly I’m just worried about anyone being out alone. It’s dangerous if you don’t have someone watching your back. I could have been in big trouble if you didn’t have mine just now.”
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Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 4:45 pm
Varuna stared at Adria with growing curiosity. She'd expected him to take her warning and accept it as the best solution. People didn't usually try to offer her encouragement. Not other than her auntie, but that was why she lived with her instead of her own mother.
Still, a small smile crept onto her face when Adria mentioned the hug she gave him, which of course meant that she needed to hug him again. Which she did.
She wrapped her arms around Adria once more, hugging him a little tighter than before.
"Okay," she quietly agreed, giving his hair a couple more pets since he didn't seem to mind it before. "If it will help, I will do my best. I will join your Court, if you'll have me. And if you decide I'm not a good fit… I won't hold it against you."
She paused for a moment and then squeezed him as she whispered, "Thank you for giving me a chance." It wasn't every day people did so.
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Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2022 5:37 am
Adria needed that hug, and even though he thought he must have made such a fool of himself, he stayed in it for as long as he could. “Thank you for giving me a chance. Us. If you don’t like it, we won’t kidnap you and force you to stick around with us. But you’ll be welcome. And maybe we can figure things out together.”
Everyone was looking for something, right? Even if it was just security, or safety, or–
Adria didn’t want to admit that hugs were sort of on his list right now.
He exhaled, and reluctantly took a step back so he could show her he was smiling.
“I have a good feeling about this.”
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Posted: Mon Jan 17, 2022 8:18 pm
She relaxed a bit when Adria pulled back to show her he was smiling. Good. She smiled back at him and gave him a silent nod in agreement.
Varuna had no idea if she would be accepted as a member of their court once she met the others, but she was at least glad to have met Adria. Even if nothing else worked out, maybe they could be friends after all of this.
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