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 Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2021 5:44 pm
Still sore from his run in with the youma, Meninx really wasn’t in the best of conditions to take a visitor up to Mars. But, Bellite had insisted. And called the youma off.
And she had a sharp axe.
Against his better judgment, he’d taken her arm. He’d focused. He’d willed himself--and her--up to his namesake.
Meninx was a comfortable temperature, already different from the chill of Destiny City. It was nighttime, but there was light enough from distant stars that it had a strange, otherworldly illumination.
They arrived in a courtyard filled with white stone debris. The ground might have been paved once, but now it was faded and damaged, and stained red from dust.
Hopefully just dust.
There was a fountain next to them, though it looked like it hadn’t worked in a long time. Brown, dried up flowers lay in the empty pool, and withered vines and dried grass were the only signs of plant-life there.
In the distance there appeared to be a few other buildings, mostly white but stained and dirty. They looked distinctly Roman, and there were a number of trees--all brown and leafless--that might have been pretty if they appeared alive.
The effort to arrive by himself was somewhat overwhelming on its own, but with a guest? As soon as they arrived, Meninx wavered a bit; he released Bellite and had to lean against the fountain. His heart was pounding and he was so dizzy he thought he was going to pass out, but--
They’d made it.
Just like she wanted.
And, he got out of the cold, just like he wanted.
...He still hoped this wasn’t a mistake.
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2021 6:39 pm
If she were being honest, the feeling of actually leaving the Earth wasn’t something that Bellite enjoyed, but the fact that she could open her eyes and she would see things that people on Earth could only imagine? That…that was a fantastic feeling.
Though, the Wonder that she was brought to, Meninx…it was…
Desolate, to say the least.
“It’s beautiful!” Bellite couldn’t stop the words, and honestly, they were true. It was as beautiful as any ruins could be. “I bet that we could get the fountain turned on if we worked at it. I’ll find some books on repairing things if you’d like. We can meet up, come back up here and work on getting the water flowing again? I bet that would revive some of the plants too.”
Ah. Well, helping this Page fix up his Wonder was…not something that she should be trying to do but…the very idea of doing...of getting her hands dirty bringing something back. Doing something...it was a fun thought.
…Plus, perhaps after they fixed it, they could give the Wonder as a gift to their ruler. That would be most pleasing, she was sure.
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Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2021 10:46 am
Meninx had no choice but to give her a look when she declared it was beautiful.
It was in ruins and he knew it left much to be desired. He felt strange being here, like he was an unwanted visitor. Like he was intruding on someone else’s world. At first, he wasn’t sure if she was just mocking him, but the more she talked, the more he wondered if she was actually considering helping him.
...She was talking about a long term plan. To fix this place.
“...You think?” he asked after a few seconds, and drew his hand to the back of his neck. It felt weird--to accept help, first of all, and then weirder because he was pretty sure they were supposed to be enemies.
“I don’t know much about pipes or anything, but. I mean, yeah. If you want to help, I guess we could.”
It was better than her trying to cut his head off, at least.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this place,” he finally confessed. “I didn’t even know it existed until you mentioned it. It wasn’t until after I talked to you that I figured out how to get here. Like, it just popped into my mind.” He shrugged and planted his hands on his hips as he surveyed the ruins. “...I only found out about it because of you. So I guess trying to put it back together is something I should look into, too?”
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Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2021 2:56 pm
“If you don’t know about pipes, that’s what books are for. That’s the best thing about being alive right now, it’s so easy to learn. I really do think that we could bring this place back. It doesn’t look like much right now, but…it really could be. If you look past the dust and emptiness…you can just see how amazing it must have been in the past.”
She grinned and tossed some hair back over her shoulder, beginning to explore a little, taking in everything that she could. “From what I’ve learned about Wonders, you might have some kind of a ah…ghost here. Ancestor? I don’t know. The last one I went to had one. She was kind of a raging b***h but. What are you going to do. And this place is yours to protect, yours to bring back.”
Turning to Meninx once again, Bellite raised a brow, looking far too excited. “When should we meet up again? Do you know how often you can visit here? I can get some books and some cleaning supplies ready and we can figure out where to start!”
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Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2021 6:49 pm
Honestly, Meninx was still a bit overwhelmed by the idea that she had suggested to help, that she seemed to want to help. Even if she seemed to throw in a backhanded statement every now and then, he supposed he was used to that from his mother, and between the two of them, this Negaverse agent was more pleasant. For now.
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. Work kept him busy but he didn’t want her to ask too many questions about it. “Coming here wears me out. I need a while to rest. I’m busy until the end of the month.” He hoped she’d just chalk it up to holidays. “...But the second or so, I’m free. If you wanted to try then.”
...That really didn’t seem like a good idea. He didn’t even have anyone he could ask to be backup.
He followed after her, now suspicious that every cold spot he passed was a ghost, but he hadn’t seen anything the first time he’d arrived and he hadn’t seen anything this time.
Yet.
“What happens with the places after you get them fixed up?” he asked. He stayed close to Bellite, though he was sure he couldn't have lost her here--not with that energy signature. He didn’t have a specific path to follow, and there was no right or wrong way to go. In many ways, he felt like he was still exploring this place, and while he’d been here only once before it felt familiar. Instinctively so; his feet seemed to know where to go when his mind did not.
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Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2021 7:59 pm
Bellite nodded. “I can do the second. I’ll meet you where we met tonight? You bring the snacks and I’ll figure out what to bring to work on fixing the fountain. I’m so excited!” She looked at him, just beaming. “Ah, as for what happens when you get it fixed up…I have no idea! But I hope that I’ll find out when we fix up your place, yeah?”
Waggling her eyebrows, Bellite chuckled. “Don’t look so tense. I’m not here to cause trouble, I promise. I’m seriously interested in helping you just to learn what this place has. It’s special, and I hope that you’ll come to see it that way too. It’s yours, after all.”
Huh. Maybe giving a Page a full on pep talk wasn’t…the best way to further her own cause but…
She did want to know…so it wasn’t completely just her talking through her a**.
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 5:44 am
While Meninx was obviously reluctant, he still found himself nodding. She was the only one he’d spoken to that seemed to know anything about this, and even if he was playing with fire…
If he was going to get burned, he was going to get as much out of it as possible first.
“All right,” he agreed. He didn’t quite relax–he hardly knew the meaning of the word–but he seemed slightly less tense. “You said you’ve been to other places, too? Are there a lot of them?”
Did everyone have one? Just Knights?
“...I don’t know if I should be out asking anyone else for tips on, I don’t know. Repairing ruins and fountains? ...Not sure how to fix whole buildings.”
He could clean up the debris, at least. He could weed. He could scrub the dirt off of everything.
There seemed like so much that needed to be worked on, and a part of him wondered what the point was. No one lived here. No one did anything here. No one seemed to have been here in centuries. He didn’t quite understand trying to put the place back together for no one, but…
He did feel stronger here. He felt more at peace. He felt…
Free wasn’t the right word. But, it was something.
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:36 pm
“Well…I’ve been to one, so far as I know, everyone on your side of things has their own little sanctuary to go to, I’m pretty jealous, if you don’t mind me saying. Though, I will admit, I have a great office.” Bellite laughed softly and shrugged. “We have our own perks, but I really wouldn’t mind my own secret hideaway. It would be rather swell, I think.”
Crouching down, the captain brushed some of the red dust from the road and smiled softly. “Maybe bring a broom too, if you can. I really think that this place could look good with just a little love. And buildings…well…” She shrugged, standing again and brushing off her hands on her skirt.
“Someone built them before, so why couldn’t we figure out how to fix them now?”
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:52 pm
Meninx bit back the urge to tell her that he had a nice office of his own and didn’t even need the Negaverse, but he could hear his mother bragging about it in the back of his head. He had to ignore her; he didn’t want to be like her.
Here, he could be more. She wasn’t a Knight. She didn’t have a little sanctuary to go off to.
“I guess,” he agreed, because she had a point. He could bring things to clean. It was probably more important to start with cleaning up debris before he focused on how to rebuild or fix. It felt like a problem for the distant future, especially when there was so much to pick up first.
“Yeah, I’ll do that,” he decided. “...Have you ever thought about,” he shrugged, “Trying to be a Knight or something? I don’t know what the Negaverse does for you, but…If there are more places like this out there, I’m sure there’s something for you to do, too. If you wanted to.”
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 2:16 pm
“Ah…well…I do think about a lot of things…” Bellite laughed a little awkwardly and shrugged. “I like where I am. I’m happy in the Negaverse. I have a family who is also a part of it…I couldn’t leave them.”
But for a moment, she almost wished that she could. She could have her own Wonder to visit…
Shaking her head, the Captain held her hand out to Meninx once again. “Ready to head back? I’ll make a list and meet you on the night of the second…how about at six? It’ll be dark then and early enough that we’ll be able to have some good time up here cleaning.”
Grin back in place, Bellite wagged her eyebrows. “Don’t forget the snacks! That’s very important!”
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 3:20 pm
When she offered her hand to him, it seemed to surprise Meninx once again. He found himself nodding because her offer didn’t seem bad. He liked to think he was good at reading people, and here she was, offering to help.
He didn’t get the impression that she was lying to him.
…And, maybe he could be a little better at accepting help.
He had a lot to learn, still. But…
It was nice to know that he wasn’t alone.
He was even looking forward to their next meeting.
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