Welcome to Gaia! ::

Even though snowfall wasn't uncommon in Destiny City and white Christmases were something that happened annually, it felt like the snow had been coming down pretty much constantly in the past week or so–

And even on the sole day when it hadn't snowed, the skies had remained miserable and overcast all day.

Based on the strength of the above, Arian had thought that today would be more of the same - but to his surprise the snow had finally stopped coming down around early afternoon and hadn't re-started when he had slipped out later in the day to go try and get some patrolling done as Athene.

The afternoon had been a quiet one and now afternoon had slipped past and into early evening it appeared to be shaping up into more of the same–

Or mayhaps it was just that youma had other places to be, warmer places to be, than out on the quiet Destiny City streets.

Even the park had been quiet and Athene had found himself eventually perched on the rim of the fountain that was not quite in the centre and that had been turned off for winter as he sipped at the large cup of take-out hot chocolate in his hands.

It felt a little like old times - especially given the fact that he was out on his own - although his thoughts weren't really on his earlier days as a senshi–

Instead Athene had found his thoughts turning once again as they had as late to the close call that he had had at the start of November, a pensive look flickering across his face as he remembered just how close he had come to corrupting on that night.

He still had nightmares about the battle, although he'd tried his best to keep them to himself.

Christmas at his Aunt and Uncle's place had ironically helped somewhat, for all that it hadn't been anywhere near as boisterous as usual–

But the quiet had been nice in its own way and he hadn't had any nightmares whilst he'd been done there.

Athene had continued to absently sip at the hot chocolate, despite not really tasting it, his thoughts drifting back to November.

It had been - a while - since he'd felt so useless, not able to do much of anything–

But he was not going to go back to those days again.

He had a lot of people he cared for who were caught up in powered life - Orah, Gigi, Liryn, the twins - and even his cousin to name just a few–

And whilst it had been a while since he'd seen some of them, Athene would always try to do his best to help - even if he knew that there were those out there who were better suited to senshi life than he had ever been.

He was still sipping at the (by now) cooling hot chocolate, when the cloud cover finally thinned, eyes glancing upwards in time to see as they shifted and–

"Oh!"

And he couldn't help the startled sound that wasn't really quite a word that escaped his lips, as his eyes took in just what had been hidden beneath the clouds–

Because the sky was full of colours - and the way that they blended into each other as they danced across the sky was beautiful.

The sound of voice had Athene looking away from his perusal of the dancing colours with a startled look, but after a few moments it finally sunk in that the approaching senshi was one that he recognised and his lips tilted up in a small smile.

"Evening Remarque" he said quietly as he waved the hand that wasn't holding the cup with the (most likely) cold hot chocolate in a small wave, waiting until the other was close before admitting with a slightly wry note in his voice "And I guess that I'm somewhat out of practice - but I've been away for a bit."

Because it hadn't been that long since he'd come back to Destiny City - at least not in the scheme of things–

Although it had been long enough to find trouble. Had been long enough for him to almost corrupt.

Athene tried to ignore the pensive thoughts, even as his smile slipped slightly.

He pointed at the skies, the wry note slipping back into his voice "But it doesn't seem like Destiny City has changed too much since I've been away."

After all it seemed like it was still weird around the holidays - although Athene would take this particular weirdness, over some of the other weirdness that seemed to crop up around the holidays–

At least the skies were pretty and didn't seem to be inclined to manifest something that wanted to eat them or something.

He may surreptitiously have crossed his fingers on the hand that wasn't holding onto the takeaway cup anyway, as a 'just-in-case' sort of measure.

Athene's lips quirked up in a small but tired smile at Remarque's words "True" he admitted, because the city had kind of always been like that "But there's a kind of predictability in that."

A rueful note slipped into his quiet voice as he continued "Well at least I've always thought so."

And it was funny how Remarque's comments seemed to somewhat mirror the way that his thoughts had turned - well at least around his comments about it not not being the worst–

But his smile faded at the next set of questions from the taller blond.

"No I wasn't in any trouble - at least not while I was away from the city" he hesitated for a moment before admitting "I had things to sort out and I couldn't do it as Athene."

And whilst if it had been someone else from the Dark Mirror Court then Athene wouldn't have admitted as much, wouldn't have let slip that small allusion to his life outside of Athene, it wasn't someone else–

"But I guess trouble in Destiny City kind of comes with the territory."

Athene tilted his head up to look up at the colours in the sky "And while I never asked to be a senshi and had no idea what I was getting into when I first picked up that pen, I guess I chose my side in all of this a while back just as I chose what my senshi path would be..."

And well maybe it wasn't fancy or big or particularly grand in the scheme of things - but it was still something that he had chosen–

And if truth be told Athene knew that while his outfit might be fancy and bear the trappings of an eternal it didn't mean that he personally was fancy or particularly grand either.

Still looking up at the sky, he set down the hot chocolate that he wasn't really even pretending to drink at this point–

And whilst perhaps it was how close he had come to corrupting that prompted his next words, although it wasn't something that he would ever admit to, but Athene's quiet voice even softer than normal as he added "But if I was at a point where there was nothing left and the Negaverse and the Mirror were my only remaining options - then for what it's worth I'd choose the Mirror."

Because at least with the mirror there was chance that maybe, just maybe that he would still end up him.

Athene was silent in turn at Remarque's question as he continued to look up at the sky, his gaze distant.

"I came very close to corrupting" he admitted eventually, the soft note still there in a voice that tended towards quietness anyway, "Close enough that if things had gone on for a little bit longer..." his voice trailed off leaving the rest unsaid, although it was perhaps not that hard to guess where he'd been going given what he'd said so far.

"And I'm not sure that I can say that things are sorted out" Athene said at last, after a few more moments had passed and his gaze finally shifted from the sky "But I'm still me - not theirs - not whatever the Negaverse would have turned me into."

"Thank you" Athene said quietly "I know it's not your apology to make," and it wasn't - because it wasn't something that the Dark Mirror Court had been involved in "But I appreciate it..."

And besides it wasn't as if the Negaverse was going to apologise for almost turning him into one of their corrupted senshi.

He hesitated and then admitted in a softer tone "And it means a lot."

He shook his head slightly when Remarque asked if he had talked to anyone about it, "Liryn already feels bad about the fact that he wasn't there, even though it wasn't his fault and he had no way of knowing - and the others.. Well they have their own nightmares."

It belatedly occurred to him that Remarque had never met Liryn, well at least his small mauvian friend had never mentioned meeting Remarque and Athene had never introduced them.

"Ah Liryn's a mauvian and one of my friends" his lips tilted up in a small smile that was mostly fond but also slightly rueful with a tinge of long suffering exasperation as he admitted "But we're not really very alike, even though we're bonded."

Athene was quiet for a few moments, because this - what Remarque was offering more than the friendly brief chats that the two of them had on the rare occasions when the two of them managed to cross paths.

Was a lot more than that - was more the sort of offer that you made for a friend - was the sort of offer that he would make for Ida or Subamara or to Tsui.

Athene mentally pushed away the pang that he felt at the thought of the senshi of tigers, of his brash but brave friend who was so much stronger than he'd ever been - and who he hadn't seen in years - instead pushing his thoughts back to the here and now–

And specifically to Remarque's offer.

"I don't think we are enemies either" and there was no hesitation in his quiet admission when he spoke up at last, because whilst it was perhaps the first time that he had ever admitted to it out loud, a part of him had never really thought of the taller blond as his enemy–

For all that there were many that would say that he probably should have.

"And.. And I appreciate it - your offer" he bit his lip, unable to quite hide the startlement in his voice "But are you sure - knowing what I am...?"

He hesitated and then figured he may as well be honest "I mean it's something that you would do for a friend - and I'm well me."

Because Athene had always been honest with Remarque.

Remarque's comment about not giving him too much grief about his decision to stay with Order startled a quiet laugh out of Athene, although the laughter brief as it was wasn't directed at Remarque.

"I don't mind your particular brand of giving me grief" he admitted eventually, a tinge of amusement momentarily coating his words before his voice turned serious "And you know my lines" because whilst there were things that Athene hadn't and didn't think he could share, he had also never lied to the taller blond.

"And you're right - it's not a bad thing to have friends in different places" he admitted "Well at least I don't think so" a wry note slipped into his voice as he admitted "But then I guess that I'm not really a shining example of a soldier."

Thraen certainly hadn't thought so.

"And I guess, no I know that I'm okay with that - because I'm never going to be grand and fancy, uniform aside."

Athene shrugged slightly as he added "Anyway it's not like being a senshi comes with an information manual or anything so all I can do is what I think is right."

A small smile "But I've always thought of you as okay - and I enjoy our chats" the smile turned rueful "Even though I'm probably not supposed to admit to that."

He hesitated before the smile faded as he admitted abruptly "But it scares me just how close I came to corrupting" he thought on the way how his uniform had darkened and tried (but probably failed) to hide his shiver as he continued "And I keep remembering the cold and how it felt like I was drowning."