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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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 Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 8:11 pm
"So who are we meeting up with today, again?" "Cybele!" Anser glanced to the kitty that had decided to drape herself around her shoulders, reaching up to give her a small scratch behind the ears. Viatrix gave a rumbling purr of appreciation, naturally. "She's the Senshi of the Hunt." "Ooh," Viatrix sounded more curious than anything, even as her words cut into purring as she leaned her head harder into Anser's hand. She was certainly free to keep doing that. Absolutely. "You've mentioned her before, right? She's a good friend of yours, right?" She scrunched her snout as she remembered a few other details that Anser had mentioned -- light green hair, super senshi like her, not transcendent though, and -- oh, she used to not be super, she remembered what Anser originally mentioned her as -- Anser nodded, a small pep to her step as she moved the rest of the way toward their meeting spot. It was a small place that was close to the apartment complex she and her mother lived in, nearby a cafe just to make sure no one was terrorizing the people there before they headed on their way through the streets and the alleys. "Yeah, that's her! Her powers are kinda similar to mine, actually. "I don't think she's having the best time at the moment, so be nice to her, okay?" Viatrix scoffed. "Me? Not be nice? Excuse me." She'd try to tone the enthusiasm a little bit down, though--
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 12:57 pm
Cybele did not necessarily want to be doing all of her scouting on her own. She knew that she was vulnerable, still vaguely sore from her injuries on top of being a rank less powerful than most of the people who she was going to be up against if she found what she was looking for. Of course there were times where she ended up on her own anyway, because she was going out nearly all night, every night, and people weren't always available on that type of schedule, but whenever someone was able to join her for a few hours, she was quick to take them up on it. Tonight it was Anser, who Cybele was happy enough to see. That was enough to put a small smile on her face. The younger girl's energy tended to make her feel better, despite everything. The smile widened as she approached their meeting spot and saw not only the senshi, but a cat. It was a very, very cute cat, too. "Hello," she said, waving. "Brought a friend?" To the cat, she added, "I'm Cybele. It's nice to meet you."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 3:44 pm
Anser was happy to join Cybele for a few hours. It gave her a bit of reassurance, herself -- if they were together, she could help make sure Cybele was safe. Could help make sure that none of those Negaverse assholes who had thought to force her over before would attempt to do the same again, or worse. (Although apparently, according to her brother, the driving force behind that felt bad about it? She didn't know what the ******** to think about that--) Not that she didn't trust that Cybele couldn't handle herself. She did. But over the years, something nice and reassuring came from having patrol buddies. "I did! This is Encke's guardian cat!" She grinned, plucking her off her shoulders -- much to Viatrix's quiet whining -- and held her out to Cybele, under her arms like she was holding up a toy she was showing off. Viatrix glanced back to Anser and huffed at her quietly, but turned back toward Cybele and closed her eyes with the closest thing she could muster to a wide kitty grin. "I'm Viatrix! I always want to know about the connections my senshi have made." Happily, she reached forward -- wriggled in Anser's grip -- and held out her paw to Cybele as if to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you too! Anser's pretty fond of you!" She paused, giggled, and added, "And maybe you'll hold me better than Anser does! Put me back on your shoulders if you're gonna do this--" Anser stuck out her tongue. "Yes, well."
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 6:04 pm
It was true, then. Cats could cheer her up even in the worst of situations. With Viatrix held out like that, and holding out a tiny paw in turn, Cybele had to repress a giggle from just how cute it was. Instead, she offered and over dramatic curtsy, holding out her skirts and ducking her head. "It's a pleasure," she said as she rose, smile quirking sideways despite her best efforts as she shook the paw between two fingers. "Also, you'd be very safe with me, it's true. You could climb on my shoulders, and I wouldn't dangle you in front of any strangers." That was said with a teasing look at Anser as she reached out to take Viatrix into her own arms, if she'd let her. Of course she wanted to try holding the Mauvian. She looked so soft. "I do know Encke, yes. He's nice, if you're asking about our connection. He's trying to help me Transcend." At least, assuming that what had happened the other day with Sylvite had not changed his mind on spending more time with her, but he hadn't seemed to upset with her.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2022 7:19 pm
The curtsy drew a delighted giggle from Viatrix, her butt wiggling in that instinctive way that she would have done to wag her tail if she had more than a stump. Happily, she returned the shake as well as she could, before withdrawing her paw back toward herself -- And then, naturally, happily let Anser hand her off. Viatrix settled in Cybele's grip, going limp in a way a ragdoll cat might have. Considering how furry she was, Cybele would definitely find that she was also very soft. " Thank you. I mean, you're not a stranger," she giggled, "well, to me, I suppose, but--" She glanced back at Anser, who stuck her tongue out at the both of them, giving a joking, momentary pout. It didn't stick on her face very long; she had never been a very good liar. "Well, you can have her then. Enjoy how chatty she is," quieter, an intentional stage whisper, "because once she starts talking she never shuts up--" "I heard that!" Viatrix lifted a paw to point to her eyes and then point at Anser's. "Oh, good! Encke encourages everyone to transcend. I'm glad he does! Getting connections back to our homeworlds and wonders can help so much." She glanced back toward Cybele. Why did she feel something? It was curious, reminded her vaguely of what she felt with Keiko and Athalia... "What's your homeworld like? I always like finding out more about them. Like his friend Keiko has a really snowy world she took us to recently! Blizzards and all."
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Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 3:57 pm
Cybele swooped Viatrix up the moment Anser let go and settled the Mauvian around her own shoulders. The fuzziness got a wider smile out of her. She wasn't a cuddler when it came to humans, even in times of grief like now, but it was easier to accept a bit of closeness when it came from something smaller, and softer. "You can talk," she told Viatrix, but smiled at Anser as well. "We can all talk. Perhaps we'll get lucky and run into agents that are as easy to scare off as bears, and they'll run if they hear us coming." It was mostly a joke. Technically their combined auras would have done more for announcing their presence than their voices, but it was fun to think of agents skittering away like startled animals anyway. "My asteroid is about what you'd expect," she said, carefully waving a hand at her outfit. "Trees. Flowers. Lovely, dusky forests. A hunting camp that I don't think I can do much to fix up." As Cybele started to walk, she ended up glancing off into the distance again. "Maybe things will calm down just enough on Earth that I can go back up there again soon." With scouting for Ganymede and trying to be there for the rest of the family, she couldn't spare the time.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 4:54 pm
There was a part of Viatrix that so desperately wanted to have access to going places and thumbs for more than the one hour a day her little keychain allowed her. There was another part of her that was very happy to be set on people's shoulders and carried around, and pet, and the snuggles, and she wasn't entirely sure if she'd ever want to give that part up-- Viatrix settled right in. It also let her get closer to what she was feeling, honestly-- "Do you think we could?" Anser had a bounce in her step as they started walking. "Scare them off, I mean. I've learned a thing or two about stage whispering from my brother. Could probably project real loud without even trying. Make them shake in their military-issued boots a bit." And if she could scare them off, she could keep them away from Cybele, too, which felt important and necessary-- Viatrix was fascinated with the description of the asteroid that Cybele gave, and she couldn't help an amused, as she looked toward Anser walking alongside them, "You know, your planet doesn't sound all that dissimilar to hers. Hers is more trees and grasses, but definitely hunting camps, right?" "Oh yeah," Anser swung her ponytail over her shoulder. "One of the things our people did a lot of was ritual hunting, even -- I could probably show you around Anser sometime, too. Or part of Anser, anyway. Planet's pretty huge from what I've gathered."
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2022 8:55 am
Cybele made sure to relax her shoulders so that Viatrix settled in as nicely as possible, and she raised on hand to scratch behind her fluffly orange ears. Oh, yes. This was just what she'd needed. "I don't think we have to whisper, stage or otherwise," said Cybele, stepping up to keep pace with Anser, and then, in the stage actress voice that she'd kept the instincts for even through all of the memory wipes, she projected out, " Hey, Negaverse? We're here. We're protecting these streets. Go home." There weren't actually any other auras around, which meant that unless the agents had gotten very sneaky in the last week or so, there wouldn't be anyone to actually hear her threat, but it felt good to say it, anyway. She had enough support tonight that it felt like perhaps they'd listen. "And yes, that actually sounds like it could be quite helpful for me to come and look at," she said, serious for a moment before she cracked another smile. "Your people were even hunters? We really are the same person, aren't we?"
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Feb 19, 2022 6:52 pm
Viatrix couldn't quite help the way she purred when Cybele scratched at her head a bit. Yes, this was nice ... But she was also becoming increasingly suspicious of something she hadn't quite known was possible. But it felt right. Felt the same as what Keiko and Athalia had felt like, anyway. And she was close enough to Cybele that she was reasonably certain it wasn't coming off Anser -- who was probably also due for an upgrade, in her opinion, but if it was left up to her all of her senshi would be immediately promoted to eternal just to be able to better protect themselves-- Anser couldn't help a smattering of giggles at Cybele's shout, but she found herself echoing it, her stage projection not quite as good as Cybele's theatre practice, but definitely showing signs of having talked to someone who did know how it worked. "Hey! Negas!" She cracked her knuckles. "If you don't go home, we'll make you!" And honestly, it did feel good-- "They were!" Anser turned that grin toward Cybele. "See, we were clearly met to find each other, anyway. And work together. We got so much in common, even the planet stuff -- did you guys have giant animals? Because we had giant animals. Like, dino-fossil-big. Probably would have been frightening if I wasn't so brave." Well, now. The first time she had seen those fossils she had fled her planet-- Viatrix giggled. "I've seen a couple of the remains, now. She's not lying." She'd let them have this before she broached the topic--
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 4:15 am
It was almost fun, yelling down empty alleyways at imaginary agents. On top of that, it made her feel a bit like she was doing something, even though the streets were quiet. "Yes, you'd better run," she called out, and then, despite everything, she couldn't help a slight giggle. She was beginning to see why she and Anser were so good for each other. She was beginning to see why they might have been so close, before. " Giant animals sound impressive," said Cybele. "Fossils and all? That has to be helpful for knowing about what sorts of things lived there without having to rely so much on the memories. I haven't seen anything like that up on my world so far, although it might just be better hidden. There's a lot of undergrowth." The flowers and small plants just seemed to be getting thicker and thicker every time she went up, too, so she wasn't sure how much luck she'd have on her own, scouring places for remains. "There were these rabbits with antlers that we hunted," she said. "Presumably other things, too, so I'll let you know if I find out about more."
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 11:58 am
For Anser, it honestly was kind of fun. Not better than telling the Negas to their face that they needed to go, but it felt good. Felt good to think that maybe they were just staying away. From Cybele, from Viatrix, from anyone else-- "Yeah! Like, when I first visited, I stumbled into a clearing and there were just exposed remains of bones there. I don't know exactly what kept them above ground but," Anser had remembered the terror that swept through her system and shuddered minutely, but buried it down with everything else. In honesty, after everything else, and after understanding her planet better, giant fossils actually didn't seem so scary. "There might be, under the undergrowth. Might be worth digging -- ohh, maybe you'll find a remnant of those rabbits! Or the antlers!" Viatrix giggled. "I imagine the more helpful thing would be finding something she didn't immediately recognize--" "Okay, but it'd be cool though--" "Hey, Cybele, question," Viatrix shifted so she could bump Cybele gently with her head, not enough to disturb her too much. "How are you feeling, being a super?" Anser gave her an odd glance. What about being a super was worth asking--
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Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2022 1:17 pm
Just giant skeletons, resting on the plains? That certainly sounded different than what was going on in the forests of her own world. "I'd be interested to see whatever I can find," she said, "Rabbits- Jackalopes, I suppose, is the technical term- or something else." It seemed likely, after all, that a world that gave its senshi the sphere of the hunt would have more than one small type of beast roaming its woods. Although Viatrix's question snapped her out of that train of thought rather abruptly. "I-" Cybele cut off as she tried to think of a polite way to answer. The easy smile faded from her face, although she still kept her fingers massaging around Viatrix's ears. She didn't think about it every day, anymore, but her uniform still felt too light where the wings had used to be. "I'm used to it now, I suppose," she said, gaze somewhere in the distance. "It's worth it to be free of Chaos." Although there was always the nagging voice in the back of her head reminding her of how weak she was, how she was facing off against Generals again and again and useless against them. It was twice now that people had had their starseeds snatched in front of her. The second time, when Ganymede had been taken on top of Empyrean's death, everyone else had fought so valiantly while she'd been bested by a youma.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2022 1:58 am
Jackalopes, right! Anser's eyes lit up in recognition of the term, remembering reading some creepypasta and memes about them in the past. Honestly, it'd be really cool to see them in person. She wondered if maybe those creatures might come back in more than just fossils considering what was happening with her world, with the little creatures she was seeing and Encke was seeing and apparently, some of his friends were seeing-- It was a thought she never quite got to elaborate on, not with Viatrix so rudely broaching her way into the conversation with something kind of irrelevant. She didn't have to reinforce to Cybele the power she had lost. That was the Negaverse's fault and it wasn't necessary to dig it in-- But why was Viatrix looking at her like that? Cats weren't all that expressive, but Viatrix's pupils were dilated as if she was looking at something interesting and was about to pounce on it. And she was, in a turn of phrase, but perhaps not in the way Anser was visualizing. Viatrix kept up her purring, trying to be comforting, as she listened to Cybele and let out a quiet, "Mmhm," of agreement that it was worth it to be rid of the Chaos. She bumped Cybele's hand gently with her head to show that support, too, adding, "Absolutely. And I'm glad to have you on our side, Cybele. No matter what." It seemed important to make that clear. Viatrix wasn't oblivious; she had noticed the happy chatter had diminished. Hopefully, she was about to restore that. "What if I told you those wings didn't have to be gone forever?" Anser's eyes widened considerably. Oh.
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2022 3:00 pm
The wings didn't have to be gone forever? Cybele kept walking, channeling the sudden swirl of hope and doubt into her feet so that her steps clicked on the pavement louder than before. She made sure to stay gentle with Viatrix, only moving her fingers a bit to scratch under her chin instead. "Ganymede said something like that the night I purified," she said, the acting instincts that had allowed her to yell a few moments ago now keeping her voice steady. "That I could regain my power in time, but I think she was just trying to make me feel better since that night was not easy for me." With her free hand, she rubbed at her chest. "My starseed is broken. I know it is. I can feel it aching and burning in here, sometimes." She tapped at her sternum. Although, now that she thought about it, those flare ups of starseed pain had tapered off to almost nothing, recently. "Why?" she asked, slowly, very aware that the one on her shoulders was a Mauvian, the species that unlocked senshi's powers.
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Codebreaking Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Feb 21, 2022 8:36 pm
Viatrix also appreciated chin scratches, and may have pushed her chin forward to encourage a few more of them-- Also, she knew that petting her regulated multiple senshi she had spoken to at this point, and she was very happy to use her feline form as a humanoid emotional regulator if it helped. A mutually beneficial arrangement, after all. At the words that her starseed was broken, Viatrix let out a little "mm-mm," of disagreement, but she did let Cybele finish and ask her why before she actually spoke again. "It's not broken. If it was broken, you wouldn't be alive." She tilted her head slightly so she could bump Cybele supportively. "Damaged potentially, yes. Chaos can do that. It's not good for a starseed." Anser had started to get the drift of what Viatrix was getting at, and now desperately just wanted to see Viatrix get to the point. She might have been bouncing a bit in her excitement of perhaps reaching it, ignoring for the sake of Cybele and the sake of her own emotions the amount of pain she might have been in from the aches to her starseed -- that was the Negaverse, that was the Negaverse's fault, and Anser would make them regret every moment of that s**t they put her through -- "And broken things are much harder to heal. You usually require like, gorilla glue. Or a very clever Mauvian." Viatrix snickered. "I'd like to think I'm a very clever Mauvian, but, that's not what I'm implying here. Cybele, I think your starseed's damage has healed, and it's ready. For more power. And I'd like to see if I can unlock that for you if you'll let me." Anser couldn't stop herself from her excited, "Really?!" because she was thrilled about the concept, the memory returning to her mind of the time she and Cybele had come across each other when Anser was a new super and Cybele had been a new eternal the first time--
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