|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 1:58 pm
Ilse....needed to sit down. And so she did, somewhat gracelessly, once Cosmos was gone, plopping down onto the grass in a flurry of pretty white skirt.
"Oh," she said, quietly. It hit her, all at once: she was out of the Negaverse, finally. She had gone through with it. Had...had purified, and was free. She was also very, very tired, and she very much wanted to go somewhere nice and take a nap, but for the moment....sits.
There would be grass stains all over her pretty white fuku. Oh well, they would resolve themselves.
"I....sorry, I just need a minute," she said, voice soft and a little tremulous. "I'll be okay, just. Catching my breath."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 5:38 pm
Michel was quiet, leaning against his clock hand as if he expected some sort of trouble to pop up this instant. She’d just purified, they’d had a lot of energy signatures. It wasn’t safe to power down right here, but he didn’t want to be out in the open for very long.
Evan was chewing on the inside of his cheek, and he didn’t like the way Michel seemed so sour. He was glowering–at him, at Ilse, at the world.
Michel’s head jerked to the side and Evan stiffened, because he knew Michel could feel what he couldn’t, and–
It was a cat. Just a little–big–fluffy, white–
Mauvian.
Soleiyu.
Trotting towards them, shamelessly.
He spoke before Evan had even completely processed what was going on.
“Was that Cosmos just now? I felt something, but I wasn’t sure. I got suspicious when my pagers went off, I figured I’d see what was going on.” He had a third, a triplet to the set he had given Michel before. “Speaking of going on.”
He paused before the three of them. “What is going on?”
She didn’t look like Lysithea. And he doubted Michel was in the mood to help just anyone. What was Evan doing here?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:13 pm
Ilse blinked. A....a cat?
No, wait--the way hew strode up to them, and then started speakking...a Mauvian. She hadn't had much experience with the Negaverse's cats, except the lovely, fluffy Mauvian that had given her her pen and her name, back when she first joined up. Still, she smiled, and gave him a little wave.
"Hi," she said, trying to ignore the way that Michel was staring, unhappily. "Yes, that was Cosmos. She was here to help me. I'm Ilse." She produced the little pager, and held it up. "Mikellos gave this to me so I could help bring Lysithea home."
Which they hadn't accomplished yet. But they would. They were going to.
"It's very nice to meet you," she told the Mauvian.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:34 pm
Soleiyu squinted.
“Mikellos? Oh. I suppose.” He looked at Michel, and then ilse. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Except, and forgive me for being blunt, I can’t help but notice you’re here, but she isn’t. Was there a snag in that plan, or is she on her way? Should we call Cosmos back, or…?”
Michel’s scowl only deepened, like he was already annoyed that they’d wasted so much time.
Like spending a few minutes here was so severely impacting his search for Lysithea.
Evan was just in the middle, obviously keen on looking after her but wanting to give her a moment to collect herself before he shuffled her off to her new life.
“Soleiyu,” he said, not quite a warning. It might have been a plea.
The Mauvian didn’t look at him. His tail just twitched behind him, hitting the ground twice, impatiently, while he waited for Ilse to answer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 16, 2022 6:47 pm
There was something about the way that Soleiyu said Mikellos's name that made Ilse frown. She looked over at him, trying to convey "what is he getting at???" silently, with as effective of a mildly offended pout as she could manage.
But Soleiyu was asking her a question, and Ilse flinched, guiltily. It was true--she was here, and Lysithea wasn't.
"There were um, some complicating factors, and it's a little bit of a long story, but." She wrung her hands a little. "Basically, I cleared up some lies that Lysithea had been told by a General, and she's going to want to confront him, and if I were still in the Negaverse---Generals can just." She made a yanking gesture with her hand. "Boop, summon people to them, if they're lower ranked. So he uh. Would have killed me, and probably eaten my starseed, and that would kind of suck."
To say the very least.
"So we got a friend to help me get out, now, and here I am, but! We just....we have to find her."
Her chest hurt. She wondered if, once she was purified, Lysithea would even remember her. Or what there was to remember. She knew what she felt, but...probably Lysithea wouldn't want her anymore.
She wished she'd kissed her, instead of just thinking about it all the time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 6:53 am
“Oh, well I suppose that makes sense. It’s not a bad plan, I understand. I’m a bit biased. Lysithea is my bonded Senshi, and I am very passionate about getting her back. I mean, we all are, but.”
He was her favorite, so he had more at stake here than the rest of them.
“We’re glad to have you. You must have been close to her, if she trusted you so much? Tell me everything.”
Evan stiffened, not anything particularly dramatic, but enough that Soleiyu noticed. Especially because Evan’s eyes were wide and directly on him.
There was a message in that look, and Soleiyu might not have understood all of it, but he understood enough. His attention redirected to Ilse. “Later, though. We should probably get you all out of here soon. Although, I have to say, you’ve got very good timing. If you’d stuck around in the Negaverse for much longer, someone would have picked up that your starseed’s practically bursting at the seams. It’s making my skin crawl, I just want to.” His tail was swishing behind him and he looked like he was bursting with energy. “I just.”
He stood up. “Give me your pen, just let me fix this. You’ll feel so much better. I’ll feel so much better.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 2:23 pm
Ilse nodded. She wasn't sure if it was a good plan, but at least Soleiyu didn't seem to think it was entirely stupid.
"Oh, you're...Lysithea's Mauvian? I'm sure she'll be very happy to see you, then, when she comes home."
She wanted to start talking, to explain the whole story to Soleiyu, but--he cut her off, said "later," and that was probably fair. It was a long story, there was a lot wrapped up in it. So she would just...tell him everything once they were somewhere safe, not hanging out outside.
"My pen?" She blinked, but she produced it, and offered it to him. "I don't understand." Still, Mauvians were supposed to help Senshi, and there was no reason he wouldn't help her. So she let him take it, and shifted so she was sitting with her legs tucked under her, waiting to see what he would do. It sounded like her timing was good, and she would have regretted it if she stayed any longer--which, honestly, Ilse didn't want any more regrets.
"What would have happened if someone had noticed?" She supposed she would find out, right now, and yet the question bubbled from her lips anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 5:10 am
Soleiyu accepted the pen, maybe a bit greedily, and immediately began fiddling with it. “Then, you would have gotten a promotion, and more of that Chaos would have melted into your starseed, and you’d have had a harder time leaving. It always baffles me that you can’t feel when your starseed is ready. I mean, it’s not just you, it’s all of the Senshi. It’s so loud for me.”
Michel’s attention was renewed and his surprise seemed to temporarily break the blatant scowl on his expression. “You’re giving her an upgrade?”
“Well, it would be foolish not to. And you need all the help you can get, don’t you? Sounds like you’re picking fights with dangerous people. Every little bit helps. So, two things. The first,”
Soleiyu fiddled with the pen for a few seconds longer, but he was comfortable with this. An expert.
He passed it over quickly. “It’s all ready to go when you are, just say the magic words. The second,” he was nudging a phone he’d suddenly manifested over to her, “All Senshi need one. I’ll teach you how to use it later, we can get it customized just for you. Do you think she’ll be long? Lysithea.”
He was trying to be professional but he couldn’t help that he was always thinking about her, she was his Senshi. “We should get the bed made up for her so she has a place. Oh, and you too. You’re staying with us tonight, aren’t you? You’re going to help us get her back?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 3:59 pm
"I'm sorry," Ilse said automatically, and then she frowned. What was she apologizing for? It wasn't as if it was something she'd been ignoring. "I wish we could sense that. I bet it would make your job easier, hmm?"
She accepted the pen, when he handed it back, and took a deep breath. The magic rods, huh? Well, she was pretty sure she knew what those were.
She stood up, picking up her new Senshi phone on her way.
"Oh, this is much cuter than a Negaverse tablet," she said, idly. Maybe she could see if she could get some phone charms to hang off it, or a nice case...well, she would just have to find out if that was even a possible thing, she supposed. It wasn't as if this was a standard model. "And...I don't think she'll be long. She just had some things she needed to take care of, is all."
"Anyway, ah."
She inhaled. Exhaled.
"Ilse asteroid power, make up!"
Her transformation was a flurry of ribbons and blue rose petals, and when it settled, she was new. Stronger.
"Uh!" She spun around, letting her new, delicate skirts settle around her. "Wow, this is...thank you, Soleiyu! And. Yes, I would be happy to stay with you all."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 18, 2022 6:51 pm
Michel raised his chin just slightly to take in this new look of hers, this new power. It would be useful, but he didn’t seem capable of expressing happiness right now. He was on edge and held his weapon, tapping his finger impatiently against the flat side of it.
Evan was almost entirely the opposite; he was surprised, but unlike Michel he was obviously happy for her.
“Wonderful,” Soleiyu said, with pride and satisfaction in his voice. “You look stunning. Much better like this.”
He nodded approvingly. “...We’ll have to admire it later, though. Power down, let’s get you home. Today’s been a long day and I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring.”
Hopefully Lysithea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
