Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aside from being vaguely aware of the war and the key players, or groups rather, involved in it… Rainier really did feel like a baby bird that had fallen from its nest, a place where she had been safely sheltered from this magic nonsense, and dropped into a pit of lions. Granted her only opponent thus far was a youma, but she knew there were more dangerous people running around out there. Ones that could jump into mirrors and disappear without a trace.

Drug addicts and street thugs were one thing, but this was something she wasn’t prepared to be shunted into as abruptly as she had been. Fortunately her captain at the precinct had agreed to move at least part of her schedule around so she could work during the earlier hours instead of so many evening or graveyard shifts. This change allowed her the ability to power up without having to give a reason as to why her body camera suddenly stopped recording when she switched uniforms and it well… no longer really existed for the time spent powered.

This evening seemed quiet enough, no dark auras that made her skin crawl- thankfully. But just as she was about to power down and head home, Rainier felt the tingling of another nearby; an aura similar but not quite the same as the senshi that had saved her from the turtle-like monster only a few weeks ago. This one, however, was inexplicably stronger and somehow different in a way that she had no words to describe.

Curiosity got the better of her and after considering the potential of this being a trap, she decided to trust her instincts that this aura she sensed was a friend rather than an enemy. However, she did err on the side of caution and tried to remain aware of her surroundings as she maneuvered around the park.

Snow crunched beneath her feet until he came into view. She stopped, a puff of white air dissipated before her when she breathed a sigh of relief. A light-colored uniform someone she could trust. Or at least she hoped she could. “Hello,” she called out from a short distance away, noting that he hadn’t moved since she began following his signature which either meant he was letting her come to him or that he was waiting for someone. If the reason happened to be the latter, then she’d simply take her leave and go home but she hoped it was the first because she had questions and hoped he could answer them for her.

“Kind of,” she replied. Brows furrowed together in a pensive expression. “I wasn’t so much looking for someone to fight as I was hoping to find someone,” A knight specifically since Senshi seemed to function under a different set of rules. “Someone that could help explain things to me better.”

“This,” she gestured to herself and the uniform she wore. “Is quite recent…” And the only person she could think to call was someone she thought would be better if she didn’t reach out. Jeremy worried enough about his brother, she didn’t want to be the reason Myles got more involved than he already was.

“My name is Rainier, by the way. Sorry I didn’t mention that first. I just- This is all still very strange to me. But you are a Knight, yes? Like me but obviously stronger.” His aura alone dwarfed hers in intensity. Which hopefully meant he’d been at this long enough to be able to answer some lingering questions. If not, then maybe he can direct her to someone who could.

“Well-” perhaps she should have made a list before powering up. At least that way she wouldn’t be coming up with questions on the fly. “For starters. I’m not really sure what you mean by ‘we both have a bit to do with ice’. All I have is this weapon,” Rainier detached it from her wrist and let the fiber optic cord extend. Even with this, she felt naked without the gun and holster on her hip or taser to use in defenses.

“I have no magic. Not like the senshi that was with me when I awoke.” Still felt weird saying that since she was aware of the war before having been shunted into it so abruptly and without notice.

“But I’m also curious, how did you know that I was a Page of Mercury? Or rather, what gave it away?” They each had fur-lined outfits with shades of blue. The patterns were different, yes, but what about them gave her away? And if she was of Mercury and he was of Polaris, did that mean that there were knights of other planets and stars as well?

“Suddenly things are starting to make sense.” Suppose I’ll need to look up what the other symbols are. That is assuming that something like that could be looked up online.

“Fortunately I haven’t run into any Negaverse Agents or Corrupts as you call them. However, one of my former partners at work had a near-death experience with one of them.” Jeremy changed after that incident; not that she could blame him, especially since nobody at the precinct seemed to believe Myles when he came searching for his brother. It took longer than necessary to find him and in the aftermath, she didn’t hear much from him.

“I’m curious, how did you learn all this. Is it something you learn over time, through experience? Or did you have a mentor to teach you?”

Rainier raised a skeptical eyebrow at the mention of an ancestor on his Wonder. But then he brought up a ring, messages, and having a girlfriend that was also a Senshi. Either he was good at reading other people and knew that she had questions but didn’t know what questions to ask and was mentioning things to give her a starting point… or he was nervous. Given her profession as a civilian, Rainier wouldn’t be surprised if it was that latter of the two; without meaning to, she could be kind of intimidating.

Still, she was grateful for the rambling because he said things she should definitely probably know, such as communication. “Can you go back?” With a free hand, she made a counterclockwise motion. “A second ago you mentioned sending messages. So there is an actual way for us to communicate?” Since powering up all she had available to her was the weapon. Useful but not practical if she found herself in a position where backup was needed.

“Like you, I’ve been having a hard time finding, well- anyone out.” Then again, she’d only been trying for about a week now. “So far I’ve been able to avoid those dark aura’s,” Rainier wasn’t sure what else to call that repulsive blip she felt on the edge of her senses from time to time. Never more than a couple of blocks away but non had thought to approach her, and she gave them a wide berth.

“But it’d be good to know how I could reach out to other Knights.” If only to avoid the need to power down and use a cell phone, which would expose her identity to them and would be an incredibly bad thing.

Rainier didn’t need to look at her hands, or remove both gloves, to know that she was not given a ring when she first powered up. Only a weapon and body-suit-like uniform were provided. “Where can I get a ring?” She asked almost hesitantly.

Was there a powered market somewhere with a vendor that made them to size? Or perhaps the ancestor he had mentioned had given it to him. Either way, it sounded like a necessity to have and would be useful in many situations.

“I appreciate the offer, I think I’ll try to see if I can find it first on my own.” At the very least scope out the area and make sure it was safe for others to come along. “If it seems like I need, help you’ll be the first I ask.”

Normally it'd be wise to go in pairs but when it came to places she was unsure of, that really only related to new vacation places or when dispatch received a call from their emergency line. Both situations almost always required another presence. But this, visiting her own wonder, was a massive unknown and Rainier didn’t want the liability of someone getting hurt due to her own decisions or lack of knowledge surrounding the place.

“Can you tell me how I can get there though? Is there a place I need to go that will take me there?” Would she need to buy a plane ticket and fly to Washington and hike up the mountain? How exactly was this supposed to work?