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 Posted: Sat Jul 30, 2022 8:29 pm
Ida felt the dark, sickly aura of a general's power signature as she approached one of the blighted spots in the park. She was both reluctant and not to see who it was. Another day, she might have tried to avoid a confrontation, but with the new monsters appearing, she felt obligated to make sure even a negaverse agent was safe from them.
These monsters were far too familiar to her, and may that was why she felt that obligation. Murikabushi had suggested someone might have spread the disease from other worlds, and though Ida doubted how true that was, part of her still wondered. The Blight had appeared on Ida, and then on other Koronis worlds. Now it was on Earth... could she really rule out the possibility? Even if it had appeared on worlds she had never visited before...
She approached the source of the signature carefully, slowly, so they hopefully felt her coming. She was fully prepared for it to south, and quickly. The eternal did not have good history with agents, especially generals.
"Hello!" She called as she stepped around a strand of trees, her hands held up in front of her. "I'm not here to fight!" The sounds tonight were still, enough to suggest there wasn't an active battle going on, but with how close the dead spot was, how long would that last? The sight that greeted her revealed an familiar face, though one she hadn't seen in over three years, if she remembered right. Her chest squeezed as her stomach sank and she slowed to a stop, her hands lowering.
Painite.
Source of so much pain in her own past, but one with a decidedly mixed reaction the last time she had seen her. For all that had happened in three years, Ida wasn't sure she looked any different today than she had then, and she had to wonder if Painite had changed in that time. She'd been questioning... was she still? Or had she just reaffirmed herself in her role as General.
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 5:21 pm
General Painite was frowning at the strange, dead bush in wonder. Even the surrounding grass, and what might have been flowers, were shriveled and dry, though it had not been all that hot. And certainly not in this one specific area.
Had there been some sort of fight here? Maybe someone with powers that decayed things? She had not felt any auras recently, and she had a hard time believing magical damage would linger so long. It ran counter to the nature of most senshi magic, anyway.
She was immediately out of ideas, and was beginning to wonder if she should just ignore it, when an aura did finally reach her senses. Strong. White Moon. Probably already knew she was there, and would be coming her way. She did not summon her weapon just yet, though she tensed, crossing her arms over her chest and waiting for the inevitably corny introduction she was about to face.
A familiar voice reached her ears, though, and she turned, a heavy sigh dragging itself out of her chest. She was not sure this was much better.
"Ida. Not here to fight, huh? Does that work very often?"
She could only imagine if she used that kind of a line in a battle. Actually, she probably had, but it ended with her stabbing her foe whether they believed her or not. Usually with a particular glee if they had, in fact, believed her. She did not miss the way the color drained from the senshi's face, though her own feelings were not all that removed from Ida's. Bad memories. Or memories she wished could feel bad. A mixture of anger and relief that just made her nauseous.
"Hope you're not taking a walk to enjoy the natural sights around here. Have to admit, they're pretty disappointing."
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2022 5:47 pm
Ida's arms remained loosely at her sides, but only by force of will. She wanted to cross them defensively over her chest, but around someone like Painite, all that was going to do was take her that much longer to summon her magic if she needed to defend herself.
"Sometimes. It tends to at least give me a moment to get a look at them before they attack me." She said, her voice neutral. Or as neutral as she could make it considering how her stomach was knotted up inside of her. She'd wanted to try and enlist the Negaverse to help with these dead spots, but immediately she was having second thoughts about it. It had been good, in theory, but it would mean working with people like Painite and other officers she'd fought with in the past. They did not stop being a threat just because they had a common threat now... and surely those of the White Moon could handle this on their own, maybe with the help of the Dark Mirror...
"I'm actually here to get a look at that." Ida jerked her chin at the dead spot Painite had been pondering. "There have been a lot of them showing up in the city, and out on our planets as well. Its a wide spread problem, and its only been getting worse."---- Something... moved, in the dead plants clustered within the dead spot. Something slick and oily looking that bubbled up out of the ground. It gathered, slowly, taking its time while it remained unnoticed by the women talking nearby. It would sense their energy, radiating from them so strongly. It hungered.
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Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2022 3:41 pm
Painite wanted to grin at that, eyes flashing as she turned toward Ida and a fiery old instinct almost burned to life, though something inside her was quick to snuff it out. She clicked her tongue behind her teeth, making a chiding noise.
"Oh, who would think to do something like that? Attack someone not looking for a fight," she scoffed, though it sounded rueful more than openly mocking. She sighed, waving her hands and then holding them up for a moment, indicating that they were empty and, most likely, would stay that way.
She was not really looking for a fight, either, these days.
"On your planets?" That got her attention. She had always thought their magic protected them from any sort of Chaos element, and her few trips to Camelot's Wonder had taught her a lot about how knight's and their magical worlds worked. For something like this to be creeping across magical borders, then, it had to be a worry.
Not for her, of course, but she could see why someone like Ida would care.
"Doesn't look all that nice. Is it... ew. Brilliant. It's gooping. How do you know it's spread from here to Senshi planets, and not the other way around?" It wasn't like the Earth was responsible for all problems, all the time, after all. It was the only place a person like her had to call home, and for some reason she found herself rather rattled that it was being threatened.
You know, by anyone other than the White Moon. Or the Negaverse, depending on what side of the fence one stood.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2022 6:41 pm
There was something to the way that Painite spread her hands, her huge spear conspicuously absent. From someone else, she might not have trusted that... it was easy enough for them to summon their weapons to hand. Painite though? To date, she had not shown herself to be particularly... manipulative? If she'd wanted to be aggressive, she didn't doubt her intent would have been clear.
When she mentioned the goop, Ida's eyes snapped to it, a frown on her face as she backed up a step. Her focus on the gathering Blight, she could only shrug at the questions.
"I don't know a lot about how its been moving from planet to planet, or where it ultimately started... Maybe its been jumping, but maybe its just been hiding, dormant, on them to start with." She said, suppressing a grimace. She didn't like admitting where she had seen it first, but... not sharing that information was as much a lie as saying it started here on Earth. "I saw them for the first time years ago on Ida. But we killed that stuff. It disappeared and my planet recovered. We saw it on a couple of other planets after that... but it was always the same. We found the source on that planet, killed it, and all the little monsters were destroyed too."------- As the pair spoke, the goop grew and spread across the ground, its surface rippling like something moved beneath it. Subtle, but eerie when you actually saw it. It seemed bold, coming up to them and moving closer... like it didn't care they knew it was there. Lumps formed in it, stretching outwards until the mass formed a hand, then an arm... reaching towards the two women. Meanwhile, unnoticed, something moved behind them... a figure fully formed as it rose up out of the ground. With their eyes on its partner, it gathered itself and lunged... ---- The air rushed out of Ida's lungs as something slammed into her from behind, making her stagger. Large, heavy, and surprisingly rubbery... The eternal slammed an elbow back into the Blight that had attached itself to her from behind, its thick goop sticking her uniform and her skin. It shuddered under the blow and made a rough, wet growl as it squeezed its hold on her, gripping her tighter as she struggled.lithiasaur sorry for the late reply!
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2022 6:48 pm
"Little monsters? Oh good. I love a good pile of goo that can make problems I have to deal with. It's not like I have anything else to use my time for. Brilliant."
She found her tone was not as sharp as she intended it to be. Actually, it was almost teasing, and softer than she would have expected from herself. Especially with someone she had such a complicated history with. Somehow, she was feeling calm. Maybe even amused, if that were possible, though what she was hearing did sound very problematic.
Not something she wanted to add to the rest of the issues here on Earth. Unlike the senshi, it was the only planet she really had. And since she no longer went to the Rift, it was where she kept all her stuff. She needed it to remain hospitable.
Painite was not paying enough attention to see the attack before it came, watching the hand making faces at it unhappily instead. She nearly jumped out of her skin, spear in hand as she whipped around to see Ida being gripped and held by the moving darkness. For a moment, she paused. What would old Painite do with a chance like this? A pinned Eternal Senshi. Her spear ready. It would be all too easy, and so terribly fun, to take advantage of the situation.
The thought, the hesitation, did nothing now but make her sick. Growling, she teleported, appearing behind Ida and slashed at the form holding on to her, doing her best not to swing too deep or cut the senshi in the process.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 9:19 am
In the struggle with her attacker, Ida saw the flash of a spear appearing and fear flashed through her. Old, familiar fear reminding her she'd felt the bite of that spear before. A chill ran through her as she realized that tangled up with the blight monster, there wasn't anything she'd be able to do if Painite decided to turn that spear on her again. A tense moment passed as she thrashed, trying to loosen the hold on her. Half her attention on the monster, half on Painite...
When the general moved, her alarm peaked, thrumming through her... but the burning slash never came. Instead, she felt the thick, rubbery body shudder and fall apart. A good portion of it fell away, cut from her and slithering back to join the mass that had risen from the ground. Ida took advantage of the help and shoved her hand into the mass that remained, murmuring magic under her breath. The black mass exploded outwards in a spray of needle-like darts of light, shrieking as it shredded. The senshi stumbled back then, turning to keep as much of the fight in her sights as she could.
Eyes flicked to Painite, a confusing tangle of emotions settling in her chest. Surprise, gratitude, confusion. This was a different Painite than the one she'd known... but then, she'd seen signs of it the last time they'd met. What had life brought this woman, to change her this way?
"Watch out on your right!" She called as she saw the mass gathering. It moved more sluggishly now, more furtively. Perhaps, rethinking its choice of opponents now that they were fighting back.
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Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2022 4:14 pm
Painite felt it in the air. It was unmistakable, even now. Even when it made her stomach turn, instead of filled her with glee. Fear. She used to say she could smell it, but that was not exactly the case. It was a sense, and emotion so powerful it all but radiated off a person, almost like the auras that told them what side of the war they were supposed to be fighting on.
She did not blame anyone for being afraid of her, even for a fleeting moment, at the flash of her spear. It did not hurt her feelings. It should not hurt her feelings.
Since when did she HAVE feelings?
"Are you okay?" She heard herself asking, even as a voice in the back of her head told her she did not care. Of course she cared. It was a stupid habit she had picked up along the way, as she walked down this path of confusion and doubt. Nothing about this journey had been fun, and this part of it was no different. At once she felt upset and indignant, yet curious and worried. She just had to make sure this senshi stayed 'okay', and then she would be in the clear.
Was that how it worked?
She side stepped, joining Ida as they rounded on the grotesque goop. She had not missed the way it exploded, nodding her head. "Think you can do that to the rest of it, or should I slice it up more?" Stay focused on the fight, she told herself. It was the easiest way to avoid complicated feelings and thoughts.
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Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2022 10:20 pm
Oh, this was strange... Painite fighting beside her and then... asking if she was okay? Ida could not keep the shocked expression off her face and it took a moment of gaping before she closed her mouth and shook it off. There were more important things to focus on right now than Painite's change in character, most namely the monsters they were still fighting. With anyone else, she might have expected them to team up against the monsters, even hoped for it every time she approached one of the Negaverse.
She watched the General take a stance beside her from the corners of her eyes and considered what this all meant as she chose to take the actions at face value.
"I'm fine. I can do it one more time, so I'd say if you wanted to put your spear to use on the other gobs of grossness, that would certainly help." She said, trying to keep her voice light. This truce seemed to fragile for sarcastic remarks just yet. "They don't seem to like attacking multiple people. If we make ourselves too much effort to face, they should retreat."
She paused as she gathered her magic, hesitating before she spoke again.
"Thanks for the help." Ida said as she swept her arm out, sending a spray of needle-like petals at the monsters again. The needles peppered them, sending them reeling back away from the pair. They shifted and hovered outside of her range, skirting around like they weren't sure what to do, but didn't quite want to leave. Slowly, the mass began to sink into the ground and retreat, finally giving up on what had become far more difficult prey than they seemed to have anticipated. It left Ida standing alone with her once-enemy, awkwardly trying to decide what to do now.
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Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2022 3:41 pm
"I think I could do that," Painite said, shifting her stance and watching the strange goop and grimacing. It was among the grossest of enemies she had ever fight, she had to give it that, but she was not concerned yet about it. It seemed to fall apart fairly easily, though she supposed if it could just form itself from nothing, it could probably reform just as easily.
"Be annoying until they go away, huh?" Painite huffed, shaking her head. she could not help herself, even if Ida was trying to be careful and socially appropriate. The Negaverse General often found she was not limited by such concerns. She also found she had no friends, of course. "You should be in your element, then."
She smirked, not quite remembering the last time she had felt anything close to being amused in recent times. Maybe when Ekanite did something particularly stupid, but even then, it felt hollow. This was almost fun.
Almost.
She heard the thank you, but hesitated to reply, something in her chest tightening. She nodded, knowing full well Ida was not looking in her direction, making only a light huff sound in response as she charged forward. using her spear to slice through whatever blobs she could, just to make sure they got the hint that they were not welcome. By the time they gave up she was just beginning to feel the thrill of actually engaging in a battle, a sensation she had forced herself to forget.
Turning, she offered a shrug, banishing her spear in the same gesture. "Easy, eh? I mean, for me. I guess you did most of the work."
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2023 6:42 pm
Was... Painite teasing her?
Ida watched as the general chased away the last of the Blight, sending it back into hiding. A slight frown creased her brow, leaving her expression troubled. This was not the Painite she remembered, but... did she dare say anything? Something had obviously happened in her life over the years since they'd last clashed, something fundamental. Probably not something she was going to just share with her enemy, especially with their history. But still... maybe?
"We worked together." She said with a small nod. "It took both of us. Which is why I've been trying to reach out to the Negaverse. It hasn't be easy, for obvious reasons... but the Blight doesn't really seem to care what side we're on, or who's planet this is. Its as much a threat to you as it is to us. More for you, maybe, because if this planet goes, you have no where else to go. I want to work together, call a sort of truce for the moment, while we deal with it. If everyone works together, we can destroy it and restore the places its killed off. Mutual self-interest, if you will."
Hopefully Painite could see it... the threat this posed everyone. Even if she blamed senshi for bringing it to Earth, something she couldn't entirely discount, surely she could see helping fight it would be better than letting the senshi sort it out alone. They had as much to lose here.
"We have to search for the source of it, the... nucleous, or seed, or whatever it's all linked to. Find it, destroy it."
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Posted: Tue Jan 10, 2023 9:42 am
Painite listened quietly, absorbing the information and frowning. Like Earth needed more things threatening it, with what the war between Order and Chaos was doing to it. Not that she had ever been inclined to consider it in her daily operations. Her motivations had always been much more selfish, and even now, thinking about the planet as a whole, as a place they needed and would be lost without, was difficult.
It made her feel very small, realizing so many senshi and knights had even more, beyond the surface of this planet, out in space or in strange realms long forgotten, or whatever it was they called it. Homeworlds, wonders. It was a lot to consider.
"We'd better smash as much goop as we can, then," she said with a sigh, nodding her head." She looked at the senshi helplessly. She was not one to offer anyone help, especially now that she had paid a pretty hefty price for doing just that. It felt like a risk every time, not knowing what consequences would follow. What lives would suddenly become her responsibility. She watched Ida, though, and her frown softened slightly.
Thinking too hard always made her look angry. Well. Angrier.
"If I see anything like this, I'll get rid of it. I don't know if I can do much more than that. I'll let the kid, uh...Lieutenant Ekanite, know as well. He'll probably get all excited about it and make it some sort of adventure." She sounded tired, but she looked sad, soft sea green eyes downcast for a moment before she caught herself looking at her hands and shoved them in her pockets.
"You senshi tend to get just as crazy as he does about this kind of stuff. Diving feet first into a giant problem. Don't get yourself killed, I guess. You know," she stumbled and fumbled for the words, "stay safe."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2023 7:59 pm
A wish for her safety? Ida wasn't sure what to do with that. It was more strangeness on top of strangeness. Did Painite really mean it? Was there any benefit to her saying it if she didn't mean it? With their history, it wasn't like trust would instantly blossom between them. If Painite was trying for a long game, it was going to be a long game indeed.
But... there was a part of Ida that wondered.
"I will do my best." She said as she let that wondering settle inside of her, tucking it away to mull over later. "I hope you do as well. And your young friend too. If you have anything you find out that you want to share with me... I set up a tackle box on the roof of a gas station named Derek's. Its over... that way."
The senshi turned to scan the buildings around them before finding the direction she wanted and pointing.
"I check it every couple of days for messages from the few Negaverse officers I've made contact with. If I find out anything important enough, I'll find another officer and have them spread the information to the rest of you. Beating these things back is good, but try not to get too wrapped up in it and hurt yourselves... they always just seem to come back. I've been trying to keep people away from the dead spots they come out of, if I can. Hopefully we find something out soon."
Brown eyes studied the other woman with a thoughtful gaze, and there may have been more than one meaning to her words even if it was mostly unintentional. Only time would uncover what was going on with Painite... and Ida was going to keep an eye on it. It felt important... like standing at the place where a path forked. She wanted to see which path Painite would take, and where it would lead her. What sort of future was ahead of her?
"You can also leave a message for any other reason too, if you need to." Ida said with a force lightness, offering out a tentative bridge between them. Something else it would be interesting to watch out for.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 8:50 am
Whimsical Blue Yes! Sorry for the delay ;-;
She kept her hands in her pockets, eyes downcast as she watched the ground. It was not as if she thought any more of that goop would be attacking them, but rather she found it difficult to lift her gaze and make direct eye contact with Ida now that things were calm. Her chest still felt tight, and strong instincts in the back of her mind were telling her to run.
She was sinking too deep. Things were shifting, settling: feeling too comfortable. Too right.
Wrong.
"I'll think about it. Dirty jokes okay?" she heard herself say, soft english accent still present, though it seemed to peek out more when she was not yelling in a battle. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to look up and finding Ida looking at her intensely, those brown eyes a little too curious for her comfort. She took a step back, but made herself grin. "I'll see you around, Petals."
Petals? Painite turned away and waved a casual hand over her shoulder before she grimaced and teleported away.
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