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 Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 4:40 pm
Lysithea had a whole feast packed in the insulated bag that she carried. There was a fresh container of mac and cheese from Evan, and several grilled cheese sandwiches. A container of onion soup that smelled absolutely wonderful sat at the very bottom of the bag, and she hoped it would stay as warm as it had been when she had put it in, but. It would be fine if it cooled a little.
The desserts she made were at the top of the insulated bag, a batch of cookies and an apple pie. In the cooler that Lysithea held in her other hand were the drinks, a half gallon each of lemonade and iced tea, a fruit tray and a salad that she had put together, along with five different dressings.
Knowing that Varuna didn’t eat meat was great but…she worried that she had gone way too far overboard with the spread, and didn’t want it to freak the other senshi out…but.
Well, honestly, she would have brought this much no matter who was going to her Homeworld with her, so…
Whatever it worked.
With a sigh, Lysithea looked around, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited for her potential court member and friend to arrive.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 9:51 pm
As promised, Varuna showed up at the same time and place as they’d agreed to. She approached slowly, cautiously, as though making sure this wasn’t a trick or a trap.
No, she trusted Adria. He’d been so sweet to her, and while he was incredibly naive (in her opinion), he wouldn’t do anything to put her in danger.
She just didn’t know who might be lurking in the shadows watching Lysithea. Not that she expected Lysithea to set anything up that would end up getting them hurt, but if the Negaverse was looking for her -- she was a traitor to them, after all -- there was no telling what kind of dangers could be around the corner, if they weren’t careful.
Varuna eyed the bag that Lysithea brought when she approached, and she nodded in quiet greeting, then held out her hand so Lysithea could take it and take them to her World. Varuna didn't talk much. The last time they met, she’d talked much more than she meant to and ended up with a sore jaw. She was going to be more careful with her words this time.
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2022 2:51 pm
Lysithea broke into a pleased smile when Varuna appeared and gently held onto her hand, returning the nod of greeting and pressing the button on her senshi phone that would take them both up to Lysithea.
When they arrived, she withdrew her hand from the other senshi and drew in a deep breath, enjoying the strong scent of flowers that was permeating the air…it hadn’t smelled so nice before but…maybe that was just because the butterflies here were having a chance to really pollinate the flowers better now. Whatever it was, she liked it.
“Welcome to Lysithea, I honestly haven’t explored very much up here, or, not that I can remember but, it’s such a beautiful place to relax and have picnics with friends.”
Nodding for Varuna to follow, Lysithea led them under her favorite tree, and looked up, excited that the small, sparkling fruits, if that was what they were, looked…bigger. Another side effect of the butterflies and whatever other insects had come to make the moon their home? She honestly hoped so.
Spreading out a blanket that she pulled from subspace, Lysithea sat down on the edge of it and began removing the food from the insulated bags, though paused when she heard a trill of birdsong that made her catch her breath. Looking up into the tree, she saw a bird the size of a pigeon, with a tail almost as long as her own arm, or at least that was what it looked like. The bird was a bright sapphire blue with teals and mint feathers going through it. It was…lovely.
As she watched, it gave another few trills of its song and reached up to gracefully pluck one of the berries from the tree, munching on it happily.
“...I…guess I have birds now.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 20, 2022 7:49 pm
Varuna couldn’t help but look around in awe at the place. She’d never seen anything like it -- never smelled anything like it. And there was definitely something magical about the place. Lysithea was probably right that it was a good place to relax.
She followed as instructed, making her way to the tree, and watched curiously as Lysithea spread out a blanket and pulled out the food.
Her reaction to the bird made Varuna guess she’d never seen it before -- which would make sense if she’d lost her memories, but she was also aware that places in space didn’t usually have animals. And she definitely knew she was in space, because a glance up at the sky, she could see Jupiter.
“Lysithea is a moon of Jupiter?” she asked.
The butterflies, though…
Varuna carefully crouched down to where Lysithea had the food, and on a small plate she collected a number of fruits from the tray.
But instead of eating any of it, she took a few steps away and carefully set the plate among the flowers.
“If we’re lucky, some butterflies might join us.”
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 2:10 pm
“It is a moon of Jupiter, yeah!” Her eyes followed Varuna, and when she understood just what the other senshi was doing, she broke into a smile. “What a fun idea, I hope that they do, they’re lovely. Their wings are just like glass, and they sparkle in the light. I hope you get to see one of the rabbits too, I’m not sure what else to call them but…oh, I hope that I get to pet one someday, they look so soft.”
She wasn’t sure just how many other critters were up here…or how many of each type…right now there didn’t seem to be any predator animals, so in theory, everything else should flourish, which…was a really nice thought, honestly.
“I hope that you’ve been well, Varuna. I was really looking forward to this over the past few days and…I know I brought way too much food but…I was excited.” Lysithea gave a smile that was almost embarrassed, but quite pleased as well. “I think…that being up here is one of my most favorite places in the…well. In the Universe. If that’s not too full of myself to say…it’s…”
Falling quiet, Lysithea’s eyes darted to the plate of fruit Varuna had put down, watching as one of the rabbit like creatures poked a nose out from the tall, lavender colored grass and began sniffing at it before hopping out completely and reaching down, taking a cube of watermelon into its mouth.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 5:45 pm
Varuna nodded quietly as she moved to where Lysithea was sitting on the blanket and lowered herself down to sit beside her.
The butterflies and rabbits and birds were certainly something that made the trip worthwhile already, but there was something curious about Lysithea that she couldn’t place her finger on. She knew that Adria liked her and considered her a very dear friend, so maybe it was that knowledge rubbing off on her.
She agreed that it was very beautiful there, and didn’t think there was anything wrong with Lysithea thinking it was one of her favorite places in the Universe. It made sense. It was her world. Varuna’s world was ice and snow and she’d been there once but there was nothing to celebrate like butterflies and fruit trees.
“Why were you excited? You know nothing about me,” Varuna tilted her head to watch the other young woman. She was less than an arm’s length from her, so it wasn’t as though she was trying to stay away. She just didn’t understand how people like Adria and Connie and Keiko and Lysithea could be so quick to throw everything they had into being friendly.
Other than being hopelessly naive.
Not that Varuna wanted any hardship to befall on them and make them less naive… and maybe, once upon a time, she was hopelessly naive as well. But life decided it had other plans for her.
“Why do you want to get to know me? Is it just because Adria considers me his friend?”
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 6:08 pm
Adria spoke very highly of you, and it made me want to get to know you and be your friend too. It doesn’t matter that we hardly know one another yet…to me,” Lysithea fell quiet, trying to choose her next words with care. “To me, the court is like my family. At least…at least that’s what I’ve come to think of them as. Everyone who’s in it is special to me, important to me, their lives make mine better. They make me better. And I’m hoping that you and I will end up being the same. I’m hoping that you’ll become a part of our family too. We can protect each other and just…make the world a little bit better one step at a time.”
It sounded as though she were preaching, and Lysithea gave a sympathetic grimace. “Sorry…I’m just really passionate about this…it feels right. Like it’s the last piece of the puzzle of my life and when it gets solved…everything will just make sense again.”
She knew it wouldn’t happen that way but. It was a nice thought. A comforting thought.
“I might not know you well yet, Varuna…but you already matter to me, and even if you decide that this ins’t for you, I hope that we can keep working to become friends.”
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 6:19 pm
Varuna hummed softly to herself as she watched the butterflies and rabbit circle around the plate of fruit she’d placed a little ways away from them.
“What makes you think I haven’t already decided?” she wondered. From what she understood, she was already part of the court, according to Adria. But Lysithea was the one to first get them together, so it was important (to Adria at least) that she and Varuna meet.
“I don’t have a lot of friends,” she admitted. If she was being honest, it was just Adria. “I like animals. Animals won’t be cruel to you, won’t be friendly to your face and then be horrible behind your back. It’s why I decided to be a vet,” she shrugged.
She told Adria the same thing. She told him how she wasn’t good with people, and how she kept to herself. And yet, Adria insisted that they give each other a chance, no matter what she said to try and convince him that she might be a bad fit.
Adria seemed to think that Lysithea would feel the same way.
“I don’t want to lie to you. I don’t know how to be a friend. I barely know how to be Adria’s friend.”
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 6:33 pm
“Oh Varuna…” Lysithea smiled sadly and twitched slightly, as though she wanted to reach out and hug the other senshi, but she kept to herself. “I understand what that feels like.When. When I first purified back…I was mostly convinced that everyone would dislike me for not being Cambria, the girl I was before…well, before everything. It’s…bee a very long road to trust everyone, and that's no fault of them…honestly, I truly believe that this is the best group of people that anyone can have…most of us are people who have purified. People who have lost everything. Malus, he had been a youma at one point…Adria…I don’t think Chaos ever touched him, but he got hurt badly, he told me. Back when Malus was being saved.” She didn’t remember but. Still.
“We’re all broken in one way or another. Like that Japanese pottery that they fix with gold…I saw it online and it just sounded really…not romantic but…special? Like finding faults in our own weaknesses.” Honestly, Lysithea wasn’t even sure that she was making sense, but…her words were beginning to make ehrself tear up and swiftly, she wiped at her damp eyes.
“You couldn’t find a better group to try friendship with, that’s…honestly all I can say. They don’t give up on you, even when you think that’s what you want…they don’t give up on you ever. I won’t give up on you either, since…I’m a part of them. And I really feel a part of them.”
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 6:44 pm
Varuna hummed again, her fingers smoothing through her hair that she kept over her shoulder.
Naive, she thought to herself. Lysithea at least sounded sincere. She sounded like she meant every kind thing she was saying, even if she didn’t quite manage to make complete sense with everything. That didn’t matter. The words themselves technically didn’t matter.
For Varuna, words meant very little. She’d learned that long ago to steel herself against words, from others and from herself. Most people didn’t like that she was quiet. But they were wrong if they assumed she was shy.
The dampness in Lysithea’s eyes didn’t go unnoticed, and while there was a part of Varuna that said she should keep her distance, she could feel for this girl that lost everything she had, only to be shuffled around to try and rediscover it.
Which was why Varuna lifted her hand to gently take hold of Lysithea’s wrist and pulled it away from her face. But only so she could lean close and kiss her cheek and her tears away.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 6:59 pm
Of all the reactions that Lysithea was expecting, this wasn’t one of them, and she looked at Varuna with some confusion on her face. “I…” She felt her cheeks grow warm and managed to give a watery little laugh “…Thank you.” If there was any doubts lingering in Lysithea’s mind, this reaction had silenced them all, and after a moment she hesitated and scooted a little closer, resting her head on the other woman’s shoulder for a moment. “You might have doubts about your ability to be a friend, but Varuna, you’re going to fit in perfectly with everyone else.”
Words could really be empty, and Varuna didn’t seem to have much to say, but her actions were…just the same as everyone els she loved. She was kind, and caring, even if she tried to act tough and icy.
Maybe when she grew back into whatever level of confidence she had lost, she would be able to provide comfort that easily. Hopefully she would be able to learn whatever this new friend wished to teach her.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2022 7:06 pm
She didn’t mind Lysithea resting her head on her shoulder, and she even tipped her head to rest her cheek against Lysithea’s hair in return.
Maybe they would have more to talk to in a little while, but for now Varuna was content sitting with her and watching the butterflies and animals collect around the food left for them. And Varuna fully intended to enjoy the picnic that Lysithea had packed for them.
Varuna didn’t know what the future would hold, but she knew the past was dark and lonely. Likely for both of them in similar and different ways. So if they could make a brighter future, then she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to try.
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