Welcome to Gaia! ::

The unseasonably warm temperatures were a welcome change for Cybele, who simply wasn't dressed for it. Being magical helped a bit, but she still always found herself missing her top of the line boots and her lined coats during the coldest months.

Of course she went out patrolling anyway, but she grumbled about it as often as not. The milder weather meant less grumbling.

Today it was an Order aura that she came across, which was fine. Strengthening alliances was just as important as standing up against the enemy. As Cybele walked closer, that gentle pull on her sixth sense seemed to shift to above her.

The potential ally was on a rooftop. Cybele swallowed hard. This was less fine. Cybele didn't know why her panic kicked in when she was more than a few feet off the ground. This was something that had been lost with her memories. She just knew that it happened.

It could be salvaged if the person came down, though, perhaps.

"Hello?" she called out softly. "Are you finding anything up there?"

Cybele saw a face bob out past the edge of the rooftop, but only for about half a second before it was jerking back again. Was this someone that she'd terrorized back when she was corrupted? She tried to remember if she'd run across a purple haired basic back then, but she didn't think she had.

Now she was jumping down, though, so perhaps she was just shy.

"You don't have to worry," said Cybele, with a small smile. "I'm not an enemy or anything."

Although that was probably obvious enough now that the other girl could see that she was an Order Eternal. Her smile widened as she glanced at the other girl's outfit. "Also, we almost match, and that has to mean something."

It always helped as something to bond over.

"My name's Cybele," she said, taking the hand in a practiced shake.

Cybele reached back to run her fingers through the feathers of the wings that were finally back on her hips. "These?" she asked. "They're because I'm an Eternal."

There was no judgement in her voice, but it did change her evaluation of the situation a bit as she realized that this girl was likely very new. "Everyone starts out like you, as a basic senshi, or some other equivalent depending on the source of their power. Over time, we grow stronger. Eternals are the strongest senshi, except for the Princesses, but there aren't very many of those. You can tell us by our auras, and by our wings."

Her voice was bright and steady as she gave the explanation, the same tone she used when she worked with kids on their acting skills. It stayed the same as she asked, "How long have you been doing this, Mneme?"

She was confirming it, then. She was new, or new enough. Cybele was hardly going to judge someone for not choosing to power up for years. It was a choice to fight or not to fight, regardless of what starseed you had in your chest.

"Two months," Cybele repeated, nodding. As someone with only a few years of memories, two months was a long enough time to have some weight to it. On the other hand, in comparison to how long the war had been going on, two years was less than a blink.

"How's it been going for you?" she asked, because it seemed better to ask that than to wonder about how much experience had been squeezed into that short time. "It must be a lot to take in all at once."

She didn't actually remember being new herself, but she could assume as much.

"If you have any other questions, I can always try to fill you in on some things."

This girl looked so disgusted by the thought of a lizard youma. Cybele's eyes were soft, comforting, but she could only wish that something like that was the worst thing that she'd ever seen.

It hardly seemed like the time to go into detail about the depths of the horrors of war, though. Mneme could fight youma for a while. That would do plenty to keep the city safe.

"Well, now that we've met, you should be able to call me any time," said Cybele, summoning her phone to make sure that the other senshi had registered. "If you think of anything, or if you need help, let me know, all right? You're not alone."

That was the most important thing for the new, the overwhelmed, to know, thought Cybele.

"I think I'm going to keep going, but remember that, all right?"