Welcome to Gaia! ::

Kathryn hadn't powered up into her powered self in what seemed like ages. The feel of throwing on the mantle of a squire of Cosmos felt abnormal, almost strange after the absence that she'd taken. Destiny City was always going to be her home and it would help to keep on eye on mitigating threats that came from all around, yet her heart almost didn't seem to be in tandem step with what the mind knew it should do. Was it always going to be this way? Was her life always going to be this constant push and pull reaction between knowing what needed to be done and yet refusing to make any moves?

Even as the bright orb of the sun dipped below the horizon did Irkalla step carefully onto a vacant street before staring off into the distance. Being like this, like her powered self, felt altogether odd and familiar at the same time. There were others around, the unknown auras of many registered in her mind but she paid no heed to seeking any out. She would get this patrol done and then seek out a place to unwind afterwards. Or at least she would have done that if she hadn't been struck by the sensation of suddenly being watched.

The sensation of having phantom eyes on her back had Irkalla spinning around a few times trying to find the source of the unseen gaze. What exactly was going on here?

Her golden cord of instruments came up briefly at the approach of another aura before she lowered it down to side. Both hands clenched on the cord momentarily before she released it with her left hand causing the strand to hang limply at her side. She wouldn't need to defend herself against a fellow Squire of Cosmos. Stepping back for a moment to assess this newcomer Irkalla gave a small wave in return before once more feeling the sensation of eyes upon her person.

"Have I seen anything strange? No. But then again I only just started my patrol. I take it you have?"

It was more a statement of fact given that she was being inquired about it but Irkalla didn't think the other squire would pick up on the nuance. Anyway besides the phantom feelings of being watched, nothing odd had happened yet. Even as the brilliant tapestry of colors that was the sunset streaked across the sky above her head began to fade did Irkalla notice that the stranger's attention was not on her at the exact moment but instead focused on a puddle that was just off to her side a bit. "What do you mean by strange though I guess is a good follow-up question? Followed by admitting that I'm constantly feeling as if someone's watching me."

For a moment Irkalla almost gave into the desire to figure out what was so interesting about the puddle. But on the other hand - if something was watching her, shouldn't she instead find out who it was?

"Hey, you okay there," was uttered even as she saw her fellow Cosmos Squire freeze like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding car. Her hand reached out to attempt to shake the other out of whatever stupor she seemed to be in.

Irkalla wasn't as jumpy as her fellow squire seemed to be but at least she could offer something in return for the explanation that she had received. For it seemed that this individual had experienced a little of the same uneasiness that had been plaguing her own senses for the past hour. The phantom sensation of having someone stare down a spot on your back. However it was apparently that this squire had found the source of the phantom watchers. It was coming from the puddles that had been left over from the rain?

Irkalla glanced to the puddle that the flag had dipped into before steeling herself to march over to another nearby congregation of leftover rainwater before drawing in a deep breath to cast her gaze down towards the puddle in question. The sensation of being watched, as being observed, intensified and Irkalla bit back a gasp of shock at the view beyond the sense of the phantom watcher showed a world that appeared to be in decline. Deep inside, Irkalla shivered before drawing her gaze away from the horrible scene. One blink later and the puddle had lost even its ability to reflect the brilliant hues of the sky above and then in another blink the puddle seemed to have vanished altogether. The only sensation that still remained was that strange feeling of being observed, studied, 'probed' lingered on: like she was a rat in a lab experiment.

Going back to her fellow Cosmos kinswoman Irkalla once more reached out to try and offer a soothing, comforting touch before shaking her head. "I don't think you are sounding crazy at all. You've had the foresight to figure out at least where it felt like the sensation was coming from. And, if you had the same or similar vision that I just saw as well, it'd make sense that your freaked out. But not crazy."

Irkalla tried to give the other woman a moment to pull things together if she could before she offered a hand to shake, "I think we've figured out that we are both Squires of Cosmos ... but I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance, I'm Irkalla."

"It's nice to meet you as well Casablanca,"

Having her hand shook by her fellow Cosmos Squire had Irkalla grinning back at Casablanca before she gently withdrew her hand. It was strange that the sensation of being watched still was lingering. It was also very unsettling. To that regard she glanced around for a glimpse of anymore puddles before turning her attention back to Casablanca. She let out a quiet chuckle before speaking, "no, you aren't seeing things. Not unless I'm hallucinating as well and I don't think I am."

Here the squire tightened her grip on her weapon before sighing, "at least I don't think I'm seeing things anymore, but feeling them is still a different matter entirely. I still feel like I, actually more like we, are still being watched. But I'm curious as to how that is considering there's no more puddles around that I can see."

Were the puddles the catalyst to the sensation of being watched? Did looking into them allow whatever was in that strange dimension access into the real world? How did the mechanics work in this scenario?

"To think, I was feeling bored enough earlier to complain to myself that nothing interesting was going on. I think I'd like to retract my complaint."

Irkalla could definitely sympathize with her fellow Cosmos Squire that was for sure. Instead of trying to dissuade Casablanca from thinking those kind of thoughts Irkalla merely nodded sadly. "I'd have to agree with you on that front. Heck even my first crazy adventure in this city was when I was still not a part of the battle that we're all embroiled in. I was still a civilian when I, and many others, got turned into cats."

The feeling of being watched still even though all the puddles in their immediate vicinity were going had Irkalla spinning around once to make sure that nothing was still keeping tabs on them before she sighed with a bit of relief.

"I'd be grateful for the company if you want to stick together for a while. I won't mind. Maybe you can tell me about how long you've been fighting ... if you want to that is."