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The Fireflies (6) : In the warm summer nights, little glowing lights begin to bob and dart through the city. Fireflies are mating, so this isn't uncommon in itself; in the past few days you've probably seen hundreds of fireflies. What makes these lights so unique is that they seem to change color; you might see a blue one, a green one, a red one. They flicker randomly, and something just seems off with them. If you come into contact with one, you will find yourself with a strange electric jolt. They cannot be caught, and will flicker away if you pursue too aggressively. This isn’t the first time they’ve appeared in Destiny City, but no one’s been able to tell where they came from or where they’re going. No matter how quickly you chase them, they always seem to disappear before you can find any answers.
Hania had gone out on patrol on his own, knowing full well that the odds of finding a Senshi to awaken seem to be higher if he did so. Of course he kept his communicator at the ready if he needed any back up should he run into any trouble such as a youma or one of the Chaos powered. He didn’t keep to the ground level but neither did he stay on the roof tops, rather he strolled about on fences and the like whenever available to he would be less likely to be bothered by any stray dogs. That was until he reached a park and then went into the trees to make the branches his highway. One and on he trekked, taking note of any person he passed by and letting his instincts tell him if they were someone that needed to be awakened, though there didn’t seem to be any at this point of time today. Eventually he came to a stop close to a children's play area and laid down on a branch as he kept a watchful eye on them. Chibi Senshi were never ones he enjoyed awakening but at least if they were awakened they could defend themselves.
Merlin had only been in the city as a resident for about a month now, his Mother having moved them to America about a year ago and then to this city in particular due to work related reasons. He hadn’t made any friends yet and there already was a few encounters where the kids he tried to talk to ended up making fun of his accent so when she took him to a nearby park, he found himself not truly expecting to end up playing with other kids and instead figured he would end up playing by himself once again. In fact he was so sure about this he didn’t even head towards the few kids that were playing around in the various park equipment right away and rather hung around on the outskirts to play for the moment. It wasn't like he didn't have things to see as occasionally a firefly would flit around, showing unique colors that would catch his attention for a moment. However he was just gearing up to at least attempt to talk to the playing children when his klutziness struck again. Foot getting caught on a tree root he went flailing head first into some bushes, just barely holding back a yell in surprise. Stunned, he lay there in the bush, that thankfully wasn’t horribly scratchy, for a moment to calm down then started to wiggle his way out.
While he had seen the child hanging back, Hania hadn’t been paying that much attention to him as in the distance one of the little girls had tripped and he couldn’t help but attempt to check on her visually from a distance. However gravity claimed a second victim and this one was much closer to the tree he was in. Hania stood back up and jumped down to the leaf littered ground to quickly pad his way over to the bush to check on the young boy only to pause just at the edge of it as a familiar feeling crept in.
Once he was calmed down from his tumble, Merlin started to squirm around in the bush to find his way out of it. However because of how he fell in, the child ended up exiting the bush in the opposite direction of the playground and into the more woodsy area. This didn’t distract him from the black cat that was right there practically in his face when he made said exit however. His eyes went wide and he froze to not scare the cat away though it was easy to see the excited look in his eyes and the way his hands twitched like they wanted to pet the pretty kitty.
The feeling of a Senshi ready to awaken was clear and it was just as clear to be the young boy in front of him that was the reason for it. “Are you alright?” He asked after pausing to think on how to break the fact that he could talk without frightening the child. He didn’t have a lot of options at the moment and he might have to back track or change plans depending on how the boy reacted to what he just said. After all he needed to awaken the soon to be Chibi now that he had found him. Chibi’s couldn’t be Corrupted, they couldn’t awaken into Chaos, but they could easily draw in the attention of Youma.
Merlin’s eyes got even wider when the cat opened it’s mouth and didn’t meow like he expected but rather spoke English. “D-did you just talk?” He asked, stunned enough to stutter out the first bit of his question. However he snapped out of his surprise enough to remember his manners a moment later. “Excuse me, yes I’m alright. Thank you for asking.” He said as he straightened up from where he sat on the ground. It was still shocking to find a talking cat, if that was even the case but he didn’t think he hit his head and he had done that plenty of times to know how that feels.
At least he didn’t start to scream or believe that this was a dream, much to Hania’s relief. “I’m glad, that didn’t look like it was a very fun landing.” He said as he looked the boy over for any visual injuries. Thankfully other then a few small scratches he looked fine from what he could tell. "But yes I can talk. I am not really a cat, or rather not an Earth cat as you know them. I am a Mauvian. A Guardian Cat originating from the planet Mau." Hania explained, trying not to over whelm the child.
“A Mauvian? You are an alien?” Merlin’s excitement grew again at this new information and he started to bounce a little in place. “So that means there are more like you? Are they on this planet too? Why are you here? When did you arrive? Do you plan on staying for long?” The questions just sort of spilled out of him at this point.
The barage of questions wasn’t unexpected but it did make Hania blink at how fast they were asked without the child seeming to take a breath. “Yes I am an alien, yes there are more of us on the planet. We are here to find the reborn warriors of various planets in the past, awaken them and to help train them.” He explained with patience when the boy finally paused long enough for him to answer. “You, in fact, are one such warrior. Of course while I’m obliged to awaken you, it is up to you how often if at all to use the power. At this point of time, it’s more of a protection deal as you will have the tools to defend yourself should the forces of chaos seek to harm you.”
A reborn warrior? Him? The bouncing Merlin was doing grew a bit more as excitement shot through him, though it slowed back down at the mention of something coming after him. “So there are bad guys and at this point you just want me to have the tools to keep safe?” He asked to clarify though it wasn’t really needed. It was just a way for him to buy a bit of time to think on what was being said.
“Exactly.” Hania said then gave a wave of his paw to produce a Senshi Pen, that which the boy caught. “I am Hania of Mau and this is your transformation tool. Speak the words when you hold the pen and you will transform into your powered form.” He said with a nod. The Mauvian was about to continue explaining when the boy jumped into action, metaphorically.
“Gawain power, makeup!” Merlin said as soon as Hania explained what to do. Light surrounded him and sparkles of yellows and blues went off at random places like they were competing with the fireflies the duo had been ignoring. When the light show was over, Merlin stood there as Sailor Gawain, the Senshi of Peregrine Falcons. “Awesome!” He cheered as he looked himself over, just barely noticing a brief flash of something out of the corner of his eyes that he passed off as a firefly.
Hania promised himself to explain everything else to the new chibi once Gawain had settled down more and instead took the time to think of a way to explain to Agrawain that his brother was back but wouldn’t remember him. It was going to be a hard talk that he wasn’t looking forward to. That was what went on for the next few moments, the Chibi bouncing around, the Mauvian plotting, and the fireflies flitting around uncaring to the commotion.
Word count: Hania=807, Merlin=687, total=1,494
