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 Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 3:24 pm
It had been a while since Daedalus had seen Julienne, and truth be told,h e still felt as if he needed the advice of a Mauvian. It felt, since he came to Earth, like he was progressing in leaps and bounds--but he was still stuck at his former power level, and perhaps a Mauvian might have the information he needed to figure out why that was. There were lots of things Mauvians knew that Senshi just didn't, and perhaps that still held true.
And, the thing was, he had found, after the little adventure with Vanya and everyone else to see a movie, that he liked the blunt stylings of a certain black puffball who could be found in the alley behidna certain pizza place.
"Faust?" He called. There was no ping of a Mauvian aura, butt hey were so small he'd have to practically be tripping over the poor cat to feel it, so that didn't worry him.
"It's Daedalus. We met, earlier? At the movie? I wanted to ask you some questions, if I could borrow your time."
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Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2023 6:38 pm
Faust did not immediately respond. He found that, if he made a person wait to be acknowledged, then they were more likely to treat him with the reverence that he deserved. Thus, in Faust's mind, he was completely entitled to continue sidewinding atop the caved-in, greasy pizza box that was left behind.
That grease was flavored with olive oil and Italian spices and Faust had every intention of using his entire back as a flavor saver to keep that experience alive. The owners didn't mind, after all; they just thought he was a cute cat with some garbage habits. They liked to crack the door open, call him Puss-Puss, and put out some cream for him. And he'd already eaten the cream that night.
Finally Faust chuffed when he thought he was sufficiently saturated with pizza grease. Righting himself, the portly Mauvian managed a few steps off the box before he finally answered Daedalus.
"Yeah, I remember you. What'chu want? Imma give you my time when I see a slice o' pizza sittin' in yo' hand."noir songbird so sorry i missed this heart
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Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2024 3:45 am
Daedalus waited, patiently. Mauvians operated on their own schedule, he'd learned over the years, and it was best not to rush them. When Faust did arrive, he greeted the cat with a smile.
"Ah," he said, and he reached into subspace and produced a half of a meatball sandwich from a sub shop he'd found that was particularly generous with their meat portions. Food as an offering to thank Faust for his help had seemed more than appropriate, and he;d stopped to have his own meal anyway, so it hadn't exactly been a diversion, just a lot of thought about what would suit before settling on a personal favorite. "Not pizza, but I hope this will do?" He bent down to set it on the ground in its little paper boat, getting a sharp whiff of....well. Clearly Faust liked this place, because he smelled very strongly of the kind of spices that Daedalus had come to associate with Earth pizza.
"I just wanted to ask if you could take a look at my henshin pen? I used to be an Eternal Senshi, but when things started going wrong on my planet, my powers degraded. I was hoping you might have an idea of how to fix that, if it's even possible to fix."
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 7:07 pm
Faust was immediately suspicious when this one produced a whole food. That usually meant they wanted something, and that something was usually tech. The cat's eyes narrowed, but he did not back away from the offering or the man making the offering.
The portly Mauvian got off his haunches and approached the piece of sandwich, giving it a discerning sniff as if he might not eat it (but anyone who knew Faust worth a damn understood that he had precisely zero standards for food). All the while, he considered the topic at hand: this Friend from Outer Space used to be an Eternal, now he's not, which was weird, but if it was a broken pen, Faust could probably do something about it. Or at least bluff a little. That seemed easy enough for the price of a sandwich.
Or he could just eat the sandwich and tell the dude to ******** off. But, as Faust squinted at him again, he saw muscles enough that he could probably kick some Negaverse a**. Especially if he got returned to Eternal.
With a great chuff of a put-upon cat, Faust finally relented. "'Aight. Give it here. But I'mma eat one o' these meatballs first, you feel?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 7:20 pm
It seemed his offering was well-received, which made Daedalus feel a perhaps-unwarranted streak of pride. It wasn't like ti was hard to guess that a hearty sandwich would go over well, when Faust made his home near a restaurant, but....well, still, it felt good.
"Thank you," he said, sincerely, and he produced his pen, setting it down next to the sandwich for Faust to peruse at his leisure. "Take your time, I don't know how complicated the problem might be." He huffed.
"My power started declining after my world got cut off by Chaos--it feels so obviously related that it almost doesn't even bear mentioning. So I admit, I'm a little hopeful that just being away from that will help with recovering."
That, and now he had access to things that had been quite lost to him--Mauvians like Faust among them.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 7:30 pm
Daedalus was going through some background, which Faust took as ample opportunity to start eating. So, while Daedalus spoke, Faust ravenously licked and consumed the meatball in a manner that only a cat could make undignified. By the time he was done, bits of meat were yet stuck to his whiskers, but he licked them off readily enough. Normally now would be the time for a bath, but this one seemed like he was in somewhat of a hurry.
Whatever. He could probably get one of his followers to bathe him anyway. Anything for Lord Ouija.
Finally Faust turned his attention to the henshin pen that was laid almost reverently next to him. He bent down, giving it a single sniff, then walked over top of it, then loafed on it. It was the most uncomfortable piece of magical material that he had ever laid on, but sacrificed had to be made. His ears laid back against his skull and he grunted tersely.
"Ain't nothin' wrong with the pen," Faust declared after a moment. He rose, turned around, and launched it back toward Daedalus with a kick of his back foot. "Lemme take a look at you. Gotta make sure there's nothin' wrong with yo' starseed, too."
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 8:09 pm
Daedalus wouldn't lie--he felt a degree of tension, waiting for Faust's answer about his pen. If it was damaged somehow, or otherwise part of the problem, he wasn't sure what, exactly, could be done. Could it be repaired? Would he need a new one?
Apparently, that was not the problem.
He caught it out of the air when Faust kicked it back to him, and knelt down on command to get closer to the Mauvian's level.
"Whatever you need," he promised. Ugh, Perpetual's grace, he hoped that his starseed wasn't somehow damaged by the infestation on his homeworld. That....would be very difficult to clean up after.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 8:19 pm
Of course, Daedalus was made to wait once again. A Mauvian didn't work for free, Faust included, so further services demanded that he consume another meatball. This one he ate slower, though he did end up getting flecks of sauce on his paws from having to hold the meatball down to get a proper bite on it. He was now looking a bit like he was wearing his food, but Faust did not notice this fact.
Finally, the portly Mau sauntered up to his latest beggar inquirer. Stretching front legs, then back legs, he then walked up onto Daedalus's thighs to sniff at his face and chest. Occasional grunts could be heard from the guardian before he hopped off again. He elected for a dramatic pause before delivering his results.
"Nothin' wrong with yo' starseed, either. You said there's chaos all up in your planet? Prolly got somethin' to do with that. But if you 'spect me to do somethin' about it, it's gonna cost you extra."
Two meatball subs. Two entire meatball subs.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 8:37 pm
Patience, Daedalus knew, was a virtue. it was not always one he possessed, but it was a virtue nonetheless, and he took a deep breath and waited for Faust to finish consuming his offering before coming to examine his starseed. The Mauvian was a messy eater, butt hat was tolerable--and frankly, when Daedalus was used to getting into the guts of machines while powered up, a little marinara sauce was not the worst thing that had been on his fuku.
It wasn't great, but when you could magically clean things, it also wasn't the biggest deal. Even if the smell, this close, was...quite strong.
"Well, I'm glad to hear I'm not the problem," Daedalus said, and he couldn't help a relieved smile. "I would appreciate your help with my planet--though I confess, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to leap over that hurdle. Not as I am."
Not still as a basic Senshi, with few allies and faulty powers.
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 8:41 pm
Faust, naturally, was prepared for this result. He about-faced, staring down Daedalus, as he power posed on his four furry paws.
"I want two meatball subs," he announced, as if he was declaring war. "If you want my help. You gimme the first one before we go up, n' then the second one after we investigate yo' planet. Whatever we learn? You can decide when you're ready to tackle that s**t. An' if you want help, you jus' lemme know and I'll round up some senshi. For a finder's fee." Because three meatball subs sounded nicer than two.
"You can call me, you feel? Jus' get that senshi phone out n' scan me. I got one of those damn headsets for listenin' to fools askin' me for s**t."
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Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 8:54 pm
Under other circumstances, Daedalus might have laughed, because the price was rather low--but in the end, whatever got him more help.
"Two meatball subs, then," he said, "paid in two installments. Thank you, again, for all your help, and I'll be sure to call when I'm ready for it."
He was lucky, he realized, that he had managed to stumble into being acquaitned with this particular Mauvian and his very direct way of working. Faust might not have fit the traditional mode of a Mauvian, but in Daedalus's mind,h e did exactly what he needed to do--and maybe an extra set of eyes on his planet would be what started him in the right direction.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2024 1:30 pm
Faust had one final meatball to devour before he achieved his pinnacle strength for the night. It was only after this meatball was thoroughly smeared around his mouth that he realized he made one fatal mistake — but it wouldn't take long to rectify it. He'd been at this s**t long enough.
Faust squatted low to the ground before he launched his girthy body straight at Daedalus's hand, colliding with the man's fist with all the grace of a pod of overweight seals sailing over a cliff. He wasted no time, however — as his kitty rolls rippled with impact, he expertly pawed at the henshin pen while he and the device fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud. Faust, getting up as though nothing had happened, simply kicked the pen again with a chuff.
"Psych," he stated, feeling proud of himself. He walked away from what was actually a Super's pen.
In truth, the wittiness and elegance of his plan existed only in his own mind, but there was no one on earth that could possibly convince him that the whole affair was a simple act of feline buffoonery. Faust would simply not hear such slander.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2024 1:53 pm
Daedalus waited, until Faust was finished with the last meatball, before he started to stand up. Apparently, he wasn't fast enoguh--or maybe it wouldn't have mattered, cats were unique animals. When Faust crouched down, he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but having his pen tackled out of his hand was not on the list. The impact had him shaking out his hand, briefly; truly, Faust was a hefty and well-built Mauvian, and having that run into him at force was...well. It sure was.
But Daedalus recognized the rush he felt when he got his pen back. Recognized the change--the familiar feeling of corset and half-skirt that he knew from his much stronger fukus.
So it didn't really matter to him, in the end, that it was done clumsily.
"Thank you, again," he said, genuinely, twirling his upgraded pen between his fingers. "I promise to make good use of this."
There was so much work to be done, after all. On this world and his own.
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