|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2023 7:43 pm
The nights were getting chillier, and Ersa was half wishing she could just…go home. She hadn’t been able to go since coming to Earth…and though she knew that it wouldn’t be…it wouldn’t actually be home…not anymore…it…
She was still feeling so wistful and nostalgic tonight.
And lonely. Terribly lonely.
Perhaps it wasn’t wise to be patrolling when it felt as though the world were crashing down on you…but…she hadn’t wanted to just sit in her room either…
Wrapping her arms around her chest to try and keep out the chill, Ersa thought about just going back to her room…she could put on music and make something warm to drink…but as she came to this thought, another aura came into her radar and she hesitated.
It was a friendly one…and felt…small...perhaps one from a Mauvian? That would be something nice and warm to hug…and perhaps they could be good company for a few minutes…that.
Yes.
Ersa nodded to herself and headed towards the aura. Her heels were loud in the quiet night, clacking against the pavement.
She saw a fluffy ball of white fur and felt her face break into a small smile. “Hello! You are a Mauvian, yes?”
As she drew closer, she stopped, staring with wide eyes. “...You are Soleiyu?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2023 9:21 pm
It wasn’t uncommon for strangers to know Soleiyu by name–how could they not? He was gorgeous, easily identifiable, and he had a lot of friends in a lot of corners. Of course they’d talk. He made himself available and didn't squirm away from the spotlight.
What was uncommon was the strange sensation that flooded him. Familiarity, towards an unfamiliar face. He’d been wandering around the city, just checking on a few things–he had some data collection boxes he’d stored on the rooftops nearby and he wanted to download the data so he could continue his research. All in all, it should have been an easy night.
He didn’t recognize her, but he felt something when he saw her, like a memory that was buried just below the surface. If he thought about it enough, he might have been able to summon her face from the background of the memories he’d already had while on Lysithea, but in the split second he had to process her appearance, a single word had already slipped from his lips.
“Ersa?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2023 1:37 pm
Ersa felt her heart expand and then contract and her chest absolutely ached from the sensation.
Her eyes filled with tears and she knelt down, drawing the Mauvian into her arms and squeezing him tightly. “I was told you were here, I just…wanted to find you on my own, but…now I have! How have you been? Do you know why Lysithea never came? I have been on this planet for a while now but…Lysithea never came to help my home…I was told that I would sleep until she came and…”
Burying her face in Soleiyu’s thick white fur, she gave a half sob. “I woke up here and was met by another wonderful Mauvian and I go to meet Princess Ganymede…I have been staying in a place that she has been providing and have been safe but….”
Finally, Ersa drew away and wiped her eyes. “...I did not know if I would be welcome with Lysithea…I did not know what I might have done wrong…why she never returned to save my moon…does she miss me? Does she know that I am here? Has she been looking?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2023 6:48 pm
Soleiyu released a soft ‘oof’-ing noise at the squeeze but he allowed his paws and tail to dangle as she held him. And cried into his fur. Had she wiped her tears off on him? Oh, whatever, as long as she didn’t blow her nose on him.
His mind was still racing to piece things together and process how he knew her.
From long ago, obviously. Her face was buried in ancient memories. Far before he’d ever stepped foot in Destiny City. She was a mystery, but he was clever enough to know that the universe might have been very large, but Cosmos had a way of putting the right people in the right place at the right time.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he insisted, and watched his feet as they dangled. “You have to forgive me, I am me but not quite the one you know. Time has frayed my memories,” he said, because he supposed that might be easier to understand than the real story. Maybe a bit less traumatic for her to hear, too. She was already in tears.
He didn’t know what she was talking about–when had Lysithea made such a promise? What had she promised? …Was it Talia? Anastasia, Cambria? The Lysithea before them, probably. He didn’t want to ask too many questions and upset her, but he thought he could play it smart.
“Of course you would be welcome. I don’t know the full story, not anymore. But I know she would never turn her back on you. I don’t think she knows you’re here. If she did, she would look. It has been a very long time though, hasn’t it? Tell me what happened, tell me what you remember? We’ll figure this all out. But if Lysithea had known, if there was anything she could have done, know that she would have. Something must have gotten in the way.”
Like, dying, maybe.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2023 2:46 pm
Sniffing, Ersa tried to let his words sink in. Tried to understand just what he was saying…he was Soleiyu…yet he did not know her as he had. Did not remember being the one to gift her with her henshin pen…did not remember anything of their past.
It…wasn’t really a surprise. But…nevertheless…it hurt. It was a blow. And it was one she hadn’t been quite prepared for today.
“I…have thought this whole time that she simply did not wish to see me or deal with me any longer…I know I never lived up to the potential that you and she and my mother expected of me…I never got past the first rank of being a Senshi, and I still haven’t. I am bad at this…and I believe my moon has suffered due to my incompetence…”
Ersa choked back another sob and tried to calm herself, tugging her skirt down and working to at least make herself look presentable. “...I no longer know what I’m supposed to do, Soleiyu…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2023 6:03 pm
“No, no,” Soleiyu insisted quickly. Her sobs moved him, and he pressed his forehead against her ankle as best he could in an effort to offer her some modicum of comfort. “Pick me up, you’ll feel better. I don’t even mind if you wipe your eyes on me.”
Well, he did. A bit. But he could take a bath later. He’d have to, anyway; he’d been out in the city for so long already.
“Of course she wants to see you, no one knew you were here. You can’t blame yourself for any of this. We’ll talk, we’ll figure it out. You’re not alone. And now that you’ve found me, I’ll help make everything right. I’m very good at solving problems.”
Even if he had little recollection of who he was during the Silver Millennium it didn’t change the fact that he knew he was very good at fixing things. This was just another problem to sort out.
“Tell me what’s going on with your Moon, tell me all of it.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2023 7:10 pm
Ersa hesitated, but finally did as the Mauvian asked, drawing him into her arms and holding him against her chest. “...You are good at everything if I am remembering correctly…but…”
He was warm, and that was welcome as a chill wind picked up. Shifting Soleiyu slightly, Ersa drew in a breath and tried to think of the best way to describe what had been happening. “...There was something wrong. Something was…stealing the life from people and animals and plants…it…was almost like how the energy is taken from creatures here…although it was more than just energy…I only saw it happen once…or rather I saw the aftermath of something that was affected…there…I had a unicron. A gift from Lysithea…and something…whatever it was killed her. She was nothing but skin and bones…it was horrifying…”
Her grip on Soleiyu tightened just a bit. “...I was still very new. I hadn’t been Ersa for even a year yet, and…I was awakened on my fourteenth birthday…I…I didn’t know what to do…but…my family and the council thought it was best that I go into stasis while we waited for Lysithea to come help…just…just in case. They didn’t want it getting me…and having to wait another fourteen years for a new Senshi…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 4:12 pm
Prideful as he was, even Soleiyu could not allow himself to bask in her praise as he listened to her story. He was good at everything, yes. And if he wasn't great at it, he only needed to apply himself. Or, maybe find someone to request assistance.
He let her talk. He let her hold him. He was quiet through all of her story, absorbing the information and sorting what he could. His mind was running like a computer, processing and applying his experience.
He didn’t want to imagine what she’d been through, but the story wasn’t so different from ones he’d heard before. Hers was not the first world to fall to some outside force.
She had not died with her world, so he could only hope that there was a chance to save Ersa.
“Then, it was the best thing that could have happened,” he reassured softly. “I know this must have been hard for you. I suspect, if you had fallen victim to it back then, there wouldn’t have been another Ersa at all. Not when they needed one. You would have been like the others, here. Cosmos kept their starseeds in the Cauldron. I don’t know the full story, no one does, but one by one so many worlds fell. Cosmos did not return the Senshi to their worlds, but she sent them here. In Destiny City alone there must be hundreds. I don’t know how many there are here on Earth, but I know that there must be some purpose. You escaped something horrible before, and maybe it doesn’t feel like it now, but there is still hope. We’ll do what we can. We’ll find some way to save Ersa. Is it Chaos, on your world? Could you feel something there?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 4:39 pm
His words were comforting and Ersa wished she had something good to say. Wished she could know what she was talking about but all she could do was shrug. “I don’t know…I haven’t been back since I came to Earth…I…I don’t remember if I felt anything…they put me into stasis pretty quickly so…I don’t have an answer for you…I’m sorry…”
The full horror of his words did do something though and Ersa began to tremble slightly. “...So…Lysithea was not even from Lysithea now? She truly…has no memory of me at all…and…” Ersa swallowed. It had never really…sunk in. The things that Ganymede and Lucasta had told her…she hadn’t wanted it to sink in, she supposed. But.
“...How should I go about saving my home? If you think it is possible…what should I do? Where should I start I…I’m not a good Senshi…I never…I never got a chance to be…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2023 8:04 pm
“That’s not true,” Soleiyu said, pushing his head against her. “She might not remember everything, but give her time. The barrier between this life and the last is not so far. She has more power now than most. Let her spend some time on Lysithea, I have faith that she’ll be able to pull those memories from her starseed if she doesn’t have them already. Don’t apologize for anything, Ersa, it’s all right.”
Insofar as things could be, at least. There was a lot still wrong with the universe.
“We’ve saved worlds before, though. I’ve seen it happen. Chaos pollution, manifestations of dark, evil things that travel the universe? If it’s that–then, yes. I have experience helping destroy that, myself. If it’s more than that? Don’t worry. We’ll find a way to save your world. I promise. You’ll have time to become a good senshi, don’t be so hard on yourself. Earth is a good place to train and make allies. If you want to get stronger, you can. I’ll make sure of it. I’ll even help train you. I’ve got a lot of experience, we’ll pull through this. And…when you’re ready, maybe we can head to Ersa. Even if it’s just a quick look around. I can run some scans and see if there’s anything we can do to start fixing things. We’ll figure it out, I promise.”
He could feel her starseed, like he could with all Senshi, and he couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, or maybe her emotion, or…
Maybe she wasn’t as poor of a Senshi as she thought.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2023 7:35 am
Ersa was quiet for a moment and then drew Soleiyu close again, holding him against her chest as she nodded slowly. “I would like all of that very much. I do not want to go back home alone…and having you there would make me feel so much better…I’m afraid to find everyone I love being dead but I know that is the fact of how things are…I know it has been a thousand years and I know that they’re all gone so…I simply need to face it…I…”
She drew in a shuddering breath and squeezed him slightly. “I think I can face it better with a friend…I do have other friends here. I have a few and they are wonderful…but. I don’t know. I still feel lost, I guess…but I am glad to have you once again, Soleiyu. It makes things easier.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2023 8:36 pm
Soleiyu was a large cat, with a lot of fluff. He knew he was warm. He knew he was comforting. He was softer than most stuffed animals, and warm enough to have an additional soothing effect.
Sometimes he liked being held, sometimes he liked having his space.
Right now, he had the dual benefit of bringing her comfort and having a few extra seconds to try and feel out what was going on with her starseed.
“You’ll have me. And you’ll have other friends,” he promised.
And then, after another few seconds of deep thought, he added, “And you’ll have more power, I think. May I see your Henshin Pen? Just for a moment. I want to try something.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2023 9:13 pm
Ersa blinked and nodded slowly, pulling the Henshin Pen out of subspace and handing it to Soleiyu with a confused look on his face.
“I don’t know what you wish to try, but do what you will…and thank you. I am glad I have you…and I will work to make other friends too…it…will work out. Maybe.”
Hopefully she could help her home…hopefully she could go home again…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2023 5:26 pm
Soleiyu tilted his head as she presented the henshin pen, and–
Yes, he was pretty sure he could do this. This felt right.
He took it between both paws and began to tinker with it. He considered him an expert in this field, and he was clearly confident in himself. Confident in her, too.
“Have faith,” he insisted. If not in herself, than in him. But he had enough for the both of them. A few seconds passed quickly and for the duration of them, Soleiyu never stopped tinkering. He seemed to know exactly what he wanted to do.
When he finished, he presented the pen proudly to her.
“Try it. Like you would if you were powering up.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Nov 22, 2023 7:25 pm
Ersa looked at the Henshin Pen that Soleiyu gave back to her, and it was different. Beautiful as always…but…more now. Different. Changed.
She held it in her hand and slowly drew away from the Mauvian, squeezing the cool metal as she did as he said. And in just a moment…she too was more. Different. Changed.
If this had happened at home…when it was supposed to have happened…there would have been celebrations. Soleiyu would have still been the one to do it…but. Her mother would have been there.
Lysithea.
Her people.
Ersa trembled slightly and then gave a sound that was obviously a sob, falling to her knees and scooping Soleiyu up once again, clinging to him as she sobbed.
“...Thank you…”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
