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 Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2023 6:30 pm
Mechelen felt another Page nearby and made a beeline towards them.
She had been meeting so many people lately, and honestly…it was great. The fact that she was amassing such a large quantity of allies meant that she’d have people to call on…
…If she ever went to space to get her ring which would allow her to do the calling. Or…writing. Communicating. Whatever.
…One day. One day she would go. But today.
Today was not that day.
Speeding up just slightly, she skidded to a halt in front of the Page and tilted her head, looking the woman up and down, trying to figure out what kind of a Knight she was…there wasn’t any symbols that she recognized, and Mechelen had studied the symbols for the planets in the solar system just because she didn’t know who or what she’d meet but…there was nothing she recognized…and she wasn’t a Lysithea Page either so.
“...Okay, I give up! What kind of a Page are you? I’m Mechelen, Page of Lysithea!”
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2023 6:59 pm
Celadon was, once again, lost in her own head. It was easy to do lately. She had a lot to consider, ever since meeting Cybele and learning so much more about a war that she never imagined existed. Now she had special powers of her own, though she knew nothing of what they were. She had a responsibility to fight, though she didn't know how. And she promised to help, which was most important to her overall, though she knew too little to be anything near helpful.
She learned that recently. She learned it harshly. Her side still ached with the reminder, like a violent protest whenever she twisted at the waist.
For now, she was taking it easy. Waiting. Hoping that more people like her might gather in a park so quiet and pristine as this, might come her way, as long as she remained on her bench. And if not, if something nefarious crept through the gaps in the underbrush, then she learned to do away with her power in an instant. It wouldn't neutralize the threat, but it might make her less of a target.
And she felt something — but, well, she found that she couldn't put a name to this feeling, either. But it was there: soft, and springy, like dew-stricken grass on a summer morning, or like a tang in the air from when the apple harvest was ripe.
That was all the warning she got. Celadon started, pissing off the rosy bruise adorning her side when the medieval-looking girl popped up in her face and broke her out of her reverie. Celadon relaxed immediately afterward, resting her hand on her chest while her short burst of panic ebbed.
"Sorry, you scared me." She let her shoulders relax, then turned her attention to the question. "I'm Celadon. I'm a Page of Cybele. I haven't met another Page before."
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Posted: Sat Oct 21, 2023 7:04 pm
Cybele? Who was Cybele? “Is that a planet? I’ve never heard of that one before, but it’s really nice to meet you, Celadon! Your outfit is very pretty!”
Mechelen looked almost surprised. “Never? Have you met anyone before? Or…I’m not like, the first person that you’ve met, am I? Oh god, I hope not…but…wait. You know your name and what you’re a Page of so…I’m hoping that’s not the case but. Anyway! It’s really nice to meet you. Are you just on a patrol? Anything interesting happening tonight?”
She was babbling as she tended to do when nervous but…there was no need to be nervous…if this was Celadon’s first…information session…she would simply recommend Pendour! That was the best way to do this. Pendour knew just about everything.
“Um. I like to follow auras, one of my mentors told me to do that, so I’ve met quite a few people.”
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Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2023 3:22 pm
Not long ago, Celadon was the one asking such questions, which somehow made her feel a little relieved. "Yes, Cybele is a planet, and also a Princess. I met her."
That was an experience she was still trying to process, much like how she was still trying to process being Celadon, or trying to process the death of her best friend. It was like all of her emotional and logical reactions were still waiting to happen. Like they were all built up behind a dam that she couldn't clear on her own. But those weren't problems that would hinder her from answering an exuberant Page.
"I've met a few people," she clarified, "but you're the first Page. The first person that's more like me, I guess?" It was hard for her to deduce what made her different from everyone else, besides their access to magic and her lack thereof.
This one seemed like she was excited to chat, so Celadon settled her hands in her lap and tried to pick questions that would indulge a response. "How about you tell me about some of the people you've met? Who was your favorite?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2023 1:00 pm
“Oh!” She had met a princess? There were actually princesses? Mechelen wasn’t sure why that was so surprising but…for some reason it was. “I want to know about this princess of yours, that sounds amazing, honestly.” But the information that she was the first page that Celadon had met made Mechelen feel kind of special.
“Oh, well I hope that I’m doing myself justice! I think my favorite, and it’s only because she took me to Space, mind you…but her name is Pendour and she’s a Knight of Neptune? She looks like a fancy mermaid…like Ariel with legs…it’s kind of amazing. And going up to Neptune was amazing too! I never would have thought that such things were possible but…hey. It happened!”
Mechelen chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment and then summoned her tiny piece of fabric, holding it out. “What…did you get stuck with to start out? I hope it’s more useful than this!”
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Posted: Wed Nov 01, 2023 6:51 pm
Celadon had to consider her answer for a moment. She wasn't often asked to characterize someone, and whenever she found herself in the unfortunate position in which she had to try, she usually felt like she did a disservice to the person she described. But that was an inevitable result with Cybele, right? Celadon had only met her a couple times, and that hardly counted for knowing her character.
Looking at her palms in her lap, Celadon's brows scrunched as she tried to paint an accurate picture. "She's very brave, and determined. Driven, you could say. She's very knowledgeable about the war. She knows how to fight. And… There's an understated gentleness to her, too.
"I don't know her very well yet, but she's someone I'd like to know better." She hoped that was a sufficient answer.
Celadon nodded occasionally as Mechelen named her favorite knight, and described someone who took her to another planet. That left her wide-eyed, for the sound of going to space still hadn't settled in yet. She couldn't begin to imagine what to expect on a whole other planet. She didn't know much about astronomy, either; she couldn't name the order of the planets, nor name which ones had solid surfaces and which ones didn't. Was Neptune covered in ice? Or was it a ball of gas? "What was Neptune like? And how did you get there with Pendour?"
Then her eyes caught the fabric square held before her. "Oh, um…" Celadon searched her sides for pockets, and finding none, remembered that she had to think about the strange item that caused this whole experience to summon it. Soon, a broken wooden necklace was strewn across her opened hands. "I found it at my best friend's house, but I haven't figured out where it's from, or if it has any significance. It looks broken, though."
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Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2023 7:18 pm
“She sounds absolutely amazing and I hope that I can meet her someday! That’s just so cool.” Mechelen fell quiet for a moment, trying to think about Pendour and how to best describe it. “Well…and don’t laugh, but you’ve seen Spongebob, right? You know Sandy’s Tree Dome? It was kind of like that? The whole place was underwater and in this big dome…it was wild, and honestly that part absolutely distracted me, but there were very pretty waterfalls inside of the dome too, it was like this whole fancy…”
Chewing her lip, Mechelen shrugged. “Like, the inside of a snowglobe but reversed, a whole little world encased in glass, but like, the waterfalls and stuff are covered in these fantastic mosaics…I hope that I get to go back, if I do…I’ll see if I can take photos or something, I’m something of a photographer in real life so…it wouldn’t be too farfetched…”
She supposed that she wouldn’t be able to share the pictures with anyone not…involved but…
Being able to show what she saw rather than fumble to explain it would be so much better.
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Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2023 5:39 am
"That sounds beautiful," she replied after a beat. She had tried to imagine it herself, of course, but her imagination was probably failing to come close to the true spectacle. It wasn't that her imagination was mediocre, because even if she had an excellent one, she was certain she couldn't begin to dream up the wonders ensconced in real space. She hadn't yet had a taste of it, so how could she possibly pretend she would know what it looked like?
"If you get to go back and take photos, I would love to see them." She nodded earnestly. "Or, if you visit anywhere else. You can show me anything."
Space was sounding more and more like this exhilarating escape from the problems that plagued her in real life. As Kaðlín. It wouldn't make those problems disappear — it wouldn't solve what happened to her best friend for her — but it promised her time away from them. Time for being enraptured in a place far bigger than hers, with grandiose spaces and places and histories all their own. It promised a break when she needed one, where her burdens could be set down for a moment. She liked that. She decided it was okay to want that for herself, too.
"Do you have a place of your own like that? Out in space?" It seemed like so much of a question to ask someone who might have also been new. "If you do, could you take me there someday?"orangeish sherbert sorry that took forever but after the final today/tomorrow, i am free for a minute!!
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2023 4:27 pm
“Absolutely! I’ll see if I can’t get Pendour to take us both next time maybe, if you want! She seemed really into meeting me so I’m sure she’d love to meet you too!” Her mind was busy, trying to figure when she could arrange a meeting but…
“Oh! I…suppose I do. She told me how to get there, like you have to say this little…poem almost? I don’t know how to describe it but then you just focus and you go! I…haven’t gone yet, but…I fully intend to…and when I do, absolutely you have to go there with me! It’ll be so cool to have friends up there…we could throw a party…if…uh. If it’s nice.”
If it wasn’t nice…well…
“...If it’s not nice…we can throw a fixer upper party! Problem solved! And I can definitely take pictures on my place…that…I like that idea. I like it a lot. What about you? Are you going to go to yours? Can I come sometime when you do?”
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2023 4:36 pm
"Maybe she will." But she didn't have a way of getting in contact with anyone, let alone someone she didn't know like Pendour. And even if she did, was it okay to send someone the text version of a cold call asking to meet up? Maybe people who were in this secret war were that nice, but Celadon thought that could easily disrupt some boundaries. She'd have to leave it to chance, then.
She'd met a few people, already, by just getting around. Mechelen was a perfect example of that.
Celadon nodded. She thought about Mechelen's response, her hesitation, then added. "Maybe you can take someone with you for your first time? I bet it would be more fun to go with company." Having someone else might allay any fears the girl had about going, or look out for her if the place turned out to be more dangerous than she expected.
"Even if it's not nice, a party can make it nicer." She tried to smile along with the girl's cheerfulness, but something inside of her fell short. She kept her frustration about that to herself, though.
Celadon summoned the broken necklace into her hands and fidgeted with some of the wooden carvings. "Eventually I'll go," she decided. "I have some stuff I want to get done firest. But when I go, I'd love to take you with me. Should I look for you here?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2023 4:52 pm
“If you don’t mind completely, I’m absolutely fine with being real life buddies. I can get you my phone number so absolutely we can meet up again, no need to just…hunt and peck hoping to cross paths! If you’re up for that, I mean!”
She drew a small notebook out of subspace and a pen along with it, hesitating. “I can just write it down if that’s better! I know like, identities are important and all of that but. I’m cool with it if you are! Either way I want you to be able to contact me so we can hang out again!”
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2023 4:56 pm
"Yeah," Celadon agreed as she leaned forward. She didn't have any pens on her like this, but that was a consideration for next time. Mechelen had the forethought to keep a journal herself. "May I?" She asked before borrowing the pen.
It was easy enough to write her own number down in the notebook, followed by the name with which she was born. She made a little square around it, too, in case Mechelen decided to use the same page for more numbers. "I can't respond when I'm at work much, but I usually answer at any other time. Unless…" She held up the broken necklace for the implication.
Celadon knew better than to turn down the opportunity to make a friend, especially in a place as lonely as another country. She was glad she met Brielle, and she would be glad to know Mechelen, too.
It gave her a little hope. And, sometimes, hope was nice.
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Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2023 4:59 pm
Mechelen wrote her own name and number on the bottom of the page and carefully ripped it, holding it out to the other Page with a grin. “I’ll text you soon, and we can figure something out! I’m still getting used to all of this, and I can see you are too…but…hey! We’re both absolutely not alone in it and I think that’s just neat!”
Rocking back onto her heels, Mechelen gave a little wave. “Talk to you soon, Celadon! Promise! We’ll do something fun the next time we hang out!”
…Or they’d fight monsters. Or bad guys. Or just…eat some candy.
Whatever. It would be great. She was sure.
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