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 Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2023 4:37 pm
Kaðlín had been told to stay off her leg, let it heal. She was told that it would take some time, and that she needed to watch for signs of infection, but overall, the ER seemed neither surprised nor concerned that she was shot in the leg with an arrow. They did not hold her. They did not ask her too many questions. Maybe they had already had enough of the oddities that happened in Destiny City. Kaðlín couldn't say.
But she had gone stir crazy in short order. Lying on the couch, calling off work — she could only watch so many Hulu movies before she grew averse to the mere thought of TV. Reading never piqued her interest, either, and she could only spend so much time talking with her mom or her coworkers on the phone.
She couldn't stand it anymore. She had to go out. And the safest place she could go, she thought, was the park.
Her leg started to pain her not long after she got off the bus, but she tried to ignore it. The weather was uncharacteristically warm for the season, allowing her to get away with a light jacket over her otherwise drab clothes. She walked with a slight limp as she crossed onto the dirt path that wound through the park's wide spread of grass. A surfeit of people were out that day, most playing an impromptu game of sports or having their picnics over blankets or simply reading in the outdoors. She decided, then, that she would take a walk — however far she could get with her injury.
And she didn't get terribly far. Just far enough to separate herself out on the trail before her leg pained her enough that she had to take a rest, so Kaðlín parked herself sidelong on one of a few stumps that lined her side of the path. With a soft hiss, she gingerly massaged the muscle around her thigh, careful of the injury.
She wondered, then, if she should be powering up. If she should be on the lookout for more Negaverse antics with so many out to enjoy the good weather.
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2023 4:38 pm
Ida's breath came in quick puffs as she ran, booted legs pumping, through the darkened end of the park after a fleeting black shape. The youma had been a long, snake-like silhouette when she'd come across it, hovering by a downed body. The young man had been okay, if drained, when she'd made a quick assessment, but the fleeing youma had demanded she chase it rather than stay to take care of him. Keeping the monster from hurting others took priority and she'd shot a text message off to Selinur to swing by and check on him.
The orchid senshi dodged around a tree, catching a flash of street lights off a scaled side and too many moving legs. She pushed herself faster, jumping a bush the shape slipped under. On the other side, a flat stretch offered an open view of the fleeing youma and the precious few seconds she needed.
"Heavenly Orchid Arrows!" She murmured as she skidded to a stop and threw up an arm, catching up the bow that formed. Drawing back the string and releasing sent a bold of light and flowers roaring across the space to impact the dark shape with a boom and a flash. Dust scattered across the lawn, all that was left of the monster when Ida finally trotted up to the torn spot in the grass.
"Finally." Ida murmured as she crouched down to inspect the spot. At least that one was one beast out of the city and back where it belonged... even if not permanently. As seemed common these days, she debated with herself if she should have made it permanent... she had that power now. But youma had been people... what did that mean for the way her tiara power destroyed them?
A glance around her, finally, revealed a new part of the park and an audience she hadn't been aware of. The rush of awkwardness it gave her brought a reactionary smile to her face as she stood, brushing off the imaginary dirty from her knees. Nothing to do about it now, but retreat and be glad the girl hadn't been in the youma's path.Strickenized (sorry this took a while!)
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 11:43 am
Her answer came swift: only the barest hint of something crawling, something that her mind didn't have time to process into a proper shape and category, and then it was gone — exploded by magical arrow into a scatter of dust. Kaðlín straightened up then, feeling suddenly more aware of how abrupt youma could make themselves known to the general populace.
The fact that there was someone else probably saved her some grief. She wouldn't have to transform, nor would she have to fight the thing as ineffectually as she usually did. The mess was already cleaned up.
When she got a glimpse of the girl who did it, it wasn't someone she knew. Not that she knew many of the White Moon or Knights that called Destiny City their home, but she ran into enough that she hoped to start recognizing them. This girl was covered in saturated violets and little orchid flowers, and the grass around her seemed to stand a little straighter, as if proud of her presence. It was a breathtaking sight, much like when she first met Cybele.
But the girl was already starting to move away. "Wait," Kaðlín called, then it belatedly occurred to her that she should power up and show her allegiance if she wanted to have any sort of conversation. It never seemed usual for them to stick around long. Sometimes that was a danger.
Kaðlín tried to make good on her intentions — she called on the power given to her by the Code, by that patch of scorched earth on Cybele, and ensconced herself in the familiar soft pinks and greens that comprised Celadon's outfit. She took a few steps forward, the grass chilling her toes as she walked.
"Sorry, it's just that, I haven't met you before. I'm trying to get to know everyone I can, but if you have to go, I understand."
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 1:01 pm
Ida stopped when she heard the voice, glancing back with a bit of surprise at the young woman who'd risen from the bench. She hadn't expected to be called to... she'd have thought seeing that monster would have been enough to scare anyone off. There was also the years-old propaganda about the white moon and the war... was this someone who thought they needed to get involved because she was part of some dangerous gang?
She didn't seem mad or scared though. The white haired girl seemed... intent. Ida's eyes widened as she pulled something out and the magic took her, wrapping her in soft colors and flowing fabrics. A squire's aura blossomed on her inner senses, which gave some context for what she was seeing. The outfit was vaguely like Earth, but the colors... she couldn't place them. A new knight planet? She only knew of two new-ish princesses.
"Hello!" Ida called as the stranger approached. Her pose softened as she turned back to wait for her, tension leaving her and a smile curving over her face. "I didn't except to practically fall into someone else's lap, so sorry for that. I'm Ida. I hope I didn't startle you too badly."
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 1:15 pm
"No, not at all. I think I'm getting used to it. Seeing youma like that, though, it's like it happens so much faster when I'm not dressed up like this." But that was beside the point, Celadon knew.
"I'm Celadon. Of Cybele," she added as a bit of an afterthought. "It's nice to meet you." She assumed that, between the explosion of petals and the orchids on her outfit, her magic had something to do with flowers. It was strange to think of things like spheres, or how they related to outfits, or how they related to the starseeds of the people carrying that power, as if they had to have any kind of intent or connection. As if the gods invented in millennia past were given their powers with cause, always, or as if an animal was born the way they were for a purpose.
Maybe their assignment of powers was chaotic and disorderly. Maybe it was up to the senshi to decide if there was a solid link between who they were and the sphere of influence they wielded. Perhaps the same could be said of knights and their allegiances.
"Do you have a minute to talk? We can go somewhere warmer." Her house wasn't terribly far. It wasn't terribly clean, either, but sometimes that sort of honesty got people more willing to open up to her.
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 1:43 pm
Cybele? That was surprising to hear. Still, it cleared the confusion and understanding lit Ida's eyes. She lost what was left of her tension as she nodded.
"They do happen really fast... It can be pretty scary whether you are powered up or not." She agreed. She could still remember her first encounter with a youma, before ********* had awakened her. Chaonis had saved her then. It seemed like forever ago. Thoughts of how it had felt, the wonder and excitement and fear, seemed so faded and fuzzy around the edges now.
"Its nice to meet you. And I'm happy to talk! Did you have some questions you wanted to ask?" Reaching up to tap her chin with her fingertips, Ida glance around to get her bearings, trying to place where some of the closest coffee shops were. "Did you have a particular place you'd like to go? I think there is a little shop called 'Honey Bee' nearby where we could get out of the weather."
She had to wonder what the girl wanted to talk about. Ida was quite motivated to talk about anything she wanted, but questions still hovered at the back of her mind. The cold hadn't really bothered her before now, but the thought of somewhere warm, maybe with something warm to drink, was enticing.
"You're the first knight of Cybele I've met so far." She confided. "Hopefully you are a sign there will be more soon."
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:12 pm
"To be honest," she began and her hands joined together in front of her, "there's a few things I wanted to ask about. The Negaverse, for one, because I've been investigating something. But there's more than just that — I want to know why other people commit to this sort of thing, too, and if there's any way to stay in contact with other people. If there are any groups out there where we can do more or have more protection.
"Maybe that all sounds a little basic. But, I don't want to die doing this, and I think that's a very real — a very easy — possibility. Especially without magic." It was a lot, she understood, but her honesty and forthrightness seldom seemed to turn people away.
She nodded at the offer to visit the Honey Bee — she'd never been before — and fell into step to follow Ida's lead on that. "I've never met any other Cybele knights," she admitted. That didn't preclude them from existing, though. She imagined that she must have only met a small sliver of the different powered folks that claimed Destiny City as their home, so failing to meet anyone who wore her same symbols but for Cybele herself was perhaps more to be expected than not. Maybe she was quite a bit luckier to have met the Princess herself first.
"I recognize that's a list, so we can start with whichever you prefer to talk about."
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 2:40 pm
As they turned to walk, Ida's eyes fell to the cold ground and she considered the topics on offer. She had a fair amount to share about the Negaverse, as much as one who'd never been part of it could. She also had strong feelings about why she was doing this senshi thing, though she also suspected that her beliefs did not always... jive with other people. Too idealistic, but she couldn't change how she was. The groups, however... she felt like she might be a bit lacking on. She'd just have to do her best, and refer Celadon to other people who might know more. Like Kerberos, maybe Lysithea...?
Her boots crunched in the snow, her pace even as they walked together.
"I can appreciate not wanting to die in this secret war." She agreed. "Its something I have to admit that I've sort of come to terms with, but that's certainly not something I expect from anyone else. What questions do you have about the Negaverse? I assume you know something about it? I know knights don't always access to all the information starting out, so I'll do my best to fill in anything I can."
As they passed between the trees, Ida stretched her senses wide, feeling for any nearby signatures that might be a threat to them. Her eyes swept the area as well, checking for any prying eyes. She didn't really care to walk into the cafe in uniform, so to speak, but they would have to be very careful about powering down out here in the open.
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 5:20 pm
Celadon nodded. She wanted to do her best to avoid that fate, but she could see the wisdom in accepting it as a sort of inevitability. "I've heard about what they can do. It starts to sound guaranteed when they can rob the soul from your body or run you through with a sword, and all you've got to defend you is magic or an old relic." She imagined, then, that Ida was fairly well prepared for that inevitability — unlike Aileen. Maybe she had a notarized will and a plan for how the proceedings would go, or some sort of mentee to take up her mantle should that come to pass. But they had only just met, and it wouldn't do to pry so quickly. Not when she was already asking for help.
"I'm looking into something," she admitted as she walked. "I know they can take starseeds from people. That starseeds are useful to them. I was thinking, if they have this power, and if starseeds are so useful, then they could take the starseeds of everyone who lacked the power to stop them, and it would put everyone in a coma until they couldn't keep on. But, they're not doing that.
"Rather, it seems like they don't do it. Part of what I need to know is why. And once I find that out, I need to know what would compel them to break that avoidance."
While Ida was looking for trespassers of the powered sort, Celadon was looking to the trees and the flowers and the patches of brilliant, stout green that still sprung up from the earth. She watched them for their strength, their resilience in the face of the inevitable cold, and she tried to borrow their strength for her own. She watched the way the blades of grass almost reached for Ida's boots, the way the flower petals began to open up in her passing, the way the leaves clung tighter to their stems as she walked beneath them.
It was a breathtaking and beautiful sight — a perfect antithesis to their conversation.
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 5:47 pm
She nodded slowly as she listened. Taking in the questions, turning them over, she sorted out what she wanted to say as she let her henshin fall away, returning her to her normal civilian guise. Dark hair fell in a thick braid down her back over a dark navy wool coat. Dark brown boots, the kind with sheep skin inside, wrapped her legs to well above her ankles, and light grey leggings sat above that, below the bottom edge of a long sweater dress. Scarf and hat finished off the outfit, bundled up to keep the young woman warm.
"As far as I can tell, the Negaverse wants energy to feed their ever-hungry Queen. There is a lot of energy in a starseed, but once its gone, its gone." Orah said as she tucked her hands into the warm pockets of her coat. "They still take them of course... like you said, they are a good way to take someone out, and I guess maybe a good way to transport the energy? But its also more beneficial to keep someone alive so they can generate more energy for you. Most of the lower level officers spend most of their time draining energy, from what I've seen. Its the higher level officers that are more violent and spend less time gathering. Or I just see them doing it less."
"While all officers can take starseeds, its not a guaranteed victory for them. They still have to get close, and it still takes a fair amount of concentration, so they are putting themselves in a vulnerable spot to do it. If you can fight through the pain of having someone touch your starseed, there is a chance of fighting them off." She went on. "But the danger is also why its encouraged for people like us to work in pairs, or more. Having someone to watch your back can you both safer. And people like me, who have the glowing marks, they can't touch our starseeds. There is a special bond we have with our planets, or wonders, that protects us."
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 6:05 pm
Seeing Ida set the precedent of shedding her power, Kaðlín did the same. A downside sprung up in short order as her limp returned, no longer supported by the power that once flowed through her. If nothing else, though, she liked it a little better this way; it was harder to overdo it when she was reminded constantly of her injury.
"Okay." It pained her to talk about people so callously as that, but she supposed that if the Negaverse thought of them in such a fashion as cattle, then Kaðlín needed to follow that line of reasoning to its logical conclusion. "If people are batteries to the Negaverse, then it makes sense to keep them alive to generate more energy." Though perhaps, if they were feeding a queen, it was better to liken it to keeping alive a cow by cutting off nonessential parts of the animal, but that was much more violent and traumatizing than she was willing to endure for the sake of the conversation.
"If the higher-ups are the ones doing the starseeding, and they're more violent, it makes sense that they might go to that length. But is it always random violence? Or could they have other motivations to take someone's starseed? You've been in this for a lot longer than I have," she conceded, having seen the wings at the girl's hips earlier, "so if anyone is going to have an answer to that, I imagine you do."
And it would mean another step for Kaðlín on this grueling, isolating road.
"I've seen people that glow like that," she continued thereafter. "I never knew what it meant, though."
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 6:17 pm
The limp was immediately apparent and Orah slowed her steps, giving the girl a once over with a thoughtful eye.
"Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?" She'd been sitting when Ida had found her... maybe she had a disability that needed her to rest often? Orah could accommodate that, but as ever, she was a nurse and had a nurse's eye for injuries.
"I don't know if its random violence or if they have a bigger plan for it. Some of it is random, I'm sure... but I've heard they have officers in all sorts of places. They may have a greater plan that I haven't been able to figure out yet... and they aren't as organized as they'd have people believe, either. I'm very sure that there are members that do what they want and have their own motivations. If we knew those plans, it would make things a lot easier, really." Orah said, lifting and dropping her shoulders. "I'm sorry I don't have a better answer to that. I might know someone who might have better insight though."
Her face softened a little and she offered a gentle smile. "Yeah. The glow means someone has a special bond with their power source. They get more energy from it that they can share, or use to make themselves stronger. They can visit their planet more often, and their starseeds are protected so they can't be corrupted by force."
The edge of the park was close... soon they'd be in more populated areas.
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Posted: Fri Jan 05, 2024 6:53 pm
"Not yet," she returned, "but I'll let you know when I need to." It felt better, to Kaðlín, to keep on while her body had the stamina for it. Sure, it hurt, but being stuck at home felt utterly intolerable. The other girl was astute to notice, though, and Kaðlín couldn't help but feel like she should've hid it more.
Kaðlín didn't begrudge the girl for not having all the answers to her every question. What she was doing asked someone to look past the organization at its face, and she clearly demonstrated that she understood it more deeply than the unified front that they projected. She recognized that its members were not each cut from the same cloth, that some had their own motivations, that some deviated from the overall objective. And in doing so, even if Kaðlín didn't know the Negaverse a tenth as well as her, she thought the take made sense, for it sounded every bit as human as its members. And it sounded every bit as inhuman as humans tended to be sometimes.
But Kaðlín did find it quite promising when the girl said she might know someone else who could help her out with these answers. Her eyes all but lit up at the prospect of having another lead. "Could you put me in contact with them? Even if it's just a letter, or texts, or some other way. It doesn't have to be face-to-face." Decidedly, she'd jump through any necessary hoops to meet with this source of information.
When they crossed onto the streets and Kaðlín felt the cool winter sun at her back, she lowered her voice to keep up with the conversation. "It sounds like a good thing, but I have to wonder — if you get more energy, wouldn't they want to come after you in particular? Or is it not like that?" Maybe that energy was protected and the Negaverse couldn't drain it from that connection. She liked to hope that was the case, but with all that they were discussing just moments ago, she couldn't stop the thought from crossing her mind.
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Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2024 10:40 am
Ida's face softened into a small smile at the way the other girl's face lit up. It was nice to see that excitement, even if the subject matter was... dark, at best. The more she knew, the safer she would be, really. She could protect herself better, and that was all to the good.
"His name is Kerberos. He's an eternal senshi who tries to work with officers to help them purify. He spends time at a bench in the park on a regular basis, so he's easier to find. You can try sending him a message with your signet ring and set up a time to meet. I'll message him and let him know I gave you his name. He was corrupted into the Negaverse early on, then purified, so he has some knowledge of what its like on the other side. He's also transcended, like I am." She grimaced then, shrugging off the reality she brought up with her last questions.
"I have more energy, and I'm easier to drain, so yes... that does make me and anyone transcended more of a target for it. Since we can't be corrupted, I think it might also make us more of a target to be killed, but... it would benefit them more, perhaps, to hold us captive." That was a bit uncomfortable to talk about and Orah shoved her hands deeper into her pockets, burying her face down into her scarf till it muffled some of her voice. "The benefits of this bond come with downsides. I'm still glad I have it, though. This sort of life, being a soldier, isn't easy or pleasant, a lot of the time, but... I've devoted myself to it. Its become a calling, for me. I feel like its something I need to do... but I also realize that it may not be the same for everyone, nor should it be."
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2024 10:15 am
"Signet ring?" That sounded like something she was supposed to have, but Kaðlín couldn't remember getting any kind of ring during the time that she had been Celadon. But the way that she said it so easily, it was as if a signet ring was part and parcel to being a knight. Maybe that should be something she would ask about when she got to meet the Code.
"Kerberos," she repeated, as if to better cement the name in her head. She wasn't given the name of the park so she couldn't just drop by on her own, but it gave her a goal to meet once she figured out the signet ring situation. "I'll look him up. He might know what I'm looking for." And if he didn't, he might know someone else she could talk to, or something else that might give her a different path to follow. That was good. This was a cautiously hopeful lead.
And when it came to transcendence, Kaðlín wasn't really sure she had anything to which she could compare it. Maybe it was like having a strong bond with a dog? That came with a lot of benefits — animal companionship, maybe the dog could do some medical alerts, or keep the person healthy by going on walks — but there were responsibilities, too. Downsides. The dog needed medical care, which cost more money, and those walks had to happen whether the owner was up to them or not. Eventually, the dog would die, or the owner would die. Bonding with an animal often meant that the bond would end someday, and maybe a bond with a planet wasn't quite like that at all, but Ida seemed glad for it in the same way that Kaðlín had been glad to know the dogs in her life.
Sometimes the benefits were just worth the risks. Sometimes it didn't matter that something bad waited at the end of it all.
After a nod, she added, "The war gives you a sense of purpose. I can only guess how hard it must have been to be in it, but I'm glad you're here. That you're a part of it and gaining purpose out of helping others.
"I know something like that might sound callous. It's hard for me to express myself lately, so please know that I mean it earnestly. I can't imagine what this place would be like without people like you to defend it."
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