Welcome to Gaia! ::

She should be at work, or at least finishing up for the night but when the reports of a sudden snow storm was rolling in, her boss told her to go home. She had argued but was practically pushed out the door before things started to get any worse. She was able to stay out of the worst of it, lucky it passed pretty fast but she noticed as she went that doors and windows were practically iced over, as was quite a bit of the sidewalk. She hadn’t gotten very far before she realized that it would be quicker, and ultimately safer, if she traversed the slick and icy city while powered. So she had found a sheltered nook and quickly powered up. Botein even slid back on her winter jacket, glad for its fluffy warmth before hurrying on her way.

The strawberry blonde was taking a shortcut through a small park when the icy flowers caught her attention. “Wow,” She breathed quietly, admiring their beauty. Was this what some meant about the magical mystery of the city?

Botein crouched down on her haunches to get a closer look at the pretty, snowy flowers. If it was warmer, or there wasn’t any snow on the ground, she might have just sat down but having a wet backside on a cold night like tonight was not a bright idea. Especially since the occasional snow flurry was still falling. She was quite engrossed in observing the flowers, noting that they looked kind of like snowflakes, but she wasn’t completely oblivious to her surroundings. The strawberry blonde looked up but didn’t move when she saw some movement out of the corner of her eye. There standing in the darkness was a calico cat. A small kitten.

“Awww baby, why are you out here?” She crooned, assuming the small figure was a stray that wandered her way. “I wish I had a treat on me,” Botein lamented quietly. She had mostly just first aid supplies on her, no pet treats. “Maybe it would be worth it, hum? What do you think, kitty? Should I make sure to bring some kind of treat for any good kitties I meet?” The senshi kept her voice quiet and calm, even as she stretched a hand out, palm up, to see if the cat would come closer. Maybe she could pet it. It would be the best thing ever to just cuddle them too. Although maybe they wouldn’t like her current smell since she was just at the animal shelter before being sent home. She likely smelled like dogs and strange cats and all kinds of medicines. “I’ll have to see if there is a type of jerky that both animals and humans can eat,” She muttered quietly, already wondering how to readjust her little stash to have a small packet of treats for any strays she might meet… including humans.

“Oh!” Botein was shocked and happily surprised, and yet still ended up on her backside in the snow. “Darn it,” She muttered before just staying seated. Honestly moving too much would cause more snow and wet to soak in, as it was she sat mostly on her coat. Instead of futzing over her wintery predicament the young woman turned all her focus on the cat, “You're a guardian cat! That's wonderful!”

She thought a moment before shaking her head, “I can’t say as there is anything I need help with, although I would never turn down directions to a cat cafe. I’ve always wanted to go but between you and me, my finances are rather tight so it will have to remain a future goal for right now.” Botein would happily ply the guardian with all the treats she wanted but again, the aforementioned lack of funds meant that there was little she could do. “I’ll have to see what I have at home so I can give out treats.” And still needed to look into safe jerky for all around consumption, just in case she did encounter one of the city’s strays.

“What about you? Do you need anything?”

“Sure, I’m sure my little studio can handle us both for a few nights,” Botein started to agree before what the cat said really clicked for her. “But I’m not a super senshi,” She said with a confused frown, “Do I have to be? I’m just a senshi, just a simple, basic senshi. Is that bad?” She knew that her next stage in growth for both power and skills was ‘super senshi’, followed by ‘eternal senshi’ but she honestly didn’t think being just a senshi was all that concerning.

So why was the guardian cat saying she was a super already? Wasn’t Botein supposed to feel different or something if she had ‘grown’ all of a sudden? The young woman honestly didn’t remember much about it but she did remember a bit about a guardian cat assisting in the power changes and her uniform growing as well… neither of which had happened. “I can’t say as I really know one way or the other but I’m fairly certain that I’m not a super senshi, or at least I don’t have the magic for it.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t turn down being stronger. Especially if I can help more people,” She looked at the cat and shrugged, “But how?” It really was a moment of the blind leading the blind, Botein had little to no knowledge about how to grow stronger but it didn’t seem like guardian was any better at it then she was. “Just….. Like power up as I normally do?” She honestly didn’t understand how it was going to work. “Can guardian cat’s eat cupcakes?”

That made her wonder about just what she had at her small studio that could interest the cat. She didn’t really eat meat so if the guardian actually ate more ‘cat’ like food then Botein would have to go and get stuff the guardian can eat. “Oh, I’m Botein by the way. Botein of amulets.” It wasn’t exactly the best of introductions since she was currently sitting in the snow, surrounded by strange icy flowers but she at least remembered to introduce her little furry friend.

Botein shrugged, climbered to her feet, and after pulling her henshi pen out, tried to power up. After a moment of just standing there with nothing happening the young woman looked at the cat, tried again, and sighed. “I guess that didn’t work. Could I be doing something wrong with the pen?” She held the pen out towards the cat and shrugged. “Honestly the first time was a bit of a mess so it's entirely possible I’ve messed something up.”

She was also a bit preoccupied with the idea of giving the guardian cat called Coco…. A coco cupcake. Just the idea was making her smile, which she did her best to conceal with a cough and her hand. It was good that mauvians could eat human food, it would make things easier. She just hoped the cat wouldn’t be too disappointed when she found out Botein was a vegetarian. Some people really, really didn’t like not having meat with their meals. She never pushed her ideals on others but well, she just hoped the little kitty wouldn’t be too saddened with her meager fare.

Botein nodded and crouched down once again, only this time to present the henshin pen to the cat. “There is always a learning curve when picking up a new skill.” The senshi smiled at the cat and waited to see if any magical tinkering was about to occur right in front of her.

Oh! Isn't this fascinating! Botein watched the guardian work, entranced by the entire process. She was almost disappointed to see the cat finish up as fast as she did, Botein wouldn’t have minded it taking longer. But sadly it didn’t. “Oh, um, ok,” Botein said quietly as she took the apparently modified henshin pen. Unsure, the senshi stood once again and tried to ‘power up’. There was a moment where nothing was happening before power rushed through her leaving the young woman standing there blinking in surprise…. And without her coat.

Botein’s first reaction was to shiver since she apparently lost her coat in the ‘power up’, her second reaction was to try to see her new uniform. It was definitely different. Even her head felt different! Although that was easily explained since her hair was now in a long braid. “It worked!” She happily stated the obvious before a particularly strong and cold wind had her teeth chatter. “Um…. I don’t suppose you're ok with leaving are you? It's really quite cold now without my jacket.” As much as the magic of the moment fascinated Botein, the cold was a much more pressing issue.