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 Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2024 10:19 am
Another night, another useless patrol. Nausikaa didn't know why she even bothered, really – there was only so much she could do as a "starter" Senshi, and she had never understood why it was important for her to do it. What was the purpose of fighting Chaos, apart from Chaos being bad for the people of Destiny City? The few Chaos agents she had encountered and had managed to engage in combat with seemed pretty happy with themselves to her. That wasn't enough to make her want to be one of them, but still. She'd barely ever encountered anyone of her own faction. With a sigh, she had to admit that was largely due to lack of trying. She could feel them in some areas of the city, but she actively went out of her way to avoid them. What were they gonna do, cheerlead the cause of Order to her? They certainly weren't going to actively educate her on the whys and wherefores of all this. Or train her. That was okay, she was doing a pretty good job on her own… Wasn't she? Sitting down on the roof, Nausikaa crossed her legs and put her chin in her hand. Yeah, she was doing an okay job on her own. But…. She actively hated the lack of organization of the White Moon Senshi, the lack of group cohesiveness. It was a complete miracle that the Negaverse hadn't taken over the city by now. A nearby presence crept up into her senses. Not Order, definitely Chaos… but not Negaverse? She couldn't tell for sure, but it was the "enemy," and she was once more ready to beat something up. More likely that she'd be the one getting beaten up, but that was okay too. Standing, she got ready for whomever it was.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 3:45 am
There was no proper method to exiting from mirror space but Lacerta always took a modicum of precaution to at least make sure that there were no civilians that were watching nor any other powered individuals that were more than likely to attack a dark mirror senshi, rather than talk ... even if that dark mirror was an eternal senshi like herself. After realizing that the coast was clear, Lacerta exited the mirror that she had chosen to use that evening to get her closer to the core of Destiny City in order to access her true destination, the rooftops. It was always easier to spot or sense danger once she was higher off the ground and it made it easier to spot a figure that would try to sneak up on her if she had the full three-sixty panoramic view going on.
Except this night was different. As soon as she had cleared the mirror, Lacerta felt the aura of an order senshi, and what seemed to be a basic one at that before she took a moment to pinpoint where the aura was coming from. Well, it seemed like this white moon senshi was on the rooftops as well. That was okay, she wasn't going to attack unless provoked and it was with a mild sense of curiosity that she found the nearest fire escape and began to slowly climb. While jumping onto the roof would have been faster, Lacerta was willing to give the senshi she was sensing the opportunity to flee if she wanted ... after all ... she was an eternal senshi steeped in chaos.
As she cleared the ladder Lacerta took in the immediate view before sighing. Yep, definitely a basic senshi ... and from order as well. Oh well. She had no qualms against the side that she used to be a part of. Although she was curious as to why no one seemed to be helping this wayward senshi.
"Everything okay there," she called out in a friendly greeting to the other woman before she gave a small wave to indicate that she wasn't going to start sh*t this evening.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 9:11 am
That wasn't what she had been expecting, someone from the other side being nice to her. Nausikaa hesitated as the source of the Chaos aura revealed herself, turning out to be… what? The person looked like an Order Eternal, except everything was black where it should have been white, even down to the fluffy Eternal Senshi butt-wings. The Chaos was roiling off of her, but it was different somehow, not as harsh, for lack of a better word, as the Chaos that the Negaverse emanated. Thinking for a moment, she recalled feeling a similar aura once a few months ago – that Proto-something girl, Protogenia? She had felt the same way. Regardless, Nausikaa wasn't about to attack an Eternal, no matter their faction. She wasn't stupid, even if she was in the mood for getting beaten up. "Yeah, everything's just ducky," she called back, unable to stop the sarcasm in her voice from seeping through. "Just fine here. Who are you?" Unspoken was the question that was forefront in her mind: what are you?
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 10:03 am
There were moments in life where one could look back upon in an effort to learn what to expect from a random encounter. Lacerta could easily recall a moment like this, so many years ago it seemed, when she had been by her lonesome, wearing white, and had been approached by a more powerful individual than she had been ... but it hadn't mattered. Acubens' hadn't seemed like she wanted to fight and instead was more willing to simply walk and talk at the same time. Of course, she had been a lot younger in the past than it seemed this unknown senshi was. Why was she still just a basic senshi?
Even as she took in this senshi's appearance did Lacerta pause to discern that yes this senshi was, indeed, alone. She gamely shook her head though before making every effort to appear less intimidating and that meant answering the other senshi.
"When I'm like this I am known as Lacerta, the dark mirror senshi of bandages. My rank is of an eternal senshi," feeling as if that might be enough of an introduction, she waited for any reciprocation before adding in a tidbit more of information, "I have a feeling though that everything isn't alright but I won't pry if you don't feel like sharing."
She moved into a more relaxed stance before simply watching the other. Her reflexes were sharp enough that she would be able to fend off an attack if needed but somewhere deep down inside, Lacerta was hoping that this wayward senshi would not want to attack.
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 10:48 am
Dark Mirror… wasn't that what that Protogenia had called herself? Nausikaa unclenched her fists. This Lacerta didn't seem like she was going to attack her; it'd be disingenuous to turn around and attack first, since she wasn't presenting like a target. And she saw right through Nausikaa's bravado as if her shields were made of glass. "I'm Nausikaa of Empathy." She snorted and gave the Dark Mirror Eternal a wry smile. "Yeah, Empathy. It's kind of ironic, I think. Like that song. I don't even know what my powers do, you know? They're probably pretty useless – like reading peoples' emotions is easy, at least for me, so it could be related to that. Like I know you're not going to attack me, for some reason." She snorted again at herself, more derisively. "It's probably some kind of stupid buff. Nothing really useful." Shaking her head, she looked at Lacerta. "I don't want to burden you with my issues, you know? I just… I just feel like I've been… abandoned. By everything and everyone. I'm tired of being strong – or at least tired of people telling me I'm strong. I'm not. I'm just doing what I can, trying to do what's right," she said, plopping down on the rooftop again. "Mostly I go around dusting youma and kicking the s**t out of lieutenants sometimes. I don't know what else to do." Nausikaa sighed wearily. "No one has told me anything about how to do this, not even the talking cat who awakened me. I just know I'm a Senshi, I'm supposed to protect this city, I'm supposed to hate the Negaverse. That's it. That's all I know." She turned her gaze to her gloved hands. "See? Pretty useless."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 11:25 am
Empathy.
Lacerta turned the word around in her mind a few times. She knew the word and the context in which it was used but how could it relate to a senshi's abilities was the uncertainty. Instead of saying as much Lacerta calmly listened to the rest of Nausikaa's rant, for surely that is what it was, with growing understanding of the situation. It eerily echoed her own start to being a senshi. Although Mel had been around, his appearances were spotty at best. It had taken Lacerta meeting a few other individuals, both of order and chaos, to fully get a grasp on what it was that constituted being a senshi. Sure they fought for their respective causes and all that, but it was also about networking. If she was guilty about one thing when she was a white moon senshi, it was that she didn't seek others out.
"I don't think your sphere is ironic at all. Once you get the chance to experiment it could be fairly helpful in a life or death situation. Now, to be fair, I might be mixing up some pop culture reference or something but I know that there are characters on shows that are empaths and they generally feel the emotions of those around them," was referencing Star Trek really helpful in this situation ... only time could tell.
"I don't know if my rambling is helping at all but I will let you in on a little secret: bottling up those things that you view as issues, probably isn't the wisest move. Sooner or later that might be unleashed on the wrong opponent. You need an outlet. I don't view listening to issues that a fellow senshi might have, as a burden ... so you could always unload on me if you want to."
Seeing that Nausikaa once more sat down Lacerta moved to sit a few meters away before letting silence fill the space between them. She was contemplating things before she cleared her throat. "I do understand the burden it can be though. Feeling abandoned and unsure of everything and such. It happened to me when I was first awakened."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 12:02 pm
"Yeah, abandoned is a good way of putting it," Nausikaa nodded, thinking about her life so far. She'd never regretted helping her family, putting them ahead of everything else, including powering up and learning more about being a Senshi. She'd adored her parents, yet she still felt like she'd been abandoned by them – through no fault of their own. She looked up at Lacerta, who had taken a seat on the rooftop not far from her. "I… don't know much about pop culture," she admitted. "I had to grow up pretty quick as a kid – I really didn't have much free time to watch tv or anything like that. I was busy taking care of my parents." Maybe the Dark Mirror Senshi was right; maybe venting was a good thing, not keeping things bottled up inside in order to appear strong and independent. "This is helping, a lot. More than you could know…" Then Lacerta mentioned her own awakening. "Yeah? You were kind of abandoned by your faction too?" Nausikaa asked, brown eyes searching the Dark Mirror's face. Was she a kindred spirit?
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 12:23 pm
At least it seemed she was helping. Lacerta looked to Nausikaa as she spoke of having to grow up pretty quick. It was fair then that she wouldn't have had much time to just enjoy things that a regular individual might get to do. Life could be cruel it seemed. Instead of commenting right away on circumstances that were beyond anyone's control, Lacerta looked down to the black band that adorned her finger and the grey stone that was situated in it before giving it a small twist. It brought her a modicum of comfort before she caught the rest of what Nausikaa was saying ... what she was being asked about.
Ahh. Was it too early to really reveal who she used to be before she became a dark mirror senshi? Probably. But Lacerta felt as if she had a kindred spirit forming in the Senshi of Empathy. How odd that she would be the one having the same sort of connection with Nausikaa that she herself had formed with Acubens.
"I did feel abandoned by my faction back then. But I feel like I need to come clean about something: I wasn't always a dark mirror senshi. I was once like you, a senshi that wore white and represented order. But like you, I realized that there was no real system for us. The lack of cohesion among the White Moon senshi and knights makes them extremely unorganized."
Lacerta sighed.
"I don't wish to speak ill of those that I used to know, but I think it's a well known thing. Order can work together for large issues, but once the issue is resolved, they sort of de-group and go back to individual things. So I get where you are coming from. For the longest time my closest friend was among the faction I now represent. She was the one that gave me a stable foundation to stand on while I tried to do what was right. That foundation was the eventual thing that saved me though when my world crumbled around me."
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 1:02 pm
Nausikaa's eyes went wide. "You… you used to be White Moon?" Somehow she couldn't believe it. How had she become Dark Mirror? Then Lacerta continued, and the Senshi nodded with vigor. "Yes, exactly!!! I've been thinking those same thoughts for ages! There's no system, there's no cohesion, there's no teamwork unless there's a crisis going on. And that's wrong." She listened as Lacerta spoke of a foundation, something stable and from the sound of it consistent. That was something she longed for in her life: stability, a foundation to work from. It was hard now, being in the throes of a prolonged battle with the probate court over her father's estate; she needed something stable and cohesive in her life, was desperate to find it, and having absolutely no luck either powered or as a civilian. "So…" Nausikaa hesitated. She'd never really spoken to someone who represented Chaos, let alone a Dark Mirror Senshi. But ever curious, she had to find out. "So… tell me about your faction? Please. I've met one of you before, but I was kind of mean to her, so we didn't really talk much…" She chuckled softly. "I can be a little abrupt at times. Acting before thinking. But I'd really like to know more…"
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 5:37 pm
Feeling as if she had made headway with Nausikaa the eternal senshi opted to remain where she was sitting before she turned around to glance to the area around them. It probably didn't have good optics to any other senshi in the surrounding environment to sense a dark mirror eternal senshi and a basic white moon senshi just hanging out on a rooftop together. It could be a beacon for possible trouble brewing. But Nausikaa had asked a question, well a few of them now, and Lacerta was willing to take the time to explain.
"I did use to be a white moon senshi, yes. I changed my allegiance though after I became a super senshi. I had already seen that there was a lack of cohesion among the rank and file and it was a little difficult to endure. But the turning point was when I lost the cornerstone of who I was as a civilian that finally drove me across faction lines. But I had been making some connections amongst those that represent who I am now so I had things to fall back upon."
It was sort of astonishing how her encounter with Nausikaa had occurred because she had been curious to investigate. At realizing that she still had yet to talk more about the Dark Mirror Lacerta pondered ... honesty was the best policy and all. "Pretty sure we are all allowed to be abrupt at times. It was probably the first time that you came across one of our kind so the view of attack first, ask questions later could have applied," and here she sighed before she rearranged her limbs to be in a more natural position of sitting down.
"As for the Dark Mirror court: We are smaller in comparison to those of the white moon and the negaverse too. I think that is why we may be more close knit as a group as a whole. We look out for each other but mainly our focus is not on the war here in Destiny City. We are trying to create our own place of refuge. At least that is how I understand it. I think as long as we don't cause issues with either side, they leave us be."
Lacerta paused again before quietly examining the other senshi. Her voice was sotto as she formed the words that could either lead to further conversation or an abrupt end to the one that they were having, "what are you thinking of doing? Do you think you want to leave Order?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 25, 2024 10:21 pm
Lost the cornerstone of who she was… "I… I can relate," Nausikaa said, her voice soft and sad. "My mom died when I was seven, and my dad died last year. They were my everything, especially my dad. He raised me to be strong and independent, but I was – I am useless without them. Without him. So I understand losing your cornerstone, yeah. Only I didn't have anyone to fall back on, just myself. It's hard sometimes being alone, and even harder not to show it." She had never confessed that to anyone before, but there was something about this Dark Mirror Eternal that she felt she could trust. Maybe it was that she was a stranger, maybe it was the shared loss they had both endured, or the shared dissatisfaction with the way things were in the White Moon. it didn't matter, in the end. She listened to Lacerta's explanation of the Dark Mirror Court with fascination. A close knit group that ignored this stupid war between Order and Chaos? A group that was only trying to make their own place in the universe, a place of refuge? A neutral faction, from the sound of it, that was pretty much left alone by both sides? Now she felt really bad for attacking Protogenia without talking to her first. She'd have to apologize if she ever met her again. Then Lacerta asked a question of her own, and Nausikaa's stomach dropped. She hadn't considered leaving Order – she hadn't known that was a thing one could do until she'd met the Eternal sitting on the roof near her. Who had been a White Moon Senshi like her, tired of the isolation and lack of cohesion of the Order faction. Could she leave? The Chaos aura coming from Lacerta was clashing with her own Order aura, like two magnets pushing against each other. But it didn't feel bad like the Chaos coming off a Negaverse officer, just… different. "Do you hurt people?" she asked quietly. "Like the Negaverse does?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2024 9:57 pm
Oh, Nausikaa was another orphan, like her?
Hoping that she didn't set the other off Lacerta tried to shuffle a little closer to the other senshi in an attempt to perhaps, what, provide a modicum of comfort? She knew how it felt to lose both parents and so it wasn't hard to sympathize. Instead she drew her hand back in case Nausikaa didn't like to be touched, out of respect more than anything.
"I am parent-less as well. It was that one event that shook the cornerstone of my life and brought it tumbling down. I couldn't save them after they were randomly attacked."
Thinking back on that night, and the weeks afterwards, had Lacerta swallowing a pretty big lump in her throat before she cleared it. It had felt like her world had turned upside down in that short span of time in her life. It'd marked her transition into being thrust into a world that stripped those rose-colored glasses from her eyes.
Hearing Nausikaa's last question Lacerta sighed. She fished out one of her mirror shards and laid it flat out on her hand so that the other senshi could see it if she wanted to, "we don't hurt humans like the Negaverse. We do unfortunately need to harvest energy from those we share the city with in order to keep our space functional ... but that is it. We have wraiths that will pass through a person and take a little bit of their energy but that seems to be it. As far as I know, they can't kill anything. The one difference between us and the Negaverse is we dark mirror senshi can't reach into someone and take their starseed. So I don't know if that makes us less bad than the Negaverse that seems to do that with impunity ... they don't seem to care that those they starseeded may have had familial relations that counted on them."
Had her voice just gone hard? It was hard to tell but her facial expression definitely appeared tense all of a sudden.
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 10:33 am
Nausikaa didn't flinch when Lacerta scooted closer; she could sense that the Dark Mirror Eternal was trying to comfort her, and the last of the desire to fight or get beaten up left her. It was clear that Lacerta had been through something similar; as she spoke, it turned out she was a fellow orphan. Reaching out, Nausikaa took the young woman's retreating hand in hers and squeezed gently before releasing her, bonding with her in silence. She watched Lacerta pull a mirror shard from subspace, and bent closer to examine it as she listened. At first she was upset and saddened that the Dark Mirror harvested energy like the Negaverse, but as the Eternal continued, she nodded. They didn't seem to completely drain their targets like the Negaverse did, which was good. "So the wraiths only take a little then – just enough to leave people tired, but not completely passed out?" She almost wanted to see one of these wraiths in action; she figured she would eventually. Nodding, Nausikaa looked at Lacerta with a faint smile on her lips. "I think not starseeding people makes you way better than the Negaverse. You don't hurt people, which was my big concern." Most of her fears were allayed now. But would she – should she switch factions? That was still the question, and one she would have to give serious consideration to. She saw the expression on the other's face tense, and her eyes widened; was someone nearby? Casting about with her senses, she tried to detect any auras, Order or Chaos, but the aura of the Dark Mirror Eternal sitting next to her was too strong. "Is there someone out there?" she whispered, fearful now of getting caught.
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 12:01 pm
Lacerta tried to release the tension that had crept up on her but found that it wasn't completely easy to let go of the anger that had flashed through her. More than likely it was a result of talking about starseeds and everything considering the fact it was the beginning of a new year ... and that she'd once more be marking the period of time in which she had woken into what seemed a never-ending nightmare. But it wasn't Nausikaa's fault for thinking that her tensing up was the result of another powered individual. To allay the concerns she gently closed her hand around her mirror shard before tucking it away. Addressing the moment and her lapse in concentration Lacerta began to speak softly, "No, I'm sorry. I don't sense anyone. It was more just thinking about what I was talking about and it just upset me. It made me remember something I'd rather not remember is all."
"Anyways, our mirror wraiths, are sort of free-wandering creatures. They might take energy more than once from the same target. I think it is possible for a wraith to drain the same individual into unconsciousness if no one else is around to take energy from. But if there's a lot of people around, it's less likely for that to happen. We set them loose, they gather energy, and then come back when it seems like enough energy has been collected. At least that's how I've experienced it since joining."
Knowing that she had given Nausikaa a lot to think about Lacerta allowed a moment of silence to fall between them. The earlier tenseness was slowly fading but she felt as if she still needed to explain her reaction, "I think I need to explain my earlier reaction of tensing up though. It was the reminder that I didn't need. I'm coming up on the fourth anniversary of the events that triggered everything we'd been talking about before, you know ... my switching of sides. The event that started everything was that I witnessed, from afar, a lieutenant taking starseeds from a random couple. I feel it was a random encounter between them, but those individuals that were attacked," and here Lacerta's voiced hitched, "were my parents."
Sniffling she glanced upwards before trying to get her emotions in check. How had she not realized just exactly how close it was to that moment in time? The fact that she was openly talking about it showed she was making progress in at least not bottling things up, but it didn't take the pain of that single night away.
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Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2024 1:42 pm
"...Oh no, that's so horrible. I'm so sorry…" Nausikaa hesitantly placed a hand on Lacerta's shoulder, stopping herself before she outright hugged the Dark Mirror Senshi in case such contact was unwelcome. "It's so hard losing your parents, nevermind like that." Now she was getting angry again, this time at the Negaverse for doing something so horrid as stripping Lacerta's parents of their starseeds. Didn't they consider that people they did that to might be someone's family, someone's loved one, someone who might be missed? She was very happy – for Lacerta's sake – that the Dark Mirror faction didn't do that. The Dark Mirror faction… would it be so awful to join them? She wasn't accomplishing anything as a White Moon Senshi – she couldn't stop the Negaverse from stealing starseeds or draining people to the point of collapse. Which, in fairness, the Dark Mirror's wraiths sometimes did as well, but if one was careful where one summoned them, like in a crowd or something, it likely wouldn't be so bad. Then she remembered something that Lacerta had said about the wraiths. "So… you said the wraiths are gathering energy for your home. Do you have homeworlds, like we do? Or do you answer to someone like I've heard the Negaverse does?"
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