Welcome to Gaia! ::

“Never has a day felt so long.” While not entirely accurate, it has been some time since a single day felt as full as a week, a sensation brought on by the excitement of something, or in this case someone, awaiting her at the end.

Recently, Zac had kindly spent the evening with her, extending their time together well into the night after they had finished dinner and shared a desert. However, somewhere within those several hours of conversation, she had agreed to catch up on training as they had done before he’d left.

“Fair is fair,” she reminded herself before powering up and withdrawing her tablet which was stored in her subspace pocket.

Although Meridiana was by no means eager to exhaust herself chasing after him, something about seeing Zinkenite in uniform sparked an unexpected mix of thrill and apprehension which inadvertently was perhaps a reason why she woke up well before her alarm this morning. “Well,” she looked down at her uniform. “At least it’s less revealing.” No longer would she stand before a Sovereign looking light a naughty detention teacher or a questionable secretary in her basic uniform again.

Through the tablet, she sent Zinkenite a brief message.

Feeling a surge of pride from the compliment, Meridiana replied with a soft almost embarrassed, “Thank you,” before retreating a step away, so she could gather the skirt in her hands, and execute a bow that conveyed her respect. Although he presented himself as a General, Zinkenite was still a Sovereign and was owed nothing less. “I’m sorry to have made you wait.”

It took a long moment, after rising, for her to notice what was different between now and the first time they had trained together. Not only was his uniform different, but there was also a certain mauvian missing from his shoulder.

Meridiana glanced around, expecting to see Abby sitting on a table where the makeshift weapons had been assembled but the only aura’s she felt belonged to Zinkenite and herself. A pang of disappointment struck her but recovered quickly when she turned to face the now General and took in his new appearance; at least new to her anyway.

The coat he wore bore a close resemblance to the one he wore as a General King but was missing certain details; the epaulets were missing, for one, and the pattern on his coat was more stylized than the detailed smoke pattern she remembered. It suited him well but she did wonder if he had worn this same uniform prior to his final promotion or was this something new since his return.

A curiosity to inquire about later.

“It looks like you’ve kept busy.” Driven by her curiosity, Meridiana approached the tables, lifting what appeared to be larp-style weapons and assessing their weight. “I can see these being useful for officers such as yourself. But I don’t quite understand how these will help train corrupts or even half-youma, that have no access to weapons.” The Negaverse did not seem to deem them fit for sharp pointy things despite magic having an obvious limit. Then again, fortunately, White Moon Senshi didn’t have them either.

Meridiana did nothing to hide her appraising gaze as Zinkenite turned around, showing off the detail of his General uniform. “I’m a bit surprised it still fits,” she jested with a teasing smile. “You’ve been a Sovereign how long now?” Kind of an honest question since she knew he was already a General King when she first joined the Negaverse.

But then she heard a familiar voice and turned her attention to the Mauvian it belonged to. Meridiana drew in a sharp breath, eyes alighting with genuine surprise and with a rather girlish excitement she called out, “ABBY!”

She’d heard Zinkenite’s explanation, and probably should have acknowledged it a bit better, but he didn’t tell her Abby would be here! So this reaction was entirely on him, or so she reasoned as she made haste over to the Guardian Cat and opened her arms for a welcoming hug. “I didn’t know you’d be here too, I'm so happy to see you! I think you did a fantastic job making the weapons, I’m glad you enjoyed making them.”

Laughter filled her voice when she turned her attention back to Zink, “I’m sorry. Dodging, yes, I agree that would be useful to learn. And you’re right, chalk is much better than blood.” Being stabbed once was enough for her, if training posed the same danger she’d likely find an excuse not to come.

Meridiana was mid spin with Abby in her arms, held carefully as one would cradle a child against them for the joy she felt in that moment was immeasurable. Which was perhaps why when Zinkentite proposed sparing against the Mauvian, she looked at him with a ‘ you wouldn’t… would you?’ kind of expression.

He would though… she knew it and when he formally asked her to, Meridiana would have to respectfully decline because she cared far too much for Abby to not try and catch her.

After nuzzling her cheek against Abby’s and giving her an affectionate kiss atop her head, Meridiana set her down on the table carefully. “It is much more fun and entertaining to use my magic on an opponent who is not expecting it. My basic attack I used before is simply a disarming spell, dissuades opponents from attacking, what I do in those moments is up to my whims in the moment. But if you insist I’ll use my Super one now.” Though she suspected it would not have its desired effect, but spent energy from her would be at a cost of his so the playing field for their spar would remain even.

“I appreciate it, thank you.” Meridiana offered a small bow as an additional show of gratitude.

“So, aside from one use of magic, do you want to go over the rules of engagement for this exercise? And will there be any reward for meeting the goal?” Her smile widened in hopeful anticipation. Years ago they’d gone to the cafe where he’d allowed her to ask seemingly random questions, stories of his past etc. It went without saying that Meridiana was awfully curious to know if this tradition would continue on or if anything else was on the table.

"Or perhaps I should amend that to include consequences for failure." She grimaced at the thought considering it'd likely mean more training if she were to guess but who knows, he might have something more creative in mind.

“Even if you were only a Captain, I’d still be at a severe disadvantage. I’m under no illusion that your experience far outweighs anything rank alone can provide.” Strength and speed on their own cannot hold a flame to the survival instincts he has learned through years as an officer and tenure as a Sovereign.

Zinkenite knew of loss and consequences on a level she could not relate to.

Meridiana knew on a professional level that she should take this training opportunity more seriously and not look at it as a game even though the weapons would cause little to no damage if struck. But-

Was it wrong she simply wanted to see him relax, to see him smile be it from pride that she’d succeeded in meeting his expectations or flustered because she’d done or said something unexpected?

She didn’t think so.

“I’m not too worried about anyone seeing me covered in chalk,” the only two whose opinion she cared about anyway were here in this warehouse already. “But I supposed if I get to ask a question if I hit you then I suppose it is only fair if extend the offer to you as well.” Although she wasn’t sure there was anything he’s want to know that wasn’t already available in her Negaverse profile.

“No teleporting me to you for an easy hit though.” Meridiana pointed an accusing finger at him but the smirk on her face suggested she was merely teasing, she did not know him to be someone to use underhanded tactics like that.

She turned her attention back to the table again, lifted a few weapons to test the weight of them, touched the chalk end of several of them before setting them back down before selecting something small that fit her hand better. “I think I’m ready if you are,” her eyes glimmered with amusement as she walked over to Zinkenite’s side.

“Ready, set, go?” It sounded more of a question before she clapped him on the back between the shoulder blades with a chalk covered hand and turned on her heel to run.

He made a sound of protest as her hand clapped him soundly between the shoulders.

"I'll count that as a bonus at the end, if only because it's a clever tact if you can manage it, remember, they'll feel us coming even if they can't teleport." He said half chiding. "You can ask the bonus question at the end when we're done."

He let her sprint away and then teleported to appear before her. Lunging as soon as he appeared to brush his hand by her shoulder, a slight miscalculation in his attack but a glancing blow all the same.

"A good dodge, but you can do better, tell me, how have they treated you in my absence? I know the propensity is to treat those like you as less, as though somehow you don't contribute to our cause."

"Succu-b***h, how... creative." He drolled. "I hope you showed them just how much of a 'b***h' you could be."

He seemed to anticipate her move, sliding between her and the outer chalk ring; he reached out and clapped a hand on her shoulder, almost like he was greeting an old comrade. "Proud of you all the same." He teased.

"So, how is your life outside of the Negaverse? Should I be looking to corrupt a... beau?"