|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 10:16 am
Quote: The Fireflies (6) : In the warm summer nights, little glowing lights begin to bob and dart through the city. Fireflies are mating, so this isn't uncommon in itself; in the past few days you've probably seen hundreds of fireflies. What makes these lights so unique is that they seem to change color; you might see a blue one, a green one, a red one. They flicker randomly, and something just seems off with them. If you come into contact with one, you will find yourself with a strange electric jolt. They cannot be caught, and will flicker away if you pursue too aggressively. This isn’t the first time they’ve appeared in Destiny City, but no one’s been able to tell where they came from or where they’re going. No matter how quickly you chase them, they always seem to disappear before you can find any answers.
Filling in the information and filing it, Cryptomelane had almost felt as though the entire enterprise hadn’t even been worth it. He hoped that someone else had dealt more closely with their draconic host, or had perhaps managed to notice something more about his behaviors. If someone had, then it didn’t really matter that Cryptomelane’s own offerings to the ongoing discussion of Negaverse intel felt paltry and insignificant. In that scenario, at least someone would have had more to offer than noting things about Almadel that felt like surface-level observations, at best.
Throughout the proceedings, he had seemed more than somewhat unreliable. When the danger started, he hadn’t gone out of his way to protect the Order senshi and Knights, but he also hadn’t done anything to protect the Negaverse operatives and Dark Mirror senshi who’d gathered to help him. In the face of some insolent White Moon senshi demanding to know why Almadel had allowed anyone associated with Chaos to join his little group, he had defended them on an ideological level and made it clear that he would accept help from anyone willing to give it.
But when push had shoved, he had cared more than anything about his own collection of artifacts, rather than honoring the help given to him, no matter who it had come from. His lack of concern for the safety of the White Moon operatives could have made him an ally, but he rendered himself too unpredictable by showing a similar lack of concern for anyone affiliated with Chaos. Overall, how the entire situation with the kosopods and the malfunctioning gravity suggested that he either lacked appropriate amounts of caution and foresight for someone with that much access to unrestrained power, or he knew more than he let on and delighted in making others squirm for his own amusement.
Which was not nothing; Cryptomelane could acknowledge as much. But it also wasn’t nearly enough, in Cryptomelane’s mind, to make the danger that everyone had been placed in mean something.
The little rainbow-colored charm he’d found didn’t mean anything either, but it did look nice, he supposed. Something to hang in the window back at home.
After all of that, returning to simple patrols, by-the-numbers energy-draining, and routine starseed-pulls had provided Cryptomelane a welcome sense of relief. The oddly colored fireflies following him around Ramsett Park tonight came in shades that did not naturally belong on fireflies—vivid pinks, deep purples, visually assaultive greens, all kinds of shades—but the insects minded their own business as Cryptomelane lurked in a shadowy thicket of decorative trees, draining energy from the passers-by one at a time.
When someone in jogging gear lingered long enough for Cryptomelane’s work to leave them unsteady on their feet, the fireflies didn’t buzz more fervently or seem the slightest bit excited. As far as Cryptomelane could tell, they hadn’t noticed a thing, or if they had, they certainly didn’t care. Even when he stalked out of the shadows—swooping in and plunging a hand into the jogger’s chest, curling his hand tight around the civilian’s starseed—the fireflies danced on as though nothing in the world had changed.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 10:59 am
Despite being zapped on the hand more frequently than he liked, Parsifal was still fond of the weird little colorful fireflies that seemed to only appear around the time of Star Festival. The colors they came in were anything but natural, blues and reds and purples and greens and pinks, but they blinked on and off like regular ordinary fireflies, which he loved anyway. Even aliens seemed to be interested in them, if Cernunnos was any proof of that; he wished he'd been able to tell the diminutive deer-like Senshi more about them, but he was only him, not a bug-person. At least he managed to tell them more about Star Fest! Still, he enjoyed being out among the fireflies, and so he was again tonight, dancing down a path through the trees of Ramsett Park, happily watching the ones with brightly colored butts float around in the shadows. He of course was careful not to touch them – he knew better, not wanting to receive a surprisingly powerful jolt that would leave his hand and arm numb and painful. As was his custom, the Senshi of Alternatives had altered his mind with magic mushrooms before powering up, so the fireflies seemed to glow even more festively and left little colorful trails as they flew. The uncomfortable tingle that suddenly manifested in the back of Parsifal's mind told him there was a Chaos person nearby. What could he do about them, though? He wasn't a fighter, though he could hold his own in a fistfight despite his small size; and his magic was more evasive and distracting than anything. But it was fun! At least for a little while. So onward he proceeded, skipping and humming a happy little magic firefly song he just made up. "I know you're there, Chaos person," he called out in a singsong manner. "You can't hide from meeeeeeeee!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 12:18 pm
The feeling of a White Moon aura on his senses made Cryptomelane cringe. That they called out to him in a way that seemed to take this enterprise for some kind of game, made him roll his eyes. Who gave these people their education about their places in the great cosmic war? Probably no one, if this one’s ostensible attitude and Sonora’s lack of knowledge about the history at play provided any indication.
There was something horrid and tragic about it, Cryptomelane supposed. Whoever pretended to have any power among the White Moon’s ranks, they recruited these senshi and Knights, then threw them to the wolves to figure things out on their own. But if they refused to listen when presented with history from the side of the conflict that wielded true power, then Cryptomelane didn’t suppose that he had any ability to course-correct them. Short of dragging every single one off to a General-Sovereign for induction into the Negaverse, his options seemed limited.
“Why would I hide from someone who might as well be off-duty,” Cryptomelane called out to them, internally weighing his options on how to proceed. He could take the starseed right now; it probably would have made his life easier. But the aura didn’t feel like they were that far off. Perhaps this little fool needed some practical education in what was truly at stake. “Do you truly fancy yourself a soldier of good? Come and find me, then. Prove why I should take you seriously.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 12:42 pm
Parsifal laughed. No one took him seriously, least of all himself. "Okay, Mr Chaos Person, I'll find you!" Shifting into a cartoony sneaking pose to match the cartoon villain voice of the Chaos agent, he crept through the fireflies, who seemed unperturbed by the impending encounter, following the angry tingle as it drew stronger. He couldn't tell what rank this person was, but he doubted he was as nice and friendly as Captain Chal. And he didn't have a cool youma either. What would he do if he found this guy? He had to think about that for a minute. Thinking was hard. Tell him to stop being a bad person? Creeping past the collapsed form of a jogger, he gulped. This Chaos person was starseeding people! With impunity! (That was a big word to think about.) That meant he was potentially dangerous. He could turn around and leave… but this person would just go on taking people's starseeds. And that was just wrong. He was so close now that Parsifal could almost taste the Chaos taint. What was he gonna do now? The only thing he could do. "Eeny Meeny Miney MO!" he said in a loud whisper; almost instantaneously, there were three Parsifals creeping along the path towards the Chaos agent. Zeroing in on his location, the brightly-colored trio leapt out in front of where the Senshi suspected he was hiding. "Come out come out wherever you are!" the three sang in unison, dancing like silly little pink and orange monkeys in front of the agent. "Guess which one of us is real!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 1:13 pm
For a moment, the ostensible trio of senshi leaping in front of him took Cryptomelane by surprise, left him agog and arching one brow so high, it nearly escaped his forehead. But all three senshi were identical and he still felt but one aura, so it wasn’t hard to deduce what was going on. Whatever power sphere this senshi had, it had gifted him with the ability to create duplicates of himself. That could have been quite useful, theoretically, depending on what the copies could do.
He picked up a rock on his way out to meet the senshi. Not a very big one, but still better than the so-called weapon he had. Cryptomelane didn’t overall mind his pumpkin bucket, but he had no delusions about its inefficacy in terms of putting up a fight.
Emerging into the light—or at least coming closer to the senshi—Cryptomelane considered the three dancing monkeys. Whatever they could do, the copies were quite convincing. But senshi magic only lasted for so long, and as Cryptomelane focused on them, trying to discern which copy was real, he noticed two of them flickering, probably edging close to their expiration.
No hesitation, Cryptomelane chucked his rock at the would-be-jester who hadn’t flickered.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2024 4:24 pm
There he was, dancing like a monkey with two copies of himself, having a grand old time. Parsifal thought that taunting Negaverse agents was the best thing ever, mainly because they got so very angry and flustered by it. He was having so much fun he didn't notice his ethereal doppelgangers flicker ahead of them dissipating. So when the Negaverse agent – a lieutenant, from the look of him – came out of the shadows to stare in disbelief at the three dancing Senshi, Parsifal laughed with delight. He'd done his job! The lieutenant wasn't stealing starseeds as long as he was here distracting him! But the Nega didn't appear to like this distraction, chucking a rock at him – and hitting the real Parsifal on the arm. "Ow!" he yelped, causing the two copies to say "OH NO" and pop into a shower of pink and orange sparkles. "That was rude!" Parsifal rubbed his injured arm and glowered at the lieutenant. Two could play that game! He picked up his own rock and quickly threw it back at the Nega, not caring if he hit or not; he just wanted to demonstrate that he could chuck rocks at people too.Then he turned and got the hell out of there, knowing he didn't stand a chance in a fight, either physical or magical.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2024 7:33 pm
For all the silliness inherent in his behavior, the senshi dressed up as a jester did, indeed, manage to hit his mark. Worse, while Cryptomelane had been too busy smirking about hitting the real senshi and about having picked him out from the copies, the rock thrown his way smacked him square on the nose. Thankfully, he didn’t feel anything crush inward. Nor did Cryptomelane feel a rush of hot, thick fluid down the back of his throat, accompanied by the taste of copper—blood, the way he would’ve expected from a broken nose.
Instead, he heard something crack.
As the senshi scampered off, Cryptomelane felt something shift around his nose, then around his ears. It started slipping, eventually clattering down to the grass, and as it did, the world around him slid out of focus. Instinctively, Cryptomelane squinted at the view of trees and foliage that had been so clear mere moments ago, but it didn’t help very much. He knew that it wouldn’t. Unfortunately for Cryptomelane, his astigmatism was such that the best he could get out of squinting was minor, temporary improvements.
Ugh, fantastic. Picking up the broken halves of his glasses, he sighed in relief that: A. he had a backup pair in his subspace pocket, and B. the little senshi had run off. Maybe it would have been worth following him on a different night, but tonight, Cryptomelane had managed to keep the starseed he’d pulled. Better not to risk finding the little senshi in the process of recruiting backup. For now, Cryptomelane simply pulled out his spare glasses, put the starseed into his subspace, and powered down. He’d done his job for the evening, and he’d count scaring the senshi off as a victory.tatterpixie fin from cryptomelane! heart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
