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Backdated to June 8th

It had been a few weeks since Sasha had been found by the earth senshi called Ian. He’d learned a lot about things in a short time, more about how technology and medicine were leagues ahead of what he’d known while still holding a lot of the same basic principles. So tonight after finally being able to muster up the strength to power back up, he went out to search for some plants and get a feel for the area just past this property he’d been staying on.

Small satchel shifting as he made his way through the trees, he stayed very low to the ground and kept that phone that they’d given him at the ready. There was that feeling of uneasiness about, pinpricks of darkness that felt just far enough away for him to press on but not far enough for him to feel safe. Kneeling down into the brush, he started to gather a few clippings of things and shoved them into his bag. It was just easier that way since he’d be working on making something out of them if he could once back at their place.

Head on a swivel, he jumped at every snap of a twig or harsh sound of the wind blowing through the trees. Just in case, he turned the little location thing on his phone so that Chaldene knew where he was just in case. It was better that way, even if they weren’t Amel, they were still helping him and that was more than he’d had in a long time.

That familiar feeling came back, but he still jumped when Ian spoke because it broke the mostly silent night. “Ah!” Shooting up and turning back, he held a plant that he’d ended up accidentally yanking out by the root instead of just clipping bits from. “Making a salve, not food.” It was something that would help a bit with aches and pains if everything he’d read was right.

Shaking the dirt from the rooted plant, he shoved that in his bag too before looking around. He had a bad feeling about something and shrunk a bit towards the tree. “Something’s near, not good. I don’t like it.” Wrinkling his nose as he motioned for the other to stay a bit lower, he knew the glow they had didn’t really help to keep hidden but he still felt safer around that soft blue glow.

Something was rustling through the brush further ahead, something large enough to part the branches but not tall enough to be seen standing above the greenery.

“Youma?” Repeating the word back as he narrowed his eyes at the rustling bushes, Sasha leaned back a bit into their hand. This wasn’t something he knew anything about, it wasn’t something that had come up in the things he’d been looking at on the other’s computer over the past week. Nodding at the mention of what he’d been searching for, a bit of a smile came back to his face. “Yes, I want books on plants and medicine, need to get better with it.” There was a wealth of new things here and any one thing might be able to help him get things rebuilt back home. If anything could start growing again, he’d nurse a spark of life into a flame on his world.

The sound of talking drew its attention and it finally shifted onto its hind legs to peer over the bushes. A long black tendril flicked out through the air, aiding in the blind thing's ability to locate the two starseeds it felt nearby. Energy sources called to it and it was hungry, causing a low rumbling sound to come out as it broke into a run towards the two. The sound it made did not quite fit any animal on this planet but was still enough to convey that it was on the hunt.

Mouthing the words back, he committed them to memory. Negaverse. Youma. Foreign things that didn’t have a home back on his planet or even in the books of the normal earthlings. It made sense though, that things would have to be hidden from the average person otherwise everything would come crashing down, much as it did on his homeworld. Chaos had been a spark that ignited building worries and doubts, leaving nothing left in its path.

The sound the thing made had him freezing before Ian shoved him back and got between him and the shadowy thing. Stumbling, he pressed himself back against the tree and tried to thnk if there was anything he could do. Fighting wasn’t something he’d done, not in any real way unless you counted fighting diseases with medicine and herbs. A world without much violence and his own secluded existence within the deepest parts of the forest. He felt safe hidden away, looking for the soft glowing light of the insects of his world or the visiting senshi he had known.

But here and now, there was very little forest to hide in, most of the soil was covered in stone and concrete. At least there was that soft glow of things, even if it wasn’t an organic glow anymore. “Be careful!” Calling out, his voice cracked a bit from how loud it had been and made him flinch.

The hit came, knocking the thing off balance as it flicked its tendril out toward the form that had hit it. A clicking sound came as it ground its teeth and tried to regain its bearings. The hit hurt, not as much as other things it hunted. It was physical, not magical, that was something it could handle a bit better. It hated the flames and magic of its prey, gnashing teeth that could break through its defenses.

Another foreign sound, not quite a growl but close enough to pass on its intention. That barbed tendril sought to grab at the arm that had hit it but the loud sound of the other form distracted the youma so the grapple ended up being just a hit against its prey.

Seeing Ian get attacked, Sasha stiffened before stepping closer to them. “Silken Salve.” Ethereal moths fluttered around and stuck to the gashes on Ian’s arm. He knew it wouldn’t do much given how weak his magic still was and even just doing that left him sagging a bit. “Run?”

Pulling them carefully by their uninjured arm, Sasha started making for the property they lived at. He might be small but he was a quick little thing as he felt the drain while he ran along with them. Looking back occasionally to see the thing lashing out at the air, at something he couldn’t see but was glad that it wasn’t following after them.

The youma flicked its tendril around, trying to find the target but it was gone now and a whole mess of things felt close. Lashing out, its attacks connected with nothing and circling the ground, it noticed that the forms it had been after were completely gone. Another sound, a blood-chilling shriek, and the thing continued to lash out at the orbs and things that surrounded it.

Magic was what this was but there was nothing it could do to break through so it circled and circled until it faded away and freed the thing back into the quiet night. A failed hunt meant it would need to look elsewhere for what it needed and so it turned back towards a more populated area to try and find some weaker prey to hunt.

Sasha nodded quickly and yelped when they pulled him to their side, almost causing him to fall while running. The sound that thing made scared him, it wasn’t natural and set him more on edge even if they were far away by now. “Home, quickly.” Picking up the pace as he powered down as well, Sasha kept ahold of his clothing since it was still a bit too long and big on him. A nervous sound came from him as he worried about slowing down but he knew it wasn’t good to be powered up around the property, just in case something tried to follow them.

Tripping through the door behind Ian, he just lay on the floor and pulled his legs up so they could close the door. He wasn’t as out of breath as the other was but his legs did hurt and he was tired all over again. His bag of leaves and plant clippings poured out on the floor but it took him a moment to wave away the stars from his fall. “Somewhere safer tomorrow?” Sitting back up, he gathered all the plants and pushed them back into the small bag before just scooting across the floor to get a bit further away from the door.

The thing he worried about now was if his magic had done anything to help so he got up on his knees and inspected their arm carefully to see if everything was alright.

Running his hands over his antennae he wondered how he was going to blend in with things in this city if they went out without powering up. Apparently, most people thought senshi were some sort of thing called cosplayers but if he was just wearing the other’s clothes and still had his normal features that might not fly under the radar as much. “How would I hide?” Sasha let Ian pull him back to the floor as he tried to thing of a way to hide in plain sight.

He mimicked the word back quietly, it really didn’t mean much to him but he’d remember that the thing they saw was one. “Vermin?” No matter the shape or size if they were nasty things preying on people they probably had to go, even if he knew there wasn’t much he could do about it. That one could have probably eaten him if it had gotten the chance and that thought made him shiver a bit. “Need to fight them.” Nodding a bit, he’d have to figure something out and maybe if he got stronger here then he’d be able to do something when he went back home.

Poking Ian’s face, Sasha smiled a bit. “Light in darkness.”

“Okay, help to hide and then get stronger.” Again that word, youma, he would have to remember it in case he met more of them or found other senshi or knights to help out. The thought that he’d have to talk so much more made him tired though, he wasn’t really one to talk much after all the years of not talking. It was nice that Ian was understanding on that front at least and Sasha was starting to string together longer sentences here and there as he tried to work through the process of getting used to speaking again. That was something else that would have to get stronger if he met others outside of Ian.

Reaching up to pat them on the head, he hummed a bit in agreement. “Safe with you.” Maybe they weren’t the same person but they still were a good person and that was more than he’d ever thought he’d see of Amel again.