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 Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2024 5:52 pm
Kemi stretched as she stood up from the bench she had been sitting on. Her headwings fluttered slightly and she stared down at the phone in her hand. She was thinking about going back up to Kemi…but for some reason…she still hadn’t been able to bring herself to do so. Her home…her…past was important…but…her present and her future…she felt like those were on Earth.
She had so many friends here. So many people around her now that she felt safe. Comfortable. Happy. It was nice.
There was the aura of another Senshi nearby, and that was what had prompted her to get up from where she sat, enjoying the warm evening breeze, and with a smile on her face, she made her way towards the other aura, eager to see if it was someone that she knew, or if not to make a new friend. A new ally.
Honestly, at this point she wasn’t quite sure what she needed the allies for…since she hadn’t been home at all but…still.
It was always important.
Drawing closer, she held her hand up in greeting and smiled, her tail swishing behind her. “Hello! How–”
Her voice broke off and her tail grew quite bushy in agitation. “You.”
Fantastic. Another person from her past, come to haunt her…but…unlike the last…”
“What are you doing here? When did you get here?”
Hold it. Maybe he didn’t know her. Maybe this was just another like Pleione and he wouldn’t know her at all…
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2024 8:14 pm
Pyrrhus felt....well. A lot of things. But first and foremost, he felt like he was still adjusting to Earth. He'd discovered quickly that his aversion to sun remained, and it definitely included Earth's sun, so he spent most of the days indoors--but apparently that worked quite well, since most magical activity in this weird city happened at night. Which meant he could sleep through most of the day and get up in the evening and explore.
Probably, eventually, he'd have to figure out how to exist in this world. Get a job, or whatever. Or maybe Kaifeng and Helene would be content to let him live off them, but he was pretty sure he'd get antsy about that, not doing anything all day. So. Occupation. Eventually. If he could find some kind of night shift job, or something.
Tonight, though, he was still free to spend his time as he pleased, and he found himself enjoying the evening, taking in the bustling, alive city. Evne this late, there were still people, and the sounds of life, and--
Damn, it was good to be on a world that breathed again.
There were other people around, and he heard the approach--years of honed instincts, listening for pursuit--but whoever it was didn't seem to be sneaking and didn't feel Chaos, so it was probably fine.
Right up until he turned around.
Well. Pyrrhus had known he'd likely run into some old acquaintances. Not all of them would be as pleasant as Helene.
He put on his best slightly mocking grin, regarding Kemi with curiosity.
"Look at you. Haven't changed a bit, it seems. and I could ask you the same questions, anyway." Neither of them belonged here, by Pyrrhus's best guess.
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 1:21 pm
“I have been here since the festive season. Back during Earth’s winter.” The words were almost…filled with pride and a smugness that she couldn’t quite hide.
It had been a while now. Several moons at least, and the weather had been so warm of late…it was hard to believe that a single planet could have such different temperatures but…it sure wasn’t home, that was for sure.
Drawing in a deep, steadying breath, Kemi looked him square in the eyes. “And you? I have been working to change the kind of person I am, and have answered your questions. It would be reasonable to think that you will do the same, for me.”
There! That was almost…civil, and she was…well. Rather proud of herself.
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 4:19 pm
Pyrrhus nodded, slowly. He'd been made aware of Earth's seasonal rotations, and frankly, he was looking forward to it cycling back around to wintertime, since apparently the days would be much shorter. Far too much sunlight, right now.
"I....haven't been here long at all," he confessed, because presuming Kemi was telling the truth--which. It would be a stupid thing to lie about--one honest truth deserved another. "A little over what they call a week, I suppose?" He shrugged, like it didn't matter that he was still adjusting to being around people again. To actually knowing where his next meal was coming from. Sometimes, it made him want to lock himself in the room he'd settled in at Kaifeng and Helene's home and not come out for days, but the possible comfort of Hiding was outweighed by knowing that it would make people worry about him, which was a bullshit state of affairs. He was fine.
"And since you asked what I'm doing here, I'd guess the same as you. Fleeing a world murdered by Chaos."
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2024 6:39 pm
Kemi nodded, somewhat surprised. “That is not long at all…It…is so different here, is it not?” She was…not quite relaxing but…not really as stiff as she had been. “That’s correct…my planet froze over. The Wellspring was…”
She closed her eyes and gave a heavy sigh. “It was due to my carelessness. I do understand that. You know the work we were in. I was in. I angered the wrong person. I’m…”
Why was she saying so much? Was it just due to the fact it was someone she knew? And who knew her?
This was foolish.
“I’m not even sure who I pissed off so badly.” Well. That was something she hadn’t meant to let out, but. Here she was.
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 11:41 am
...Ugh. Pyrrhus hated how familiar Kemi's story sounded, except that she at least had the dignity of not being the literal, direct cause of her world's destruction. But it was still...
He knew what it meant, to carry that burden.
"I'm sorry," he said. "That someone would sink that low. To use Chaos to punish you. It--" He exhaled. "It's ******** up, and it sucks."
And if he was hesitant to admit to what he'd done--probably that was just natural. Even if she’d been more vulnerable with him than he would have expected.
“....Bernard’s dead. My…husband. The Chaos killed him.” Pyrrhus had killed him. With his own stupid belief that they could control it.
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 7:25 pm
"People are awful. People who become infected with Chaos…even more awful.” Kemi hesitated. “That is one thing…you need to be careful with on this planet. Chaos…is just about everywhere. Monsters and people…Senshi have been infected with it…there are just. So many abominations…”
Shuddering, Kemi hesitated and hesitated once again, looking at Pyrrhus for a long moment before stepping closer and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I am so very sorry for your loss. It isn’t the same, but my sister as well. She was…the only person that I truly cared about…she was a victim of my mistakes.”
The hand on his shoulder clenched slightly before Kemi drew away and sighed. “...We have a chance here. That…is what I am trying to keep in my mind. We have a chance to…live again. And…in my case at least. Atone. I am doing my best to rid this planet of all of the Chaos that I am able to.”
Perhaps…
Well. Perhaps. This was going to be like the last time she met someone she had known…and perhaps. They could end up allies instead of enemies.
What an odd planet Earth was.
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 7:28 pm
“I’ve run into these infected people,” Pyrrhus said. “Well, one of them, at least.” He smiled, wryly, bitterly. “He seemed as confused by me as I was by him. It’s wrong, isn’t it? Seeing people like that—seeing Senshi like that?” It sohuldn’t be possible. Except it wa,s and it left Pyrhhus wondering—
If he had ever given into despair in the depths of those caves, if he had given up, would Chaos have taken his body to use as its puppet? Corrupted him into something awful?
Ugh. Best not to dwell on such what-ifs.
The touch was—unexpected. Made him tense. No one had touched him without intending violence in—
A very. Very. Long. Time.
He grit his teeth. Inhaled. Forced himself not to push her away, because ********, they weren’t fighting, there was no need to provoke a confrontation just because he didn’t want to be touched right now. (Ever, maybe, unless it was Heibing or Imnolu or maybe whoever Bernard was now.)
“Chaos took…everything from us both,” Pyrrhus said. “From—lots of us, I think. I’m sharing a house with two other Senshi like us. People who’ve lived through the centuries. It destroyed their worlds, too.” That same bitter smile came back, and he rolled his shoulders. “But I’ve got a real fight in front of me now. No more cowering and scrabbling and just trying to get by. I don’t know if I can fix my world—if it’s even with fixing. It was a shithole before.” (But it was his, his violent raucous beautiful shithole, and damned if he didn’t want it back.)
“But I sure can show the Chaos here that we don’t tolerate its poison.”
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Posted: Wed Jul 31, 2024 7:29 pm
“I haven’t gone back to mine since coming here. I know I am a coward to stay away, but.” Kemi shrugged, and she truly understood what he was saying. Her world just didn’t seem worth fixing, but…at the same time, she wanted to. Wanted to be able to live there again but.
“I will go back sometime. I am very glad that you have a place to stay, I have found solace with a Mauvian who has helped me quite a lot, getting me settled on the Earth…”
Removing her Senshi phone from subspace, Kemi held it up. “I would…like to be able to contact you again, if you wouldn't mind. Gaining…allies has been…my priority. So that if–when...I go to fight for my homeworld. Find a way to fight for Kemi...I won’t be alone.”
She fiddled with the phone for a moment and then looked Pyrrhus in the eyes.
“I would like to offer the same to you. My aid. Should you need it.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 4:00 pm
"If it's dangerous, seems ridiculous to go rushing back," Pyrrhus said, shrugging. "Plus, you spent a thousand years there. Why bother going to poke around if you don't have a good idea of how to fix it?"
At least, that seemed like a reasonable train of thought to him.
He blinked, when she pulled out the phone, but--right, that was what Senshi used now. He produced his as well, nodding along to her request for contact. It seemed as if their worlds certainly weren't going to fix themselves, and frankly, doing it alone was....impossible. He knew that.
"Yeah. If you need me, I'll show. You know I'm at my best if you put a fight in front of me." Violence was his birthright and his blood, and he'd been practicing for centuries now.
"I'll call you," he said, "if I need help, too." It actually felt...good, to get off on the right foot like this. "It's been...good seeing you again." He wouldn't have expected that, if you'd told him.
But time changed a lot of things. Made old hatreds feel worn down. It was just good to see a familiar face--well and alive.
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Posted: Thu Aug 01, 2024 7:07 pm
Kemi nodded, taking his photo and putting the contact into her phone. With a small smile, and another nod, this one trying to hold more meaning, and to be a farewell, she turned and leapt onto the nearest building.
If anyone would have told her that she would have made nice with Pyrrhus, she would have called them crazy…but.
Earth itself was crazy…and this was one interaction that she was honestly thrilled to have had.
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