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 Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 6:10 pm
The full…excitement of Summer was winding down and honestly, Jishui couldn’t have been more pleased about that.
Her wrists were in constant pain from the tedious scooping of the ice cream, but…at least that was normal…she hadn’t been powered up since the encounter with the…abnormal…chaos warped Senshi. It hadn’t felt safe. She hadn’t felt safe and thus she had simply spent her time scooping ice cream and pretending that she belonged on the Earth, even though she knew she didn’t. Knew that…in truth, she no longer belonged anywhere.
She had taken a trip out to the Reservoir tonight and was sitting on a bench, looking out at the water, her eyes glowing faintly, one of the only lights available now that the park was closed for the evening. There was another Senshi here, she could feel them, but she didn’t call out. Didn’t want to make them think that they had to interact with her if they had no inclination to. At least…the feeling of them wasn’t tainted by darkness. It…was a comfort. A feeling…the first she had had in a long while…that she wasn’t alone.
With a sigh, she leaned back on the bench and just…relaxed.
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Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2024 6:37 pm
While he didn’t necessarily belong on the Earth, Haik most definitely felt like he belonged, at the very least, in water. So there he was, haunting–he was basically haunting this place since he had nowhere else to go–the city’s watering hole. Summer made it a bit tricky because it was often crowded in the daytime and the few times someone had actually, properly, seen him they…promptly lost their marbles and swam off.
So he made do with floating in the far reaches of the water, where most people didn’t dare go. He had no issues holding his own against whatever creatures were out here. Thankfully most of them were happy to leave him alone, so he literally floated from one day into the next.
When he sensed a fellow senshi settle nearby he left them alone at first, but had purposely floated a bit closer to get a look at who it was. Not that he knew anyone, but he was curious. The dejected atmosphere about the figure he spotted on the bench pulled him ultimately to shore, though, and he made his way over.
“Hi!” came a genuinely upbeat greeting. It’d been a while since he interacted with anyone, now that he thought about it. While he was used to being alone on his planet, now that he was here…there was a chance to not be alone anymore. “I’m not a normally nosy person, but you look like you could use just as much company as me. You know how long I’ve been floating in that thing?” He jabbed a thumb at the water.
“Too long, let’s go with that. I’m Haik!” He extended a hand, wearing a smile as broad as it was warm and friendly.
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:03 pm
Jishui jumped slightly with the sudden noise, and her eyes opened, looking at the stranger and glowing faintly as she did so. “You…what?”
Her expression pulled into a frown and she took in his appearance and slowly shook her head. “...Please don’t…I mean. You’re not from Earth either? If I may be so bold as to imply?” Reaching out, she took hold of his hand and shook it, somewhat firmly. “I am Jishui, the Senshi of Resilience. It is lovely to meet you…but…have you been…living in this water? Have you not spoken with a Mauvian? Do you not have a temporary home? Yet?”
There was plain worry in her voice and she squeezed his hand slightly. “Living in this water is not…what you should be doing, Haik, that’s dangerous for you…”
Her mind was whirring, and she wanted to hurry up and get him settled. “I have room where I am living, would you like to come and stay with me? I know a very friendly Mauvian as well, she can assist you with…being able to fit in…”
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:08 pm
His smile broadened when she took his offered hand, and he nodded at her question. “Not from here, no,” he confirmed. “And I don’t know about living here–I certainly don’t consider it a home, at least–but I have been occupying this…area…more or less since my arrival.” He’d forgotten exactly when that was, but at this point knowing that detail didn’t really matter.
”Beyond the occasional resident that’s brave enough to swim as far out as I tend to float, I’ve not encountered anyone since that space-museum…event.” He didn’t look too bothered by the fact, and gave her hand another little squeeze in return. “So no, I don’t believe I’ve met one of these ‘Mauvian’ yet. No home yet, either. I’ve been thinking about the ‘how’ for that these past few days.”
Haik was casually waving off her warning about living in water being a dangerous thing. It was nothing new for him, as far as he was concerned, and he was about to say as much when she suddenly offered him a room. He blinked at that, clearly caught unawares and unsure what to do with it.
It took a few seconds to fully process, and when it did his smile turned as bright as can be as he tugged her up and pulled her into a great big bear hug.
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:10 pm
“Oh goodness.” Jishui went stiff all over when she was suddenly pulled into the other Senshi’s arms, and was crushed against him. “You’re…touch starved? Were you awake and alone on your home?” It was the only thing she could think of, and honestly, it was a feeling she had dealt with before too…something she had found difficult to overcome. The desire to be social. The desire to be with others like her. Other Senshi. Other…humanoids.
But.
The actual feel of being squished wasn’t…
It wasn’t bad. She just hadn’t been ready. “Look, look the humans don’t embrace so violently! Not unless they are true companions to one another and have a long line of history…this…is quite a lot, Haik!”
Still. It wasn’t the worst feeling.
“...Would you please put me down?”
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:12 pm
“I was,” he said with a laugh. He wasn’t sure if he was necessarily touch-starved in the sense she was talking about, but his people were rather the affectionate kind. Not quite this affectionate with strangers–not usually anyway–but she’d given him such good news!
Or the prospect of good news, at least, considering her offer.
“Awake and alone, anyway. I’m not too sure of the other, but it’s possible since I was alone for…a while. I lost track of time.”
A white lie at best; she didn’t need the specifics, right?
On her request he set her gently down, though his smile was no less big and no less bright when he did. “From the sounds of it, neither of us are human so that custom shouldn’t apply here. That said, I am sorry if I startled you, especially so if you’re not used to these kinds of gestures. I just got a bit excited. Being without shelter for days now, it’s…unsettling, to say the least. You’re very kind to offer that kind of help to a stranger, and if it’s still on the table then I gladly accept!”
The senshi focused briefly, and soon produced a small token with his insignia on it. “I’ve not much to offer for the moment, save for myself and my word.” He offered it to her with full confidence that she wouldn’t take advantage of it, despite the fact that beyond her name he knew next to nothing about her.
“Consider this proof of my debt in exchange for your kindness. If I can be of service at all, just let me know.”
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Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2024 7:34 pm
Jishui gave a soft laugh and shook her head. “Think nothing of it. Let me reach out to my friend, Julienne…she was the one who helped me get fully settled, got me a job in this silly human world…and my place to live. She’s very sweet. I feel bad. Oh! That’s one tricky thing about this planet–Senshi can be taken by Chaos. That was what happened to her first bonded…she was taken by some…strange type of Chaos….” Her face fell back into a frown and she sighed, pulling out her Senshi phone and typing a quick message to the Mauvian.
“It’s…worrisome. And more than a little frightening. The fact that Chaos here can warp you and turn you into someone–something else…”
Her hand curled around the gift he gave her and looking up, Jishui’s face relaxed again. “Thank you. I hope you know that you can count on me if ever you need as well, though I have no token to give.”
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2024 6:59 pm
The senshi’s eyes glazed over and his expression darkened momentarily when she mentioned that they could be taken over by Chaos here. He’d been seemingly impervious to the chaos on his own planet, yet here, on a perfectly strange and distant planet, he’s susceptible to falling to the Madness here?
His jaw tightened as he fought down the instinctual urge to react angrily at this bit of news. To think that he had a brief thought about finally coming to a place that had so far been untouched by Chaos, and yet…
Once again, he’d underestimated its power and reach.
An old mentor’s words echoed in his mind, bringing him a modicum of peace in this moment of quiet rage, and he sighed and managed to pull on an expression of worry and uncertainty.
“I’ll have to remember to be careful,” was all he said in reply. At least he had a good idea about what Chaos felt like, so he’d be able to spot it and hopefully avoid it for the foreseeable future. “And thank you for that. I’ll keep that in mind, as well.” His smile came back in nearly no time at all when he saw his new friend relaxed, and he nodded.
“So did you want to hang around here a bit longer, or are we going to go looking for this…Mauvian…acquaintance of yours?”
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Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2024 6:58 pm
Jishui watched as he seemed to tense up, and after a moment, she placed her hand on top of his and patted it gently. “Julienne will meet up with us near where I live. She is on her way there now, so if you want to grab whatever you have been hoarding here, we can get going…and…Haik? We will keep one another safe. The Chaos won’t turn either one of us. I’m sure of it.”
Her hand snaked around his and gave a slight squeeze, trying to reassure before she pulled away, taking a step backwards. “Take all the time you need to collect what you have, Julienne will wait. There is no need to rush.”
He would be home soon enough.
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2024 12:25 am
The gesture of comfort was…surprising. Not that she offered it, but that he could experience what it was like to be comforted by someone else again. Even since his arrival he had been surrounded yet perfectly alone, so this was…a first in hundreds of years. And it was, like her very kind offer to open up her home to him as a place of shelter, incredibly welcome.
He restrained himself from pulling her into another bear hug, though.
Barely, because she seemed to not be too fond of it, and it didn’t feel right to repeatedly offend someone who was effectively his savior. But the bright, broad smile came back in full force.
He shrugged at the offer to take his time, though. “There’s nothing to collect,” he said, still smiling despite the perhaps slightly depressing statement. “I have everything that I need on my person, or otherwise accessible by other means.” He was referring to his subspace, and the small amount of personal items he had stored there.
“So I’m ready to go when you are.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 01, 2024 7:10 pm
“If there’s nothing to collect, that simply means that you get to start anew. I was the same. Come. if you’re ready, so am I.”
Jishui nearly reached out again and took his hand, but she restrained herself. Just because this was the best interaction she had had thus far…and the most memorable, there was no way she was going to spoil it just because having someone to talk to made her feel lonely. That was…
That was silly. And a little stupid.
Still, with a nod and a returning smile, she made her way back out of the reservoir, and towards the city. Towards his new beginning.
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