|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:01 pm
(Back dated to mid-ish November) Summer and fall liked to war with one another. The days were perfectly content with warm rays of sun shining through leaves that were just beginning to change for the season. It was pleasant and enjoyable, while fall came harsher at night with its chilly temperatures and spooky feels as clouds, white and puffy during the day, were heavy and dark in the night. Some loved the change of the seasons. The promise to cooler temperatures and a colorful landscape was like a siren's call. Let pumpkin spice reign supreme and the harvest flavors take over. For the knight who has planned ahead and purchased herself a warm drink against the cool night, things couldn’t be more perfect.
Gwen had meandered her way to the park after purchasing a drink and powered up when carefully out of sight. The rustle of leaves as a breeze slipped past, pulling at red locks and white fur prompted Hy-Brasil to tighten her hold on the paper cup in her hands. The warmth of the pumpkin chai was comforting as she contemplated what it was she wanted to do. Or…more like, where she wanted to patrol. There were options, of course. The poorer sections being prime locations to scope out followed by more remote areas. Creeping around bars and nightclubs also tended to bode well, but considering it was a Sunday night those probably wouldn’t be the best use of her time.
As she stood there contemplating her choices and listening to the rustle of the wind in the leaves, she felt an aura on her peripherals. She turned in the direction it was originating from, brows furrowed. A moment passed. Yes, it wasn’t chaos with the lack of that heavy, dark feeling Hy had come to associate with those who were misaligned. So there was no need to worry and instead the woman returned to sipping on her tea. Meanwhile, a gentle mist began to sweep in from the woods. The brisk change in temperature from the day to night had likely triggered it.
The park began to grow eerie. The perfect location for anyone wishing to creep themselves out. The Knight though, having seen more than the average Destiny City civilian, was anything but bothered by it. She was too focused on the curiosity of who was nearby while also calculating her plan of action for the night. Finally, she began moving towards the source of the aura. The heels of her boots practically sank into the moist grass below, slowing her down a fraction as she took her time. There was no reason to rush. It also gave whoever it was a chance to retreat if they so wished. Not everyone was interested in connecting with other powered sorts. Some, she’d found, like to keep to themselves and who was she to judge them for it?
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:02 pm
Celadon was not one to keep to herself. Friend, stranger, or foe were monickers that mattered little to her. Each encounter was a chance — sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse.
Her last encounter with an unfamiliar aura had been a Captain that saw fit to fight her. And while she pressed for information and meagerly held her own in a fight, she came away not with fresh knowledge about the Negaverse, but with a handful of cuts and gouges. Those knives had a habit of cutting to the quick, though their owner was not yet practiced enough with them to strike at her vital points. It was with unrelenting determination that she went on, arm wrapped in a torn strip of white leaves that grew red and heavy with blood.
One hand felt markedly colder than the other, so she pinned it beneath her unharmed elbow. It was only in the aftermath of that fight, when the adrenaline left her, that she felt the chill of autumn creep through her uniform. She sighed against the deepening cold.
Celadon walked until the city gave way to sprawls of greenery, with heavy-boughed trees beckoning overhead with their mercurial leaves. Some had already fallen with the turn of seasons, though others only tinted at the edges as their chlorophyll retracted. At another time, it would have looked beautiful — sun rays streaming through thick leaves, casting filtered light across the dew-laden lawn. A cool mist softening the picture, evoking the newness of morning while enticing onlookers with a touch of mystery. After nightfall, it looked like a place where youma would crawl from every inch of bark, from every deepened shadow.
Too bright and clear was the aura she felt for that, however, and it was with a margin of hope that she approached it. "My name is Celadon," she called out, then drew a breath. "Who's out there?"
Though she didn't know who approached, she couldn't stifle the hopeful song in her heart.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:03 pm
A voice broke the quiet of the night. A young woman if Hy-Brasil was pushed to guess. With a practical ‘by-your-leave’, the Knight picked up her pace. They weren’t far from each other, and the call made it just a touch easier to find whoever it was hidden amongst the dampening mist.
“Knight Hy-Brasil.” She introduced herself as the shadow of the Squire began to materialize. The darkness and mist clung to the young woman, making strong visuals difficult. The moon, waning to her darkest state, nothing more than a sliver in the sky, offered little assistance. It wasn’t until they were practically on top of each other that Hy could make any strong distinction of who the person was in front of her.
Brows furrowed as a familiarity washed over her. She’d seen this woman before, hadn’t she? The darkness continued to cast its shadows, but Hy was fairly certain that the tickle in the back of her mind was correct. Celadon. Celadon… She wracked her brain.
AH! Yes! The Cybele Page that had offered her assistance on the Wonder of Hy-Brasil. “It’s been a while, Celadon. Hope you’ve been doing well since the last time we met.” She offered a smile
She tilted her head noting a strangeness to Celadon’s stance. It was hard to tell what…no. No, she was fairly certain that was blood. “Are you hurt? Here, take a seat over here against this tree.” She reached out to offer a hand if Celdaon needed any sort of support.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:03 pm
"Oh," she murmured on sight of the figure that resolved from the mist. "It's you again."
She nodded after a beat. "I'm glad you're still around, too. No more issues at your Wonder?"
It had been harrowing, that experience. Finding herself on a beach and being directed toward incorporeal things that suffered none of her attacks. Every time her weapon collided with one, she felt deep gouges of despair crippling her. She hoped, so sincerely, that what happened then wasn't a regular occurrence for Hy-Brasil. Were she in the knight's shoes, she would not have kept so calm about it. Likely enough that she would never have powered up again.
Celadon sighed, then gathered herself. "I made it to Squire, but I'm not making much progress otherwise." Pressing through the thick fog, water droplets dappled on her skin like a cold sweat. She turned, then seated herself with some difficulty against the great, sloping trunk of a tree. As she settled, she rested the back of her head against its bark.
"I've been trying to learn about the Negaverse. I think they had something to do with what happened to my best friend. They're not very forthcoming with information, though. They don't seem interested in accepting any kind of reasonable trade, either. Cybele taught me some about self-defense, but I'm not good enough at it yet to make myself a threat. So, for the moment, I'm all out of ideas for how to move forward."
Assuming there was still a path forward. Assuming that she could glean a scrap of a satisfying answer out of her dealings with the secret powered world.
"And this is just — I'll be fine eventually. I ran into a Captain who didn't want to talk.
"What brings you out here?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:04 pm
As much as she may have wanted to fuss torover Celadon, she let the young woman find her way to the tree and ease into the hollows between its roots. “Yes. Me again.” She chuckled. “And things have been fine at my Wonder. Thank you for answering the call to come assist. Everyone did well. I hope you didn’t suffer too strongly from the Sidhe touch.” She frowned a bit thinking about the people who had been forced to suffer repercussions from her Wonder’s chaotic energies. Even with their victory, things could have been quite rough for some of them and Hy knew all too well the pain and torment that could come from the touch of the Sidhe.
She -hmm’d- quietly, offering another smile. “You did well getting to squire. It takes time, effort and persistence to make it even there. You should be proud of that. More will come. I highly recommend that, if you want to progress your physical prowess, you try and find activities outside of being powered up that can help you. Joining a gym specializing in a fight style can help with that, or even getting involved in something like gymnastics. Though, the latter might be hard to find considering most start something like that when they’re young. Certainly can’t hurt to try though.”
“The negaverse…” She sighed. “They’re an oily lot. They are more interested in their own benefit than anything else, and the trade off needs to be worth the risk. If your friend is involved with them I’d be careful. There’s no telling to what extent she has been pulled into their web. What makes you think they’ve had a hand in something happening to her? Is she hurt? Missing? Acting oddly?” Hy worried for Celadon’s sake that if her friend was missing that the answers she’s looking for may not be to her liking.
Hy knelt down next to Celadon to better assess any injuries, her staff and censor she placed on the ground alongside her.“You were good to hold your own against him. Hopefully he left the fight in the same or worse shape?” Her voice held respect for the squire’s efforts. Hy didn’t think she’d been as capable in her squire years.
The Knight was careful with the arm that was wrapped up. The blood that had seeped through didn’t mark anything too terrible, but it was concerning enough if it hadn’t stopped. Mind if I remove this to take a better look? I should be able to help you, I just want to see what I am contending with.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:07 pm
"No," she replied as she looked over her arm. "It was a strange experience, though. I never felt a despair like that before. It didn't feel natural. Thankfully it didn't stick around afterward." She could breathe a sigh of relief for that.
"I the experience taught me something, though. So it wasn't all bad," she confirmed with a shake of her head. Absently, she reached back to fiddle with her silver hairpin.
The advice was warming though, and Celadon nodded in relief for it. Hy-Brasil had the fortune of making her way to Knight, and how she glowed in a manner that Celadon had seldom seen before. She wondered, briefly, if the redhead ever felt caught out at night, or if that glow was dim enough that she wasn't paranoid about being spotted like a candle in a window at midnight. It was a thought easily brushed aside; what was important now was that someone as accomplished as her was willing to help Celadon deduce a way forward.
Gymnastics sounded promising. She'd spent her entire life outdoors, climbing trees, climbing rocks, hiking herself into trouble. Perhaps that wasn't so far from gymnastics.
Hy-Brasil was well-meaning, she reminded herself. Taking a moment to steel herself, Celadon peeled away her makeshift bandage to expose wounds that still bled freely, but looked superficial. They hadn't bothered her overly much, but looking at them now, she felt the sharp throb of mangled nerves even as she held still.
"She's dead," Celadon responded at last. "But I can't accept that she just fell into a coma for no reason. That's why I think the Negaverse is involved." Thinking better of it, the Squire carefully plodded along with her story while Hy-Brasil checked over the wound. She wasn't sure how the Knight could help, but there was so much about being a knight that Celadon barely understood that she was quite open to being surprised. It would be welcome after such a scrap.
"She seemed like she was… Spooked before that. And she wasn't making a whole lot of sense when I would reach out to her, either. It was like she was deliberately withholding half of the story." Celadon shifted where she sat, drawing her sore legs up toward her chest. "Her doctors had their guesses, but they just… I don't know. From all I learned, it sounds like they might have taken her starseed."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 6:02 pm
"It's good to always be learning." She remarked as she looked at the wounds that Celadon presented to her. She tsk'd at them. They were fortunately nothing too serious, but would take awhile to heal without any magical help. Sure, they tended to heal a bit faster, but if things could be helped along a little more, than all the better.
'She's dead' Such a direct response had the Kninght shifting focus from the wounded arm back up to fully face the girl.
"I am sorry." A soft tone. Loosing anyone, especially someone you were attached to enough to go searching for answers about their death, was hard. The wound of it was difficult to heal. Nothing like the superficial ones that Hy knew she could heal with little trouble. Injuries to one's heart was something altogether different.
Her brows furrowed as Celadon continued on with more details. As she listened, Hy began channeling her magic. The scent of sandalwood growing stronger as the smoke from her burner grew and flooded around the two of them like a small cloud.
"That's very peculiar." She mused. "I have to admit, I am not very knowledgable when it comes to the way the Negaverse may hurt others beyond the typical energy draining and removal of starseeds." The wounds on Celadon's arm began to heal. Skin regenerating and knitting together like time was sped up on the wounds only. Hy monitored it.
"That's not to say that what you suspect isn't possible. If there's one thing I've learned, it's to trust your gust instinct with things like this. I can only assume you were both quite close. Can you tell me what was odd about how she acted? Beyond seemingly withholding things."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2025 6:39 pm
Celadon nodded. She paused only long enough to marvel at how instantly and cleanly her wounds began to knit under the magic that Hy cast. Magic was truly a wonder worth beholding, no matter how childish it felt sometimes.
"She was my best friend," she continued. "We used to talk about everything, and I do mean everything. She didn't have a filter. But, over time, she started logging on less and less. Then I barely saw her online at all. When we would talk, she'd just say things were fine, or if she had something to talk about, she was always vague about it. For a while, I thought she was mad at me, but Eileen's not like that. If I made her mad, she'd have gone off on me.
"So it all got weirder when she started asking these cryptic questions. Things like, if I could be the executor of her will and estate. But she was only a little older than me, so it didn't make any sense to me at the time. Sometimes she'd mention a guy that would never leave her alone, too, and trouble with her coworkers. All she said about that was it wasn't her daylight job where she was so bothered."
She sighed, shoulders slumping as she leaned forward. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to dump all of this on you. It must've been spinning around in my head for too long."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
