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 Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 1:44 pm
Quote: Pinecone Projectile (10) : A strange anomaly has befallen Destiny City. Ordinarily, a falling pine cone would hardly be worth noticing; there are plenty of them littering the city on a daily basis. However, recently some of these pine cones are causing a bit of noise. Scientists are blaming some bacteria in the trees natural sap as being responsible, but some pine cones are falling to the ground and making loud crackling, popping sounds–or worse, exploding upon contact. As if the sound of small explosives aren’t enough, some reports even claim to have witnessed sparks and small fires. You’d better be careful when walking around any areas with trees–and definitely don’t start throwing these just to see what happens!
For now though the basic senshi was getting acclimated to the idea of at least a weekly patrol to dip her feet into the waters of at least trying to prevent a catastrophe if she wasn't there to avert it.
"It'd be a whole lot cooler if I could do this from the back of a horse though," she muttered as she kicked out at a pine cone that was in her path. The object went skittering along the path she was walking down before striking a nearby tree trunk. The sound of a small explosion startled the redhead senshi and she jumped back in surprise. What the heck? Karaka hadn't expected that reaction at all.
Even as she moved forward, did she pick up a stick in order to prod at the pine cone carefully. There was no reaction. Her back straightened though as a familiar feeling of wrongness washed over her. It didn't seem as oppressive of an aura as the man that she had fought when Elliott had found her but it was just similar.
"Best idea is for you to scamper off to wherever it is you came from, I'm not in the mood."
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:00 pm
solde stepped out from the shadows, her posture stiff with the tension of someone still adjusting to their new reality. The crisp air carried the faint tang of burnt sap from the strange pine cone explosions, but she barely noticed. Her sharp gold eyes fixed on the red-haired senshi, and though her expression was composed, there was an unmistakable unease behind her gaze. “Talking to yourself already? That’s a bad sign,” she said, her voice steady despite her inexperience. “Then again, it must be hard to keep company when you don’t even know what you’re doing.” She took a step closer, the sound of leaves crunching underfoot louder than she intended. Though her confidence wasn’t fully developed, Isolde forced herself to stand tall, relying on sheer determination to mask any hesitation. “These pine cones…” She gestured vaguely toward the scattered debris, her tone slipping into something closer to genuine curiosity. “What do you make of them? Explosives don’t usually grow on trees.” The aura of wrongness she emanated wasn’t as oppressive as it could be, a fact that gnawed at the edges of her pride. Still, she tilted her head, trying to project an air of authority. “I’m curious what someone like you is even doing here. Cleaning up nature’s messes? Or just sightseeing?” Though her words were sharp, there was an undercurrent of uncertainty—Isolde’s newness to the Negaverse coloring her attempts to assert control. Still, she held her ground, ready to adapt to whatever came next. This was a test, and she wouldn’t fail.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:37 pm
Even though Tory had been able to sense the agent and thus knew that one was around the initial appearance still caught her off guard, but only a little. Her attention had been focused on the pine cone that she had kicked more so than how close the aura had seemed to be. Straightening her posture she turned around to face the owner of the chaotic aura before simply deciding to remain quiet. She had processed what had been said to her and also what had been asked before she simply gave a shrug of her shoulders in response. There was the initial surprise, yes, but now Tory wasn't sure what to make of the situation. There was an insult thrown at her by a complete stranger that needed addressing and then questions and observations.
"What question to answer first," Tory muttered before staring at the agent, "I don't think I agree with your statement that talking to myself is a bad sign. I was more musing about what it'd be like to combine this with something I really enjoy doing. As for the little jibe about not knowing what I am doing, well I guess that is accurate enough."
Picking up the pine cone that had already exploded did Karaka neatly toss the object up and down a few times, catching it neatly in the palm of her hand before gently lobbing it back into the forest. There was no telltale sign of another explosion and she ran her left hand through her hair before meeting the agent's eyes. "I'm not sure what I make of the situation, as you stated just minutes before, I'm not expected to know anything. "
Though that was what she said, Tory had already made an assumption of what could be going on, and how she could use what insight she had already gleaned from these mysterious pine cones. It was the fact that they were each like a circling predator trying to find a weakness that had Karaka on edge. She felt like she was the underdog in this little confrontation.
"Good little senshi are supposed to patrol and that's what I'm doing here. I'm not actively going to step into a situation that I can't control, thus putting my life on the line. Do you understand?"
It was taking all of her concentration to keep up the act of being the greenest senshi around while at the same time making note of the position of several pine cones littered at her feet. If the agent decided to come any closer, well, she might be in for an unpleasant surprise.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 2:58 pm
Isolde’s lips curved into a faint smirk, though the tension in her shoulders betrayed her irritation. This senshi, with her casual shrugs and clever quips, was proving more composed than expected. It rankled her, but she masked the frustration with an air of superiority. “Patrolling, are we?” Isolde arched an eyebrow, taking a calculated step forward, her boots crunching on the littered pine cones. Her gaze flicked briefly to the ground as she noted their positions—some might call it paranoia; she preferred the term preparedness. “How noble of you. Walking the streets, tossing around pine cones like they’re toys, and muttering to yourself about hobbies. Truly inspiring.” Her tone was laced with sarcasm, but there was an edge of uncertainty—she hadn’t missed the careful way the senshi had tossed the spent pine cone. Isolde knew better than to underestimate her opponent, especially one who might be hiding more than she let on. Her eyes met Karaka’s, sharp and unyielding, though a flicker of doubt lingered just beneath the surface. Isolde was still new to this—still learning the weight of her role in the Negaverse. She didn’t fully understand the senshi or their motivations, but she was determined to figure them out. “Now, let’s stop playing games. Tell me—what do you really think of these little explosive surprises? I’d hate for you to be caught off guard.”
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 3:22 pm
"Yes, patrolling. There isn't anything wrong with that, is there? I wasn't exactly tossing the pine cones either. I accidentally kicked that first one and was surprised by what happened too."
Tory thought she had enough of this stranger's ambition to be in control of this little encounter that she would appear to cede her control over to a total stranger for a brief period of time. That is at least what she wanted the agent to assume. Schooling her expression into one of sincerity did Karaka take one step back as the agent took her step forward before she gave a small sound of uncertainty as she hoped to sell the answer.
"I don't think I'm playing games. I can't really give a response to what I think these are because I've never experienced them before. Why don't you seem to like that answer?"
Elliott had at least given her information on how to utilize her most basic of magic attacks but there seemed to still be a little too much distance between the agent and her current position.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 4:15 pm
Isolde’s smirk deepened as she noticed Karaka stepping back. She mistook it as a sign of retreat, and the perceived advantage made her bolder. Her boots crunched over the pine cone-littered ground as she closed the distance between them, deliberately stepping into the space Karaka had ceded. “Ignorance might not save you,” Isolde continued, her voice low, edged with something almost like mock sympathy, “but I can’t blame you for being overwhelmed. This city doesn’t care if you’re new, senshi. It’ll eat you alive regardless.” She stopped, only a few paces from Karaka now, her eyes narrowing as she studied the senshi’s posture. Isolde’s confidence surged; surely, she was in control now. “So, here’s my advice—why don’t you just run along? Leave the big, dangerous problems to those of us who—” Her words were cut short as another pine cone cracked under her boot, the sharp sound momentarily distracting her.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 7:20 pm
Karaka knew that now was the time to act. The agent had been momentarily distracted by setting off another pine cone explosion and that was all the opening that the senshi of aye-ayes needed to duck out from the space she had been standing in. As she did so she jostled the agent, wanting to keep her just the smallest bit off balance. Her own hands wanted to scrape up the pine cones from the ground but first things came first. Without any warning her right hand came up near the right side of her head and she murmured softly the phrase needed to activate her own sort of distraction.
"Sorry, but not really sorry about this. Karaka's Noisy Earful," upon saying the words Tory reached up and stroked the right side ear of the headband that was part of her ensemble before using the time that her magic would be active to bend down to grab at least half a dozen pine cones that would be used for potential ammunition if this encounter came down to it. Righting herself the senshi moved further back to keep an eye on what was going to happen before she launched the first pine cone towards the lieutenant.Quote: Sailor Scout Attack: Karaka's Noisy Earful Karaka says her attack and reaches up to stroke one side of her "ears" headpiece. It can work with either side. Any enemy within 10 feet of Karaka will then begin to experience the constant sound of tapping in their ears, as if someone is physically standing behind them, holding a board and rapidly tapping on it; similarly sounding like how the aye-aye forages when hunting. The tapping comes rather frequently, eight times a second. This attack is a distraction at most. It may confuse the enemy allowing Karaka and her allies to either flee or regroup or attack more.
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Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 10:43 pm
The maddening tapping of Karaka’s magic was unlike anything Isolde had ever experienced. It scrambled her thoughts, the rapid-fire sound leaving her disoriented and off-balance. Her hands instinctively went to her ears, but it was no use—the noise was inside her head, relentless and unyielding. “This… is ridiculous!” she snapped, her voice sharper than she intended. Frustration mingled with a gnawing sense of vulnerability. She was new to this life in the Negaverse, and the lack of a weapon or attack to counter with stung her pride. When the first pine cone flew toward her, Isolde staggered, barely dodging in time. She stumbled back a step, her sharp blue eyes flickering with irritation. “Using exploding pine cones and tricks? Is this how senshi fight? No wonder you hide in the shadows,” she bit out, trying to mask her discomfort with bravado. Clutching her locket in her palm, she took a shaky breath. It was a symbol of potential, of the power she hadn’t yet unlocked. But right now, it was little more than a reminder of her inexperience. Still, she wasn’t about to retreat. Her voice steadied, though her body was tense. “You think you’ve won because I don’t have a weapon? I don’t need one to outlast you.” She was thinking of maybe finding a way out of this battle. She didn't have anything to fight with
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Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2024 1:38 am
Tory wasn't one to let the words of others truly bother her. Heck if that had been the case then she would have dropped out of hockey a long time ago. It wasn't that she could ignore the slight about senshi in general, it's that she chose not to react. Her grin was strained though as she paused in what had been looking like a small retreat to stare at the agent, "if magic is all that we have against the forces of chaos, then why should we not use it? It's just how the system is balanced it seems."
Even if she didn't have the magic at her disposal the redhead probably would have resorted to using the pine cones still as a deterrent to keep the agent at bay. Even if she'd just been a goalie on a hockey team she still needed to be in pretty good physical shape, mucking out stalls and general labour at the stables had given her a decent upper arm strength. A sigh escaped her before she really looked at the agent that had been subjected to her magic, "look, all I wanted was to do what I've been asked to do before I turned in. I don't like being threatened especially by one who decides that intimidation is the only way to win a conflict. I will not hesitate to retaliate. Why can't you have just left me alone? I didn't want a fight in the first place."
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Posted: Tue Dec 24, 2024 3:13 pm
Isolde hesitated, the weight of Tory’s words settling over her like an unwelcome chill. The usual fire in her blue eyes dimmed, replaced by a flicker of doubt. She glanced down at the locket in her hand, its smooth surface cool against her skin—a symbol of the power she was supposed to wield, the allegiance she had sworn to. And yet… “You think I wanted this?” she said quietly, her voice losing its sharp edge. Her hand clenched around the locket, and for a moment, she just stood there, rooted in place. “You think I wanted to be here, throwing insults at some senshi I’ve never met, fighting over exploding pine cones?” She sighed, the sound carrying a mix of frustration and weariness. The tapping from Karaka’s magic was still there, gnawing at her focus, but it felt less important now. Slowly, Isolde raised her head, meeting Tory’s gaze with something approaching sincerity. “You’re right,” she admitted, the words tasting foreign and bitter. “You didn’t want a fight, and—truthfully? Neither did I.” Isolde tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. “This doesn’t mean I’m your ally. Or your friend. But… you get to walk away this time.” She turned her back on Tory, her movements deliberate, as if daring the senshi to take a cheap shot. “I don’t want to see you again,” she added over her shoulder, her voice regaining some of its edge. “Because next time, I won’t take the high road.” With that, she started to walk away, leaving the senshi and the pine cones behind.
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Posted: Thu Dec 26, 2024 10:23 am
As the other admitted that she hadn't wanted a fight Karaka folded her arms across her chest before merely acknowledging the woman's words. It was the fact that she was still holding onto a few of the said pine cones and even as the agent turned her back to her was the temptation to throw said projectiles at the retreating figure strong, but she squashed it down.
The fact that all it seemed to take was one use of her magic to get the agent to back down was interesting but Tory knew that she would not always have that sort of luck when it came to encounters with the enemy. As soon as the agent was out of sight did the redheaded senshi kneel down to the ground in order to gently place the pine cones she was still holding, one by one, into a little hollow formed by the roots of the tree she was standing in front of. It wouldn't do well for her to set the pine cones off by accident, now would it?
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