Backdated to 12 March, 2025 WC: 1,283 Lameia; 1,531 Carnotite

She'd seen the wide-spread message from the Queen, of course, and the updates into the Database concerning what took place February 21st, and information learned since. Carnotite just hadn't really done anything about it.

She'd gone about her life, or as much of one as she managed within and beyond the Negaverse. Social media scrolling and interactions, recording or shooting content during the few hours allowed of her glamor, editing videos, shorts, and even photos when necessary to fit a campaign she was running.

A lot of her feeds were full of people talking about the strange clouds and purple lightning, though, and she was aware of at least the concerning information being shared publicly in the Database... she reread them a few times, really, third eye closed as was normal for her in most situations so she could actually see her tablet as she scrolled through and peered at images.

Wiser, stronger people than her were already working on things. The whole... world eating serpent wasn't really her forte--though if she heard one more gripe from Lameia about wanting to see the serpent...

Really, it was her cousin's fault she was even out that night. Sure, Carnotite worked on her energy quota, and yes, she'd noticed the oddities there--there was more, energy abundant, and the air felt strange. The half-youma shelved such concerns, however, viewing them as irrelevant.

Lameia bribed Carnotite out, though, with a promise of Insta-worthy treats from a few stores the latter wasn't able to get to that often with her... limitations. Lameia, having no such restrictions, was perfectly capable of ordering whatever delicacies she wanted from the menus, and deliver them personally to her~ Or, well. Text her to let the Captain know where she could teleport to pick her up to bring back to Negaspace.

The senshi's blue eyes barely left her. Carnotite didn't need eyes on the back of her head to see it, or feel it, and the Captain largely ignored it. She'd agreed to join Lameia for a patrol, collect energy, see if they could locate any White Moon brats to question.

"You need a recharge or something?"

The drawl from the senshi made Carnotite roll her eyes, third still closed to not have to deal with the overlay of electrical signals from their bodies, the power lines, everything... She said nothing, heels clicking firmly against the alley as she made her way through en route to a darker street. The electricity that usually crackled around her, especially the lights above her head, were dimmed considerably, barely sparks moving amongst her golden locks. She'd been getting a lot better at controlling them…

"Ugh, come on. I'm being serious here. You've been sluggy lately, Carnie. You really should consider taking a vacation, you know? Get some air, new sights--"

"Where?"

Her voice was soft, yet the ice was obvious, and Lamiea notably paused a moment as she trailed along after her cousin, weighing her options on whether or not she wanted to pursue this topic. Carnotite hoped she'd just drop it--

"I don't know. Ask around? There's got to be spots the Negaverse can cover for you to hang out and rela--"

"Ah, yes, because that's so ******** easy," she hissed, stepping out into the empty sidewalk, allowing some of her electricity to spark in the air. A streetlamp near them flickered and buzzed, and Lamiea eyed it knowingly yet still sighed.

"I mean, no. But you're not exactly one in a million, they've got to have something to help facilitate s**t for half-youma officers." Lameia's own heels crushed fragments of broken pavement and clinked over the cement. She'd been trying to get her cousin out for… a long while now. Staying stuck in Negaspace didn't seem right to her, and clearly it wasn't having the best effect on the woman. Not that Lameia entirely understood why--she was part electricity. Electricity monster. Whatever. She wasn't a useless ******** senshi...

Carnotite, for her part, only continued to fume and seeth, steps sharper as she made her way down the street in an attempt to ignore her idiotic cousin. The girl who could still be normal, who could separate herself from everything when she wanted to. Lucretia lost that ability--did she regret it?

Now and then, she wondered.

Lameia kept up with her, but for a while she was smartly silent. She'd experienced more than enough warning zaps from the Captain since joining the Negaverse, and wasn't entirely keen to earn herself another bout of horrific hair night.

The clouds above them rumbled lowly, and she scowled. The static might be hitting her no matter what.

Carnotite paused when they reached a four-way. The streets stood gaping and empty, lamps and signals on only through computerized routine rather than any actual necessity. Lamiea drew up beside her, noticing the shift in the air possibly only seconds after her cousin. Carnotite's head was tipped back, staring up at the grey-purple clouds illuminated by the city's lights. And deeper within them, purple lightning.

"...what does all that look like to you, anyway?"

It was a very simple, very basic question. Usually, lightning just was bright to her, leaking untold energy and power that she could only wish to control. She expected these storms would be no different, and thus hadn't really sought them out. They were annoying, teasing power above her head she'd never truly possess. She hadn't opened her third eye all night, kept it shut tight--didn't really open it much these days.

Maybe it was boredom, maybe it was curiosity, maybe it was just to get Lameia to shut up and quit asking her s**t.

Carnotite opened her third eye, and watched as lightning split the sky.

The strange purple lightning was as not just so in her secondary vision. A form was built into the stream of electricity, a snake darting towards the ground with fangs bared wide. It was all she could really see--it moved too quickly, as lightning was wont to do, and she could barely even make out that much detail. Tiny blurs beside its body made her think of arms, perhaps, or some other tiny appendages near its chest, and other odd shapes seemed to form and fracture and reconnect amongst the lightning… but it was too swift for her to be sure. She'd try to focus, and the lightning would already be gone, the serpent vanished, till another of its kind lanced through the sky and she'd try again.

The silence lasted for a few minutes, till finally she recognized the sound of impatience beside her and the petulant, "Well? Anything?"

Carnotite watched the sky a while longer, even when she was sure the details wouldn't become any clearer.

"...snakes. The lightning is made of snakes."

The gasp and hissing groan behind her actually made her smile, reveling in the other's dismay and jealousy. "Lucky b***h, I want to see that." They both knew that wouldn't happen, but Carnotite took joy in the moment of having the upper hand.

She hadn't felt she'd had that in quite some time.

Lameia leaned against her, and Carnotite didn't even need to concentrate much to withhold her electrical charge to prevent from zapping her cousin. She was still going to cause her to have static, hair, though, by tipping her head to bump against the other's. The storm continued above them, and though she was aware this was something they needed to be concerned about. The whole, world eating serpent part. She couldn't deny the strange sort of... peace in that moment between the cousins. Perhaps that just spoke to their own oddities. One, partially consisting of electricity, the other, obsessed with serpents. The correlation held no weight in reality, and both women knew that, but at least in that small moment, they could enjoy a sort of unity, an agreement. This was interesting.

"...think they'd let me keep a like... fang or something, if we need to kill it?"

Carnotite laughed outright at Lameia's cheeky inquiry, all three eyes crinkling with mirth. "Oh you're welcome to try and ask, but somehow, I doubt it."

"Oh come on, I'm sure the kitties could make some sort of amazing accessory or useful thing out of it! It'd be so pretty and badass!"

"Aren't you the one who hates anything snakeskin?"

Her cousin groaned, and Carnotite could almost hear Lameia rolling her eyes. "Of course, snakes shouldn't be treated like that. They're treated horribly, it's disgusting. But like, we're probably going to need to deal with this thing so it doesn't destroy Earth, right? So why not enjoy the spoils of uh... war, or whatever."

"So eloquent."

"Shut up."