It had been weeks since the fall of the Calamitous Harebrain and Sailor Tempesti had yet to bring herself to address the mess she knew waited in her subspace. Nearly dying and the renewed intensity with which she visited her planet had been something of a distraction. Just something minor, of course. But still, she had never been one to leave her belongings in such an untidy state. She groaned in aggravation as her subspace disgorged its contents onto the floor of her living room. Blindly sweeping these materials into whatever dimension hid her belongings seemed like a good idea at the time, but seeing them scattered across her small living space was less than ideal. With a sigh she stood, gathering a small wastebasket, a large bowl of soapy water, and a pair of dish towels before rolling the vacuum cleaner from its lair. Reginald stood up at this intrusion, amber eyes glowering suspiciously at his nemesis before trotting off to the bedroom in apparent disgust with her decisions.

A slight smile crossed her face at the cat’s disdain, he was nothing if not consistent in his hatred for the vacuum cleaner. Tempting as it was to leave this task for another day and amuse the orange menace, she had procrastinated more than enough. The first, and most pressing matter was that of the scales she’d managed to hoard, ranging in size from one large enough to fill both of her arms to several the size of her index fingernail. Carefully, she began to pick the smaller ones from the mass of nonsense, placing each atop the largest. For now it was impossible to know how safe these things were or what effect attempting to clean them might have. The senshi resolved to consult a Mauvian or someone else more knowledgeable than her about these things. Experimenting on them seemed like an obvious choice, one that might allow them to develop strategies and more effective weapons, or even armor, should Harold’s comrades come calling. Their apparent capacity for conducting electricity was another thing entirely and she couldn’t help but wonder if they could harness that ability to empower some technology of their own. More questions for the scientifically inclined since, as a musician with little previous interest in these matters she was thoroughly clueless. She wanted to keep them safe, measure any energy that might remain, see what they were made of, maybe even get some data that would bring them closer to understanding the Dark Star. Ideas for the potential that might lie within these scales rushed freely through her mind and it seemed the only solution was to get them onto paper. Snatching up the nearest notebook, she scrawled each thought onto the blank pages until she ran out. At least half would likely feel absurd by the time she reread them, but it was better than forgetting the lot.

Pushing the scales aside, Tempesti turned to the poor personal items left to their own devices among the dusty debris. With determination and help from the checklist she kept for her subspace contents she managed to pick each object from the pile. A few minutes of soapy water and the rubbing of a soft towel relieved them of the layer of grime that accumulated during their time neglected before laying them out atop the dry towel. The scarf and water bottle would need a turn through the sink, but the rest were mercifully easy to clean. Now came what she expected would be the most aggravating part of this chore. Sifting through the debris would likely not turn up anything of use but as she saw it, failure to scrutinize each item would just leave her anxious about the possibility of having discarded something that could have been of help.

As she suspected, the pile consisted almost entirely of what amounted to trash. Cosmic trash, but trash nonetheless and she quickly relegated each piece to the little wastebasket. What a day it was having! It arrived here as a receptacle for innocuous household garbage but now, now it was a receptacle for garbage from beyond the stars! The senshi allowed herself a brief chuckle at the adventurous joy she imagined for the bin.

When her fingers brushed against cool metal, she started slightly at the unexpected sensation. The object clinked softly as she extracted it from the small mound, revealing itself to be a small, hinged container dangling from a golden chain. Forgetting the rest of the debris Tempesti held the object close to her face. A careful thumbnail opened it with surprising ease, revealing a slightly dingy mirror within. She had no idea where exactly it came from, but she felt a thrill of delight as she admired the little compact. It needed cleaning, naturally, but that would hopefully be easy. The internet would know, no doubt, and she hurried over to her laptop to consult what online wisdom it would bring her. After a good while scrolling a number of strangely heated conversations, she decided that a solution of diluted vinegar seemed like the best option. The golden shell was the first to receive this little spa day, gaining a surprising gleam with each pass of the soft cloth until Tempesti could just make out a faint engraving depicting a small cluster of bell-shaped flowers. This small detail alone made the compact a definite contender for one of her favorite accessories. Clicking the compact open a second time she began the work of polishing the mirror. The glass cleared at a surprising speed, revealing her reflection much more quickly than she anticipated. Tired eyes scrutinized her face which bore a long scratch just above her left eyebrow, a gift from a particularly rude youma she’d encountered the night before. As she peered into her own eyes, a hint of motion drew her attention, the red line upon her forehead seemingly shrinking as she watched. Agape with shock, she nearly dropped the mirror. She’d seen others using magic outside of their own natural abilities, but she’d never expected to find something of her own. With this she couldn’t take the place of a true healer, but at least she could do some good.