Welcome to Gaia! ::

Running her fingers through her hair, Orcus sat perched upon the edge of a roof overlooking one of the seedier parts of Destiny City. Was there a reason she’d selected this spot to patrol? No, not particularly. At least, not a conscious reason. It wasn’t as if she was reliving the night that her cousin had very nearly become a monster and then been saved by Sailor Cosmos. She and Whistler had been so careful to pick somewhere that there wouldn’t be a lot of people to become collateral damage. And even with all that care and planning, they’d still almost lost. If the youma puppeting her cousin’s body hadn’t been so eager to take over and frightened her so badly…

Making a growling noise of frustration, Orcus threw herself back onto the roof, hands over her face. It had been years since that night and she couldn’t let it go. Unlike Ogygia, she had not been granted the gift of forgetfulness. Even when she’d purified herself days later, her memories had remained mostly intact. But then, she hadn’t been heavily traumatized. And besides, the Mirror worked differently. And speaking of… she was going to have to reach out to Remarque sooner or later to talk. She trusted her former Prince to behave and not attempt to toss her through the mirror again. And the closure would be good for them. Particularly after how close a call they’d all had with the Hallow. She’d been willing enough to fight and possibly die with the Court. She might as well be willing to just talk as well.

As she reclined and groused to herself, the tiny senshi of drowning slowly became aware of an Order aura that was very close, indeed. Sitting up, her eyes scanned the dimly lit street below. The aura was… thin? feeling. Weak. So, a very new senshi or knight, then? Lips thinning in annoyance, she wondered who’d let a baby loose to prowl alone. Of course, she’d also prowled alone, but her magic had helped make her someone to be wary of. And she’d been armed with mirror shards at the time. So she had not been helpless. She wasn’t sure the same could be said of whomever she’d felt.

After a moment, she finally saw movement. A thin figure ducked into the abandoned building across the street and without hesitation, Orcus leapt from the rooftop, landing neatly on the ground. She wasn’t sure why one of the babies would want to go into an abandoned building, but she wouldn’t let them do it alone. Sauntering in after, she paused a moment to let her eyes adjust and then followed the aura’s trail.

”If I’d realized you were so little prepared,” she replied in an equally light voice, “I would have. Here, one moment, please.”

Reaching out, she plucked her phone from subspace and frowned, thumbing for the flashlight app. Once it was one, she angled the phone to avoid blinding them both and took a moment to study the knight. Because she had decided that only a knight would dress like that. But she wasn’t entirely sure whom he was a knight of. And he was older than she’d expected, if the facial hair was any indication. Interesting.

He was tall, though that meant nothing. Everyone was taller than Orcus. She’d made her peace with her lack of height a long time ago. Overall, he seemed pleasant enough even if he was still very shiny and new as far as knights went.

“An abandoned building is certainly a choice for a patrol,” she finally said, mouth quirking in a half smile. “There’s not a single Chaos aura around, so you can’t be hunting anyone. And you’re far too relaxed to have been fleeing from anyone. So. Why here? It’s only manners to answer since I am holding a light for you.”

And doing a general wellness check, but she wouldn’t mention that part. He was a puzzle she wanted to solve. New knight, she would stake her life on that, only he didn’t move or act like one of the babies. He reminded her a little of Ogygia once her cousin had started to recover to her purification. Just not as dreamy and puppy-like.

“Might as well tell me who you are too,” she added with a chuckle. “It would be very rude of me to address you as ‘Hey You’. I’ll even make it fair by introducing myself. Orcus, Super Senshi of Drowning at your service!”

It felt odd to speak her own name, but good too. It grounded her in the moment.

”Hardly, but thank you,” Orcus said, trying to figure out what, exactly, this strange knight’s deal was. He’d almost sounded a little envious, but she couldn’t quite understand why. But then, she also couldn’t understand the appeal of wandering around an old, dirty building either. Still, she was delighted to get a name out of him. Even if that name made her want to laugh in his face. But she held it in and managed to nod instead.

“Pleased to meet you, Maus of Apparently Earth. Though, I have to be honest, I was always under the impression that you lot were named after places. I’ve never heard of any place called Maus.”

Moving closer to the gap in the floor, she knelt carefully and obligingly angled her light as indicated. She really did not understand what he might find so fascinating down there. All she could see were future potential cases of tetanus. Or hantavirus. Shuddering delicately and hoping that neither of them would catch a disease, she found herself giving Maus a sharp look. Coming from anyone else, she would have thought that he was intentionally trying to needle her. But there wasn’t anything in tone, posture or face to support that idea. Was he just weird? Knights had always struck her as a little weird in general, but Maus seemed to have an extra helping of strange.

Well, she thought, he’s not being outright antagonistic. And maybe if she answered him he might do the same. But she wondered if he was hoping she’d give up and go away after being faced with questions. Well, if that was the case, it sucked for him because she’d never been good at lying or avoiding direct questions.

“Well, I’m currently in a filthy, probably disease ridden building because I saw a baby knight wander in and wanted to make sure that he was okay,” she began, forcing herself to sound breezy and unconcerned. “But I was in the general area because something both terrifying and wonderful happened on the rooftop just across the street some years back and I suppose that I’m not really good at letting go of trauma or what-ifs.”

She paused, thinking about the way he’d introduced himself. It was the ‘of Earth, apparently’ part that particularly stuck in her head. As far as she was aware, most knights simply knew who they were when they awakened. So either Maus was not very sure at all or he was unaffected to a degree she found impressive. Whichever it was, she didn’t pause long enough to let him sprinkle her with more return volley questions.

“My cousin was nearly murdered and or youmafied, I think that’s their word for it anyway, by the Negaverse. It was horrifying to watch and not be able to do anything. But then, she was saved by a very powerful lady and purified. She’s a knight of that lady now. She’s happy but she doesn’t remember anything beyond a name or two and for the longest time she had nightmares about that night, even though I don’t think she knew that they were about that night, if that makes sense? I’m sure it will sound crazy, but sometimes, I need to come back and sit where it all took place and try to understand everything I saw and heard…”

She didn’t want to bring up how her cousin had spoken with a monstrously echoed voice or how she’d been able to see the youma within breaking ribs from the inside as it had tried to seize control. If her cousin had hesitated for even a breath or Sailor Cosmos been a fraction of a second slower… who knew what or who might’ve come out on top in that struggle.

We. I’m glad I forgot... A few things were becoming rather clear for Orcus the longer Maus talked. One of those things was that he had a way of talking in what seemed, to her, to be philosophical circles. She couldn’t fault him for that, much as she might have liked to. That was just how some people were. It was a harmless quirk. Still, she held her peace for a moment.

And then blinked in surprise as Maus turned and offered her a hand. She didn’t exactly relish the idea of going under the floor, but at this point, it would be rude to refuse. So, she gripped his hand carefully and allowed him to help her down. Once there, she had to agree that yes, the graffiti was interesting. But she also had to laugh and give his arm a very gentle backhanded pat.

“I think that’s the nicest way I’ve ever been called a runt without actually being called a runt,” she said. Then, she tipped her head to the side and watched him curiously. “Is that why you came in here? Just to look at old graffiti? There are safer ways to admire art, you know.”

She couldn’t say that she was actively enjoying being under the floor of an old building, but she was honest enough to admit that it was kind of interesting as a one off activity. Far more interesting, though, was Maus himself. She had suspicions and while he wasn’t obliged to confirm them, she rather hoped he would. If things were difficult for newly born knights, she thought that the added baggage of coming over after having spent time on the opposing side probably didn’t help things. But how to get that ball rolling… After a few moments, she decided that she might as well just go for direct.

“How long have you been free from the Negaverse?” she asked bluntly. “You can deny it if you want, but you tick off more than a few mental checklists for people who’ve already purified. And, I did follow you in here to see if the baby knight required any assistance. So,” she said, half amused smile quirking her mouth, “do you?”

Why she was beginning to feel positively maternal towards a man who was at least her own age was something that Orcus would have to ponder over later. Especially since, personality wise, she was far more likely to eat her own young than to nurture them. But, oh, she did feel sorry for this knight. Having the courage to make that leap couldn’t have been easy.

“It must have felt terrifying on some level,” she said softly. “My own means of purifying had me second guessing myself a few times before I committed. But as far as I know, Dark Mirrors work in… unique ways. We don’t really lose memories for one thing, I can still recall the night I was inducted as well as various points within my civilian life at the time. To me, it always seemed both cruelty and kindness that anyone purifying out of the Negaverse forgets so much.”

Now this was something she’d often thought of. When her cousin had been healing, but before she, herself, had purified, Whistler had kept them strictly separated, only allowing phone calls so that she could help her cousin rebuild at least one familial connection. And those conversations had been heartwrenching once she’d realized that her cousin had forgotten practically everything.

Though she’d retained her love of all things alien.

Reaching out, she set her hand lightly on Maus’ shoulder, offering what comfort she could. As far as she’d ever been able to learn, the actual memories lost never came back. And for a moment, she was lost in Maus’ oddly young eyes as she considered his words and felt another wave of pity hit.

“Those puppy eyes of yours should be illegal," she murmured, resisting the urge to pat his head and tell him everything would be fine. Instead, she turned to consider the graffiti and his questions. It was a pity that Ogygia had opted to visit her wonder this week. Had she not, Orcus could have called her in. Oh well.

“It took time for the nightmares to fade. If she still has them on occasion, she hasn’t told me and as she is a generally truthful person, I have to conclude that they don’t plague her anymore. And she is much happier now. She’s been up to her wonder and from what she’s told me, she’s thoroughly charmed by the place. She’s much more interested in talking and helping people than fighting these days, so, yes. I’d have to say she’s good now. Though I think she had more influence on me when I purified than the other way around. It’s difficult to refuse the human equivalent of a golden retriever.”

Smiling and shaking her head slightly, it was clear that she was immensely fond of her cousin, probably more than she ever actually allowed to show. But then her face went still as a thought occurred and she turned a speculative gaze on the knight.

“Would you like to meet her sometime? She’s travelling right now and won’t be home for a few days, but I know she’d love to meet you. I will warn you upfront that she can be ridiculous and she’s obsessed with ancient alien conspiracies. She will also,” Orcus added in a mock-gloom filled voice, “probably want to hug you. She is a firm believer in the power of friendship and hugging.”

”I’m more worried you’d end up inadvertently trying to out-puppy-eye the other,” Orcus said drily. “As for the aliens,” she continued, only a little reluctantly because she hated to give Giorgio of the Wild Hair any wins, “Yes, I suppose I was. Am? Whichever. But we’re talking the stereotypical saucers and little green and or grey men with a penchant for probing in rude places. She’s calmed down considerably on that front over the years, but she still squees over new seasons of Ancient Aliens.”

She didn’t believe for a moment that he hadn’t had second thoughts about purifying, but what would be the point in arguing or trying to force a confession from him? At least he was talking and not shutting her out completely. And it didn’t seem that he was pining for his old life. He was just… adjusting. So, she would try her best to make that as easy as possible for him.

Which would mean veering away from the philosophical. Well, she had an easy enough topic for that.

“Have you seen your Wonder yet? I’ve only really interacted with Polaris and Cosmos knights before. An Earth knight sounds positively fascinating. That means your Wonder would be on this planet, correct?”

She was trying to imagine what an Earth wonder might look like. She knew vaguely that Ogygia’s was a little island floating out in space.

Accepting the assist, Orcus brushed at her skirt to rid it of any possible, lingering dust. Part of her found it amusing given that her uniform had some damsel in distress elements. Like her sleeve. The corset. The overall lotus theme. And here she was accepting help from someone who looked like an extra out of an Errol Flynn film. Really, it was hilarious. And, even better, it gave her something to focus on so she wouldn’t be tempted to harangue Maus about his Wonder.

Instead, she sighed and shrugged slightly at the mention of having an entire planet to herself. She’d done the wiki research on the name and okay, technically she had a moon and not a planet but… semantics.

“Yes, I suppose I do, but I’ve yet to visit. And I don’t even have the excellent excuse of not knowing how. This,” she angled her phone slightly so Maus could see the screen and pointed to a funny little home icon, “will send me up with a mere touch and a smidge of concentration. I just can’t see the appeal in visiting a dead world. And, well, there’s the whole ‘drowning’ thing to consider. My limited knowledge indicates that our worlds reflect what we are. So does that mean I can look forward to a place that’s more than a little soggy?”

She sounded genuinely concerned, as if this was something that she’d spent a less than reasonable amount of time obsessing over. The emptiness of the place didn’t concern her. It was how the idea of drowning would reveal itself. And then, there were the stories she’d heard about people remembering things when they visited their old haunts. The last thing she particularly wanted were memories of herself or other people trying and failing to breathe through water. Horrible thought…

“I’ve… never really worried about lonely, to tell you the truth,” she answered. “I’ve never been the most, ah, personable of people, so a lack of company wouldn’t bother me. But I see your point. Hmmm. Shall I make you a deal,” she asked. “How about when we’re both feeling more receptive to the idea of a visit, we can take each other to our places? You won’t have to face any emptiness your first time and I won't be alone if I stumble across evidence of drowned bodies everywhere. Because I am actually a bit worried about that. What do you think?”

There was a lack of any hint of ulterior motive in her offer. In her own way, she truly thought that she was offering a helpful solution for them both. After all, she’d followed Maus into this nest of dust and disease with the intention of helping him, right? This was her being helpful.