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 Posted: Wed Sep 03, 2025 8:38 pm
It had actually been complete chance, almost literally running into Keisha as she rounded the corner, a few blocks from her house. This was notable because most things in Madeline McCaffrey's life were not left up to chance, wherever she could help it; she was a girl who liked to be - or at least feel like she was - in control at all times. So, naturally, one of the most consequential nights of her young life began with an accident of fate. "Hey, watch--oh, Keisha!" Madeline said, blinking as she calmed down from the initial, knee-jerk indignant reaction that came from a literal collision as he rounded a corner on her usual evening jog. She watched too many true crime related things to do anything as foolish as having the same routine night after night, but that also meant that she wasn't familiar with all the particular quirks of different routes - including which ones were busy around this time of the evening and which ones were deserted. She knew Keisha, vaguely but positively, from high school. She'd been a solid partner in group projects, and she always seemed nice, if quiet; that was alright by Madeline, as quiet was preferable to whatever nonsense came out of their other classmates' mouths most of the time. "I'm sorry, I should've been paying attention," Madeline said with a sheepish smile. "Are you okay?" Neither of them had fallen all the way to the ground or anything, but it was still - awkward, if nothing else. She really should have been paying more attention - those same true crime documentaries and podcasts warned her against headphones or daydreaming when out alone. And her own brother, now a magical soldier in a magical battle with magical enemies and magical friends, warned her constantly against being out at night at all. However, she wasn't going to let fear govern her decisions; she could take care of herself, she argued back, just as well as Mason could, magic or no magic, and anyway, she was the older twin. She would tell him what to do, not the other way around, so there! She would not be letting Mason know that she'd been so oblivious that she hadn't heard or seen an entire other human being rounding the corner at the same time as she was. He didn't need the ammo against her, so he didn't need to know. It wasn't like Keisha Lyons was a villain who wanted to take her - what had Mason called it? star-soul, or something. Keisha was a friend, or as close to a friend as Madeline had, aside from her brother, and that was rare enough for Madeline to appreciate a run-in (ba-dum-tiss) with the other girl. Besides. Two young women together was much safer than one young woman alone, wasn't it? Always bring a buddy! Madeline thought to herself - and maybe Keisha would do for a buddy, since Mason was out 'patrolling', like he was some kind of magical policeman, leaving Madeline otherwise on her own.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2025 12:41 pm
Keisha had been out for an evening jog, after finishing her homework. While she was, unbeknownst to her, equally aware of the dangers of going out alone at night, Keesh had the confidence that, if something got really bad, as long as she stayed along familiar routes, she could just call one or both of her cousins for help. She didn't exactly like the idea of potentially having to rely on a chibi senshi in particular for help in an emergency, but at least both of her cousins were experienced senshi, and had participated in one threat to reality already. They both said they weren't very powerful yet, but they'd be better than nothing in an emergency.
All of which was why Keesh felt confident enough and safe enough to be jogging on a bike path not too many blocks from home with earbuds in, listening to music as she jogged. She was relaxed enough that when she came off the bike path onto the sidewalk, she didn't initially spot a familiar face coming around the nearby corner until it was nearly too late.
Keesh skidded a little to a halt, pulling out her earbuds as she took in the sight of a former classmate. "Hey, Madeline," she said, pocketing the earbuds. "Sorry, I was listening to music," she apologized. Keesh hadn't been real close to Madeline, but had worked with her on several group projects over the years. Finding out the other girl was graduating a year early had been a little sad, but it had sounded like Madeline had already been ready to move on from high school and into college, so Keesh hadn't begrudged her that choice. Frankly, Keesh felt like she still needed a little time to sort out her own plans for college, and was fine taking another year to sort it out, though Keesh would have to send in applications soon.
"Do you also jog around here?" she asked sociably.
Unbeknownst to both girls, something stirred in the trees above them, something big, with wings, and odd, glowing eyes in a gelatinous head, with a mouth full of big, pointy teeth. It sensed it. Two bright young starseeds below, just sitting there, ignorant of its presence. It was difficult to say for certain, but one, at least, smelled particularly delicious. And it hadn't eaten a starseed in so long...
Which might be why it didn't stop to consider the ramifications of starseeds that tasty as it licked its chops and considered the best angle to get the drop on both starseeds at the same time.Juliette06 Head of the youma is partially inspired by the head of a barrel-eyed fish!
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2025 1:54 pm
"It's okay," Madeline said, nodding in understanding. She glanced down at the fitbit watch perched on her wrist; while she didn't really want to lose her heartrate level, but she also didn't want to be any ruder than necessary, so she was about to make some kind of polite excuse and keep on jogging when - Madeline heard a twig snap. Her head jerked in the direction, a frown on her face as she scanned the woods. She didn't see anything - it was probably just a squirrel or maybe a deer or something, but it set her teeth on edge anyway. "I do, yeah, so--let's finish your route together," Madeline decided, looking back at Keisha with a smile. "Better to buddy up, right?" Madeline said with a smile. As they started jogging again, Madeline glanced over at the other girl. "How have you been? You're heading into senior year, right? Have you started looking at colleges yet?" Because that was the biggest thing on Madeline's own horizon - college. And she had no idea why that might change, or why the shadow keeping easy, slobbery pace with the pair of them, waiting for the exact perfect moment to strike, might have taken a special interest in the two girls. She had no idea that her priorities were about to get - forcibly - thrown all the way out of whack.
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Posted: Mon Sep 15, 2025 7:51 pm
Keesh nodded. "Sounds good," she replied as she started moving again, indicating which way she'd been going next, which was toward the corner and across the street into a nearby park. The teen also clocked the snapping twig, but shrugged it off. The bike path ran alongside and criss-crossed over a stream, and it was still active with insects and amphibians this time of year, heck, even the periodic owl or deer, though owls weren't generally that clumsy, unless it was an owlet or something just out of the nest and trying to learn to hunt on its own.
"I've been doing fine, just started the school year, classes aren't too bad." She paused as they approached the corner, watching and listening for cars while she sorted through her thoughts. "I haven't really started looking. I think I want to do music, and the university has a decent music program, so I'm probably going to focus on that." What went unspoken were small thoughts in the back of her mind. How going away would mean leaving her loved ones behind, and going it alone. How she wanted to see her cousins' homeworlds grow back into their former glory. How the university also offered a robust folklore program, so she might be able to sometimes study folklore, when not busy fulfilling her other requirements. How she didn't have to give up some of the things she wanted to do most if she stayed right here, in Destiny City.
An unrecognized reason for sticking around flapped clumsily from tree to tree along the sidewalk, dripping saliva, and periodically emitting random chirping noises akin to non-native species of frog and cicada. Its long tongue dangled a little bit in anticipation of a real feast after a famine of...frankly too long. Mind you, "a day" was what this youma defined as a famine, so its perspective was not to be trusted.
"What major are you going to work on--" she began as they reached the park.
Only for the youma to emit a high-pitched, reedy "RIBBIT" worthy of a Looney Tunes cartoon before launching itself at Keesh's unprotected neck.
Keesh shouted and whirled around. To find something that did not look like it would belong in a cartoon, unless it was one of the more modern horror anime. Keesh fumbled in her pocket, aware only that this was the time to get her cousins out here NOW.
The phone instead launched itself out of her trembling fingers and onto the sidewalk behind the freakshow flapping in the air before her, screeching its high, reedy croak in rage that its food had spotted it.
Well.
No help from her cousins--
Keesh's blood ran cold. Madeline. It wasn't just Keesh in danger, it was Madeline, too, and they had no way to get help.
"RUN!" she cried, snatching at Madeline's hand to start sprinting for cover.Juliette06 Our weird-a** youma was both bored, and HUNGY
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2025 8:58 pm
Madeline - froze. She had always considered herself more of a fighter than a flighter, in terms of responses to trauma, certainly more of a fighter than a fawner. She had never, not even for one second, thought of herself as a freezer. But freeze she did, when confronted with the eldritch horror that greeted them. MASON--! Madeline's thought echoed through the little black earring her brother had given her, sending the thought shooting like a lightning bolt invisibly across the city. Madeline jolted back to life when Keisha snatched at her hand, and Madeline scrambled to keep up with her, running faster than she ever had in her life. Mason had told her about these things - these monsters - but she'd sort of... Well, it wasn't that she didn't believe him, per se. It was just that--it was a very different thing, hearing about it versus seeing it. Seeing it bearing down on her. Where should they go? Where could they go? Where would this monster not be able to find them? "C'mon!" Madeline said, tightening her grip on Keisha's hand. She didn't even know if the thing was still behind them - they couldn't risk slowing down to look behind and check. "Gotta--get away--" Halfway across town, Blarney, Page of Earth, was having a perfectly fine patrol - nothing exciting, which was exactly the way he liked it. After the... everything - with Sailor Tempesti's home planet, the whirligig that had shattered his face - he was more and more relieved for the quiet nights. Everyone had been right - one hundred percent correct when they'd said he was too young, too green, not powerful enough. He resented it, but they were still right: he had not been powerful enough for that fight. He'd gotten in all kinds of trouble with Mads and Halia afterwards, but still the worst-bruised part of him was his ego. So sure, Blarney was 'on patrol', but mostly he was sulking. He was never going to be who and what he needed to be, was he? He was going to be stuck as Blarney, Page of Earth, forev-- MASON!It startled Blarney so bad he almost fell off the roof. "Mads?" Blarney said, looking all around him as if his sister had manifested nearby specifically to yell at him and for no other reason. Then he realized that the voice - it hadn't come from outside. It had come from inside his head. He'd activated the earring before, on Tempesti, but this was the first time she had started the--could they call it a conversation? Mads? Mads?? Where are you?? Blarney thought back, scrambling to get his bearings. Where are you, I'm coming!And he bolted in the direction he thought she might be in. She was sending him thoughts - half-broken, scattered and filled with abject terror. A park, a path, a-- --MONSTER MONSTER MONSTER--Oh fishsticks. A youma. Blarney pushed himself to run even faster - he needed to get there, immediately. It could be one of the ones that just needed a good scare, or-- Blarney's stomach turned. He couldn't think of the alternative. I'm coming, Mads. Keep running. I'll find you. I'm coming.
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