Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tempesti stretched out on the grass, content in the knowledge that whatever magic occupied her fuku would clean out any grass stains she might acquire in the process. That was a definite upside, knowing that she had to engage in full-blown combat wearing an outfit that was mostly white but surprisingly good about not holding on to blood stains. She was technically still on patrol, but she was determined to keep her word to her sisters and take the occasional break. Even if she didn’t feel like she needed them. She couldn’t sense any Chaos energy signatures and while that wasn’t enough to get her guard down entirely, it was sufficient reason to allow herself a brief rest. Summoning a thick binder and a saffron colored pen, she began the work of correcting her students’ assignments.

At the sensation of an approaching Order aura, a Mauvian from the feel of it, Tempesti set her binder in her lap, looking around for its source before her gaze settled on a fluffy white cat.

“Hello, Snowball! It’s nice to see you.”

Her smile turned a bit sheepish at the question, “Well, I read that red can come off as a bit harsher than other colors in grading, so I figured I would try to choose something that feels less like criticism and more like. I don’t know, encouragement to find a more effective way to figure out the answer. I want them to learn from their mistakes but I don’t want them to feel like it defines their work, y’know? And I think, well, I hope, that this contributes a bit to that.”

She shrugged slightly, “But how have you been?”

Tempesti smiled warmly as Snowball spoke, she had no idea how much paperwork Mauvians actually had to deal with but if he had to contend with anything of the sort, she liked the idea of helping in some small way. The offer of a macaroon met with surprised delight, she’d never had a cat give her baked goods but as new experiences went she wasn’t going to turn it away. “Thank you!” She carefully extracted a cookie from the bag without touching the others, happily taking a bite.

“This is really good, thank you again.” She was surprised to hear that Snowball considered Niflhel’s uninterrupted company boring. Maybe it was her own inexperience speaking, and the absence of what were presumably years in his company, but she’d found his insights rather interesting. That was probably inevitable given how much longer he’d been at all of this than she had, if Snowball had been involved for a similar length of time it only made sense that he would find it all less interesting than she did.

“It seems like he’s been through a lot.” She smiled sadly, suspecting that “boring” might just as well mean “tiring.” It wouldn’t be easy watching someone you loved in pain from something you had no power to help. “It must be tough to help shoulder some of that. I’ve been well though.” She felt a bit of pride as she spoke, in herself and particularly in the allies who had made the entire thing possible. “I am too, I don’t know what I would have done if anyone was seriously hurt. The constructs though. They’re amazing when they’re not trying to kill you.” She chewed her lip thoughtfully, “I found one that never got finished. Stashed away in an ancient workshop. I want to try and figure out how to… I don’t know, maybe finish it. I have the diagrams but even though I can read them I don’t know how…machines really work.” Frustrating as that bit was, it did little to dim the excitement she felt at the rest of it.

Tempesti laughed, she couldn’t exactly blame the bakery workers for letting those kitty cat eyes win them over. She probably would have done something similar in their situation. “I’m not surprised, you seem persuasive.” Pretty much any cat who came her way drew her attention, but Mauvians came with the extra layer of all their history and knowledge. Not to mention the fact that they could talk.

She’d heard the name Polaris, but she’d never met the princess herself. Or, come to think of it, any of her knights. “As far as I know I’ve never met any Polaris knights, but if I run into any I can send them your way if you’d like.” The senshi made a mental note to learn more about them so she would have an easier time keeping an eye out. “I am glad to hear that he seems to be feeling better. Being in all of this for so long has to take its toll.”

Snowball’s offer caught Tempesti off guard, as her face most likely made clear. “If you don’t mind, that would be amazing! The constructs aren’t angry anymore since we restored the shrine so I don’t think they’ll give you any trouble. But if you could help me get that thing off the ground that would really be incredible. Thank you!”

Tempesti nodded sadly as Snowball discussed the missing knights, wishing that she could assuage his fears, assure him that they were farfetched, but she was entirely too aware of the sad reality that they were realistic. She wished that she had any idea of where to look for them, she wished that there was a world in which she could connect them with him and his senshi and make everything alright for them. Of course, all she could do was do her best to spot any she came across and for now the best thing she could do was work to make her own homeworlds as safe as she could.

“What do you mean? Did you have a vision or something?” An involuntary shudder passed through her as she remembered her own…dream? Hallucination? Vision? Of the Dark Star. She had no idea what it actually meant but it was definitely unwelcome. “Are you alright? How are you holding up?”

The senshi smiled at the Mauvian’s confirmation of his interest, “I really appreciate it. I can translate the words with the diagrams but like I said, I don’t know how they really fit together so thank you. Really.”

Tempesti nodded sympathetically, relieved that she’d missed whatever horrors inflicted that false reality on so many innocent people. “Still, I’m sorry that you had to go through all of that. But I am really glad that they managed to give that reality the boot.”

Pleased that her newly acquired language skills would be of use, she continued, “Well, if there’s anything I can do to help him with his wonder I’d be happy to. I can’t read his language obviously, but if there’s anything else I can do please let him know that I’m available to lend a hand. And I would really enjoy having an extra pair of eyes with this project if it wouldn’t be too much trouble for him.” Sincere gratitude tinged the senshi’s voice as she spoke. The perspective Nifhel’s experience granted him would certainly be an asset.

Despite the recency of their acquaintance, she liked and respected both Snowball and Niflhel and Tempesti didn’t particularly enjoy the idea of either of them being corrupted. She imagined that the horror that had to accompany those memories wasn’t something that could be undone, even with whatever magic they used to reverse the situation.

“Ooh I’ve seen plenty of animals around, I’d be happy to show the two of you.” She smiled slightly at the mention of a bribe. “And of course I could bring food, you’re doing me a huge favor after all.” The senshi was well aware that she had no way of knowing what anything on Nifhel’s wonder said, but maybe if he had some similar documents she could help him find patterns the way she had. “I know can’t read anything there, but I could give him some pointers about the way I worked some things out. No idea what my language actually sounded like, but I can read it pretty well now.” It only felt right to help them in return.

Tempesti smiled, making a mental note about the Mauvian’s apparent fondness for the color purple. “I’ve seen art of these purple and blue snakes around, maybe they’ll show up someday.” She hoped that they were real and not just some fanciful figment of the artists’ imaginations.

“Well, I’m available on weekends mostly but I could make time. Whenever you’re able.” Excitement suffused her face at the thought. “Thank you again.”