Welcome to Gaia! ::

In truth, Kua'kua hadn't spent all that much time 'patrolling', as they called it on Earth, since she had arrived. Once she had moved into an actual hjome, she had spent time learning the language more fully, and so far, her main interactions had been group scenarios.

It was so nice to have a group, rather than being on her own. She had been alone for so long. She truly wasn't in any hurry to return to that state, but...

It felt - ungrateful, somehow, or selfish, not to extend the same protection to her new adopted planet as she had to her home planet. If she had 'patrolled' her planet long after everyone - everyone but her - had died, should she not patrol here, where there were actual innocents to protect?

So she found herself out and about. She was still unused to Destiny City, and it felt nice to begin to get to know the city - it was like its own little planet, for how full to bursting of life - and death - it was. Her planet had not been without its problems, even before the chaos came, but the problems here in Destiny City (and Earth entirely, if she was being honest) seemed... far greater than anything she had faced at home.

So Kua'kua decided to start small. She was meandering around the city, not entirely sure what she was looking for, other than she would know when she found it. Or felt it, anyway, as the case was; a tug of discontent. Something...wrong.

Gritting her teeth, Kua'kua followed the feeling, though without haste, without rushing. Better to survey the potential enemy and understand what she was dealing with than rush into something potentially beyond her abilities.

It took her a little while, to narrow down where the source of the disturbance was coming from, but she finally did so: what looked to be an Earthling female, in some kind of jumpsuit outfit, with lights on a string.

Kua'kua tilted her head slightly as she observed her subject. She didn't seem to be - attacking the innocents, so to speak, but she was certainly doing damage; she could see the way the shoulders of anyone who came in contact with her...slumped. The shadows on their faces became more pronounced. She wasn't attacking, but she was hurting them all the same.

And that meant she had to be stopped.

Kua'kua did not have the strongest mental map of Destiny City yet, but she cut through the alleys and the cross-streets until she could tell that she was now in front of the girl, instead of behind.

Kua'kua steped out of the shadows, maybe ten feet away from her target. Just within reach of her petals, although she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Your evening is over," Kua'kua informed her, voice soft but firm. "You will not be taking anything further from these people." Her eyes flicked to the light string in the girl's hands, then back to her face. "If you leave peacefully, there is no need for bloodshed."

Was it too kind? Maybe. But this girl looked - young, still, somehow. It didn't seem like she was taking any particular pleasure in what she did; maybe she could convince her to simply retire and save any other victims...at least for this one night.

Kua'kua tensed slightly, eyes flicking down to the strand of lights for just a moment before returning to the human's face.

"You cannot believe that, deep in your heart of hearts," Kua'kua said, voice still soft. "You misunderstand me. I do not ever want to fight; I am simply prepared to, if you do not choose to leave peacefully and return to your home."

It was better than this servant of Chaos deserved. It was maybe even foolish - allowing them to do their wicked work another day, another way, without someone there to stop them.

But Kua'kua really didn't want to fight. Not if she could avoid it. She had fought so uselessly, for so long...

Maybe she could make a different kind of change. Maybe.

"You say that you know, that you are a terrible person for doing this thing. Tell me - why then do you do it? Because you are made to, by others more powerful than yourself? Would you not prefer to leave these innocents alone and do something more fulfilling with your time and energy?"

"Perhaps you should try being something other than an agent," Kua'kua suggested. "Perhaps you would access more power, more quickly, and show your sister which of you is the better that way."

Kua'kua disregarded the question of puppy-kicking, because she knew that it wasn't a real question. If one decided that it was okay to hurt these people but not those people--well, it wouldn't be long until everyone was hurt. So, no, no one 'should' have energy stolen from them, but she thought perhaps the Earthling knew that already.

"Why do you even need this - energy?" Kua'kua asked, genuinely curious to know the Earthling's answer. "What does this energy you take feed?"

"I meant," Kua'kua said gently, either ignoring or unaware of the condescending undertones, "that you can step out of that - hierarchy altogether. Become something - more. Something good."

Kua'kua fell silent for a moment or two, tilting her head slightly as she studied the human for any signs of sarcasm or irony. A beat, two; no, it seemed that the human meant what she said.

"I have heard," Kua'kua said slowly, "about a battle wherein your side and my side teamed up to fight off...a threat, yes. If protecting the Earth is what motivates you, do you not also wish to protect the humans who live here? Even if you claim that what you do does not harm them, you cannot truly believe that taking their - their life energy - is a protective act. What is a protective act is stopping those who would do the people who live here harm."

As she spoke these last words, her voice became hard.

"I hope that you will turn and leave this place, and consider my words carefully. I truly do hope that you will decide to come to the side of the light, and remember that I can help you if you do. If you do not..." Kua'kua's hand tightened into a fist.

"I will stop you. Here, and now."

Kua'kua nodded firmly - no, she wasn't going to allow her to go about her business, when her business was leeching the life-force out of innocent civilians.

She could have left it at that. She maybe, arguably, should have left it at that. She had won, in a manner of speaking, and she distantly knew there was such a thing as being a poor winner, as much as there was being a poor loser.

However.

However, she had seen that spark in the girl's eyes, and the girl had asked the question: what's considered more good?

Kua'kua closed the distance between them and caught her arm, gently, but firmly enough to stop her walking away.

"More good is protecting these people from a world they will never know about, rather than taking advantage of their ignorance," she said, golden eyes nearly glowing with intensity. "More good is claiming the heritage your soul remembers, somewhere, deep down inside. Deep down, your soul does not wish for this. Your soul wishes to be a Knight, with a Wonder, with a font of magic to fight darkness and protect the light. It is never too late to change your mind and become what you were always meant to be."

Kua'kua flushed lightly and held up her hands as she stumble-stepped away from the girl. Maybe she wasn't ready yet - maybe she never would be. Or...maybe...if Kua'kua was inclined to believe in something like hope...maybe this was enough to at least get her thinking about the possibility of another life.

It was probably stupid, she realized again, as she watched the Earthling leave with a quickness. She could have easily attacked her for real, with that strange string with lights all over it.

But she didn't.

Kua'kua smiled to herself and let the Earthling disappear around the corner. Maybe hope was always a crazy thing to believe in - but maybe, sometimes, it wasn't. Maybe, sometimes, hope was well-founded, and maybe, someday, this poor Earthling would realize the error of her ways.

Maybe.

It wasn't until Kua'kua was almost home did she realize that she hadn't even gotten the Earthling's name - not even her powered identity.

...If it was meant to be, she decided as she powered down and made her way inside her home, she would run into the girl again, and next time, if that happened, she'd have a plan in place. Actual steps she could give the girl, if she wanted to come over to the side of the light.

If, if, if. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Hope was still strange and unfamiliar - but she was starting to get used to it, again, like welcoming an old friend back into her life. A little awkward, a little bumpy but - maybe, maybe, maybe, it would all work out.

Maybe, maybe, maybe.