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 Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2025 7:43 pm
Kyuseisha no Hikari Out of Season (13) : One would think that winter would be dismal and gray, and after each snowfall there's a hefty dose of white covering up the world. Except, all winter bright patches of wildflowers begin sprouting straight through the frost--as if spring has decided to push its way into winter a few months early. Blues, pinks, yellows, and purples bloom in vivid clusters, warming the landscape with bursts of color that look impossibly alive against the cold. The flowers behave exactly like their normal spring counterparts--soft petals, gentle fragrance, and even suitable for tea or simple crafts. They’re simply appearing far too early. Whether it’s a harmless anomaly or a sign of something stirring beneath the seasons, the sudden blossoms bring an unexpected beauty to the winter chill. Susanoo's woodenb sandals slowly stepped through the pure white of the snow, crunching ice crystals and flecks of frozen water sticking to his fuku as the senshi rubbed the back of his neck, blinking as he stopped a couple feet, watching his cousin bend over a patch of... Flowers. A lot of them -- small wildflowers reminding him of spring over winter, and the strawberry blonde tilted his head quizzically. He long since abandoned the notion his cousin might be cold, even in this weather, and he grunted before speaking. "You texted me for an extra set of hands?" Dubhe hadn't expected the flowers in a patch in winter, but here they grew, in almost a rainbow of beautiful colors, and the Senshi had positively pertened up, gently studying thewn with light, delicate touches to onew flower, but she did not poluck a petal. Her mind had been turning over thoughts. Ideas. There were so maNy plants here that Dubhe was identifying different flower species based on the flower shapes and that meant something... Useful might be here. Her mind also turned to her homeworld, the need to plant fresh plants. These sprouted in winter. These... These might be hardy enough to survive on Dubhe, of compatible. Meaning she needed three things and she knew exactly what. She needed to call on Andreiya, take samples, and get extra hands to carry them with them. Susanoo was usually quick to answer and iof Andreiya asked, they could even call more people Susanoo knew, and so Duibhe had called the both of them on her senshi phone by tesxting aloing with her location. The cold offered no sense of discomfort as the ethereal senshi rose and turned to the other Senshi, and smiled. "I did! I'm doing some work on my home world and I need hands to carry the samples here!" Dubhe clapped happily, turning slightly to see Andreiya's sform, and beamed. "See, we're working on the plants of mny homeworld and replacing any missing species. These might help the environment on the homeworld recover from the idiocy that kjilled the people and animals!" Dubhe enthused. "Andreiya's helping, but we --" "Ah, relax." Susanoo laughed. "I get it. I have hands and a pocket dimension. At least you know why your Homeworld is off. Mine's... REALLY relaxed." He shrugged, but Dubhe relaxed, laughing shyly, waving at Andreiya. "Andreiya! Come see what I fouind! I think it might be useful!" Dubhe called, Susanoo chuckling at his cousin as he turned, blinking in surprise as he watched Andreiya approach. Huh. An alien. They were here. "..Hello." Susanoo greeted awkwardly.
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Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2025 6:11 am
Andreiya arrived in the same standard uniform he always wore, except he was equipped with a few extra accessories. Despite the hat, scarf, gloves, and extra jacket, his face was still much pinker than usual.
Obviously, he’d been out in the cold for a while already.
He wore a backpack, half-full but not unreasonably bloated. He had a lot on his plate, but not enough that he couldn’t take a break for this.
“Hello,” he greeted, with none of Susanoo’s awkwardness. He almost didn’t even look at the Senshi, instead opting to hurry to Dubhe and the flowers.
“This is a much larger sample than I’ve seen before,” he said excitedly, already crouching by the flowers to peer down at them. “I saw small groups of flowers in the snow. Nothing like this, there’s so many?”
He was already tapping his ComTech to scan the ground. “And it’s so colorful. How long have they been here? Do you recognize any of these flowers?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2025 2:03 pm
"The patch appeared in the last sevccen days. I walk past here about once a week," Dubhe responded excitedly. "From what I can tell these sprouted and bloomed in that time." Duibhe remained focused, already eagerly examining each repeatedly. She was already thinking of possibilities, peering. "Oh, the flowers extend under the hedges, look." Dubhe motioned. Susanoo looked between them. He took a moment to calm down, more finding Andreiya exciting. - but Susanopo would admit readily he waslearning that this war got interesting since he focused on school. Finally his head tilted a bit, and Susanoo looked at the flowers again analytically, arms folding across his chest. "They don't look like flowers Oumuamua grows with her family in their garden. Nother's blooming at the house outside right now." Susanoo offered slowly. He wasn't amazing at this, but he could tell it was impoortant and he did want to helkp. He WAS a psycxh major for a reason. Dubhe jumpoed at Susanoo's boice, remembering he was there, and rose slowly, laughing shyly. "Oh, oh sorry. No I've never seen the flower species before either. Andreiya, this is my cousin Sailor Susanoo. Susanboo this is my friend Andreiya. We're studying the plants and flowers on my homeworld trying to spruce it upo. Less... Grim." Dubhre explained. "Oooohhhh." Now susanoo understood. He remembered his own homeworld, serene looking. Maybe a few white flecks of flowers. "Sounds sensiblke enough. It's possible these flowers aren't normal? Not dangerous. But maybve someone accidentally tracked seeds?" Susanoo shrugged weakly. Dubhe blinked, looking to Andreiya., "You know I was thinking maybe these were some local species that don't grow aside specific circumstances, or... Some kind of... Magic circumstance but that's possible." Duibhe hummed. "I know the City has flowers go everywhere in the Star Festival. And well the merchant shows up every year... He might've sold seed packets. I honestly was cwondering if they'd work spliced into a Dubhe native, or - if we were capable of planting them safely. Meaning plenty of samples needed, meaning I... Called extra hands." Duibhe laughs weakly. susanoo eyed his cousin, one brow raising. Then he rolled his eyes. But Susanoo wasn'yt teasing her for her crush right now - he was thinking.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 1:38 pm
Dubhe instructed Andreiya to look under the hedges, so of course he obliged.
Seven days seemed like an impossibly short time frame for so many flowers to grow, not without specialized enhancements. And in winter too? What luck.
"There are plenty of samples to take," Andreiya announced confidently. Enough for her. Enough for him, too. "My ComTech says the biological traces are all from Earth. So these might just have a natural deviation. I think plants that grow in under a week and can survive this weather could be very useful."
He moved the ComTech to scan from another angle. "I don't detect any genetic anomalies. They seem like ordinary wildflowers? But obviously they are not."
He laid his ComTech atop the snow and then began to scoop it away. Shrugging off his backpack, he pulled out a few vials to take soil samples, but he alternated between fighting to collect the frozen dirt and scanning it with the ComTech. "And nothing in the soil seems enhanced but I'll run additional tests at my lab. But it is good if the soil is not special, it means the plants are."
Well, he hoped. There were still plenty of Earth trees that didn't lose leaves in the winter--and some, even, that seemed to thrive. But flowers? These tiny, fragile, colorful things? Obviously abnormal.
"They seem to have a generic profile. Very weed-like. But I like weeds. They are durable and determined to live. I have seen them grow through rock. I think that could work. Trying to splice with some of your flowers. I can't guarantee compatibility but I think it's possible." Andreiya was tempted to pull up his notes from Dubhe's world but he didn't know how long he had here before he froze, so he wanted to make good use of his time--and theirs. He could always research later. The samples might not be here forever.
"What flowers do.....Oum....mua....mua...grow?" He didn't entirely butcher the name but it didn't come out quite right, and his nose wrinkled because he knew it, but not how to correct it. Briefly, he glanced at the two senshi, as if he meant to apologize. His attention returned to the flowers quickly.
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Posted: Sun Jan 04, 2026 3:46 pm
"Oh I keep forgetting flowers on my evolved to grow on another world. The DNA might be tricky. Interesting these are Earth too. I've never seen these." Dubhe rubbed her chin. "At least not in the gardenm shops or my grandsire's gardens... Or the botanical hgardens..." Dubhe hummed. "I'd wonder if it's something I just haven't seen - I'm not a botanist - but...." Dubhe furrowed a brow. "Regardless,m they might grow on Dubhe and biodiversity helps." She moved to help collect samples, not minding dirt as she knelt in the snow to dig with Andreiya. Susanoo's brow raised. "It could be an undiscovered species. Don't they find new insects in the Amazon alkonec yearly?" Susanoo offered. "So why not flowersw in places? As for Oumuamua," susanoo approached to try helping, kneeling. "Well I live with her family. And her. they have a gardebn. Some plants are from a different part of the world - Japan, so in March we'll get a few cherry blossoms. Buit I think there's a good nuimber of tropical flowers. Honestly, tell Oumuamua what you'd want and what form to sample things in and she'd probably never leave you be. Oumuamua is a good friend buy..." Susanoo klooked to Dub he. "Dubhe, I hate to say it but I'm friends with a science brain. She spent an hour the other day lecturing me on the differences between -- I think it was something about the Voyager probes and that history. Just explaining why they exist. This is the one who asked if dissecting and studying her senshi phone was smart. Hopeless science brain." Dubhe stared at her cousin, then looked at Andreiya. "He's saying not only will she help you find samples of what her family grows she might like to help analyze plants just to see what she learns and what happens." Duibhe explained more informally. Or at least less awkwardly., Susanoo nodded, snorting. "Actuially if we needed extra hands, she's one of the two I'd be able to confirm will come." A pause. "Well the primary. Gagarin is.... Dealing with business... So..." A sigh. "We like Andreiya Susanoo. Gagarin sounds cranky." Dubhe noted. "He is." Susanoo affirmed. He kept digging in the dirt and snow slowly, surprisingly delicate as he unearthed some roots. "Hm. they - look like roots to me..." Susanoo paused. "You also don't know plants well,." Dibhe laughed. susanoo sighed. "I do not."
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2026 12:57 pm
Andreiya snorted, despite his best efforts not to. He was in a good mood, just listening to the two of them.
It almost–almost–made him forget how cold he was.
He was pink to begin with, but this cold had left him pinker, and despite how bundled up he was, he was still shivering. It was a struggle to keep himself put together enough to effectively collect his samples. But, he was determined–both to be efficient, and to look strong and competent in front of his companions.
“I would not trust that it’s an undiscovered species,” Andreiya mused. “In the city? No, they have too many people looking into those things. I think a genetic deviation. Or cross-breeding. But I can run tests,” he said eagerly, even as he mulled over the other names they were throwing around.
He wasn’t very good at collaborating with others–sometimes!–but he was working on it! And this was all very exciting!
“Maybe you can put me in contact with…them. I might like some non-native samples.”
He’d like all samples, but he was doing his best to keep things practical. He already had a few dozen experiments going on and if he took on too many more–or had any problems–he was going to have to cut down on his research, or–he shuddered–recruit someone to help.
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Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2026 3:23 pm
"That's truye. People constantly look into anything unusual in the city these days." Sailor Dubhe admitted. Sometiumnes I forget that." "I get patients for PTSD in my Supervised Experiance whom experience things the splashovers from things in the magical world." Suisanoo sighed. "And it's interesting helping process. It's given me some after-hours ideas for graduating and practice and the like." Susanoo remarked and paused. "Ah. Apologies. I'm in Ubiuversity earning my Doctorate's and license to practice Psychology. So I can help people process trauma, or the like. Therapy, basiucally." It wasn't plantsm, but poosychological work helped everyone, as far as Susanoo was concerned. Dubhe moved to help collect samples, noticing Andreiya shivering. While her fuku offered all of the thermal protection of a swim suit in her mind, or should, she wonder3ed if she was magically fine, or... Ugh. Rationalizing magic was hard. Dubhe relaxed as Susanoo noticed as well, approaching Andreiya with surprising slowness before draping one large sleeve adross his back, his arm wrapping about Andreiya's shoulders to share body heat, bendsing to help so he could let the other man continue to collect samples wordlessly. Dubhe had to admit. Her cousin was a lot more calm with Oumuamua's family. It made her wonder if Zayne was.... Well she still lived with the man. Shye diodn't quite ewant to live alone and leave gher Uncle Vincent. Not yet. Zayne was a moody, irritable sort who she suspected needed therapy or something. She cleared her mind for now, however, working on helping to collect samples. "More non-native plants?" Susanoo asked evenly. Dubhe nodded. "He has samples from my homeworld." She explained. Susanoo considered, then nodded. "I'd be happy to bring him yto mine. And I think Oumuamua might adore him. I t's Botany. She enmjoys scienmce at large, so she might be willing to helpoo him with her homeworld as well." Susanoo smirked. "And she probavbly knows how to collect live samples. We can probably get some information on plants from around the house as well. Although I swearm, the moment she learns this is for science..." He runbbed a temple and Dub he raised a hand to her mouth to giggle, looking to Andreiya. "Susanoo is implying," She explained, "He thinks that his friend might try to help as often as possible." "She might." Susanoo sighed. "Drive you up a wall helping. Get her invested and she'll probably ficxate. Means well but..." Susanoo sighed. "She's been trinkering with things to kill time lately." Susanoo sighed. "I can also talk to Gagarin. I don't think he's seen his homeworld yet." A pause, but he smiled, looking at Andreiya. "As for mine, I have yet to see flowers, but there's plenty of trees. Grass. It's very peaceful. I'd be happy to take upo there." Dubhe had to adnmit that Susanoo visiting his homeworkld?... She was kind of proud of her cousin. He was reqally trying.
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