Twinkle, Twinkle.

[adarkfallenstar]

Who: Darkstar, Open
What: New Arrival With Very Bad Timing
 When: Midday
Where:Hachiko Statue, The Western District

Comments

[anodite_spark]

Gwen didn't know how many people were holding down the Western District, so she wasn't sure howmuch of a problem it might be. Better to scout it out and see for herself, right? Right!

Unlike Michael, she wasn't having any difficulty with her powers - but then, she'd only just gotten them back again. Encountering the same spider that had tried to make a meal out of the man, Gwen made short work of it - a shine of pink energy, a fierce throw, and the ball of mana slammed into the spider, sending it careening backwards. The arachnid, once its backward momentum stopped, slumped to the ground. Gwen paid it no further mind, sensing no further threat from it.

Moreover, she heard someone call out. "You shouldn't be here," she called back, already sprinting over towards the voice, "Kalliste is --" She stopped. "Oh no. Not you."

Hi Michael.

[adarkfallenstar]

He should be happy to see someone he knows in this strange place, but then again, she and the troglodyte did just spoil his plans...didn't they?

He straightens himself up and crosses his arms. Gwendolyn doesn't need to know he's powerless...not yet, anyway.

He saw the pink glow of her mana, so she clearly is not suffering from whatever ailment he's picked up.

"Nice to see you, too, Lovely Gwen. Am I take it you are here to deal with me? I feel so special,"

[anodite_spark]

She bristles, as per usual. If he just arrived, then he wasn't much of a threat - but he could have just been laying low. As unlikely as that was given his nature.

She needed to tell Ben. "Don't feel too special, I'd do the same for anyone else stuck out here in this situation."

What was the last thing he remembered? "It isn't safe here." But at the same time, she was loathe to bring him to the Welcome House. The closest one was in the Western District - but it was safer in Kalliste. No, better bring him to the Welcome House and make arrangements for him to go to Kalliste from there.

Why did she have to be the one to find him?

"Come on, I can at least take you to a safer place than this."

[adarkfallenstar]

He'd like to snap at her. He would like to say he doesn't need her help or anyone else's, but he knows that isn't true today, so he bites it back and instead decides to go with one of his usual sarcastic retorts.

"Oh, Lovely, you do care."

Still, he moves to follow her, arms still wrapped around himself as if that hides the fact that he can't use his powers.

[anodite_spark]

"No one deserves to be stuck out in the middle of this. Not even you." Feel proud, Michael, she wouldn't make any attempt for someone like Hex, or Vilgax. Or most of her enemies, actually.

Come to think of it, if she hadn't run into him in person she probably wouldn't come out to see him. She'd direct him easily enough.

But she needed to know what he knew - as unlikely as it was that he would even tell her. "There's a war going on right now. The safest place is probably in Kalliste - maybe the Welcome House. If you have any questions I might as well try to answer them. I've been here for a while."

[adarkfallenstar]

He supposes that he will have to owe her for this at some point in the future. She's actually helpful, he has to admit. He follows her, hands easing off his upper arms and hanging them at his sides, fists clenched.

"Oh, I have plenty. Where are we, anyway? Who or what is fighting anything? Who is winning?"

/sends plurk friend add request. >:D

[anodite_spark]

And here Gwen was thinking helping Darkstar of all people, was going to bite her in the backside at some point. Having him owe her one will be helpful. Maybe. We'll see.

She was unconcerned with turning her back to him - right now she had the leading advantage over him with having her powers in full, and him without any at all. "This place is called Nautilus. It's ... a dimension separate from ours." She replied. "Time stops back home while we're here - for some reason, you were called by Nautilus."

That might be a mistake. "Right now the majority of the city is fighting against something called the Dark Aeon - and these ... disgusting little things that it spawns. As for who's winning..."

She fell silent for a moment. Really, it depended on who you ask. It was a little soon to say anyway. "It's too soon to tell."

FRIENDSHIP ACCEPTED! On Plurk, that is

[adarkfallenstar]

"I was called to a dimension by a dimension? Is this thing aware?"

Because if it was and it called him specifically, what did that mean?

Gears turn in Darkstar's head and he turns toward Gwen, being sure to stay a little closer to her than he was. He is starting to feel vulnerable without being able to see or feel the mana in the air around him and he'd just as soon stay close to someone who isn't running blind.

"Funny how it is you of all people who manages to find me, isn't it? You'll forgive me if I'm a little suspicious, I'm sure, especially if it is too early to tell who is winning. I also see your powers seem to be working just fine,"

Gwen did seek him out while they were fighting the Highbreed and to his credit, he did help them with that.

Because Friendship is Magic?

[anodite_spark]

"Sort of. And yes, Nautilus is self aware. Kind of. It doesn't exactly speak, but it makes itself known in little ways."

Actually Gwen kind of wanted to know why in the name of everything Nautilus would have called him too. She watched Darkstar out of the corner of her eye, warily.

"Oh yeah. It's hilarious. I just have that kind of luck." She was hesitant to mention who else was here - not until she knew ... "What's the last thing you remember back home?"

She'll go into the reason her powers worked soon enough.

Yes! It brings out the Elements of Harmony.

[adarkfallenstar]

"It seems you are just a lucky girl, then,"

That made two of them. He'd been perfectly content to remain where he was...though not as he was.

"Memory a little fuzzy, Lovely? Not a problem. Kevin had just saved you from a fate most foul...unfortunately by breaking a priceless ancient artifact and rendering us both in less than ideal states,"

Huzzah!

[anodite_spark]

Well there were reasons her moniker was Lucky Girl. This apparently was one of them. She grimaced again - now that they weren't dating and she knew what kind of person he was, he was infinitely creepy calling her that.

"I see." Yeah, fuzzy. Because she remembered a lot more than that - but she was reluctant to mention either Charmcaster or Sunny, since he would only seek them out. ... and if she warned Sunny or Charmcaster about him, they would no doubt seek HIM out.

Especially Sunny.

"Thank goodness for Kevin." ... she missed him, even though she 'saw' him technically not long ago. "I'm still unsure why Nautilus wanted to bring you here. What are you planning to do if you get your power back?" Cautious. So Cautious.

[adarkfallenstar]

"He's not here, is he?" He might as well start to put together just how many of his enemies were here in this strange place.

Darkstar pauses at her inquiry. He's only just lost them and doesn't quite know what that means for him since they are normally so tied to his physiology.

"Nautilus apparently deems me important enough to be here. What do you mean what would I do if I got them back? What's that supposed to mean?"

[anodite_spark]

Gwen pauses for a second, and then resumes the trek to the Welcome House. "No, he isn't."

"I mean that your powers aren't gone permanently here." He's bound to find out himself if he is here long enough, after all. "But it takes a lot of training for something like that. But you may not need to, here."

"How do you feel?"

[adarkfallenstar]

"How unfortunate for you."

It is all he can think of to say given that he is very relieved, but doesn't want that to be revealed.

"Thank goodness for small favors,"

He keeps close at her heels, looking from side to side slightly, letting his peripheral vision take in his surroundings and catch any signs of movement. He doesn't like being unable to see what's out there. It creates a distinctly alien feeling inside him. He feels...vulnerable...and he doesn't like it.

"I feel like I've been dropped into a world of complete discord and been stripped of any means I had to defend myself,"

He paused, pale eyes looking into hers.

"But that isn't what you meant, is it?"

She knows him, knows what he is and what he does.

"I'm not hungry,"

It is the first time he hasn't been in a long time. In its own way, that is kind of nice, though he would never admit it to her.

[anodite_spark]

She Really really REALLY didn't like him following so close, but she dealt with it. Her mind was working a mile a minute, if nothing else. Her primary concerns were Sunny, Ben and Charmcaster - of course this Charmcaster was younger than the one Michael -- well he didn't know her at his point either, actually.

Still. Sunny would prove as much a temptation as Gwen did, if he got his power - and the craving - back. "I'm sure you're just broken up about it." She offered drily.

He isn't hungry. That's good, right? He didn't -have- to get his powers back. He could ... have a second start. Live a life as normal as he could. "You're not?" She considered a moment. "Maybe if your powers don't come back - you won't have that ... hunger either. You could have a normal life." Sort of normal.

Problem with him having that mask is that it was impossible to gauge his expression. Was her finding him an indication that he was her responsibility? That's crazy.

[adarkfallenstar]

"No, I'm not,"

The mouths in his palms are silent for the first time in years. They're still there...just...sleeping...hopefully just sleeping, that is. Normal? Tch. That was normal. For him. What wasn't normal was not being able to sense the life energy of every creature in his vicinity, to smell all their essence of life and be able to pick and choose and drink his fill. The world seemed so much less...everything. It was all muted and wrong despite the bright hellish reds and twisted shadows of their strange surroundings.

"Tch. I could never have a normal life if they don't come back. I don't expect you or anyone else to understand that."

If he has no way to feed himself, he can't fix himself. He might not be hungry, but he is also can't take in energy. He's not losing any that he can tell, but how could he know if he couldn't sense his own mana?