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 Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2025 1:17 am
Ekstrom looked on at the fading shades of orange in the distance, the sun on its last leg as it finally dipped beneath the horizon after what felt like, at least to her, an incredibly long day. Work and school had spread her thin, what with how she was trying to finish up by the end of the fall semester. Pairing that with her Knight life and all that it entailed, and there were bound to be some days that just felt longer or more challenging than others. Sometimes both, and those usually saw her promptly pass out after taking Lulu out for her evening walk.
Today hadn't been quite that bad, thankfully.
Her eyes slowly crept skyward, toward the quickly darkening sky, passing over thinning clouds, and then the moon, and then, with a quiet, painful twist of her insides, just past where she knew a Herald was locked away.
She still had nightmares about it. The storms leading into it, the actual night, and then what happened after. Once she got home it became an intensely private panic from which she somehow managed to find her way out of and recover from, slowly but surely setting her rhythm back to an almost believable normal. There was no way things could ever go back to whatever "normal" was prior to that night, though.
The saying about life going on came to mind, and the corners of her lips tugged up into the smallest of smiles. It was a bittersweet expression, though one that was interrupted when she felt an aura just nearby.
The Knight looked in its general direction, scanning the streets below from her perch on the edge of the roof of a low-rise building.
"Oh?" She mused, the tone in her voice one of interest as she spotted the oncoming chibi senshi. A smile broke across her features when she realized that she looked familiar. She slipped off the edge of the roof, landing rather gracefully on the sidewalk just below with the relative ease that came with practice.
"Evening!" she said in her usual cheerful greeting. "Remember me?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2025 9:59 am
Saiph normally preferred to power up solely after dark, but today, she’d decided to go out just after dinner and do a quick patrol while there was still light enough to see. Most people seemed to have opted to stay home as she didn’t really see anyone out and about. She couldn’t really feel anyone either and that was honestly pretty great. It gave her a chance to let go and use the more fun abilities that being a senshi granted her.
Like running faster and jumping higher.
Which she did, racing through the streets and leaping up to seize onto some of the shorter streetlights and hang for a moment before letting go. It was good exercise and just moving around felt good.
By the time the sun started to sink, Saiph felt pleasantly tired and relaxed. At least, until she glanced up at the eye and her eyes unerringly went to the little pinpoint of light where the Hallow was imprisoned. The snake scar on her arm seemed to itch whenever she was reminded of the Hallow’d existence. Rubbing the skin absently, she forced her gaze away and made herself continue walking. She didn’t like to think about the Hallow. Or the fight that everyone had had to seal it away. It had all come so close to failure… If they hadn’t all worked together…
Saiph forced the thoughts away, only just realizing that there was a knight very close by when said knight suddenly landed on the ground near her. Annoyed with herself for not paying better attention, the chibi senshi nonetheless smiled at the cheerful greeting before studying the knight for a moment.
Then, “Oh! You’re Ilmare’s friend! Hello!”
Well, this was just weird now. She’d been thinking about the Hallow and the fight and suddenly here was the knight that Ilmare had purposely sought out during the battle. Though she was pleased to see someone that she recognized, even if she didn’t really know the older girl, Saiph couldn’t help but feel a little anxious. And faced with another reminder of That Night, her scar really began to itch.
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Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2025 7:33 pm
Relief washed over her at the senshi's reply, and she peered around her, wondering if the Mauvian that had been with her that night might also make an appearance. She only looked for a second, though.
"You look good," she said, hoping her brief pause would pass for looking the senshi over. She did look good, though! All things considered. The night they'd met had been about as chaotic as things could possibly get for anyone in their line of work. She doubted anyone walked away without some kind of scar, physical or otherwise, and for someone so young she could only imagine what she's had to deal with since.
"If you don't mind some company, I was thinking about doing a round of patrols through a few parks around here."
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Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2025 2:45 pm
Did she mind? If she were being honest, no. No, she didn't. Especially when she couldn't feel anything gross creeping around. This would be a an easy patrol and many the knight had heard from or scene Ilmare since the fight. Granted, she'd gone years without seeing or hearing from the corrupt before, but after that night... Silence didn't really spark any joy.
Therefore, she grinned, gave a nod and said, "I don't mind at all! Did Ilmare ever actually introduce us? If not, I'm Saiph."
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Posted: Wed Oct 01, 2025 8:39 pm
"Ekstrom," she said, extending a hand to formalize the greeting a little bit. "I don't remember an actual introduction," she went on, but then shrugged. "It wasn't exactly a good time for it, so that's fine. Speaking of her, though." Her lips twisted into a lopsided sort of line as she thought about the senshi. "I haven't seen her since. I've been hoping to run into her but so far no luck."
She nodded toward the path behind the senshi, indicating the direction she intended to go before actually going. "Just a little worried about her, I guess. Things after were pretty–" The memory of the aftermath of that evening cut her off, and she furrowed her brows in a visible effort to push them back. She could go the rest of her life not reliving any of those nightmares..
"Uh. Hectic," she finished after a beat, then regarded Saiph with a soft, somewhat hesitant smile. "How've you been holding up since?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2025 9:36 am
Giving the extended hand a firm shake, Saiph felt her smile falter just a bit. Well… s**t. She’d really hoped that Ilmare had at least reached out to the knight. They’d seemed fairly close during the fight. “Oh hell,” she muttered, falling into step with Ekstrom. “I hope she's okay, but I was really hoping to hear something. Even if it was nothing more than she made it back here in one piece.” The Chibi couldn’t forget how Ilmare had protected her. Again.
“Hectic is a good word for it,” she murmured, one hand unconsciously moving up to brush against the snake scar travelling up her left arm. At least this time, the branding hadn’t been accompanied by an unnatural boost in power. “Cuan and I got home okay. We haven’t really talked much about it. We can both see the prison when we look at the sky, though.” The words were hesitant, almost fearful. As if openly talking about it would free the Hallow and bring it crashing down on their heads. But, in thinking about the Hallow, she was reminded of its scales and that association sent her brain back to her talk with Almadel and she brightened. Glancing over at Ekstrom, she grinned a little.
“I got to meet the guy who sent us all those things that helped us stay alive and get home, though. Y’know, Almadel? He’s kinda weird, but in a good way, I think? I liked him. I traded him some scales I’d picked up from the Hallow and he gave me this pretty feather that came from my planet.” For a moment, Saiph was all happy child, forgetting that she was fourteen and should be Acting Her Age. It was just so good to be able to talk to someone who would understand the weird stuff and who wasn’t also her cat. Cuan was great, but sometimes it was good to share experiences with other people. “Have you ever met him?” she asked, turning bright amber eyes on the Mercury knight.
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2025 3:52 pm
Ekstrom tried not to look, not wanting to be rude about it, but the snake scar was hard not to notice. Especially not as Saiph brought her hand up to it. A part of her wanted to reach out and give the girl a hug—she was still just a kid, no matter how much experience she might have had as a senshi in this war.
Mention of the Hallow's prison made her purse her lips and give a short nod. "Yeah," she said, "I'm tempted to look in its direction whenever I look up, now. Ruins stargazing a little bit, but." She cut herself off with a little shrug, not wanting the slightly morbid thoughts to mar the conversation. The Hallow had done enough damage, but it was something they could all move forward from.
It also helped when Saiph turned the conversation over to Almadel, and the name of the man brightened Ekstrom's face significantly as she nodded her head.
"I have! A few times now, actually. He's...something else. Nothing short of amazing, in my opinion. As thanks for his help with that whole thing, I made him a small hoard of food." She smiled at the memory, a warmth enveloping her as she remembered his kind words and compliments and the sight of him enjoying her food. She always loved it when people enjoyed her food.
"He has the coolest collection of things, though, doesn't he?" She said, turning to the younger senshi, curiosity swimming in her eyes. "You said he had a feather from your planet?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2025 6:53 pm
Nodding eagerly, Saiph listened and actually chuckled. She could imagine him eating and enjoying every moment. He'd told her that he liked visiting earth. It made sense that he'd probably developed a taste for earth's cuisine. But it was the memory of his collection that made her go thoughtful. "It's a lot, but it's very neat. I think he was waiting for me to try and scold him for what he does, but it really doesn't bother me. He's welcome to raid my world anytime so long as I get to look at what he finds."
Her words and tone were sincere. She genuinely didn't care what he took. IT wasn't as if she felt a connection to anything anyway. But that was not a topic to burden Ekstrom with, so she seized on the subject of her feather happily. "Yeah, he said it had been part of a collection, but it had been the only one worth holding onto. So that sounds like any others were in bad, bad shape, don't you think? And it wasn't even a plain feather. Someone wrapped tiny bones and beads on it and there was a little bit of what might've been gold paint. Almadel said it was romantic, but i don't really see how it could be."
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2025 9:06 pm
"Mostly same, actually," she said, her opinion of Almadel high enough that she doubted he'd do anything bad with anything he found on her Wonder that he might consider adding to his collection. "I'd probably ask to see whatever he finds first, and make sure it isn't anything like...vital, maybe, to my Wonder, before I let him take it." Considering the state of her Wonder now, though, she also doubted he'd find anything of use anyhow.
Ekstrom let the thought go as Saiph started into the topic of the feather he had traded to her, a smile settling on her face as she listened carefully. "Maybe," she replied with a nod to her question before quieting again.
"Romantic?" she asked once the senshi finished, curiosity piquing all the more as she tried to imagine the feather Saiph had described. "I mean, maybe he was thinking someone adorned it and gave it to someone as a gift? Depending on the culture, that kind of thing could be seen as romantic."
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 10:02 am
”I’d have no idea if anything was vital or not,” the words slipped out before Saiph could stop them. For half a breath, she looked lost, but it passed and she went on doggedly, determined to gloss over her slip. “I hadn’t thought of it like that. Someone fancying it up as a gift, I mean. I probably should have. Do you want to see it?” Saiph was already reaching for subspace before the question had fully tumbled from her lips. She didn’t feel comfortable leaving it at home. Her mother still wandered into her room once in a while to clean, after all. And her homeworld didn’t feel right either. Especially right now. Therefore, subspace was the only option left if she wanted to keep the feather in good shape.
Withdrawing the feather, she held it gently up for inspection. Without the glow of the lamps in Almadel’s tent, it was harder to see the shimmer of gold paint. But the tiny handcarved beads and bones hung delicately from the feather shaft and bottom edges of the feather itself. For something so relatively simple, it was clear that a great deal of time and work had been put into it.
“I still have to decide where I want to keep it and if I should get a case for it or not,” she said. “But Almadel told me that the feather itself was from a creature on my homeworld. She said he had a book too with illustrations, but he doesn’t know where exactly it is. I hope he finds it because I would really like to have a peek at it. I’ve seen some bones up there that are pretty big and it’d be nice to know what they belonged to, y’know?”
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Posted: Thu Oct 16, 2025 7:32 pm
That was relatable, she thought as Saiph shared a small uncertainty she seemed to have. Honestly, the only reason she might be able to consider something as "vital" was because there were so many security measures in place on her Wonder it was more likely than not that something hidden away could be considered "vital" or "confidential" or something else along those lines. She didn't press into it, instead bobbling her head at the offer to see the feather in question.
"I'd love to!" she said, very much enjoying the enthusiasm Saiph was displaying about the item in question.
Once offered, Ekstrom took her time to look, starting from a zoomed out perspective. She fought down the very strong urge to actually "ooo" and "ahhh" for the sake of saving herself a little face. She mouthed it despite the effort, but that felt...forgivable enough.
Eventually she leaned in close to get a good, solid look at the finer details as well. "It's beautiful," she said after another long moment. She straightened out again, eyes shifting to meet Saiph's. "I think a case seems pretty appropriate, especially if you're gonna be carrying it around with you. And I hope he finds it, too!"
She smiled fondly as she thought of Almadel. At this point she was comfortable enough to consider him a friend. Or at least a very good acquaintance!
"Kinda makes you wonder how long he's been around, with his collection being what it is," she said, her voice taking on its usual tone when her curiosity started to dig its heels into a thought. She quickly shoved it away, not wanting to jump into a rabbit hole right then. "Anyway, if he does find it, did he say he was gonna reach out?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2025 9:37 am
Feeling pleased by Ekstrom's reaction, Saiph shrugged a little at her questions. "Not... as such. But he said he'd like to visit again, so hopefully I can find some neat things and then figure out how to send him the invitation."
Carefully stowing the feather back into subspace, she sighed. She had no idea how she was supposed to communicate with Almadel. "He gave me the impression that he only visits once or twice a year, so I guess I have to just be patient. But I think he is a lot older than he looks. And maybe more powerful. I mean, he made sure we all got those little bags and he can just go to other planets and wonders..." The more she thought about it, the more she suspected that he'd been operating for many, many years. Possibly even centuries. It was kind of a sobering thought.
Shaking it off, she focused on more pleasant thoughts. "He did mention that I should visit his museum sometime. I think I'd like that to happen."
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