Name of the Storyline: Ice Cream Storytime
Name of the Creator(s): Anait Zelleire & Aurae
Forum: Crystal Tokyo
Plot Summary: After the events of Remnants, during an appreciated moment of peace, Sailor Achelois and Sailor Nocturnus spend a casual afternoon together at an ice cream parlor in Crystal Tokyo. The more battle-tested Achelois has stories about her own past to tell the younger Pamina. Achelois thinks this could help the younger sailor soldier-in-training feel more secure about finding her way as a sailor soldier. The two will bond over the shared tales and increase their level of trust with each other.
Details on any necessary information: This occurs after the end of the Remnants RP event. We'll be avoiding discussing too many details from the event itself, as it is still ongoing.
Restrictions: Sailor Achelois (Anait Zelleire) and Sailor Nocturnus (Aurae) are the only playable characters. All others are NPCs.
Source: N/A
OOC Thread: N/A, Skype used for OOC
Member to Character List:
Sailor Achelois (Anait Zelleire)
Sailor Nocturnus (Aurae)

http://www.thegalaxycauldronforums.com/t10576-relaxed-ice-cream-storytime#295968

Sailor Nocturnus

Sitting outside one of the public gardens, Pamina sighed. The expression on her face seemed to suggest that the child had failed to notice the beautiful sunshine and mild weather of this fine day. Her dark eyes seemed preoccupied, focused on the not-too-distant spires of the Crystal Palace. She wore her school uniform, and prooooobably should have been in class, even though it was now the afternoon. If she were playing hooky, it would seem strange that there was so little evidence of any enjoyment.

Achelois so enjoyed the gardens here, they had flower varieties that she had not seen on other planets.  She leaned in to smell one flower in particular when a certain young senshi came into view.  She finished inspecting the flower and looked at the young girl again to see that she was not in her senshi transformation.  Achelois was alone today as Enya was off training and mock fighting with others. She had grown bored of watching and had wandered off to visit the gardens that she loved to see.  She turned to a bush near her and gently cut off a pink flower and walked over to Nocturnus, no her name is Pamina like this.  "For such a beautiful day you don't seem to be enjoying yourself?"  She spoke softly next to the girl, so not to surprise her.

Sailor Nocturnus

The soft voice startled her, although she quickly recovered. So absorbed in her thoughts had she been that the approaching footsteps fell on deaf ears. Pamina blinked up at the blonde woman, too tongue-tied for a moment to reply.

"Oh, um, it's nothing," she replied.

It was certainly not "nothing." But here was one of her heroes--the amazing healer! Achelois and Enyalius had fought so many forms of Chaos across so many distant planets. She was so insignificant compared to all of the sailor soldiers... and especially to both of them. They couldn't understand what she was worried about, right? Better not to mention it.

"Nothing huh?" Achelois didn't have to feel Pamina's energy to know that nothing, wasn't entirely nothing.  She was reminded of a conversation she had heard about the girl's circumstances. If she didn't want to talk about anything then she wouldn't force her, but maybe it would be a good idea... "Ahhhh," she whined then sighed loudly, "I think that eating something sweet would be a good thing to do with this weather."  She held out the pink flower for Pamina to take, "When I first came here, I tried a food that was called 'ice cream', I really would like to try that again, but it's no fun alone," She grinned. "Would you keep me company? I'll treat of course."

Sailor Nocturnus

She often tried to act mature, but she was only twelve after all.

"Ice cream?" she gasped, dark eyes sparkling. "Yay!"

Pamina realized that she was being a bit too excitable and coughed with embarrassment, her cheeks blushing a rosy pink on her dark skin.

"I mean, that sounds nice."

~

The ice cream parlor nearby was as nice as most such establishments in Crystal Tokyo. The queen's historic interest in sweets worked out in the favour of keeping bakeries, frozen dessert shops, and cafes well in business as an industry. Ice cream wasn't quite the "national food" of the utopian society, but it was generally popular enough to maintain the livelihood of a variety of shops. This was a family-owned place, not part of a chain, with a slightly retro feel to the decor.

Pamina had walked by it numerous times on her way to and from school, but she had not been inside. Although she had tasted ice cream and other delights from 30th century Earth, they were not regular parts of her diet. She mostly ate at the school or dormitory cafeteria, careful to spend her limited funds in the most frugal manner she could. As the dormitory breakfast and dinner were required parts of her overall living costs at that establishment, she rarely skipped them in favour of buying something on her own. Snacks cost extra, and thus snacks she did not buy.

Pouring over the menu here, she felt dazzled by the elaborate parfaits and all of the available flavours of... everything!

"Is there anything I shouldn't order? I don't want to spend all your money," she asked shyly, glancing up across the table at Achelois. It still seemed like a dream that she was here, sitting at an ice cream parlor with the Sailor Achelois. The legend!

Achelois was glad that Pamina had accepted her invitation, hiding the joy she felt seeing the young girl get so excited even for a moment.  Achelois was glad to be led to the place by Pamina, it had real comfortable feel to it.  They sat at a table and the young girl poured over the menu before asking if there were any limitations.  Achelois grinned in response, "Order anything you like, don't hold back!"  Glancing at the prices on the menu, she knew that she had plenty of this planet's currency to cover anything they could order.  The only flavor she knew was the one she had tried last time and that had been 'chocolate'.  Instead she looked at the pictures and decided on the one that was brightly colored.

Sailor Nocturnus

The temptation to order one of the largest parfaits tickled at Pamina, but she settled for a smaller parfait. (She couldn't have eaten it all, anyway--probably not even with help from Achelois.) This one contained an assortment of fruit, focusing on peaches, strawberries, and melon. She hoped it would be as pretty as the picture in the menu.

As the waiter bowed and walked away, her thoughts started to wander once more. The events of Remnants continued to weigh on the mind of the younger girl, along with other insecurities. Where was her mother, to console her and provide advice?

After the waiter had taken their order and walked away, Achelois felt that Pamina was once again feeling down. For a moment she was reminded of her younger years, when she was still learning her powers and how seriously she had taken everything.  That was until...  "You must be thinking about some deep things to be making such a serious face like that?" She put her elbow on the table and rested her head on her hand.

Sailor Nocturnus

Pamina ducked her head and looked up shyly through her dark lashes at the older warrior. Somehow she knew that Achelois wasn't teasing or mocking her. They felt like very deep thoughts to the girl wallowing in them. But there was something in the blonde woman's expression and the way she leaned slightly forward that made Pamina want to tell her more. If only she didn't laugh...

"I dunno," she began tentatively, twisting a strand of hair around her finger. "I've been spending a lot of time studying and training here." She paused, then punctuated that space with a sigh. "Maybe I'm just stupid. I don't know if I'm getting any better."

She didn't really feel much relief from having admitted it out loud. It was almost more crushing to have voiced those fears than to keep them bottled up. Sailor Achelois was amazing. Every time Pamina had been lucky enough to work alongside Achelois as Sailor Nocturnus, she was shown time and time again that the woman in green could meet any challenge. So different from herself...

"You've been working hard but you feel like you haven't improved?"  Achelois sat for a moment, thinking of how to say what she wanted Pamina to understand.  "Isn't that how growth works?"  She offered up her explanation. "When we grow physically we don't feel any different from the day before. Out bodies appear to be static even though they are constantly changing.  Given enough days however and you will eventually be able to look back and see that you are different.  The farther back you look, the more growth you will see."  She smiled, "You may not notice it, but you have grown stronger since you've come here.  You've become stronger and shown courage in the face of danger, and you've made friends." She smiled at the waiter as he placed their desserts on the table.

Sailor Nocturnus

The ice cream parfait now in front of her (which was, thankfully, as beautiful as the picture in the menu) provided an excellent place for Pamina to duck behind. She appreciated Achelois' words, but wondered how much of the older woman's comments were related to her general impression of kindness as opposed to specific considerations regarding Pamina. To the dark-haired child, the older warrior seemed beyond her in both skill and years, in a way that made her feel like she could never truly catch up. It is so often hard for children to understand that the growing-up process is much easier to look back on than to look forward to.

"What was it like for you? Or was it always the same?" she finally asked, timidly, hoping she wouldn't offend Achelois with her question. Some people would consider it prying.

"For me? Ah." She paused, her eyes focusing on somewhere far away.  "I was... alone."  Her eyes continued to look beyond as if watching the memory she would describe.  "When I first became aware, I was a small child, I knew that I loved my planet and- I somewhat knew what I was.  My powers were difficult to control at first, since they were so linked to the planet.  I made many mistakes and caused catastrophes over and over."  Achelois looked back at Aurae and chuckled, "It probably took me 30 years before I could fully control my powers and properly guide my planet."  She paused to take a small bite from her parfait before laughing again, "Then Enya came and I had to learn so much, about us as Senshi, other planets and cultures." She sighed, "But it was fun too."

Sailor Nocturnus

30 years was a time period difficult for Pamina to comprehend. Although she was mature in many ways, like most children her grasp of time and years was bound by her own experience. Her own life seemed incredibly long when she looked back on it--to know that Achelois had been around so much longer made the woman's history seem almost impossible as far as Pamina's ability to connect with it. Would it truly take her that long to learn her own powers? If so... would her mother survive that long? She tried not to think of the recurring nightmares where she arrived at their home, only to find she was too late.

"It sounds so nice when you talk about meeting Enyalius," she sighed. "She's really amazing. I could never be like that."

Achelois couldn't help stifle a laugh as Pamina commented on Enya.  Catching her breath so as to not choke on the sweets in her mouth, she quickly calmed down.  "She is amazing-now, but when we first met she was... burdened."  Those first few days cycled through her mind and she grinned, "We first began adventuring together as a distraction."  Her grin faded, "No planet is truly without its conflicts, but that's why we have to keep trying, that's why it's good to have those who will support you."  She looked at the young girl, sitting across from her, the girl's plight now on her mind.  "Conflict, evil, chaos, it doesn't care if you're ready for it, if you're strong enough to handle it." She smiled confidently, "But that's why you keep training, we will be there to back you up, so don't lose hope."

Sailor Nocturnus

She watched Achelois' facial expression turn mirthful and extremely amused. She was used to seeing a soft smile on the older woman's face, but not quite this kind of suppressed laughter. Pamina wasn't sure what she had said about Enyalius to cause such a reaction. Maybe it was some kind of grown-up thing that she didn't understand yet. She didn't want to ask, just in case it was; she didn't need more reminders about being not an adult.

"I just..."

She stared at her partially-eaten parfait, trying to keep herself from getting distracted in the mire of her fears. It took a moment for her to think of the right words.

"I don't know how much time I have. I don't know how long I can train and try and learn. What if I get back home someday and it's too late?"

Pamina almost hated having to voice such a thing. The awful possibility felt even more real now that she had said it. Her mother and her home world were always on her mind, every moment of every day. No matter what mission she joined for this system's beautiful and just queen. No matter what hardships they faced on what other planet. No matter what Chaotic evil affronted them. Her home. Her mother. She had no way to know if they were alright. She could never stop thinking about it.

Achelois's face relaxed back into a much softer state upon hearing Pamina's fear.  No matter how much she could try to reassure the young girl of her growth, it would make no difference if she couldn't grow fast enough to save her planet.  What could she tell the girl, that she would be strong enough? There was no guarantee, it would almost be like lying, Pamina deserved more than lies to assuage her fears.  So young to have to bear so much.

"You're right, there's no guarantee that you'll be ready when it's the right time to be, sometimes there isn't a good ending." Achelois looked down at her hands, recalling the planets that she and Enya hadn't reached in time, hadn't been able to save.  They had destroyed the Chaos, but that had been all they could do.  She took a deep breath and released the sorrow, she had already mourned for them, moving forward was the only choice left. Pamina's planet may not have to meet the same fate.  She looked back up at the young girl before her, Achelois's face bearing confidence and determination.  "You may not be ready in time, but there are others who are strong enough. The person that you are, regardless of strength, is someone that others desire to help.  That's how you can save your planet, the Queen here has allowed you to remain safe and therefore you've grow stronger.  You know that Enya and I are ready to help when you need it and I'm sure there are others. I can make no guarantees but that fear that you won't make it in time, use it to push you forward and don't stop trying, no matter what." 

Sailor Nocturnus

Somehow she felt better from hearing the woman's realistic reply than she would have from a well-meaning comment guaranteeing the kind of thing that could never be counted on for sure. All Pamina could do, here and now, was keep trying. She had to believe that someday she could return and it would be the right time and right moment to save her mother and her home. She couldn't let herself be ruled by her fears. It wouldn't make any of this any better.

"Yes..." she sighed, blowing bubbles through the straw into her glass of water. Realizing the childishness of her reaction, she awkwardly pulled herself up from her somewhat slumped position and pushed the water slightly out of reach.

"I really appreciate everything that has happened here. Neo Queen Serenity is so kind and so amazing. And I've been really lucky to learn from you and Enyalius and the others."

She ducked her head, shyly looking up at the woman across the table.

"Thank you for taking the time to talk to me."

Achelois grinned and laughed at Pamina's bubble blowing, she found the custom endearing and was relieved that Pamina found it somewhat relaxing as well.  She sat up straighter in response to Pamina's own posture change and nodded when she thanked Neo Queen Serenity, Enya, and herself.  Her grin softened again as Pamina looked away shyly to thank her for their talk.  "Of course, anything for you dear." She looked at the empty glass once containing her parfait. "We should probably be heading back soon, if you're ready?" THe last part a question, leaving their departure up to Pamina.

Sailor Nocturnus

Pamina had just nodded at Achelois' question and moved to push her chair back from the table when a terrible screeching noise caught the attention of everyone in the ice cream parlor. Confused, Pamina whirled around, just in time to catch a flash of something bright white and light tan. The atmosphere in the restaurant had changed suddenly, almost oppressive.

A table not far from where Achelois and Pamina sat was knocked over, the seated couple who had previously been sharing a parfait now kneeling on the floor sharing a scream. Looming above them was a horrible-looking thing.

"FREEEEEEEZAAAAAAAAA!" it cried. It was only then that Pamina noticed the interrupting menace vaguely resembled a soft-serve ice cream machine.

A monster? In Crystal Tokyo, one of the most peaceful places in the universe, guarded by an army of sailor soldiers and regularly inhabited by powerful allied visitors?

Pamina looked at Achelois in panic. This was different from being on a mission with Sailor Enyalius and the others. In some ways, this danger was more immediate. The ice cream shop patrons were trying to flee, but the terror and rush made everyone less efficient and increased the threat the civilians posed to each other. It was also clearly enticing to the monster. As a sailor soldier, Pamina had to do something!

Thankfully, her small size came in handy. She tried to meet Achelois's eyes, hoping the older woman would understand what she was about to do. Pamina slipped under the table, rolled across the tiled floor, and ducked behind the nearest obstacle. Her fingers closed around her Asturlab, raising it above her head.

"Illuminate the Darkened Night!" she called.

Instantly she felt the stars surround her, the warmth like her memories of her mother's embrace. Transformed into Sailor Nocturnus, she jumped up just in time to distract the monster from harming two cornered people. This was no time for posing and speeches, although she heard that's how it used to be done when the Queen was a teenager. Instead, she tried to provide a target for the creature to focus on, so that these poor people could escape. She hadn't used her attacks around civilians before; she wasn't sure what might happen.

She glanced around, looking for Achelois, wondering how the other woman was handling this.

Their attempt to leave was cut short by some weird mechanical ice cream monster attacking the shop.  Achelois quickly caught Nocturnus's look as she transformed, so did Achelois.  As Nocturnus went for the monster's attention, Achelois focused on the people, sending a wave a calm energy that covered the shop.  Now the people were no longer scrambling on top of each other to leave.  Instead she directed them quickly through the exits, making sure that Nocturnus had plenty of room to attack the monster without civilians getting hurt.  A mother tried to shush her crying baby unsuccessfully, Achelois sent more energy to the baby, effectively calming him and allowing the mother to quickly evacuate.  With the mob of customers, quickly and calmly exiting, it only took a few moments for everyone to evacuate the shop.  Turning her attention back to the fight at hand, she hung back, waiting to see if she was needed, but ready to help.  "The people are out, I've got your back!"

Sailor Nocturnus

While Sailor Achelois took care of the civilians, Sailor Nocturnus did her best to face the monster. There were so many worries and concerns that bubbled to the surface, but she did her best to shake them away. Whether the shop would be damaged, if the monster might escape, if any of the people had gotten seriously injured, what the Queen would think about this... None of that was important right now. She had to dispatch this creature before she could think about any auxiliary problems.

Initially she darted and dodged, trying to taunt it and keep the beast from being able to cause many problems--but suddenly a flash of white shot by. She rolled her shoulder back to keep from being hit, only to see a heavy icy mass of what looked like soft-serve ice cream crash into the wall behind her. Sailor Nocturnus could only imagine what it may have done if it had hit her; clearly this was no average frozen dairy treat.

She couldn't keep stalling. She had to try.

"Ecliptic Rotation!"

The golden energy that arced forth from her, sending stars shooting across the thankfully-empty restaurant, still dazzled her. In the few seconds that she had to observe, she found herself wishing that her mother could see this strange power that Sailor Nocturnus had been granted.

Unfortunately for the sailor soldier-in-training, not a single one of the tiny projectiles caused by her attack connected with the monster. Instead, it seemed riled up by the attempted attack.

"FREEEEEEEEEZAAAA!" the thing screamed, rushing forward.

Achelois looked on as Nocturnus darted around the monster, finally deciding to attack but ended up missing.  For a moment she considered stepping in to prevent any damage from being done, instead she resisted.  Achelois cheered Nocturnus on, "Stay calm and learn from your mistake."

Sailor Nocturnus

Achelois' comment kept Nocturnus from venturing down a path of defeat and self-pity. She didn't have time for that kind of thing right now: there was a monster in Crystal Tokyo blindly seeking to harm anything in its path. This time she didn't have a team of other more experienced sailor soldiers to assist. There was no way to call for help or enlist backup. She had to take care of this or it would continue to rampage.

She dodged the monster, skidded backwards across the linoleum floor, and caught herself to run towards it. Sailor Nocturnus kept her eyes focused on the creature, trying to will herself to concentrate and channel her powers.

"Ecliptic Rotation!" she cried, releasing the shower of stars.

This time a few caught the monster, Freeza, squarely in the chest-like expansion of the front of the ice cream machine panel. It howled with pain and indignation, only pausing for a moment before returning to its pursuit of the small figure.

Achelois watched the fight intensely, making sure to stay out of the way of both the monster and Nocturnus.  Although she knew she would step in if she was needed, she really wanted to see the young senshi handle this problem by herself, in hopes of getting a confidence boost from winning the battle.  Achelois cheered when Nocturnus hit the monster square in the chest, her bright green eyes wide and glowing as they watched.  "Just like that, you can do this, don't stop!"

Sailor Nocturnus

Sailor Nocturnus put just enough distance between herself and the monster to give herself the leeway to stop and perform her attack yet again. She felt the power of the stars flow through her body, intensifying just before forming the dazzling energy that shot towards the enemy. Even though she was indoors, inside of a restaurant, she could sense the stars around her. It filled her with that familiar feeling of being protected, guarded, and guided by an unseen force.

This time the stars formed were larger and brighter. More of them connected with the ice cream menace. Now the creature was lagging behind, a grimace on its face... at least as much as what served for a face could properly grimace. Nocturnus could see steam and scorch marks, possibly where failure was happening with mechanical components of the machine it took the appearance of.

She was starting to feel tired, herself, but she had to do something. She couldn't tell if Sailor Achelois had alerted anyone else, if there was even anyone else to inform, but it seemed unlikely for anyone else to appear and save the day. Would she be able to defeat this thing on her own? Sailor Nocturnus knew she didn't have purifying abilities as the Queen was rumored to have used in her youth. She could only hope that this evil thing was truly evil and not a poor manipulated human.

The thing fired swirled-cone projectiles at her. She narrowly dodged out of the way. Then another round of firing. This time she just wasn't fast enough. Sailor Nocturnus yelped involuntarily as one smashed into her upper chest. The vanilla-and-chocolate confection was cold enough to burn; she could feel it painfully searing through the fabric of her uniform. She nearly collapsed, but pulled herself to her feet just in time to feel the impact of another--this time under her rib cage. Her breath caught in a gasp.

There wasn't time to waste. She knew she had to attack again; that was all she could do.

"Ecliptic Rotation!" her small voice called out.

This time the majority of the shockwave and stars collided with the front of the monster. It staggered back, vibrating the energy passing through its form.

"FREEEEZAAAAA!" it screamed, arms outstretched.

"Lovely..." it whispered, the voice and phrase unsettling to Nocturnus's ears.

Its body began to flicker and waver, changing from the humanoid monster it had been into an actual soft-serve ice cream machine. The thing clunked onto the floor, tipping over. A small pale-violet pod emerged from the front of the thing. It rolled onto the floor, cracking in half. With a strange high-pitched chuckle, a dark and vague form emerged and disappeared.

Sailor Nocturnus panted, hands on her knees. Her long hair flopped over her shoulder. Now that she had stopped running, she winced with pain. The ice cream ammunition had faded away with the monster, but her injuries remained.

"What... what was that?" she asked Achelois, dark eyes confused.

Achelois watched proudly as Nocturnus fought the monster, fighting the urge to heal as the young senshi took a few hits.  However Nocturnus finally got off a lethal hit and revealed the source that caused the ordinary machine to become chaotic. Nocturnus turned to Achelois questioningly and she answered the girl first by extending her staff towards Nocturnus, and focusing her energy on the girl's wounds.  Then to answer her question, "That was a very small seed of Chaos."  Her face turned from serious to a brilliant smile aimed at Nocturnus, "Good thing you were here to stop it from maturing!"

Sailor Nocturnus

She felt so much better after a bit of attention from Sailor Achelois. It was still astonishing to her, even as she experienced it, how amazing the woman's healing ability could be. It was just as useful here in Crystal Tokyo as it had been on the missions they faced as part of a team.

At the comment, she thought of the Chaos seeds they had fought before on other worlds. Nocturnus remembered watching Sailor Achelois purify her home world of the malefic seed, a feat of true connection with one's guardian planet. There was something distinctly unsettling at the thought of such a thing existing here, in this place of peace and prosperity, ruled by an unbeatable Queen.

Her sailor soldier uniform faded around her, changing to a faint halo of golden stars before Pamina stood in the place of Sailor Nocturnus.

"Thank you," she offered to Achelois. There were so many things to thank the woman for--healing her now, the discussion in the ice cream parlor, the time she took to spend time with Pamina, and everything that Achelois had provided when they were far from the Solar System.

"I think we ought to tell Neo Queen Serenity's sailor guardians about what just happened," she suggested. An hour or two ago, Pamina would have hesitated or waited for Achelois to make that kind of decision. Everything in good time; regular progress was sometimes so hard to actually observe, but it was still there.

Still, as the pair turned from the ice cream parlor and towards the massive shape of the Crystal Palace in the distance, Pamina reached up for Achelois' hand. A little bit at a time, she would become someone as brave and powerful as the sailor soldiers she admired so greatly.