InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Buh"

Hino Rei still hates karaoke (fireandpassion) wrote in wariscoming,
@ 2011-12-30 23:33:00

Entry tags:

hino rei/sailor mars, svetlana sergievsky

Who: Rei and OPEN!
What: Attempting to find a place of tranquility in a city she doesn't know.
When: Slightly backdated to late afternoon of Dec. 30th
Where: A church
Rating: TBA depends on who comes!

This whole situation was a little difficult to swallow, but Rei was slowly adjusting. Having been thrown into the middle of a war wasn't bothering her. She was a soldier and was used to fighting. What she was having a harder time adjusting to was the fact she was in America and she was completely out of her element. She'd never really left Tokyo, and on the rare occasion she had, it was to visit a Shinto shrine somewhere in Japan. So to suddenly find herself in America was difficult. Then there was the fact she was able to sense everyone's aura, and it was stifling. There was so much pressing against her mind that it was hard to focus sometimes. It helped that she had her sacred fire, it lessened the burden on her mind. But the room she was in was not Hikawa Shrine any longer. The wards here were different, which should be expected given they were up against a different type of evil. But that wouldn't stop Rei from putting up her own wards and luck charms when she could.

But for now, she needed to get out of the complex and away from some of the more dominant auras around it. Even the good ones were oppressive if she concentrated too long. Inwardly, she wished one of the other priests or priestesses was here to show her some trick to better clear her mind, but none of them had her gift, her heightened sense. This gift had a tendency to be a curse, though. It was the curse of awareness, of always knowing who or what was around her. She could use the sense to track people down, able to pinpoint a location if she focused in on one. However she was not tracking someone now, she was simply searching for a church or a cemetery where she could sit for a while and just focus herself. There was something peaceful about both that she liked. Rei wasn't the type to hang out in cemeteries or even be in one after the sun set, but sometimes she liked to walk through one during the day. In Tokyo, she frequented her mother's grave, taking flowers on the anniversary of her mother's death. Other times she'd simply go there to pray and meditate, able to not feel so alone for a little while.

After clothing herself appropriately for the weather outside, she headed out, glancing at both Minako's and Serenity's doors on her way, not wanting to run into either of them right now. She had no patience for Serenity and no doubt Minako would freak out at her going somewhere alone. Even though she was only fourteen, Rei could take care of herself, and she could sense if danger was going to approach her, so she could never be truly ambushed. Making her way out of the complex, Rei stood on the sidewalk outside, looking up and down the road, wondering which way she should go. It was a little daunting, but she figured no matter which way she went, sooner or later she'd find what she was looking for. Finally deciding on going right, she walked along, keeping her mind as clear as possible. However, she also kept it sharp to sense any approaching threat while she was walking.

Eventually, she came upon a church. She stopped and looked at the sign, taking a few extra moments to translate it into Japanese. A Christian church of some denomination. Even though she wasn't Christian herself, she always found peace in churches, so she walked up to the door, pulled it open and stepped inside. It was quiet inside, no one else around that she could see. She glanced around, taking in the art and architecture. The Western world had a far different viewpoint in both aspects, but she could respect both. She walked up the main aisle, then walked over to a statue to one side of the main altar. She lit a match, then lit a candle before she knelt down, closed her eyes, and began praying. She started going through her prayer and meditation rituals in hopes of them helping her calm down.

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thegirlisme
2012-01-26 06:08 am UTC (link)

While Jelena was indeed aware of the slight discrepancy in the story, she didn't comment on it as she was more interested in the new story. She had no idea that she was being lied to but what did it really matter? After all, there was a prince and a princess and that was all it needed to keep her full attention. So while Rei told her the story about how the prince and princess fell in love and were able to unite their two kingdoms, the five year old listened with rapt attention, nodding in thought as the story came to an end.

"I know a story!"

"Doesn't mean she wants to hear it."

Sticking her tongue out at her sister who just rolled her eyes, Jelena turned her attention back to Rei.

"There was an Ice Princess who had a hard time of trusting people but there were a lot of... suits who wanted to make her their princess so they tried to win her attention. Princes but she did not care. She knew who they really were because she could see into the souls to know if they were good or bad. She had a locket but it could not be opened because the key was missing. But there was a knight that no body paid attention to. One day, he came across people trying to take the princess and so he fought them off by himself but got hurt. Taking her to where he lived, the knight tried to take care of the princess but she would not let him because he was hurt and she used her powers to heal him. When they went back to the palace, the princess' brother tried to banish the knight because he thought that the knight did something mean but the princess fought her brother, which was shocking because she very rarely said anything. After that, the knight and princess started to be friends. One day, it was raining and the knight got the princess somewhere safe and told her he loved her but knew she did not love him because he was just a knight but he was wrong and when she said she loved him, the locket opened because the key was made of love. After that, the two were married and the princess became a queen. They were happy but then a mean Rat King showed up and he challenged the knight for the queen and set him up on very hard tests to prove himself and the knight was gone but the Queen never lost faith in him even as the Rat King tried to change her heart. He would send people after her but she never stopped loving her knight and he finally came back and she was right."

The shot had calmed Svetlana down slightly but she was still upset. She just wasn't going to drown her issues in vodka. That was Mikhail's way. So as she waited for the water to heat up again, she just leaned against the counter next to Anatoly. She wasn't really sure on what to say, so she said nothing at all. But then Jelena started to tell the story of the two and Svetlana just looked down. It was happier than the truth but it was also true. All that time, Svetlana had held onto hope. It was really Bangkok where it had been destroyed. She had been hurt and betrayed in the years before, yes, but after Anatoly didn't come home? After seeing him with Florence? The arguments about him losing or winning... that was when she realized he was changed, that he would never be hers again. Or so she thought.

When the kettle whistle blew, Svetlana went and quickly made the mixture for the tea she needed this time and let the now full tea bag steep and the water to cool down some, looking at Anatoly curiously to see just how he was handling the story Jelena had just told Rei.

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fireandpassion
2012-01-26 07:38 am UTC (link)

The fire senshi well knew Serenity, as she was right now, would probably berate her, or possibly kill her, for even uttering the story. Love wasn't lost on her, she could see the value in it. And besides, she was the embodiment of passion, a key aspect to love, and Serenity and Endymion as well as Usagi and Mamoru had it. And as long as Jelena liked hearing about it, Rei would tell stories like it. She knew the value of fairytales to a child. Too early she'd had her innocence ripped away from her. She wasn't about to let any child have the same taken away from them if she could help it.

As Jelena stuck her tongue out at Fayina, Rei just had to smile. It was funny to see, but she did want to hear the story. She listened closely as Jelena told it. She didn't even pay any attention to the word swap, she followed the meaning easily enough. Rei had no idea that the story was true, that it was about Jelena's parents, so she just took it as a story. Of course, as much as she loved stories, she was a bit jaded on love and had a pessimistic view of it, for the most part. As much as she wanted to believe that fairytale romance actually existed, she knew better than that. But she wouldn't be popping Jelena's bubble on that, she'd let her believe whatever she wanted to because she had a right to do so. When she got to the end of the story, Rei smiled.

"A happy ending. I like that the princess was proven right. I am certain the knight would make certain the Rat King stayed away after having succeeded in his challenges and proven himself." She was completely oblivious to the fact the story was an allegory about Svetlana and Anatoly because how could she know otherwise? She'd only just met them.

Words weren't something that would make a lot of difference at this moment, mostly as they had company and their girls were within earshot. They didn't need to get into the emotional side of things where their children could overhear. So Anatoly too remained silent. At least until he heard Jelena's story. He froze a bit, of course knowing exactly what the story was about. It wasn't that hard to figure it out. Lowering his head, all he could think about was those years of pain he'd caused his family, how horrible he had been. It had all culminated in Bangkok. He knew that was when Svetlana had truly seen what he'd become, knew he wasn't the man she'd married anymore. He was grateful for this place, for helping him try to rebuild his family and be back where he belonged. But the point was that he had a chance, and he was taking it.

The whistle of the kettle jolted him a bit. After a minute he lifted his head and saw Svetlana was looking at him. Without having to speak, his expression said it all for him. He regretted what he had done, what he had become. He'd let Molokov corrupt him and let his pride take him away from what truly mattered the most; his wife and his family. He really hadn't expected Svetlana to even let him in the door of this apartment, yet she had. And now he was living here with his family again. They were willing to work through everything, and perhaps some day, he could be that knight again, be worthy of that title again.

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