(no subject)

[miracle_miko]

[ The days prior to Kyurem's attack on the city left Sanae out of sorts. While she was no stranger to fending off gods by this point--a thought that was still strange and a bit chilling to her--this was different.

Heatran never made it to Citadel. These attacks never struck so close to home before, figuratively and literally.

There was so much that went wrong during that short amount of time. The theater was in shambles, and there were injured among the staff; innocent people who knew nothing about battle, caught up in the shuffle and hurt due to the Divine Defense Force's oversight. Takuto was hurt, badly, and while he seemed to be healing up just fine, the fact that he sustained his injuries defending her... stung, to say the least.

More than that, she had actions to answer to. Mercy killing was not something that was looked down upon in the Citadel, especially on the battlefield. It was seen as a sign of respect, an act of charity for one suffering to end their life. But Union was different, and yet...

And yet...

During her work restoring the theater, or helping those who were unfortunate enough to be caught in the crossfire, the young priestess seemed distracted at best. She didn't speak much, and many of her actions were executed purely from muscle memory. She made few mistakes, but even in her daze, she was likely to miss something.

Even around town, fetching supplies, shopping for food--even just getting away--she was almost like a ghost of her usual, chipper self. She paid her respects at the Hikawa shrine often, praying for those lost that day. It still stung. From time to time, she would seek out familiar faces, be they people from Citadel, or those familiar faces from the city that welcomed her and called her one of them. Could she still say she was?

She felt like she could do nothing; and what she did do cast her as an outsider, someone who was not welcome here. She wasn't sure what to do... ]

Comments

[wishingalone]

[Mami fought against Kyurem, but she didn't take anything too serious as an injury -- at least, not her. Several of her Pokemon were out for the count, and that meant a lot of time nursing them, healing their wounds, and trying to manage her own anger.]

[It's different for her, of course. It wasn't a mercy killing, but the brutality that bothered her. The claim of justice... and then what was done. Something about that rankles her, digging deeper than she'd like to admit.]

[Trying to help the people of Union, especially after the arrival of Citadel's reinforcements, helps.]

[She's overseeing the purchase of some food to distribute today. She stops as she sees Sanae, though; the older girl waves as she approaches, adjusting her hairclip idly, before she starts walking over. It's a little slower than usual; she wasn't critically injured, but she's still exhausted and sore.]

[miracle_miko]

[ Sanae was aware, but at the same time not. She was a slave to her thoughts, and while she saw Mami and waved as well, out of habit, the usual chipper demeanor she affected was absent. It seemed the both of them were out of sorts, for somewhat different reasons. ]

[wishingalone]

[It's hard to miss that demeanor change. Sanae's usually chipper -- or maybe awestruck (or awkward, like the wagon) -- so Mami pauses. She blinks, then she tilts her head to the side.]

Ah, Sanae. Helping with the reconstruction, too?

[sleepingvalkyrie]

[ Having more Valkyrie present in the city was a relief. It meant that Gwendolyn could rely on those older and more experienced than she to aid with funeral arrangements for her wing - a simple ceremony, but her kith and their pokémon deserved nothing less, and Unionites did things so differently that she wanted it done properly.

Her arm still tightly bound, and with Myris under orders from the medical helpers to tattle on her if she tried to do anything too strenuous (and she would, too!), it did however mean that Gwendolyn was at loose ends. But she had made a few tentative contacts after arriving, so she was determined to follow up on them. One such person was Sanae.

She had been very welcoming to a new arrival, and Gwendolyn wanted to make sure she was well. Had harm come to her, she would surely have heard about it by now. So the Valkyrie makes her way to where she's heard the other was seen last: at the Theatre, which though damaged, still remained in the wake of the dragon's attack. She hadn't seen the place prior to events, but it's clear the place had been quite the sight.

Perhaps it would be again. She briefly stops one of the humans aiding with repairs to ask:]

Is Sanae here?

[miracle_miko]

[ The theater worker, an older gentleman, turned toward Gwendolyn, rubbing the back of his neck. Sanae had been out and about, he explained, but he wasn't sure when she would be back during the day. It seemed the girl was a bit hard to pin down after the attacks, which was worrisome to a few of them. She seemed out of sorts.

But luck would be on the valkyrie's side, for as she moved through the grounds, she would find who she was looking for. Carrying a few bags full of surprised, the priestess looked surprised to see Gwendolyn. She looked tired, and a bit tightly wound. ]

Gwendolyn? What are you doing here?

[sleepingvalkyrie]

[ The man is thanked for his kindness, though a furrow of her brow indicates she's heard what he's said - and hadn't.

That her path would bring Sanae to her was surely due to luck. Though her arm is still bound up, Gwendolyn still manages a wave, and the small Buneary at her heels does a passable curtsey. ]

Sanae! [the question gets a smile, though her eyes show some concern for that tiredness] The warp bands are still not fully repaired, so I wanted to make sure that you fared well in person.

[actsmagnificent]

[ The next time Sanae visits the Hikawa Shrine, a voice will speak up just outside the gate on her way out. ] He's not dead yet, y'know.

[ Which of course, implies you're praying for something else. For someone else. The whole city? Maybe. That might be what a Priestess is supposed to do.

But somehow Haruka doubts that. Even for someone as committed as Sanae. The rain doesn't fall the same place this frequently without a personal reason. ] You've been keeping busy.

[miracle_miko]

[ Something must have been wrong, for as much as her mind was distracted, Haruka didn't receive the type of over-the-top response from Sanae that she might give when startled. She did look taken aback--rattled, maybe?--turning toward the taller woman. ]

Huh? He--oh. I know, but...

[ Sanae shook her head. Takuto would recover, and that wasn't what she was entirely concerned about. She lowered her gaze awkwardly, turning again toward the shrine.

She had to keep busy, it kept her mind off of things.

Turning again toward Haruka, she tries to smile. ]

I'm glad you and Michiru made it out okay. I was worried--um, not that worried. I mean, I know you can handle yourselves, but--

[ Sanae, stop. ]

You know...

[actsmagnificent]

[ ...something did happen beyond Takuto's injuries. Haruka steps out from where she'd been lurking posing standing, beginning to stroll in the same direction as Sanae to encourage her to keep moving. She doesn't speak up immediately, though. Just gives Sanae a concerned, interested look.

Sanae can take as long as she wants, until she's ready. And Haruka will take the conversation seriously. ] What?

[allergictoloveletters]

[It was incredibly rare for Ami to be home right now. But seeing as Rei dragged her home to rest? She was watching her Florges, Hypatia tending to the gardens of the shrine when she saw someone just aimlessly wandering. Mental and emotional health was as much a part of Ami's profession as a medic as physical health.

Standing up, she makes her way over to the young priestess. Since Ami wasn't leaving the property (which Athos was on guard to make sure she didn't do until she rested properly), she wouldn't upset Rei.]

Is everything alright? [She asked the clearly distressed girl.[

[miracle_miko]

[ Oh, it was the nice woman she occasionally saw at the shrine here. Did that mean that Rei was busy... ...or worse. No, no, Rei was fine. She was strong. Stronger than Sanae was. There was no way that she could have gotten hurt in all of this. And if she was hurt--

Sanae would make sure to find whoever hurt her and make them regret it.

The question caught her momentarily off-guard, and Sanae stared in stunned bewilderment. ...She was asking if she was injured, probably. That had to be it. Pushing aside her morose mood, Sanae did her best to put on a smile, even if it wasn't as bright as usual. ]

Of course! We were really lucky. Oh. Um, I was wondering, is Rei in? I'm...

[ Why did this still feel awkward? ]

I'm kind of a friend of hers, I guess. I wanted to make sure she didn't get hurt, or check if she needed anything.

[ Someone obviously didn't watch the band, or she would know that Ami likely had that well taken care of. ]

[allergictoloveletters]

[Kind of indeed, since apparently Sanae didn't know Rei was engaged and she was her fiancé. But Ami shook her head no as her florges was still tending to the gardens, every once and a while handing a flower to Ami to help her feel better.]

I'm afraid Rei isn't in right now, she's dealing with some family business and won't be back for another day or so. [Rei and she had a very good idea of what the issue was, but Ami was not the sort to share personal emotion and matters outside of their family.]

And Rei isn't hurt. [She assured.] Her personal medic made sure of that. [Thoroughly, in fact. Ami left no limb unchecked, no organ unstudied.] I can leave a message for her from you, if you wish.

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[It all happens on one of Sanae's food shopping trips. Walking down the street with food in hand, she was a prime target for the sharp avian eyes from up above. Or rather, her cargo was.

Squawks waits until his prey is at her most vulnerable and distracted before swooping down from somewhere high up above, diving down with talons extended to... snatch that grocery bag right up and take to the air with it with a skreeee of victory! All food is for Squawks!

Aaand assuming he succeeds in his getaway, Sanae will hear an angry voice from around a corner or two belonging to a trainer yelling up at a bitching Spearow on a ledge.]

Squawks, what the hell are you doing?! We have our own food, you dumbass!

[miracle_miko]

[ On a normal day, Sanae's senses might have been keen enough to at least sidestep away from an aerial assault. True, she was no valkyrie, but she at least had enough combat sense by this point to evade.

Unfortunately, she was just a bit too slow on the draw this time.

Ripping the bags from her grip was relatively simple for the spearow; she was distracted enough with her own thoughts to not notice the assailant until it was too late.

But likely what the feathered thief didn't expect was the sudden change in air current.

The advantage of not being her normal chipper self? Sanae had less compulsion to be nice. Her groceries were probably going to be strewn all over the sidewalk anyway.

Quickly pulling her gohei out of the pocket in her skirt, she raised her arm, eyes glowing a piercing gold as she summoned a mighty wind on his direct flight path. Those supplies are for her injured friends, not for thieving birds.

She kept her arm up even after it died down. For emphasis. Probably. ]

[guitar_case_vagabond]

[Well, it looks like Squawks' victory is short-lived as the wind suddenly changes, suddenly gathering up enough force to cut off even Ryuko's tirade.

One day, Squawks may become a might Fearow who bows to no sudden big gusts of wind. But for now he's just a small, level six Spearow and so Sanae's gust of wind. The groceries are lost to whatever directions they might go in and Squawks goes careening through the air out of control toward the hard, hard ground beneath him.]

Squawks! [But the cold hard ground isn't the bird's destiny today. As he flips helplessly in the air, there's suddenly a person in the way! Ryuko's sudden jump carries her into Squawks' path and the bird hits her chest instead. With her arms wrapped around the Pokemon she doesn't have any concern to spare for a soft landing and she hits the ground on her back hard, knocking the wind out of her lungs.]

... Ouch....

[And she's just gonna lie there for a second while Squawks pokes his head up to look stunned at what just happened, and while Skullface motors on over to push lightly at her arm and call out in concern.]

[senpaidol]

[As much as she's been trying to keep busy, Sanae's emotional distress was almost as obvious to Rise as it was to the banged-up Gardevoir Rise has been attending to. Which is why, after a particularly long day of helping with repairs, Rise confronts the other actress when she comes back to the theater.]

Sanae...what's wrong?

[miracle_miko]

[ Sanae was in the middle of cooking when Rise found her, staring off into space as she stirred whatever would become that night's dinner. Looking up when she heard the older girl speak, Sanae blinked a few times. ]

Huh?

[senpaidol]

You've been out of it since the dragon attack. Sorry if I'm wrong here, but did something happen?

[taudriver]

[A certain young man who Sanae has confined to the room may be looking a bit pouty upon her return]

[miracle_miko]

[ Returning from her errands, she found a sad, sulking puppy on her bed. Rubis was, strangely enough, nowhere to be found. ]

Oh, you're up. How do you feel? Do you need me to change your bandages?

[taudriver]

I'm OK

[He sounds a bit sulky]

Slides in post-convention

[expertonshutters]

[Well. once thing is for sure, he's not really supposed to be out of bed. He's still technically too injured to be running around, but that ...didn't really stop him. He was going stir crazy. So with some bribing from his pokemon, they agreed to let him out for a little bit without telling his warden.]

[he just wanted fresh air, okay?]

[So he's out walking the streets trying to offer some light help to anyone when he come across Sanae. Oh- thank goodness. That was someone he wanted to try and touch base with when he could, he'd lost sight of her when things got hectic.]

Ah- Sanae.

[miracle_miko]

[ Hearing her name, Sanae turned, being met with a bandaged Calderan. Her eyes widen a little in worry. WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED? ]

Mister Ichimonji!

[ Up until this point, she had been relatively lost in her thoughts. But seeing Hayato battered and bruised sent her from worried for herself to worried for him, as she firmly planted her hands on her hips. ]

What are you doing here?

[ You're in big trouble, mister. ]

[expertonshutters]

[Oh shit he made a mistake. She should have know she was in league with Waver.]

[He puts his hands up.]

Just getting some fresh air! I've been locked away and confined to a bed for too long.

[before she can jump him anymore though, he points to Nikon, the ...somewhat towering Aggron tailing him.]

I'm being watched, don't worry. Nikon will make sure I don't get hurt again.

[child_of_luv]

[Somehow, Minako had also ended up cleaning up around the theatre district. When her clumsiness took hold back home, and she ended up making more of a mess than actually succeeding at cleaning up, she'd been sent out, and now she was in the only other place she considered home. And, once again, attempting to help.]