[ e s c a p i n g f r o m n o t h i n g ] // [ o p e n ]
— The room Touko was in had no windows, and she wondered if she was suffocating, the thought flickering across her mind for only moments before she banished it. The sterile and boorish white, surrounded her, herself being anything not bleached bright. Still, Touko found some solace in the harsh antiseptic and bleach in the room.
Touko had been a sickly child, her skinny legs and weaker lungs keeping her in the hospital frequently. It'd been a quiet relief in between her constantly warring parents and schoolyard bullies when she had gotten sick or injured.
The first thing that clued her in that she hadn't gone to sleep willingly was that she wasn't combo locked to the bed; she'd done that for years, ever since Syo had come out and she had been afraid about not being the one who woke up the next morning. A nurse had come in and explained things to the drowsy girl, waiting for her lids to stop drooping and smiling kindly. Touko liked nurses; if she weren't severely haemophobic, then maybe she would've thought about becoming one.
Touko kicked one leg over the edge of bed. The skirt wasn't her usual ankle length but it covered up her upper thighs and went to her knees, so for now it was good enough. She looked in the small mirror the woman had left behind. Her hair was longer than she remembered, but it was cleaned, trailing down past her knees. She pulled one leg over the other, like a dainty lady in a period piece that she'd idolized. Working slowly, she braided her hair; one braid, not two. New hairstyle, new planet, she supposed.
They left no make up but she made do with some tricks her older cousins had taught her. She pinched her colorless cheeks until there was some color in her face, pink and rosy enough to make her look better than a corpse. She sucked on her lips to make them stand out more. The little sink in the room had escaped her notice at first; but she stood up and made her way over, washing her face carefully. In the mirror, she supposed she looked a little pretty in certain angles, if you squinted. In reality, she looked much prettier than she thought, but that was something for another day.
Her feet met the ground solidly, sliding them into the shoes they'd given her. Flats, simple and black; they were exactly her style and fit her foot perfectly. She wondered if it were coincidence or intended that way, but deemed it the former. No one would go that far for her.
Touko's legs were still unsteady but she made her way out the door and into the pristine, sterile hallways, trembling under the sudden weight. She wondered if there were secretly concrete blocks on her feet, but that was irrational and stupid.
She could feel someone's eyes on her, and she turned abruptly towards them, hackles rising. "What do you want?" Touko barked, walls visibly going up as she did. "Are you just shocked that you've never seen someone as ugly as me?"
♂→ instantaneous combustion. [ ceti open | intro ]
What was this place? What did that nurse mean when she said my home planet was destroyed...? These thoughts rattled in the adolescent girl's head as she moved down the halls that reeked of antiseptic. Her vision was blurry, but one thing was clear: this was no ordinary hospital. The walls were drenched in red, as if swallowed by fire. Blood had also crossed her mind, yet just seeing that nurse in the room she just left, it didn't quite seem possible. Whatever this place was, it wasn't hostile.
Keeping a slender hand against the wall to keep herself balanced, the lost shrine maiden made her way to the self-opening doors. Outside the building was another insane amount of red, and the buildings in every area were covered in the same color, as well as being simple, not overly complicated shapes as she had imagined. Somehow, it fit the overall atmosphere of the division. Red just spelled trouble for anything techie. Mercury sure would agree.
Rei's vision was finally clearing up, and she could see the details of the division much more clearly. Aside from the red roses lining the hospital-esque building she just exited, everything was covered in the color. Red-hued bricks formed houses, red accents on the tall skyscrapers of the centre, light red pavement made up the pathways. It seemed very appropriate for the name this district has been given: Mars. It was also incredibly fitting for Rei Hino's alter ego: Sailor Mars.
Walking the pathway to what she believed to be the train station, Rei glanced at her surroundings to get a feel for the time. Confused at not seeing the familiar circular object or even a digital version, the adolescent's expression twisted into a mix of annoyance and confusion. Where were the clocks in this place?? Maybe there'd be one at the station? She quickened her pace and reached her destination.
Aha! There was a clock at this station! It was a simple, black analog clock, and the hands read 7:34. Being from Japan, the shrine maiden stared, confused. The surrounding light told her it was early evening at most, but the clock was reading morning time?
She placed her hands on her hips, just staring at the circular object. She let out a large sigh, not wanting to wrack her brain on something so trivial, she decided to call out to a pedestrian who just happened to walk by.
What's the first thing you do when you're dropped off onto some alien planet who wants you to try to help restore humanity? Did you say challenge some people to an arm wrestling contest? Because that sure is what Lissa's doing right now. She took it upon herself to walk along the streets of Solaria City to accept challengers for as long as she could. For some, they were no match for her and because of that her ego grew, thinking that she could be defeated by none. The petite girl was taking down many a foe as she jauntily made her way through the streets. "Can anybody defeat me, Lissa?" her voice echoed through the air, people slowly gathering to follow behind her as she made her way through the city.
You'd think that she'd try to befriend people instead of cause trouble like this, but that's just Lissa. She likes to have a little bit of fun before actually trying to fit to the status quo of the population. Besides, she wanted to be free for as long as she could while Chrom wasn't around to try to dictate her. Having an older brother breathing down your neck isn't always the best feeling in the world. In fact, she hated it. She was glad to have him not be around, at least for now she was. It was fun getting away with things like this.
As each person she triumphed over slowly walked away, a lone stranger stood in the middle of the paved streets now, Lissa could only take this as challenge. Perhaps they were worthy of taking her on. With a smile, she walks up to them now, holding out her hand for a greeting.
"Well, wanna give it a go? You're just standing in the middle of the street like this in front of me, I can only see it as a challenge!"
