The Moon and The Stars

Coming here was foolish. But Liam being the ever inquisitive fellow he was felt like he should at least investigate. Despite the Reiatsu being some level above his own. It didn't feel overly hostile. In fact it actually somewhat reminded him of his old friend Fryst. Nothing malevolent. Just simply there, a force of nature like gravity or sunlight. Irresistible and powerful, but certainly not out to get you.

He'd be safer at home, if he hadn't been on the other side of the city with the park being the quickest way back to his abode, chances are Liam would never have come here. Not only was it too damn cold. But even if the Reiatsu didn't feel hostile, he was better off avoiding it anyways. But that damn curiosity of his drew him forward like a moth to an open flame. Casting away common sense to investigate something that caught his interest.

He wasn't sure what to expect. Some roided out Arrancar beast? Another ethereal beauty like Fryst? A snake like Yaksha? Certainly not a rather lonely looking little girl sitting on a swing. Such a sight was a scene plucked straight from a horror movie. Something cute and innocent looking to lure in unsuspecting victims before they were devoured. A theory that the cynical part of Liam's mind was fully willing to go along with.

....But one couldn't be cynical all the time. And chances are that with a Reiatsu like this, company wouldn't exactly be far away. He could probably survive for a few moments if things went violent.

So instead he stepped out, right into the open in front of the young girl. A small smile on his face as he gave her a friendly wave. "Hi there." He greeted, voice as friendly as the smile on his face. "Bit of a chilly night out isn't it?" He gestured to one of the empty swings beside her.

"Mind if I join you?"

Well. This one wasn't a talker by any stretch of the imagination. But at least she wasn't trying to tear Liam's head off for simply being there. It was always refreshing to meet spiritual beings that didn't try to kill him on sight. It did wonders for his stress levels. Slightly creepy child or not, at the very least Luna was far more civil than an organisation that would attempt to put her down for being a monster.

"Thanks." He chirped, already moving to sit down on the empty swing next to her. His weight causing the leather seat to sag slightly, having not been initially designed to fully support someone of Liam's size and weight. This was a park for younger kids after all. And while he could fit himself on the swing, it wasn't really built with a teen in mind. It was a bit of a tight fit.

"Sooooooo. The name's Liam." He chimed, lazily drifting back on the swing. Letting his body slowly sway back and forth as he studied the curious childlike Arrancar in front of him. "Can I get a name from you?" Such a quiet little thing. Liam had felt her Reiatsu in town for quite a while before now. Just sitting here for hours. It would be a lie if he said he didn't find the girl intriguing.

So why not give her a little poke to get a reaction? Possibly very dangerous. But what was life without some risk?

As one hand gripped the chain of his swing, the other was free to weave the Reishi in the air to a familiar shape. A series of thin translucent wires sprung from the fingertips of Liam's free hand. Darting behind and wrapping around the chains of Luna's swing. If the little Arrancar showed no discomfort. The strings would begin to slowly pull back and then release. Setting the swing off in a gentle rocking motion. Occasionally pulling at the chains in order to keep up momentum.

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Frigg! Frigg! Friggitty frigg-frigg!

Just a couple weeks living in Japan and- No, well, ok, she always knew about the spiritual power of this place. There was a reason that Soul Society so closely resembled Japan circa some centuries ago after all, but still that-!

Ok, ok... Caitlyn was in the middle of her work, blood painting her furry teddy bear paws as she worked on maintenance for her corpse body when a new reiatsu signature appeared lighting up her senses like a second sun. Unlike others more experienced with spiritual matters she couldn’t tell anything about the reiatsu’s owner. At best it just seemed Hollow adjacent. Other than that, the power was so much stronger than her own that trying to find out anything else was like trying to understand a mural painted on the wall when your nose was an inch away from it.

Caitlyn couldn’t ignore it. It might just be a borrowed life that she was living, but it was still her life damnit and she was going to protect it!

With a quick flurry of stitches she sealed up her work for the day and transferred back into her corpse body. The stitches hurt and she still couldn’t move her limbs like she’d prefer but that was okay since she had no intention of remaining in this body for long.

Her workshop was a small shed out the back of her house originally meant for gardening. It was a luxury in space conscious Japan, but after her family moved here she quickly claimed it for her own and in no uncertain terms established that no one else was allowed in. Her family was used to it by this point, but it still didn’t pay to be incautious.

Caitlyn set the bear soaking in the little sink set up in the shed and cleaned up the blood as quickly as she felt comfortable doing so. Then, she picked one of her little “secret weapons” down from the shelf.

It was a taxidermied crow. Bit of an odd hobby for a teenage girl, true, but useful for a mod soul.

She transferred her pill, her soul and her true self, to the bird and took wing, flying out of the shed’s window.

It didn’t take her long to find the source of the disturbance, a little girl sitting all alone on a swing. Caitlyn knew better than most that appearances didn’t matter, or as she liked to put it, “Bluh, bluh, fuck appearances,” and the ice that started forming around her supported this.

Caitlyn didn’t know what this girl’s game was but she couldn’t just leave her alone. Instead she settled down to watch her, roosting in trees, pecking at the ground, and doing other bird stuff.


Nothing happened, and after a couple hours she was getting bored enough to give this all up as pointless when somebody new showed up.

Caitlyn snapped back into her bird-sona ‘Caw, caw motherfuckers,’ and kept watch while pretending to peck at the ground.

This guy… He had to just be a pedo or something right? There was no way someone spiritually aware would just casually approach such overwhelming power right?

Should- Should she interfere? Try to save him?

[Yes] her programming returned immediately. Here was a human in danger from something that, if not a hollow, then close enough. Her first instinct was to fight, throw her life away even if it was meaningless since there was a human in danger. However, you don’t survive for 100 years on the run from Soul Society if you’re a slave to your instincts.

Caitlyn clamped down on those feelings and continued to watch. Should the girl turn violent, THEN she would move.

DELETE PLOX. SHITTY INTERNET GIVES DOUBLE POSTS.



While he didn't outright laugh at the brief moment of panic Luna showed as the swing began to seemingly move itself. But his smile did widen a smile bit. It was certainly an amusing sight. Despite her previously cold exterior. There was something alive inside this young girl. Hell, he'd managed to get a name off her. That was certainly something considering she barely reacted to him at all before. It wouldn't be long now before he cracked that shell of her's!

"Its nice to meet you Lunanelle." He greeted back, just as softly. His wires still gently pulling and pushing at the chains in order to keep her momentum going. There was no real reason for doing so. Yet he did it anyway. He was unwilling to sit on a swing and see them unused for some odd reason known only to himself.

Taking a moment to pick up some speed for himself, Liam began to swing that much faster. Partly out of his own enjoyment and partly to show Lunanelle what these swing's purpose was. "Soooooo." He slowly drawled as he continued to swing back and forth. "What brings a little thing like yourself out here so late?"

Gwen stepped out of the garganta, some distance away. Let's see... She scanned the area with her pesquisa. Modified soul, inhabiting the body of a crow. What looked like... Uch, a quincy. She did all she could to avoid letting out a hiss. And yes of course, she was there. The real fucking deal. The blonde arrancar was more than a little excited, truth be told. Ordinarily it was hollows alone on her radar, but this particular specimen could either be great food for The One but preferably, they would be able to help Gwen find more souls, help her give it more and more strength.

She entered the park, walking straight through the fence surrounding it, the metal shearing and twisting out of shape. Gwen did not hold back her reiatsu like Lunanelle. Instead she used it to pummel her way through the world. However once she was through the fence, she kept it contained, so that its only indicator was the waves of heat that came off her, causing the air to stir slightly. The redhead quincy she could afford to ignore, realistically. The crow would steer clear if it knew what was good for it.

Thus, Gwen came to be facing Luna, several paces away, a warm smile upon her face. She wore her hair up in a pony tail, which tumbled over the high backed collar of her white jacket, with the selfsame trim all arrancar's clothing had. Her skirt had been swapped for a pair of baggy white gypsy trousers, backed by the tail of her jacket which fell to her ankles. In one hand she clutched a long staff that had seemingly been crafted from the bones of hollows. She spread her other arm wide.

"Hello, sister." she said, charismatically. Now she got to see closer, Luna was strangely demure looking, for an arrancar. She touched the horn-like mask remnant that poked out, only just visible above her ear, her waist-length blonde hair otherwise obscuring them, in a kind of confused gesture. Still, the girl in front of her did seem to be a strong arrancar... And she fit the bill of the stories Gwen had heard about a strange arrancar hanging out in K-town.

"Goodness me. And here I thought Luna was the frosty one." Liam drawled, already deciding to give Lunanelle a pet name and meeting Gwen's cold empty eyes with his own. Bright, alive, shining with amusement and utterly fearless. After all, with this much powerful Reiatsu in one area chances are that some other powerful souls clad in black robes will end up poking there heads around sooner or later. If a fight did end up braking out all Liam would have to do is survive for a few minutes until the walking superiority complexes showed up to wave their swords around.

But hopefully it wouldn't come to that. "She understands people just fine. But I've barely managed to get a peep out of her for as long as I've known her." Liam "helpfully" chimed in, still lazily swinging back and forth on his swing, never ceasing, smile still on his face as he watched Gwen attempt to parley with the little Arrancar that was far cuter than her.

"Hmmm. Dont think she's as friendly as I am Luna." Liam mused, deciding to dole out some "helpful" advice for one of the two present that seem to be a tad bit socially impaired. Of course Liam was no exception to this. He had his own issues when it came to interacting with others. But that was hardly relevant at this point. For now it seemed that he was content to simply sit on his swing and watch the ongoing proceedings.

Reaching into his jacket, a bar of chocolate was retrieved, breaking the candy in half, one part was shoved in his own mouth. The other offered to Luna. Partly as a gift to a potential friend and partly to see if it would distract her from answering Gwen.

Gwen's face tightened into a grimace when Liam spoke. Gwen considered herself anything but "frosty", and her displeasure unconsciously expressed itself in the form of a sudden burst of heat in the air around her. She kept her spiritual pressure mostly checked but her displeasure at finding Lunanelle be not what she was looking for was frustrating. Luna still said nothing- what was wrong with her? Clearly she was broken somehow, mentally deficient. All of the spiritual pressure in the world wouldn't help Gwen if she wasn't capable of performing any beneficial tasks. She, like all else, would become fodder for The One, but eventually, when it was strong enough. Her own interest in her fellow arrancar faded and was replaced with mounting disappointment.

She was trying to think: what was her best next move? But the quincy kept speaking. He wouldn't shut up, all the while wearing that shit-eating grin. It would have been impossible for Gwen to care less about Liam and Luna's "budding friendship". She looked him over and figured that he was probably just a child-molester, after a piece of ass without quite realizing what Lunanelle was and the fact that she could flatten him with probably only minimal effort. She figured that the best move would be to return to Hueco Mundo and feed it- it was always hungry, and the more souls she gave it the closer it became to being perfect.

It was when Liam felt the need to make a comment about Gwen's friendliness that she finally snapped. She didn't particularly care about coming across as friendly- nor did she care what he thought of her, but open rudeness, that she could not stand for. She was standing just before them, she was but a step away; she stepped forward with speed, and no-holds-barred aimed to punch Liam in the face.