Suggested changes: {before : after}
On Thu, 07 Aug 2003 21:18:03 -0400 Mark MacKinnon
<emmack@sympatico.ca> wrote:
Silence reigned again, broken only by the ticking of the grandfather
clock in the foyer. Usagi felt her anger ebbing, but she still held
Hotaru's gaze with her own, defiance in every line of her slender body.
They were her senshi, and by all the gods she was proud of them, every
single one. Hotaru had given up on them, had let them go and not tried
to get them back. Those girls were Usagi's now, not hers. And she
would not allow them to be {degraded : denigrated : defamed} by anyone.
"But you can't control your shadow," Usagi protested. "And
you can't go back to Aethyr! What if Dragon is still there?"
Interesting that Hotaru didn't ask what Dragon is and why they think
they need to avoid this Dragon.
"We can feed upon the essence of captive incubi," Maia said
with a feral smile. "Or even other succubi who have incurred the
displeasure of the Crimson Queen. But nothing compares to the
essence of a human. Come boy, I will show you pleasures such as
you have never imagined. You will recover your strength in time."
"I don't think so," V said sweetly, jerking the whip again.
She may be pretty open, but she's getting protective of Ranma.
"Well," V shrugged, "I didn't say it was a perfect plan. If
anyone has a better one, {than : then} I'd like to hear it."
"You are unbelievable," Mars muttered darkly, shaking her
head. "If you'd been caught, you'd be in a slave market in Tyria by
now."
I'm still looking for clues whether Minako really did spend some time
in a Tyrian harem.
"Mars, can you and Deimos keep watch from here?" V asked.
"I'll take Ranma up there. That way I'll be covered."
"Caution," Mars said ruefully. "I approve."
Rei's view of Ranma has definitely changed if she considers taking him
along cautious. Of course, considering where they are, he's a lot
better than Minako going alone.
"Yu with you?" Kaede Amagi asked. When Mamoru nodded
she motioned {him : them} in and told Yu to shut the door.
"We got hit today," Kaede began, her eyes darkening. "Bad. We lost
a lot of our people to this thing. And by now, you've all heard the news.
Martial law. Curfews, expanded powers for the police, and the presence
of military personnel on the streets for the duration of the emergency."
I am curious just how hard they got hit. I've seen the number 48 for
the police casualties. Is that 5%, 50%, or somewhere in between?
Wynneth did not know that she had made this realization
before. Nor did she know that she would no more recall it this time
than she had any of the others.
Wheels within wheels within wheels.
One smooth jump took her to the top of the wall, and she
glanced back to check for pursuit. From this vantage, she could see
the main house, and to her surprise she saw it had been badly damaged
by something; fire, perhaps. A large section was blocked off by
scaffolding and tarpaulins and seemed to be under repair; the damage
was not as extensive as it had been to the analogous structure in
Shadow, but it was bad enough.
It would be interesting to know what caused the damage. I suspect
wraiths, Wynneth wouldn't want anyone else using Shadows.
And soon, no power that existed would be able to stop her
ascension. Not the White Moon Princess's, and not the Warden's.
Except she somehow needs the Sisterhood to perform their ceremony.
That does provide an obvious point of failure.
"Oh, I believe that," Setsuna said with a strange smile. "I am
even willing to hazard a guess as to when you came into possession of
that little artifact. Was it, perhaps, about two years ago?"
Telling her that that was actually when he entered Gaia would be
getting to close to the 'O' word.
"Now that is a new one on me," Setsuna said in a low voice,
leaning forward to examine me closely. That was even more
embarrassing, but at least the topic of my past had been temporarily
derailed. I wondered if that had been Minako's intent, then dismissed
the idea. The girl just liked causing mischief. There was certainly
nothing deeper than that involved.
I'm sure Minako was thinking of all of the above. You'd think he'd be
over underestimating her by that much by now.
"What do you want, Minako?" Makoto asked, sounding dead
tired. Minako sympathised, and massaged the {girls : girl's} shoulders again
with sure strokes.
She paused at the rail, cocking her head. What was that?
Singing? She looked out towards the old lighthouse on Graaven's
Point, and for a moment she thought she saw something, an airship
perhaps. But no; it was dark, and no airship could fly this close to the
city without lights. Her patrols would be all over any smugglers before
they got this close.
We've seen a lot more of Desidinder than most would because Ranma and
the senshi are in the center of events. Even so, it's a little odd
that others haven't seen it often enough for word to reach the Queen.
Another major disaster is approaching after all.