Scene #2440: A Story of Fire and Steel

Owner	Pose
Rei Hino	Rei Hino is before the firepit, dressed in her miko robes, staring at the flames. She is trying to see ANY omens for the future for the current quiet spell is... disturbing. She adds more fuel to the fire to make it rage higher, as she starts a ritual chanting to try to focus her mind. So focused in this task, she lost track of the time - Setsuna mentioned something about dropping by at the arcade yesterday...
Setsuna Meiou	And as promised, Setsuna Meiou does arrive shortly after at the Hikawa Shrine. Arriving not long before, the tall woman takes a few minutes to appreciate the 'public' side of the shrine...purchasing an Ema plaque, a few Omamori amulets for the household and the like. Then, at the time she'd told Rei she would be by, Setsuna quietly slips into the less public parts of the shrine and, after taking a moment to slip off her shoes at the door, picks them up and quietly walks down the hall towards where Rei's room is. As she goes, however, she hears the sounds made by the towering flame Rei has whipped up...and thus she pauses and turns to walk over to the doorway into the ritual room, stopping short of entering.
Rei Hino	Rei Hino's forehead is glistening with sweat as she continues her ritual chant and gestures - trying to see something - anyt hing - in the fire. She is getting almost manic... but finally slows down, shaking her head, sliding back. "Nothing..." she whispers. "I see nothing." She stays sitting on the ground. "Am I blind? Or is this quiet spell... more than just a spell?" she whispers, as she flops back on the ground, the fire still crackling but starting to drop to its normal state. Then, she sees a pair of feet in the far side of the room as she turns her head. "S... Setsuna-san..." she whispers, sounding embarrased.
Setsuna Meiou	The look on Setsuna's face is one of...understanding. ACTUAL understanding. As if she's seen this kind of feeling and reaction before. After a moment, however, the taller woman gives a little smile and waves a hand, "Hello there, Rei-san. I'm sorry to interrupt, but..." She trails off and glances over at the fire for a moment, then back to Rei before sighing a little, "...you appear to be having a less than stellar time of things...perhaps a bit of distraction would be in order?" She makes a slight show of twisting her wrists, and then she's holding two bags of what appear to be takeout, "I brought dinner."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino just slowly sits up, grabbing a hand towel to wipe her face. "That is correct - I see nothing in the fires. That means one of three things: either there's nothing to see, the enemy is rather adept at hiding, or..." She trails off - and right as she sees the bag, her stoamch gurgles audibly. "Oh geez, so glad Usagi isn't here - she'd never let me hear the end of an audible stomach rumble." She slowly rises, moving to the far side of the ritual room where a bench is along the wall and sits. "Lost track of time. So... you said you had something for me? I'm assuming you don't mean the food, which is, of course, appreciated?"
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna moves over to the bench and sits down with Rei, then begins unpacking the two takeaway boxes. Apparently, they're from a place called 'SoulFOODHOUSE'. At the mention of Usagi, Setsuna snorts a little, her head shaking, "Ah, that girl...though to be fair, I doubt she'd be able to hear an audible grumble from you over her own." Two boxes are set out, "Still I'm glad that the food is timely." She nods over at the fire, "...and though she's away at the moment, Michiru-san is also something of a seer...so I've seen her do much the same as you were doing just now...and at a time where she got similar results." The two packs are separated and laid out, it appears that there are two bowls of something labeled 'shrimp and grits', two bowls of something called 'seafood gumbo', and four smaller containers for sides labeled 'fried okra', 'garlic green beans', 'mashed potatoes', and 'red beans and rice'. She waves at the spread, indicating for Rei to pick what she'd like first, "I may be the Guardian of Time, but if there's one thing I can say that movies got right, it's that the phrase 'always in motion is the future' seems to be accurate." She sighs a bit, then shrugs, "Even when the Gates worked properly, looking into the Future was far harder than looking at the Past." After a few more moments, Setsuna heaves a sigh, then goes on, "...and yes. I was cleaning out some of my things and I found a Sword." The capital letter is almost audible, "...given that one of the Roman Historians called it 'The Sword of Mars', that means that you've got as good a claim to it as anyone, so I figured I'd let you have it if you wanted it."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino goes for the gumbo and garlic green beans. "You're so thoughtful, Setsuna-san. Haruka-san also mentioned that she has some seer capabilities - something about listening on the wind or something?" She shrugs as she starts to eat. "Yeah, but Usagi would pick up on it... she's dense, but has ears like a bat." She then stiffens at the mention. "The.. Sword of Mars?" she whispers softly. "The one wielded by Atilla the Hun? How? That was... a millennium ago." Obviously Rei has studied anything about her namesake planet out of morbid curiosity.
Setsuna Meiou	At the comment about Haruka and her psychic abilities, Setsuna waggles a hand in the classic 'kinda-sorta' gesture, "...not quite?" She taps her lips for a moment as she visibly ponders, "...with Haruka, it's less sensing what will be and more sensing what IS. Less the future and more the NOW, if that makes sense." As Rei goes for the green beans, Setsuna snags the fried okra, absently going through them between answers like popcorn, "And yes, that's the very one. After he fell and his sword got lost, I snagged it and stored it away. The one that they have in that museum is a replica made some time later." She pauses for a moment, then adds, "...not that THEY know that."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino nods slowly. "That makes sense. If anyone else said it, I'd not believe. But you being all about Time..." She nods slowly. "So you've held onto this for a millennium for... me?" she asks softly. "Or... more likely... whenever the Sailor Senshi reincarnated in the next age?" She blinks. "That is..." She then murmurs, "Other than it being an ancient artifact... what... does it do? And... can I see it?" she asks, assuming Setsuna will pull it out from wherever when ready.
Setsuna Meiou	The Soldier of Space-Time puts down the container of fried okra, then absently begins wiping her hands with a paper towel, "I mainly grabbed it because it was a historical artifact that would have been lost to history...but when they started calling it 'The Sword of Mars', I figured I'd eventully give it to you, since I knew the Queen's spell would EVENTUALLY reincarnate you all." Hands clean, Setsuna makes a few gestures with her hands, then reaches back and picks up a long, black case from behind her that wasn't there when she sat down. She then places it in front of Rei and pops the two latches on the sides, letting it open and revealing a very stylized cavalry saber with an angled hilt. It doesn't LOOK exceptopnaly fancy or ornate...though it IS quite obviously well-crafted, "As far as what it does? It's by all accounts a VERY effective sword...and it saw a LOT of use. Beyond that?" the taller woman shrugs, "...not that I know of? While it IS a weapon of Legend, it's not a particularly powerful Legend...so I don't know if it's developed anything in the centuries since I grabbed it." An absent gesture with her off hand, "...at worst, you can hang it on your wall as a conversation piece."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino just smiles as Setsuna wipes her hands - she sets her food down, having wolved it down in a fashion that even Usagi would blink at, wipes her own hands, and watches as Setsuna pulls the box out of 'hammerspace' as she opens the box. It is a cavalry saber. No fancy jewels - this wasn't a showpiece - it was used, and probably stained witn the blood of hundreds if not thousands." "May I?" she asks softly, looking down at it. "There aren't many stories about it. Did Atilla just name it for the intimidation factor, or is there something.... divine... about it?" she asks, not reaching for it yet.
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna shakes her head, "It was named later by a Roman Historian, who called it 'The Sword of Mars'." She nods at the sword when Rei asks permission, "Of course, it's yours if you want it." She shrugs, "As far as it's divinity? None that I'm aware of...though Atilla was obviously someone touched by Fate...so it's not beyond imagining that anything associated with him might have picked up some of that legend." Scowling a little she finally shrugs and reaches over to get one of the bowls of shrimp & grits, "I doubt you'll have to worry about it overmuch."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino slowly picks up the Sword, nodding slowly. She steps back and gives it a few swings. "I may try to divine something out of it. I'm very curious now. Maybe it is just a sword used by a man from long ago... but names can have power." She carefully slid it into the scabbard. "Thank you for the gift, Setsuna-san. I wish I had something to offer you." She returns to the bench and works on the rest of her food, contemplating.
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna absently waves with one hand, occupied for a moment by eating. She then swallows and says, "Rei-san...the fact you girls are around and alive right now means more to me than I can properly express. It was VERY lonely guarding the Gates of Time from the Silver Millenium to the present...and I'm very much glad that by royal decree, I'm no longer stuck doing it."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino puts a hand on Setsuna's. "I can't even imagine - being alone in that... place... for so long. How did you not go mad?" she whispers softly, having finished her food, glancing at the sword. "Just collecting artifacts from history that wouldn't be missed?"
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna gives a bit of a sad look, "...oh, I DID go quite mad. Several times, I'm fairly certain..." She then shrugs, "...but madnesss, too, will pass in the course of Time...and so I came back around to sanity." She then smirks a bit and gives a conspiratorial wink before whispering, "...or what we LAUGHINGLY refer to as 'sanity'." The taller woman takes a moment to finish her meal, then goes on, "...but yes...for the most part it was a lot of reading, practicing various amusements here and there, and nicking the occasional artifact 'lost to time'." She then gets a bit of a faraway look on her face, "...and once in a while the Gates would have to go offline for maintenance and I got to go to Earth to explore for a day or so every century or two."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino muses, "Time off for good behavior?" She smiles softly. "At least you got some social interactions in." She then murmurs, "Waiting for us all... did you know how long you'd have to wait, or was it a mystery to you too? If you knew how long... then it would've been bearable - mayhaps."
Setsuna Meiou	Setsuna shakes her head, "I didn't know exactly when...I just knew it would be a congruence of Destiny, as the Queen's spell would have had to be tied to it...but that was all I really knew." She then shrugs, "...so I'd been doing my best to guess...up until Usagi awoke here I HAD been thinking you girls would show up in the United States..." She gives a shrug, "...then Tokyo happened."
Rei Hino	Rei Hino nods. "Tokyo..." She murmurs softly, "Didn't Chibiusa-chan say she's from the future city of Crystal Tokyo? Probably always desitned to be Tokyo." She sighs softly. "Anyway..." she muses softly. "Is there anything I can do for you, Setsuna-san?"