the longest time, Ruro!

[Esuna Elian]

The Day After Everyone Returns From Venus, 7 PM
Outfit!

Venus had been hard.

She hadn't been counting on that. The sheer waves of misery that had overwhelmed her - both at the memory of her mother's death and the sheer amount of sex the planet exuded... Along with everyone in their little group being reunited with their loves of past lives... She'd told them that she had friends on the golden planet from her childhood and promptly spent all of the trip that her intervention wasn't directly needed at the gates, eager as she'd ever been for the silence and absence of everything. She was nearly positive that she'd cried a tear for every day since the dawn of time, every day she'd spent alone there. Every day since --

She couldn't think of it while she was driving. It'd drive her mad. Perhaps it was because Serenity/Usagi/Ushriya had never known about Theia, but it just wasn't working anymore. That bond had almost always held her down, made her strong enough to handle it. Until Crystal Tokyo, when she'd had nearly this same experience (it was stronger this time, with a longer span of history between them) and had had to bond with Mamoru. That had been the only thing that had saved her life... The only thing that had kept her alive. And when it had gone, along with Usagi's bond, everything had ended in an ugly spilling of her own blood, after sealing the gates shut. And now, knowing what this feeling meant, knowing that she was leaning just a bit too far over the edge, she was going to him again. Because once again, she was certain that he was the only person that could save her.

The farm was a comfortable sight. It meant that she was close. That she might be able to breathe soon. That she wouldn't have to feel all of this swimming behind her eyes (perhaps she would still feel it, but maybe having that extra tether keeping her there just numbed it a bit) and driving her absolutely insane. She pulled into the driveway, a ragged sigh slipping from between her lips. She couldn't fight this one.

"Ailie!" The petite, silver haired woman was coming towards her, clinging to her arm. "Where on the Moon have you been? I missed you." That smile was enough to bring laughter to her lips - she ran a hand through one of the woman's silvered pig tails, positioning herself on the balcony bench so that her lover and soulmate could sit in the crook of her arm. Their dresses, as always, were sharply contrasted - black and gold against white and silver. "The Princess is getting older, Ailie..."

She didn't want to talk about this. There was supposed to be a much easier conversation. The girl (for despite her age, she was hardly more) pulled herself into a ball and nestled into the Plutonian Warrior's side, biting on her lip. "I am afraid." This was a side of the queen that only the Ailie would ever see, because only she knew the woman before her well enough for it.

They just sat in silence, Ailie's arms wrapped around her crying lover, for longer than even she could measure. Until the knock on the Queen's door sounded, until that same moment when Ailie's left hand began to glow slightly, her summons from her father. They were forced to part quickly, kissing palms and eyes before the Queen was her persona again, before the Demigoddess of Pluto vanished into the flow of time to answer her father's summons. "I love you."

Esuna opened her eyes, something otherworldly shining in them. She couldn't cry over this anymore - it was illogical for her to still be so in love with a woman, for her to still hold so much guilt and grief. But at the same time, she was the only person that she would ever have to blame... At the time, they hadn't known it, but there would only be one more meeting between them, one more time to love each other, before Theia's risk would take her life and Ailie would become the senshi of Pluto. Her father had at least done that for her - given her the ability to relive her memories as Pluto. She had to wonder if the old gods still lived - it had been thousands of years since her father had contacted her.

She opened her car door and closed it quietly, not wanting to cause a disturbance on the farm. It was peaceful. She sent a glance towards the house, sure that Ruro's adoptive parents were inside, but chose to go check the barn first. Her steps were tenative, as though she was unsure - mainly because she was, the pressure building in her mind and soul and heart having long since become too much to bear. "Ruro, you out here?" She probably sounded like she had a cold - it didn't matter. If only he was there.

[Ruro Shoban]

outfit

He'd missed everyone, in their own ways. Ultimately, it was better he had come back home after only a week. Gave him time to be alone with Cyor and Amisi and Ota and his nieces, hell, with his own thoughts (or his own with Ceneric and Mamoru chiming in, but not with the constant buzz of everyone else so close). Ruro rubbed the currycomb slowly over the distended sides of the mare.

It would be a few months yet before she gave birth, but the little roan was a first time mother, and he was always careful with them. Maedi had covered her, so Ruro hoped to get a good sale out of the foals - they'd confirmed twins - whatever their gender. Twins assured her all the care he could give her and more, it wouldn't be easy on her. He had to smile as she breathily sighed, relaxing under his ministrations.

Everything was quiet, drowsy in the unexpected warmth, hot as a summer's day. Insects buzzed and horses called to each other, but there weren't many other sounds. Even the hands cutting flowers and weeding did so fairly quietly. The doctor looked up and out of his barn at the sound of a closing door. No matter his powers, he would have heard it, things were just that silent.

The doctor turned as footsteps approached the barn, the grass and dirt already bringing him the message of who it was. Pluto they said, not meaning just any Plutonian, but Esuna, as he had taught them the magical signatures of all the senshi and his men. He dropped the curry into its bucket and departed the mare's stall with a pat to her nose.

"Yeah, Su, I'm here. What's wrong?" He didn't even need to see her face to ask the question, it was evident in her voice as he walked down the aisle to the door where she hovered. A quick wave got Murray to stop coming over and to intercept Charlie before the nanny goat got in her hello. This wasn't the time. Something was wrong, but it couldn't be too serious, or maybe it was, but it wasn't life or death or crucially urgent or they would have just called for him over the bonds. Still, Something - it deserved the capital S, with the feeling that loomed with it - was wrong.

[Esuna Elian]

It was just a moment in between the end of her call and the beginning of his, but for the large Plutonian woman, it was one of the most terrifying moments she’d ever encountered. What if he wasn’t there? For she who had lived more moments than the average human mind could even comprehend, that one would forever stick out in her mind. If he wasn’t there… What could she do? She couldn’t do this anymore. It was sickening and disgusting that she could even think about it, but if he wasn’t there… Chronos. No one would even know that she was gone until Ushriya (and maybe Ruro, or Khonsu) felt her die.

They’d take care of Gaven, she knew… Of course, it would be a great number of years before he’d even be able to understand what had happened, why she’d cracked into a thousand pieces, and even then, he might not get it. He’d probably hate her forever, but it wasn’t like she’d care. Her dying before Ren would make Ren the new Sailor Pluto(which would mean that she probably wouldn’t be reborn again – or would she? Hotaru and Ami had…), and the girl (this was the most sickening part of all of it – not that she’d kill herself, not that she’d abandon her son, but that she’d knowingly shove such massive responsibility on such a small girl) would grow into her role. She’d understand one day, when time saw fit to show her the love that her one time mother had lost, the pain she’d been in. How would she be able –

His voice rang out for her, and she hardly felt her heart jump into her throat. Thank all the gods and goddesses. He was here. He was here and she wasn’t going to break in half like she felt she was going to because he was one of the four people in the world that she could really, honestly trust with everything, one of the few souls that she’d ever let herself really love after Theia (not romantically – no one would ever take that place in her heart). Khonsu and Haiden and Cyor… They were great. She loved them with everything that she had to give. She’d have happily died for any of them (along with all of the rest of the Senshi and the boys, come to think of it) or any of the kids. She loved them, she loved all of them, but none of them were… none of them were quite like Ruro.

She couldn’t help herself – she crossed the distance between them with tears welling in her eyes in mere seconds, falling to her knees and wrapping her arms around his stomach as she wept. She buried her face into him like she was a child, shaking with her pain, finding out that her throat didn’t want to work for a few moments before she finally choked out a sound that was half sob and half gasp. "I'm breaking...” She barely managed to whisper, though it was probably unintelligible due to the fact that she was still clinging to him like he was her life line and she was a million miles off the ground - well, actually, the real situation was quite similar.

[Ruro Shoban]

He froze. Hard not to when you have a taller-than-you and weighs-more-than-you (not that he would ever, ever ever say so to her, because that was just plain rude - probably true, considering her height and muscle mass, even compared to his, it was just simple logic - but never to be uttered) and very-much-a-senshi falling to her knees and crying into your stomach. It would be bad form to move because of the height and weight thing (not to mention difficult), but the senshi thing just made it downright deadly.

What the hell? Ruro didn't know what to do with his hands, finally settling on resting one on her head, gently stroking her hair while the other rested on her shoulder, squeezing as well as he could in lieu of a hug. Hard to give a hug when the one needing comfort wouldn't let go of your waist.
"I'm breaking..." Okay, that told him nothing. Or, well, him nothing, Mamoru everything, Ruro discovered, as the Crystal King tossed him into a memory with a vague sense of panic.

He didn't know why he was there. It had to be something important if Setsuna, of all people, took him away from Usagi and his Usako on one of his few days off. No one else was home. Haruka and Michiru were out seeing his wife and child (again, odd he wasn't with them, at least to give Haruka some easy escape from the sheer girliness that would occur - no matter how he himself cooed over his daughter -but ah well), while Hotaru was at one of her university courses, it was just him and Setsuna. It wasn't like he and the Plutonian senshi didn't talk at all. They did, what wit h her being the eldest of the group and for all Michiru and Haruka were wise, and his men were his men, at times he just needed advice that didn't come from one who owed him allegiance by way of a bond, but was older than him.

The fact that Setsuna was at her heart way-way older than him was immaterial. It worked. Or it had, he thought to himself, staring aimlessly at the coffee table while waiting for the woman beside him on the couch to speak. He'd noticed King Endymion and future-Setsuna's closeness, but figured that had come with time, and the sheer fact that she was the only person beyond his spirit and Usagi who weren't unconscious. He knew she wouldn't do anything bizarre like say she was in love with him, because it was Setsuna. She wasn't, he knew that.

What she did admit, slowly, hesitantly, with as many stops and starts as he dealt with when helping to get information out of a child the police suspected had been physically abused for years (sometimes those parents ended up falling down the hospital stairs later - not that anyone else seemed to notice the earthquake) shocked him. He just... wow. The words came without his really thinking about them, for even though Ceneric couldn't understand his need, even the Terrestrial prince understood the pain coming from her and wanted it to end.

"Nyanya," Ruro murmured across the bond, sealing her back to him. He had felt this bond before, there in his mind, but hadn't understood who it was to. Now he knew, as began to drop down to his own knees, only to find a chair in his way. He sat instead, unsurprised at Murray's thoughtfulness, though surprised he had been so out of it with the memory. Esuna's head lay in his lap as he ran his hands through her hair, massaging her scalp.
"It's going to be okay, neko-chan," he said, blinking at the last word, at least until Mamoru fully explained the joke of it. Oh, Nyan and cats, and neko meaning cat. "I've got you, you're not going anywhere, you're not breaking, not without my leave."

[Esuna Elian]

She had to wonder if this was what it felt like to have a heart attack. Her pulse was hard in her ears, her breathing coming hard, but he was there. She really didn’t know what to expect from this situation – somewhere in the back of her twirling mind, she was thankful that he hadn’t toppled when she’d practically tackled him. Oh, lord – she was having sensible thoughts. That could either be good or bad – probably good, because Ruro, Mamoru, Endymion, whatever, he was here, and she was safe, and she wasn’t going to fall – wait. He was quiet. Remembering, something in the back of her mind told her – she could only hope that this memory wouldn’t force anything unpleasant out. She relaxed slightly, focusing solely on the feel and the sound of his breathing – he was one of the few that didn’t breathe with his stomach, but with his lungs.

It was a comfort, in a way, the regularity of that sound. Even though the lengths of the breaths altered, it continued, it never faltered for more than a second. It was predictable. It was nothing like life, but at the same time, it was everything like life. Strong and steady and stable until everything was snapped away and you were left alone with your sanity until that was gone too, and then everything went to hell. It was human kind’s social interactions, in her mind, that made them human – not their knowledge or their power, but their ability to be together at a level that was higher than instinctual. That was what made them all human, gave them all the ability to feel for each other and love one another. To be alone was to be nothing – she better than any other knew that. When no one knew you, you didn’t exist.

She just sat, waiting, clinging, focusing only on the ever reliable sound of his breathing, until it hitched. He was back from his memory, and within a moment, it was there again, that feeling of being almost-whole, her breathing coming easier and the pressure inside the whole of her body fading. So she’d have a while longer, then. It was beautiful and wonderful and at the same time, it was terrible, because it was another reminder that she was gone and that Pluto in every incarnation of herself would always be teetering, always dependent on others for her sanity and her very life.

The old joke passed between them, and a fragment of a smile crossed her face, which he could probably feel due to the cheek pressed to his leg. The motions of his hands on her head were another comfort - she owed him her life twice now. Her life, her sanity - a contented, yet still shaky - sigh passed her lips. "Arigatou, Onee-ou...” A small laugh now, a deep inhale. "This is twice... How you put up with me, I'll never know. I'm sorry...” Soft words, still spoken her head on his lap. She had now twice thrown her problems onto him, had twice made him share her burden in holding herself afloat. He should never had to have dealt with it, but he did, and for that, she would be grateful forever.

[Ruro Shoban]

He chuckled softly, knowing this wasn't really the time to laugh, what with just had occurred, and was occuring in the mind of his new bond. Ruro just couldn't help it.
"It's fine, Su, I'd rather be able to help you than have you go through this alone." The doctor combed his hand lightly through her hair.

Something was going on behind him, he could sense it. Not precisely what it was, but he knew there was something creeping up behind him. Something large, but not one of the horses, or one of the humans, or the sheep or the goat or Braith. Still... large. He didn't get any threatening sense from it, just a, an almost Plutonian sense about it. What the?

Still, it wasn't like he could turn and look over his shoulder to see what it was. Or well, he could, but it wouldn't be polite, really. Better than letting them both get eaten by something, but since the ground didn't raise the alarm, he expected there was no harm in what was coming. Just was something he had never felt before, which was damned odd, since it was his farm and all.

A dark head loomed over his shoulder. Err...
"Uh, Su? Don't mean to alarm you, but do you perhaps know this fellow?" For all he was used to what others would call disgusting things, he wasn't used to the feeling of dog drool on his jeans. This dog, above all things, could drool.

[Esuna Elian]

The laugh was nice. It brought a smile to her face – she felt like a child, sitting in her father’s lap. Of course, her father, in every life, had been significantly larger than Ruro. She let out a hum of contentment, relishing the feeling that for a while longer, at least, she was suspended above the mass of chaos and loss and nothingness that had been gnawing at the edges of her mind. For a while, it was pressed back. For a while, she was sane and she was safe and she didn’t have to feel that quite so harshly. For a while (a decent while, by the feel of it) she could distract herself with this life instead of being trapped in her last two.

Her eyes opened on their own accord at the sound of approach – unusual. Ruro wasn’t reacting, though, and she hadn’t foreseen anything terrible happening as of late. Nothing, as a matter of fact. Her sight was eerily empty, like someone had just cut her off. Not completely, because there were still things like Gaven was going to break a cake pan tomorrow and that Ota was going to call her to chat in the morning. Her family. Little things. There was no resounding danger, no whispers of the incarnations of chaos that were promised to always be around – nothing. That could be one of two things – very good or very, very bad.

She was hoping for very good.

Ruro spoke again, and Esuna lifted her head almost mechanically, looking over her shoulder at the creature. For a moment, her face was blank, and then she squinted her eyes. Three thoughts ran through her head at once- 1. That is a very large dog. 2. That dog is drooling everywhere. 3. That is my Cerberus.

”Ce… Cerberus?” She had to verify, even as she pressed the creature’s large head to the side gently so that his mouth wasn’t quite literally leaking onto Ruro anymore, crawling from her spot by his lap towards the creature with her head tilted to the side. A deep, nearly terrifying woof sounded from the thing – Cerberus – and she couldn’t help the outcry of glee. Cerberus! ”Oh, big brother!”

Of course, he wasn’t her brother biologically or anything, but in her mind, the mind of ages past, to Ailie, he had been a brother. Chronos, her father, being one of the primordial deities, was powerful. So, naturally, he’d chosen a powerful woman as his consort – one of Hades’ human daughters, incidentally one of Mirrikha's aunts, though this woman was thousands upon thousands of years prior to Mirrikha's mother's birth. The result had been her, more goddess than woman, powerful. She’d been chosen as gate keeper after nearly six thousand years in the Underworld, while man was growing and forming and coming to knowledge – any child, no matter their intelligence or omnipotence, needed a friend in that place. Ailie had found hers in Cerberus, her Cer. Her big brother, he friend, her one confidant. The only person in the universe, at that point, that had seen her weakness. Of course, now there were a few more, but the reaction was still the same – this was her family, her brother. Why hadn’t she seen this coming?

”Hello, sister. We’ve missed you greatly.” His thoughts were hers and hers alone, bound through the years by the ancient magic that her father had placed on them. And either he was thinking in the royal ‘we,’ or all three of his heads were still there. She shrieked in joy again, throwing herself at the massive dog (she could probably have ridden him like a horse, for Chronos’ sake!) and burying her face in his neck. She pulled back, sorting through the mass of hair on his face so that she could see his eyes. One head was unusual, that was for certain – but all of their minds were inside, too! It had confused her, at first, the conflicting minds of Cerberus, but she’d grown to love them all. She leaned back on her haunches, laughing. ”Ruro, this is Cerberus. Once, many eons ago, he was a very dear companion to me.” She was knocked sideways as he rubbed against her, huffing into her hair to smell her. ”Though, I suppose your name can’t be Cerberus now, can it, big brother…” She made a face, pushing him away to wipe saliva off of her arm. ”That’s gross, man.” She said, flinging her hand away from Ruro.

”Ogbunabali. Oggy for short. You agree?” The dog huffed again, and she laughed. Apparently now wanting to show affection to Ruro, the dog lumbered the last few steps over and putting his head where Esuna’s had been a few moments before, huffing. Okay, so the bark was loud and would probably scare Khonsu into jumping onto one of the chandeliers (hey, that was quite an idea!) and he had a tendency to huff instead. ”He says he wants to thank you. He likes it here very much.” She chuckled, reaching over and running her hands through the thick hair.

She didn’t think it was possible to come home three times in a day, but she had. Once in actually coming back to Earth, the second time In coming home in her own mind, with Ruro’s help, and the third, coming home in her heart with a reunion she hadn’t quite expected. Of course, she was good at hiding shock, in most cases, so maybe she could pretend that she had seen it coming.

[Ruro Shoban]

Ruro had always been for some things a patient sort. For others not as (or at all) patient, but those didn't matter at the moment. Being patient did. He watched, wincing at certain sounds, the antics happening mere inches from his knees. It confirmed one thing he'd idly wondered. If Esuna could get louder. Yes, she she could clearly get louder, his ears were still ringing. Let's hear it for hearing loss! The doctor smirked at his own mental pun, just the tiniest bit confused.

"Big brother? You mean in a former he was - oh, okay, never mind, guard of the Underworld, dog with three heads, gotcha, okay. Makes a little more sense now." Ruro interrupted himself as Mamoru filled in the details, based on the name Esuna was calling the monster dog. "He's very welcome." The monster's name was now something completely unpronounceable but shortened to Oggy. Better than some of the horses' show names, he supposed. Tentatively he reached out a hand to pat the head on his knee, having resigned himself to washing this pair of jeans. He had needed to already, but the drool just clinched the matter.

"Ray?" He called out, knowing his guardian-cum-foreman was close by, considering the chair he was sitting in and all.
"Yah?"
"Whose dog is this?"
"The Tesinals." Great.
"And how much did they pay for him?" Murray named a sum, Ruro did some calculations. "So if I work three extras and we sell the pinto colt for at least asking price? Alright, make them an offer, since I had one for the colt yesterday, just need to pressure for a decision, otherwise there's another potential buyer, one of the docs, would board him with us after gelding." It was bad enough having two stallions at the farm, there was no way he would add a third.

The prince looked down at his bond.
"He'll be here on the farm by tomorrow at the latest, they know I'm good for my word, might be willing to trade, Oggy for one of the foals or maybe one of the older fellows, they've been looking for someone to start their daughter riding on. Don't worry about it, okay? Now c'mon, I expect Nell's got supper on, and she's sure to have enough to feed both you hungry Plutonians." He stood slowly with a gentle shove to Oggy's muzzle, holding out a hand for Esuna.
"Next time you come over bring Gav, I have a couple potential mounts for him if he really meant what he said about wanting to learn how to rope and barrelrace." He held onto her hand after she was standing, lacing their fingers together and swinging them idly as he would with Amisi's, should she grab his hand like she had when they were younger, a sibling's touch.