Cold and airless, or too hot and airless-- just enough gravity to entice external mass to cling to the surface, to counter the amount of force a normal human body can exert against it.
But Sailor Senshi are hardly normal humans, are they? Even if they're normal girls, they're so strong, so fast, so powerful, so tough--
"Don't jump so high!"
The pretty voice belongs to a pretty black cat with a moon on her forehead and blue, blue eyes, and it's fretful and irritated, impatient. "Not until you get used to the gravity! Unless you really want to end up floating frozen in space, then by all means go right ahead and cost the blue marble down there a protector..."
Artemis is not looking at Luna. She's a very salty cat right meow. She's also mincing along the sparkling shore of the Mare Serenitatis ahead of them, toward the shining white buildings of the palace and the city around it. Artemis, on the other hand, is attached to Minako's shoulder like velcro, pretending very hard that Luna was yelling at Usagi instead of at his overshooting said shoulder.
The last time they were here, the sea was dry, with wrecks of ships broken at its docks and on its shores; the buildings were topped and ruined, the gleaming white opalescent stone blackened by char and smoke, half melted and half broken--
The last time they were here, it was a grave.
Now the city stands empty and silent but for the sound of running water in the fountains, and dark but for the pale silver light from the colonnades that line the streets and arching overhead walkways, reflected from the endless gardens of white flowers. The shores once again have docks, and one of them has a ship moored alongside, as white as the palace itself, delicate and powerful all at once, with sails made from cobweb lace.
Here and there, there's more color or definition to something; here and there, places the Senshi loved are more vivid, brighter, more detailed. Now and then, reflections in glass show the girls, certainly, but also blurred forms of animate crowds behind them, moving and living. Memories or dreams or ghosts, all just out of reach, but present nonetheless.
The palace grounds are only about a five minute walk, in the Moon's light gravity, from where the Sailor Teleport took them; it doesn't take long to get to the broad promenade overlooking the gardens.
"I remember how to walk on the Moon," Artemis grumbles next to Minako's ear, irritably grooming his own. "It's like riding a bicycle."
Mars wasn't sure what to say when Minako showed up again. This was the second time she saw her recently, but the first time they had an actual chance to speak. That is, if they even would speak. What would Mars even say? 'Nice hair' 'I read your wish?' 'A leaf? Really?' 'Long time no see?'
She waits until they get to the moon before saying anything, and once there she simply takes a fortune paper out of some fold on her henshin, because she was preparing for this troll for a while, and walks up to Minako. With her arm extended, she offers the blank paper. "Here, use this instead of a leaf next time."
Under normal circumstances she'd be wearing a wide, shiteating grin, but the moon she's in is just a little too melancholy for that. All she can manage is a faint smile.
Usagi had been expecting ruins again. She'd been prepared for that.
When her boots touch the ground, she isn't prepared for the slam of nostalgia against her chest or the lurching in her tummy at the sight of ghostly people (she's trying not to look in those windows right now) and familiar places. She knows a lot of them, but they're more like echoes of deja vu, tickling against the tip of her tongue.
There is, of course, one thing here that would be familiar.
She starts to run ahead, through buildings, and she trips and falls until she has to gather up her skirts, and suddenly her glowing legs are more used to this place.
There's a place, just there, where the skyline breaks. She stops, billowing skirts floating around her legs as she looks up, hand over her heart, and she uses the site of the earth as a sort of tether for the moment.
After all, she's always looked up at the sky. Moon or Earth, it made little difference.
"What happened?" Jupiter murmurs mostly to herself, looking around at the changed scenery. "It wasn't like this before..."
It's probably better that the place is not the ruin it was when they were here last. Unnerving enough to walk through it then; how much worse would it be to see it like that, a silent memorial to the fall of the Moon Kingdom, now that she remembers something of what it was like to have lived it?
But it's still unsettling, in the way of all liminal spaces - this empty palace filled with deja vu, the ghosts of memories that she only recalls in fragments.
Sailor Moon running ahead soon distracts Mako from these things. "Hey," she calls as her strides lengthen to follow, "don't just run ahead--!"
This, too, feels far too familiar.
Venus teleports in with the others and before she can do much of anything Mars is holding a fortune paper out towards her. She takes it and looks at it, turning it over and looking mildly confused for a moment before realizing it's blank on purpose. Suddenly Minako is wearing a bright smile, not seeming quite as subdued as Rei. "Is this official? For realsies?" The bright smile widens into a grin, "I guess this means I'm free to write my own fortune, thanks a million! You know," she looks the paper over as if there's something profound about it, "I might just get this framed."
The scary thing? She actually means that.
"Artemis, hold this for me," she commands, trying to stuff one corner of the slip into his mouth, "and don't bite holes into it!" Then it's a good thing the white cat is holding on tight because she's off like a shot and totally ignoring Luna's advice. Could she actually leap herself into orbit? She isn't sure but something about this place makes her feel happy and excited now that it looks less like a smoldering ruin and more like the seat of an intrasolar power.
That said she doesn't go crazy, merely doubling the height of some of the taller buildings and delicately soaring over several more before landing atop a roof, lifting a hand to her forehead and scanning out over the horizon. With so much white she'd almost expect to have to worry about going snow-blind, but somehow this eternal whiteness is soft and gentle on her eyes rather than sharp and searing. As she makes it to the city the scent of the pale moon flowers and something like jasmine fills her nostrils with an intoxicatingly nostalgic scent.
Minako closes her eyes and breathes in the familiar Moon air, and for a brief moment a feeling of home and belonging overtakes her, a feeling that she hasn't felt since before she first met the cat riding her shoulder right now. On a whim she hops down from her perch, dropping slowly in the easy gravity and landing with a click of orange heels next to Usagi- or was it Serenity, now?
"Playing hide and go seek and making trouble for us again, Princess?" Sailor Venus asks in a light, friendly, hauntingly familiar tone.
"U-SA-GI!" yells Luna, scrambling to chase after her princess too, cat vaulting vaguely keeping up with Jupiterstride by dint of hurryhurry. "What are you--" doing. Oh. The small black cat huffs and sits back on her haunches, ears and tail flicking in agitation. "You wanted to come here, now you want to go back so fast? That's why I didn't tell you to come here at the end, I knew you'd just want to go back..." She turns her head away, then starts grooming her paw, a little bristly, but side-eyeing Minako and Artemis.
Artemis, who's got a paper stuffed in the corner of his mouth and had been attempting to yowl around it while Venus catapulted herself (which ended up sounding something like 'meeeeee-mnnnnhhh!!!'), but who now has his face buried, whiskers and all in her shoulder. Once he's sure this is solid landing time and not take off like a shot again time, he launches himself off Minako's shoulders and forwardflips in order to vanish her fortune paper into his subspace pocket. It's only slightly non-euclidean-looking when putting something in instead of taking something out.
Then he jumps up to the railing near Usagi and paces along it, white cat on white stone. He's about to say something else, then glances up at Jupiter, then back at Mars, and keeps his counsel instead.
The silence here is kind, there is nothing of menace. The flowers are alive, growing from that strange magic that gives them air to breathe, that fills the Sea of Serenity with water. It's not even sad, this place. It holds its breath, watching its princess and her guardians.
"Yes, for realsies!" says Mars, going along with Minako's silliness while only showing a slight amount of awkwardness. She can't help but wonder if there's something prophetic about the phrase 'I'm free to write my own fortune', but before she can dwell on that too much she's distracted by... well, her duty really.
Mars looks ahead as Serenity trips and falls, and she winces. "Sere-chan!" The princess is so far ahead that the guardian girlfriend can't really reach her before she gets back up, but Mars makes the effort to catch up to her anyways. When Serenity stops to look at the Earth, Mars catches up, crossing her arms and frowning at her. "Geeze, Moon-chan."
She puts her hands on her hips, looks up at the Earth, and then at the landscape around them. "It is different. Why has it changed so much?" After a moment of wondering, she asks, "Is it because of our awakening? Or something that we did?"
Luna brings up a point, and Mars turns her curious gaze towards Serenity. "Why did you want to come up here?"
"I just wanted to see it, Luna." A dreamy, heavenly sigh as she looks at the swirling collection of blues and greens and so many shades in between. "Isn't it beautiful?"
Jupiter is there, then Venus and Mars, Mercury curiously scanning their surroundings but still following the crowd.
She giggles a little and sticks her tongue out at Venus. "Maybe both."
But then that sixty-four thousand dollar question is asked. Why, indeed?
Well, she knows why. Jupiter knows a least some of it. And when she'd wanted to come, she'd expected she'd be alone so she wouldn't have to admit why she wanted to come.
She looks a touch guilty with dash of embarassment, the pink in her blush more prominent against paler skin and at the last second her eyes are on Jupiter. "Well...I kind of was figurng that maybe if I came here...I could feel her better."
"Don't tell me you need training wheels," Minako teasingly tells Artemis after he launches off her shoulder, afterwards giving a thankful smile he'll recognize as the blank fortune paper is put safely away.
She smiles again to Usagi as she giggles and sticks her tongue out. Her eyes go to the other Senshi as they approach, a light smile for Makoto and a suddenly playful and potentially devious one to Rei. Usagi's answer takes the deviousness away for the moment, Minako tiling her head to the side and asking, "Do you?"
Her own eyes go briefly to one of the windows of building they're near, focusing on the reflections. Those faint apparitions, she can almost hear them talking, going about their daily business as if it was any other, as if all was well and nothing had ever happened.
She looks away again suddenly, squaring her shoulders while taking a in a slow, deep breath. Something else catches her eye and suddenly she's off again, skipping away with a bounce in her step as if she was the one causing trouble for everyone by disappearing.
Oh, that's right; in this life she is.
Sailor Jupiter smiles a little when Serenity's eyes find hers, gentle and encouraging. Venus asks the question before she can, but when she does it's echoed in the way Jupiter's eyebrows lift, the little tilt of her head - does Usagi feel Serenity better, like this?
It certainly would look that way, but she remembers the conversation that she had with Mamoru as well. 'Like a pretty dress,' he'd said.
Before she can actually say anything, Venus is off and for an instant a look of exasperation flashes across Jupiter's face. "What now?"
A quick look to Minako at Usagi's statement, and then Artemis winks at her. "It looks like you already do," the white cat says slowly, eyeing Serenity as he flicks a flower petal off his tail. "Your muscle memory got your feet moving immediately. You might be overthinking this." After all, who else could Usagi possibly be talking about?
"Feel who?" Luna asks, peering up wide-eyed at Serenity. "Your mother? I mean the Queen-- I mean, your mother the old Queen, you could technically be crowned now if you wanted--" Then she shakes her furry head, and turns her earnest eyes and voice to the other Senshi. "You set things right, girls. At D-Point. All of you together with all your friends-- all that wishing, all that praying, all your souls united as one with Usagi's in bringing to bear the power of the Maboroshi no Ginzuishou--? It resounded throughout the galaxy. A miracle that size, a prayer that true and that meaningful-- it resonated within the prayer tower," she says, and her little black head nods toward a tall tower not far from them. They've seen it before. Eternity MAIN was accessed right by it, by the Holy Sword when it was stuck in the rock.
"This was all created and sustained by the Silver Crystal, all dreamt by its wielder-- why shouldn't its resurgence bring about a rebirth of its home? The palace, the city, they're waiting for you," the black cat says kindly, then kind of ruins it by twitching her whiskers and adding teasingly, "probably to stop tripping on your skirts."
And then Artemis takes off after Venus, because cats occasionally develop rockets like mermaids in hiding occasionally develop gills.
"'Her'?" inquires Mars. Then a lightbulb turns on in her head. "Oh! Her." Right, so this is that kind of thing.
Hmm. Is it really okay to do something like this for something like that? Mars has to think about it. There... probably isn't much harm in it? It might actually be important for Moon to be in tune with herself if her princess form is needed.
No, actually, this is super important. Emotions are way too important for a magical girl to ignore. As trivial as it might seem, that actually does strike Mars as a good enough reason.
"Alright, fine, but I'm not letting you out of my sight." After all, an abandoned moon city would be a great place for an ambush, should a youma be patient enough.
She leans toward Serenity, whispering, "... and not just because you're cute." Wink!
Mars blinks at Luna. "Are you sure she doesn't mean the other 'her'? You know..." The senshi of fire points at Usagi's dress. Then she taps her chin, looking at Usagi again. "Actually I suppose I should ask that first. I assumed it was one, but you might have meant the other."
Luna's explanation makes sense to her, and then Rei says, "Oh! That explains a lot, though it does make me wonder what else has awakened around here." With a tilt of her head and a smile, she says, "I suppose there's only one way to find out!"
She keeps her eyes on Serenity, intending fully to stay true to her word on sticking close by.
She gives a little shrug to Jupiter's unspoken question. So much confusion for an already confused mind! As Venus runs off, Usagi looks down at Luna, almost horrified! "I'm too young to be a queen!"
There. That was the easiest to address.
And she didn't mean Moon Mama, but now that the idea is there, she perks a little. "Do you think she's here? Moon Mama? Like before?"
She's pleased, though, that if nothing else, she got to see what they were able to bring back. It's a very beautiful place, much more so than when its ruins.
She blushes at Rei and bites back a smile, but she nods. She's totally fine having a Mars shaped shadow follow her around. Mars shapes are very pretty, after all!
"I do mean..." She fluffs her skirts, and maybe a bit too much, because wow it billows up much easier in lower gravities. She fights the skirts down. "Pleh! But yes. But still! Moon Mama?"
And then she gasps. "Wait, does this mean my room's back? Come on!" She grabs ahold of Mars' hand, dragging her along and giggling as she ran.
Apparently, sweat is rather so passe here on the moon!
Through streets and around corners, then up a side entrance and along familiar sets of stairs used mostly by the royalty family and their closest advisors and guardians, and then she's in her room. "Oh...wow!"
Here, the nostalgia is stronger, and she goes over to admire a wall hanging tapestry. It's an earthscape, of course, but threaded in silvers and gold. Without thinking, her hand pushes it aside and she steps back to just look at all the drawings on the wall. Birds, animals, flowers, all with a practiced hand that doesn't have much in the way of inherent skill but definitly plenty of tutors.
Her fingers trail over a snake winding around a staff.
Why do yo call me Snake Staff? You know my name.
Because I can't say Asclepius, silly!
She furrows her brows, just a bit, but then she's saved by a flash of red on her night stand. "Oh, Mars, look! The rosebush he gave me is still okay!"
She trots overto it and inhales the tiny blooms.
Sailor Venus is running off on her own, but she's not running far. In fact she's not even running far enough to even leave the group, not really. She does sneak around the corner though, to where a garden full of pale silver flowers grow. She bends down and sniffs one, eyes turning down to Artemis as he scoots up beside her, "They're so pristine. It's almost like a dream, isn't it? It'd almost be a shame if anything were to happen." She looks calm, quiet, and reflective.
And then a moment later she's reaching down and snapping stems left and right because Minako is a girl on a mission! She picks the ones with the longest stems, being very, very careful with them. She collects a small but full bouquet, only to snap up another one while speaking in a quiet rhythm, "Mama had a baby and it's head," her thumb presses beneath the flower itself, cutting into the stem and flicking the beautiful white blossom away, "popped off..!" Very carefully she slips her nail into the green skin of the stem, peeling it off in a long strip before winding it around bouquet, tying it neatly together.
A proud smirk is made at her handywork, and she lifts her finger to her lips and goes, "Shhh!" to Artemis, prancing back to the others were with that bounce still in her step. Only to see them heading off without her! For a moment her free arm flails a little, only to realize that this could work out in her favor
She follows along at a distance, taking long easy strides in the low gravity, catching up to the others and attempting to bring up the rear as they file their way into the very familiar building and finally Serenity's old room. She bides her time, and when Usagi goes to the rosebush Minako sidles up to Rei in a sneaky side step, that utterly devious look is back in her eyes. All of a sudden they clear up and widen, only for the Sailor of Love and Beauty to give an enormous wink to Mars while trying to stuff the newly made bouquet of silvery moonflowers into her hands.
And just so she doesn't get the wrong idea she jerks her head a couple of times in the direction of their clutzy Princess.
Jupiter hesitates a little as Serenity grabs Mars's hand and starts rushing off again. Green eyes trail uncertaintly after the direction that Venus disappeared around the corner of a building - should she say something? Go after her?
Minako promised to try to be a part of the team from now on, Mako reminds herself. She probably has lots of weird feelings being back here like this too. And anyway, trust has to start somewhere... right?
With complicated feelings, after lingering a moment or two longer, Jupiter heads off in the wake of the princess and Sailor Mars.
She has little to say, really, as they find their way up to Serenity's room. She still feels off-balance, not to mention rather like a third wheel at the moment. It's easier to hang back a little, gaze roaming around to take in all the details familiar-yet-not.
When Venus reappears with the bouquet of flowers, Jupiter's face is a study, nearly overwhelmed for a few beats by the impulse to ask sternly just whose garden she just raided for those. She reins it in, just barely; should it matter, when there's no one here but them to care?
But there is a garden here, somewhere, that perhaps she used to have to scold someone for raiding now and then.
Breathing out quietly, Sailor Jupiter reaches up to rub at the back of her neck.
And here is where Artemis actually crashes, finally, into Minako's ankles, then shakes his head rapidly and looks put out. "I," he announces, "am going to go find Ami-chan and help her with Eternity MAIN because I am sure she is using this time wisely! And probably--"
The words are fainter because he's stalking out the door, "--needs distracting."
Luna, on the other hand, jumps up on Makoto's shoulder and curls her tail around the back of her neck, flooshing her ponytail out of the way to do so. And there is a tickly kitty-whisker kiss-lick to the side of Mako's face, and then faint rumbly purring. After a moment of this, Luna whispers to the guardian of thunder and courage, "Did you have anything Nephrite gave you up here?"
With her suspicion confirmed Mars follows Usagi through the palace no matter how far she wanders or where she goes. It may be a bit too careful, and it's not as if Mars is getting any 'hunches', but she'd be very remiss in her duties to let Usagi wander off alone, and she'd be very worried if suddenly she couldn't find her princess.
As they pass through the now more lively ruins, Mars starts to notice small little details, tiny tinges of familiarity, that tug at her memories. A series of columns here, a spectacular view there, each a fragment of some beloved memory now long forgotten. She doesn't spend too much focus on this, as she does want to keep up with Usagi, but the ever observant senshi cannot help but notice these things.
As Usagi pulls back the tapestry, Mars leans around to look at the drawings behind them. Wait, she doesn't remember those. Wait, was Serenity drawing on the walls and no one ever found them?! Well, maybe not 'no one', but Mars certainly doesn't remember this! Some part of her past self is slightly indignant, but it only takes a fraction of a second to realize that her indignation is a little irrelevant. Instead, she makes a pleasant "Hm" sound that is something close to a single bark of laughter. The memories here are far more precious than that wall is.
Then suddenly there's a bundle of moonflowers, and Venus is offering her. Mars is, once again, confused by Venus until she suddenly sees what the veteran senshi is getting at. Slowly, she takes the offered bouquet, nods, and then walks up to Usagi feeling a little bit silly. After all, it's not like she got the flowers, or even thought about it herself, but it is a good idea.
"Ah, um... Usagi-chan?" A light pink appears on Rei's cheeks. "For you." She looks away, trying very hard to not be tsundere about it.
Usagi blinks at the flowers and blushes and beams, leaning over to place a quick but warm little peck on Mars' cheek. "Thank you, Rei~."
She wiggles her nose at Venus.
The flowers smell sweet. Not quite smilar to any one flower on earth, but hints of combinations.
She wants them home! And the roses! But if she takes the roses they won't be here anymore--
"Mako-chan~!!" She suddenly picks up the hefty pot and trots over, giving the tall girl large, doeful bunny eyes. She holds up the rose bush. "I want it at home but dunno how to do it without taking the wholething but I don't wanna do that but if anyone knows!"
Then, with a blushing peek at Mars over her shoulder, she leans up just a touch. "And um, do you think these will be okay until I get them home? I wanna keep them, too."
For once everything is going according to Venus' plan. Mars takes the moonflowers and gives them to Moon. It may have been a bit convoluted a plan, but it was a good one because where else is someone going to get priceless flowers that grow on the moon that shouldn't still exist. Or ever exist, if you ask all but some dozen or so people.
Minako gives a smaller version of the wink she gave Rei to Usagi when her nose wiggles, giving her an encouraging grin. 'My, what an amazingly thoughtful and resourceful girlfriend you have,' it seems to say.
As for whether or not harvesting the flowers was a good idea, and whether or not they'll survive to smell nice for more than a day with the way she picked them? She has no earthly idea! Or should that be 'no moonly idea'?
While Usagi inquires to the person who would actually have a shot at figuring that out Minako looks around Serenity's bedroom a little. She's totally not snooping. (She totally is.)
Luna is long accomplished at staying perched upon less sturdy shoulders than Makoto's. Sailor Jupiter smiles, warmly and only a little self-consciously, at the little cat-kiss against her cheek; Luna's warm purring weight seems to steady her a little in the here and now. "I'm not sure," she murmurs, answering as quietly as she was asked. "Maybe..."
Her thoughts are diverted when Serenity starts toward her lugging an entire rosebush. "You didn't have to - let me see," she says, with a little laugh, moving to take the weight of the pot and set it carefully back down. Her fingertips brush over the dark green leaves, trace carefully along a stem, feeling even through the fabric of her gloves for some sense of the life in it. "We could take a cutting," she suggests after a moment. "And see if we can convince it to root for you from that, once we get it home."
Her eyes lift to take another look at the silvery flowers that Mars is still holding. "...I don't know about those," she admits. "It'd be better if we could keep the stems from drying out somehow... don't go breaking anything off yet. I'll see if I can find something."
She only half remembers where she's going as she starts out of the room, moving with a dreamlike, unconscious purpose. Should be... somewhere...
Luna definitely accompanies Makoto on her quest for finding something to keep the stems wet. She goes so far, in fact, as to chin Makoto's one shoulder while the bulk of her rests around the back of Mako's neck and down her other shoulder like a stole. A very small stole. "I think this was a very good idea," the little cat tells the half-dreaming Mako, as pleased as if she came up with it herself. Maybe she thinks she did. On the other hand, Luna talking like that is also as old as the Silver Millennium. Tailfwip, tail fwip fwip. "It's beautiful now, isn't it? It's holding place for all of you. For when you grow up. If you want it. You and Nephrite can commandeer an entire wing I'm sure; perhaps the one connected to the observation tower..."
Just before they go through a doorway, Luna glances back and licks her nose at the other girls. It is a very :3 face.
Mars gets a kiss on the cheek? Nice! She'll have to thank Venus later. Her hand reaches up to touch where Serenity kissed her. Then Usagi's asking a question and Mars is unsure.
Will they fine until they get home? Mars blinks, looking down at the moonflowers, and then over at Venus. Mars um... actually... didn't think that one all the way through. Mars looks to Jupiter, silently asking the question. When she hears 'keeping the stems from drying out' she starts to internally squirm a little. Where would they find something that? Mars doesn't remember owning a flowerpot.
Oh, of course, Jupiter would remember something like that.
"Right!" says Mars, still holding the moonflowers. She considers following after Jupiter, but she did say she'd stick close to Usagi.
Although she'll gladly chase after if Usagi does.
The look that Luna gives them, and the part of the conversation that she hears, does tickle at Mars's curiosity. "When we grow up? Huh. Well, there is a lot of cool stuff here."
She's a little lost in thought, trying to imagine what it would be like to actually live here.
Usagi almost tackles Jupiter in a hug! But both are saved from a possible collapsing bounce and the degredation of dignity as Jupiter levaes to find Stuff!
And of course, there's that adorable face Luna makes that often stalls any murderous impulses in her charge.
Oh, Nephrite? Hand on the doorway, she swings herself out a bit. "See if you can find that Moonshine for him! Mako-chan, did you make cookies on the moon? GASP! DID YOU MAKE MAKOMOONCOOKIES?!"
And then, because it's there and begging, she leaps onto her old bed in a belly flop and flail of skirts, and she's groaning before her dress completely settles. "This was a bad idea...so comfy..."
She scrambles off, lest she succumb to the temptation of a moon nap, and pulls out her phone. Pictures! Pictures of drawings! (Bet Naru-chan would be surprised I could draw a little better back then!)
And then, because girl she dissapears for a moment inside the wardrobe, click, flash! Click, flash! (She's totally snooping like Venus. Technically, this may be her room, but it's also not her room!) The only things that aren't silvery and gold are a few outfits that look so pretty and something she's not sure if it's boy clothes or not.
She comes out, wistful sighs, but exploration!
And of course, words have been heard! "Do you think if nothing else it'd be a good summer home? Mamo-chna wants to be a doctor, right? It'd be a rather long commute..."
She only stops moving when she comes to a stop in front of Mars, taking a moment to breathe in the flowers again.
Then she's swirling around Minako. "Are there hidden passageways? Like in every movie ever with castles?"
She bends over the flower pot, carefully snagging away two of the buds because she's pretty sure it's good to sometimes pick flowers when there's so many, right? and she shyly tucks one behind Rei's ear after making sure there's nothing to poke her with. The other is for her other sweety, of course!
She pauses again with a gasp. There's more exploring to do! Jupiter was probably finding so many cool things without them!
She rushes out the door, snagging the wrist of each girl as she passes, and giggles and runs some more.
She feels everywhere at the moment, mentally at least. It's hard to keep focused on one thing!
Long flowing dresses are a great find. Minako would almost want to steal a few of them away if it weren't for the fact of who they belonged to. Giving them as a gift to Usagi would be ridiculous since they're hers already, and she isn't about to take any for herself either. Some things are beyond the pale even for her.
At the mention of using the palace, and maybe even the moon itself, as a summer home Venus thinks out loud, "If we did something like that we'd probably want to find a better way to get back and forth without needing us all together." She gives Usagi a grin, "But you know a secret way down, don't you? If the rest of the palace was restored, maybe that was too?"
To the question about hidden passageways Venus shakes her head, "Not that I know of. There are places that were off limits, but they weren't exactly secret." She's about to say they were never expecting to have to do anything close to evacuating the Royal Family which is what such passageways are for, but considering how things ended she thinks better of it.
Instead she gets swept up in Usagi's energy, dragged along by the wrist and following quickly after, "If we plan on staying for a few days sometime I'd like to check out that ship. Wouldn't that be great, our own private yacht out on the Sea of Serenity? I bet Mercury would love it." And whether it is wind powered or something else between Makoto and Ami she's sure they could get it going.
"I'm not sure I'm ready to think about setting up shop here," Jupiter tells Luna as she walks along the luminous hallways, some old buried muscle memory guiding her without needing to consult with conscious thought. Her voice remains a bit hushed, not quite willing to risk echoing in this empty place. "It is beautiful, though."
She can't say where she's going until she pulls open a door and suddenly the deja vu breaks over her in a wave, filling the air like the fragrance of a dozen kinds of flowers that have never grown upon the Earth.
She had known, after all, that there would be a garden.
This one is not like the neatly-arranged and carefully-tended beds outside; it is more natural, with paths of glittering crushed stone winding through artful spills of greenery, pools of flowers. A white stone maiden pours water from a chalice into a small fountain, nearly glowing in the light that shines through a wall and a ceiling of crystal-clear grass. There are even a few trees, though small ones, standing tall and slim like court ladies attended by flowering shrubs, making small shady alcoves under the shelter of their leaves.
Her garden. For a heartbeat or two, Sailor Jupiter feels as though she can't breathe.
Then, shaking off the sense of paralysis, she draws in a breath and steps in through the open door.
Half-dazed, she follows the path that curls through the greenery, trailing a hand lightly over the heads of a stand of tall golden flowers, rustling quietly amidst leaves. Over there are benches, a pair of pale curving things with a view of the fountain and the windows beyond. The chest between them, Makoto knows instinctively, will hold the things that she wants - a pair of small shears, designed more beautifully than any gardening tool has any need to be, to clip a branch from the rosebush for Usagi to bring bag, and posy-holder delicately wrought out of silvery metal to secure the stems of her bouquet with a dampened handkerchief.
But Makoto doesn't go to the chest, not just yet. Her steps take her across the garden instead, drawn as though by magnetism to the tree that feels most of the back corner with the graceful spread of its branches.
Touching the subtle roughness of the bark feels like greeting an old friend. Her hand follows the line of it up, up, above her head to where the trunk forks and knots amidst the broad green leaves. The hollow there is impossible to see from the ground, even at her height, but Jupiter's fingers find it without hesitation - a small secret thing, formed because she had asked it and the young tree had done as she asked.
She quests with her fingers until she finds something that is not wood and draws it out, brings it down before her until she can look down at the small parcel of folded silk resting in her palm. Until she can unfold it, and the fabric falls away from the treasure within: a single hair comb, fashioned from a smooth twist of polished cedar, ornamented with a thunderbird charm carved from deep green nephrite jade.
Makoto snaps back to herself with a jolt, the breath going out of her in a shudder as she blinks once, twice. She looks down at the comb in her hand again, then to Luna, a very rueful look coming over her face as she does.
"--I know where to find what Usagi-chan needs for her flowers now," she says. "We should get back."