Title:Wild
Author:Raya
Theme:Outer Senshi
Genre:General / Comedy / Drama
Version: Manga
Rating: G

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Takeuchi Naoko. I have merely borrowed them, like dolls, to pass the time.

Wild

Sailor Mars looked around suspiciously as she sensed an unexpected presence. In the evening twilight, the palace garden seemed peaceful. Birds chipped their final farewell to the sun. Cicadas sang a noisy welcome to the night. The restless spirit she had just settled seemed inclined to stay settled. But something or someone was out there.

Finally, the "feel" and "flavor" of the presence made a connection inside her head, and a smile blossomed on her face. 'So, are we playing tonight?' she wondered idly as she slowly turned back towards the Crystal Palace. She stretched her senses, looking for the partner or the forthcoming attack which would start the game. She stopped as a familiar voice called her name. 'Guess not.' She tried to keep her disappointment from showing as she turned to greet her visitor.

Sailor Neptune walked out of the shadows of a nearby sakura tree, and paused in the middle of the path. She smiled knowingly as if she could sense Sailor Mars' disappointment. Sailor Mars would not have been surprised, as the older senshi's intuition was at least as strong as her own.

"Good evening, Neptune," she called with a small bow.

"And to you, Mars. Have you some free time tonight?" the aqua haired senshi asked as she returned the formality. Her smile grew as a curious expression filled the younger senshi's face. "We found something that Uranus thought you'd be interested in."

Sailor Mars' brow furrowed in thought for a moment, and then she nodded. "With Small Lady still gone, I happen to be free tonight," she replied. "What is it?"

Sailor Neptune shook her head. "That's for you to say," she replied teasingly. "We think we know, but…"

The younger senshi snorted softly at this deliberate air of mystery, but willingly walked over to stand beside her. Sailor Neptune reached out to grasp her hand, and a bright light surrounded them. When it vanished, so had the senshi.

Sailor Mars blinked rapidly and put up a hand to shield her eyes as she tried to adjust from evening twilight to full day. Around her, she heard different birds singing. "Where are we?" she asked as she lowered her arm and studied the trees around her.

"Transylvania," Sailor Neptune replied. Her smile grew more sympathetic when Sailor Mars tensed and hissed in surprise. It had been in Transylvania that Phantom had captured and brainwashed Sailor Mercury. Centuries later, the Senshi of Wisdom was still dealing with the scars. Oddly, she still liked the small European country, and was the only Inner Senshi inclined to visit it.

Sailor Mars glared at the tall evergreens around her. "Why are we here?" she asked tightly. Just as she finished speaking, a large stag with an impressive rack burst into the clearing. Both senshi jumped in surprise, spun quickly to face the new 'threat', and then relaxed.

"You'll see," Sailor Neptune replied quietly as she powered down to her civilian form. She waited patiently as the younger senshi debated with herself, and then powered down as well.

She had just finished when a child ran into the clearing. She cried out something to the stag in a language that Rei did not recognize. It merely tossed its head, and pranced in place. The child spoke again, sounding a little disgusted and put out.

Rei tilted her head to one side and smiled as the oddly dressed girl stomped her way over to the deer. She didn't look much older than Small Lady appeared, maybe twelve or thirteen. The patchwork of greens and browns she wore reminded her of old-style camouflage. It seemed the red-headed girl had found an old uniform somewhere, and had used strips of the same material to try and make it fit. Her hair was long and tangled, and her face was smudged with dirt.

Rei's smile faded quickly and her eyes widened, however, when she saw the stag lower its head and paw the ground. He had at least eight points on his rack, and they were all aimed at the young girl. Before Rei could move, Michiru grabbed her arm.

The girl stopped and glared at the deer. She spoke to it irritably as she crossed her arms. Her conversation would have been more amusing if her partner had looked a little less aggressive.

Rei felt something soft brush her leg, and jumped with a soft cry of surprise. Instantly, the girl and stag turned to stare at the two senshi. The child called something to them, sounding suspicious as she began to edge away. There was no doubt in Rei's mind what she had said. Who are you?

Flashing a quick glance at Michiru, she raised her hands and tried to project reassurance. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you," she called softly in Japanese.

The girl came to a stop near the trees at the other side of the clearing. Her suspicious expression, however, did not fade. The stag moved to stand near her right hand and pawed the ground while he shook his horns aggressively at them. Rei's and Michiru's eyes widened as they realized that a fox was sitting on her left. It looked up at the girl and gave a small yip, and then looked back at the two foreign women.

"Umm…," Rei started again, a little uncertainly. "We were just passing by. I thought that stag was going to hurt you, and I was a little worried." 'What are you babbling about, Rei?' she thought furiously to herself. 'The child probably doesn't even speak Japanese.' The thought faded away at the girl's surprised expression.

"Hurt me?" she asked in roughly accented Japanese. "Why would he hurt me? All I did was ask him to give me a ride to the waterfall." As Michiru and Rei blinked at her in surprise, she studied them closely. "You aren't from around here," she said as her eyes narrowed suspiciously once more. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"Um… We were just out for a walk," Rei improvised quickly. "My friend saw something that she thought might interest me out this way." The girl's suspicious glare did not ease. "My name is Rei. What's your name?" she asked, attempting to change the subject.

"None of your business," the girl replied as she turned to run. Quickly, she disappeared into the trees with her unusual escort.

Rei turned to look up at Michiru, and frowned at the amused expression on the older senshi's face. "That's it?" she asked in exasperation. "That's all you wanted me to see? A child who talks to animals?" She paused, and then repeated her words more slowly. "A child who talks to animals… She doesn't appear to be a threat," she added with another look to her companion.

"Not a threat," an alto voice agreed. Rei started, and turned to see Haruka emerging from the trees to her left. "You handled that really well," the taller senshi smirked.

Rei ignored her and thought back over her encounter with the strange child. There was something… something… familiar about her? Absently, she walked across the clearing to follow the girl's trail. Although she had left no signs of her passing that Rei could read, her aura burned as brightly as a beacon to the trained miko. Michiru and Haruka exchanged glances and followed quietly after her.

Several minutes later, they came to a shallow pool in a river bed. Rei walked over to a tall tree, and looked up. Startled eyes the color of red beryl met hers. Fear and anger quickly replaced the surprise, but Rei didn't notice. The eyes had finally given her the clue she had sought.

As the girl scrambled higher into her tree, Rei stared at her with a shocked expression on her face. Hidden in the trees off to the side, Haruka and Michiru exchanged a meaningful glance. "What is your name?" she asked the girl again.

"I'm not telling you," was her reply.

Rei's face scrunched up in thought. It had been so long ago, but she had met this girl once. No… more than once; first as an enemy, then as a partner, and finally as a friend. "Bessa…" she breathed as her eyes focused on the girl once more. "Bessa-chan?"

The child's eyes looked like they would pop out of her head, and then a furious, stubborn look settled on her face. "I'm not going back. You can't make me. I don't know who you are, but you can't make me go back." Rei merely nodded slowly. "I don't want to live with my uncle," Bessa continued stridently. "I want to stay here! I'm perfectly fine here, by myself."

"But, she'll be looking for you," Rei pointed out in a reasonable tone.

Bessa broke off her tirade and gave Rei a puzzled look. "Who? My uncle's not a girl!"

Rei chuckled. "No, not your uncle." Her violet gaze held Bessa's red one. "She'll be so disappointed if you aren't there when she returns. You really don't want to disappoint her, do you?"

"Since I don't know who you're talking about," Bessa muttered in reply, "it's kind of hard to care."

Rei smiled. "I'm talking about this," she replied as she held out her hand. Bessa watched wide-eyed as a tongue of flame appeared and danced around her palm. When it disappeared, a small orange-red henshin pen remained. Wordlessly, Rei held up to the girl.

Bessa stared at it suspiciously for a long moment. Then, her expression softened. Slowly, cautiously, she crept back down the tree. She paused above Rei, just out of reach, and studied the pen more closely. Then, moving faster than most normal eyes could see, she snatched it away. Rei merely lowered her arm, and waited patiently.

Michiru took a firm hold of Haruka's arm and pulled her away. The taller senshi gave her a pouting look. 'Why?' she asked telepathically. 'It was just getting good!'

'You can't stay and play,' her partner replied sternly the same way. 'Do you want to mess up the time line? You can tease her in a few years.' Haruka continued to pout, but her eyes twinkled with anticipation.

Meanwhile, Bessa retreated a little up into the tree, sat on a branch and turned the pen over and over in her hands. "Vesta Power Make Up," Rei said softly below her. When the girl's eyes flashed to her, she caught them with her own. She continued in a serious voice. "Vesta Power Make Up. If you wish to keep that pen, then that is your vow."

"Vow?" the girl asked softly.

Rei nodded. "Vow. Your power for them to use. Your strength for them to depend on. Your life to keep them safe." Bessa shuddered. "That is your vow. Anything and everything to protect them and this world. Vesta Power Make Up."

Bessa stared at the pen once more. After a long moment of silence, she spoke. "Who?"

"The rulers of the Moon," was Rei's response.

"Are they worth it?" Bessa turned her gaze back to the woman below her and focused all her attention on reading her response.

"Oh yes," Rei breathed. "Yes, they are worth it." Although her expression did not change much, her conviction seemed to surround her like a bright light.

Bessa was suitably impressed. She turned her gaze to the pen once more, and then held it up in the air. "Vesta Power… Make UP!"