Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ A Bowl of Catnip Memories ❯ Law and Punishment ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Authors Note: Alright, this will be a big project for me, and I'm praying for a good success. I never see many fanfictions with the Galactics...it's usually the Animanites, and that isn't who the Galactics are...or were. So, I'm treading on new ground. Please give me feedback! I live off of it ^_^

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon or anything like that. NO SUEING PLEASE! *smile*

The Galactic Project
Chapter One: Law and Order

~~~

"This is the LAST time, Mau! The LAST!" Kaelin growled. I winced as she pulled me firmly into my room and shoved me into the chair in front of my oak desk. Somehow, she ignored the fact I was dripping water all over the carpet and onto her shoes. A shower was the price I paid for pouncing Shi, a visiting senshi who had a quick temper along with the power to manipulate the weather. I had to smile. I heard that comment about everyday.

The smirk was wiped from my face soon enough when a pencil and some paper were shoved under my nose. Now it was Sailor Coronis' time to smile.

"What do I do with this?" I asked while staring at the writing utensil now held loosely in my hand. This was certainly an odd punishment.

"You're going to write everything you remember about the Galactic Senshi from the time I met you on. Then, maybe you'll realize how important Shi is to us," she answered.

"BUT, MUMA! SHE STARTED IT!"

"Mau! Act your age!"

I pouted. "That's not fair. I have to be at least a thousand years plus."

Kaelin chuckled, obviously amused. Sure, I got on her nerves, but that didn't mean she loved me any less. "You better get started on that story then, right? I want details."

Being the person I am, I crossed my arms like a spoiled child and scowled at her retreating back. "And what if I don't write it?" I asked.

Kaelin turned to face me, raising one graceful eyebrow. "Then you're going to be in here a long time, aren't you?"

Sighing, I looked at the paper, then to the shut door, then back to the paper again. The tale of the Galactics was very long and a bit complicated. My muma wanted me to write all that? Was she insane? While resting my head in my hands, I decided, no, she wasn't. After all, she usually didn't give punishments if she didn't think it would benefit the receiver in some way. Never really worked for me. Then again I'm Mau, and don't really react normally to scolding.

"I don't hear writing!" came Kaelin's voice through the door, followed by some muffled snickering that had to be Shi and Mermaid.

"I'm WORKING on it!" I yelled back, which only resulted in the laughter getting louder. I was so glad my friends were amused by my misfortune.

I chewed on the pencil eraser a bit, hoping to burn holes in the paper with heat vision I obviously didn't possess. It became apparent I had no choice but to write. So, feeling a bit defeated, I put pencil to paper and began my tale.

~*~*~*~

"You can't catch me!" Mermaid yelled with glee. Her clear, childish voice always rings in my mind as another happy memory surfaces. If I peer close enough, I can see myself, young and enjoying life, as I chase my friend through the twisting palace hallways, barely avoiding slamming into servants as we both rushed by. p> When you're young that's all you can think about; games and running along the shore of the nearby lake, not caring if your skirt gets sandy yet again. It never occurred to me my comrade would one day learn to kill with magick imbedded somewhere deep in her soul. And it also never occurred to me that I too, would understand the cruelty of the universe as life went on. One doesn't learn these things in a grand castle with a small group of young girls for a family. Life is spent with fun and games played under the strong archways leading to another exciting adventure.

"Slow down! You're going to break your neck!" cried Kaelin, her head popping out from her room long enough to see us go giggling by. She was not much older than us. Maybe a few years, but she had her duty and it told of order and self-control. Coronis was not one to allow the rest of her group of senshi to go jumping off a window ledge to see if they could fly, even if it was supposed to be a game. In a way, she was like an adult trapped in a child's body. You could always tell by the way her eyes looked like they'd seen too much of the world.

Of course, neither of us listened to her back then. That was our job: to ignore all common sense. We obviously did that well enough.

I can't remember the rest of that day, though it had to have been full of childish pranks and constant grins. It's almost insane how lucky I was to grow up in such wonderful company. The Galactic Palace was a perfect place for growing senshi. It was large, and I'm sure half the rooms hadn't been inhabited for years. Not to mention there were enough trees to climb and flowers to pick to satisfy any small child. But every childhood has some flaws.

I was the baby of the household, and looked it too. I was small and had a childish air about my face, for my eyes had a tendency to make themselves very round when expressing any emotion. Not to mention I usually kept my hair pinned up in sort of cat-ear shaped odangos. Not only was this considered cute, but also sort of a fascination, for didn't the princess and queen of the Lunar senshi also wear their hair as such? Pinned in a shape on their heads? I remember how amused Princess Selenity was, her kind, bright smile never wavering as she viewed me with her dazzling, blue eyes. It was rare that the Galactics and Lunar senshi ever saw one another, so naturally everyone assumed that was how I usually wore my hair.

"How adorable!" was what the crowd was murmuring."See how Selenity and Mau look so much alike? Isn't it sweet how she tries to mimic the princess?" This wasn't pleasing to me. I no longer wanted to look like a moonchild. From then on I attempted to pin my long, dark hair differently or not at all. I don't even think the princess was the least bit disappointed to see the change when our groups met once again. She just cocked her head to the side a bit, smiling that pretty smile of hers, and proceeded to engage me into a conversation.

As I grew, so did my friends, though at a much more rapid pace since they were older. Our faces thinned out and our bodies burned the baby fat we'd carried for so long. It was such a change to see Mermaid grumbling that her shirts were too small, or that there was an inch between her skirt bottom and her ankles. I, of course, hardly had any problems. My small bones grew little until I was at the very least five foot three inches. The only other person to share in my small tale of woe was Chuu, who was also quite short, but carried it as she always had. With dignity and sharp intellect. I was the one who fell into whining pathetically.

It was horrible to be jealous of my friends, but that I was. Chuu had a way with her own challenges and no one ever considered her too small or young to do a job. Probably because she was too quick witted to allow them too. Mermaid slowly began filling out and, even though she didn't realize it, was quite a beauty. Her icy blue hair that had once always been filled with leaves and sand as a child was now brushed till it shone. Her light eyes caught every movement with interest and amazement. To add, Cocoon, whom I rarely saw but held much respect for, turned up suddenly one day with a saucy grin and a strange appeal that sent some of the servant boys into a tizzy. And to add insult to injury, Kaelin, although strict, had a fiery personality to match her flaming hair and charming looks. My friends' allure was driving me mad. After all, in comparison I was very plain. Just a little slip of a girl and certainly not anything worth looking at like Mermaid, Cocoon, or Kaelin were. Even Chuu managed to grab more attention than me, despite her bookworm personality.

So, I decided to fight this my own way. If I couldn't look like an adult, I simply wouldn't act like one. I clung to my old ways of lurking in the corridors and pouncing my unsuspecting friends. More often than not you'd see Chuu screaming at me while I stood, rocking back and forth on my heels and just taking it all in with a large grin on my face.

Everything changed drastically, though. Lurking around the main parts of the building one-day, having the intent on scaring the crap out of Mermaid, I came across a young woman in her teens, standing aimlessly around one of the entrance halls. Even though I was twelve and suppose to abide by the rules and etiquette set down for aspiring senshi, I decided this would be a good chance to introduce myself. Maybe even make a new friend. And what better way to do that than to give the girl a good, old fashioned, Mau pounce?

I knew the palace lay out like the back of my hand, so it wasn't hard to slink around beside a potted plant and wait until the girl wasn't paying any attention. In fact, she seemed too nervous to even consider being tackled to the floor. Perfect. That was what I wanted, since by now all my friends knew I was laying in wait in the shadows somewhere.

With cat-like accuracy I launched from my hiding place, giggling as the floor rushed up to meet us and there was the satisfying thud telling of a good hit.

This victory was short lived, for the sound of cracking thunder caused me to look up in confusion and receive a mouthful of rainwater that was pouring from the ceiling. Common sense told me that storms don't usually happen indoors, and immediately my eyes went to the young woman, who I had pinned to the ground, and froze as her storming gray orbs met my own golden ones.

We lay in silence for a moment, getting more soaked by the second, before she shoved me off in disgust. That's when I remembered I never did like getting wet.

"What is your PROBLEM?!" the girl raged followed by a streak of lightning making it's way across the white ceiling. I made a vain attempt to scramble away, get out of the horrid down pour, but only succeeded in smashing into a very angry looking Coronis who glanced to her new, young charge, which stopped the storm in an instant.

"Both of you, come with me," Kaelin snapped, grabbing the top of my ear and leading me along with the sulking, dark haired teenager trailing behind.

We were made to clean up the mini flood that had been created until the entrance hall was spick and span, and above all: dry. That was how I met Shi, the Tempest. From then on it was all out war. I found it amusing to see her turn beet red in anger, and she thought it was just wonderful to drench me and leave me screaming at her while empting my shoes of water. Though we never admitted it, it was the starting of a healthy friendship, and that is what the senshi is all about; friendship; love, and hope.

~*~*~*~*~

I watched as Kaelin read the last page of my carefully scrawled handwriting before passing it to Shi who had flopped onto my bed; Mermaid sat to her left, reading over her shoulder with interest.

"Well, I say you did rather well for the first part," Coronis voiced finally, glancing out my window with a far away look in her eyes.

"Good. Can I go down to dinner now?" I questioned. After all, I'd been sitting there for hours in an attempt to form a good story. I had done what she wanted, and was awfully hungry from an afternoon of confinement.

Silence fell on the room as Shi looked up from the page and Mermaid glanced at our flaming haired friend. At first Kaelin said nothing except sit with a small smile on her lips as if remembering the good old days, until she finally came to herself and shook her head. "We'll have your dinner brought up to you by Chuu."

I hardly bothered to hide my confusion. "What?! But I did what you wanted! I 'appreciate' Shi now!" There was an amused snort from Mermaid. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to write the whole story. It might be good for you."

"With penmanship like this, what good will it do for her to write it if we can't read it?" Shi jested. I threw the nearest book at her to show my distaste at her words. She merely ducked and let it hit the wall behind her, a pleased smirk on her face. "And she doesn't even get across half of it. People still think you're the Animanites. Where's the explanation, huh?" I scowled at her. What was she trying to do? Keep me locked in my room forever?

"I didn't ask her to explain, Shi, but I do want her to write the whole story from her eyes," said Kaelin as she took my finished pages from Mermaid's hands. "This in itself is well written, and I'm rather interesting in what you remember." I rolled my eyes in response. What I remembered is what she remembers. I felt that this was an unfair prolonging of a punishment. "Let's leave the Boo Kitten alone so she may write."

My friends made their way from the room in a flash, with the exception of Shi turning around to stick her tongue out at me before Coronis noticed. I sighed and reread my work, twisting a lock of dark hair around my finger as I thought. It was with extreme sincerity that I wished Chuu would bring up my supper. After all, eating meant I could stop, and to stop writing was exactly what I wished to do.

~~~

Alright. That's it for chapter one. Please review! I would really like to know what people think of this!