First meeting! (Stella/Diana)

"Well you can join an organization with a goal in mind. They happen to send me on missions that I agree with. Usually taking care of hollows before they become an issue for the people living where they are."

Stella spoke as she did think about the fact that when they kill a hollow the soul is gone forever. Not everyone who becomes a hollow is a bad person, but what is she supposed to do? Allow the hollows to become a problem and kill whatever they want? she can't do that, especially not with her morals.

She hadn't fully returned to her former self but the desire to protect still burned brightly inside of her. She wanted to defend those who can't do it themselves and she wants to protect everyone she cares about. Veralia, Sabriel, Natasha, Solomon, and everyone. Not just those listed but all of the people she cares about and calls friend.

"I'm not trying to push you one way or the other. It's a big decision."

When Diana heard that Stella found purpose in destroying Hollows before they had the time to grow into a serious threat the blonde felt a bit of respect for the other Quincy. Most of the blonde's troubles were caused by Hollows and she had no love for them or any desire to understand what they were or how they came to be in the physical world. All Diana wanted to know about those creatures was what it took to kill them.

"I dislike Hollows." Diana replied in a succinct understatement that had a slight but noticeable edge of animosity towards the aforementioned creatures. To say that the blonde disliked Hollows would be like saying that the ocean was wet. They had cost her her family, her home, and any real chance of a future as a "normal" person living a normal life. While Diana could just move somewhere and start a new life for herself, it would not be the same as if she had been able to stay in Columbus and go to university, return home and get a job, and live with her family until she could afford a house or apartment.

She was far from alone in bearing a grudge against Hollows... she was fairly certain that many people all across the world shared her intense dislike of that species and wanted them all gone. Diana would gladly do her part to thin their numbers whenever the opportunity presented itself, but right now she could only do that with the help of others. She wanted to get strong enough to be able to eliminate Hollows without any assistance so that no one else would have to risk their life to help her.

Thinking back to Stella's assertion on the magnitude of the decision facing her, Diana was moved to comment on it.

"Your assessment of the decision I must make is accurate, Stella. I can safely say that I have never had to consider anything like it before." Diana replied calmly. Choosing which university to enroll in after high school was nothing like having to choose between joining the Vandenreich and gaining access to its services or remaining independent and keeping her freedom but closing herself off from what it could offer her. However, rushing into such a commitment would be foolish and Diana felt her respect for Stella grow a little more for the latter openly counseling the blonde to think the matter all the way through before reaching a decision.

"Take it from me. Don't let your distaste for hollows cause you harm. Always regard them as a threat and if you're ever working with people, please.... Please keep them close to you. You have no idea when they may be taken away."

Stella spoke from the heart when she thought about her situation with the green haired demon. Stella didn't want to give her more room in her mind than she had already occupied. She wondered if the quincy in front of her would actually end up joining the Vanden Reich. In Stella's mind it would be another person she could potentially train with, and that was enough of a reason to keep talking to her

"So what's your story, Diana? Have you been hunting hollows since you can walk or something cool like that? For me I've only been doing this a short while all things considered."

Diana tended to keep to herself and fight Hollows only when she had to, so Stella did not have to worry about the blonde imitating Captain Ahab and obsessively hunting Hollows until her obsession ended up costing her her life. Still, the redhead's point was worth remembering and following. Stella was obviously speaking from experience when she had issued her warning, so the blonde saw no need to comment on it. What Diana saw as worth commenting on was the question about her story.

The blonde did not see her past as any big secret that needed to be kept. Doku and Meninas knew her story, so Stella would be told about her life up to this point. Diana just hoped that Stella would not be disappointed when the latter learned that the blonde did not lead an action-packed life right out of a movie.

"I started hunting Hollows when I was eighteen, Stella." Diana started off. "Hunting" was too strong a term for how things really went... it went more like "randomly encountering them during a walk in the woods" or "joining the local militia to defend a town" rather than actively seeking Hollows out. That was kind of splitting hairs, though.

"My parents started training me in the Quincy arts starting at fourteen. However, we lived in a peaceful place in the woods, so I did not get a chance to use them in actual combat. I went to school, came home, and lived like a normal person until some time after I turned eighteen. I was upstairs in my room looking at a list of colleges and universities to enroll in when I heard a lot of commotion outside and went to see what the cause of all the noise was." Diana gave a short version of the events that led up to the fateful day.

"I went outside and saw that my parents were outside facing down a lot of Hollows heading right for our home. I looked towards the Hollows and my stomach turned a flip because I could not even begin to count how many there were. My mother told me to run away immediately and head for her hometown in Central Georgia, then take up residence in her childhood home. She also told me not to come back for them no matter what I heard." Diana recounted the grim situation facing her before she was told to escape the inevitable slaughter of her family.

"I was not nearly strong enough to help my parents fight off the Hollows, so I did what I was told. I followed my mother's instructions to the letter and traveled through the woods until I made it to her hometown. I found the house she grew up in and stayed there for a few years. There I worked as a hunting guide to make ends meet and helped the local militia fight off Hollows whenever they threatened the town. I lived that way for four or so years until I eventually returned to my hometown to see my old home... or what was left of it, anyway." Diana told the rest of her backstory. After that she went silent to give Stella a chance to speak.

Stella would listen to the words as she did feel bad for the woman. She couldn't imagine what it would be like for her to go through that with her family, but she did what she could to hear the blonde out. Not wanting to appear rude she had kept eye contact through the whole thing as she would speak out to her.

"I'm sorry you went through that."

Stella apologized as if there was anything she could do to change the past. Stella wasn't very emotional at this current point in time but she did want to share some tips with the blonde. Thanks to the Vandenreich she was able to meet friends who were pretty much family at this point. '


"Perhaps atleast going to the city of lights and exploring could be a good avenue for you? Perhaps you could even meet some people that you would care alot about. That's what happened to me."

"It is fine, Stella. It is in the past now and I am over the worst of the negative emotions surrounding the tragedy." Diana informed Stella. That was only partially true... the blonde had moved on in the sense she did not experience strong emotional turmoil every time she thought about the event. However, whenever she thought about what happened to her family Diana felt a sense of regret and wondered how things could have played out differently if she had been stronger. Chances were high that there would have been three tombstones on the former Remington property instead of just two, but on occasion she fantasized about pulling off an improbable win and saving her parents from the Hollow incursion. Once she had succeeded against the odds the Remington family would be intact and they could resume their normal lives... Diana could even get her own life going and go to a four-year institution of higher education of her choosing and within her budget, then come home with degree in hand to look for a job that would allow her to afford her own home or apartment.

That was just her daydreaming, though.

Diana did not have much time to dwell on the past because there were bills that needed paying in the present. Once she got back to America she would need to work to make back what she had spent on the trip to Japan so that she could keep the lights on and save up for another visit to Japan at some point in the future. Speaking of travel, Stella had brought up an interesting idea and that idea was to pay a visit to the City Of Lights.

"When would this visit be?" Diana calmly asked Stella. Ideally it would be in the future when Diana had had some time to earn money to put into savings so that she could travel somewhere and stay longer without straining her budget to the breaking point. As it stood the blonde might be able to spend one more day in Japan, but after that she would have to return to America to avoid spending money she might not be able to spare.

"Well that would be up to you. I wouldn't mind meeting up with you when you do come in. So maybe, let's exchange contact information? That way we can meet up when you fo come in?"

Stella wasn't trying to force her to come soon. She had just figured vsndereich or not the City of Lights was a good, safe place to visit. At the very least it was mostly safee and incidents like the one with Ichigo were exceedingly rare. So she figured that it would be okay to try and get the woman to go to the City. It really was safe for their people.

"I also want you to just watch out for this green haired shinigami. She doesn't dress like a normal one, and she makes it her goal to attack and kill quincy. I....I barely made it out."

Part of Diana had thought that she would have to leave for the City Of Lights right away, so it had come as a pleasant surprise when Stella let her know that she would get to choose when the visit took place. The blonde's pleasure upon receiving that news evaporated as suddenly as it had arrived when the other Quincy requested an exchange of contact information so that when Diana chose to visit the city Stella would be able to meet up with her. The blonde had no problem with that request, but actually fulfilling it was impossible because Diana did not have a phone.

Feeling more than a little upset by the fact that she did not own the ubiquitous communication device in a situation where having one would have come in handy, Diana took a quiet breath and gathered her thoughts before speaking.

"I do not possess a cell phone at the moment, Stella. Back home I live in the woods and I have yet to find a model that can withstand the wilderness." Diana apologized to the other Quincy for complicating what should have been a simple matter and gave one of the strongest reasons for why she did not possess a device. No amount of reasons the blonde could offer would make things any easier, but she soon thought of a low-tech way around the problem. Should Stella already have or be able to get access to a piece of paper and a writing implement the redhead could simply write down her information, then give it to Diana so that the latter could call her when she got back to America and finally joined the modern world by buying a phone.

"What I propose is this. If you are willing to write your information down, I will buy a phone in America and call you as soon as possible." Diana pitched her idea to salvage the situation. However, her focus was soon diverted from the current topic to a warning Stella had given her about someone who held a serious grudge against Quincies. What made the warning particularly interesting was that the person in question was a Shinigami.

"Please tell me everything you can about this Shinigami." Diana calmly requested of the redhead. The blonde had made a mental note of the two details Stella had already given her, but more information was required for Diana to better understand what she might be going up against.

Stella would write her number down on the piece of paper before handing it off to Diana. It was rare for her to find someone who wasn't living in some sort of village. That must be a hard existence, and especially one as a quincy. They had spirit energy so alot of the time they acted as magnets for hollows trying to get juicy meals. It was something that Stella had felt bad for her entire time in her village. However, her mother and her made sure that the village was safe at all times. When they were on vacation that just meant the village had a few weeks of no worries.

"I don't really know a whole lot. I just know the gotei is a thing and the Soul Society. I'm just not sure about the details much more past that. I know that they're pretty slow with their job."

She spoke with a hint of regret to the blonde. She was aware that the quincy completely erase a hollows soul, but what other option do they have? Just let the hollows have free reign while the shinigami sit on their ass in their little afterlife dimension?

To her surprise Stella accepted the offer Diana had proposed and wrote down her phone number, then passed it to the blonde. Diana pocketed it right away so that she did not lose the number and with it a valuable contact. Once the valuable information was safely put away the blonde Quincy faced Stella again.

"Thank you." Diana thanked Stella for the gift. She quickly shifted gears to discuss the "Gotei" and the "Soul Society" while making a mental note of the redhead's claim that the Shinigami were not particularly diligent about performing the duties of their occupation. Diana only knew the name of that race and lacked knowledge of what it was that they were supposed to do, but it was clear that Stella was not a big fan of the Shinigami. Perhaps the other Quincy could tell her a bit more about them even if it was only general information.

"How is this "Gotei" you mentioned connected to the Shinigami?" Diana asked Stella. Hopefully the redhead would be amenable to answering questions about that race even though she did not care for them. Diana did not know very much about them, so anything she could learn from this conversation would help her fill in at least a few of the numerous gaps in her knowledge.