RP: 5th Fleet [Chapter Seven] We're Not In Yamatai Anymore...

"You're the boss!" said Aya, flashing Sif a thumbs up. Or at least as close as she could get to giving the Mini-Neko a thumbs up without attracting strange looks. As far as she was concerned, such an arrangement suited her perfectly. The young Nekovalkyrja didn't like hanging back when she could be going toe to toe with her opponents.

The discussion then turned to Dimitri and Rin. Aya zoned out mentally, being completely and utterly uninterested in such details. As far as she was concerned, a bow was a bow and a crossbow was a crossbow. As long as they could disable or kill the bad guys that would be good enough for her!

"U-uh... sure?" Aya was a little uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a room with Kuroneko, but the tiger haired Nekovalkyrja brought up a good point - with how limited their funds were, there was no way that they could afford to waste their cash. I'll just have to grin and bear it...

Rin took another sip of her ale as she thought.

"I am not actually sure of the draw weight. I believe it might be eighty pounds, but I am sure that is something we can determine in the morning at the blacksmith."

She yawns as she takes another sip from her mug.

"Hmm...looks like now would be a good time for me to turn in."

Dimitri understood the general plan they came up with based on weapon type and it was fairly solid, what confused him was the barrage of questions he received from Sif, he had bought the crossbow without asking many questions, he didn't understand what was and wasn't important to such a weapon so he was out of his element. He however did not want to outright admit he bought it without checking anything so he spoke up with an excuse that sounded more like a joke. "I haven't used it yet, but it didn't come with an owner's manual you know."

With the idea of them all sleeping in one room brought up Dimitri wasnt sure what to say, anything would make him seem either perverted or that he didn't like the girls, so he just kept quite about that.

"So. Nobody really knows anything about 'modern' warfare I take it?" Sif asked, a single brown furred ear twitched in annoyance. "I suppose it cannot be helped. We'll have to get familiar with our weapons, as well as take a look at what other wares are available for purchase at the local blacksmith's or arms store. I only hope we'll be able to make up our minds, but that seems unlikely," she sighed in annoyance. As Sif thought about properly familiarizing the group with their weapons and getting them proper armor, Kuroneko was thinking about making her next move. None of it would actually pan out, she knew, but the looks on their faces! The discomfort! The awkwardness!

Seemingly brushing away their more serious comments on their assortment of weapons, Kuroneko gave them all a toothy smile. "Now, now, we can't all turn in quiet yet - we still don't know who's sleeping where!" Looking from one person to another, the feeling of anticipation ran up and down Kuroneko's back like a jolt of electricity when her eyes settled on Dimitri. The young man was silent, and on top of that, did she see a faint blush in her cheeks? For maximum festivities, the black and orange haired Neko knew she'd have to ship him with Aya, considering the two had some history together. That meant the crimson skinned Rin all to herself. She wanted to bite her lip at the thoughts, but Sif brought it all tumbling down.

"I almost forgot. You're sleeping on the floor Kuroneko. Alone." Caught flat footed, she wasn't able to reply right away.

Dimitri was feeling a bit nervous with Sif commenting on the group's lack of knowledge of how to fight on this planet. He was pretty sure historically such weapons were used at one point but that was long long before his time. So he was thankful when Kuroneko changed to subject to something a bit more light hearted. "Speaking of sleeping...Sif where are you going to sleep? Aren't you worried if you sleep on the bed you might get rolled over?"

Rin snerked at Sif telling Kuroneko her own sleeping arrangement. She took another sip from her mug.

"I think Sif just wants to be by the girls again," said Rin, pushing her elbows together slightly to emphasize her bust hidden beneath the leather tunic she wore.

"Which can still be arranged; although I do tend to sleep on my side," she said with one eyebrow cocked.

"Agree at your own risk, Sif."

Aya smiled sheepishly as Sif berated the group. Her smile quickly disappered, however, as Kuroneko gave them all a frankly unnerving smile. She squirmed in her seat, only for Sif to swoop in and save the day in her own terse manner. Dimitri brought up the good point of where, exactly, the dimunitive Mini-Neko would sleep. Rin's suggestion made Aya giggle despite herself as she recalled Sif's behaviour in the pool. She quickly stopped, however, once she realised that she might attract Sif's ire.

Between Kuroneko's lewd intents, Rin's suggestiveness, Aya's knowing giggles, and Dimitri's sharp observation, there could only be one thing running through the Mini-Neko's mind.

Memories.

Memories of being at a wild party, and finding a heavenly crush as dancers pressed in. Memories of sleeping peacefully at night on board her old ship, only to get rolled on and smothered. Memories of shedding tears of joy as a friend thought dead came back alive - and getting pulverized between pillows. Memories of running from an explosion, being flung through the air, only to find a quashing landing. There were many, many unsavory...incidents like these that haunted her. Memories of warm pillows coming in from every direction and pressing down, suffocating her. Choking her life away! But all they could see was Sif standing there on Kuroneko's shoulders, green eyes unfocused on Rin's bust as she stared into eternity.

And blinked.

"Being as well prepared as she tends to be - and a spoil sport -" Kuroneko quickly muttered, " - Sif has actually brought her own bed along. It's the most adorable little thing!~" As though hearing her own name snapped her out of it, the Mini-Neko briefly shook her head, scrunching her eyes up before reverting back to her previous, aloof expression.

"Yes. Set your timers to 0600 tomorrow morning," Sif ordered them about.

"She brought her own bed?" Dimtri spoke up rather curiously after hearing that. "This I gotta see, does she carry it on her back, or does it fold down into luggage." He chuckeld a little and turned his attention to Sif to see if she has an answer.

Kuroneko had already started to rise from her seat, but delicately laughed at Dimitri's curiosity. "You'll see," she smiled. Sif on the other hand, remained impassive on the orange-black haired woman's shoulder. Looking at her, it was hard to tell just what was on her mind, especially since reading her facial features was a little harder since she was so small. Despite this however, they could still just barely see her eyebrows furrow together.

"It's...a bed," Sif's green eyes stared back at him. Kuroneko then turned and made her way through the crowed, and true enough, it seemed they weren't the only ones deciding to turn in for the night either. The locals that could still stand either made their way out, air rushing in each time the door opened, or were carried out by their friends. Other travelers like the squad were heading to their rooms as well. They had to wait just a bit as a young woman with fair skin and long, golden hair made her way up, a cloaked, armed guard leading the way with another bringing up the rear. It was different, but not too odd - the middle class here on this world could likely afford such after all. Soon enough however, they all made their way into Kuroneko's room.

Inside, it was just another wood-walled and floored room in the tavern, with a single bed, a drawer and lantern on top of that in one corner. There was also a small table and chair by the closed, faintly rattling window too, but all of this was uninteresting, save for one thing on top of the bedside drawers; a small metal box with the lid removed. Inside was the most surreality detailed little bed any of them had ever seen. A red blanket decorated with variously shaded and sized squares arranged in swirls and whorls was set on top of white bedsheets, all headed by a single little pillow. All of this in turn was on top of what was likely the smallest mattress and metal bedframe they had ever seen. Unlike items for dolls however, the cloth wasn't the normal denier merely cut and stitched into form. The denier was absurdly fine. Fine to the point that the stitching they could see was nearly microscopic; everything from the fibers to the stitching to probably even the springs in the mattress was in proper proportion to a Mini Neko. Sif.

"It's a bed," she repeated, looking at them all as though they were being weird.

"Isn't it adorable? Still, who's going to be sleeping where, or with whom, hm? The big bed here can definitely fit two!~" Kuro mischievously smiled.

When morning came - and not soon enough - the squad readied themselves for another daunting task; shopping.

"You should all know we're in luck. Instead of having to go from one place to the other, this town organized a general store where we can find most of what we need," Kuroneko explained to them. They were all walking through the streets, the roads muddy due to the lack of cobbling. Fortunately for them however, it wasn't far at all. Opening the door for them, the orange-black haired Neko ushered them inside, a crude iron bell ringing as they did so.

The store itself was better than most, being made of a mix of bricks, stones and mortar, while the floors were mere hardwood planks fitted closely together. They weren't painted or sealed with lacquer or some other coating either, and straw strewn on the floor served to soak up any mess. Looking around, the windows weren't paned with glass, and had a wooden framework to deter would be thieves while letting in light. More importantly however, were the handmade shelves arranged with a wide assortment of goods. Unlike modern stores that would stock perishables however, everything here was something that would keep on a shelf and not go bad. The equipment they'd need for a long journey, ranging from tents to cookware was here.

But more importantly however, was what lined the back wall behind some protective cases - weapons and armor.

"H-hello!" a meek voice spoke up. A large gray lizard's head poked up over the counter where the clerk or owner would usually be, its head turned so that a single large, yellow eye could look at them all. Opening it's mouth but hardly moving it's jaw, the same voice that first greeted them went on, slightly whistling every 's' that it spoke."Please tell me if I can help any of you." Before they all knew it, the head bobbed under the counter for a moment as the scraping of a chair could be heard, and soon enough, the giant lizard was sitting just high enough for it to start cleaning the tabletop. Or at least try to - it seemed to be childishly short.

"Yes, we're preparing for a journey, and are in need of weapons and armor. The armor more importantly," Sif replied to it without missing a beat. It seemed that she wasn't bothered the slightest with the fact she was talking to a kid-sized velociraptor. Then again, they all knew about Delsaurians.

"Oh, of course!" Hopping off of the chair, they could hear claws clatter against the wood floor as it finally came into full view. Whatever it was, it wasn't a Delsaurian - it was too thin and lithe to be one, with the rough spun tunic it wore hanging on so loosely that it seemed a breeze would carry it away. Plus, it had natural thumbs, not cybernetic based ones and a tail that was long and swishy. Opening the containers for them to reveal the protective garments that were for sale, the squad could see that there were four different items on hand. The first looked like a tough coat of some sort that went down to the knees almost like a trench coat. It was also quilted in an odd patter and was padded as well. Despite this, it honestly seemed rather out of place here in comparison to what was normally seen in games and shows and such, but they could see that it had leather straps to bind it closed as well. Each of the next three however, were all more familiar looking.

Second up was a chest piece of leather accompanied by greaves and vambraces. Interestingly, the material was tough like the plastic found in protective sporting gear and was reasonably thick. Perhaps five to six millimeters or so. The next thing the lizard clerk revealed was nearly identical save for the fact it was ridged enough to somewhat stand up on its own, and that the leather had a spread out pattern of what looked like tiny metal studs. As the short lizard-person reached into the final container, they all heard an almost silky clinking of metal on metal. Neatly folded up, it was a coat made up of many small interlocking metal rings; the armor was practically an icon.

"Like-like it?" the lizard clerk asked, its tail eagerly swishing back and forwards.

Aya had not lingered when dawn broke, and the Neko had been one of the first to get up. She was thankful for the fact that there was a general store; she didn't relish the possibility of having to grope her way blindly through the streets yet again. For someone used to the modern amenities that many places in the galaxy offered, the humble store proved something of an eye opener even despite the squad having been here for a while. Aya tried to avoid staring, but her efforts fell flat as soon as the Not Delsaurian emerged from behind the counter, its claws clicking against the hardwood floor.

In an attempt to take her mind off the strange reptilian humanoid, she took a look at the protective garments that were on sale. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the metal studded leather chest piece. It certainly looked sturdy, but just how tough was it? Aya got as close as she thought the clerk would let her and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell me more about this item?"

Dimitri had slept on the floor that night, he couldn't work up the courage to sleep in any of the beds even if the offer was extended to him. He seemed rather accustomed to such circumstances, after all even though he lived in Yamatai a while he was raised in a poor household in Nepleslia.

When day came he got up rather easily and got ready to depart with everyone, heading to the general store. He was somewhat excited to be on his way there, he wanted to see some shiny movie like armor made of metal and archaic techniques. However what he saw eventually was somewhat disappointing, only one of the armors were made of metal and it was nothing as grand as what he was imagining.

"Aya should probably get the more durable armor, after all she might be our front lines fighter right?"

Twitchy, its moves darting and quick, the lizard-person's head moved in short, stuttering movements as its brought its eyes back and forward between each person.

It was difficult to get a read on what it was thinking, but it seemed like it was always nervous to them, which wasn't surprising given the way it moved. "Of courssse!" it whistled the 's'. Reaching over to the armor Aya was interested in, one of its eyes looked back as Dimitri suggested she get the best one there before quickly sweeping across the group, and briefly settling on Aya herself, and her sword. "Best one! Best one for miss Aya!" it practically chirped. Standing up on the tips of its clawed toes, the clerk took the armor out of the display and brought it a few steps over to a table for them to look at. Judging by the way it began to waddle however, the armor was heavier than it looked.

And based off of the way it thumped onto the table as it nearly tossed it up for them all to take a look at, it really was. Reaching over however, the lizard-clerk began to stand the armor up under its own weight, opening it up so that it roughly held the shape of a person's torso when worn. The shiny brown, tough, nearly plastic-like leather they could already see, but the moment the Not-Delsaurian had done so, they saw something else. Excited, it spoke quickly, the language becoming more fragmented and full of whistles as it did so, "Best armor here in sstore ready-made! Brigandine armor, platess riveted tight to leather, tough! Sssteel is hard, but lesss sshinyss ssince inside, at night harder see." it exclaimed pridefully. Clearing its voice for a moment, it spoke again, this time a little more carefully, "Blades and arrows can't sslip through the plates; they're tight together. Try it on Miss Aya?" the lizard person offered her.

"There's no such thing as 'studded leather armor'," Sif solemnly noted, closing her eyes and nodding her head up and down. Pausing for a moment, she looked down from her perch at the clerk. "What manner are you by the way?" Briefly looking at the Mini-Neko, and Kuroneko, it then replied,

"Is a Kobold, shoulder Mini-Kitsune person!" Tilting its head to the side, it asked her, "What's 's-studded leather'?"

"A fantasy." The kobold merely scratched some of its scales at Sif's reply.

Rin found herself eyeing the leather breastplate, the bracers, and the greaves. She figured that would give a reasonable amount of protection without sacrificing mobility or making large amounts of noise. She put that thought on hold for the moment while the kobold helped Aya and Sif with the Brigandine armor.

Rin made her way around the shop, looking at odds and ends, but then she saw a stack of un-strung bows and began wondering about the draw weight of her own bow and the draw weight of the un-strung ones. She made her way back to the counter to wait her turn to be helped by the little lizard man.

Dimitri began to look around for something for himself now, the was just one problem, everything was made of materials he never even considered as much more than clothing before. Then again they were made to stop weapons that would hardly even be considered weapons where he was from. "Say...what is this coat like one? It looks like it's all fluff, can it really protect you form anything?" He poked at the quilted coat, contemplating it's use.

As Aya began to try on the brigandine armor, the Kobold's sharp eyes noticed Rin looking at the leather armor. "Be right there! Right there!" it called out to her. Now that it was speaking more to them however, they could notice something else besides how it whistled its S's. There was an odd edge; it wasn't like an echo, but almost like it came out of a box or small cavern.

"Don't worry, I don't think she's in too much of a hurry," Kuroneko smiled at it. True to her word, Rin took a moment to look at some of the bows and arrows for sale, so the three foot tall clerk merely bobbed its head up and down. It looked a little silly, as though nodding was something unfamiliar, and this was just one of many times it was practicing to do so. Hearing Dimitri ask about the jacket however, it perked up and shifted a pace away before trotting over to bring it out for him. In the meantime though, the milky blue Neko's hands went over the brigandine and made to put it on. With a trio of leather straps and buckles on each side, it was easy to get into, but was clearly a little less protective than if its back had to be done up instead. Still, it compensated by having the front flap overlap a little.

Slipping it over her head like a vest, she got a much better look at the plates inside the armor as well. Like a series of scales, they all overlaped. A stab from below wasn't going to get through, and if it came from above, the angle was too steep. Getting it on, Aya still had good mobility despite the added stiffness to her chest and waist, but there was something else that stood out about it. The brigandine was uncomfortable. Already, the Neko could tell that if she kept wearing it for long enough, the scales were going to rub and chafe against her skin through the clothing she wore. And being a woman, she'd have it harder than men would.

"This is a gambeson," the Kobold explained to Dimitri as it handed to him the tough and padded garnment to the young man. "It comes in two varietiess - one you wear as its own armor, and the kind that's the under-layer for better armor like that one there," it pointed over to Aya's brigandine. Holding the gambeson in his hands, Dimitri could see and feel that it was made out of multiple layers of tough and sturdy cloth, with stuffing behind its diagonally quilted squares. And a rawhide backing inside, covered by a single cloth layer for comfort. Because of this, it was heavier and stiffer than any normal coat, but he could also feel that it was surprisingly springy to the touch. "Is a good one - cotton stuffed. Bladess can't find purchase to cut through all layers, and will stop broad head arrows from piercing." He'd done it like any other coat. Just one with eight thick leather straps and buckles down the center.

As Rin came back from looking at the bows however, it rushed, skittering over to the leather armor. Bringing it over and holding it up to the red skinned Neko to take a look, the Kobold's open, tooth lined mouth almost seemed to smile up at her, like a child trying to please a parent would. "Here, here! This with lighter gambeson will stop bodkins too!" Either unwilling or unable to hold it up for long, the small clerk pushed it up onto the examining table for her to look at it. Surprisingly, it hit the wood with a far harder thunk than expected. The material was polished to a matte brown sheen, and was very literally as tough as plastic; hard but flexible. With the curiass, it was held together by buckles on the side like the other armor here. It didn't fully cover the waist though, and was likely to have its lower edge be around Rin's belly button. The vambraces and greaves however, used leather cords to tie them on.

"Like it?" the Kobold asked, its tail eagerly twitching up and down in anticipation.

Aya listened intently as the reptilian being rattled off the virtues of brigandine armour. She wouldn't have been surprised to learn that even half of it was just the Kobold attempting its best sales pitch, but it certainly sounded impressive. In fact, with all the protective qualities it supposedly possessed, it was almost too good to be true!

The azure Neko found her eyes immediately drawn to the glittering metal inside the brigandine armour, almost as though they had been plucked from a gigantic metallic fish. The craftsmanship was very good; there was no risk of a shoddily attached scale letting a blade through. Aya slipped on the brigandine, and experimentally moved her arms, trying to get a feel for how much the armour would impede her movement. Much to her surprise, the answer was "not a lot". Huh, so they do have good armour around here. It might not be a Daisy, but...

It was at this point that a problem asserted itself as the scales rasped against her skin. Out of courtesy to the Kobold she didn't let her discomfort show, but to Sif she whispered, "This thing's awfully uncomfortable. I doubt I could wear this 24/7... and I'd hate to get stabbed because I didn't happen to be wearing it at the wrong moment. Is there anything I could do to stop it chafing?" The question was almost a plea - even with their limited funds, Aya felt that the brigandine could prove invaluable. And if she was to be leading the charge, then she needed good protection.

Dimitri looked over the coat when it was handed to him, he obviously looked somewhat suspicious of the claims the kobold was making of the armor. "A blade can't cut this you say? I find that really hard to believe, it's just cloth after all." He gives the fabric a bit of a squeeze and then looks to the kobold "I'm sorry but I just can't believe that it's as effective as you say unless I see it for myself. Can I test it or something? I don't want to rely on it if I can't confirm it's quality."

On hearing Aya's plea, Sif let out a sigh and nodded, pointing to the Kobold, who in turn gave a startlingly cat-like growl of annoyance when it heard the blue skinned Neko. Not the angry kind, but one with a little whine in it; the kind cats gave when they were ignored and pleaded for attention.

"Gambeson Miss Aya, gambeson!" the little lizard person spoke up, its tail slapping against the hardwood floor. The sound was almost like a series of claps to try and get her attention as it pointed at the garment that Dimitri was holding. "Like said, heavier one for armor alone, lighter one for under armor!" it exclaimed, trotting over to a chest nearby. "Is thicker at arms and legs for protection, and thinner at chest to breathe, but still padded enough for mammal jubblies!" It spoke without pausing in the slightest, as though nothing was wrong at all.

"Considering how things are so quiet back home, it's not surprising most...plays and theater don't depict 'modern' warfare very well," Sif spoke up from Kuroneko's shoulder, pausing to get the wording right and avoid notice. "Unlike the uneducated, I prefer those that are accurate, and from what I know, gambesons work. Otherwise, they wouldn't be the most commonly used protection," she pointed out. More importantly, it seemed Sif didn't have any problems with what the Kobold said about mammals either.

"She's calling you all pleb-tier and is showing off her power level," Kuroneko whispered indiscreetly. This drew a stare from the Mini-Neko on her shoulder, who reached out to pinch and pull on the tiger-haired woman's ear. "Ahh!!~" Talking to the young man next, it turned its head so that one eye fell on it while the other searched the contents of the chest.

"You break, you buy, so no damaging perfectly good, uh, goods!" it squeaked up at him. Finding what it as looking for, it pulled out what looked like another gambeson. Unlike the one Dimitri was looking at however, the similarities pretty much ended with them both being the same type of clothing. Brown in color, it looked like its owner had become a hero. Showing the article of clothing to them all, massive claw marks could be seen digging into the back and shoulder of the cloth armor coat as some large animal had pounced on its owner, tearing the fluff out. On the front, it looked like blades had both wiped their blood onto and occasionally sliced into the cloth of both forearms, while the chest had several small, slit shaped holes all over, the stuffing having been pulled out as though arrows had been torn away. All across it, the darker reddish brown stains of blood could be seen, but none of it seemed to bleed out from within. The inner layers weren't breached anywhere Except at one place. On the lower flap which covered the thigh was a neat, square shaped hole at the center of a single rust colored stain. "Need to wash and stuff and fix today, hehe!"

"Ara.~ What do we have here?" Kuroneko asked, leaning forwards to get a slightly better view. Sif hopped down onto the table and strode over, eying it herself. "There's cuts on the forearms, and arrow holes on the chest. I don't think this person had a shield," the orange and black haired woman observed. "Maybe this person had something like a spear?" she guessed. The Kobold wagged its tail.

"Tiger-Lady is smart! Was halberd man in caravan when attacked. He said he and friends was like porcupine family, so they switched to bodkin arrows, armor piercing," the Kobold happily told them all. "Many different kinds, with Northmen Needle ss-scariest," the scaly clerk shivered. "From hunting bow, like spicy-red woman's - " it gestured at Rin, "- most broadheads won't go into gambeson, but bodkins will when close, and maybe leather with arming doublet, but only if unlucky," the little lizard person explained. "Light crossbow will only go through chainmail up close, but can go further away with bodkins. Brigandine will stop light crossbow with bodkin most of times." As though a lantern was suddenly lit above its head, the Kobold skittered over to where Rin was earlier, and retrieved a pair of arrows. Rushing back, it held them up. Dark metal glinted at the tips, with one looking utterly classical in its wide, triangular build made to slash as it penetrated - a broadhead. The other, however, was built like a long and tall pyramid to pierce, and pierce lots - a bodkin. "Want arrows?" it happily asked them, the Kobold's toothy mouth open in what had to be a smile.

Sif however, wasn't quite interested. Her ears swept back, as though she had noticed something off.

"You seem to know quite a lot," she pointed out. The two were eye to eye since the little woman stood on the table and its surface was just level with its neck, allowing her to stare it down. "How?" It didn't answer, not right away, but its eyes darted from one person to another before it drew back the arrows it was offering, like a child who was suddenly afraid.

"I was, uh, don't have word in Common. Role was like, Hunter-Scout-Far-Away-Doer? Got separated when hunting prey and caught. Then, sold here," it replied, tipping its head down towards the floor. "Owners, they're...they're nice though."