RP [Open RP] Girls Night

[Ametheliana]

RP Date

45.3

RP Location

Kakushi Nekoba, Kyoto

Yamatai
Downtown Kyoto
3日 3月 45年

Street lamps turned on and lanterns were lit as the daytime hours of Hinamatsuri bled into the twinkling night time hours. Girls' day had turned to girl's night and the warm atmosphere of Kakushi Nekoba was like a beacon in the descending twilight of dusk. Though many women and girls had chosen this spot as a place to refuel and relax after shopping, brunches, and spa treatments before, that didn't mean men were wholly excluded from the day's proceedings or the venue. Expectation was, according to tradition after all, that any guys treat their girls and ladies as best as possible with gifts and adoration. Showered with love on Love Day last month was just the start because today was a day for the adoration for the women and girls of Yamatai to rain on them.

In the Kakushi Nekoba lounge a special shelf with red cloth had been erected with a selection of dolls. They caught Taiyou Hoshi's deep blue eyes as she waited for her drink order. Some of them were cute, some a little creepy, but the care in making them all was evident. At their top sat the elegant Empress Himiko. Hoshi thought of the former Yamataian Emperor and her friend Uesu, wondering what a doll of him would have looked like during his rule. Knocking her out of her reverie, someone asked if she was Captain Taiyou Hoshi, to which she agreed and told them the fight for the former Emperor's territories continued. It was incidentally funny to be knocked out of her thoughts about him only to talk about the fight she waged on his behalf and it put a soft smile on her face.

But as she moved from the bar the starship captain used volumetrics to look less like herself. She had never been one for crowds or public affairs, but being captain of a major warship didn't always make going out easy. That didn't stop her dress, made extra wide from its frilled petticoat, from being any less characteristically pink unfortunately.

Hoshi took her steaming cup of green tea and bowl bursting with cherries and special Hinamtsuri strawberries to the bar's lower portion that made up the game area. It was at this section that a trivia night was being held at the Hidden Neko Den. Until it started, though, a few Nekovalkyrja were playing darts, cheering ecstatically in giddy voices. Around them different people leaned against the red oak and chatted while they drank and smiled. Some seemed both exhausted from their day before while being ready to expend even more energy on the night ahead while others cooly absorbed the room's atmosphere around them. All of them meshed well together and it was certainly a crowd cut from the same cloth as a good party.

Hoshi sat at a large circular booth and popped a cherry into her mouth and looking around the room excitedly, wondering who would show up amongst those she had invited as well as those of the Empire that would feel called to a fun game night at the local Kyoto bar. The tone was already set for a good time.

 

[raz]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

A platinum blonde Nekovalkyrja accompanied Hoshi tonight, wearing her volumetric disguise even before the pink captain had decided to use one herself. Other than the change of hair color, Ketsurui Aiko appeared largely the same as she always did, but even that was enough to deflect the usual attention.

The trademark bellflowers she wore in her hair were absent, too, mostly because they wouldn't match the princess' outfit for tonight: A white bodysuit with a zipper that came up from the top of her abdomen and ended in a tall collar that stretched high around her neck. The form fitting synthleather unitard covered most of her skin and was plain other than some bright scarlet piping ringing a cutout back that revealed a big diamond of flesh from her waist down to the small of her back and up to between her shoulder blades. Atop that, Aiko wore a milsurp looking crop top bomber jacket in a darker crimson color that was baggy and had soft black elastic ribbing at its wrists, lower edge, and wide stand-up collar.

Aiko strode over to the booth where Hoshi was sitting with a highball glass in hand, taking a sip of the sweet tea-and-lemonade mix through a long tangerine straw that was lanced between the ice all the way to the bottom of the vessel. With her free hand, she gently pushed aside some animal pelt decor hanging in her path, preferring that to bumping into another bouncing Neko girl obliviously enamored with her boyfriend's fawning words. When she arrived, Aiko set her glass down on the table first and shimmied in beside Hoshi across the wooden seat.

"Interesting place you've chosen," the princess said, sliding an arm up behind Hoshi's shoulder so she could lean closer so her captain could hear above the bar's jovial murmuring. "It very much stirs up the Valkyrie spirit within me," she added, grinning with barely a hint of sarcasm on her tongue. And indeed this particular establishment would rouse such feelings with its hard carved oak furnishings and big mounted wolf's head mounted to the stonework above a roaring fire. It was a tavern straight out of Viking fantasy stories, Aiko thought, still catching new details with every glance around.

"Their half-and-half is perfect," Aiko continued, leaning back and away from Hoshi to take another sip of the concoction. "I like it here very much. You said something about a test game. When does that begin?"

 

[Ametheliana]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

The gate her XO walked with and even her presence was familiar to Hoshi. She felt some relief to hear the voice she knew well and her quizzical face warmed into a smile when she heard Aiko speak. It had been a bit since either of them had the opportunity to relax in Yamatai together.

"Haven't seen you dressed up like this in awhile," Hoshi noted, speaking about the disguise more so than the paneled bodysuit and jacket over top. "It is nice, isn't it? Something thematic to really put you in the spirit of things. I don't know if they'll start on the upcoming hour or not. These things can be very loose. I'd tell you to sit back and relax while we wait but you already are," Hoshi said with a peach-toned finger pointed at the highball glass. The giddy group seemed to be setting off away from the darts lanes.

Hoshi's pointed finger swiveled to the area. "Hey look there, that group's heading off. What do you say we try darts? There are blindfolds and to really up the ante we should bet something! Winner takes... Hmmm, what'll you bet?"

 

[raz]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

"Bet?" Aiko questioned, sounding critical of the suggestion. Victory could not be anything but its own reward! "Is eternal glory and satisfaction not sufficient?"

But truthfully, the princess fully understood those sorts of petty motivations that drove most people. She also understood when they were lighthearted and not petty at all, and just a bit of meaningless fun. So she sipped down her iced tea-and-lemonade to its halfway point and slid a coaster over the top of its glass, as well as one over Hoshi's green tea as a mark, she'd learned, that they'd be back to their booth soon enough, and then scooted out of the booth to her feet.

"If you insist, however, I will retrieve your drinks from the bar for the evening in the event you best me," Aiko offered after thinking of having Hoshi to the palace for a spa day or perhaps taking double watch shifts on the Kaiyō's bridge. She ended up settling on the most trivial concession, though, for a trivial contest of darts between friends. "Though I am incognito, it seems like a fair prize to have Ketsurui Aiko act as your waitress. Does it not?"

 

[Ametheliana]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

Hoshi's brows shot up, "Oh, that's better than I was thinking. Way better than my taxidermy Elysian... Ok ok." She spoke while she stood, taking her bowl of fruits over to the dart boards while her newly coastered drink held the booth for them. The captain picked up the blindfold, momentarily running it between her fingers while she thought. Finally the idea settled as a smile crested her face. She let Aiko see her self-assured expression before she put the blindfold over the crimson eyes of her first officer. She ducked the elbow of the tall blonde to go behind her and tie the piece of fabric against the unfamiliar color of the golden strands.

"I'll put in your request for your promotion." Hoshi put the spear-like little trinkets into Aiko's hand as she said this. Truth be told, the Shosa hadn't been promoted for a good two years and Hoshi had been getting antsy waiting for command to trickle down the orders.

Aiko gave so much of herself to Yamatai, plus she had served the role of a Chusa as a first officer for a long time without the rank. Now she was even an adviser to a Taisa- Hoshi. But it was bittersweet. Eventually Aiko would need her own ship and Hoshi didn't want to see her leave the Kaiyō, her first home from the palace. But feelings couldn't stop the tides of times. Hoshi needed something to push her to make the request and this bar game felt like it would be the last nudge to do her duty.

"Oh, and you have to spin around five times before taking your shots." Mentioning Saiga as she started to spun the Ketsurui, she said, "Chusa is a title your trainer and I had worn for years and years and I don't want it to go to anybody that can't win at a simple game like this. Mighty fine test of your skills as an officer, this one. Then again, a Shosa makes a better waitress than a Chusa, sooo..." She felt a little bit wicked to put something so important in the hands of a game, but a girls night was a good night for inhibitions to be dropped.

So the little pink captain said exuberantly, "Five spins are up! Good luck and good skill to you, Karasu-hime!!"

 

[Charaa]

To see people in her bar pleased the normally stern ad stoic Heisho to no end. She was happy that she had reopened her friends bar, and had allowed their legacy to continue. She hoped their spirits were happy and resting well in the afterlife, if it truly existed. She liked the ideas that her assistant had come up with and from what she’d seen, girls' night will continue periodically and especially after love day. She left her office with another Neko and looked around the bar, and especially noted the participants in the trivia side. “Yuri, why don’t you join them? Might be good and educational” she told the other Neko who nodded and made her way over

Yayoi wasn’t sure if she wanted to raise Yuri like she’d been to be stoic and stern like she was so she was pleased that thus far, she acted more like her sister Kiyo, Yui’s aunt. Yuri skipped over to Hoshi and Aiko. “Hello ladies, might if I join in? You look like you're having fun! I’m Asakura Yuri!” She said with her best smile.

 

[Ametheliana]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

"Sure! What do we have to lose?" Hoshi's face pepped at the newcomer, knowing Aiko couldn't see her and might not know how to reply. She decided not to strong arm a young Neko into putting something down to bet, but her opener about having something to lose was definitely her subconscious mind thinking about what she wanted more: an XO appropriately ranked or her friend bringing her drinks.

"Blondie's taking her shots but you can go next. Let's let her focus, she's got a lot riding on this," Hoshi said with a effervescent excitement lacing her words despite their call for quiet.

 

[raz]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

"You know, Hos—" Aiko began, taking aim blindfolded toward where her exacting digital brain knew the bullseye would be, only to be cut off by Yuri's approach.

The princess was about to make light of her captain's promotion prize and how it didn't seem very fair to offer something that was already inevitable, even compared to her own silly barmaid's bounty. And yet beyond that conscious disregard for a possible promotion, Aiko had never needed any sort of particular rank to do what she did nor to be the leader she was. Whether a shoi kohosei or a chusa, Ketsurui Aiko always forged her own path as a warrior at the frontlines of Yamatai's defense and her fellow soldiers followed. For that was the way of the universe and it tended to operate in that state of natural perfection in the princess' presence.

But right now, Aiko was simply a tall blonde Neko in a bar caught unsuspecting with her eyes covered.

"Hello, I am Aik—aaa," she decided rather quickly, unaccustomed to ever giving a name other than her own. Three dart tips twinkled toward the ceiling in her waving hand and were held in place with her right thumb, and even though the princess faced Yuri, her masked eyes were inaccurately directed over the girl's left shoulder.

"Aika," Aiko repeated, making sure there would be no mistake over the bustling conversation around them. "It is my pleasure to meet you, Asakura-san."

Then, Aiko turned back toward the dart board and set up her aim again. Her right foot pointed directly at her target, and her left one took its back stance to square her up. And in her right hand she held one dart between her index finger and thumb while the spares were locked clenched between her other three fingers, ready to reload at a moment's notice (Aiko didn't know much about darts, after all, beyond seeing others playing in adjacent lanes when Hoshi led her over). Such a pose felt odd for the princess to take compared with more extreme combat posturing that primed every muscle in her body to spring, but she was nonetheless ready to strike now.

She threw the first handheld missile as one would expect, having rocked her arm back twice and then extended it flat toward its mark before release. The next two darts came quickly after three seconds' pause, thudding in quick succession directly beside the first — wherever that tracer had landed — from backhanded tosses that made her look a bit like a statuesque ninja throwing shuriken at an unsuspecting victim. Aiko's stance had changed, too, causing her white bodysuit to tug and pinch at her lusty, athletic form even more closely. In the end, her back leg had slid out behind while her leading knee bent down in a sort of lunge, and her off hand was out to her side as to balance the optimal muscular mechanics she'd calculated after that first dart hit.

From there Aiko quickly stood up straight again. She slid each of her thumbs under the rim of her bodysuit's open back and pulled them along to where the window ended in a point at her tailbone to free its fabric from anywhere it wanted to hug her flesh too closely. Satisfied and comfortable, she then reached up and began to untie the blindfold and see what her darts had scored.

"Did I hit the board?" the princess asked, thinking she had indeed hit the board based on where she'd heard her shots impact. Nonetheless, there was an inkling of genuine concern that the blindfold had done its trick after all was said and done. All there was left to do was look.

 

[Charaa]

A smile curled up on Yuri’s lips as she was asked what they had to lose. Hoshi didn’t introduce herself, but the other she learned was Blondie Aika, or Aika Blondie. She wasn’t sure which and her fumbling was left unawares. Mostly cause she thought maybe she was hiding from something and she didn’t think it was polite to pry. She didn’t want to cause problems for her mother’s business.

She nodded to Hoshi’s request of quiet to allow Aiko to focus and gasped when she finished. “Sugoi! You were like a ninja, Blondie-San! Wait, are you a ninja?! My aunt told me about meeting one 2 months ago, when I was a little kid could that have been you?!” Yuri asked with enthusiasm and excitement in her voice. “Looks like you got the target too, good job!” She said with a smile as she takes the darts, after following the special rules and placed a blindfold over her eyes and, with 3 months of practice, as well as her medical training, she threw her darts towards the target hoping to score a bulls eye like she’d seen Aiko had. Sounds of the darts hitting the board had caught her attention which clued her to where precisely she should aim.

 

[Ametheliana]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

"You've got to beat her kid," Hoshi said ecstatically as the darts found their places on the board. She furrowed her brow, "Ahhh Yuri-san, just two points less than her. You got close! How'd you both get more than one bull's eye?" The little pink captain took the blindfold, regarding it with an expression that made it seem like the object was useless, "What if I told you that I was an Eihei?"

Her joke was interrupted by the game masters of the trivia night giving a five minute warning before the game would start. She closed her blue eyes under the blindfold as she put it on and spun around a few times. Her mind wanted to track the board perfectly as she twisted and turned. The challenge for her became not about hitting the board but about blocking her mind from recalling it entirely. She cordoned off her memory of it from her HUD. The little indicators in her mind's eye batted at her consciousness, trying to retain their placements as she spun. But with enough mental effort, her spatial awareness was fully impaired by her as she took aim.

The captain looked quite silly in her big tutu dress with its bows and frills while she aimed at the wall next to the dart board as if it were the ring of colors and numbers. Even so, her stance was sharp as her little mouth opened in concentration and after her first shot hit the wall with an irritating and less than satisfying chunk of a sound, she corrected, turning slightly to the right. She pulled up her second dart with her right hand and tossed it, landing it on the edge of the board. Her third dart had been in her off hand and she flung it from there. It landed straight in the middle.

"Awww," Hoshi said in a pitiable drawling tone before the blindfold was even off. Once it was, her lips turned up in a silly smile as shegave a sly wink to Aiko, "Yeah, it looks like you won! Promotion time, my girl! You deserve it! We should do this again, it's exceptional training!!" Whether or not Aiko would have been able to tell that Hoshi threw the match, the captain certainly felt satisfied with her own ability to block out her mental processes and self-correct well enough in the process. "Let's get a real round of drinks on me, now! What'll you have, little Yuri? Aika-san?!"

 

[raz]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

Of course Aiko could tell that Hoshi had lost on purpose. Even the blindfold and spin hadn't done much to hamper Aiko's computerized mind, not having thought to fight against her own abilities like Hoshi did, and chalked up Yuri's marginally lower score to the other Neko's youth. But it was just as well for Aiko to "win" and someday receive Hoshi's non-prize of a promotion request. She didn't want to ferry drinks over to Hoshi all night anyway.

"Only another half-and-half for me," Aiko smiled, not really caring for anything harder. Even though Nekovalkyrja were generally immune to the intoxicating effects of alcohol, the princess did not particularly enjoy the taste of it (though she had not yet tried a Mai Tai even despite Saiga-taisa's insistence). "And no. I am not a ninja, so cannot be the ninja your aunt met, Asakura-san. Only a simple infantry hohei."

Which was, of course, something a ninja would probably say. This was a consideration completely lost upon Princess Aiko.

It wasn't exactly a lie but rather an omission of some essential facts about who she was, much like her volumetrically changed hair color and adjusted name. Aiko was indeed trained as an infantry Neko and wore a Type 33A body made for grunt combat, so she didn't feel too awkward saying such.

"Perhaps I will have my boss here put me up for SAINT selection now that she has promised to promote me," Aiko continued, now actually fibbing as she followed Hoshi toward the bar to order fresh libations. "What brings you out tonight? We came to compete in the knowledge test. Will you join our team for it and sit with us?"

 

[Ametheliana]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

"Why would I?" Hoshi asked. "You're not very good with a disguise, doesn't SAINT like that sort of thing?" She laughed a little as she pushed up a pelt to get along the path to the bar.

"You should join our team, I agree." The captain said as she put a hand on the newcomer's shoulder. "If you're as good at 'knowledge tests' as you are at darts, we'll be sure to win!"

 

[Charaa]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area
Yuri grinned as Hoshi tried to encourage her to beat her companion, then she heard her reaction to her part of the game. “I got 2 months of experience!” she said with a smile on her face. She soon learned that Hoshi was a Eihei, she’d heard about them from her youngling schooling, She knew that certain Neko’s got that body but of course Yuri wouldn’t. She’d learned that Aiko was an infantry. ‘Oh! So you both are in the Star Army? I am planning on joining too! Mostly because I want to be a doctor and when I was younger someone told me, that having experience in the military as a medic will look very good on the records and help when Hospitals hire people. You both are still cool though! As cool as mommy is!” She said to the two much older Nekos.

Yuri followed the Nekos to the bar where the Bartender an android specifically a Gynoid due to their gender looked yup. “Ah! Hello again Yuri-sama! And guests what would you like to order?” She asked. Yuri looked over to Hoshi ”I’ve never drank anything alcoholic since I became an adult, but the bar has a lot of yummy drinks, from wines, to juices, oh Motoyoshi-Igarashi Yue-sama has created a delicious drink called the Moon’s Nectar its super yummy!” She said then turned her attention to Aiko as she spoke. “I came out as part of my extra socialization training, though mommy doesn’t think I need it, but I like to, it’s a good chance to meet new people and make friends, especially with potential sempais! Oh yeah, I remembered mommy saying there will be a trivia night, so I do want to participate, a good chance to test knowledge!” She said looking at Aiko and to Hoshi as she felt the hand on her shoulders.

 

[raz]

Kakushi Nekoba
Bar

"Thank you," Aiko said back to Yuri, her puzzlement at being called "cool" only momentarily apparent through a wrinkled left eyebrow and a light pink flush in her cheeks. She was accustomed to compliments of that kind when it was obvious that she was Aiko-hime of the Ketsurui Clan, but certainly did not expect such while posing as a fair-haired infantry Neko nobody. "The Star Army would be lucky to have you. It is a life fit for all Nekovalkyrja, whether made soldiers or born generations like you."

Star Army service was something Aiko was used to recommending when talking with aspirational young citizens. Doubling as a recruiter went hand-in-hand with being a famous war hero. But with the fight against Mishhuvurthyar on the Uesureyan warfront immediately fresh in her mind, Aiko almost took a second thought about trying to draft Yuri now.

"Spend more time with this civilian socialization training, though," the princess added in a way she wouldn't (or couldn't) if she were not in disguise. "It is much more fun to learn these things in a bar at your own pace than it is out on a starship on deployment. Yui will still be our great Mistress Taisho awaiting your contributions in a day, month, or year from now, so you should not rush to enlist."

The princess gave an encouraging wink to Yuri, making sure not to say anything to actually put the girl off of eventually joining up, and then gently nudged Hoshi with an elbow to the captain's ribs.

"Have you ordered yet?" Aiko asked with faux impatience. "I was not supposed to be the waitress if I won, do you not remember?"

 

[Ametheliana]

Kakushi Nekoba
Bar

"Okay but who made me the waitress, then, huh?" Hoshi asked in a voice laced with her own bit of quasi-annoyance. "Oh, they're ready anyway. Presenting you two with...." she pulled two of the three drinks up and towards both Aiko and Yuri, "A hinamatsuri special, mai tai! It's got like three kinds of alcohol and even more sugar, which should help our thinking power! Remember, no purging your systems to think, it's taboo at trivia nights! Just like black panels and bringing someone like-" Hoshi's pink lips were curled up, about to say 'Boss' as she looked to Aiko. "Ship AI."

Game Area

She grabbed her own drink and set off after their booth. When she had tucked into it she asked idly, "Besides the medical field, what do you get up to, Yuri-chan?"

The area for darts had been cordoned off, becoming an impromptu stage as two girls had set themselves up on it. They were dressed in matching slinky black gowns and had a dozen or so zesu-colored medals hanging from their neck whose ribbons were light purple, red, and white. They tested the mic on the stand they had set up as one of them tapped and the other spoke into it simultaneously. The mic worked and emitted both sounds, but the two looked at each other and cracked wide smiles, before doubling over in laughter. Those at the booths and tables around Yuri, Hoshi, and Aiko/a started straightening up and facing the pair, ready to give them their attention.

 

[raz]

Kakushi Nekoba
Bar > Game Area

Aiko rolled her eyes at Hoshi's decision to order them cocktails but nonetheless picked up the offered tiki mug — adorned with a stack of sliced fruits as was apparently customary — and took it back to the booth with her in the place of her favored iced tea-and-lemonade. Based on Hoshi's choice of Mai Tais it seemed like Saiga had put her up to making sure the princess tried his favorite alcoholic operative's opiate. She didn't want Hoshi drinking alone, anyway, so went along with it out of camaraderie for her captain more than anything.

"Do not feel as if you must accept her demand, Asakura-san," Aiko said lightheartedly, leaning in to Yuri's ear as they walked back to the game area and the seats that awaited them. "She only wants to unwind after a hard battle we fought in recently," she whispered to the younger Neko before they arrived to their booth. "I will get you a replacement Moon's Nectar if you would prefer it to these spirits."

With that bonus socialization lesson tacked-on, the princess dropped down into the booth beside Hoshi and slid her bodysuit's synthleather butt across to a comfortable nook in the wooden alcove that held their table. For now she'd remain silent while Hoshi asked Yuri more questions as they waited for the trivia night to start. She'd already snuck a sip of the tropical tonic, too, and let it warm her throat with its sweet pineapple-y flavor — and immediately admitted to herself that her sensei was right about Mai Tais being a cocktail worth sampling.

 

[Charaa]

Kakushi Nekoba
Bar
Yuri smiled as she was thanked by Aiko and a blush developed on her cheeks as she was told that the Star army would be lucky to have her. She learned that it was an organization fit for Nekovalkyrja at least in Yamatai as far as Yuri knew. Aiko also recommended that she continue her socialization and how much better it was here than on a starship.

She took the moment to think about it, about what Aiko had just said to her. A part of her, rather a large part of her, wanted to continue this, just have fun and socialize like this, but she knew she’d be expected to work or do something. Her mother, the ever-stern parent, would not want her to be lazy and spend her time doing that.

All work and no play make her mother… something something

Yuri soon left her thoughts to Aiko speaking and smiled as she listened to the banter between the two of them and giggled. She turned her attention to the drink and tilted her head. She’d never had that before for obvious reasons, and kinda thought since it supposedly helps with thinking power she could try it. Though when Aiko spoke into her ear about not feeling as if she was required to accept her. She’d also caught her mother's eye and saw her stern shake of her head.
“Not sure a ship’s Megumi could help even if you wanted them to, as part of the anti-cheating procedures, there's a field that blocks ship transmissions.” She said while unaware of ship's AI being able to switch to a physical body. She took one of the offered drinks and moved to follow.

Game area
Yuri sat herself down beside the much older and far more experienced Nekos. She smiled as she watched them play with the equipment. Her arms were stretched and arched her back as she prepared herself for the trivia night. Yuri knew with how much she’d studied during school that she could answer any questions.

 

[Immortal Cyan]

Planet Yamatai
Kyoto
Kakushi Nekoba

Girl’s Festival!

There wasn't much in the Kikyo Sector that was more exciting than a holiday spent having fun. And yet, a part of Akahana’s mind dwelled on something else—her shyness during her engagement with the handsome, blonde-haired man she had met during a past trip to Yamatai, if only for the fact that she could have gotten gifts from him! She could not help but to feel somewhat lonely in the midst of such a fun holiday. Nevertheless, the Snowy Neko tried not to linger on the decisions of the past. Even now, Akahana wasn’t sure if she would have been brave enough to show him her face, especially after the activities she had gotten up to during that eventful night.

It was one thing to put on a Mindy and dive into the void to fight swarms of corrupted AIs at sub-relativistic speeds. Quite another to show her face to a man she had done unspeakable things with in a frenzy of passion.

As the doors opened to allow her inside the Kakushi Nekoba, Akahana took in the groups of tipsy, playful Nekovalkyrja as they played games, imbibed drinks, and made merry. She had decided to wear a mini-kimono dress for the evening, decorated with floral print over pink primary coloring, complete with billowing sleeves and a plunging neckline. Adorning her feet were a pair of high-heeled gladiator sandals which came up to just below her knees, elevating her diminutive stature by a full six inches. Completing the look was a black headband worn to keep her white mane from falling over her eyes—a convenience item that she hoped might be somewhat fashionable.

As her luminescent cyan gaze swept across the bar, Akahana made a snap decision to head to the bar for a drink, transmitting an order for a single Moon’s Nectar as she did—her first time trying the beverage. A sweet honey and apple flavor met her tongue upon tasting, momentarily causing the Snowy Neko’s brows to twitch before she took another sip.

This was clearly something to savor, rather than swallow.

After offering her thanks to the bartender with a tip and a soft smile, Akahana made her way to the game area with her drink in hand.

Trivia night? She was smart…right?

 

[Miko]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game area
Alastair had finally decided to take a night off. He had been working double shifts since the first mission out into the black. He wanted to get everything in order so they could once more go explore the great beyond. However, the crew insisted that he take a day to himself and just enjoy a night out. Alastair had already gotten a drink and was playing dart games. It was clear from the start while acting like he had never played this game before this was a lie. His aim was dead on and while he'd act completely shocked to hit the mark, his sly smile would give away his cunning desire to win. A small crowd had formed and was enjoying himself greatly. A nice refreshing time out on the town.

His ears then perked up when he heard what sounded like a familiar voice. Though he just thought he could be hearing things till she walked by. The outfit was completely wrong but he had little doubt this person was Star Army. Though he still could not put his finger on this feeling of knowing them. "Good game everyone, but." He turned and without looking launched a dart which hit bulleyes. "But I must go mingle with others." He flicked his hair over his shoulder, giving the handful of girls a wink as he walked towards the other group.

"I could not help but feel I have met people at this table. Though your outfits have completely thrown me off. Deguise or just out having a good time, call me intrigued." His famous Belmont smile glistened under the lights coming from the stage. "I am Alastair, who might you be?"

 

[raz]

Kakushi Nekoba
Game Area

Just their luck! Alistair would be at a bar hitting on chicks at a ladies night during the Yamataian Girls' Festival. It was very much in his character. Aiko, however, would not let his suspicious snooping shake her resolve to remain incognito, and hoped Hoshi could have some fun restraining her own wariness for the Kaiyō's old second officer.

"No, we have not met before," Aiko said, staring at him with a completely straight face. "Not all Nekovalkyrja sound the same, you know?"

Now, though, the princess decided to mess with her old shipmate a bit. She'd have let him in on their disguise were Yuri not with them but this was an opportunity too savory for Aiko to pass up.

"Everyone knows of the great Alastair Belmont," she added, a deviously innocent grin growing on her visage. Indeed, he'd been in the news a few times alongside the rest of the Kaiyō's Kuvexian War complement and had seen some coverage when he played host at the most recent International Relations Conference.

"Are you not one of Taiyou Hoshi's sidekicks?" Aiko finally asked through her smile, knowing this Belmont well enough to remember how eager he was to impress their captain. "Yes, that must be it!"