RP Concluded [Prelude/Episode 0] - Natsukashii

(“Prefer to avoid the emotional pall on that boat if it’s all the same.”) Anju’s reply to Steiner came in after a time to consider her choices, (“Unless you’re requesting it.”) She’d made it no secret empathy was ‘Her thing’, in a literal sense. Still, dealing with a race of Synthetics with the emotional range of children with the martial might to vaporize whole worlds didn’t appeal to her. Didn’t when this place had just been the ‘Yugumo Cluster’ while she’d been a liaison for the Tenth Fleet. Well before the Motoyoshi returned to finish what they’d spent in blood to help lay the foundation.

She’d suffered the same with the brew passed around. Except taking a pull of it gave no outward signs of discomfort. In fact, draining the little jug offered much to their initial discontent.

In return, Anju offered them a drink of her own. A fermented milk, she’d explained, that came from a beast called a ‘Herdtitan’ from her homeworld. Both Valhallan and Sund Wakir tested each other in the glorious arena of alcoholic combat, only to come to a draw in the shittiest booze category. It was still an ongoing process to see who would come to hold the title.


———

Kazumi’s discomfort only grew with Kaoru’s last outburst. Which included Tio. Causing her to blow air through her nostrils while working to hold it in. A drink did sound lovely, all things considered. The young woman did finally give over and sit closer to her mother, Katsuko.

They were all held to a standard. Perhaps some more than others if her elder sister’s behavior was any indicator, and it unveiled the cracks slowly growing with time and continued pressure.

A small look to her mother seemed to say: ‘I need a drink too.’ with none of the audible component tossed in for everyone else’s benefit.

Looking for any excuse to extricate herself from the family drama, Fuyuko made her way over to the Yeomen as they prepared their meal. She accepted another foreign bottle as it was passed around, this time a Iromakuanhe fermented milk. Sadly, she didn’t have anything to give in exchange.

Squatting next to their stove, she took a sip of the drink. Compared to the Shitwater Brew, the fermented Herdtitan milk was downright refreshing. Mildly alcoholic and rather tart she couldn’t say she hated it. Flashing a toothy grin, she proffered the jug and said, “Sip for a sip? It’s not really mine, so it feels a bit unfair, but come find me once we ship out and I’ll buy you a drink or something. Or at this rate, I should start learning how to ferment my own booze, used to know people who did.”

("I have a mind to have you knock their damned fool heads together, or do it myself at the very least.") Steiner replied as he watched the men prepare to dole their meal as the neko offered her beverage, still taking no small amount of amusement from Katsuko's earlier outburst, though the child storming off had been something he could do without, ("But unfortunately, such an action would likely see us in irons-no, best to stay out of it.") Steiner watched as Fuyuko attempted to pass the jug of fermented milk around. The Yeoman with half a nose accepted the drink as he offered his own. Taking a long pull, he shuddered slightly as he swallowed the tart drink mixed oddly with the spicy flavor of his booze and produced an unpleasant aftertaste.

"Don't go too good with scrumpy." He explained as he passed the jug to his fellow, who simply shrugged, corked the Swampwater, and took a long pull, "Name's Daniel by the way-the one with the cyber eye is Zug, and the fellow there is Olaf." The one currently tending the pan simply gave a nod as he prepared to dole out the food. The crumble, enhanced with salt meat and that strange purple citrus fruit was plopped unceremoniously into each man's mess tray. Olaf had taken his helmet, revealing tanned skin, and what seemed to be a soft face covered in blue woad tattoos. If anything, aside from these he seemed to be the least scarred member, until one heard the faint hiss of cybernetics coming from his left arm and both legs. Taking a bite, and savoring the mix of citrus, crumbly, and salty with a bit of meat, the yeoman nodded to her. "What's yer name?" He inquired as he took another bite.

Watching his honor guard's attempt to bond with the woman, he sighed internally. ("Honestly, I am surprised after the girl screamed at her matriarch given what I know of nekovalkyrja that it did not end in bloodshed-given how casually they treat death around here.") He commented to the Sund Wakir, idly sifting through some of the data they'd managed to capture as he waited on things to simmer down. He heard and had seen some of what Yamatains considered sport-such as rock sliding, or on one occasion; a game of 'cops and robbers' being played between a group of idiot teens with live firearms. He wondered how often that had happened-a bunch of bored, stupid people doing stupid things.

He checked the attachment point on his right arm, wondering if he'd made a mistake in not bringing his plasma cannon-a little fireworks display may be just what was needed to distract from the drama.

"I don't feel like having alcohol at the moment, but I'll start with some fresh apple cider if you have it. I'm not a big drinker aside from the occasional plum wine and I feel like I should reserve that for later," Yaichiro conveyed after returning the hug from Akina. He was rarely a drinker at the best of times, and the situation with Kaoru certainly prevented him from feeling particularly festive. It would take a bit of time for such a mood to return. Kaoru's comment about Tio was ringing through Yaichiro's mind. The idea that the man had gone AWOL wasn't something that was a good sign...he wondered if the man had finally had enough and fled the family, or if he had met with foul play.

Still, he saw no need to lower everyone else's mood with his musings.

Katsuko​

The smell of the cooked food made Katsuko willingly turn off her ability to smell. Why was she so...She didn't even think further past that, remembering that she had turned something else on after her recent announcement to the clan. Another amusement for the sidelines maybe? Thanks to Kaoru the agenda for the little get-together had all but fallen through the cracks, "I'm good thanks," she noted, then looked to Yue, // "Got one of those Moon Nectar's handy? Think that will better suit me right now,"// she questioned through the passage of thought. She figured it would be best to have some appropriate food brought down for the Norian as well, so she put an order through to her personal Takeda House Chef. Just a few simple things to 'go with' the meal being cooked by the yeoman, a few plates of cheese, fruit, and crackers.

Katsuko returned to her seat, she was entirely unsure of how to react to much of anything at this point. The Taisho merely gave a shake of her head as the fermented milk drink was offered. It appeared they had attracted a very interesting and unlikely band of friends for this meeting - her gaze locked upon Anju just briefly. She disengaged and reached for one of the glasses of Nepleslian Whiskey then pulled back with a short sigh, then went forward again and handed the glass to Kazumi, "Drink for the both of us, seems I've changed my mind," she said to her daughter. Kazumi didn't appear to have outbursts, she was opinionated and she tended to keep her emotions in check.

The boat rocked gently and she looked out across the Motoyoshi Channel; a sigh left her as she reflected on Kaoru's outburst and the comment about Tio.

Taro​

Taro walked down the stairs which led down the rocky cliff of the Jiyuu-jo shore. He was not in uniform, but rather a pair of khakis-style pants and a blue t-shirt with a pair of well-worn brown boat loafers. In his hands, he carried a twenty-four pack of the new, unreleased Colony Fleet Pale Ale from the Tokyo Brewing Company. He gave a slight smile as he noticed many of his named flowers and soon-to-be-named flowers gathered about the deck of the MSS Dream of Taiie. "Good Evening, everyone. Sorry, I'm late I had to meet with Matsusuke about a new product line, but I brought beer!" he said as he held up the case of cans. It appeared he had missed something, the atmosphere on the deck ahead of him was not exactly what he had expected.

Right behind him were members of the house staff who carried the massive platters of cheese, fruit, and crackers that Katsuko had ordered.

Sorin​

The Norian man enjoyed his cooling vest and just looked out over the water, he would wait to be spoken to before speaking or interacting. It was awkward enough without Kaoru there.

(“If you weren’t careful, Grandmaster, you’d likely pulp their heads in trying to do that.”) Anju chided, her helmet being opaque, whether she acknowledged Katsuko from where she’d stationed herself. (“If she’d been part of my Caravan, that child would’ve worked the most humiliating jobs. Child’s work. Until she could prove she was adult enough to acknowledge the outburst.”)

Her caravan, her clan, people, whatever the equivalent in this sector, were now little more than bleached bones covered with the sand of the Nuocr Expanse. She put the flask away, suddenly feeling a little maudlin. What it took for her to feel even a slight buzz may well have killed even the most proficient of alcoholics.

(“You Valhallans, so much fat, so much salt. How are you all not dead from clogged arteries and high blood pressure?”) observing the Sentinels’ cooking.



———-

Kazumi looked at the glass being handed to her. Giving the tawny liquid a quizzical look. Whiskey. Nepleslian. Likely proofed to the point of liver cirrhosis. Katsuko’s daughter made it disappear in one gulp. The taste coated her tongue. Not as bad as she thought. But that sharp bite was still there. And it warmed the throat and belly. With a sigh, the icy-haired Nekovalkyrja bumped her mother’s shoulder enough to rock her.

~’Go all melancholy, and you’ll hear a lecture from Ojisan. Try to salvage what you can of the day, mom.'~ she sent to her mother telepathically. Not simple wireless, but genuine telepathy. Intimate in its own way.

~’And behold, he appears.’~

Kazumi put on a smile, waving to the Elder. “Is that new?” she called, pointing to the cans Taro carried.

("I would pay to see that,") Steiner replied as he observed the newcomer, making a mental note of Katsuko's observation of his shadow but making no comment on it, ("Likely would not do any good if the young lady is anything like the Nobility I have dealt with in the past.") The yeoman looked from their meal, the one with the scrumpy looking at his bottle and then at the man carrying the cans of beer, shrugging and returning to his meal. ("And you are right-as cathartic as it would be, knocking their heads together would be...counterproductive to say the least.") The thought of bashing a few neko heads was always welcome-especially given that the gribblies used them as footsoldiers. Shaking his 'head', he set those somewhat murderous thoughts aside and thought for a moment about her comment, then chuckled.

("Salt and lard can be used to preserve and further enhance food, my friend,") He explained as one of the yeomen decided to prep a little more food for their hosts, melting yet more of the lard issued to each man, ("Similar to smoking and drying-butter can be melted down to pot meat, broth can be rendered down into pocketed soup, and so on and so forth. It is easy for one to forget that things like refrigeration, canning, and vacuum packing-considered normal by the vast majority of advanced civilizations are quite a luxury to others. I consider myself fortunate that the Old Company possessed the technology to ensure I had access to intravenous feeding-otherwise I may have died long ago. As for it killing us...") Steiner let out an audible chuckle, which likely would get him a raised eyebrow at what he found so damned funny.

("Given what you have seen, and the little I have told you-do you truly believe that such things can, let alone have the chance?") It was a rhetorical question, but was still somewhat warranted; many of them lived hard lives and such things hardly had a chance to do any real harm later in life. He looked to the Norian, and figured this was the one individual that he'd have yet properly converse with.

"A mark for your thoughts?" He inquired, all the while debating if he should give Tacho a ring-she'd likely enjoy conversing with her kinsman; though her over-eagerness in joining the Company as a 'Cultural Exchange Bitch', the moniker she'd taken for herself had him wondering if it'd be a good idea...then again, the resulting fireworks may actually be worth the trouble.

Maybe...maybe...or her foul mouth would see them all jailed-but Kat also seemed to have thicker skin than most, so there was that.

Akina​

Giving her spouse a knowing and sympathetic look, Akina smiled at Katsuko before vanishing below deck once more to find cider. She was no caretaker, but she found and mixed more than enough drinks on the Akuro that she wondered if she counted as one, or at least a bartender. It helped there were actual caretakers aboard to learn from, which were still in attendance often enough inside the massive suite aboard the Chiharu-class. What flagship did not need a three-deck bathhouse?

It took some rearranging of bottles to find what she was looking for, but it did not surprise her to see cider from the orchards aboard. Deciding to take the bottle, she loaded up a new tray after filling a clear mug to counterbalance it. The Neko offered both to Yaichiro, "There was some cooling. Aren't we lucky? Try to not let that worry you too much, we'll be able to talk to her again soon." Giving him a kind smile, she shuffled her way back on deck to lounge on one side of Katsuko, squeezing her thigh with her free hand. The other had whiskey almost to the rim in it.

Sorry about that, I caught the other end. I did my best, we will have to worry about it when she cools off some.

Ayano​

"Hey there boy toy, you okay?"

Ayano imposed herself upon Sorin at the grill and with her normal level of tact, and everything! "So what happened? You came with Kaoru, right?", Reaching up to smack the back of his shoulder, the small Neko came around to his side and gave him her version of a consoling look: it included a smirk. "Is there anything I can do to help? I do not know if I can cause a diversion like the others. Not without a drink in my hand."

"Fourth question: What manner of bioluminesence causes those tattoos to function as intended?" There were more questions, but the first assault felt like enough to her, the genuine interest showing in her tail batting the air behind her.

Yue smiled her usual adorable smiles when Katsuko asked about having a Moon’s Nectar to which she nodded, picking up a can and brought it over to her aunt. “Here you go! I hope you enjoy it!’ She said excitedly and nervous after all it was her first non starship creation. Once Katsuko took the drink, she would turn and move to Kazumi when she spotted Tarro. “Hiya Uncle Taro! I heard that you’ve been busy. Speaking of product..there's something I’d like to show you if you hadn’t already, ” she said to him before she moved to Kazumi and hugged her. “hey Kazumi-Chan!” she said before releasing her.