RP: LSDF Val'ta [Prologue] - Sing about the Valleys

[Archander]

"Well, that could have been worse." Ix'ion was more thrilled that things didn't get anymore eventful despite the escalation and the definitive showing of what seemed like some very strong, prideful personalities. He noted which ones had prior interactions with each other, and noted how their Captain Porrim handled the situation as if carefully tempering a growing flame as to not become an inferno. Of course all things needed at this point was one more piece of volatile "fuel" to be added and well...

He was slow to follow, but not quite the slowest, in an effort to continue taking note of those that had made themselves stand out as well as perhaps identify this mysterious tag along that didn't want to make their presence readily know. Without meaning to, Ix'ion found himself in close proximity to a much taller, and much stronger looking tower of a woman and tried to maintain his vision on the crowd in front of him. What he noticed with a quick glance was that she was indeed taller than his mother, and perhaps just as fortified as far as build was concerned. The other thing that caught his attention, aside from quickly developing a healthy sense of respect from a single glance and his proximity to her, was the intricate pattern of her hair highlighted by the red strand interwoven within the knot.

Figuring he was being rude and that she probably observed his glances, he decided to try and speak. It was to his dismay, and perhaps gave him the look of a wet behind the ears, simple minded greenhorn, that he turned his head and opened his mouth to speak... with an overtly apparent lack of words. It was not one of his shining moments one could say.

 

[Gallant]

Petra got lost in the crowd, and felt good about it.

The other soldiers jostled her about, sometimes accidentally elbowing her in the face—Petra was short—but she’d grown used to this after recovering much of herself on the Akahar, thanks to its unconventional captain Keib. He had disappeared after the mission had concluded, leaving her alone. Petra, a helashio among Lorath, had been given trouble with capital letters. Nobody really knew what to do with her, or where to place her, or what to think of her history. Though she had passed beyond her tormentors, the pain had returned to her as real as ever it was.

Her hand strayed to her stomach, thoughtfully, as a much taller Fyuunen accidentally jostled her again. Strong as she was, she nearly lost her duffel. But she kept her ears down and her tail close and followed along with the rest of them, no trouble to anyone, just a low ranking soldier among the low ranking soldiers.

Though most of her memories of her time before enlistment (or pressganging) were lost to her, she knew enough that she could form a reasonable opinion of her current captain, and it was thus;

Could be worse.

Relatively fatalistic, but there it was. Petra, previously known only by her height, “4-6”, shifted her duffle and ducked the next elbow. She couldn’t even see where they were all going, but assumed that it was to board the ship. The few people that noticed her gave her looks that were either dirty or surprised. There were few helashio onboard and fewer still carried combat gear. Although she hadn't had the mental wherewithal to think so on her last command, Elm had the distinct suspicion that, again, she was being sent somewhere in the hopes that she would die.

She’d purposely avoided the other crew of the Akahar that had transferred. At least initially, she didn’t feel like reintroductions were necessary. The articles for this ship had been available to the new crew, but she saw little reason to speak to them now. 4-6. They would naturally call her by that name, rather than the one she’d recently taken for herself.

Scout Elm "Four Six" Petra.

New name, new life, new command. Same old scars, but she held out hope. Soldiering might not have been her life before her collar, but it had become her life now, and when faced with the choice of trying to live somewhere unfamiliar—what the government said had been her home before the… messes—and going back to wearing the uniform, Elm had found herself a coward after all.

Despite all the killing, all the instincts, and facing down terror incarnate, she found she couldn’t face whatever family she might have had before. Not as a murderess or a…

She shook her head to clear it, assisted by another absentminded jostle. No. Elm was reincarnated. She wasn’t a murderer, or a genocidal sociopath anymore. She wasn’t fucked in the head, wasn’t under some sort of mind control; she had been given freedom and blessedly blotted out all of that horror, though every once in a while she had nightmares. Few would belive that the cold, strange, statue-stone helashio had feelings, but she did. She just didn't show them. She kept her face patiently blank, totally blank, and her posture as small as possible.

Elm would keep her pale head down, tuck her tail, and count herself lucky that she hadn’t been recollar’d by corrupt officers or killed by her time on the Akahar.

 

[Eistheid]

Lor, LSDF Space Station, Corridor (Damn this walk is taking a while)

The idle hum of Mirage's song of choice was not really random but rather accompanied an actual song provided to her via her implants. It dulled the tedium of the walk while the mountainous Fyuunen continued to people watch. Her self indulgence and self contained amusement dimmed as she realized that she had acquired an admirer of sorts. In her opinion it looked like he had his tongue stolen away, likely by the crass Nekovalkyrja that they were unfortunately forced to endure. Turning her attention fully to the Fyunnen male whose mouth seemed to have gotten stuck agape. Mirage arched an eyebrow as she worked over the unfortunately awkward man, measuring his worth with amber eyes.

A quick digital inquiry directed toward the LSDF network provided a name and rank for the awkward man with the amusingly pretty hair. After a moment of questioning silence Mirage inquired pleasant amusement colouring her tone, "Can I help you Corporal?"

Not waiting for a response, assuming that he'd remain mutely awkward for at least a minute or two Mirage once again turned her attention to the crowd that stretched out before her. A bit of turbulence in the flow of the crowd drew her attention to a figure that might have been otherwise overlooked amid a mass of taller bodies. Curious, Mirage altered her path and shifted to get a better sight through the somewhat disorderly blob of bodies; there she picked out the form of a helashio, white ears crammed beneath a soldier's cap, struggling to continue on amid the uncaring actions of those who walked along side them.

Making a motion for the mute Corporal to wait, Mirage pushed her way through the crowd treating those smaller than herself in much the same way as they treated the helashio. A well placed elbow or nudge earning discontented grumbles as she worked her way toward the popularly invisible helashio before gently grabbing hold of the strap of their duffel--

Eyes like sharp silver cut up to hers. Quick, wild, feral!

But the impossible look, so surreal it had to have been imagined, she swiftly replaced; the small helashio managed a questioning smile. Apparently being jostled around had put the jumpy little soldier's nerves on edge.

"Thank you, Ma'am." Her timid voice hardly rose above the boisterous chatter of other soldiers.

Like a bulwark in a turbid sea, Mirage turned the tide and created a small wake for them. The look and the response was rewarded with a strangely warm and genuine smile from the large Fyunnen as she tugged gently once on the strap before letting go and offering, "Let's get you to the back of the group where you won't have to endure constant bludgeoning, shall we?"

Mutely, the helashio Soldier nodded, her peculiar eyes wandering down meekly. But that hadn't been a meek look before, it couldn't have been. As the acknowledgement was given the passage back through the crowd began, an odd experience as the titan of a Fyunnen slowly made her way back ensuring that the helashio Soldier didn't find herself left behind or jostled more than was to be expected in such a gathering of moving bodies.

Falling back into step with her ``rescued`` helashio companion, Mirage turned her attention back to the dear Corporal 'Sentinel' and pleasantly inquired, "As you were saying?"

 

[Jimmy]

Er'red couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as the captain skipped past and out of the room. Blinking a few times he turned and followed. Simply flowing with the crowd easily, waiting patiently for the big dramatic panning shot the showed off the best of the ship. Oddly, one of the crew head and shoulders above the rest started walking back the way they had come for no obvious reason.

'That one must be particularly thick of muscle.' he pondered as simply kept walking next to a couple of bruised, limping, or rather pained looking crew that had had the misfortune to be behind the giant when the walk commenced. 'They're already giving me extra work.' he sighed.

 

[Archander]

Lor, LSDF Space Station, Corridor

"Damn... how did I miss something like that? Am I really that self-absorbed I couldn't see the helashio?" The young Fyunnen questioned himself as he witnessed who he'd come to know through a conveniently done digital inquiry to be a lower ranked pilot known as 'Mirage'. Quickly collecting himself before the nearly nine foot woman, he forced himself to find the words to respond to her upon returning.

"...I found myself intrigued by you, and I felt that at the very least I should introduce myself if I were to correct the issue of rudeness on my behalf." He looked to the smaller helashio, gave a slight smile and nod, then looked back to Mirage as he continued. "If you can forgive me for losing my words just a moment before, I would like to attempt to repair your first impression of me. Is it safe to assume you have done an enquiry to gather a bit of information?"

"I would also like to commend and applaud your kindness offered to our much smaller comrade." Ix'ion carefully chose his words and spoke in a manner that seemed to cast aside his higher rank, giving more respect to the pilot than perhaps she was used to. In his awkwardness, he was strangely sincere. "You may call me Ix'ion or 'Sentinel', whichever suits you."

 

[Gallant]

“It’s alright, Corporal,” the helashio replied, “I’m used to it by now.”

Elm hesitated, looking up. Her neck strained. She was fully only half as tall as the large Fyunnen, and the Corporal, also, towered over her. She didn’t do a digital check on him, because she could see the rank stripe, and anyway all her gear was in the duffle anyway. Corporal. He didn’t look that bad. Most people didn’t.

She looked in the direction of traffic, considering striking out into it again, and decided to huddle closer to her impromptu bulwarks.

“Um. Corporal? Are you infantry?” she asked.

 

[Amaryllis]

Thinking about what Aran'ya had said while he moved jauntily alongside the captain, Akemi decided he'd try to create a little more harmless drama and quickly broke away from Porrim for a moment to slip this way and that through the tightly packed crowd to hopefully appear sufficiently stealthily at the spider L'manel's side to give her a quick peck on the lips and safely run away. If she was going to threaten to bite his tongue off if he tried to kiss her he figured he'd be doing a massive disservice to Yamatai to not rise to the challenge. Perhaps still wearing his whiskers would provide sufficient distraction to delay retaliation until it was too late.

 

[Luca]

Lor, LSDF Space Station, Corridors (Bloody hell this is taking its time!)
Observant members of the team would have noticed that they had gone down a long, parallel straight corridor now, and were evenly distributed as they walked along together. The ceilings had risen, though the windows were shuttered. Porrim meanwhile was looking at who was pushing through the crowd to join her jaunt.

The first of them was JiJi, the much smaller lmanel who'd done service on the Akahar. Porrim recognised them immediately thanks to their larger aspectation partner. "Oh, there's no need to apologise, you must be like the rest." She said, almost like a schoolteacher smitten by how cute they were. "All restless as Spring Ey'tis, you must want to get on the ship as much as I do!" Again, completely misunderstanding why Akemi was being why they were. "If the cat causes any more trouble I'll make sure they get a just punishment~"

As the walk continued yet still, Porrim then came to a stop, causing the people in the front of the group to pause and stop also, exchanging confused glances - a lmanel listening to music nearly walked right past before bumping into the back of one of his colleagues. The captain clapped her hands twice, and the shutters on the windows opened with a clatter.

There she was, moored in space with a loading ramp leading into the middle of it.

All of her.

The LSDF Val'ta.

♫ Elder - Lore ♫

A truly distinct shape, resembling a curved blade as its extruded fuselage and long nacelles running parallel to either side of the body of the ship gave it the profile of a fighter. Long, wing-like pylons tipped with lights looked naturally extruded from behind the hull, like splayed fingers. Shimmering in the wake of each fingertip was a blue light, currently idling and ready to move. Two large shoulder-blades sat over the body, whilst the underside of the hull resembled a yacht's keel. All of it was tapered towards the Swordfish point, catching the starlight. In the Nepleslian designer's words, if this thing were to encounter God. God would be cut.

The design of the thing didn't resemble any one nation's main profile. It didn't look like its contemporaries in the Lorath sphere of design, but it was too stretched to be a Yamataian design exclusively, nearly superseding Yamataian gracefulness; and Nepleslian elements could be seen in the sixth deck - the distinct internal launch bay and landing pad for light craft with a hard interior belying the baroque exterior. A gangway ramp was extending into the sixth deck from here, wide enough to drive vehicles through.

Porrim, meanwhile, well, she'd put an inadvertent barrier to movement up. Her wings, strengthened by aspectation were fully open and flittering as she admired the exterior of the beautiful vessel. She almost forgot to breathe, reaching for something in one of her pockets, a puffer of some sort. She gave it a shake, uncapped it, put the business end in mouth and took a puff. Her wings slowly came back down, and the captain got her breath back.

"Whew, sorry. It's just so beautiful," Porrim sighed dreamily as she slipped the puffer back into her jacket and turning to address the crowd as if nothing happened, "anyway, apologies for such a long walk, but you could call that a test," she held up an index finger, trying to turn the perceived negative of a long, boring walk into a positive, "because we will be doing a lot of it if we find planets suitable for habitation! Now, some more walking still and we'll be on the Val'ta, just along this gangway. Come on, up, up, up!"

For the sake of everyone's tired legs, let's move along now...


EVERYONE WAS ASSEMBLED ON DECK SIX...
Standing on the Val'ta's sixth deck, Porrim and the administrative and bridge crew were standing before the enlisted. Around a hundred crewmen strong, Porrim could see that everyone and their aching legs would be rewarded soon.

"Let me detail as much as I can about the Val'ta, and your expected assignments in one go." Porrim said as the one Aranya recognised was hiding in Porrim's shadow, clutching a datapad, still spotting the cat in the crowd. "First, the bridge is on the second deck, buried in the centre of the ship, as well as the mess hall and galley, and half of the crew quarters." As Porrim was explaining all of this, an image of the Val'ta's deck in slices was highlighting each location as she called them out. "The secondary science areas where samples can be analysed. It's very close to the airlocks for a good reason, I'm told!"

She always felt her words seemed to turn blue when she had to explain things with a lot of detail in a short space. At least the hologram was helping. "On the third deck, you'll find the bulk of the crew quarters, and the recreational facilities, including a well stocked bar with a good view into space, and the primary medical facilities are here too. I also live right there, in the middle, and I have a direct route to the bridge. We also have weapon lockers throughout decks two and three in the advent of intruder attack. They cannot be opened by non-Val'ta personnel - the Data Strip will protest."

Porrim wasn't kidding. They were told that the new-fangled Data Strip was capable of projecting blades of hardlight, hindering and wounding attackers. "On deck four, we have our main cargo storage, a quartermaster's office, our main armoury for powered armour, and the automated magazines for our railgun torpedo launchers on that deck. They hit quite hard, I'm told, just as well with the Sunfury in tandem!"

"Moving on, deck five is where the engines are kept, primary and secondary, as well as the Swordfish's main point. There are also hardlight generators to act as shutters for where we're standing right now on deck six, the Launch Deck. Off to my left and right, heading out behind you are the subspace catapults, for incredibly fast launches of shuttlecraft, fighter craft, powered armour columns, frames, or even shipping containers. This deck is also equipped with airlocks on port and starboard."

She cleared her throat. "Immediately below us on deck seven are the vehicle hangars, including maintenance and storage bays. Now, I'm told that the ship uses something to compress space to make everything fit in there so do not be alarmed if it is bigger on the inside. Cargo and armoury do the same too." She spun her finger around her head. The pale woman behind her meanwhile was not pleased with the oversimplified explanation. "Bit of a headscrew, really."

"Moving on, point defence mechanisms via arc disruptors and field manipulation are on deck one along with the missile launchers, and deck eight by themselves. There isn't much else on deck eight aside from the sensor facilities, but deck nine is where the primary science and probe analysis facilities are, as well as another set of airlocks. Again, reasons obvious should something go wrong, no offence to our science personnel. Finally, on deck ten, the probe launch and retrieval is there for you. Be sure to find all sorts of nice things so we can go look at them on foot!"

She took a deep breath. That was a lot to take in as the hologram faded away, having explained as much as she could.

"If there's any further queries, the should be an extensive document with a map on your datapads you can access, or if you don't have a pad, use the handy Data Strip where available." She bowed to everyone. "Get acquainted with all of your stations, tools, and equipment; We will be taking off in thirty minutes. I will only be reachable on the bridge. Dismissed!" The crowd begun scattering towards their assignments through the lifts and hallways of the ship. Again with the blue! She thought, rationalising that it must've been a side effect of all the kaserine.

She started heading towards her quarters immediately. She felt winded and weary from explaining all that. "Good job." Aiesu said flatly as she followed Porrim into an elevator up to deck three. "Now let's see how long it takes until something gets broken or someone gets spaghettified." Dripping with disdain and snark.

As the elevator opened, Porrim sighed. "I have my faith that you and the big-armed man-" his name escaped her; My'kel? Mikk? Moe? "-designed this ship to withstand abuse from without and manhandling from within Aiesu," Porrim said as she approached the door to her quarters, sliding sideways as she approached, "but please do not mistake everyone here for fools." She stepped in, keeping the door open for Aiesu. "Want a drink? I sure need one."

Aiesu looked aside. "I'll pass, thank you. I'll be in Primary Science." Porrim shrugged and stepped away, the door sliding shut in Aiesu's face. She clicked her tongue, turned around, kept an eye out for the cat, and started taking a lift down to the facilities.

 

[Gallant]

Thirty minutes? Elm thought. Immediately her mind went to what she would probably have to accomplish in that time.

Her clothing had already been folded. Maybe the racks wouldn’t be so bad. She’d done a little bit of reading while she had been on the troop transport to the docks, though the words had frustrated her. Scratching at the back of her neck, where the collar had previously delved directly into her spine, she reflected that perhaps her inability was a side effect of being force-fed information. It hadn’t been her only trouble reading. The little helashio was sure she was literate but the words didn’t make sense sometimes.

She’d muddled through anyway, because there had been nothing else to do when crammed in like a sardine, and also because it she’d decided she didn’t want to think of what could happen if her brain really stopped working and had to be force-fed like an invalid all the time.

This, ironically, made her think about it.

Elm shuddered and looked up at her taller, flanking companions. They seemed tiny next to the ship, and that was wondrous in and of itself, but it was a ship. They were supposed to be big, Elm supposed.

Considering saying something, she shifted her duffle, no smaller for her small size, and looked at faces—chins.

These were nice people. She probably wouldn’t be bunking with nice people. How many helashio were even aboard? Resigned, she looked back up at the ship, and waited for her temporary shelter to move so that she could move along with them, at least for another few minutes.

 

[Ashlinn]

Ashlinn had remained at the back of the hall the whole time, silently watching the Captain as she explained and exposed the details of their mission, the ships purpose and of course, calling out the only other Neko of note. Akemi's antics had made her internally wince a bit at the amazing amount of ire he had drawn upon himself and his continued interactions actually made her tail twitch to the point she'd wrapped it around her left leg in order to make it stay still. Her attention was forcibly returned to the presentations as her ears twitched to catch the details, Datapad in hand she followed along and when everyone got up to leave she slid to the side and waited for everyone else to pass her by as she followed from the rear, duffel thrown over a shoulder and her head buried into the datapad just absorbing everything she could, She had even gone so far as to have the datapad relay all information in Ly'thir. It took her a little longer to read it, and understand it, but she hoped it would help her learn the language faster.

Which was the reason for her distraction that caused her to nearly plow into the back of the group when they stopped to stare at the ship as shutter rose and the crew was given their first meeting with the Val'ta. Ash's eyes widened a bit, she had seen the general profile when the ship was shown during it's presentation. But actually seeing it made her jaw drop. There wasn't anything else like it, the lines and the surfaces, everything looked clean, pristine and perfect? That thought stopped her as she suddenly questioned herself mentally if that really fit, Surely it was perfect for it's intended purpose. That satisfied her before she found herself alone and hurried to catch up with everyone casting one last glance at the ship, "I'm not an engineer, but I think I'm in love with this ship already..."

She arrived in time for the fast rundown of the basics and found herself with a sudden abundance of time. Thirty minutes, to be exact. Which made her pause with a suddenly very lost and very surprised look on her face, Where was her duty station again? Datapad up and face buried in it as she scrolled through it...

 

[Eistheid]

Lor, LSDF Space Station, Endless Corridor

Her politely pleasant stance to the Corporal with the apparently shy mannerisms nearly turned to amusement, as he finally spoke up bringing up intrigue and first impressions. She had honestly put little thought into the good Corporal Sentinel when he had first approached her, however given the prompt to consider him she found it more than a little odd that he was approving of her kindness to the Helashio. Most Lorath in her experience, would have looked at her like she was diseased.

Even in her puzzled state Mirage summoned up an attempt at an amicable response, "I thank you for the overture Corporal, as well as the commendation. To answer your question I did observe your identity and rank, however only enough to properly comport myself in the presence of someone who outranks me." As she fell silent she found herself with a strong desire to sigh inspired by her incredibly stiff response and how she had likely come off rote and boring. While she noted that she might not have presented her best when she responded, she wasn't entirely sure she had wanted to be her best. Upon reflection of the Corporal's words Mirage had to admit that she wasn't entirely sure if the man was trying to flirt with her, something that she honestly had no interest in at the moment as such her awkward response might not have been a total loss.

Lapsing into silence with more than a little thanks as the Helashio spoke up questioning the Corporal, the opportunity was presented for Mirage to return her attention to the task of watching the crowd and attempting to figure out just were the Captain was leading their disgruntled procession. For the moment a more familiar and comfortable task.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Six

After a curious delay, just before their journey up to the ship Mirage had been more than eager to proceed when she was finally allowed to continue on to the beautiful vessel in truth. Looking around at the clean, crisp, unlived in space was unique and in its own way thrilling. Taking a deep breath and enjoying that 'new ship' smell, Mirage focused in on the Captain as she delivered a fairly brief rundown of the features of their new home.

As the introductory speech wound down with the declaration that they would be given half an hour to prepare for their departure Mirage with amusement noted that she'd likely not be travelling far for her own purposes being attached to the vehicle complement of the Val'ta. With no real excuse to wander the ship on her own, Mirage turned her attention to the curious Helashio that she had partially forced into her companionship for the length of the walk, and inquired curiously, "Is there anywhere in particular that you wish to see?"

 

[Moogle]

J'ann kept a close watch on the obnoxious one for the duration of the walk, but was pleasantly distracted by the lovely display of the Val'ta and its offerings.

Yes, I have certainly lucked out on assignments. He thought. Elm crossed his vision. The morale officer wrinkled his nose. Although, no accounting for the recruitment practice on this one.

He decided it would be best for him to familiarize himself with the crew quarters and recreational area, where he suspected he'd be spending most of his time, so off to the third deck he went - massive hips swaying as he walked.

 

[OsakanOne]

Deck 9, Primary Science lab, outer office room 1

♫ Satoru Kosaki - "Fukitsu"

No sooner had Aiesu escaped the bipedal tourbus had she relocated herself deep in the bowels of the ship, beneath the water were its hull waterborne, a spot she thought of as a warren to call her own, the little basement of the ship.

Surrounded by banks of terminals and plain white sterile walls, she sat in what resembled a somewhat oversized office, hand flat against the terminal as diagnostics tickled through volumetric displays seemingly automatically in the bright light.


Occasionally she typed manually, almost for her own amusement as she skimmed her datapad for information independent of the ship and her software connection to its heart at her synthetic brainstem. It was antiquainted to work manually but it afforded a flavour of security few appreciated.

While for everybody else it was perhaps the middle of the day, for Aiesu's nocturnal mind and indeed her aspectation this was some awful hour of the morning. To her side sat moist tissues, darkened with eye-liner, mascara, foundation and concealer she'd used to try and... Soften her first appearance and with luck go unnoticed by a particular partner: dark dusky shadows sat beneath the red under-frames of her glasses on a backdrop of depressed brilliant white skin.

Something alone in that room made her chuckle, her datapad clicking as she thumbed through some news story about how the international press were treating the launch.

Unfortunately for the perpetually tired L'manel her attempts to avoid drawing attention to herself had unknowingly sealed her fate as only mere moments after settling in her fears were made manifest with the stealthy arrival of the dreaded male Neko positioned right behind her. "All right," he said casually, hands on hips, "I noticed you eyeing me the whole time you were giving your little presentation. Undoubtedly undressing me with your mind. You even got all done up for me. Let's get this over with."

The figure in the office chair Akemi was speaking to flinched, the chair clicking its heels against the ground. Ever so slowly, cerise eyes peeked over its edge, an index finger pushing glasses further back up her nose, which wrinkled up just for a moment.

"...Who let you in? And why?"

"Aw come on now, I like when they play coy, but there's no need for that. I think we all know who let me in." Akemi smirked realizing Porrim was probably at fault for leaving what was apparently a restricted area open to all given her easy going ways and how the ship captivated her, but that was no fun. "You were hoping to get familiar with me right? Wanted us to show each other our special stones and whatnot, right?"

"...Why does everybody use that stupid euphemi"... Aiesu grumbled, turning 180 in her seat, doubly surprised now by Akemi's appearance. She'd seen the Neko in the halls and from a distance and assumed she was binding but now she got a real sense of Akemi's build.

"K...Kaserine, right?" she quivered, pointing. Aiesu had been caught on bad step and out of turn and apparently the memory of exactly what a Neko was (cat) had just caught up with her on an instinctive level, frozen to the spot.

"Nope. This is the new me," Akemi replied, swiftly puffing out his chest and briefly tilting his nose to the ceiling. "It looks like both of us have grown. I gotta say I like this version of you." He looked her over from top to bottom approvingly, his eyes lingering where appropriate. "So, you're telling me you don't have a special stone?"

"I-I'm an adult..." Aiesu stated flatly, "No stones. What business of yours is this? I'm not some harpie who's going to lay an egg, you stupid c...ca...caaa.."

Aiesu seized up.

"You're not?" Akemi asked with lightning speed and mock surprise. "Are you saying there's such a thing as a special stone after all? I was really hoping I could have any eggs you lay y'know." Naturally he leaned forward inquisitively in reaction to the L'manel's jittery behavior. Quite far forward.

Aiesu didn't flinch. in fact, she didn't do anything, a nervous smile locked on her pale lips as her hands tightened against her own knees, the beginnings of hyperventilation starting somewhere in her belly.

"N-na-N-Nnnnnn..."

She couldn't make words.

The Neko drew his head back a bit in another display of surprise while still looming over the construct. "What the heck's wrong with you?" Deciding to make the most of the situation he pressed in on Aiesu again a moment later. "Are you nervous because you're trying to hide an egg you've already laid? Want me to look under there?" His eyes briefly lowered before locking on the catatonic scientist's.

"I-I-I...I...I'mnotverygoodwithcatsyoucouldcallitaphobiaisuppose..." phobia oozed from her as she very very slowly began turning herself about until her back met Akemi, hidden behind the chair.

"I-If you have some sort of official duty, see to it. I'd prefer you not enter in future..."

Always wanting to be agreeable Akemi did just that. He quickly slid both his hands down onto Aiesu's shoulders, clasping and kneading them gently while purring happily. His head rested mere inches above the researcher who so clearly needed some assistance to relax.

And once again, she was glued to the spot, grumbling as anger tempered in her belly alongside fear: A yelp with the physical contact almost like a dog's squeeky toy.

"Wh...Why are you here, just to harass me? That explains the kaserine too... Don't you have anything better to do?"

The mischievous Neko continued to rub away, spurred on by the obvious increase in discomfort. "I'm not taking any Kaserine. This is permanent. As for whether I have anything better to do, maybe the captain later."

"Puh-pe-permanent... Are male nnNnnnNnnnNeko even a thing?" she frowned, clearing her throat as she crossly tapped at her dataslate. "You're actually even more forward than I remember you being, as if such a thing is possible. Are you faulty?"

"Faulty? I'm functioning just fine." Akemi bent down until his rumbling mouth was directly beside Aiesu's ear. "You're the weird one. I'm obviously more like an elf than a cat. I don't even have furry ears."

"Itsss... The principle of the thing, you know?" she immediately felt the arm of her chair stab her in the hip as she shifted, putting what little precious space she could between herself and Akemi.

"...I sssaw you getting really roasted by the crew back there. You're a real whore, huh? Lucky you kept your looks: you'd pass for bixfauxnen if you had a chest. B...Been looking up Lorath prereferences I-I see?"

"Is that your way of saying you like what you see?" Akemi matched her adjustments with his own so that in the end they were slightly closer together. "The captain told us this was going to be a long journey and that we should get well acquainted. I'm doing my duty by being here." As he spoke he began to press significantly harder on the L'manels shoulders. "I certainly don't want to do any livestock, though it would be fun to treat some of your caste as such. The one with the insect dog might as well be."

Aiesu sunk deeper into her chair, frowning like it was going out of style: brows down, eyes up and disappointment pooling in her throat with a grumble strangled by the presence of two of the three things in this universe she could not abide: attractive men and cats.

"...Look, I'm not going to play blanket for you. In fact, if my shoulders weren't hurting before you started, I'd already be calling for security."

"I thought I was security." Akemi raised a hand to start petting the L'manel's head as if it were a bunny. "If you don't want my attention is there anyone else you think could use it? Maybe a big, shy, easily taken advantage of Fyunnen? They're probably the type I'm most interested in besides you guys."

"Auaoaoa-- s-stop that.." she slapped his hands away, shaking with anger now as she turned about, facing him dead on: leg crossed over the other. Apparently Aiesu had mastered the art of staring down her nose at someone even when they were above her, a feat that was matched only by what she was about to say.

♫ Satoru Kosaki - "Imitation"

"...We have someone matching that exact description: That would be head flight instructor first leutenent My'ean Idoqu, Fyunnen. Do you have... What, like a fetish or something?"

"Yup. I absolutely do," the soldier replied nonchalantly, smiling ear to ear. "You know the expression the bigger they are the harder they fall right? Well in my mind it works with them too. Plus the shyer they are despite their size and warrior reputation the better. It's gap moe, y'know?"

"I dislike that I know exactly what you mean by that. Do you drink coffee?"

"I'll drink whatever gets me in yours or her good graces." Akemi crossed his arms to give them something to do, then looked a bit about the room. "I like stuff with lots of flavor. Are you offering some?"

"No. There's a machine in the hall."

Aiesu slowly slid forward a gemstone that by Yamataian reckoning was both worth much more than a cup of coffee and given how Yamatai could make fairly convincing but not all that accurate gemstones from scratch, quite a bit less. It was quite heavy, and warm: she'd been holding it for a while.

"I take D4. Come back with whatever you like. Nibbles too. My treat."

"Alrighty," came Akemi's jaunty response as he snatched up the stone and held it at eye level to examine it for a moment. Then he did a swift about face and headed for the vendor. Upon reaching it he thoroughly studied all the options as he did with most machines that had such variety and novelties. Naturally he determined the best course of action was to return with a drink he couldn't tell the contents of for himself, what Aiesu wanted and whatever foodstuffs and amusements he thought would be the most entertaining. A short time later he was back in the office depositing a pile of goods on the researcher's desk.

Aiesu adjusted her glasses, pantyhose wrapped legs crossing over one another as she noted the stack of plastic trays, piping hot, the bottles dotted about, cans, some wrapped sandwiches and... She frowned, seeing a clear gleaming plastic photographic reel of objects resembling large square flat postage stamps and the small bottles next to it: One resembling handwash, another filled with colored pills.

"Really? Well now..." she took her can of coffee, twisting the base, setting it down to heat itself.

"Why not?" the Neko shrugged, upturning his palms. "Everything I do here is an adventure so I figured I'd have fun making the most of it." To support his explanation he promptly grabbed his mystery drink, snapped it open and took a hearty swig. "I gotta say I wholeheartedly approve of those leggings."

"From time to time, there's a nice stuffy turtleneck to go with them" she chuckled, noting the way the light danced over her shins before taking one of the trays, lifting it to examine those beneath then the one beneath.

"Carrot-cake?" she quizzed, taking two of the five meal trays for herself. One savory, one sweet. Peeling the lid off, she started on the savory: Something resembling rice, though it was neat and rectangular, flat rectangular noodles next to it, each with a different sauce: One red, one blueish green. She'd immediately gone for the duq curry.

Figuring it was about time, the Neko grabbed himself a chair, stuck it out in front the L'manel and hopped in. "So, do you have anything against this My'ean person that you're willing to tell me about her? What's your angle? I guess this could be a trap. Want a video of whatever happens between us?" Akemi had clearly entered super sleuth mode.

Aiesu watched, chewing thoughtfully as she chased down a slither of brown shredded meat with her coffee.

"I've worked with her before. You could say we have a history, but not the kind you're interested in making. It'd also give you an excuse to start learning how to use Lorath equivalent: Given that you're Nekovalkyjra, you're not exactly going to be proficient, are you?"

"Proficient with what? I know my way around power armor in general, if that's what you mean. It's my specialty." Akemi took another sip of his drink. "I hope you aren't just planning to educate me into being someone productive thinking that there's no way we'd actually hit it off because she's actually some super stoic no nonsense soldier chick."

"Let's just say, you're not her type" Aiesu chuckled, setting her empty tray down, now eyeing the icing clad Nepleslian dish with the strange cone shaped orange impression of icing miming some foreign fruit or vegatable she'd never seen before.
"As for armor, we're Lorath. We deal in frames and fighters. Armor are... Lacking in open spaces and our infantry are perfecty capable in closed spaces."

"So what is her type? Anything in particular I should know about? Will she wear a cute maid outfit like you did with a little badgering?" Akemi reached out and dipped a finger in the icing to give it a taste. He was rather fond of sweet things.

"I have my doubts. She goes by the name Blackwolf: That should be a clue. Don't address her by it though until she's told you... Its poor taste for a foreigner."

Aiesu soon had a spoonful of the cake, eyes widening in surprise, making a face Akemi had seen before. Then remembering the associations between what she was eating and the ribbing she'd get if she admitted it before offering a spoonful to Akemi.

"Here. Try this."

Without a second thought Akemi darted forward to eat the offering, his eyes gleaming with approval. "Will you feed me info like this?" he asked with a smirk. He picked up a spoon of his own and helped himself to a portion of the dessert.

Aiesu drew the dessert away before Akemi's spoon could find its place, cradling it up level with her shoulders.

"If you're well behaved. But you're not allowed to just take it, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal, like one of your stones." Missing his intended target the raven haired Yamataian set his sights on the remaining three trays and jokingly hovered his spoon over each as if Aiesu would immediately give away which one she valued most.

She gave a particularly disapproving stare over something best described as "meat apple", lips tight as she glanced from Akemi then to the tray and back again.

"The portions are quite small, I find..."

It was then Akemi spotted in quite on the clear plastic, a warning in Lorath and a symbol of some sort of fruit. "Duqs" again.

Figuring warning labels were vastly overrated Akemi mercifully avoided attacking the meat dish and went for the duqs, ripping the container open and taking a large spoonful. It wasn't like he had anything to worry about. Neko could choose whether or not they became intoxicated. "So, how hard is it to get a Fyunnen drunk? Does she have any kinks? Got any juicy details?"

"About ...Six of these" she said, holding up the meat-apple tray: a globe of something resembling a gellatin in its clear quality in dull red that had the texture of bacon or ham. It was spiced and dripping in some sort of warm smooth sauce.

"She'll drink anything but a Neko under the table... She likes sweets - like yourself, she hates being cramped indoors - so she's going to be fustrated onboard this ship and she's addicted to the gym. See, there's Fyunnen, then there's Fyunnen. And My'ean is very very Fyunnen."

"Well if she's so Fyunnen is she actually shy?" Akemi took another large gulp of his drink. "I bet I could give her a really thorough workout. So, why would you want to help me in general? You're not thinking of getting out that turtleneck are you?"

Aiesu blinked, chewing thoughtfull as she took another mouthfull of carrot-cake: eyes softening as she fought to hide how glad she was that such a simple thing was onboard ship.

"On the contrary" she said, still with her mouthful, immediately taking another: "If you hassle her long enough, your chances of survival are likely to rise with your changes in proficiency and ...You'll stay off my back. It would be bad for international relations if something happened to one of the few Nekovalkyjra onboard ship."

"So was there anything else you were thinking of talking about while we're here? I don't think me being in your hair has done you much harm so far. I brought you a complete meal and gave you a little massage after all." An idea suddenly occurred to the Neko. "You said you knew exactly what I meant before. Which part? Want to see your buddy wearing a cute little collar and being all demure? Maybe a leash too, given her name?"

"Maybe that's what she'll do to you" Aiesu said, eyes gazing over the rim of her coffee can, taking a slow drink before her eyes went skyward, pondering just how things might play out.

"Shy I did say. Demure, she is. But... She's armor plated before you get to any of that. The only thing she takes more seriously than her job is her sense of duty. Call that into question and we...May have an international incident."

"Like I'd ever do that," Akemi scoffed. "It's much more likely we'll get along so well we'll end up married and that'll be an international incident. How are you guys with polygamy? If you're really helpful I'll let you name one of our adorable half-breeds."

"...Like you'd even be compatible. A lmanel can't knock up a fyunnen, let alone a Nekovalkyjra. Plus..." she brushed her leg against his ankle.

"Your kids would be hidious."

Akemi chuckled. "Was that a signal just now?" He then proceeded to reciprocate the rubbing in a much more enthusiastic fashion. "And why wouldn't it work? Who says I'm not literally made for the task?" Once more a smirk crossed his lips. "Would ours look better?"

Aiesu became tense, slowly craning her leg away to herself: What was a fairly common signal amonst other Orthodox faith Lorath... Had another meaning with foreigners and reform Lorath, who made up the majority of the population. Playful teasing, taken seriously.

"You..."

She refused to look him in the eye. Long awkward silence.

"...You may go."

The Neko switched to the other leg still within range and carefully gauged Aiesu's reaction. "May I stay too?"

More frowning. Indignance. Like her intelligence had just been insulted. She rolled closer to the desk, drawing herself a few inches out of Akemi's range.

"What?"

"You know, is there somewhere you'd like me other than your hair?" Without warning Akemi lunged and stole what was left of the carrot cake, likewise placing it beyond the L'manel's reach.

"W-Wh.."

Though normally Aiesu's poker face was pretty good, it was clear she was on some level heart-broken for just a few fleeting seconds before her sense of self control stepped in and brought her in line.

"Give it, you stupid mewmew."

Akemi leaned in close with a steely stare while holding the tasty treat high above his head with both hands. "Make me, you cute little sniff sniff."

Instinctively, Aiesu wrinkled her nose, frown forming folds around her eyes as cerise and white stared back at him. For just a moment, she'd bared her teeth, all very childish before remembering this form was supposed to be poised and whatever she could kludge together to pass for graceful.

Again, Aiesu composed herself.

"How about this. You have questions about My'ean, you come to me. I wrote her psychological profile and we've worked together for years. In return, you give me that and you show some respect in my presence. Also... the massage wasn't bad but I can tell you're untrained. There's a course on the ship's computer with a hardlight demonstrator: come back when you know how to do it properly, when you've graduated from creepy sex-maniac needy massage. Well?"

"Sure," Akemi answered without returning the cake. "Is it really impossible for a L'manel to knock up a Fyunnen or is that just some caste restriction thing?"

"...Its complicated."

"How complicated? And for the record I am not sex crazed. I simply enjoy teasing people and tasting the flavors of this vast universe. Strangers are friends I merely haven't met yet. Doing the deed is just a quick way to bond. As far as I'm concerned I'm a philanthropist, letting lessers experience a master race Neko. By the way..." Akemi paused to adjust his hands so that only one supported the tray above him at its center and the other was extended to the L'manel. "Go ahead and have a taste."

"...You're joking. I'm not indulging you with cheesecake." The notion of his nature had returned to her, and with it her blood pressure rose though her synthetic mind did its best to ignore the change in sensation. But still, the unease.

Akemi furiously wiggled his index finger at the scientist while effortlessly balancing the tray. "Go ahead. And if you won't, tell me about this biology stuff. I'm genuinely interested. Is cross caste breeding taboo? What about breeding with outsiders?"

"Both. Both are taboo. You really don't want that finger in my mouth" she frowned, drawing her lips apart but not her teeth. Each like a kitchen knife: triangular, long and sharp, her tongue gray as was the interior of her mouth as they finally came apart, framed by pale soft lips.

"So it is possible? Come on, you were able to handle a lot more than a finger last time." Akemi started jabbing Aiesu's cheek with the dainty digit.

"I wouldn't know: I wasn't there. Only got the cliffnotes, sorry" she muttered, eyeing the finger swinging like a pendulum in her vision.
"Please don't make me get out of this chair."

"Man, that sounded pretty badass," the Neko answered, obviously impressed and amused. "Fine. Here you go, but you're totally missing out." Reluctantly Akemi returned the dish to the table and got up to head for the door.

"Caramel" she stated flatly, watching him walk as she set her tray aside. "Its caramel, right?"

"You bet, really strong too. The good stuff. Does My'ean have a sweet tooth?" Akemi turned around slowly. "You interested now?"

"No, I can smell it on you from here... I told you already, she has a very sweet tooth. But if you offer her a finger she'll take it, and probably your knuckle with it. Her teeth are smaller but she eats bone for protein."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Must have slipped my mind with how hardcore you sounded a moment ago." Akemi shrugged. "I'm not too worried as I can always regrow whatever I'm missing good as new. Plus going by your description she'll probably feel really guilty and indebted to me."

"If you can get past that exterior."

"Pshhh. I'm pretty good at penetrating things." Again, Akemi turned to the exit.

"Start with the door."

And so he did.

"Fucking cat..."

 

[Gallant]

With no real excuse to wander the ship on her own, Mirage turned her attention to the curious Helashio that she had partially forced into her companionship for the length of the walk, and inquired curiously, "Is there anywhere in particular that you wish to see?"

The little Helashio looked up again, gray eyes not so silver anymore, but simply reflecting in a murky way.

Elm knew that she had to drop off her gear, and knew that she could summon up a data strip or something similar to check where she was bunked, but suddenly she didn’t want to. She really wanted to bunk with this Pilot.

The Pilot was nice, and not unkind, and had tried to help her out when she had been overwhelmed. Elm appreciated that. She didn’t feel kinship with any other soldiers. She hadn’t hardly felt kinship with anyone on the Akahar, save for Keib, and a certain other Fyuunen, Mars. This one was similar to the last, she supposed.

Keib had been Lmanel. But Mars had been Fyuunen. Elm had not been treated well, in general, by the avian Lorath, but she’d had a few good influences that she respected. And as far as what she wanted to see, it wasn't as though there really was anything to see. The ship itself didn't interest her--she didn't know enough to be enthralled by it--but her only concerns were the concerns of what felt like a foreign Elm. Where is the armory? she thought, and how do I get my hands on a knife?

So…

“The gym?” she asked, curling her tail. “And I’m… Petra.”

The name sounded weird. ‘Four Six’ had almost jumped to her tongue, but she’d bit it back. Petra. Petra. Not a number. Not a nickname. A person. A person; real, physical, actual. Keib had given her a rank. Officially. Why not have a name? Why not? Who would stop her? Who would care? New name, new person, right?

 

[Syaoran]

Deck 6 of the Tal'ta

Ny’za followed along with the walking with everyone else, but she did not seem at all disturbed by it, after all she did a lot of walking around Yabeu and was still keeping herself in peak shape. The ship was something surprising to her, it was unlike anything she had seen before and it was about twice the Akahar and with it’s shape, she could understand why the captain seemed so eager to ram it into something.

The explanation of all the systems and locations of everything was never very exciting, but it was very important to become familiar with the ship, so she listened intently. She would have to spend some time at the vehicle hangar to check on their compliment of frames and equipment, but that could wait a little.

Despite what Rhiq was telling her, she wanted to get acquainted with some of the crew she only knew Ji’xa and Aran’ya from the Akahar. She needed to get to know some of the other’s it would be a long trip after all.

With a quick look around she spotted a New Tru’lista woman with rather erratically dyed hair leaving the group. Finding this woman interesting Ny’za made her way over with Rhiq on her shoulder. It was when she got out of the crowd that she noticed quite and ample backside that was swinging like a pendulum. Suddenly Ny’za’s interest changed, she no longer wanted just to speak to this person out of curiosity, this woman must have known the secrets to developing a great figure and Ny’za wanted to know.

Patting J’ann on the shoulder Ny’za spoke up. “Hello, I’m Ny’za Hasti and this is Rhiq.” She gestured to the gif’elm on her shoulder and then gave a smile, wings shifting a little in excitement.

 

[paladinrpg]

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6

Aran'ya was captivated for a moment by the impressive sight of the ship on display and now understood why Porrim spoke of it with an almost fanatical devotion. It was sleek and unmistakable in shape, cutting through the mysteries of the universe like a knife through a juicy duq. It also didn't escape her notice medically when the Captain of the vessel pulled out an inhaler from her jacket in response to some form of breathing difficulty, perhaps even brought on by the sight of the Val'ta. She had see such a thing once before with a traumatic experience, but perhaps it could also happen with positive ones... still, it was a fact to file away for later physicals she would undoubtedly be performing.

As the L'manel memorized the location of the science labs and other facilities she would be working under, she was sufficiently distracted for Akemi to move in with his anti-gravity speed and plant his sneaky Nekovalkyrja lips on hers for the barest of moments. The wet sensation snapped Aran'ya to wide-eyed attention with a faint flash of color across her pale cheeks, before they immediately flushed with the heat of anger. True to her word, Aran'ya snapped her jaw reflexively as an enlarged canine missed his face but caught the end of one of the whiskers he wore smugly from her previous attack and snapped it in two. Akemi no doubt also caught sight of the drop of pale green, latrotoxin venom that dripped to the floor and sizzled for a nanosecond, as the Tarantis-spider aspect didn't hold it back... it could probably have made a lesser creature begin convulsing within minutes if it entered their blood.

She first growled something very degrading in L'uri Syti, an Occestian dialect that not everyone but the most technical and scientific people knew much of, but its tone was harsh and rude to be sure and undeniably directed his way. Something about... experimenting with toxin resistance processing of Nekovalkyrja blood in the thirty minutes of free time she had... was it?

Whatever the non-Ly'thir words were the meaning was clear: Akemi could see that every fiber of Widow's being wanted to make him her prey in that moment for his impetuousness, and she didn't hold herself back this time like before. The meeting dismissed, the predatory L'manel began to bolt his way with a deadly grace through the throngs of crewmembers that he had conveniently ducked behind. The Way of Nature martial artist even impressively ran up the side of one of the vertical walls of Deck 6 at a 45 degree angle using her enhanced setules grip and back down again to avoid a dense grouping and get to him faster...

 

[Amaryllis]

Naturally Akemi started flying away at least as fast as he was being pursued. "Why are you chasing me so hard? Is this like one of my Yamataian cartoons and you can't get married now? If you keep this up I'll find a giant piece of paper and a cup! I'm warning you! If you hurt me you'll just be patching me up anyway!"

 

[Archander]

Lor, LSDF Space Station, Corridor

"Worry not about it, as I had stated, I did not wish to be rude." He offered her a slight smile, having noted her body language more so than her words. Not wanting to overstay his welcome in a conversation she had little interest in, he turned to the helashio and gave her a respectful answer to her inquire. "Yes, I am a marksman. I look forward to serving with the both of you." For the most part the rest of the walk down the corridor was a quiet one for him.


LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6

The information bestowed by the captain about the ship led to Ix'ion digitally reaching out to ascertain the various areas of the ship and to reinforce her verbal tour. It was a magnificent ship and one he found himself both proud to serve on and excited to soon be underway. As he watched things occurring around him and how a number of persons had already naturally gravitated toward other stronger personalities, Ix'ion felt a slight sense of envy within the depths of his mind.

A second Nekovalkyrja had caught his attention, this one much different than the one known as Akemi, and her attire made it very clear she was there on loan, perhaps out of necessity for Yamatai to show support for their DATASS ally. It was a little strange that a low ranked Neko was the liaison, however, Akemi made the oddity pale in comparison to a large degree. Maybe though, he was the oddity. Mirage's reaction seemed to suggest it to a degree.

With his gear in tow, Ix'ion set out to Deck 4 toward the Armory. Things just didn't feel right without his blade on.

 

[paladinrpg]

"Urrgh, How dare you! When I catch you I'm going to rip those lewd lips off your face and attach them somewhere else before you can regenerate!" growled Aran'ya, as she remained in hot pursuit of her chosen quarry to punish him. Even if she was highly athletic, though, Akemi still had the advantage of his alacrity and kept a comfortable distance between him and his pursuer, one that just made Widow keep going in her rage. She was running the Neko down towards the lower decks as they left the crowd behind now, only the two of them in a blur of motion taking an impromptu tour with a serious edge...

"Why are you running so hard, eh? Don't like being the one that is chased?" she spat out a retort, in what seemed almost like flirting... if it wasn't delivered with a healthy dose of vitriol, that is.

 

[Ashlinn]

Ashlinn, LSDF Val'ta, Deck 6

Ashlinn memorized the layout and was reasonably sure she was down in the enlisted bunks. She'd figure out the rest later as she shifted the weight of her pack and froze hearing the massive commotion Akemi was causing, it...was hard to miss. Given how loudly Aran'ya was yelling at him, and of course her blitzing across a wall to get to him made her stand there, one foot raised up off the deck and her body leaning halfway forwards to take a step. Her foot lowered and her lips twitched a bit as a grin spread across them, her tail twitched behind her as she finally laughed for a good minute as they both vanished.

Had she known of Ix'ion's interest she'd have readily agreed with him and shared her puzzlement over her orders all the same. She could speculate that it was Yamatai's intentions to show support, without having to send anyone important. Stepping off once more she found herself shifting one way, then the other even so much as hopping a bit sending her hair bouncing slightly as she did her best to see. She didn't want to bother the groups of people by trying to push through the crowd in order to head into the ship's interior itself. Unlike Akemi she didn't feel like it would be good decorum to float over or around everyone. She didn't intend for her fellow crew members to be getting a view up her skirt right now, which gave her plenty of time to notice another thing. At her height almost everyone was taller than her by at least a head, "Travel the stars, See the universe, Realize that you are tiny and Fun-sized in comparison."