A
Alex Hart
On, 188604, Osman city spaceport, by the ISS Araxie.
Alex sat underneath his fighter, which was out on the tarmac next to the Araxie. He was checking out its systems, looking for any problems with the engines that he had helped to design.
Occupied as he was, he did not notice a short, bouncy girl making her way across the busy dockward, an alien sight in this area bustling with burly haulers and mercenaries. Pink summer dress blowing behind her as she wandered around, the young woman seemed to be looking for something in particular, a small parchment note crumpled in one small hand.
A muscled worker, who seemed to be a mechanic judging by the wrench in his hand and the oil and grease stains on his shirt, approached the woman. Speaking in a kind voice unexpected from someone of that size and build, he asked her "Excuse me miss, is there something you need? You look kinda lost."
The blonde-haired girl seemed to jump out of her skin, backing away a little from this man instinctively. Dainty shoes scuffing on the stone-strewn walkway, she looked up at him with puppy eyes. "I.. I'm looking for this ship.. My master has told me they require me, sir...", she muttered, bowing her head in embarassment, thrusting the crumpled paper forwards.
The man put up his hands. "Aw geez miss, I didn't mean to scare ya. Lemmie take a look at that for ya." He said, as his meaty hands grasped the paper. He squinted for a moment and then reached into a pocket to pull out what looked like a crude pair of reading glasses.
"Lesse here..." The man said as he scrutinized the writing. "You'll be lookin for plot B-12, over that-a-ways."
She kept her head bowed all the while, clenching the fabric of her pristeen summer dress, porcelain face flushing red and bouncing one knee back and forth nervously. "T-Thank you sir.. C-Could I borrow your wrench please?" her voice almost cracked at the last sentence, seeming absolutely terrified.
"Ermmm..." The man paused for a moment, taken aback by the question. "Why do you need a wrench?"
Raising her ocean blue eyes to meet his for a split second, it all seemed to become too much for her. Sniffling, tears began to splash gently to the filthy path, "I.. I'm sorry! I... I...!" she apologised, bowing again and again as she pleaded with him.
"Miss? Is everything okay?" The man asked.
Seeming to freeze, cheeks glistening with her fallen tears, the young woman backed away inch by inch, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "I.. I don't want to go.. They.." she choked up, eyes cast low not meeting his eyes.
"Listen, if something's going on you need to talk to the constabulary." The man said in a stern but kind voice. "Are these people doing somethin illegal?"
A transformation seemed to wash over this previously bawling woman, immediately ceasing to seem even remotely upset. Planting her hands on her hips, she leaned to one side and stuck her tongue out at the grizzled man. "You're no fun, mister~" she teased, tilting her head a little.
"What in the hell?-" The man began, before realizing what was going on. "Listen missy, if you're going to go around messin with people like that, you best be prepared to deal with folks who ain't quite as kind as I am."
"Psssh.." she blew him off, switching her leaning posture to twirl a slender finger around her golden locks. "Just a bit of fun, dad. I can handle myself, yaknow?" she played with him, seeming to revel in the emotions playing on his face.
"Why you little..." The man grumbled, before waving his wrench dismissively. "Get outta here, you've been nothin but a nuisance, leadin me on like that."
The pink-clad woman giggled, raising one dainty hand to her lips as she did. Winking seductively, she leaned forwards, giving him a good look at her 'from the top down'. "Leading you on, huh? Hope we meet again, big guy~"
With that, she twirled on the spot, her thin summer dress dancing with the movement, glancing over her shoulder. Waving a few times with rosy cheeks, the woman made her way towards B-12.
Humming, the daintly-looking woman half skipped half walked towards the bay, a beaming smile on her face as if amused. Finally, she spotted the Araxie, sitting majestically in the port, a young man nearby.
A mischevious smirk on her face, she sidled up to the nearest cover, some cargo crates under netting. Testing the light current in the room for a moment, the woman tossed the paper she had been clutching into the wind. As if on queue, the message whipped around the crates in the breeze, hopping across the tarmac towards him. Crying out in dismay, she broke from the cover, chasing after the paper as if it had been torn from her hand, straight towards Alex.
Alex didn't notice the cry of dismay, but did notice the slip of paper as it tumbled by like a tumbleweed, and he ran out to get it in case it was important. He jumped and slid, catching it, but also inadvertandly laying himself out right in the young woman's path.
Apparently unable to slow down in time, the blonde girl exclaimed a "Waaahh-!" of horror, slim arms windmilling as her summer shoes slightly caught Alex's leg and she stumbled. It looked like she was about to fall but was trying to stay upright best she could.
Alex's leg let out a dull thump as the foot collided with it. He let out a yelp and curled upwards, attempting to gain a sitting position, the paper clenched in a fist as he grasped at his knee, and his head was brought into painful contact with the young woman's side with force.
The pilot's head knocking against her side made her lose balance completely, toppling to one side like a falling tower. Spinning as she did, bright teal eyes filled with a look of eeeek the young woman fell chest-to-chest onto Alex, her hands acting as suspension as they touched the ground so her extra weight wasn't so obvious - that would spoil her fun.
Alex grunted as she fell, her weight, while not entirely apparant to the young pilot, knocked the wind out of him, and he let out a gust of breath as the air was driven from his lungs. His head spun a bit and he fell, spread-eagle, underneath the strange girl.
"Owww..."
"Oh my-! I'm so sorry!" she apologized, eyes wide with shock at the situation.
Rubbing against him a little as she got her knees to touch the ground - sort of inadvertently straddling him - she scrambled off his form. Brushing herself down as she stood, the blonde turned back and bowed repeatedly. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
Alex winced and stood up. "It's okay." He said, though he grimaced and kneeled, gripping his leg.
Her expression quickly slipped from one of apology to one of concern. Kneeling down, she rested her hands on her knees - apparently unaware she was wearing a short dress - looking over Alex's legs. "A-Are you hurt?" she seemed worried, a little tremble creeping into her voice.
Alex stood up with some effort. "I'm fine. I think. I should probably have someone look at that later." He held out the scrap of paper, now crumpled into a ball. "Is this yours? Sorry if it is, I kind of scrunched it up."
Relief visibly flushing her expression, she smiled in appreciation, accepting the little ball of creases. "Thanks.. I was trying to find a ship.. Uhm.." she seemed to frown a fraction, smoothing out the item in her soft hands. "..Apaxie..? Or is that Ardaxie? I can't tell..."
Alex did a double tank for a moment, but then composed himself. "Uh, well this is the Araxie." He pointed to the ship in bay B-12, which was sitting inside the bay with his fighter.
She seemed a little surprised, scouring the hull until she spotted the ship's name emblazoned on one side. "Oh! Do.. Do you know the Captain?" the short woman's eyes flitted between the Araxie and Alex. "Uso sent me.. uhm.." he trailed off, unsure how much she should let on.
"I don't know if there is a captain per se," Alex said, scratching the back of his head, "But I own the ship I guess."
Her eyes lit up with realisation, "Oh!" Then it hit her, "OH!", glancing down to the leg she had smashed into not a few seconds prior. "W-Well.. Here's my transfer papers.." the woman glazed over the little incident, passing the crumpled message back to him with a little smile. "Sorry about their condition, sir, unforseen circumstances." the woman giggled at her own joke for a moment.
"It's fine." Alex said. He didn't really even look at the papers, he just pocketed them. "So who're you?"
"I'm Chi! I'm good at diplomacy and Uso thought you might need an extra pair of hands!" she replied, obviously excited to have turned up in the right place. "I think she mentioned your name but.." the blonde screwed up her face, as if trying to remember.
"Alex. I'm Alex." The young pilot held out a hand to Chi. "It's nice to meet you Chi."
"Good to meet you, Alex." Chi accepted the shake with a broad smile, casting her attention to the Araxie as they broke contact. "Sooo~ Can I have a look inside? Or.. do you want me to find someone to help with that leg, Alex?"
"Ahhhh, it'll probably be fine..." Alex mumbled. "Sure. You can pick any free room you want."
The two crewmembers made their way casually to the entrance of the well-kept vessel. Poking her head inside, Chi swept a few locks of gold from her eyes and tucked them behind her ear. "Woah, it's nice!" she seemed impressed, surveying the interior before stepping in eagerly.
Heels rapping silently on the metal floor, the young woman took a good look through each doorway they happened to pass. Finally, she stopped before a bedroom tucked away midway along the ship, "Mhm.. I like this one."
"Cool. You can have it then." Alex said.
"Awesome.." she swept inside, plonking herself down onto the sparse yet functional bed. She almost went to kick off her shoes but realised she had forgotten the rest of the ship in her rush. "Oh, right." Mentally, she discounted the toilet and eating areas knowing she'd never use such things. "So, where's the bridge..?"
"It's this way." Alex said as he gestured towards the bridge of the craft.
"Okey-dokey. Lead on, Alex." she smiled, pushing back off the floofy mattress to her feet and trailing behind the young man, hands clasped behind her back as she looked over everything they passed.
Alex lead the way to the compact bridge, which was somewhat messy, with meal package wrapping, and a thick,warm blanket in the pilot's seat where Araxie usually sat.
Chi nodded a few times as she swept into the bridge area, glancing across the work surfaces and dials. "Nice setup.." she mused, tapping the nearest gauge as she did, long hair trailing into her gaze. "So, where's the rest of the crew..?" Chi asked, watching the little indicator arrow on the dial dance and bob from her tapping.
"Araxie is probably asleep right now, and Evee is probably out looking for spare parts."
"Araxie and.. Evee?" she mentally logged the names of the other crew, deciding to look them over herself. As if starting into space, trying to remember, the Freespacer accessed her database that linked to USO, searching for their personnel files. A Elysian and a Helashio, interesting combination - interesting records as well. "Mhm, I can't wait to meet them."
"They're the pilot of the ship and our mechanic, respectively. By the way, what are you good at?" Alex asked.
Chi made a "oooh" sound as she thought, tapping her chin lightly a few times as she thought. "Wellll.. I do a bit of everything. I'm good at mathsy things and piloting but I mostly know languages and diplomacy." the petite woman finished, patting her sides and rocking back and forwards as if waiting for something to do.
"Well that's good." Alex responded. "I'm... not so good at talking to people."
"Mmm.. Well it's just knowing what they like to see in people and showing those qualities to them..?" she pondered out loud, leaning up against a nearby wall as she talked. "Tends to get people to open up. Is there anyone else around right now by the way?"
"I think Araxie is around at the moment, but she's sleeping." Alex said.
Almost as if on cue, the door to the bridge slid open with a pneumatic hiss, procuring from its opposing side a sleepy-looking Elysian woman with dull silver eyes and cobalt-colored wings, nearly perfectly matching the identification photo of Araxie Serai within Chi's database. She yawned loudly, standing in the doorway, before asking, "I heard voices... Who's this, Alex?" Drunk on fatigue, the young angel had herself clad loosely and modestly in a large, pale pink nightrobe.
Alex walked over to Araxie and patted her on the head affectionately, causing her to wince slightly in an adorable way. "Araxie, this is Chi. She said that Uso sent her."
The daintily-clad newcomer gave Araxie a little curtsey as her golden eyes took in the Elysian's form. "Nice to meet you, Araxie." she smiled warmly, "Alex has just been showing me around the place.." Chi turned to nod to the young man in gratitude, then gave another nod to Araxie. "I hear you're quite the pilot too!"
"Hm, more people is pretty nice to have on board," Araxie stated as she leaned forward a little and set a portion of her weight onto Alex lazily. "Well, thanks for that, Miss Chi! I try my best, and its helped that I've had experience with similar ships in the past." The woman's silvery eyes seemed to brighten and clear a little, as her blood started to move more quickly from her walking about to find the source of the people who were talking.
A small smirk danced onto Chi's rosy lips, these two seemed cute together. Making as if to clear her throat - despite the fact she didn't actually need to breathe - the new recruit spoke up. "Where abouts in Elysia are you from, Miss Araxie?" she spoke in near-perfect Seraphim, the tip of a foot idly scuffing on the floor in what could be interpreted as a nervous tick.
"Hm? Oh, just a little town, really. nothing too special..." By instinct, the hummingbirb had responded in her own native language, before blinking for a moment in confusion. She continued in Trade, "You know Seraphim?"
The apparent linguist that was Chi-Chi nodded excitely, her smirk growing to a little smile. "Yep, I know almost any language you can think of!" While the others would likely think she was being metophorical, she was telling the literal truth and thought the others would think that too. The disguised Automata examined Araxie's wings as she spoke - from all the Elysians she'd met none had been that shape.
"Really?" Alex asked. "How many is that?"
"2,093. Ish. Right now anyway, I'm sure there's more I can learn." Chi beamed, delighted such interest was being taken in her work.
Araxie's mind visually stalled as it worked through Chi's sentence, the sleepy elysian blinking confusedly for a moment. "Two... Thousand? That's quite impressive, Miss Chi..." Serai pulled out a smile towards the newest member of her boyfriend's crew, while also standing up straight again-holding some formality again, despite being still quite underdressed in her nightrobe. From what she could see, Chi noticed the hummingbirb's plumage was in a sort of disarray-many primaries misaligned and, despite the pretty color, rather messy looking.
Alex let out an impressed whistle when he heard the rather impressive number. "I'll be honest, I didn't know there were even 100."
Chi nodded, blushing a little at their praise. "Thank you both.." she grinned sheepishly, rubbing her hands together behind her back. Noting how sleepy and disoriented Araxie appeared, she tileted her head to one side, hair tousling as she did. "I could get set up in my room and come back when you guys are ready?" the short woman offered politely to the pair. She did just appear out of the blue after all.
"That sounds like a good idea. I have some work I still need to get done anyways." Alex responded. He seemed to have taken this whole new development in stride, as he did many things in his life.
Alex sat underneath his fighter, which was out on the tarmac next to the Araxie. He was checking out its systems, looking for any problems with the engines that he had helped to design.
Occupied as he was, he did not notice a short, bouncy girl making her way across the busy dockward, an alien sight in this area bustling with burly haulers and mercenaries. Pink summer dress blowing behind her as she wandered around, the young woman seemed to be looking for something in particular, a small parchment note crumpled in one small hand.
A muscled worker, who seemed to be a mechanic judging by the wrench in his hand and the oil and grease stains on his shirt, approached the woman. Speaking in a kind voice unexpected from someone of that size and build, he asked her "Excuse me miss, is there something you need? You look kinda lost."
The blonde-haired girl seemed to jump out of her skin, backing away a little from this man instinctively. Dainty shoes scuffing on the stone-strewn walkway, she looked up at him with puppy eyes. "I.. I'm looking for this ship.. My master has told me they require me, sir...", she muttered, bowing her head in embarassment, thrusting the crumpled paper forwards.
The man put up his hands. "Aw geez miss, I didn't mean to scare ya. Lemmie take a look at that for ya." He said, as his meaty hands grasped the paper. He squinted for a moment and then reached into a pocket to pull out what looked like a crude pair of reading glasses.
"Lesse here..." The man said as he scrutinized the writing. "You'll be lookin for plot B-12, over that-a-ways."
She kept her head bowed all the while, clenching the fabric of her pristeen summer dress, porcelain face flushing red and bouncing one knee back and forth nervously. "T-Thank you sir.. C-Could I borrow your wrench please?" her voice almost cracked at the last sentence, seeming absolutely terrified.
"Ermmm..." The man paused for a moment, taken aback by the question. "Why do you need a wrench?"
Raising her ocean blue eyes to meet his for a split second, it all seemed to become too much for her. Sniffling, tears began to splash gently to the filthy path, "I.. I'm sorry! I... I...!" she apologised, bowing again and again as she pleaded with him.
"Miss? Is everything okay?" The man asked.
Seeming to freeze, cheeks glistening with her fallen tears, the young woman backed away inch by inch, wrapping her arms around herself tightly. "I.. I don't want to go.. They.." she choked up, eyes cast low not meeting his eyes.
"Listen, if something's going on you need to talk to the constabulary." The man said in a stern but kind voice. "Are these people doing somethin illegal?"
A transformation seemed to wash over this previously bawling woman, immediately ceasing to seem even remotely upset. Planting her hands on her hips, she leaned to one side and stuck her tongue out at the grizzled man. "You're no fun, mister~" she teased, tilting her head a little.
"What in the hell?-" The man began, before realizing what was going on. "Listen missy, if you're going to go around messin with people like that, you best be prepared to deal with folks who ain't quite as kind as I am."
"Psssh.." she blew him off, switching her leaning posture to twirl a slender finger around her golden locks. "Just a bit of fun, dad. I can handle myself, yaknow?" she played with him, seeming to revel in the emotions playing on his face.
"Why you little..." The man grumbled, before waving his wrench dismissively. "Get outta here, you've been nothin but a nuisance, leadin me on like that."
The pink-clad woman giggled, raising one dainty hand to her lips as she did. Winking seductively, she leaned forwards, giving him a good look at her 'from the top down'. "Leading you on, huh? Hope we meet again, big guy~"
With that, she twirled on the spot, her thin summer dress dancing with the movement, glancing over her shoulder. Waving a few times with rosy cheeks, the woman made her way towards B-12.
Humming, the daintly-looking woman half skipped half walked towards the bay, a beaming smile on her face as if amused. Finally, she spotted the Araxie, sitting majestically in the port, a young man nearby.
A mischevious smirk on her face, she sidled up to the nearest cover, some cargo crates under netting. Testing the light current in the room for a moment, the woman tossed the paper she had been clutching into the wind. As if on queue, the message whipped around the crates in the breeze, hopping across the tarmac towards him. Crying out in dismay, she broke from the cover, chasing after the paper as if it had been torn from her hand, straight towards Alex.
Alex didn't notice the cry of dismay, but did notice the slip of paper as it tumbled by like a tumbleweed, and he ran out to get it in case it was important. He jumped and slid, catching it, but also inadvertandly laying himself out right in the young woman's path.
Apparently unable to slow down in time, the blonde girl exclaimed a "Waaahh-!" of horror, slim arms windmilling as her summer shoes slightly caught Alex's leg and she stumbled. It looked like she was about to fall but was trying to stay upright best she could.
Alex's leg let out a dull thump as the foot collided with it. He let out a yelp and curled upwards, attempting to gain a sitting position, the paper clenched in a fist as he grasped at his knee, and his head was brought into painful contact with the young woman's side with force.
The pilot's head knocking against her side made her lose balance completely, toppling to one side like a falling tower. Spinning as she did, bright teal eyes filled with a look of eeeek the young woman fell chest-to-chest onto Alex, her hands acting as suspension as they touched the ground so her extra weight wasn't so obvious - that would spoil her fun.
Alex grunted as she fell, her weight, while not entirely apparant to the young pilot, knocked the wind out of him, and he let out a gust of breath as the air was driven from his lungs. His head spun a bit and he fell, spread-eagle, underneath the strange girl.
"Owww..."
"Oh my-! I'm so sorry!" she apologized, eyes wide with shock at the situation.
Rubbing against him a little as she got her knees to touch the ground - sort of inadvertently straddling him - she scrambled off his form. Brushing herself down as she stood, the blonde turned back and bowed repeatedly. "I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
Alex winced and stood up. "It's okay." He said, though he grimaced and kneeled, gripping his leg.
Her expression quickly slipped from one of apology to one of concern. Kneeling down, she rested her hands on her knees - apparently unaware she was wearing a short dress - looking over Alex's legs. "A-Are you hurt?" she seemed worried, a little tremble creeping into her voice.
Alex stood up with some effort. "I'm fine. I think. I should probably have someone look at that later." He held out the scrap of paper, now crumpled into a ball. "Is this yours? Sorry if it is, I kind of scrunched it up."
Relief visibly flushing her expression, she smiled in appreciation, accepting the little ball of creases. "Thanks.. I was trying to find a ship.. Uhm.." she seemed to frown a fraction, smoothing out the item in her soft hands. "..Apaxie..? Or is that Ardaxie? I can't tell..."
Alex did a double tank for a moment, but then composed himself. "Uh, well this is the Araxie." He pointed to the ship in bay B-12, which was sitting inside the bay with his fighter.
She seemed a little surprised, scouring the hull until she spotted the ship's name emblazoned on one side. "Oh! Do.. Do you know the Captain?" the short woman's eyes flitted between the Araxie and Alex. "Uso sent me.. uhm.." he trailed off, unsure how much she should let on.
"I don't know if there is a captain per se," Alex said, scratching the back of his head, "But I own the ship I guess."
Her eyes lit up with realisation, "Oh!" Then it hit her, "OH!", glancing down to the leg she had smashed into not a few seconds prior. "W-Well.. Here's my transfer papers.." the woman glazed over the little incident, passing the crumpled message back to him with a little smile. "Sorry about their condition, sir, unforseen circumstances." the woman giggled at her own joke for a moment.
"It's fine." Alex said. He didn't really even look at the papers, he just pocketed them. "So who're you?"
"I'm Chi! I'm good at diplomacy and Uso thought you might need an extra pair of hands!" she replied, obviously excited to have turned up in the right place. "I think she mentioned your name but.." the blonde screwed up her face, as if trying to remember.
"Alex. I'm Alex." The young pilot held out a hand to Chi. "It's nice to meet you Chi."
"Good to meet you, Alex." Chi accepted the shake with a broad smile, casting her attention to the Araxie as they broke contact. "Sooo~ Can I have a look inside? Or.. do you want me to find someone to help with that leg, Alex?"
"Ahhhh, it'll probably be fine..." Alex mumbled. "Sure. You can pick any free room you want."
The two crewmembers made their way casually to the entrance of the well-kept vessel. Poking her head inside, Chi swept a few locks of gold from her eyes and tucked them behind her ear. "Woah, it's nice!" she seemed impressed, surveying the interior before stepping in eagerly.
Heels rapping silently on the metal floor, the young woman took a good look through each doorway they happened to pass. Finally, she stopped before a bedroom tucked away midway along the ship, "Mhm.. I like this one."
"Cool. You can have it then." Alex said.
"Awesome.." she swept inside, plonking herself down onto the sparse yet functional bed. She almost went to kick off her shoes but realised she had forgotten the rest of the ship in her rush. "Oh, right." Mentally, she discounted the toilet and eating areas knowing she'd never use such things. "So, where's the bridge..?"
"It's this way." Alex said as he gestured towards the bridge of the craft.
"Okey-dokey. Lead on, Alex." she smiled, pushing back off the floofy mattress to her feet and trailing behind the young man, hands clasped behind her back as she looked over everything they passed.
Alex lead the way to the compact bridge, which was somewhat messy, with meal package wrapping, and a thick,warm blanket in the pilot's seat where Araxie usually sat.
Chi nodded a few times as she swept into the bridge area, glancing across the work surfaces and dials. "Nice setup.." she mused, tapping the nearest gauge as she did, long hair trailing into her gaze. "So, where's the rest of the crew..?" Chi asked, watching the little indicator arrow on the dial dance and bob from her tapping.
"Araxie is probably asleep right now, and Evee is probably out looking for spare parts."
"Araxie and.. Evee?" she mentally logged the names of the other crew, deciding to look them over herself. As if starting into space, trying to remember, the Freespacer accessed her database that linked to USO, searching for their personnel files. A Elysian and a Helashio, interesting combination - interesting records as well. "Mhm, I can't wait to meet them."
"They're the pilot of the ship and our mechanic, respectively. By the way, what are you good at?" Alex asked.
Chi made a "oooh" sound as she thought, tapping her chin lightly a few times as she thought. "Wellll.. I do a bit of everything. I'm good at mathsy things and piloting but I mostly know languages and diplomacy." the petite woman finished, patting her sides and rocking back and forwards as if waiting for something to do.
"Well that's good." Alex responded. "I'm... not so good at talking to people."
"Mmm.. Well it's just knowing what they like to see in people and showing those qualities to them..?" she pondered out loud, leaning up against a nearby wall as she talked. "Tends to get people to open up. Is there anyone else around right now by the way?"
"I think Araxie is around at the moment, but she's sleeping." Alex said.
Almost as if on cue, the door to the bridge slid open with a pneumatic hiss, procuring from its opposing side a sleepy-looking Elysian woman with dull silver eyes and cobalt-colored wings, nearly perfectly matching the identification photo of Araxie Serai within Chi's database. She yawned loudly, standing in the doorway, before asking, "I heard voices... Who's this, Alex?" Drunk on fatigue, the young angel had herself clad loosely and modestly in a large, pale pink nightrobe.
Alex walked over to Araxie and patted her on the head affectionately, causing her to wince slightly in an adorable way. "Araxie, this is Chi. She said that Uso sent her."
The daintily-clad newcomer gave Araxie a little curtsey as her golden eyes took in the Elysian's form. "Nice to meet you, Araxie." she smiled warmly, "Alex has just been showing me around the place.." Chi turned to nod to the young man in gratitude, then gave another nod to Araxie. "I hear you're quite the pilot too!"
"Hm, more people is pretty nice to have on board," Araxie stated as she leaned forward a little and set a portion of her weight onto Alex lazily. "Well, thanks for that, Miss Chi! I try my best, and its helped that I've had experience with similar ships in the past." The woman's silvery eyes seemed to brighten and clear a little, as her blood started to move more quickly from her walking about to find the source of the people who were talking.
A small smirk danced onto Chi's rosy lips, these two seemed cute together. Making as if to clear her throat - despite the fact she didn't actually need to breathe - the new recruit spoke up. "Where abouts in Elysia are you from, Miss Araxie?" she spoke in near-perfect Seraphim, the tip of a foot idly scuffing on the floor in what could be interpreted as a nervous tick.
"Hm? Oh, just a little town, really. nothing too special..." By instinct, the hummingbirb had responded in her own native language, before blinking for a moment in confusion. She continued in Trade, "You know Seraphim?"
The apparent linguist that was Chi-Chi nodded excitely, her smirk growing to a little smile. "Yep, I know almost any language you can think of!" While the others would likely think she was being metophorical, she was telling the literal truth and thought the others would think that too. The disguised Automata examined Araxie's wings as she spoke - from all the Elysians she'd met none had been that shape.
"Really?" Alex asked. "How many is that?"
"2,093. Ish. Right now anyway, I'm sure there's more I can learn." Chi beamed, delighted such interest was being taken in her work.
Araxie's mind visually stalled as it worked through Chi's sentence, the sleepy elysian blinking confusedly for a moment. "Two... Thousand? That's quite impressive, Miss Chi..." Serai pulled out a smile towards the newest member of her boyfriend's crew, while also standing up straight again-holding some formality again, despite being still quite underdressed in her nightrobe. From what she could see, Chi noticed the hummingbirb's plumage was in a sort of disarray-many primaries misaligned and, despite the pretty color, rather messy looking.
Alex let out an impressed whistle when he heard the rather impressive number. "I'll be honest, I didn't know there were even 100."
Chi nodded, blushing a little at their praise. "Thank you both.." she grinned sheepishly, rubbing her hands together behind her back. Noting how sleepy and disoriented Araxie appeared, she tileted her head to one side, hair tousling as she did. "I could get set up in my room and come back when you guys are ready?" the short woman offered politely to the pair. She did just appear out of the blue after all.
"That sounds like a good idea. I have some work I still need to get done anyways." Alex responded. He seemed to have taken this whole new development in stride, as he did many things in his life.
