2022-04-10: Sunshine Clause

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<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

For those who didn't hear it: Milly Ashford is still President of Ashford Academy's Student Council. She has, to all accounts, failed every single one of her exams with a suspiciously exact range of scores between 48% and 49.5%.

You're stuck with her, which means sometimes dealing with absolutely insane ideas, like 'Let's have our first Student Council meeting in Nouvelle Tokyo! There's nothing in our charter that says where to have meetings...'

The good news is that she's taken it upon herself to handle all the logistical elements -- getting train tickets to the other side of the border (one of the harder parts), finding a good meeting space... and, of course, putting out the call to other student councils to hold their meetings in the same spots.

She didn't tell anyone at Ashford about that last part. She's actually organized that entirely online, through a variety of proxies. This... has actually further increased the scope of the event, since there have been a lot of redundant calls outward and a lot of mixed messages about which schools are getting reached out to.

(THREE DAYS AGO, IN TSUTSUJIDAI: Rivalz Cardemonde accidentally spends too much money playing shogi with a girl with long, dark hair, after definitely feeling like he delivered the message to the right school.)

(TWO DAYS AGO, IN NOUVELLE TOKYO: Nina Einstein steps on a less-than-lethal landmine at Jindai High School. She skips a Sheryl Nome concert she has tickets for to go directly back to her room and freak out. In spite of this: message received.)


"And that's how much discretionary bonus funding we've allocated for competitive event victories!" Milly declares, proudly, to the assembled Ashford students -- a mix of individual club representatives and actual Student Council members. "Do you have any questions specific to that before we move to open forum?" Despite the insane ask of holding this meeting in *another country*, Milly has actually conducted the meeting, up to this point, like... any other start-of-year student council meeting. She has a whiteboard and everything.

"These multipliers on club budget," comes an ask from the Equestrian Club's representative -- a young Britannian man whose father is a duke, "do they *stack*? If we handle *two* of your insane demands, does our budget double, and then dou --"

Milly interrupts him with a whiteboard marker directly to the forehead, butt-first, thrown at anti-tank dagger speeds.

"Only if your father doubles our *endowment*," she says, with a too-sweet smile on her face.
Lelouch_Lamperouge teleports in. 

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

As this is a school function, we are back to Standard Procedure, with a Kallen that is brushed down, demure, and (almost) unfailingly polite. The scheming girl from the concert is nowhere to be seen, though there are, at most, three people who could POSSIBLY know anything at all about that, and really, the odds of C.C. showing up to this meeting are so low they're basically subterranean.

Really setting herself up for disaster with that mindset.

Of course, she'd brought along drinks for everyone as part of her contribution to the meeting. Far more than they really ought to need, as per instruction, though WHY she'd been slipped a written notice to bring so much extra is beyond her. Was Milly just staving off the possibility of a surprise heatwave striking? She can't hope to know. She has no immediate questions to pose at the meeting, though there is a suggestion she's had bubbling around for some time. Perhaps she'll bring it up after a few other rounds of questions and ideas.
POT: Heero Yuy is now set observer. 

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.


Days ago, there was word of this thing going on. And well... Sho Muramoto was unfortunately the elected sacrificial representative in this craziness for the newspaper club.

How that happened?

First he's Japanese born, so he's probably one of the few that is not a lot of trouble to bring across the border.

And second it's because he beat up most of the more physical clubs just to avoid having to represent muscle brained athletic types.

The newspaper club got him instead. Sho Muramoto might be some sort of partial delinquent, but he at least did happen to have a good grasp on what the newspaper club would want. And he was secretly recording these shenanigans for the school newspaper as well. Camera phones in the jacket pocket for the win!

That being said, he was now sitting there eyeing Milly and wondering perhaps if this was an inadvertent fund raiser bit to get more for their annual school festival thing or something else.

And well, he's been mostly quiet so far. After eyeing what happened to the Equestrian Club member, Sho finally decides to say something. "So what are you planning this time around? Not that we have too much of a problem with some of the demands in the newspaper club so far."

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Banneret has posed.

Agatha Banneret is in attendance, here to propose a new club--she's sure it will be a hit, she's just trying to decide on the best thing to call it. 'Knight Club' sounds too much like a gag, but it's like a terrible earworm--no matter what else Agatha tries to think of, Knight Club keeps shoving it out of the way.

And so Agatha is quiet for now, frowning in frustrated contemplation. 

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Sheryl Nome is touring right now. She is thus incredibly busy, having just put on her first Earth Sphere concert yesterday, and there are still twenty-seven locations left across the globe for her to perform at before she hits her finale and returns to Frontier.
        
        After that, though, she intends on taking a hiatus from work to focus on school, and the school year is about to start, so if she's not going to be there for the first month or two because she's over in the OAC shaking her moneymaker, then she figures she should *at least* pop her head into this meeting that Milly Ashford called to see what she ought to expect for the coming year once she's back. She might not be able to stick around for the whole thing--the only reason she's here at all is because Nouvelle Tokyo is on the way to the next stop on her tour--so she doesn't really have *all* the details about how this is supposed to go, but she'd like to do at least that much.
        
        Which means that she needs to come incognito, which means she needs a couple of unassuming escorts that aren't her decidedly not-school-age manager, which means Sheryl has dragged her favorite two people along with her. Why not? Alto and Ranka are Mihoshi Academy students too. Alto's been a student there for a while, even, so he's a better representative for it than either her or Ranka.
        
        So when she barges (yes, *barges*) into the Ashford cross-school student council meeting, it's in the Mihoshi Academy school uniform with a cute white cap atop her head, under which almost all of her long golden hair has been wrapped up. Only two long, thick strands on either side of her face remain. She's got a large, round pair of shades on to obscure her eyes and part of her face to go with it. At a glance, she looks like any other student from the space school.
        
        Well, aside from the fact that she just shoved the door open with precisely zero shame, her companions in her wake.
        
        "Hiii! Mihoshi Academy representatives here!" she cheers, raising a hand as if to wave to the crowd. "We haven't missed the meeting, have we? It's hard to get the timing right when you're coming in from orbit!" Not that she did, in fact, come in from orbit, but again: she's supposed to be incognito, at least to start.
        
        For the same reason, she turns to her companions, impatiently grabbing at Alto's closest arm (though she may not *actually* grab him if he's quick enough) while mysteriously leaving Ranka unaccosted. "Come on, get in here! You're supposed to be the leader here, so act like it!"
        
        Who the leader is supposed to be of the three of them, or whether there's actually supposed to be a 'leader' at all, is unclear. However, Sheryl decided it, so it must be so. Probably.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally Lamperouge is not a high schooler -- but she's an honourary member of the Student Council, representing the middle schoolers. It would be strange if she weren't part of the proceedings, given where she lives. But right now, they're out in --

        It's always a little complicated travelling by train; while the Student Council is all there to help her, they have to get station attendants to unfold a ramp to let her get on and alight, and they have to travel in the one specific area designed for wheelchair accessibility in mind. (This, generally, involves putting some seating up, which isn't popular. Luckily, Nunnally can't see any of the looks they might be getting.) The good news is that the parks are usually the easy part, in a place with clean paths like Tokyo.

        (Oh, there aren't clean paths everywhere in Japan, given the fighting -- but Nunnally doesn't go to damaged places.)

        The first thing she noticed, with that ever-present smile on her face... is that the flowers feel the same, both here and further south.

        The second thing she noticed, about Milly...

        Well, anyway, here's the budget meeting, and Nunnally is dutiful enough not to interrupt Milly's schemes. (She'd call them something more bureaucratic, but that would be a lie.) She's facing the whiteboard, likely entirely due to a spot of help from the people around her, because her eyes haven't opened once since this began. She reaches up, with a hand, feeling the correct direction to reach out to her big brother Lelouch -- and the contact is a quiet aside comment to him about Milly's efforts.

        (A pleased little smile like that isn't interrupting Milly's schemes.)

        Of course, Nunnally's ideas about interrupting proceedings are apparently not shared by everyone. A bombastic presence approaches, and her head turns, as the door opens. "...?" She asks, a vocalisation made almost entirely of her lips parting. "... oh!" Nunnally can still be surprised about who's here, even if she was involved in some of these schemes, herself. She's certainly heard Sheryl's voice before; she's a teenage girl, after all.

        Nunnally giggles, looking up to Lelouch. "So, that's what Milly's up to!" She remarks, cheerfully, before she turns her face back to the visitors. She has an entirely peaceable aura, welcoming and gentle, all carried in her smile. "Welcome to the meeting," she tells them -- all -- one-two-three of them, she supposes.


<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.


Alto looks a little annoyed at being here as he follows Sheryl in.

        Partly because he got roped into this.

        Partly because he doesn't actually care all that much about the logistics of running clubs or the like. He always left that part to Luca, the genius corporate heir, so that Alto could keep his focus just on the actual flying part.

        Partly because he just got grabbed by the arm and suddenly named leader, "Wait what? Why me?" Alto grumbles, "You're the one who's hyped for the new school year, not me!"

        Admittedly, Alto has some interest in the exchange program with Ashford if only because he's heard that there are a bunch of pilots at the school. And it gives him more reason to stay around for a while and fly some more in Earth's skies.

        But that doesn't mean he wants to actually be the one running it all! Alto gives Ranka a look that practically cries 'help'.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.


It's been quite a journey from Macross City back to here, but Ranka is all too willing to be part of Sheryl's cover that she is in fact a super normal student and not the Galactic Fairy.

All the same the way she barges into the Ashford Academy meeting leaves the Meltrandi blooded girl with her hair rising in surprise on both sides before it falls.

"Aha... yes. We're here. Sorry we're a little late." She apologizes, and waves to a few familiar faces discretely. As Sheryl (mysteriously) grabs Alto's arm she watches - surprised and perhaps mildly scandalized purely because of how shy she is rather than scandalized because of Sheryl's behavior.

Just as mysteriously there's very little Sheryl could do to make Ranka think less of her.

Alto though looks to her for help, and while Ranka looks at him in wonder. Is he nervous about this kind of thing...? She is too, so she can relate...

...so in order to try and help him she cautiously takes a step forward, setting a a polite contrast for the other two with her after Nunnally welcomes them as she tries to take the lead, "It's very nice to meet you all. We're a long way from home and may not understand everything about schools here earthside..."

Ranka takes a demure but nervous bow, "...so please take care of us."


<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

Meetings always had the slightest, ever so bitter taste of dread in them. There's a few reasons why; The possibility of something going wrong. The possibility of misreading a situation. The chance that something might come up that conflicts with 'other' operations. Of course, having Milly Ashford as the President was always worth having that dread. In the good way, for a good school life, for good school charm.

Lelouch, as always, carried himself with the easygoingness of nonchalance. The train tickets served their purpose. With the quietest of sighs slipping from his lips, he blended lightly into the background; Truly this was the way that Milly had carried out things this year. If only he paid more attention to when this meeting was. Maybe he needed a better mental calendar.

In any case, a water bottle to his lips, and the dropoff of the many, many bags of chips as his own contribution to the meeting. Far more than he knew that the Ashford Student Council could possibly eat in multiple meetings, but this wasn't enough to investigate: This was, after all, Milly Ashford.

"Ah..." The slightest bit of surprise as everything clicked together. Hand grasping Nunally's hand in that simple reassuring grip, internally brightening for this alone. "Yes, it seems she's pulling something over on us all again." Not that he didn't have a smile at that. Easily adjustable. "Welcome to the Ashford Academy Student Council meeting." Directed right at the newcomers, however many they may be. "And you all are...?" Icebreaker, meet ice. 

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Jindai Municipal High School's student council have also set up their own off-site council meeting. THAT required...some doing. Mostly to set the stage.

As the sakura fall, there is the sound of a loud "hup! hup! hup! hup!" as what must be an athletics club practices in the fragrant air. But it's getting closer, until what is approaching is clear: A large palanquin, sized for two, on top of which sits two people in slightly modified uniforms of Jindai Municipal High School. One, a woman, has long purple hair and eyes the exact same shade, seated neatly in seiza on a cushion. The other, a man, seated similarly, has lilac hair and a white version of the usually black jacketed winter uniform. They are being carried by several ENORMOUS men in karate gi. Jindai's Rugby team was...not up to the task. The whole group is followed by a mixed collection of representatives who look...let's go with bemused.

They come up to the edge of the meeting, and the large karate men jointly kiai tremendously as they set the palanquin down.

The seated man flips open his paper fan. It says 'FIRST IMPRESSIONS' in calligraphy.

"Good evening," he introduces himself, in a smooth voice. "I am Atsunobu Hayashimizu, Student Council President of Jindai Municipal High School." He motions to his associate, adding, "And this is Ren Mikihara, our secretary. We are here to accept President Ashford's generous offer to participate in a diplomatic effort at intermural bureaucracy."

He fans himself gently.

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka's had a fun time of late, but her trip is soon coming to an end. Before she returns to Tsutsujidai to spend the rest of break with Hass, Namiko, and her other friends, though, there's one last event she has to attend. That being... a cross-school student council meeting?

Rikka's still not exactly sure how Tsutsujidai High School managed to get invited. Whoever arranged this must be very well connected. She isn't student council herself, being instead a member of the much-vaunted 'Go Home Club', but she's the one of the few students making a habit of venturing outside the city besides Hibiki, Utsumi, and apparently Shiranui Shirome, so she kind of got chosen to be the proxy by process of elimination.

School politics... are kind of a drag, but she guesses it might be interesting to see what schools are like on the other side of the border.

"...Hey. Uh, I'm Rikka Takarada, from Tsutsujidai High..." Rikka greets as she approaches the gathering and finds a seat... which is about when the Jindai High School representatives arrive in bombastic fashion. Rikka stares, a blank look on her face.

...Oh God, are all of them going to be like this??
Orpheus_Zevon teleports in. 

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

With a playful little smile, Milly decides to approach the Newspaper Club question first. "That... is a secret! We can't go directly to telling you every inter-club competition -- there's no fun in *that*. Besides, I usually play these things by ear."

A catlike smile crosses her face as other schools' representatives start to show up. "What's this? There are *other* schools doing their start-of-year meetings in the same spot?" she says, with characteristic exclusively-feigned surprise. "Well! Looks like we'll be letting open forum wait."

Milly has told no one (except Nunnally, who ought not be surprised in this *particular* way) about her plans here. Her eyebrow does rise, though, at the palanquin. "Hi there," she says, grinning. "So! The *real* reason we're meeting in Nouvelle Tokyo... is that I'm proud to announce Ashford Academy will be participating in several short-term exchange programs this year! Ashford Academy clubs and club resources will be available to other schools on a conditional basis with only 24 hours of prior notice. We're also handling visas for these trips... provisionally. There's a limit to how much we can do."

Milly reaches out for a bottle of soda, opens it, and takes a drink with a smirk. "Tsutsujidai?" she asks; her brow furrows a moment. Then, with a shrug, she says, "Oh well! One or two schools I didn't know about getting involved just keeps things interesting." 

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        "I'm a new transfer student! I don't know the ins and outs yet! What, are you saying you're going to force it all on Ranka-chan?" Sheryl shoots back at Alto. "You're the one with the most experience here, so you *should* take the lead!"
        
        But unfortunately, Alto signals to Ranka for help, and Ranka does in fact take it on herself to try to start over with a more polite greeting to the club. Sheryl looks at her bow and her please-take-care-of-us, looks over at the assembled students at large, and hastily dips into a bow too. She's barely ever been to school, who's to say this isn't what you're supposed to do? This nearly dislodges her cap, though, so she has to slam a hand atop her head to keep it where it is.
        
        Then the Jindai High representatives come running up, literally, and Sheryl decides that if an actual palanquin can fly, then it's stupid to try to blend in with fake humility and politeness. The only thing that saves this entire meeting from her trying to outdo them is that she is, at the moment, still trying to be a 'normal' girl. More or less.
        
        Fortunately, that little cutie in the wheelchair greets them with a smile, and she smiles back. "Thank you! We're very excited to be here," she tells Nunnally brightly. She turns her shaded gaze to the handsome young man holding hands with her and gives him a thoughtful look that doesn't at all break her stride. "Like I said, we're the Mihoshi Academy representatives! That's the school from the Macross Frontier colony ship that returned to Earth recently. This sweetheart here," she indicates Ranka to Lelouch and the others, "is Ranka Lee, a newcomer like me, and *this* strapping young man," she indicates Alto while her tongue rolls with *heavy* irony, "is our *fearless* leader, Alto Saotome."
        
        She notably does not introduce herself. Instead, she looks around the room and strides over to the nearest cluster of empty seats. "Drinks over here, please!" she calls, waving a hand to Kallen as she goes around the room. From here, she doesn't get a good look at her face and thus doesn't yet recognize her.
        
        Once she's seated, she'll cross her legs and take in the others' introductions. The Jindai reps are something else, of course, but Rikka... Sheryl peeks over her shades at her for a moment. Wasn't she...? Then she settles back with a private smile. Hmmmm...~
        
        When people ask Milly about this, and Milly feigns the *feigniest* of surprise, that smile turns into an outright giggle. Yes, she *does* have a good vibe about Madame President--especially since she doesn't keep it up *too* long. Chaos is grand fun and an important spice of life, but organization is *crucial*. 

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.


        To her own own surprise, Emilia didn't have any trouble getting sleep last night, after, well, a whole lot.

        That's what happens when you have an unmarred good experience, and nothing goes wrong, and people support you and you're exhausted. You have a good night's sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

        So when she's here at the student council meeting she's feeling... okay? Good, even?? She's not sure why the meeting is here, but the ways of a Milly are inscrutable to her, but she's starting to be okay with that. They've turned out okay so far.

        And as Milly requested, she's here to pay back a phone- and a secret- by representing her club at the student council meeting. She's dressed in her uniform, though, her long lavender hair in it's carefully maintained but just a little too floofy to be the hime cut it is intended today. She blinks at the talk of outrageous demands. I mean some of them are *clearly* impossible just for the sake of it, but also they're just examples, so maybe. Tentatively... VERY tentatively, Emilia raises a hand. "Um, Emilia Eschonbach," she tries to mumble through her surname, but it's audible. Nonetheless, SOME (notably noble) students throw some very derisive looks at her. There's a scoff from one of the reputable women's clubs. Emilia winces, but pretends she doesn't notice. "...representing the Fantasy Seduction Club-" Some other looks get cast her way. She decides to press on, taking a second to find her words. "A-are the funding multipliers proportional to club membership, or a straight increase in funding? Do they apply to bonuses from other events?" Money, Emilia can talk about. Managing, stretching it, making the most. She chooses not to engage the Equestrian club on multipliers, even though he's wrong. He could make her life hell.

        And then all the others barge on in! Hayashimazu is the most obvious, with his secretary and palanquin and karate men and Emilia is simply unequipped to perceive him as real, so she just sort of fades. Jindai though... isn't that were Mr Sagara was from? Her eyes turn to the girl from Tsutsujidai. She doesn't know where that school is either, but her blue black hair is gorgeous and long and a more courageous girl would ask to trade tips after the meeting. Emilia's not that courageous. Speaking up about money took up a lot.

        And- "Miss Ranka? Mr Alto?" She's not very loud, but she is surprised. She's happy to see Ranka again already- though she's still working out that feeling- but who is that loud student with them? With hints of blonde hair... and the voice... and the figure... Emilia blushes a little and shakes her head. It couldn't be. Surely not. Surely not.

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Banneret has posed.

Agatha nods appreciatively at Jindai High School's arrival. She is certainly impressed. It's the sort of bombast that may serve her well. Perhaps she can manage to contrive a little bit of that style to add weight to her club proposal.

Yes, that sounds like a good plan.

Now she needs to find a means to borrow some bombast. The other schools arriving, however, seem to be delaying the open forum.

Damn it, she needs to act quickly or be overlooked! So, she stands straighter, maximizing her rather diminutive height, and clears her throat loudly.

"Excuse me, everyone--I'm Agatha Banneret, a student at Ashford, and I want to propose..." She pauses, then grins. "An inter-school club, for anyone wishing to be like the Knights of old--a Chivalry Club!" At the last minute, a better name than Knight Club arrives, in the heat of the moment!

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.

Turning to look over at the arrival of the other schools, Sho Muramoto has himself a few seconds or two to blink. And the tromping in at least has Sho starting to stand. Karate men are pretty buff, after all, and Sho's not about to let some muscle brained types run over the meeting from the sounds of it.

Then he shakes his head and moves to get a drink as well, and to get a better view for the recording. He does grab his bag to set up an actual camera for this.

"Hm... an inter-school club..."

Then he seems to consider. He pulls a notepad as if something sparked on him after he has the camera setup to catch a good portion of the activities and starts to write down some things. An idea has somewhat formed, and he wonders if they can pull it off. But for now, he does the whole newspaper job thing of recording all of this. It's got to be a first that all these different schools are actively meeting, after all!

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

No wonder they needed so many supplies then. Kallen stands up carefully, smoothing down her skirt as she begins passing out the extra drinks to people. First, the Mihoshi Trio. She recognizes Alto and Ranka of course, but Sheryl's disguise has, for now, fooled her completely. Well, it can't be helped. She'll figure it out eventually, hearing her voice enough. She bows to them, as she hands over their drink choices from the expansive selection. "Kallen Stadtfeld, of the Ashford Student Council. It's a pleasure meeting you." She sounds ever so slightly tired and wispy, in the way she always does when she's disguised.

From there, she next offers a drink to the sole representative of Tsutsujidai, with a similar bow and introduction. A few other schools are gradually filtering in, and she'll be doing the same for them as she is every other school. And finally, she'll make her way to Jindai's gathering. The greater involved numbers, of course, mean she'll need to make multiple trips for everyone. All the while she's considering her idea, and Milly's proposal... yes, it's perfect for her idea! These other schools after all, they'd have access to machines other than the standard Knightmare or Wanzer, providing broader opportunity for education and defense, in the event of... Well, in the event of something like the concert attack. She sees no direct risk of backlash to this, as after all, the Black Knights would never have ANY reason to attack or invade Ashford. It's just not a valuable, significant, or suitably corrupt target.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally squeezes Lelouch's hand in turn, and her day brightens, too. She giggles, at the idea of Milly pulling the wool over their eyes. "She's clever that way!" She agrees, and elects not to say that Milly let her in on the secret. (She'll tell Lelouch later, of course. Hopefully, he's not busy tonight too, and they can eat dinner together.)

        "It's okay," Nunnally assures Ranka, smiling. "Coming to a new place can be quite a shock, but I'm sure you'll find warmth here, too."

        Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! Nunnally is blind, and so, the FIRST IMPRESSIONS are lost on her. She does hear the familiar sound of a paper fan opening, though, fanning through the air. She smiles, serene, to one Atsunobu Hayashimizu. "Welcome."

        There's one introduction which catches her ear, though -- the much more devastatingly normal trailing sentence of Rikka Takarada. "It's a little overwhelming, isn't it?" She asks, gently. "Please don't worry. Things can get exciting around Milly, but it's fun, really."

        Nunnally has an extremely optimistic view of Milly's Various Schemes, evidently. Is her role in Student Council... getting people to trust the Student Council?!

        Notably, despite Sheryl not introducing herself, Nunnally doesn't ask, despite the fact that she tilts her head a little as she considers her introduction. "... I'm Nunnally Lamperouge. Since I'm in middle school, I'm an honourary member of the Student Council for now." She introduces herself, releasing Lelouch's hand so she can gesture to herself -- and then to him, as she adds, proudly: "And this is my big brother!"

        Her face turns to Agatha, for a moment, as she proposes... well, her hand curls at her chest, for an uncertain moment, before she smiles to her, too. Her attention goes to Emilia, in turn, also representing one of their clubs -- what an impressive spread they have at Ashford! "I'm glad you've been able to meet people outside of school," Nunnally smiles, to Emilia, subtly pointing out the recognition.

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

One answer right after the other, the Vice President nodding in acceptance of each and every answer raining in. With the sudden entrance of multiple schools, this only meant one thing: More opportunities. "I didn't think that the planning would go this far, Milly. I hope that the visas aren't too much of a hassle...That is properly budgeted if we have problems, correct?"

Regardless of budgetary concerns, he maintained his easygoing self. Lightly leaned back, taking in the surroundings and the newcomers alike. Jindai. Tsutsujidai. Mihoshi. More and more. More opportunities, more...No, best not to mull over the downsides. There was a time for that.

Another sip of the water bottle. "The Frontier ship? I hope everything about Earth is as you expected." A light bow towards Sheryl and her group. "Lelouch Lamperouge, Vice President of the Ashford Student Council. If Milly's plan is a bit overbearing, then I can only suggest you strap in for the ride." Appearances were everything; so said his noble lineage. "And this is my little sister." A gesture right then and there, forming the perfect picture of Brother and Sister together.

He didn't bother to move away from Nunally. No need to. "A Chivalry club? Thumb against chin. "I don't think there's any similar club in Ashford, so you might have a chance." Best to wallow in the moment. Rest a bit. Relax.

Ah, another sip of water. It felt like a nervous tic, that.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto stares a little as Ranka greets everyone politely. Not exactly the help he was hoping for, but it's some help at least. Thankfully a distraction soon comes in the form of another school showing up...

        And Alto has to admit, it's an unusual entrance. He watches with some confusion as the Jindai representatives show up like some kind of conquering army. Alto looks on, confused as they are introduced. Man, Earth schools are weird...

        Unfortunately the distraction ends and Sheryl proceeds to throw some solid logic at Alto. Who finally sighs in resignation. He's probably not going to be able to avoid this, so he might as well do it. At which point he is introduced and so raises a hand in greeting, "Hi. Thanks for the welcome." Not quite the formal greeting that Ranka provided.

        Alto is subsequently dragged over to a place to sit, where he just shakes his head a little at a familiar demand for drinks from Sheryl. As Kallen arrives with them, he takes one, saying, "Sorry about her. She sort of like the Queen of our school. Thanks."

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Rikka is offered a drink, so she takes a quick look over the selection before picking one out. She doesn't do carbonated beverages, so she can be a little picky sometimes.

"Thanks." Rikka says with a nod, before turning her attention toward Nunally as she addresses her.

"...A little bit." Rikka admits. She's not entirely sure what she expected, but she does find she's starting to appreciate Tsutsujidai High's relative... normalcy, a bit more. The Mihoshi Academy representatives seem a bit more grounded(the irony of which isn't lost on her) - and did one of them just look at her? Maybe she's imagining things. But, Nunally's asking her not to worry in such a kind, gentle way, so... she'll power through it. "...I'll hang in there, then."

Speaking of Milly, she announces the reason for the meeting! Exchange trips with Ashford... That does sound interesting, though getting anyone into Tsutsujidai is a bit complicated, for obvious reasons.

...Though, despite being invited, it seems like Milly hasn't heard of Tsutsujidai before.

"We're a little smaller, so..." Rikka says. Good, that's a viable excuse, right? "Are you asking anything in exchange for this, or is this just an educational thing?" 

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.


Ranka steals a glance at Nunnally seeming to just get this impression from her that's so welcoming that she just feels less nervous naturally - as if her aura was simply infectious. "I think you're right. Everyone's been so welcoming..."

And then there's Emilia who gets a brief but very warm smile out of her, and a small wave as she mouths 'Hi Emilia-chan' her way discretely.

So for exactly a whole five seconds she feels better about it, until a Palanquin (What???) rolls up. The Kiai startles her more than the mere sight of it. And the two dismount... and introduce themselves. Ranka seems cowed into silence by their sheer elegance and presentation as she only mumbles a 'It's nice to meet you.'

Lelouch then asks for introductions. She opens her mouth to start, but then her hair on both sides just raises at the thought of trying to figure out how to introduce Sheryl , "Ah... um..." Sheryl helpfully introduces Ranka, who smiles and nods to the room. And Alto... but then, leaves herself out of the introductions. Which puts Ranka on the hook immediately, "Um... and t-this is an..." She gestures to Sheryl,"... an e-exciting new transfer, and an incredible rep-representative of our school. She goes by uh... ... Sh-" The volume of Ranka's voice immediately drops by a magnitude of about nine as she continues the word to the point of incomprehensibility.

People may not be able to understand if she's saying 'Sharon' or 'Shannon' but obviously it's not Sheryl. That'd be ridiculous right?

"Honestly - it's everything we expected and more." She replies to Lelouch, "We've all been enjoying our first trip earthside so much." She takes a glance at Alto, "Alto-kun most of all, I think."

Unlike Sheryl, she doesn't even begin to guess Milly's motive here as Milly just points out that the other schools are just HAPPENING to be meeting here... just taking a drink from Kallen as she comes over, and just saying quietly to Alto as he says Sheryl is acting like a Queen, "I mean... I don't mind it." If anyone can act like a Queen and get away with it, it's Sheryl in her eyes.


<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

"Indeed!" Hayashimizu says, brightly, at Milly's declaration. He claps his fan shut dramatically and also quite loudly. Oh, that's how he gets attention. "In the interests of ensuring cultural understanding and community, we are proud that Jindai Municipal High School will also be participating in this endeavor. We look forward to this opportunity to share the culture and comfort of our academy with what I hope will soon be friends."

Coming up from the side of the Jindai cohort is a young man in the black version of Jindai's summer uniform, and beside him, a young woman in the girls' uniform with long blue hair tied up in a bow at the end. The young man, with dark skin, and dark hair, and piercing gray eyes and a scar on his cheek, stares out with the bearing of a soldier. The girl.....does not.

"What's the deal with the palanquin?" Kaname asks Sousuke, with the sharp tone that means she has already determined this is, somehow, his fault.

"I advised His Excellency that in matters of diplomacy, a forceful show of your principality's resources and stature is essential in creating an unmistakable position of power."

There's a sound like a tomb door grinding as her teeth grate. "Of course this is your idea..."

"Affirmative. His Excellency agreed with my recommendations at once."

"Just....just............go get me a coke or something and buzz off."

"It is not advisable to participate in food offered by a potential enemy," Sousuke says.

Kaname winds up and kicks him directly in the ass, sending him stumbling forward. "Just GO!!"

He recovers himself, pats his uniform straight, and then nods and marches toward the food.

<Pose Tracker> Orpheus Zevon has posed.

        Orpheus Ziegler at least that's how his alias at Ashford. Up to this point he's not done much to involve himself with the social aspects of the goings on. If anything, he found himself all but pulled along as an 'honorary' member of the student council as well. Though he understood well enough that as far as that meant was that there was going to be work to do and the Ashford girl was going to need his assistance.

        If anything though the fact he's shown up here only speaks to Milly's capability to get people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't. Thus far he's been keeping to the background. A backstage player, simply helping to bring out supplies as needed. Were extra chairs needed? The long-haired blonde could be seen in the corner of one's eyes getting more foldables about. Were drinks needing to be replenished? He could be seen getting those handed out when Kallen was busy with a few others. Ultimately though, he finds himself handling the entrance to the meeting area. A clipboard in hand while the other holds pen. "And you're representatives of Jindai yes. . .Noted. Understood."

         This continued on for some time as the festivities were slowly beginning though as more schools were situated, it seemed Orpheus was alleviated of his position, only to make his way to Lelouch. At first he fully intended to take up the young man's time as to shove the paperwork regarding the attending schools to him to handle though. . .Something about the scene before him has him leave a small sigh. Instead a simple tap upon the water-sipping young man's shoulder is given before just casually handing him a copy. "For the school's records for later. I imagine you'll need this. . ." He'd offer the paper before. . .There's a bit of that usual discomfortable if not tired look on his face as he makes it to Milly. The woman was so excentric at least in his opinion it was hard to keep up with her flow, though he did need to handle this as well, and if there was one thing that Milly probably picked up on now was. . .When you gave this guy a task. . .He always seemed to pull through. None the less another tap on the shoulder this time for the president as he handed her a sheet. "This is a record of the current schools that have signed in, along with the clubs and potential funds they'd like to inquire about. There's also appears to be some school representatives who wish to take up some of your time later to hash out more of these visas you're speaking of."

        Again, for a young man who seemed rather unmotivated to do such tasks well. . .He seemed like he just naturally fit into positions like these, and even seemed oddly regal while doing so. . .Even when discontent about the whole thing, "So. . .What else does this honorary council member need to handle. . .?" 

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.


        "Thanks," Sheyl says to Kallen, accepting her drink without a second thought--until she mentions her name. Her eyes fly wide behind her shades as she utters, "Oh!" She looks her in the face--yes, sure enough, it's *that* Kallen. And she's introducing herself as Kallen Stadtfeld, not Kallen Kozuki-Stadtfeld... Sheryl might be selfish sometimes, but she *can* read betweeen the lines. All the same, she smiles up at her and pulls down her shades enough to look her in the eye.
        
        "A pleasure meeting you too, Kallen-chan," she replies, winking and subtly raising a finger to her curled lips. She notably ignores Alto calling her the Queen of the School, or maybe more accurately accepts the title as granted. Is it wrong, really?
        
        Especially when Ranka says she doesn't mind it. Sheryl just *grins* at her. That mumbled introduction is fine for this Queen; she's not here to cause a ruckus *just* yet.
        
        Nunnally and Lelouch introduces themselves, and Sheryl brightens. "Oh! You're brother and sister? That's so sweet!" So *that*'s why they'd been holding hands. She'd wondered. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, too."
        
        It sounds like people are still talking about Ashford's own clubs, though. That's fine; it gives her a moment to settle in and enjoy her drink. She leans back and opens up her water bottle, then takes a sip as she takes in... well, everything. So this is what a school meeting is like...!

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

"Multipliers multiply," Milly says, with a firm nod. "They just don't multiply *each other*, because -- our endowment is big but it's not *that* big." She then turns her attention to Agatha, tapping her chin for a few moments. "Decisive, heroic, a protector of the weak, a rallying point for other people's hopes and dreams... well. If you want to lead it, be my guest, but you're gonna have to find five other members and work up a pitch for club activities that takes up more than a napkin. A knight who's too weak to make friends isn't very chivalrous."

She actually decides to drill down on this point: "Clubs that don't do something tend to fall apart. We had a Fall-Down-Seven-Times-and-Topple-Eight-Times Club, but you can't just make a club about guts. We had a Pipe Club, but that became as much about the artisanship of making them as anything else -- and once no one was interested in doing the hard work, we disbanded it." A beat, before she admits: "That also closed off a lot of liability, actually, but that's neither here nor there."

She gets back to her point. "I don't fund garbage and if I graduate and my successors start funding garbage," meaningful looks at Lelouch, Kallen, Nunnally, and Emilia in turn, plus three meaningful, loud steps across stone toward Nunnally in particular, "I'm going to haunt the school like a ghost." She gestures dramatically with another whiteboard marker. "A club requires vision and initiative! As long as you keep that in mind for your proposal, it'll be fine."

Sheryl's approach gets an easy grin. Milly doesn't out Sheryl; she's generally good about that. "Nice to have you, Fearless Leader," she says, taking another drink. "And friends, too. I know Mihoshi has a Space Navigation program, so we'll be able to step up our own industrial education initiatives in the partnership..."

Milly tilts her head slightly and listens to the Jindai contingent's discussion. ... they sound like they're a lively bunch. She decides she likes the cut of Kaname's jib, in particular; that's a girl with a bright, bright future ahead of her in upper management. She can't help but play ball with it a bit, though: "He's right, but we're not potential enemies. This is a diplomatic function; the risk presented by poisoning one of you is higher than I'd want to take on." She can speak Sousuke's language.

She accepts the document from Orpheus, nodding along. "I'll give this a full review later," she says, though she does scan it with her eyes a bit. "This is probably fine, though. For now -- well, enjoy the cherry blossoms!"

Rikka asks a practical question, and gets a practical answer. "The same consideration, mostly," she answers. "I'm sure your school has some things to offer that Ashford doesn't." A beat, before she concedes: "... It's also just easier to get train tickets for Ashford students if we have something like this going. Getting *this* organized was a nightmare; later things ought to be easier."

Milly looks to Lelouch. "So, Vice President -- any words for everyone? I think I'm going to move this to general meet-and-greet, at this point." She gives him a small hip-bump with a knowing smile. 

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto leans on the table, musing out loud, "We've probably got the visas covered for the most part. For ourselves anyway. Nergal can probably handle that. Though that just leaves any of the other students at Mihoshi who aren't connected to it or SMS... Yeah, they'd probably need the help."

        Alto is specifically asked about being on Earth and he replies to Lelouch, nodding in agreement with Ranka, "It's been an impressive experience, for the most part. Not sure about the weather though... It's a lot more serious down here. I think I'd rather be flying through an asteroid field than a snowstorm. That was not fun."

        As Milly brings up Mihoshi's Space Navigation program, Alto is... Less than enthused about that one in particular. Though he admits, "Sure. Could be a good course for those of you more Earthbound."

        Alto gets a little more excited as he says, "I was thinking we could also introduce some Ex-Gear flying lessons. I don't think that particular tech has really propagated to the Earth Sphere yet and I imagine there's a bunch of you who would be interested in it." Who wouldn't be interested in learning how to use a jetpack for personal flight!? At least, that's Alto's logic.

        As Sheryl makes no reaction to Alto's Queen comment, and Ranka says she doesn't mind it, Alto smirks, "Then clearly we'll just have to give her the nickname Queenie." Solves the problem of Ranka stumbling over Sheryl's name.

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Banneret has posed.

If Agatha feels let down about the conditions Milly has placed on the club, she does not let it show. Instead, she snaps a salute. She's not sure how readily she can find five other club members, but she's confident she'll find a way. As for club activities, well, she'll worry about that when she has some more interest from other potential members.

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.


Sho hums, looking thoughtful, then seems to consider before finishing on something. He's been deep in thought since he setup the camera, even grabbed a chair. Then he realizes he should probably get Milly's attention with the idea. And... he seems to consider before waiting on the Vice President speech on the Ashford end of things.

Sho's definitely curious about the Jindai karate club members who are present, not to mention... did that guy look a little familiar? He eyes Sousuke before shaking his head and going back to doing what he's been doing. Coming up with ideas and recording the probably first of it's kind meeting between the various schools.

If he's noticed any 'hidden' individuals so far, he's definitely not acting on it.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally is, indeed, Lelouch's Little Sister, and looks entirely happy as she's introduced in turn. "That's right!" She answers Sheryl, warm. "I hope you can have a nice, relaxing time here on Earth." Why would she hope this nameless stranger can relax..?

        (Nunnally, who cannot see, can't see Sheryl's disguise, either. But she can read between the lines, too.)

        She smiles, to the people with unsettled hearts. Rikka seems like she's accepting her premise, at least, and Ranka -- well, she's still stammering an awful lot, but she's evidently doing her best. Emilia, she notes, is doing her best, too. She really is glad to hear she's met people outside of school... considering how school is like.

        She smiles, too, to hear Orpheus doing his best in the background like that. She can hear him scribbling down notes, so she's sure he's doing his very best, too.

        When Milly makes her declarations about the Student Council's future, Nunnally misses the meaningful look -- but not the three steps in turn, and so she dutifully startles. "We've got big shoes to fill..!"

        (She's not really distressed. She trusts Milly very, very much; and anyway, Lelouch is right here beside her. But selling the product is half of salesmanship.)

        Nunnally quiets down to hear what Lelouch has to say, after Milly hands the metaphorical conch shell to him -- though she does tilt her head towards Alto as she wonders what an Ex-Gear is. Nunnally doesn't know about things like this, after all; she's a hair too delicate to pilot things. She shares a delicate constitution with Kallen, apparently.

        Of all the danger in the area, with students openly worrying about poison in the soda -- Nunnally, at least, is an oasis of civility. Remember? She doesn't go to damaged places.

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

A small nod towards Ranka and her two companions, the minute understanding of two men out of their depths in affairs far greater than their own. Or so he surmised. "I hope you continue to enjoy it for as long as you're here." And that you may never dig deep enough to uncover the rot around it. "The same goes for you two, Alto, Shannon."

Granted, Jindai's bombastic entrance and fervor was...Strangely enough, a sort of odd comfort to Lelouch. Having one school with Milly was enough to shake the school up every so often; There was nothing but trouble in the future if Jindai's head was like that. Or was it more of resigned acceptance? Milly had said everything on his mind, no poision at all. Only a small gesture towards the bottles and chips.

Orpheus's tap on the shoulder elcited an eyebrow raise, taking the paper without trouble. "Mhm. Thank you, Orpheus." Quickly scanning it over, taking in quick reference to the schools. Clubs. Funds. People involved. Perfect, just perfect. A paper neatly folded into the pocket for later use.

Of course, there was no beginning of the proper inter-school meeting without words. Idly noting Sousuke's slow approach with seeming disinterest while listening in, watching the School Politics at play. Truly, this was its own game of strategy, not one he particularly bothered with...Though, it was in his best interest to get everyone connected. Together. And with Nunally being so obviously centered, there was only one thing to do.

And it was to push it all together. With a smile given by Milly, the Lamperouge brother boldly stepped in front of the whiteboard.

"Ahem. Everyone."
Breathe in. Breathe out. Give a smile. The warmest one you have.
This was for Nunally.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming on such short notice to the First, and hopefully not last, Inter-School Student Council And Clubs Meeting. All of us at the Ashford Student Council welcome you with warm hearts and open arms to the olive branch of cooperation that can take root here today.

We know some of you have come far for this meeting. From space. From other parts of Japan. From across the border. Know that this is a place where we can sit down and act as equals, so that our knowledge, our cultures, and our ideals can cross whatever boundaries there may be in place during these years before going out to the wider world. This was arranged by Milly's own hand; I must confess that I, myself, was not aware of such plans until moments prior. Truly, this is something to be thankful for in of itself.

I can only hope that you can take the chances offered here and use them for your own benefit, for your friend's benefits, for the people here and not here, and for the future beyond. We at Ashford will do our best to foster these connections for hwoever long we can, even after all of us have graduated and moved on.

Whether you are a club as commonplace as the Anime And Manga Appreciation Club, or as niche as the Landmine Club, I can only hope that you all are able to find what you hold most dear into your heart, and to push that feeling into your very soul.

For you must be able to not just wait around at this critical juncture in your life, when a coincidence of luck presents itself. All of you have been invited here, but I believe, in my heart, that you may be able to take the chance to strike and change what you can. And if you cannot...Then you can find the people around you who are able to take that same chance and forge it into action.

Take your heart into space.
Take your feelings to the mountains.
Take your soul into what you cherish.

I can only hope that whatever awaits you in the future, that this event, this occurence of fate orchestrated by a single woman will help you along in that journey.

The Ashford Student Council can now declare this meeting open. May you set yourself on the chessboard, and may you enjoy your time at this meeting."

A grand bow to open the meet-and-greet followed suit, with a smile on his face.
The more that Nunally could connect to people, the more that he could be happy on his own path.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen is stalled in place. Partway to reaching the Jindai group, her brain caught up to her eyes and ears, realizing the signal being sent to her. That the aggressive girl she'd handed the drink to was in fact the Galactic Fairy in disguise. And that, from the sounds of it, they'd be crossing paths regularly thanks to Milly's planning. But that's not actually the part causing a problem here.

No, the problem is one Sousuke Sagara, who continues stepping in front of her every time she sidesteps to try and get around to the Jindai crowd. Even if he hadn't made a comment about 'poisoning the enemy', she could feel the danger radiating off him from a mile away. He has the air of someone experienced with warfare. Not unlike Tohdoh or Mafty in that way, though still different from both. "Please allow me to take care of your food and drink needs, as a show of cooperation between our schools." She'd love to sweep him to the ground and just go past, but between his aura of experience and her supposed frailness, that's simply not an option.

Milly's remarks don't go unnoticed either. Honestly, it wells up a fond feeling inside her. The idea that she's trusted enough to be considered part of Milly's carefully curated circle of successors. Perhaps at such a time, she'll no longer have need to pretend she's so physically weak. And can take charge with the same vibrancy and zeal for life that Milly throws at everything. Well... many things, at any rate. She's not entirely blind to the fact she too hides some of her thoughts and feelings. Though she can't begin to fathom the depths of it, simply due to the remaining biases in place in front of her. And a few of her personal lackings.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.


Sheryl's grin causes her to have a small smile in response. As she looks to Lelouch and Nunnally in wonder as Sheryl calls attention to Nunnally's prior greeting of Lelouch as her big brother, and Nunnally confirming it anew, "It really is. It's impressive that you were both able to be on the Student Council together." Ranka maybe ruminates on the relationship between big brothers and little sisters for a moment, noting in a bittersweet way that Nunnally and Lelouch seem to get along just fine - despite Nunnally's disability.

Her own big brother treats her as if she's as fragile as sugar glass.

"I feel a bit jealous - just looking at the two of them." She says to herself, whisper thin, though her observation is quite naive, for two people she just met.

Milly's statement about the space navigation program makes her look to Alto and lets him take the lead on that one. She's in the Vocalist program, while Alto and Sheryl are in the pilot program so... it's not really her lane.

"Oh! That's a wonderful idea Alto-kun!" She asides to everyone, "He puts on a really good show in his EX-Gear - really! So I'm sure there'll be plenty of interest once everyone sees him fly." Perhaps Nunnally's confusion is apparent to her, as she leans over to note quietly to her, "Ah... just in case. It's a powered suit that lets people fly."

Though when Alto calls her 'Queenie.' Ranka protests with a simple soft, "Mean." Though she doesn't have any better ideas either given that Sheryl isn't offering them guidance on a pseudonym.

The conversation about potential poison in the food in regards to Sousuke's concerns, and Milly answering them earnestly gives her time... to inch towards Emilia as Lelouch gives his speech. It's an impressive speech... though she mouths 'Landmine club'? And once he's finished she claps politely, leaning over to Emilia and noting softly, "Your school is a such an... eclectic place. It's sense of humor is so different from what I'm used to."


<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

...'Fall-Down-Seven-Times-and-Topple-Eight-Times Club'? 'Pipe Club'? Rikka can't help but stare as these former club names are listed off. It sure sounds like Ashford's students get up to some... exciting things.

But, her question gets an answer, and Rikka nods.

"That's fair. We don't have a lot, but... we'll see. Might as well keep the option open, if at least one person gets something out of it." Rikka admits with a shrug. Tsutsujidai's nature complicates things, but... somehow an invitation got to them, so! ...And, ah - it's about train tickets, too. "That's pretty clever."

And that's when, at Milly's urging, the Vice President - Lelouch - approaches the whiteboard. Rikka turns her attention toward him as he gives his speech.

...He's a good talker, she has to admit. He has a way of drawing you in and making you want to listen to the very end. Once the speech concludes, she joins Ranka in clapping politely.

With that, it's meet and greet time, it seems... Rikka scans the crowd, her gaze briefly drawn to...

...is that Sagara? She didn't expect to see him at an event like this.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.


        Emilia looks around the meeting, as new clubs are suggested. People can just do that? You can just say you want to make a club?

        ...Oh. You need five other people. That's well outside Emilia's range. She'snnot confident to stand up and get a drink or a snack yet- maybe when people are crowding them. So she stands. She's also not quite ready to scoot closer to Ranka, but that's just because it would be obvious she is and she's nervous of being seen.

        Her eyes do track to Nunnally, up on the stage with her loving brother. She met her a few times, during her time in the middle school. When the hurt was rawest, and she couldn't put someone else through the problems that come from associating with her. She's almost jealous of the girl up there... having all that kindness around her, and in her. Being able to talk to everyone so easily and so quickly, like it's nothing. And then she hates herself a bit for thinking so badly about someone who managed to make it through whatever happened to her and come out... such a good person. Instead of whatever Emilia was.

        She has not put together yet that people are trying to offer that kindness to her. She has certainly not worked out how to accept it.

        The way Nunnally smiles to her makes those thoughts even messier. "O-oh... Tha..." Nope. Her voice won't work. She looks away from Nunnaly.

        Lelouch too seems collected, and a reliable foil to Milly. He must be the one who provides the scaffolding that lets Milly do something insane. It must be good to have that anchor, for a brother, for a subordinate...

        Alto goes off to get a beverage for the Queen of the School. She didn't get to see how they interacted after she left, she wants to text Ranka and ask, before instead deciding to try and catch her eye, and very subtly cross her heart, hoping that's enough of a tip. Maybe Ranka can answer. Maybe not. And then Ranka starts to talk and...

        Even Ranka freezes up like her? ...She said she had moments like this... It hurts to see someone else go through it. At least she recovers from it. And then there are the new arrivals, a blue haired girl and- Mr Sagara? She's surprised to see him again too. Is he doing his security job again or is he part of Jindai's student council, with that blue haired girl who... yells at him and kicks him.

        Even someone as unflappable and cool and collected as Mr Sagara gets bullied? She wants to say something but if she causes a scene, she'll attract even more attention. Even speaking up for her club got attention she doesn't want because she knows one of those equestrian club bitches are going to make a deal of it somewhere public and humiliate her where Milly can't protect her. Damnit... Why is she such a coward here?

        The Tsutsujidai girl, Rikka, just seems... bewildered to be here. Kind of a mood, to be honest, but... Maybe she can... Or maybe if Ranka helped her she could talk to her? She seems less intens than everyone else.

        And then she is distracted by Space Navigation... That's a course she could take? Now? ...She couldn't, though. Grandfather would *definitely* find out about that. She'll have tpo ask the Mihoshi students what it's like, to live out there.

        And Milly fixes Emilia wth a glance and THAT'S when she freezes. That's an accident, surely. Unintentional. She couldn't succeed someone like Milly. Milly's an unstoppable force, and Emilia's tissue paper. She couldn't force her way through those troubles. But Nunnally seems up to the challenge. She probably could. Emilia fidgets with the hem of her skirt more and more. Maybe this was too much. Maybe she should step back.

        And then Lelouch speaks. Emilia is far too easily swept up by things like this. Far too carried on momentum... but he can actually make you feel like he means it. Inspiring people...

        She woners if Father was like this too.

        She manages to catch Ranka's mouthing, and shrugs. She didn't know about the club, but she's a new first year.

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.


Setting the camera to pan by itself, Sho Muramoto decides to make his way over to the Jindai delegation. That should solve the newspaper club's want for more footage, film, and the like.

He's well and looking at the karate club as if trying to figure out some things at least. The young man scratches his head as if trying to figure it out. Then sees someone who might know! Sousuke of all people! He turns to approach the man. "Hey, um... excuse me?"

He is at least being polite about it, but well... it's a curious Ashford student!

That notepad he had has disappeared into his pocket. Oh yes. He has proposal ideas. He's just obliging his curiosity for now, and then giving it to Milly since she's doing all the organizing. But first that rampant curiosity of his! 


<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.


        "That's 'Your Majesty' to you," Sheryl tells Alto loftily. At least she doesn't call him her slave in public. Yet.
        
        She does perk at Alto's suggestion for Ex-Gear flying lessons, though, as well as Ranka's explanation of what they actually are. "Oh! I can confirm, those are really thrilling!" Even if she's more experienced with being carried by someone using it than actually using it herself. And the Space Navigation program too, though if Milly's already interested in it, then she hardly needs to chime in on *that*. Madame President seems to have quite a head on her shoulders, she thinks approvingly as she unfolds and re-folds her legs.
        
        Nunnally meanwhile hopes she has a relaxing time on Earth. "Thank you," Sheryl says graciously. She'll probably have some relaxing *moments* on Earth. Lelouch meanwhile addresses her as 'Shannon.' She giggles. "You're both yourselves so sweet, too! I can see how you're related~."
        
        She glances over at Orpheus as he presents his report, but the numbers for clubs doesn't especially interest her. Her attention hooks more onto Lelouch and his follow-up speech. There are a few things that Sheryl takes away from this:
        
        1) Milly is a force of chaos.
        1b) Despite this, she still makes it work.
        2) She makes it work because she's got a *very* competent crew under her. Kallen took her reveal wholly in stride, and Lelouch was able to compose and deliver a speech on a topic he didn't know he had to address until maybe half an hour ago, and Nunnally seems to share a clear mutual trust with Milly--something money just can't buy.
        3) One of these schools has a Landmine Club. Probably that one over there that's worried about poisoned drinks. Jindai is *wilding*, if in a different way from Ashford, and honestly? She's here for it.
        
        Either way, once Lelouch finishes his speech, Sheryl claps along with Ranka, and not just out of politeness. "Hear, hear!" she cheers, just for the fun of it. She notes Emilia, and her dithering--poor girl, she seems so nervous. She'd seemed like that last night, too. Well... some people just don't thrive in the limelight. She'll pretend not to notice her mouthed conversation with Ranka, for her sake. 

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

Sousuke sets forward as instructed!! Milly's comments...well, they don't put him at ease, because that's not possible, but he believes her words. Hayashimizu chuckles with a warm smile and an understanding nod. "Very true, very true," he says, as if discussing poisoning other school councils was not fully batshit

As for Sousuke himself...there's this girl, you see. He's on an outward trajectory as she's on her way in, and he might otherwise simply let her slip pass. But...there's something...the way she steps, the precision of her movements...could she be...

She speaks up. Ah. Yes, of course. A service girl. Such a talented profession. "Very well," Sousuke says, and his serious face breaks into a...passable, smile. Polite, anyway. See, he's not an actual robot! That you can prove! "My thanks, then. Your assistance will be most appreciated. ...in particular, the karate club could use water. And the Vice President has requested a cola."

The karate club has decamped to sit on the grass and sweat for a bit. They have been guaranteed a budget increase as compensation for their time, so they're free and clear for now.

He sets eyes on Rikka, and nods her way as he enters that orbit. "Ms. Takarada," he says, stiff as ever. "A pleasure to see you again. I didn't know you were involved with Council activities."

Then, quieter, meant for just her, he says, "If she was able to reach your school...we should be cautious. We can't rule out enemy intelligence."

He's about to move on, but Lelouch mentions landmines club and Sousuke finds himself stroking his chin at the thought. "What an interesting idea. Early practical training for clearing and avoidance would doubtless save many lives," he says, basically to whoever can hear his weird brain generate words.

Sho walks up. Sousuke looks at him. His duty to get Kaname a drink has been discharged, so he's now just sort of on a long orbit back to his place at His Excellency's side. (His Excellency is Hayashimizu, if this isn't clear.) (Because it's natural for it not to be, Sousuke's the only person on earth who calls him that.) All of which is to say, Sousuke has time to entertain someone walking up. "Yes?" he says.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto snerks aside to Sheryl, "Not likely. More chance of me calling you Shannon." Alto appears less concerned about maintaining the facade than the other two. Especially as he's pretty sure some have already recognized her.

        Alto nods in response to the well wishes from Lelouch, studying the man for a moment. From there it's a quick glance to Nunnally. Much like Ranka he starts to think on the relationship between the siblings. Which gets him thinking about his own.

        Unfortunately that dregs up a bunch of memories he'd prefer not to delve into. So he shakes his head for a moment to try and clear them away, turning his focus back to Lelouch as the speech begins. It's a long speech.

        Once Lelouch has finished, Alto remarks somewhat quietly so it's mainly to Sheryl and Ranka, "He's good. I definitely couldn't pull something like that out of nowhere."

        Alto does catch the brief explanation Ranka gives to Nunnally, to which Alto corrects, "Well, they're actually more complicated than that. They're exoskeleton suits with twin jet engines and variable geometry wings, flown using touch sensitive finger controls on the hand grips." That's basically what Ranka said, just with more enthusiasm.

        He finishes, "I'd provide a demonstration but the only one I have on Earth is the military spec variant, which I have to keep with my VF."

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Lelouch's speech gets a grin and a clap from Milly. "That's our Lelouch," she says, brightly. "Usually characters like you look like they can't think on their feet... I'm impressed." She's known him for years. This is faint ribbing.

Finishing her first soda, she scoots toward Kallen and leans in just a little too close. "Next time I might make you do that one, though," she says, with half-lidded eyes and that grin slowly transmuting into a smirk. She takes a bottle of green tea this time.

"That's what happens when you get a lot of big personalities in a new space for the first time," Milly -- who has ears like an eagle, apparently, and yes that's totally how that saying goes -- notes for Ranka. Alto gets a raised eyebrow and a smile. "*I* would love that. We have a pretty sizeable Motorcycle Club, too -- a couple of our racers are pros. That'll make participants a..."

She gets a sparkle in her eyes. Oh no.

Whatever horrid idea she's had, though, she seems to move on from easily. She strides up toward Emilia, passing Sho en route; she sneaks a tiny peek at his proposal but doesn't say anything about it. It's cruel to push on draft language. "Take it easy! I think you could use some vegetable juice or something," she says, making a gesture with her own hand that will, if followed, put the drinks in center-vision.

Then Sousuke's comment gets her attention. "*That* one ended because we have no advisor; interested in volunteering? I know there are some third-years who've been eager to see it back."

<Pose Tracker> Agatha Banneret has posed.

Agatha is now feeling somewhat out of place. She has to make friends, which is fine, it's good, it's...not really something that comes naturally to her. She's fine! Really! Just, make friends, Agatha, everyone does it! Right?

Wait a second.

"Hey, what does a Landmine Club do? Anyone know if they had five members?"

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.


Sho smiles at Sousuke. "Sorry for bothering you, sir. My name is Sho Muramoto." He offers a hand out towards Sousuke. Typical Britannian greeting, but hey, he's in Ashford not Jindai or one of the others!

He's at least getting greetings out of the way. And honestly, he's still pretty new to Ashford.

"I was curious what style the men in the training uniforms practiced? It has been some time since I have seen them, but they lack any identifying dojo patches or other means to identify beyond their uniforms."

Sho's question is definitely one based on some experience, perhaps.

"Also, I think... you look a little familiar, but I can not seem to place you? Were you at the recent hanami festival?"
Orpheus Zevon has connected.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally certainly feels lucky to be here with her big brother, though she doesn't catch Ranka's whisper -- she has a keen ear, but there's a lot going on, and she's not used to Ranka's voice yet. She does nod, though, when she explains the powered suit of the Ex-Gear. "Oh! Thank you," Nunnally smiles.

        Her attention, naturally, is all on Lelouch as he makes his speech. He's so talented, she thinks; even though he was surprised by this, he knew just what to say. She smiles, because the connection he's speaking of is just what she hopes for, amongst the youth of Japan.

        (When hands join together, they can't hold weapons. That's just how Nunnally thinks.)

        Naturally, she claps when he's done. "That's my big brother!" She agrees, cheerfully. "Milly can't catch you off guard!" Let's discount all the times she clearly has.

        She's sure to add, for Sousuke: "You can trust Kallen," coming from someone clearly vulnerable. "She might be quiet, but she's a nice girl." That's not the whole truth -- Nunnally sometimes thinks Kallen is a rather disquieted girl -- but it's the surface level, and there's no need to involve her intuition here.

        "Not every club succeeds," she explains, thoughtfully, on the topic of things like Landmine Club and Fall-Down-Seven-Times-and-Topple-Eight-Times Club. "But if you never reach out, you'll never know how many people feel the same way you do, I think." Perhaps it can serve as encouragement to all these people dreaming of their own clubs.

        "You know... I've never heard of Tsutsujidai," Nunnally says, finally, turning her face to Rikka, "but I'd like to visit, sometime. Though, I'm not sure I could do it on my own... could I ask you to help me out there, Emilia?" It might be strange for her to ask her for help getting to a new place, especially since Nunnally can't see where Emilia is looking, wordless as she is. But... perhaps she felt a sense of yearning for normality, even so.

        (She never pushed Emilia terribly much, when they were in middle school together; Nunnally isn't the bravest person, either, on her own. But Milly did just tell them they had to fill her shoes, after all. And Lelouch spoke so eloquently about it...! She has to bring her A-Game, too!)

        Nunnally looks between Alto and Sousuke -- a little off-centre, because how she's sensing them has nothing to do with her eyes and everything to do with her ears and her heart, but never mind that. With the detail Alto's saying about those Ex-Gears, and Sousuke's Sousuke... they're soldiers, aren't they? Her hand clasps by her heart, smile wavering for a moment before it collects itself for Alto again. "It's all right," she assures him, gently. "I wouldn't be able to see something like that, anyway... but that just means you can be a student here, like everyone else, doesn't it?"

        Sometimes being a student involves rekindling Landmine Club. Regardless of her personal qualms, Nunnally both can't and won't restrain Milly from helping Sousuke be his best self. She'll let someone else explain that one, though.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.


Sheryl's riposte to Alto's name - and Alto's return fire causes Ranka to giggle lightly, behind a hand, before she whispers back to them, "We really should settle on something though."

Emilia seems to be able to catch her attention with that gesture, somehow. Like she just has this instinct of when to look. She sees the gesture, and after a moment Ranka just nods with a smile. As if that said everything. She'd recognized Sheryl before in the park from her... conversation with Alto, so instead of trying to hide it fruitlessly she's going to rely on her to keep Sheryl's privacy for now.

Nodding Alto's way as Lelouch's speech finishes, she smiles toothily his way from a lower angle, "I don't know, you can be pretty poetic when you want to be Alto-kun."

Ranka steps aside though as Alto nerds out over the technical specifications of his EX-Frame. She's got nothing. Technology is something that is not her strong suit, unless it's her phone. It's only once he's finished that she asides to Nunnally, "He's very passionate about flying." As if it weren't abundantly clear. It's mostly sincere, though there is a mild tease hidden in there.

Though Milly startles her, a gesture which gets Milly a satisfying look as the sides of Ranka's expressive hair just lifts momentarily and she suddenly looks towards Emilia like she's at a loss for how to handle Milly, though she tries to stammer out. "O-Oh! Is that so? That's..." Terrifying. "... different... from what I'm used to."

Ranka's used to hanging with strong personalities in Ozma... Sheryl and Alto by now - and when it's the two of them she adores it. A whole crowd of people like this though is starting to make her feel like she's treading water a little.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly actually handles this one on the spot. "Planting theory and demining practice," Milly says, brightly. "The OCU made extensive use of anti-MS mines during the invasion... but Knightmare Frames are too light to set them off, so a lot of Area 11's countryside is still full of them. For the first few years it was pretty harmless, buuuuut now that Man Hunting units use Jegans it's getting messy."

She collects herself. "Demining takes a lot of time and is labor-intensive, so it's a good culture club for sports club participants who want to double-dip on strength and endurance training."

And, to cap off: "When I was a first-year, that was actually the entire Rugby Club and change. One of them's mother had a Man Hunting posting, so he was passionate. Once he graduated, though, no one was making the cross-training benefits obvious, so, poof. No more Landmine Club!"

Ranka gets a nudge. "You'll get used to it. Or you'll drown!" All smiles. 

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Sousuke approaches her, and Rikka nods back.

"Sagara." Rikka greets. Now that they've seen each other, she should be polite.

"I didn't know I was either, until..." Rikka replies, then pauses, counting back in her head. "Three days ago. I'm surprised that you are, though."

And then he has something else to say, quieter. Rikka raises an eyebrow.

"...Are you sure there's an enemy...? They seem nice enough." She whispers back. Sure, a bit eclectic... but nice. "...It is odd, though."

And then, Nunally wants to visit Tsutsujidai... Rikka pauses for a moment. ...How does she explain this? Should she really say, 'oh, just take the train a few times, you'll get there eventually'?

"Ah... we're in Nouvelle Tokyo, but we're a little hard to find... a lot of people don't even know we exist." Rikka replies a little hesitantly. That seems like a reasonable enough excuse. "But if you want to visit some time, I could help out."

She looks toward Nunally's friend, then, Emilia. Didn't she see her before...? At the concert, maybe?

"I'm Rikka Takarada." She introduces herself. 

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

A small exhalation slipped through his lips, taking the applause in stride. With no followup other than the obey the beat of the crowd, he vacated himself from in front of the whiteboard, informally opening discussion with that desertion of interesting sights. Granted, his step was slightly brisker. Wonder why, for obvious reasons.

"I'd like to visit Tsutsujidai as well. I haven't heard of it until now...Is it a private school?" Smoothly 'intruding' into Rikka's conversation, the absence of knowledge about the school already marked as a point of interest.

Of course, Lulu was here and afar at the same time; Taking in the sights, pushing in however he could. His own appearance mattered. "I take it the meeting is already successfully underway, Milly? The Landmine Club isn't gone, only dormant. So said the members of the Rugby club."

One water bottle down. Another bottle taken, one with that increasingly scarce "TARABAMAN TAI TANGERINE: TWOSOME TUSSLE FOR THE FIRST GENERATION" promotion flavor. Best to switch things up. What a strange flavor. Was it even tangerine?

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.


        Well, after all those moments it takes Emilia a little while to recover. Fortunately, Milly is on it, reminding her of the drinks. "O-oh, yes. Thank you." She pauses, stepping up and... in a rare show of outwardness, waving to Ranka and pointing to the drinks, a clear 'would you like one'? She does grab a vegetable juice for her self- mixed, no tomato- and whatever Ranka wants, if she wants one.

        And then Nunnally calls out to her, and Emilia blinks. "M-me, Miss Nunnally?" This is a bad idea, Emilia's inability to talk under stress makes her least equipped to help there, surely. "I've... never heard of it either." She confesses, hoping that will stop any further requests (it won't). Still, she walks toward Nunnally, but on a bit of a roundabout path- she wants to pass by Mr Sagara if she can, and bring Ranka up to meet Nunnally.

        Still, that quiet moment, as Emmy passes Sousuke, speaking quietly, is full of worry. If even he could... "Mr Sagara, is... is everything alright? That woman..." Her voice freezes again. It's too familiar an experience. She pulls out her phone, quickly, quietly. An indication she wants to exchange numbers. Maybe it would help them both if they had someone to talk to. Mr Sagara seems to quietly endure the way she does.

        Still, she comes up to the stage where Nunnally is, only to be greeted by Rikka, startling her a little. "O-oh, hello. I'm um... I'm Emilia Eschonbach." Again, that obvious quiet turn on her surname, even as she curtseys. "I was just- I mean. I..."

        She stops, after a second holds up a finger to indicate she needs a second, and then steps back. This is suddenly less quiet than she hoped, but... "Um, Miss Nunnally I wanted to..." She stops, breathes. "Um...This is Miss Ranka." She doesn't indicate, but she doesn't have to experience to say 'to your right'. "She's been very helpful, especially with the concert. I-I thought you might... want to talk." Change the focus. Turn it away from her. Then Nunnally can talk to someone who is useful. Valuable. Who makes people happy.

        Not a drain only useful to complete a business deal.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.


        "Hmph! You're no fun," Sheryl sniffs at Alto. She doesn't seem especially bothered, though, and when Ranka weighs in, she smiles and shrugs. "They'll figure it out eventually. It's fine," she reassures her. When Alto murmurs his comments on Lelouch to her and Ranka, she leans in too. "Oh, absolutely," she whispers. "I don't see why Milly wants to recruit Grace when she's got someone like *that* around." Come to think, Milly complained about her crew, didn't she? And she just now gave him a little ribbing. Hmmm... What kind of fatal flaw could Lelouch have?
        
        Sheryl inspects him more attentively. Based on this first impression, he's eloquent, friendly, kind, a doting brother, *quite* handsome, and...
        
        Oh.
        
        He's *too* popular, isn't he? The girls are *all* over him and it absolutely interferes with work, doesn't it? Maybe... Her smile widens as she glances over at Milly herself. Maybe he's popular with the older girls, too~?
        
        Of course, then Milly fills them in on what the Landmine Club actually *does*, and it's not like Sheryl had a lot of *great* impressions based on the name, but that's genuinely horrifying?? Like, on the one hand, it's good that there are clubs dedicated to dealing with this issue, but on the other hand, *why do they have to deal with this issue*.
        
        That's a rhetorical question. Obviously the answer is 'war.' Sheryl hopes Milly is messing with them.
        
        A buzzing in her skirt pocket interrupts her thoughts, though, and she pulls out a taiyaki-shaped phone and squeezes it. Whatever she reads there makes her make a face, and she sighs dramatically. "Looks like my time is up! I've got to run." She gets up from her seat and wiggles her fingers in farewell at the room. "It was lovely meeting you all, though! Here's hoping we meet again soon~!" she adds, raising her voice for Nunnally's sake. She then slips around her seat, grabbing her water, and leans in to Alto and Ranka. "Make sure to fill me in on if anything interesting happens, hmm?"
        
        Then with a wink, she hurries out of the room. It would've been nice if she could've stayed a little longer, but honestly, it was always going to end like this. C'est la vie!

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

It's as if Milly read a portion of her thoughts. Having her make one of the big, opening speeches? It would be a powerful step toward preparing her to be more assertive in taking on a leadership role. "Ahah... I hope I can live up to your high standards in that case, Milly." Though she lacks the suitable skill in it that Lelouch has. Or other figures she can think of. There's a hint of resemblance in his tone, truthfully. A touch like the speeches from the Emperor she's had to hear before. Though of course far, FAR more palatable, given the different subject matter. She supposes some people are just born with that tone and ability to command attention when it's necessary. Though he certainly never NORMALLY acts like... hold on...

Kallen's eyes narrow into a squint as a few gears unstick from their jammed positions. As a result, she looks deep in thought and perhaps a little annoyed, when she returns to the Jindai area, to strike up conversation with Kaname, who she has judged to be the voice of sanity and reason in that group. By comparison at least. "You have quite the flamboyant school, don't you?" Not really compared to what Ashford can pull off when the real weirdness comes out. But... they definitely have a STYLE all their own. 


<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto nods in agreement with Sheryl's assessment of Lelouch. Though he doesn't go into quite as much thought as it as her. When Ranka mentions his own poetic ability, he scratches his cheek a little, trying to pass it off with a, "Oh really? I hadn't really thought about it..."

        Alto's eyes do actually light up a little at the mention of Ashford's Motorcycle Club. He muses out loud at Milly's suggestion of participants, "It's true that pilots and racers do share some things in common. A love for machines and their speed for one..." Alto obviously prefers the freedom of the skies. But there are obvious advantages to ground vehicles too. He does have his license, though no vehicle. Mainly because, while Frontier City is huge compared to most ships, it's still pretty small relatively speaking. Plus it has plenty of public transport available so he hasn't bothered to get one. He muses some more, "Maybe this would be a good opportunity to get some motorcycle lessons in."

        At Nunnally's pointing out about her inability to really enjoy the view of an Ex-Gear demonstration, Alto hmmms in thought, "True... Though seeing it isn't necessarily the only way to experience it. There's always the option of taking you up on a flight. The Ex-Gears can easily handle two people. Which I, unfortunately, know from experience." He glances to his side at Sheryl. Before finishing to Nunnally, "If you want to give it a try some time, just let me know."

        It's Nunnally's finaly question to Alto that catches him by surprise though, "Be a student here?" He goes oddly silent as he leans back in his chair. He lets his head roll back so he's staring upwards. Eventually he wonders out loud, "I wonder if that's even what I want anymore..."

        Alto turns his head as Sheryl rises to make her escape, "Oh. I guess we'll catch you later." Pause. Wait, they will? Well... He guesses that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. Alto turns his head to glance at Ranka, "Work, I'm guessing."

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.


Ranka grins at Alto's awkwardness over his poetic ability, "It just comes naturally to you."

Ranka then follows Sheryl's gaze over to Lelouch, then looks back to Sheryl. Then back to Lelouch... Ranka blushes faintly as if figuring out Sheryl's type quite clearly between him and Alto. Though when the buzzing interrupts Sheryl, and she says she has to go. Ranka thinks 'Already?' in disappointment, but says back quickly. "... O-Of course!" Before noting to Alto, "It can't be helped. Someone is always going to want her attention."

'Or you'll drown!' Ranka gets ambushed at that moment and makes a sound that's like a small squeak - which she tries to transition into an awkward giggle. "Aha... you're... a very funny person Milly-san." Her impression of Milly has been and continues to be quite positive, but her humor always feels mildly threatening in a way she's not used to.

Emilia seems to be gesturing to her for a drink and Ranka scoots off in her way casting a glance towards Alto to see if he wants to wander her way too. On the way she discretely puts the bottled water she got from Kallen earlier in her bag, and instead accepting a new drink from Emilia as she walks with her past Sousuke, eyeing the young man that started the idea of not accepting food - and Milly's obvious joke about poisoned drinks.

The two exchange numbers and she's mildly mystified. "Is everything alright?" She asks the two, in a soft discrete tone, suddenly sounding a bit worried.

Though she doesn't hesitate to follow Emilia over to Nunnally. "Are the two of you friends?" Ranka smiles, and the aura she gives off is warm at that sudden realization. It seems only right that Emilia would be friends with someone so calming - and sweet. It feels like what she needs. "I shouldn't be surprised. It really is nice to meet you, Nunnally-chan." It's a very familiar way of address, and thus a bit of a gamble perhaps. Yet, that's just the way Ranka seems to be, even with someone she's just met.

"We met only recently - not too long before the concert, but... Emilia-chan adores music." She isn't so presumptuous as to say her music, "I'm... on the path to trying to debut as an idol... so I couldn't help but feel drawn to that."

There are other reasons beside, but she's not about to embarrass Emilia by listing them. She understands what it's like to be embarrassed herself.


<Pose Tracker> Orpheus Zevon has posed.

        There's but a small nod that he returned back to Milly as she left him to his own devices. Which ultimately left him to well. . . Observe. It had seemed for the most part there were small niches already forming about. The look of some who perhaps had already been acquainted from other schools perhaps? That said, at the very least whether you were in one group or another it seemed that there was one thing that was garnering the attention and approval of all there. That being the speech left by the Vice President. Since his time at Ashford, he's never really taken much interest in the guy. He has his circumstances with his sister from what he had heard but otherwise seemed rather non-chalant beyond his role as the vice-president. Perhaps hearing the occasional attention or banter amongst some of the female body about him. I didn't expect someone so laid back to have such charisma. . .

        It almost felt a bit surprising in that contrast. Though, he could certainly think of another person that seemed to wear quite a mask, his attention veering over to the red-head who's hair she had chosen to leave down, her tone softer than he was familiar with, and demeanor a complete 180 of what he knew of her out of school. It was certain there were quite some characters for certain. It was enough to peak his curiousity that he found himself starting to follow suite after Lelouch. Essentially interrupting his interrupt. "Quite the speech." Just as Lelouch would finish off the Tarabaman edition one, the 'honorary' or maybe temporary member of the council holds up another bottle for the young man. He can imagine that a speech like that drains you, plus. . . He's heard Lelouch isn't the most physically fit. Who knew if pro-longed speeches like that could take their tolls too. "Definitely seemed like you were in your element. Is the vice president planning to take a swing at politics one day?"

        It's perhaps a random question to ask, especially at a meeting mainly focused on schools and such that someone would be asking a topic about things like the future or what to do after school, but well, it's not like he's a member of the other clubs in need of negotiating funding, and his curiousity of the other schools or their students seemed rather lack-luster at best. Perhaps simply nothing having caught his interest, or simply just bad with these kinds of situations of meet and greet altogether. Frankly, it was probably a miracle he was engaging with others at all to ask questions.

<Pose Tracker> Sousuke Sagara has posed.

"His Excellency the President recognized my existing talents and occasionally consults me on matters of security," Sousuke explains, mainly to Rikka, regarding his involvement in Student Council. "I have no formal relationship, however."

If you're currently asking yourself 'who is this weirdo,' you are in such good company.

Milly cals out. Hm. He cups his chin again in thought. "It is a valuable project. Misplaced or undetonated mines present serious trouble essentially indefinitely...certainly." He nods. "I can assist, at least."

As for Sho, Sousuke looks to the karate club with a blink. They are currently doing...something. "I'm not familiar with the specifics. I believe it is primarily recreational."

Sousuke's experience with karate is mostly that time he defeated them in single combat with a bomb.

"...I'm told I have, 'one of those faces,'" Sousuke says, because when Kaname found out what he'd done at the hanami festival she gave him a full Level 7 216-hit harisen combo so probably best to deflect on that one.

And then: Emilia! "Ah. Miss Eschonbach," he says, and nods in greeting. "A fine day to you." Her question, though, earns her a blank look of surprise. "I'm under no duress," he says, which is the best answer he can give. "Ah, we didn't exchange communications, did we..."

He has a real cell phone now! Kaname made him get one because making him do things normal humans do is her role in this relationship.

SPEAKING OF WHOM: The blue-haired VP huffs a breath, scratching her fingers through her hair as she watches things unfold. "Seems things are going well, at least," she mutters to herself, before she notices Kallen approaching. She straightens up and immediately manages a pretty, polite smile. Though it freezes a bit at the question. "Haha! A bit!" she says, her smile tenser until she finally just whole-body sighs. "I swear we're not weird..." 

<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Lelouch approaches, and Rikka glances his way.

"Oh, hey... Nice speech earlier." She comments. As for Tsutsujidai, a private school... "...Something like that. Not as much as your Ashford, though."

She looks toward Emilia, then, who seems... a little startled, and a little surprised at being addressed. Rikka feels... a little bad about startling her like that.

"It's alright. Take your time." She replies, offering her an encouraging smile.

As for Sousuke... Matters of security, huh.

"...Yeah, that tracks." Rikka admits. It does seem like his kind of speed...

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        It's definitely not tangerine, according to Nunnally. She's had a distinguishing palette for a long time, and according to her, TARABAMAN TAI TANGERINE tastes more like candied orange with a hint of pineapple.

        That's not bad. Pineapple is tasty. But it's not tangerine!

        The fact that Milly is not (and has never been, by one perspective) messing with them might explain why Nunnally is quiet, on the topic of Landmine Club. (And Chivalry Club, on that note.) The shadow of war certainly stretches over them; Nunnally, at least, would rather find a way to live peacefully in the shade, instead of disrupting their lives with fighting.

        She's surprised, to hear Alto suggest she go up in the air. "Me, flying? Oh, but -- but I wouldn't want to trouble you," she demures, shaking her head. "I'm no help at all with moving around like that, and if something went wrong, I wouldn't be able to do anything... it wouldn't be safe, would it?" She doesn't quite look at Lelouch, as she ventures that, but she doesn't have to.

        Emilia isn't the only one who lives within her means.

        She smiles, waving in Sheryl's -- general direction, anyway. "It was lovely meeting you!" She calls, after her, which marks a notch of success: despite recognising Sheryl's voice, Nunnally managed to get through this whole encounter without telling her that she loves her music.

        It seems Lelouch hasn't heard of Tsutsujidai either, which makes Nunnally feel a little better about it; she knows she's a visitor to Japan, so it's reasonable she won't know all the wards, but sometimes she feels terribly untravelled. "If it's somewhere even Milly doesn't know about, it must be special, right, big brother? I admit, I'm curious... it wouldn't be too much trouble if we visited, would it?" She asks Rikka, with a shade of worry over imposing.

        Speaking of those shades --

        Emilia is clearly distressed, and a light frown creases Nunnally's face. "We went to middle school together," she explains, to Ranka, "though Emilia is a year older than me, so she's left for high school, now. Ah, because of things like that," a key approximation, "we never became terribly close, but she's a kind girl." Nunnally might seem unkind, talking about rather than to Emilia here, except --

        Some of her hunches are vague. This one, on the other hand, is SCREAMING at her: Emilia doesn't want to be observed.

        "I heard about Sheryl's concert, though... I thought it was better if I didn't go, myself," Nunnally explains, with a light gesture down to herself. It's harder for her to get out and go to things compared to other people, even leaving aside getting tickets. "Actually, I enjoy music, too... was it an interesting evening?" She asks this question in Emilia's direction, at least, even if she can't quite bring herself to call her in by name again.

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.


Sho looks a bit surprised at that it's purely recreational. Especially with the appearance of the karate club. He looks to Kallen once she walks up.

"Hello, Ms. Stadtfield. I hope you are in good health today?"

Then he looks at Sousuke carefully. "So... wait, you are head of security for the student council or the whole school?"

Now that has Sho curious. Just a bit curious. A school student in charge of security is just... saying a lot. Like totally a lot. 

<Pose Tracker> Lelouch Lamperouge has posed.

Indeed, Lelouch was oblivious to the talk around him. Willfully or not, the Vice President was carrying himself in the same lackdastical manner as always. Even after such a speech, he didn't look proud of it. No, it was merely the same Lamperouge as always.

"It was nothing." A nod of acknowledgement towards Orpheus, taking the bottle in stride. Granted, his throat wasn't parched, but it would be handy in...a few minutes, obviously. "Thanks. I haven't taken much thought to it, honestly. Milly looks much more suited for politics, and I don't think I have it in me to properly keep that up for long. Maybe a cushy job in public zoning." Half-truths were the best lies. Small talk also served for their own form of introspection. "But the specifics aren't worth thinking about. You should take it easy as well."

A minute affimarion of what he suspected about Tsutsujidai. It was a place worth investigating, so...As much as his gut screamed out about not bringing Nunally along, he stamped that overprotective(?) bit of his brain out. This was a private school; Certainly, they weren't at a large enough scale to place themselves on the general map of any sports, so they were just a school of a rural sort, perhaps. He'd have to look in further.

"It has to be, if they answered Milly's call. I suppose we'd have to go there on official business, schedules pending." Encouragement of Nunally. Guide her along. Set her on the world of tomorrow. "I'd be happy to go along." So long as everything was in place.

A ring of his phone. A generic tone that wasn't special in any capacity. Biding his excuses, slithering away from the crowd as natural as any Noble-Born Brittanian knew how to do. Away from the sights. Away from the crowd.

Flick.
"Yes."
A deeper voice from the chest.
"Yes."
Barely keeping his posture straight for appearances.
"Yes."
A slightly quicker gait.
"As I arranged."
Zero had places to be ahead of schedule.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto watches as Ranka heads off to talk to Emilia. He decides it's probably best not to crowd her, so remains where he is. Though he does give Ranka a smile to show that it's fine.

        Besides, Alto is happy to continue trying to convince Nunnally, "It's no trouble. The safety issue can be handled easily enough with some basic harnesses. That's fairly standard." Most of the time. "And the Ex-Gears themselves naturally have appropriate safety functions. Of course, nothing in life is ever one hundred percent safe. But for something simple like this, you'd be fine. It's barely any different from the tandem parachuting that people have been doing for recreation for centuries. And it's not like I'd take you on any significant maneuvers." He smiles, "You never know. You might enjoy it. And it might be a new experience that proves useful in the future."

        It's at that point that though Ranka ends up making her way back to their general area anyway, along with Emilia. So Alto simply finishes to Nunnally, "Think about it." Before letting Emilia and Ranka join in with their conversation.

        For the most part, Alto doesn't butt in much. Though he does quickly suggest, "Ranka or I can probably get you some good tickets at some point. We both have connections with Nergal." And obviously, a Certain Someone.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen waves off Kaname's exasperation. She understands, after a fashion. "Ah, I didn't mean to suggest that at all. Truthfully, I think they'll get along well with some of our more... unorthodox clubs." Kallen allows herself to slouch slightly, to be more approachable. Just that tiny bit less perfectly prim. It fits the expression she's wearing now; less deep in thought, and more recalling the utter exhaustion involved in certain festivals. Like the time her first kiss was very nearly sold to the student body. "That in mind... if you ever happen to need someone to rant to, or need an avenue to schedule any events, here." She knows that long-suffering look, and so passes along her phone number, written down.

Her attention is drawn over in Sho's direction for a moment. "A-ah, yes. I've been much better lately, with far fewer medical leaves. I think Milly may have been onto something, in fact." Indeed... the idea that being around people, out in the world could benefit her. It's convenient... and also true in ways she never expected. Certainly she'd never have done half the things she's experienced in recent weeks, or given any thought to the inspirations now firmly rooted in her soul.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.



anka might have missed the kick that sent Sousuke flying a little, or the way the blue haired girl ordered him around- She was very focused on that girl asking for drinks and acting like a 'Queen' that... Ranka was okay with. Hm. "I-it's fine. Um, Mr Sagara helped me out of a bit of a hole, the other day. So I wanted... to check in."

        Unfortunately, Ranka does embarrass Emilia a little, blushing as she mentions she adores music. She looks to one side. But she should... clarify the misconception. Right? "I... hadn't heard much music, growing up..." She's... anxious to say this much, but maybe she should. Or shouldn't. Or... "Miss Nome's was the first time I heard music I really liked..." That's as far as she can go today... further than she expected, with that. "A-and Miss Ranka's song at the cherry blossoms was wonderful, too..." She's really doing well at this informal thing, huh? (No, she just knows Ranka and Nunnally are better than her.)

        Nunnally is right, Emilia doesn't want to be observed. The only time she does is when she's been fully dolled up. But right now she's.... It's all a bit much. She doesn't want some of those hateful eyes turning towards her, or more importantly, the people with her.

        Nunnally asks her about the concert, though, and it pulls her back. ...She does adore the music, after all it. "It was wonderful... Diamond Crevasse is still my favourite, but there were so many good songs.... And the staging and choreography-" And there it is, her foot in her mouth. Of course she can't go into that, how could she describe it in a way that could convey it to Nunnally with her useless, halting words. "I... got to meet her after the show. Um... Miss Ranka and Mr Alto helped me through the signing." There's genuine warmth there, and Emilia is blushing again. Truthfully, that concert, that day had been one of the highlights of her life to date. Enough to cut through her own brain. 

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.


Sousuke is strange to Ranka. Usually she has pretty decent instincts about people, but from him... nothing. His way of speaking sounds so stilted but she doesn't get the impression that he's being untruthful. Her head turns to give him an unusual look. Emilia seems plenty distressed, so now she's worried there's something going on that she's not... quite understanding between herself and Sousuke.

Ranka considers telling Nunnally how careful Alto would be, how many times he's rescued her from all kinds of unusual situations. Even snatching her out of a vacuum once. However, she decides that even backing Alto up on this one is pressuring her... and decides not to press.

Instead she nods at Nunnally, "Ah. I'm a high schooler as well. A first year." She continues to speak to Nunnally conversationally, trying to give Emilia time. Nunnally understandably says it's difficult for her to see concerts, Alto offers tickets, "We'd have to work out more details than just that, Alto-kun. But... I think we could manage, if she really wanted to go."

Nunnally asks Emilia a question vaguely in her direction. Emilia seems to be growing more and more distressed as she discusses music. Though she does smile as Emilia talks about her music, and her song at Hanami. "If you want... I can introduce you to more of the artist I was singing later." She doesn't say it was Linn Minmay, as she doesn't want to embarrass Emilia by naming a celebrity she might not know. "I grew up on her music." Though as Emilia talks to Nunnally at the concert, "I was happy to help. I'm just so glad that you got to be there."

Ranka uses this opportunity though to shift sideways, and puts her hand on his hand delicately, "Hey Alto-kun... could you come over this way with me...?"

Ranka tries to lead him over so that he's standing right beside her, but has his position averted so that his back is to Emilia, "... Do you see that?" She points vaguely in the distance to the city skyline, "I think I saw Sheryl-san's latest ad on a billboard that way - you know, about for her latest single." A beat, "Also don't you think that's an interesting bird over there? I've n-never seen anything like it back on Frontier."

It's a stretch to think Alto would actually be interested enough in a Sheryl ad or a bird, but he's tall and that makes him a very convenient shield for keeping Emilia covered.


<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.

Oh no... Rikka feels like she made Nunally worry. That wasn't her intention.

"No, it wouldn't be any trouble..." Rikka replies, shaking her head. "I can leave my contact info with someone, if you want to arrange a visit sometime?"

It seems like a reasonable offer.

After this, she should probably leave to catch her ride back home, but she'll stick around long enough to exchange information. 

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Alto's efforts to convince Nunnally, before anything else, are met with -- mixed success. "I don't wish to be any trouble, but... if you're sure, I'll think about it. Alto, right?" Nunnally is Britannian; she speaks respectfully, but honourifics don't come naturally, to her.

        As it happens, her brother is happy to go to Tsutsujidai with her -- official business, naturally. "Really? I'm glad!" Nunnally smiles, to Lelouch, and for all her intuition --

        Being able to read people doesn't stop her from seeing the best in people.

        From seeing the best in Lelouch.

        The impression she gets from him -- as always -- is entirely caring. If there's anything else to it... Nunnally isn't the sort to intuit something like that. Her big brother wants to go to see Tsutsujidai with her, and isn't it wonderful?

        She thinks it's wonderful.

        Of course, Lelouch needs his privacy sometimes, too, so Nunnally doesn't call any attention to him as he slips off to answer a phone call. (She knows he'll be back for her, when she needs him.)

        Besides, she has Emilia to focus on, still. When she says that she hadn't heard much music 'growing up', Nunnally's fingers flex, against her armrests, in a long-remembered 'C' chord; she has long fingers, noble fingers, and a perfectly respectable occupation for a proper young lady is learning an instrument. ... of course, she hasn't touched a piano in many years.

        "Maybe one day," she says, to Ranka and Alto, on the topic of going to a concert. It's a magic spell, you see. Maybe one day, Nunnally will get to do a lot of things. Maybe one day, when it isn't inconvenient for anyone. Maybe one day.

        She's not very sad about it, though... because she can still listen to music, right here.

        "There's so much feeling in Diamond Crevasse... sometimes there's nothing to replace a sad song like that." She doesn't call attention to Emilia talking about what it looked like; she doesn't actually mind. It's nice to hear what everyone saw, even if she can't see it, herself. "I'm glad they were there to help... it's wonderful we've got such kind people visiting from Frontier, I think. Perhaps I'll hear your singing, one day, Ranka... I'm sure it's lovely." Her positivity may well be an endless spring.

        Nunnally pulls out her phone -- it's not quite a typical smartphone, because it has big, marked buttons on the front, though it's evidently still smart enough for Nunnally to be able to use voice commands to open up a new contact and get Rikka's details. She used to rely on Lelouch or Sayoko to handle phone calls, but now she can do this sort of thing on her own! Handy, isn't it? (Milly got fed up and took her shopping, one day, you see.)

        She proceeds to be utterly distracted by Ranka positioning Alto, despite -- or perhaps because -- she can't see why it's such a big deal.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto nods, replying casually, "Alto is fine." He definitely doesn't speak as politely as Nunnally. Though he's not rude or anything. Barring some certain triggers. He's just fairly casual, not caring for all the pomp... Much of which he had to endure earlier in life. He also doesn't have any real experience with the kind of caste system that exists in the Britannian Union. Along with his tendency to treat people fairly equally regardless of status.

        Alto looks up as Ranka steps over, taking his hand and asking him to follow her, "Huh? Okay..." He stands and does just that. For a whole five steps. Until she stops him.

        He blinks as she points out what might have been a Sheryl ad? He stares for a moment, before wondering, "And?"

        Then she points out a bird. He scratches his head, "Well... Yeah. Frontier's biome is fairly complex, but only speaking in artificial terms. Compared to a planet, it's basically a drop in the ocean."

        Somethings up... Alto turns his head to stare at Ranka, "What's gotten into you?" He seems completely oblivious as his role as a human shield.

<Pose Tracker> Sho Muramoto has posed.


Sho moves over from the Kallen/Sousuke conversation towards those from Frontier. "Excuse me?"

He asks the two left politely.

Then blinks as he notices he's near Nunually. "Ah, hello, Nunually. How are you today?"

He looks to her, then at the small gathering. He's obviously got some questions towards the Frontier group.

"I ah, had some questions about a few things from the Frontier? Like those... umm... what do you call them? The flight packs or such?"

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