2023-11-23: Don't Mind the Mercats

• Log: 2023-11-23 Don't Mind the Mercats
• Cast: Alto Saotome, Sheryl Nome, Ruri Hoshino, Sagiri Sakurai, Rin Naujakaite, Maya Jintek, Yurika Misumaru, Hikaru Amano, Ranka Lee
• Where: Barette City, Planet Ragna
• OOC - IC Date: November 23, 2023 (UC 0098)
• Summary: Sheryl and friends gather for a big birthday celebration on the ocean planet Ragna. Guest-starring the budding song group Walküre!

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<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Welcome to the planet of Ragna, where the sun is warm, the oceans are expansive, and the jellyfish are out in full force!

        Ragna is a mostly oceanic planet, with only a handful of landmasses of any noticeable size. Though interestingly, these landmasses didn't exist until recently. After a Macross colonization fleet performed some mild terraforming. That fleet then settled here on the planet, creating Barette City, a coastal city that includes the large Island Class colony ship landed in the water. It is connected to the coastal parts of the city via several large bridges.

        It is in Barette City, the de facto capital of Ragna, where most of you have spent the day. Plenty of opportunity for sightseeing, shopping and observing what an Island Class ship looks like when it's actually settled on a planet. Though really, it's not all that different from Earth. Almost like they brought a piece of it with them.

        It's on the mainland where things are more noticeably 'local'. For one thing, the local population is much more prevalent here. Ragna is home to the native people of Ragnans. Amphibious humanoids that closely resemble humans. Only if they had gills in their necks, webbed fingers and toes, and fins on their elbows and ankles. Despite being amphibious, the Ragnans are more than happy to live above the water, their homes and businesses often built along the coasts or even as houseboats on the water.

        It is one part of the coastal city that you have all ended up in as the day shifts into night. Further into the island, the large, looming shape of the Macross Elysion in its robot form can be seen standing, its numerous lights flashing against the star-studded black of the night sky. The Elysion and its support facilities on the ground are separated from the city by a suspension railcar.

        The nightlife in the city is pretty festive, with local music and dancing being common in some of the more happening parts. But the plan for tonight is a group dinner, organized to celebrate the birthday of one Sheryl Nome. The venue is a relatively new Chinese-inspired restaurant called Ragnyannyan. No affiliation to the popular chain of Chinese restaurants, Nyan-Nyan. Situated at the end of a small outcropping, it is perfectly placed between the more busy parts of the city and a large, beautiful beach that stretches out beside it. Its outdoor dining area, where the dinner is being held, provides an excellent view of the ocean, as well as the lights of the floating Island Class ship out on the water.

        The restaurant's owner, a young Ragnan man by the name of Chuck Mustang, has come out to meet with the party personally. He has been describing the numerous delicacies of the 'authentic Chinese fare fused with Ragnan delicacies' that his restaurant serves. One might wonder how it's authentic if it is made by an alien and includes alien food in it, but let's not point that out.

        Chuck has also been quite enthusiastic about the identity of the birthday girl, saying, "I can't believe my restaurant has been open for barely a year and I already get to serve the Galactic Fairy herself! I'm more of a Fire Bomber fan, but my sister loves your music. If it's not an imposition, she asked if I can get an autograph from you on one of our menus?" He presents one to Sheryl.

        However, at that point a Ragnan woman sticks her head out of a window, shouting, "I asked no such thing! Don't use me for your excuses!" Apparently that is the sister, who is also the co-owner of the restaurant.

        Chuck chuckles as he is caught out, but then adds to Sheryl, "Better make it two... If that's okay?" He produces a second menu! Bold.

        Of course, even with the likes of Sheryl Nome here. The real stars of tonight's dinner party are the Mercats. Native creatures that are called such because the upper half of their body is similar to a cat, while the lower half is more like a seal. They are most at home in the water, but still prove to be rather agile on land too. They appear to be common in the area, with several lounging around on the beach and rocks near the restaurant. A few have even made their way up into the establishment, no doubt drawn by the promise of food. When approached they prove to be quite friendly, enjoying being petted and played with.

        Alto is currently staring at one such mercat which is lying on a railing. Said mercat, with a rather grumpy looking face, is staring back at Alto. Chuck notices this, saying, "Oh don't mind him. He showed up a few days ago and has been stealing some of our fish. But I'm sure he'll move on in time. Mercats are generally harmless, after all."

        Alto huhs, reaching out towards the mercat experimentally. But this mercat grumps back at Alto, before flopping away from him along the railing. It then dives into one of the Restaurant's windows. The same one that Chuck's sister poked her head out of. There's a scream of annoyance from within, along with a cry, "You damn pest! Get out of here!" The grumpy mercat appears again, diving back out the window. It has a juicy fish in its mouth as it flops away to eat in private. Alto watches all this with a mildly amused expression, simply shrugging at the end.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Despite Galaxy having been a very high-tech fleet--or maybe because of it--Sheryl Nome has a great fondness for nature, and in particular the beach. Whoever masterminded a trip to ocean planet Ragna for her birthday is getting massive brownie points with the Galactic Fairy. Now it's just a matter of them coming forth.
        
        She's enjoyed shopping in Barette City; there isn't even anything in particular Sheryl wants, but shopping is a delightful experience in and of itself. If everything gets given away as presents for her birthday celebrators, why, that's just Sheryl Nome's ~ * ample * ~ generosity at play and definitely not just one of her whims. (It does make it easier for those who've been carrying her bags for her, though.) As a result, once she and her crew make it to the mainland, she's actually traveling quite light, dressed in a sleeveless blue blouse with a silken ribbon white tied at her neck, high-waisted white short-shorts, high-heeled wicker sandals, an assortment of colorful bangles on her left wrist, one of the limited edition THE KISS rings she released on her last birthday on her right ring finger, a wide-brimmed wicker sun hat decorated with faux flowers with her blonde hair piled up underneath save for two thick tendrils on either side of her face, dark shades, and naturally her iconic drop earring.
        
        Once night falls, the hat and the shades are discarded and Sheryl unpins her long hair to shake it out. Who gets to hold onto her accessories for her? Good question! Sheryl isn't particularly concerned about it either way. (Maybe she should be. She's a little too used to Grace minding those things for her, even now that Grace isn't actually at her side.) She takes some time to admire the Elysion as well as the local sights and sounds--she joins in on some of the local dancing on the streets, with ample mock pouting when moved along, and ample laughter when locals recognize her and there's a stampede to run away from. What can she say? She wouldn't be Sheryl Nome if she didn't love the attention!
        
        Eventually, though, everyone makes it to Ragnyannyan. (Ranka might be a bit late, but that'll be all right.) She of course has the best seat on the balcony seating, gazing out at the waves lapping on the shore below with a smile... as well as the adorable mercats on the rocks and in the waves below. Any mercats that venture near the star will get offered a slender hand for a few strokes and scritches.
        
        When Chuck comes out to make sure everyone's comfortable and explain the menu and also ask for one (oops, two) signatures, Sheryl chuckles. "Why not? I'm in a generous mood tonight! I'm a Fire Bomber fan myself~." She takes both menus, produces a marker, and signs them both with a flourish in the unusual way she does--first the S, then the 'heryl behind it so it looks like herylS. She winks as she hands them back. "Be grateful! I hardly ever do this kind of fan service. <3"
        
        She glances over her shoulder as a certain mercat is pointed out. Seeing that it's locked in a staring contest with Alto, she giggles. "It's doing its best impression of you, Alto! Three out of ten points, though. Its face isn't nearly handsome enough to make it work. o/`"
        
        Then the mercat does exactly as Chuck described and makes off with a fish, leaving chaos in its wake and laughter in Sheryl's throat.

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Ruri Hoshino, fourteen years old and four feet tall, is probably one of the worst choices for carrying Sheryl's bags. Thusly, she has escaped this torment.

        (She did come into all this carrying a small bag at her elbow, but she hasn't explained just what's in it, yet.)

        Right now, though, she leaves the tables to crouch down at the edge of the establishment, staring down at: "Mercat..."

        It's a seal that is also a cat. THIS IS AMAZING?

        Cautiously, Ruri reaches out towards a little merkitten, one pale hand reaaaching into the decorative bushes where he's hiding. Her big gold eyes shine with wonder as the merkitten reaches out with his little black nose to sniff at her fingers.

        This is amazing.

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

"Hmmmm... An invitation to the Galactic Fairy's birthday party, eh?"

Sitting in Special Section 3's room aboard the Nadesico, Sagiri Sakurai stares at the invitation resting in her palm. Her other hand scratching her cheek, she contemplates for a moment, turns over the invitation, and then looks to her right.

Caught in her stare's crosshairs is one Rami Amasaki, currently faceplanted into every single pillow available in the room, snoring.

"She got so excited she overworked herself again," she mutters, a little smile crossing her lips. Amies and Meryl, hard at work, smile and sigh, respectively. Hirosuke just chuckles. Sagiri turns her attention back to the invitation, and continues contemplation.

"... Hey, boss," she suddenly asides to Hirosuke, green eyes filled with INTENT.

"Hm?" wonders Hirosuke, blinking behind shades as he looks Sagiri's way.

"Can you do me a favor and get in contact with the Macross people for me? There's something I want to suggest to them. Or offer, I guess."

"Hm? Sure. But why do you need me to do it? You're not exactly gunshy, Sakurai."

Sagiri's smile is sly as she pockets that invite and stands up.

"Because -- I've got research to do, and..."

And with a flourish, Sagiri opens up her VTX BRAND extra-strength PSEUDO-TESSERACT LUGGAGE (experimental build (not yet safe for public use! (USE AT YOUR OWN RISK))), planting hands on her hips with satisfaction as it harmlessly unfolds...

... into an entire wardrobe's worth of luggage.

"... decisions to make."

Meryl and Amies stare, flabbergasted. Rami snores into her pillow.

"How..."

"Why..."

"Zzz..."

Sagiri grins, pivoting to the trio to offer a thumbs up and a wink.

"Hey now, whether out on the town or out in deep space, a gal's always gotta be prepared to dress to impress~!"

Hirosuke, taking his leave, calmly notes as he goes:

"You've had donut jelly on your shirt since this morning, Sakurai."

"Wait -- really?! -- Shit!"

"... ma'am..."

"... ma'am..."

"... zz'zz..."

---

Sagiri Sakurai's been enjoying a night on the town! In another planet! With travel pay! Seriously, how much greater does it get than that?! Today, the manager of VTX's Special Section 3 is flying solo. Rami -wanted- to go, but unfortunately...

CUT TO RAMI, OVERWORKED AND FACEPLANTED INTO PILLOW MOUNTAIN. DON'T DIE, RAMI!

... Sagiri doesn't know Sheryl Nome that well -- especially not as well as some of the other people here, or fanatic fan Rami. But when Sagiri Sakurai says she owes someone, she takes it very seriously.

So she volunteered to contribute something to the party, a special surprise service she insists she'd normally "charge top dollar for (I know my worth!)". She doesn't know Sheryl that well -- but other people do. So she did research. She asked around - Alto, Ranka, the Macross crew, anyone who'd humor her. And between Alto and Ranka's ideas, and something she discovered about the planet Ragna... inspiration struck.

And so --

Sagiri's been here enjoying and freely indulging in the many amazing intricacies of Ragna's Barette City. 'Dressed to impress (for the circumstances)' she wears a cherry blossom pink maxi-style sundress that fades to a darker shade at its skirt, combined with a white and brown bolero jacket and strappy, high-heeled sandals for something punchy-yet-fashionable. That typically wild mane of chestnut hair of hers has been piled up into a stylishly messy bun, kept in place by canny hairpins.

For the most part, though, Sagiri's been light and conversational and eager to shop at all the clothing stores they come across because who DOESN'T want some deep space fashion options to have on call? It's good to diversify! When they arrive at ~Ragnyannyan~ the VTX pilot is comfortably seated at a seat towards the back of the outdoor area, nearer the indoor area. Strangely, she doesn't seem THAT surprised by the Mercats, though she does seem very taken with them.

"Meryl would love these," she remarks to herself, a smile on her lips that blooms into a full blown laugh as Alto's First Contact with the Garfield of the Mercat World goes about as well as one could expect. She shakes her head, eyes squinting shut as she adds onto Sheryl's remarks,

"They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, y'know!"

But once Sagiri's made her order - Fried Fermented Spiders, whatever -that- entails, because when in Rome! - she idly excuses herself, scooting out of her seat to flag Chuck down, take him off to the side, and talk to him about something. Something she's prepared in advance.

Something... cake-y.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

"Sure," said Samantha Crowley, "let's go to another planet. Why not."

"It isn't as though we have a choice," says Louis, who is taking it much more sanguinely.

"I had no idea this was even an option!" says Rin -- and to be fair, perhaps Britannia doesn't really *center* these colonial outposts, even in their educational system.

SO:

There was some whirlwind shopping and tourism. None of these three idiots had any idea this was even on the itinerary, and their camera rolls fill up with images. Perhaps their tension from Rin's big, smelly interpersonally-concealed secrets is healing, a rift mending; or perhaps it's just until they make it back home. Either way, friends are friends.

But Samantha and Louis have their own magic to make (not appearing in this film).

AND SO:

RIN IS THE ONE WHO CAME TO THE BIRTHDAY DINNER.

Rin is wearing a new outfit purchased right here, right now. It is, theoretically, Native Garb. It is a washed-out pale-red with a deliberate wear pattern evoking tie dye. No sleeves, knee length hem. Rin brought two changes of clothes with her, so THAT SURE WAS A RELIEF. Her hair is up in twin-oxhorn-bun style, accented with fabric bearing a jaunty squid-and-what-she-thought-was-a-cartoon-animal motif.

That cartoon animal was a mercat.

Rin is gazing on a mercat with dappled, vaguely-koi-like patterns.

The mercat is gazing back at her.

Rin's pupils dilate.

The mercat's pupils dilate more.

Rin's shoulders twitch.

The mercat's tail flaps.

"They're real," Rin says, in awe.

The mercat goes for a more or less amiable bite at the nose, to which Rin reacts by pulling back quickly enough to dodge it and rise from her crouch. Koi Mercat reacts to this by rolling over, smugly secure in its invulnerable adorability.

Rin walks over towards where Chuck has been greeting Sheryl and fishing (heh heh) for an autograph. "This place owns," Rin declares, ponderously, although she is able to get herself together by the time that the mercat concludes its piscine heist.

Rin somehow ends up holding a pair of Disguise Shades. She tucks them into the top of her dress without thinking about it. "So your fame transcends even the stars themselves," Rin says to Sheryl. She super-widens her eyes for effect.

Then, snap! The more puckish normality. "Did you manage to touch that one you were lookin' at?" Rin asks Alto. As she says this she reaches into one of the waist-height pockets on the dress. Casually. Sort of a Napoleonic hand-in-coat thing. Her other hand reaches for an as-yet-unmonographed menu. ("hey" she hey's to Sagiri in passing, before she herself Peruses. "Spider, huh.")

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         If the Maya of a year ago could see herself now. Attending the birthday party of one Sheryl Nome, Galactic Fairy. She'd have never have expected that in a million years. Yet sometimes one path in life leads in incredibly strange directions. And thankfully now she wasn't making as big of a fool of herself, too! Usually. Familiarity wasn't breeding contempt in this case, but more helping to see her idol as... well, less an idol, and more a person deserving of great respect. No-one wants a toadie who endlessly fawns upon them with nothing else going for them.

         The site of the party wasn't a place that she was familiar with, but its description was interesting, the photos she'd seen were intriguing, and actually seeing it in person... yeah, Ragna was incredible. She definitely wanted to pet a mercat if given the opportunity! They looked so cute! While she felt a little sorry for the restaurant owner, she couldn't help but giggle as one of them made off with a fish like a bandit. "Is it OK to pet these ones? Or feed them? Or is that bad?" Maya asked Chuck as she saw Ruri out of the corner of her eye making her move immediately. She knew that they were still technically wild animals, and human interaction might be bad for one or both of the parties. But if it was all good, she definitely wanted to join the operator in playing with them.

         Speaking of playing with things, her hand subconsciously dipped into her handbag. Dressed light for the weather, in a red floral pattern t-shirt, blue jeans, and thongs on her feet, she couldn't help but worry about the present she'd gotten for Sheryl. It wasn't something big or expensive, but she'd thought long and hard about what was and wasn't appropriate, and what was within her means, and this was the best idea she'd come up with. A small square covered in wrapping paper decorated with fairies was all people would be able to see right now if they looked. 'I really hope she likes it...'

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Really, Rudi and Mekibos guiding the crew of the Nadesico and Quarter to Ragna may have been exactly to blow off a little bit of steam. Though Yurika had a little bit of trouble with air traffic control (space traffic?) in convincing the defense force of the Elysion that she was, indeed, not an affiliate of the Zuvorg Alliance, her ~sheer charm and grit~ authorized her landing the ship at Barett City's docks.

        TRAGICALLY, owing to it having been autumn when the three ships took launch, and also owing to the preview of Gallia IV being not exactly a resort destination, Yurika...is low on cute tropical summery outfits, how tragic!!! So she's tagged along in a tank top that's a little bit 'just an undershirt for cushier clothes', and completely unremarkable casual slacks. It'll have to do! "EeeeEEEEEEeeee they're so A DO RA BLE how are they real!?" Yurika's hand is on a mission to attempt to pet every mercat it can, a simple stroke from head to tail before venturing onto the next. Naturally, it's not too long before Yurika's ordered dinner is halfway used to feed them, and a growing crowd of the creatures is gradually accumulating at her feet. She's engaging in conversation with them even. The type of small talk you engage with on most pets.

        "Sheryl did those Alliance people even KNOW your birthday was soon, this really sounds like they set up a resort vacation. And - Ruri don't worry, they definitely won't bite, you can pet them!!"

        -- -- -- -- --

        Of course - this visit to Ragna isn't just for Sheryl's birthday. After all - part of the purpose was to have a talk with the Elysion's defense force as a bit of a favor to the Alliance's envoys. Thankfully, despite their prickliness in the local political environment, the 'Delta Flight' has proved rather laid-back and amenable - and so, three individuals make their way specifically over to Sheryl's table. The first, a bearded man in military fatigues, introduces himself to her simply, "Arad Molders, captain of the Delta Flight. Hope you're having a nice time here in Ragna - it's certainly one hell of a place to be stationed. Captain Johnson sent me to welcome you - and, well, when they learned that the Sheryl Nome was tagging along...aaah, it's a little pushy of them, but..."

        The second, a woman with short red hair, hands behind her back, flashes a smile Sheryl's way. "I'm Kaname Buccaneer, up and coming vocalist. It's a real honor to meet you, Sheryl! Obviously you're a pretty big inspiration, like you are to every musician in the galaxy, so I bet you get that all the time. Oh, and my friend here - she's a little shy-" Kaname points to her third, a pointy-eared girl with short green hair, a little distant-looking and engaged more with her phone. "...This is Reina Prowler, who's a better performer than she looks, hehe."

        Ordering a gradient-colored drink from the bar, Kaname takes a few sips, and plainly states, "...So, let's not waste your time - I'm here because one of the Elysion's projects is some pretty fascinating research into the effects of Song Energy, like Fire Bomber were using a few years ago. ...We're working on a unit to harness this power in a more organized way. You may have seen the occasional flyer for tryouts - we're calling it 'Walkure'. Right now, it's just me and Reina. It may be a long shot, but - do you have any thoughts on whether your singing could be put to direct impact on stuff like the ancient precursor ruins, or digging into just why it was so effective on the Zentradi and Protodeviln? I'm sure you've seen your fair share of crazy stuff, given all I've heard about the 'Vajra'."

<Pose Tracker> Hikaru Amano has posed.

Hikaru was pretty surprised to be able to come along for the Galactic Fairy's very own birthday party! That's like, a pretty big deal, right? She tags along with Yurika, wearing a cute little tye-dye shirt of her own, enjoying the rather nice weather out in Ragna.

She has a present for Sheryl, by the way - it's fanart, of course, she took the opportunity to put together a big glowy piece after seeing her perform on stage! It's somewhat of a contrast of the more subdued, personal sketch she made for her on the Bird Human movie set, but she hopes she likes it all the same.

The restaurant is really nice, especially the ocean view. But for now, she's focused on the mercats, the main attraction of this place! "Hehe, this is the kind of fusion I can get behind," Hikaru laughs, reaching out to gently squish one of the mercats' ears. "Somehow... I don't think these little guys need to worry about food." She answers Maya, as one of them dashes off with that fish. Not that Yurika minds. "Geez, Yurika-chan, you really know how to spoil them, huh? I'm not a biologist or anything but now I think you have them bonded to you by soul for life!"

She also glances over at Ruri, cautiously reaching out to one of the merkittens, Yurika encouraging her. "Aww... even Ruri-chan likes them!" Sometimes you can just tell these things from a person's expression.

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto had actually chosen to NOT wear his SMS uniform out today. So it's a fairly simple plain white shirt for him, with dark trousers. He's not especially fashionable like some here. Which is inspite of, or perhaps because of, earlier times in his life when he would wear extremely stylish clothes.

        And of course, during their trip out in the city, he had ended up being the one carrying most of the bags. Even though he never actually bought any himself.

        Funny how that works.

        Thankfully that's in the past now and there's a chance to relax here. The Mercats help. Though as Sheryl claims this one is impersonating him (and also calling him handsome), he turns to give her a grumpy stare. Which probably does look a little bit like the Mercat's.

        Said Mercat grumps off though. Rin asks about it and Alto shrugs, "Guess that one just wasn't the friendly type after all." He finds another one to pet. It's a lot more friendly.

        And with everyone already petting the Mercats, it's a good thing Chuck laughs and says to Maya, "It's fine! We Ragnans have been interacting with them for a long time. There's always the possibility your alien immune systems might have some troubles with them. But so far there's never been any serious cases."

        Chuck then gets flagged down by Sagiri. He listens and then nods along, "Excellent. No problems. I'll leave it up to you!"

        Alto's attention is caught by the appearance of members of Delta Flight. He's never actually heard of them as much like the rest of the Earth Sphere, the Frontier fleet has been pretty cut off from the goings on in the rest of the galaxy. But he puts two and two together, especially after the mention of Fire Bomber and Song Energy.

        Alto wanders over, asking pointedly, "Didn't they already try something that like that and it failed miserably? Not just anyone is cut out for being in combat." Of course, saying this Alto is inadvertently pointing out just how awesome Sheryl is since she has done it.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Presents will come later, but when Sheryl gets Hikaru's art of her performing on stage, she'll definitely appreciate it. Especially since Hikaru caught her good side~. ...Just kidding! They're ALL good sides.
        
        "Who wouldn't? They're adorable," Sheryl effuses to Sagiri. She winks and gives a pointed look over to Ruri, absolutely captivated (cat-ptivated) by one of the merkittens sniffing at her pale fingers. "Even Ruri's fallen in love! <3"
        
        Not to mention Yurika, as Hikaru also notes. But Yurika's easier to charm by far. Did the Alliance know it was her birthday? "Who knows? If you ask me--and you are--I have a feeling a certain someone might have tipped them off~." She smiles knowingly at Alto. Looks like he's perfectly positioned to get those brownie points...!
        
        As Sagiri moves on to the mercat's 'imitation' of Alto, though, Sheryl grins and jokes, "Hmmm... If it really wants to flatter Alto, it should get a better face." She winks at Alto's scowl and adds, "Even if Alto's doing his best to meet its level~." At least the punchline is that he's a good-looking man?
        
        Rin comments on her fame while tucking Sheryl's shades into her top. Sheryl is unfazed by the latter and responds to the former by flipping her hair. "Of course! That's why I'm the Galactic Fairy! There's no corner of the universe that doesn't know my voice!" she boasts.
        
        Maya wonders if it's okay to pet the mercats. While she might not have been asking Sheryl that, Sheryl still weighs in: "I have a feeling they'd be offended if you didn't pet them! They seem very used to people." Of course, Sheryl has never encounterd mercats before today either, so take her opinion on this matter with a grain of salt. Fortunately, as Chuck says, she just happens to be right.
        
        She takes a moment to actually look over the menu. Chuck had gone on at length about Barette jellyfish, so if that's the #1 local delicacy, obviously she has to have something containing it. "I'll have the salt-and-pepper jellyfish tentacles and a jug of banana wine for the table," she orders, handing in her menu--just in time for Arad Molders to approach her.
        
        "Oh, I heard Captain Johnson would be sending someone over," Sheryl tells him with a smile. "I've had a lovely time so far. The beaches are incredible, and the shopping's been a delight!" But that's not the purpose of their visit, and when Arad indicates the girls with him, Sheryl turns her gaze their way. Kaname and Reina, hmm... Reina doesn't seem so much 'shy' as 'indifferent,' but Sheryl maintains a for-the-fans smile.
        
        At least the topic Kaname brings up is of more interest. "Oh?" Sheryl prompts at the topic of Song Energy. She hasn't heard of Walkure, any more than she'd heard of the Macross Elysion before this trip, but she opts not to tip her hand on that. She's more familiar with the concept of Song Energy itself, thanks to Fire Bomber--though it was called something else back then. So too was the battle song unit back then, as Alto points out, wholly separate from Fire Bomber's Sound Force. If Elysion is making their own attempt at the concept, good for them, but as Alto points out, the last time the military tried to weaponize song, it didn't really work out well thanks to the singers not being able to handle combat.
        
        Of course, Sheryl didn't really do great as a fighter pilot herself--but as a songstress on the battlefield, she's always prevailed.
        
        "To be completely clear, are you asking about my singing, or song in general? There's a big difference between the two, and I've personally never run into any Protodeviln," Sheryl points out. "The Vajra are one thing, but they're a very different kind of crazy from the Protodeviln, from what little I've heard of them." She gestures to Alto. "And as rudely as he said it, he is right about that."

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         "Oh, that's good! And I should be fine!" Maya said with a grin at Chuck's confirmation that there would be no issues. She didn't expect her half-Zentraedi biology would be a problem. Sheryl immediately backed him up, too. "Mmhmm, you're absolutely right." Unwilling to offend the mercats, she immediately went to join the others in playing with them. Yurika had a veritable herd of them! Clowder? Pod? What was the correct term for a group of mercats? One of the tortoiseshell ones noticed her and approached, and immediately bumped its head into her legs. "They're so... cute..." Cats and seals were both cute on their own already, so she supposed it made sense that they'd also be cute combined.

         She turned to Yurika who was almost buried in mercats at this point. "Do you know if there's any way for us to have a mercat on board the ship as a mascot at all? Is that allowed?" Maya wasn't about to steal one of them, but if it turned out that they could be pets, well... she'd definitely be all for one of them joining them on board the Nadesico. Hearing Sheryl order, however, she remembered that they were here for a nice meal together, too. Prying herself away temporarily, she quickly looked over the menu. "I'll have... the sweet and sour barette jellyfish fritters, and also a bottle of Sea Apple Wine, please!" When in doubt, go with the local delicacies. The bottle was for the table, of course, but she was looking forward to giving it a try. Apparently it had a bit of a salty taste to it, but paired well with much of the food. The tortie mercat mewed in agreement at the order, and Maya grinned. "OK, I'll share a little bit with you. JUST a little bit, though!"

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Ruri's thinking what Maya's saying, so it's nice someone comes out and asks if it's okay. But the Captain says it's okay, so clearly it's okay. Besides, Hikaru would tell her if it were dangerous! Ruri keeps staring, quite focused, at that little merkitten as he finally flops forward to headbump her fingers. "Mercat..." She echoes, again, in quiet wonder.

        Several moments pass.

        Ruri picks up the mercat.

        He's a dark blue-grey, with big, purple eyes, and he dangles as Ruri holds him out in front of her. 'Mraawww? Mweggsh? Wrrmah,' he chirps, as he lifts a paw to bat at her curiously. Her eyes grow a few more sizes, beholding him.

        (She's never gotten sick, not once; she isn't afraid of catching an alien disease. She might be physically frail, but her immune system is absolutely up to snuff.)

        Ruri proceeds to scoop the little merkitten up in her arms and turn to find Sheryl and the others again. "Look," she says, and she even has a little smile when she says it. "He likes me."

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

Sagiri offers a little finger-wiggle in greeting to Rin as she passes by, before lifting a finger to her lips and winking.

She's on a TOP SECRET MISSION.

After that brief conversation with Chuck, though, Sagiri flashes a grin, eyes squeezing briefly shut with her mirth as she claps her hands together and bows her head. "Awesome! Thanks a ton, Chuck!"

Ineffably informal and forever friendly is Sagiri Sakurai.

Though Sagiri does round back to her seat, she doesn't settle back in; instead, she leans forward until she can drape her arms across the back of it, listening to the conversation between Sheryl, Alto and their guests from Delta Flight with quiet interest. The idea of utilizing the power of song in a more organized, deliberate -- standardized, maybe -- way is interesting to her. Ever since her parents told her about how the Zentradi War ended when she was a kid, the idea of song conquering war has always felt romantic to her in some way. But utilizing it in a military fashion?

It makes her think for a moment, before Sagiri pushes off the back of her seat and circles around; she pauses as Ruri presents that merkitten, offering a little smile as she assesses.

"Looks like you two were meant to be, huh?" she offers to Ruri, alongside a thumbs up of approval, before she finally circles around to lean over -Rin's- seat instead. She looks down, offers a smile.

"So, what d'you think about all this?" she asks. Of Delta Flight's plan? Of the restaurant? The world? The ADORABLE MERKITTEN? Maybe all of it! She's got a PLAN she needs to get to, but--

She can spare some time for brief small talk with a friend, always.

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Yurika's latent Cat Mom Energy(tm) is just about glowing at this point, her smile of utmost radiance at Maya and Hikaru. "It'll be so sad to say goodbye to these sweeties, aaaaa...aaaa I'm going to have to say goodbye to them...!! Mouuuuu...! I...we had an agreement with the Elysion staff to not take any animals, except for the fried jellyfish as a snack on the go, ahahaha..." There's a bittersweet edge to the way Yurika starts feeding and petting her herd.

        Of course, Ruri's sheer purity of spirit makes Yurika tear up. "Nooooo, not when you've gotten so close to one...d-don't name it Ruri-chan, then it'll be even harder to say goodbye...!" It's a fool's errand. The names are probably already being generated.

        -- -- -- -- --

        "Oh, we know it's not a straightforward task of just throwing musicians into combat," Arad explains, taking a seat on a barstool and having a straightforward beer. "Right now we haven't gotten that deep - it's thus far been kinda dry tests in labs, hahah."

        "Oy. Captain Molders." Reina finally chimes in, electing for a simple cup of ice water. "...You're talking to the Galactic Fairy. There's no way she's signing up if you say it's boring."

        Arad can only awkwardly rub the back of his head there, and Kaname saves face: "We've been considering a few ways we could coordinate Walkure with actual combat operations of the Delta Flight, including maybe piloting Variable Fighters ourselves - however, we've found it's not just singing on its own, but also the art of coordinated dance that has some potential, and we just don't have the technology for dancing motion-capture in VFs... Right now, we're developing exo-suits and barrier systems to keep us safe if we do go out into the field. Don't worry, we're not just ordinary idols." Kaname does the good old hand-on-flexed-arm bit. "I've been in some training myself, and Reina's specialty is actually on the fly hacking. We're looking for talented risk-takers, and that's why I wanted to try my luck with you!"

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

Rin gives Alto an abstractly sympathetic look. "Yeah, cats are like that. And I guess mercats aren't gonna be that different." A joke insinuates itself into the corner of Rin's awareness, but it will take time to grow, even for her ridiculous overclocked brain. She looks towards Sheryl with an upquirk of her eyebrows.

As Sagiri sneaks out on tactical corporate action, Rin grins a little at her. She will doubtless get the benefit of this joke, soon.
After that, it's menu time. "Hmmm-mm-m-m-m-m-m-."

Rin turns her head to look at Ruri. And her merkitten. Her eyes narrow. "... Oho. So you've begun the process of domestication..."

Back to the menu. "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm."

Her eyes narrow.

"I dunno what kind of fish this is but chili fried whatever-fish-this-is," Rin declares, having been foiled, perhaps, by an obscure Chinese character or by her own ignorance. "Ooo, dang, banana wine!"

Song Energy is on the menu, too. Listening to the discussion of Walkure and the relative skepticism (ALTO) or understandable lack of full briefing (sheryl), Rin folds her arms and leans forwards. "So like... is Song Energy another band name or do you mean it's some kind of... like, literal energy from singing?" She glances at Sheryl for a moment. Back to Kaname and Reina. "I mean I'll believe anything you say out here, but 'Song Energy' is a good band name, you have to admit."

There is a little more elaboration. "Huh... wait, you guys are idols?" (To Sheryl, she says, "I had no idea the idol system was that widespread! I thought it was just an El- you know, a Japanese and neighbors thing.")

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Sheryl calls Alto rude.

        It's true.

        Still, he didn't really mean to be all that rude. He's just curious how they intend to avoid some of the problems previously encountered.

        Meanwhile, Chuck is now running around grabbing orders. Soon enough he vanishes back into the restaurant. A short time later he returns, handing out everyone's orders. He also has an additional serving of Jellyfish Kebabs with the folks from Delta Flight, "Here you are Miss Buccaneer, Miss Prowler. Captain Molders. On the house." Generous!

        Chuck then leans in to Arad and more quietly says, "I hope you've been considering my request." Perhaps not so generous, after all?

        Alto glances over as Ruri appears with a mercat in her arms. She looks so adorable he has to resist headpatting her.

        Of course, Yurika raises some good points. Alto isn't sure they'd just be allowed to take any animal...

        Though Alto's not going to be the one to say that. It's all up to you, Captain Misumaru!

        Back to the conversation at hand, it does seem like Delta Flight is putting a bit more thought into the process. To be fair they have the advantage of not being frequently under attack by a hostile force and so have the time to actually work on it.

        "Having the singers outside VFs seems... Dangerous. You might be better off with a stage on a ship somewhere." Seemed to work for Minmay. Though she wasn't actually channeling Song Energy. Alto lets Delta Flight handle that explanation for Rin.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Bringing a mercat on board the Nadesico... That would definitely raise the overall cuteness level by a lot. It's not like it'd be the Nadesico's first time hosting an alien mascot, either, though Ranka at least tries to be discreet about Ai-kun.
        
        "It must be your natural animal magnetism," Sheryl teases Ruri. As to whether they actually should take one home... well, it's Maya who asked, and Yurika who'll have to make that call--and the call is that they cannot. Sheryl shoots her a sympathetic look. It's hard to have to say no to that face.
        
        "Did you seriously?" Sheryl asks Rin, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe not everyone calls us 'idols,' but there are famous performers all over the world." No one as famous as her, of course. "Basically, though, there were these aliens called Protodeviln who were attacking the Macross 7 fleet, and Fire Bomber was able to neutralize them with the energy from their songs. I don't know all the details, but that's the basics."
        
        Grace could no doubt go into more detail--but Grace isn't here, is she! (Delta Force will just have to make do, right after they enjoy their free food.) Sheryl huffs a little laugh when Reina finally speaks up to point out to Arad what a poor sales pitch he's making. Kaname does a better job buttering her up, at least, and Sheryl's smile broadens.
        
        "I respect your guts, at least. You know to aim for the top," she replies, flipping her hair. Alto weighs in, saying that having the singers outside the VFs seems dangerous. Sheryl glances up at him, hand on her chin. She won't comment on that directly yet; they did say they wanted to take risks, and presumably they'll be working out those particular kinks. But they're propositioning her, and so: "I see two problems here."
        
        She holds up a pair of long fingers. "One, I'm not planning on sticking around this area forever. I'm here as part of an expedition on Gallia IV, and we're going back to Earth once we're done." Also, her manager isn't here. But Sheryl leaves that part out for now. "Two, you're not going to convince me with just talk. You and her--" She nods from Kaname to Reina. "You're the vocalists of the group, you said? I won't share the spotlight with just anyone."
        
        Sheryl turns her chair around to face the two directly. Where she'd had a whimsical manner a moment ago, suddenly her bearing is queenly--arms folded, chin raised. She's still smiling, but there's a quality to it now that will brook no argument. "You said you've been training? Show me what you've got, then. Sing for everyone. Right now."

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        Sagiri approves...! Ruri's Corporate Approval Score improves by ten points, and that will look great in this quarter! (Sheryl also approves, though Ruri wonders if that's really what animal magnetism means.)

        But Yurika says something devastating, particularly when Ruri replies: "I thought he looked like a Pinnipaw..." She has definitely already named him.

        Ruri sighs a deep sigh, looking down to Pinnipaw. "Sorry," she says, "but the Captain says we can't take anyone with us."

        'Mraaaah?' Pinnipaw asks, flicking his tail.

        "I feel like he's already tame," she adds, to Rin. "Maybe he's fed a lot here... I guess if he's comfortable, I can't ask him to come with me." And if that's the most devastating news of this era, Ruri at least keeps it under wraps. She's a pretty reserved girl.

        "Come on," she urges Pinnipaw, holding him up. "Let's listen to their song, okay?"

        'Mreggsh,' Pinnipaw honks.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

~A year prior~

Ranka Lee was giggling in an unrestrained manner on the recreation deck of the Nadesico, wearing a corseted dress with cat ears. "Come on Omoikane! I've done it enough times! I'm supposed to be practicing Cat's Diary for the upcoming festival!"

                        < QUERY = REPEAT (NYAN-NYAN)? >

She tried to put on a serious face, before it wavered and she started cracking up again, "You're taking advantage of me! You know I can't say no to you!" Taking up a posture, she balanced on one foot, putting out her arms as little pawsies, as she began to sing the jingle, "Nyan-Nyan! Nyan-Nyan!"

Before swinging to her opposite foot in a mirror of the pose, a joyous smile on her face, "Ni~Hao~Nyan~" Swiveling back forward, she put up one arm above her head, "Gor~geous!" Then the other, "De~li~cious!" Then spreading them out, leaned forward as if in a bow, "De~cul~tureeee~!"

No sooner had she finished, than he put up the message anew.

                        < REPEAT(NYAN-NYAN) >

Ranka laughed again, "You really like this one huh? Alright!" As she winked at the screen, "Just so you know! I wouldn't do this kind of performance for just anyone!"

~After four more repeat performances~

"Alright! Now for real! I need to practice. What do you think about the costume? Any suggestions?" Ranka twirled as if to show it off, and Omoikane's holographic screen showed a paper doll of Ranka doing the Nyan~Nyan pawsies, only to splice off the bottom half and put in its stead- a fish tail.

                        < SUGGESTION = MER-RANKA >

"A mermaid for cat's diary!?" Ranka looks astounded, and then laughed, "Omoikane you left on the cat ears!"

                        < CUTE = CUTE >

Giggling, she noted, "I couldn't even dance in that! I'd just be this weird 'Mer-kitty' flopping around on stage." She does get a wistful look, "Wouldn't it be amazing though!? If something like Mercats were actually real! I'd definitely sing Cat's Diary just for them!"

~Recently~

                        < TIME = NOW >

Omoikane had bided his time before deploying his greatest weapon. No, not the gravity cannon, even though that was a really good one, nor the missiles. Instead, he was deploying the greatest cultural technological marvel known to mankind.

                        < CUTENESS = JUSTICE >

A meme.

But not just ANY meme.

Painstakingly had he done the unthinkable, and edited the footage of Ranka Lee he personally took, splicing together the footage of Ranka performing her little dance with the Nyan-Nyan jingle. And put it on repeat, such that she was going back and forth with her little pawsie pose, gleefully singing 'Nyan~Nyan~' over and over on repeat with sped up refrain.

He then spliced it together with her modern ad for the Nyan-Nyan, whereupon floating Chinese dishes flew by Ranka as she sang the same jingle.

/o~ Good eats~
/o~ And pretty girls too~
/o~ Nyan-Nyan Nyan-Nyan Ni~Hao~Nyan~
/o~ Gorgeous! Delicious! De~cul~ture~!

And added in a final touch at the end.

'Wouldn't it be great though!? If something like Mercats were actually real! I'd love to sing for them!'

A then, and now, with the audio expertly edited together to display it all to his demographic of choice. Zuvorg social media.

                        < DEPLOY FOR( GREAT JUSTICE ) >

~Also Recently~

Grace O'Connor adjusted her glasses as one of her internet search triggers was struck by the weaponized meme. "My. If it isn't my adorable former opponent. You wouldn't happen to be trying to promote LQ, would you now?"

A smirk touches the corner of her lips, "I suppose I could quash your effort for old time's sake, but I think that game has become tired. Let's play a new one shall we? Your choice of market is all wrong. Why don't we send it further abroad for a little boost?"

~Not Long Ago~

They had only just defolded an hour ago in Ragna's airspace when Ranka Lee was informed of a strange fact. As a relatively new idol, word of her debut, much less her music had barely reached this world. And yet...

"Hm? But we just got here? Omoikane ... What do you mean I've gone viral!?" Before she squealed, "HOW MANY VIEWS? When was this posted?"

                        < KEIKAKU = PLAN >

And so it came to be that Ranka was asked, quite formally, to sing Cat's Diary, for the Mercats. Which has taken her out of commission for the earliest part of the trip.

But so it was that on the back of a viral meme in a world that only just discovered she existed, that Ranka Lee and her music came to be known from singing to a pod of Mercats.

This led to a beach being named after her.

She's even more surprised than you are about this.

                        < LET'S GO NYAN NYAN! >

Omoikane is both excited and smug.

~Now~

Ranka Lee is running late to the Ragnyanyan for Sheryl's birthday party. She would like to attribute it solely to singing for the Mercats. And indeed the number of encores she was demanded to perform was a contributing factor.

But the truth is she also just got lost.

                        < SENSE OF DIRECTION = SET VALUE(0) >

Ranka is promptly led back, a little out of breath putting a smile on her face as she yells, "Sheryl! Happy Birthday!" The sudden intensity of Sheryl towards the pair Ranka sees in front of her chair causes Ranka to blink, wondering if she interrupted something, "Sorry... I'm late?"

There are many other important things in this room, including Sagiri and her secrets, Ruri and the Mer-kitten, Rin and her Bananice Wine, Yurika and her Cat Mom Energy(tm) but for right now at least initially her focus is on the birthday girl. To them she mouths while meaningfully sideeyeing the pair with Sheryl, 'Is someone performing? Are they performing?'

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         Oh no, it's cute! Ruri had found what looked to be the smallest mercat - maybe a merkitten - and was holding it in the most adorable manner. "Awww, he definitely likes you!" Maya cooed as she scratched it behind the ear. But Yurika had to be the bearer of bad news, unfortunately. "Awwww... that's unfortunate, but also very clear." She took a deep breath, and exhaled, as if to physically expel any desires she might have of keeping a mercat around on the ship. It was no good pestering the captain - not because it was useless, but because it might work. She would have to be united in responsibility! For the sake of protecting the mercats from themselves! Even if it made Ruri and the whole crew sad, it was for the sake of Ragna and the mercats! "We can always come back later and visit. Pinnipaw will be waiting for you!" The last line was with a little bit of a sniffle, but Maya knew that she had to be strong for herself and everyone else.

         With the arrival of the food, Maya took her seat and admired the dish. She had to admit that she was a little concerned about eating jellyfish, but with the batter her dish was in it wasn't recognisable as such, which made it more appetising. She also poured herself two glasses of wine - both the banana and the sea apple - because she's a grown up and she can have two glasses of wine if she wants. After the first bite, Maya decided that yes, this was the right decision. "Mmmm, this is so good! I love how fusion cuisine is able to combine two or more great things together!" She made sure to sip from both wines, too, to compare the flavour profiles. The sea apple wine was indeed salty, which meshed well with the sweet and sour of her dish, but the banana was superb all around, as befitting their signature vintage.

         Suddenly, her ears started to prickle, as she heard the words of Sheryl declaring that there was a 'problem'. Maya immediately turned around to see the tail end of a... discussion between Sheryl and a few others that she didn't recognise. And it sounded like... she was demanding that they sing. Of course NOW was the time that Ranka chose to charge in late to wish Sheryl Happy Birthday. Talk about good timing. Maya's eyes darted between Sheryl, Ranka, and those she'd just challenged, and she took a long swig of wine. 'Welp, nothing to do but sit back and wait for Deculture to hit...?"

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        "...you are right, he does look like a Pinnipaw," Yurika admits, her hand reaching out to brush the mercat's face. "He'd probably get along great with Choumi, and Hibana, and Lester, and Kamano, and Orchid, and-" Oh no, she's named ALL of the herd of mercats swarming her!

        Arad throws a glance over to Chuck, rubbing his beard thoughtfully. "Hooooh, so you're serious about that? For a while, I thought you were joking - to be totally honest, we haven't had the best luck with any new recruits since we landed here. I think it's the kind off job that's exciting from the norm at first...but it's harder than you think. A lot harder. We're not soft on rookies, since we're not a squad that sits around on our hands all day - we do, on occasion, get in skirmishes with the Alliance, and the occasional space monster that lives around here too. It ain't just flying around for kicks. ...If you're serious, though, I'll put a word in with the Captain and have him reconsider at least a trial run through training. We could use a few more hands, I'll admit it."

        Kaname, of course, has been issued a challenge by Sheryl Nome. There's a momentary flutter in her heart - a skip of nervousness in her confident demeanor - but that quickly turns into a firm and decisive gleam in her eye. "...Hoh. You're as bold as they say. And your cute friend here - oh, that's Ranka Lee, isn't it?! Hehehe. I've got the shot to kill two birds with one stone here, don't I? Challenge accepted. Consider this a birthday gift from Wakure."

        Naturally, Ragnanyan has a stage for live music - it's a hotspot in a Macross city, of course it does! Kaname doesn't even need to fuss with negotiating with the PA - they know each other, she's a regular here. All she needs for her routine is to call out, "Everyone! Hope you're having a fantastic night! I'm Kaname Buccaneer, the idol who never backs down - your very own valkyrie, singing from the heart of Ragna! I'll get you all started on our biggest hit..." "AXIA - Of Love and Hate!"
                        ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTpRYHokId0 )

        The opening chords sound over the radio - and the locals at the bar begin to stir and applause. Kaname's clearly a bit of a local celebrity here, as you'd expect, and it's far from her first performance at this very spot. The lighting's already surrounding Kaname - deep pink and low purple in swirls and spirals surrounding her in rhythm to every word.

        Ima mita egao ga saigo no egao kamoshirenai
        That smile of yours I just saw may be the last I ever see

        Tatoeba betsu no hito to kaiwa o suru yokogao mo toutoi ichibyou
        Even watching you talk with someone else would be a cherished second

        Hane yori mo inochi ga karuku naru sekai de
        In this world where our lives hold less weight than a feather

        Kimi wa watashi no ikiru imi dakara deaeta
        We managed to meet because you were the meaning of my life

        ...All throughout this first verse, the sudden decision to perform from Kaname brings a shine to Reina's normally flat expression...and though she clearly has slight reservations - the junior member of the group, clearly... there's a wellspring of determination, and before the chorus hits, Reina's rushing onto stage, stepping in just in time to join in harmony...!

        Setsunasa wa kono mune no AXIA
        This pain is the AXIA of my heart

        Katamichi dake no binetsu de kakeru sora
        You soar through a one-way sky, with a faint fever

        Sugu kieru mujihi na niji ni naru
        Becoming a merciless rainbow that fades instantly

        Yuuen no kimi ga daisuki de daikirai
        Seeing you so far away, I both love and hate you

        By the end of the performance, Kaname and Reina alike are both certainly quite drenched in sweat, dancing back to back, each of them alternating their positions in the lighting of 'hate' and 'love'. Kaname, reaching and pining in motions - Reina, holding herself tight, her body language more reserved and guarded in that way that serves the song well, but may just also be too close to her real feelings for an idol's sake.

        It's a chart-topping hit on Ragna itself, though - so no wonder everyone's eating it up. The real question, then, surrounded by their local fans, then - both of them are fixed on Sheryl and Ranka's approval...!

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

At some point, Sagiri Sakurai has simply -- disappeared, with little more than the flash of an approving grin and a wink that clearly communicates 'we'll figure something out' on the sly to Ruri.

The Mercat Smuggling shall continue until Morale Improves.

But, after that? She's gone, missing much of the subsequent conversation and the great arrival of Ragna viral legend, Ranka. (She'd have so many thoughts about licensing and merchandising if she knew Ranka had a whole beach named after herself here).

Eventually, though, towards the tail end of the singing -- someone emerges. A mystery someone, perhaps. Let's call them... Mystery Patissier S. And with them, they come bearing on a roller cart...

The birthday cake. It's--

A cat?

No -- it's a fish?!

No! It's--

A MERCAT

Yes! Though made large enough to serve an entire party of people, the ~mystery patissier~ has taken great pains to lovingly sculpt Sheryl's birthday cake in a remarkably on-point recreation of one of Ragna's most adorable lifeforms, the Mercat. And this one -is- truly adorable: its little cake-crafted flipper-paws holding it semi-upright and eyes half-lidded in a picture of merkittenish eloquence, most of the details are done in different colors of frosting with a maddening attention to detail to make the whole thing truly come alive. The main body is a yellow, vanilla frosting, fading into pinker hues towards the ears, fins and tail to give it a striking - and familiar - strawberry blonde coloration. Its head, of course, is tilted in such a way as to emulate a hairflip.

If only there had been time and resources to add little fondant sparkles to complete the effect, but, well -- Mystery Patissier S worked with what she had.

As for the cake itself -- underneath lovingly crafted frosting is pink-colored, strawberry champagne cake, worked and baked to fluffy perfection with just the hint of champagne that helped make it so soft.

Mystery Patissier S, lacking a domino mask to conceal her identity at all, just kind of -- plants her hands on her hips and heaves an exhale.

"Hoo. Sculpting's such a pain in the ass."

Thank god for the raw power of the Nadesico kitchen and kitchen crew. She's not sure she could have accomplished it all without Ms. Howmei!

She's going to have to form an unholy culinary alliance with that woman after this.

It's only once she's done that Sagiri looks over towards the Delta Flight group, pastel green eyes widening. The timing is perfect, really. More than that --

"Wow, that's one hell of a Happy Birthday song," she remarks. "Everyone here is just totally awesome, huh?"

She loves it.

<Pose Tracker> Rin Naujakaite has posed.

"I mean that's where I grew up!" Rin half-protests to Sheryl. "That and Taipei, you know, I guess I'm an island girl when you think about it. I should tell Ranka that." Japan is kind of big for an island, BUT NEVERTHELESS:

Sheryl's called them out.

"Oooooohhhhhhhh" Rin says in subtle countertone. She stops kind of short when she sees Ruri raising up little Pinnipaw. She is, simply and completely, cute-struck. She gets her phone out to immortalize the moment. And then! From stage right! A RANKA! "Hayyy," she tells Ranka as she gets closer, taking a photo of HER and then a moment later HER AND SHERYL without even asking.

Well, at least she can't put it on Biglobe here.

                                probably

All of this means Rin has her phone OUT when Kaname rises to the challenge. People at her table - positionally, probably Alto and Ruri, ironically-enough-definitely-Yurika, and potentially anyone else - can see her deliberately go to VIDEO MODE.

Yes: It's an interstellar fancam.

And afterwards, as the glowing idol retires to her corner to breathe deep and take it easy, Rin claps! Which means the
last 15 seconds of the video are horribly shaky and nauseating! Eh, you can fix it in post.

But that's not all there is.

Coming out of the back... born by someone who is absolutely, definitely, Sagiri... is...!!

"Oh," Rin says, "/my/ god," and then she photographs IT too (memorial! before it's devoured!) before putting her phone
back into her damn pocket!! God!!

As she leans forwards and puts her hands on the table to look at the fruit of Mystery Patissier S, her eyes flick around
for a moment, searching for a cryptic opportunity. It doesn't reveal itself, so her attention goes right back towards
the cake. "It's so cute I feel awful even thinking about eating it!"


<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Poor Pinnipaw... Still, Ruri's a big girl. Surely she will be mature and leave the mercat(s) behind and not smuggle one aboard. Sheryl winks at Rin in time for that photo she shoots, having a sixth sense for that sort of thing. But that's not the highlight of the moment for her.
        
        "Ranka! You're just in time. The Macross Elysion's songstress project, Walkure, is going to show us what they're made of," Sheryl tells Ranka with a bright and merciless smile. "Come have a sit and listen with me." She settles her gaze back on Kaname to see that skip in her confidence--and the way she rallies it right back up. "It is! And I am. <3 So you'd better impress me!"
        
        Kaname's doing a good job to start, though. She accepts that challenge, and she immediately gets to work on making it happen. Sheryl said right now, but she knows perfectly well that a proper stage takes time to set up--part of the challenge is making it happen despite that. It seems like she challenged Kaname on her home ground, though, and she takes full advantage of that to call up her sound and lights to her voice.
        
        Still, Walkure is supposed to be a group, not a solo act. Kaname's doing well so far, but Reina remains shy--until the chorus. Then, finally, she rushes onto the stage to take counterpoint, the hate to Kaname's love. Sheryl bobs her head to the music. It's a passionate melody, and the vocals are good too. However...
        
        "You're not there yet," Sheryl says bluntly once it's done. "The two of you have clearly put in a lot of individual practice, but you're not quite on the same wavelength." She points to Kaname. "You were ready and prepared to step up--but you were in such a hurry to impress me that you left your partner behind." She swivels her finger to Reina. "To your credit, you stepped up on your own--but your dance is too withdrawn, and you leaned on your partner to take charge." She folds her arms anew. "I can sing and dance just fine on my own. If you want to form a song *unit*, you need to work on your synchronization." Her expression lightens with another smile. "Still... you're sparkling with potential. I'm interested in seeing where your trajectory takes you. Call my manager when you've firmed up your fundamentals, and we'll negotiate then."
        
        Sagiri's cake arrives then, and it is truly a magnificent homage to the Galactic Fairy. Perhaps it might be called--the Catlactic Fairy?! She brightens to see it, and Sagiri wheeling it out. "Oh, how adorable! I love it!" Don't worry about the lack of fondant sparkles; Sheryl's providing plenty of her own. She gestures to Kaname, Reina, and Arad to sit. "Come on, you three--join in on the party! You rose to the challenge, so you deserve a reward. <3"
        
        Once she's sipped her wine and eaten her dinner, Sheryl will get in on that cake. Strawberry champagne is an interesting flavor combination, and it's fluffy and light--and the colors are on point. A savored bite later, and she declares, "Mmm, delicious~!" A wink to Rin. "Don't feel too awful, or you'll miss out."
        
        Lucky Sagiri: Sheryl's not a chef, and not here to present professional judgment of cakes, so she can just straightforwardly say it's delicious without worrying about the nuances.

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         "Yurika, I thought we weren't supposed to name them! It's why I didn't give a name to Serena here!" Maya exclaimed as she fed the tortoiseshell mercat one of her jellyfish fritters. She didn't seem to realise what she'd just said. Perhaps it was her destiny to serve aboard the Nadesico. It... was not going to be easy to do the right thing, clearly. Stay strong, Nadesico crew!

         It seemed that Walkure wasn't about to be cowed by Sheryl's challenge, and Maya's ears perked up, looking forward to seeing what these girls were capable of. Perhaps she'd be able to find another group to fangirl over! Almost immediately, she was bopping along with the thrum of the beat and the cadence of their vocals. Oh yes, they were indeed the real thing. Her heart was racing in pleasure as she listened to their song. She applauded and cheered on its conclusion, immediately vowing to buy their songs as soon as she was able. She would follow their careers with great interest!

         It was then that she saw the incredible cake prepared for the occasion. That... was definitely something. She heard Rin mention how much of a shame it'd be to eat something so cute, and Maya agreed. However, that wouldn't be fair, either. "I think it would be offended if we didn't eat it, though." She said, echoing what Sheryl had said before. "And also to the chef. Great job!" Sagiri truly was a woman of many talents. She reached into her handbag and pulled out a small, square-shaped present. Her hands were shaking a little. "I don't know if now's the right time, but happy birthday, Sheryl! I-I hope you like it!" Maya was incredibly nervous about presenting this to her. Not just because of who she was, but because of how personal this gift was.

         The present itself was, as one might expect from its shape when wrapped, a CD case. The cover looked like the Sagittarius?9PM case at a glance, but if you looked closer, you'd see that the writing indicated something different.

Diamond Crevasse - Harp Version

Vocals: Sheryl Nome

Harp: Maya Jintek

         Inside was a disc, and instead of being just blank with texta scrawed on it, had also been printed to match the case. The inset also had song listings on it, which were simply 'Diamond Crevasse - Harp/Vocals', and 'Diamond Crevasse - Harp'. Maya had done two versions; one was just her doing a harp cover of the song, and the other was that combined with her overlaying Sheryl's voice onto it. She'd used a vocal only version of the song and combined the two for it. However... she'd messed up at some point. While preparing all of this, Maya had also done a version where she herself was singing along. It was just so she could refine the melodies of the harp and properly synch it with Sheryl's voice. But somehow she'd accidentally included it when making the final disc. So if it were to be played, one might stumble upon a hidden third track of Maya singing Diamond Crevasse in all her amateur glory. The harp itself was very well done, but the vocals... well, 'passionate and accurate' would be damning it with faint praise. If she knew what she'd accidentally included she'd be more than just nervous.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

(Poor Pinnipaw. I suppose this is what's known as Summer Love?)

When she's RECOGNIZED by someone she doesn't recognize, she actually looks startled, forgetting completely she just went viral on this planet and her image is probably all over.

However, Sheryl explains, and Ranka remembers, "Oh! Yes that's me-!" And indeed, Ranka plops right down in the seat beside Sheryl. "What they're made of huh? Well it's your birthday, so they'd better not disappoint!"

Indeed, perhaps this is one of the few days where one can get Ranka to scrutinize extra hard a group such as this.

(And waves to Rin just after, not even minding and in fact falling into a more photogenic angle for her pictures.)

Indeed, despite being here for Sheryl, she has her eyes on Kaname Buccaneer in this moment, as the opening chords begin for the song. Ranka considers the music in depth, her foot taking in the rhythm right away.

Her hands laced behind her back, weight shifting back and forth, listening to the lyrics. It certainly LOOKs like it has Ranka's approval by her reaction to it.

But!

"It's very catchy." Ranka admits, coming off of Sheryl's criticism, "I really enjoy the work the two of you obviously have put into it all. But, Sheryl's right. The two of you were just a little out of synch. Hm- it's-!"

Ranka takes a moment to think about it and-

"Sheryl and I may not be an idol group - and we haven't officially collaborated, but when the two of us sing together, it's as if our hearts are one. That's the level you should aspire to, I think if you're going to impress the two of us as a group."

Despite that criticism though, she beams at them, "But just like Sheryl, I see nothing but potential, and I'm sure you can rise to the challenge! I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do in the future."

And then, the cake comes!? And it's! "Oh! OH!" Ranka's eyes light up, and as she comprehends the nature of this confectionery wonder, her hair slowly rises as if floating from the magic of the Mercake, "Wahh!" She gasps as she clasps her hands together, "It's everything I hoped for and MORE! You did such an amazing job, Sagiri!"

Indeed, Ranka tries her own dinner, a little startled at the cuisine, sipping the wine (And being surprised by the taste), and eventually taking a bite of the cake too. "MmmmMMm-!" She massages her cheek, "It tastes even better than it looks!"

<Pose Tracker> Ruri Hoshino has posed.

        "I guess we all named them..." Ruri says, looking to Maya and Serena.

        Whether she's hatching a foul plot in her head at this very moment is impossible to tell, because Ruri has a very good poker face. Ranka may well get a request before they leave, though...

        (Ranka knows better than anyone how to smuggle animals, after all.)

        Firstly, though, there's the show -- and Sheryl's appraisal. "You're very harsh," she says, blinking to Sheryl. Ruri, of course, is also incredibly blunt, or else she might not put it that way. "But I guess you're right, too."

        She reaches up, and situates Pinnipaw on her head, seated between her twin-tails. She's very good at staying still and moving calmly, so he happily curls up there. Once her hands are free, she admires the beautiful MERCAKE, delivered by a mysterious figure. "It's very good," she says.

        And she remembers to pull a little box from the bag at her elbow, tucking it onto the table beside Sheryl. "I saw you writing your music a long time ago," she says, "and it seemed like it would be inconvenient to get an idea when you don't have any way to take it down. So..." Inside the box is a little gadget which folds out into a tablet, with a pen which can be extended out to write on it. And there's a microphone and a camera installed, so she can record her singing instead of just writing lyrics down! "This should be small enough to keep in a pocket," Ruri says. "Or you can attach it to a chain... well, I thought it would be useful."

        And, naturally, she tries the mercake. She looks up, as she does, and assures Pinnipaw: "It's okay. I wouldn't really eat you."

        'Mrreg?' Pinnipaw asks, head all askance.

        "This is good," she goes on to tell him, "but if you were a normal cat, I don't think it would be healthy for you to eat it."

        'Mreh...'

<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.

        Yurika knows exactly what to do when Rin begins filming - holding up her current #1 fan mercat, a blue and gray colored creature. She's all smiles, a grin ear to ear to ear - it's something to think that just a few months ago, the most important person in her life just walked away from this miracle. "...We have a Mystery Patissier in our midst!??! Maya, Maya, you've got to catch them and get answers from them, I have too many cats on my lap to move anywhere...!"

        The performance leaves Yurika to applaud and listen to Sheryl's judgment alike - as always, she's trying to glean a little bit of insight from the wisdom of other venues, and try and take them as glimpses of truth that she can apply in her own life. After all...the crew of a battleship is kind of like an idol troupe, right? And...they're down Megumi now, because for whatever reason, she failed to consider the feelings of her and Akito alike.

        ...Yurika's head cranes upwards, a direction she hopes the Earth is relative to her. "...ah...it's been a while, huh? I've had so much on my plate this journey. ...It's been interesting, and fun. ...Are you okay wherever you set off to, Akito? I'm sure you are. You've always been unreasonably tough. So tough that I worried you'd harden up without someone in your life to make it glow. That's why I promised I'd never let myself get too hardened up by everything. For your sake. But maybe that wasn't right...maybe the fact that you were always working so hard...it means I should've been there to catch you. I should've been more willing to remember that you didn't have a choice but to be so strong..." A little tear falls down Yurika's cheek. Just a little glimmer of realizing what she wanted...

        -- -- -- -- --Naturally, there's a little bit of blueness in the face at Sheryl's harsh but fair assessment. For Kaname, her tight grip on the microphone is a little obvious - to be true, Sheryl's tougher than even musicians here on Ragna that she's learned from. But that's just life on a Macross - the entertainment industry is big and prestigious business, demanding all or nothing passions. There's a slackening of tension as the cold reality of where they need to improve fades to a praise of their sheer passion for the craft. "...You're right, Sheryl. I'm still thinking of this as 'my project', and maybe it's just cause it's the two of us. I only practiced this routine once or twice with Reina, so I thought I'd just handle it myself, but - we need to be focused on always working together. Right, Reina...?"

        Turning over to her side, Kaname tilts an eyebrow at the much more guarded look Reina has in her, shoulders pulled together. Her breathing's a little heavier - the stage fright's not something she's totally overcome, it's clear. "...still a lot to be done, huh...it's obvious that what I feel on stage isn't..." A swallow, bitter and difficult, down Reina's throat. A doubt, perhaps, that she's cut out for this gig at all. Kaname's about to reach out for her - but Reina's moving off the stage at a brisk pace, desperately in need of water after that.

<Pose Tracker> Sagiri Sakurai has posed.

You're very harsh. But I guess you're right, too.

"Hmmm. You can't pull punches, if someone wants to be the master of their craft."

This is Sagiri's observation in the wake of Sheryl's critique, post-cake arrival. She watches as Reina moves off the stage, a thoughtful look in her eye that lasts for a few seconds... before she glances aside, offering both Ruri and Sheryl a wink.

"Seems to me like it's the way Ms. Galactic Fairy shows she cares."

VTX's Fallen Angel is more than happy to soak up the praise herself, though: she has the unabashedly and shamelessly pleased look of someone who loves what they do at the initial remarks from Sheryl, Rin, Maya, Ranka and the others, hands locking behind the back of her head as a big, eye-shutting smile blooms at her lips.

"You can thank Ms. Lee and Mr. Saotome over there for the final product," she remarks instead of anything about -her- work though, eyes cracking open if only to cast -Ranka and Alto- a wink this time. Her winks cannot be stopped!

"They pay keen attention; if it weren't for their expert opinions on what you'd like, it might've gone completely different!"

Sometimes Sagiri, too, must sow chaos.

With a friendly sense of ease, the manager of Special Section 3 finally flops back into her seat with a leisurely sigh and a lax look that doesn't quite fit her fashionable attire at all. Still, she owns it all, one leg hooking over the other as she watches the partygoers sample and enjoy her cake with a quiet sense of satisfaction reflected in the subdued nature of her smile.

"Hee," she murmurs out a pleased noise, mostly to herself. "They're right you know, dear rookie," she asides to Rin, brows waggling. "You better get some of that cute cake while the getting's good. The mercats would want you to!"

You did such an amazing job, Sagiri!

"A lady's gotta have a few tricks up her sleeve," is her nonchalant remark, even if it's clear it means more to her than her humble, charming little dismissal lets on. "If you love something, you just gotta pursue it with all your heart. Even a humble hobby."

After that, she's content to watch people enjoy themselves and hand out presents. She only pauses as she catches a glimpse of Yurika; she misses the words, but she sees the aftermath -- the little hint of a tear's passage glimmering at her cheek. Her brows furrow. A second passes. And then without a word, Sagiri gets up onto her feet, and makes her way to the MERCAKE.

A few seconds later, there's a hand giving a brief, encouraging pat on Yurika's shoulder; without a word, Sagiri offers that pat, a smile, and a slice of cake slid towards Nadesico's Captain, before passing by as if she was never there -- giving the briefest, quietest passing encouragement and support before she continues on her restless journey.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        Ruri calls Sheryl harsh, and Sagiri weighs in. Sheryl nods to them both. "That's right. I am harsh. If you're aiming for the top, you can't just sit on your laurels and let people coddle you with praise, even if it's earned. You need to always look for the ways you can improve," she states. "If Walkure is supposed to be a musical group, then it'll never work as a pair of individuals doing their own thing."
        
        Sagiri remarks that this is the way Sheryl shows she cares. Sheryl only chuckles a bit. Ranka weighs in too, bringing up the experiences that she and Sheryl have had singing together. She smiles over to her fondly and nods in agreement. Is comparing the experiences they've had unfair to the fledgling Walkure? Maybe. But nonetheless, if they want to make the entire galaxy tremble, that is the level they'll have to aspire to.
        
        Kaname seems to take that critique in stride, even if it's a blow to her pride as that tight grip implies--but Reina seems more sensitive. Sheryl watches her go, then looks at Kaname. "The fact that you approached me means you're still looking for members. If you have faith in her as a songstress, then you might need someone who'll help bridge the gap between you--or rather, between her and the songstress you see in her," she suggests. "I doubt it'll be easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is."
        
        She'll leave it at that. Whether Kaname stays to eat or chases after Reina is up to her. She and Ranka both gave their encouragement too, so if Walkure's members are the types to crumble in the face of any kind of critique, they won't get far. "It won't be long before our first collab, though--even if we aren't singing together," she comments to Ranka, smiling. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you perform that song live~."
        
        But... so Alto and Ranka both helped with making this cake a reality. Sheryl's fond smile returns, this time aimed at the both of them. "Hmmm~... So you both know me that well, huh?"
        
        She'll let them react as they will for a moment before she starts accepting presents. After Hikaru's art from earlier comes Maya's mock-up CD, featuring herself on the harp and Sheryl's vocals. She accepts it with a smile, looking it over front and back. "A cover, hmm... I'll look forward to listening to it, Maya." (Fortunately, that means she'll be alone if she hears Maya's own amateurish vocals.)
        
        Next comes Ruri's present: a gadget all for recording her inspiration as it comes to her, from a tablet to a microphone to a camera. Sheryl fusses with it for a moment with interest. "Ooh, this is convenient! Maybe I can hook it into--" She glances at Alto. With her high-necked blouse, the only hint that she might be wearing a necklace is the hint of a red cord on her shoulders, visible thanks to her lack of sleeves. "...Well, I'll figure something out. Thank you, Ruri."
        
        Yurika's off in her own corner, shedding a tear as she gazes off in the distance. Sheryl has a guess about what might be on her mind... but she refrains from drawing everyone's attention to it by asking her about it. Instead, she'll let Sagiri handle it with a discreet offer of cake, and keep everyone's attention off Yurika's moment of weakness by raising a glass of banana wine. "To good times with good friends!"

<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.

         "Guuurk..." Ruri had helped Maya notice her fatal mistake. Still! Even if she had named Serena, she understood that she had a home here! In her brain, at least! And also her mum would really disapprove if she found out that she got into the mercat smuggling business. She had... strong views about not disrupting ecosystems. Either way, Maya resolved that if anyone was gonna kidnap a mercat, it wasn't going to be her, no matter how cute they were! Yurika's cries for answers from the Mysterious Patissier didn't go unheard, of course. "I'll make sure to have her brought before you to answer for her 'crimes', my liege!" She said, jokingly of course. It would be nice to do some cooking with both Yurika and Sagiri. Or at least hear about the story behind the Mercake, for it deserved a capital letter. Sheryl receiving her present sent a spark through her of fear, regret, and joy, but mostly the last one. "I hope it meets your standards!"

         The criticism of Walkure by Sheryl and Ranka were legitimate, certainly. Maya was one who all too easily got caught up in the deculture of the moment, but she could recognise those flaws in hindsight, when pointed out. But it didn't detract from the moment for her, at least, and part of the appeal of idol troupes was getting to see them improve in real time. It was like watching a cooking show and seeing the ingredients come together, instead of just the final product. Speaking of... she made sure to grab some cake before it all vanished, and was back with Yurika, who had just been visited by Sagiri - the Mysterious Patissier. "Looks like she brought herself to you on her own accord." Maya said quietly, looking at Yurika's face and seeing that wistful look. She remembered that first party that she'd had, when still getting to know her new comrades, and that bombshell dropped at the Captain's feet.

         "We're all here for you, OK? I'm here for you." Yurika helped to make her a part of the crew immediately, and she hated to see her so down. Without leaving her captain's side, she raised her glass to Sheryl's cheers. "To good times with good friends."

<Pose Tracker> Alto Saotome has posed.

        Alto gives applause for the performance by the Walkure starting idols. He clearly doesn't have as much of an eye for critiquing singers as some here. Even if he does spend a lot of time around them.

        What he does have an eye for though is food!

        Wait, you might be wondering. Alto is a good cook? Actually yes. Certainly not restaurant level, but he's lived on his own for quite a while. At least when he's not grabbing meals from the Quarter's cafeteria.

        So when birthday cake rolls out, Alto nods approvingly. And not because he had input on the flavor. Honestly, when Sagiri asked him about what might work, he had no idea and just took a shot in the dark with the strawberry champagne.

        Still, he's happy to pretend that it was completely on purpose as Sheryl approves of his choice. Plus he also sees this as an opportunity for a friendly jab, crossing his arms and smirking, "Well. You do hang around us a lot. We're bound to pick up on some things."

        Cake goes around. And there's a toast from Sheryl. And Alto takes this as a good opportunity to hand over his present. So he walks up to Sheryl, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small, pretty box with a ribbon on top. It's small enough to fit in the palm. There's not a lot of things you could fit into that. Could it be!?

        Yes it is!

        It's a run of the mill data storage drive. A not particularly expensive one either. Probably they kind that you might get in a gift basket at a new job.

        As Sheryl opens it, Alto explains, somewhat embarrased as he glances off to the side now and then, "So that has a few files on it that I found in some of the Global's systems... Ruri helped me fix them up. There's some text files and also video recordings... They're personal messages... From Doctor Mao Nome. To her daughter." He scratches his cheek a bit, but then clarifies, "Nothing too major or anything. Just normal stuff you might send to family members... I think. I didn't look too hard."

        Alto glances back at Sheryl to see how she takes it.

<Pose Tracker> Sheryl Nome has posed.

        "Oh, Alto..." Sheryl doesn't cry--but there is a shimmer in her blue eyes when she hears his explanation of just what's on that plain-looking storage drive. She carefully takes it out of the box and clutches it to her chest with a subdued but sincere smile. Her shoulders straighten, and her tone becomes brisk: "...I'll have to take a closer look for myself, then! Since you've left all that work to me."
        
        But her smile remains deeply fond even after her faux criticism. "...Thank you, Alto, Ruri. Thank you so much..."
        
        She'll tuck the drive away somewhere safe soon enough. For now, she'll take this moment.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

"It's true. I wouldn't be where I am now if Sheryl held back." Ranka actually smiles Sagiri's way at that comment, "I certainly didn't win, the first time I performed on stage in a contest and Sheryl was the judge."

And certainly it's not necessarily Sheryl who voted in a way that made her runner up. Yet still, all the same, the fact remains.

Indeed Kaname and Reina take it both on the chin, and Ranka looks at them both - in particular Reina in worry... but, in the end...

... dealing with heartbreak and disappointment, insecurity, it's all part of it. Part of Ranka wishes perhaps that she could say something like Alto, fly a paper airplane that inspired them...

But right now she's not certain if she can do that for them, not knowing them, or what motivates them. Her vote would be however, that Kaname should chase after Reina.

She straightens up, beaming with pleasure at Sheryl, "I won't keep you waiting much longer." She vows - or perhaps rather, calls attention to her old vow, "Just like I promised. We'll see if I can really stand on the same stage as you when we do a collab like that."

In the end, she giggles lightly at Sagiri, "Ehehe- I just made a suggestion!" And perhaps part of her thinks it's all thanks to Alto in THAT regard-? But she does see her hand in it in the cute animal design, even as she gives so much more credit to Sagiri, "You're the one who really brought it all together, Sagiri." And her nonchalant little reply, causes Ranka to actually flush, lightly.

"More than a few..."

She murmurs about the 'tricks up her sleeve' remarks, perhaps accidentally finding herself affected by the Sagiri charm.

As she watches Sheryl open the gifts, she takes a deep breath as if psyching herself up, somewhat. She understands what Alto's gift will be in advance. Because well, he told her! To try and make up for leaving her.

(She does not inform Sheryl of that being the reason, even if she can put two and two together.)

She understands it's impossible to top, indeed Sheryl's reaction. But, perhaps she doesn't need to try and top it? What do you given the woman who wants for nothing material?

Ranka eventually produces a necklace box. And inside is... a choker? In a way perhaps it feels reminiscent of Alto's gift to Ranka, except if one looks more closely...

...it has a different, familiar look. A spiral shell, but it's familiar blue coloring changed into alternating hues of reds fading into greens. A pair of gold beads, followed by almost pointed, fang like protrusions, and a cord.

"So... after our hike that day, I asked the costume department... what inspired them to create Mao's look. And they showed me a picture of her when she was younger, just after the incident that inspired the film."

Ranka lets that settle in, "So I made this replica myself, from, things I found on Earth around the island, but I couldn't finish it. I couldn't find any shell that really fit... not until I found this one..." A pause, before she tells her quietly. "...on Gallia IV. I... really didn't think I was going to finish it in time, but I barely managed."

A smile, she's certainly self-conscious about it, but she does add to her, "Happy Birthday Sheryl."