2022-06-09: Never-Have-I-Ever

• Log: 2022-06-09: Never-Have-I-Ever
• Cast: Emilia Eschonbach, Kallen Kozuki, Milly Ashford, Ranka Lee, Nunnally Lamperouge
• Where: Ashford Academy Student Council Room, Nagoya, Area 11
• OOC - IC Date: 09 June 0096
• Summary: A chance overnight visit evolves into a full slumber party. In turns out, even in the Universal Century, every so often some troubled people can just have a fun sleepover.

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<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Things have escalated... rather quickly for Emilia Eschonbach. Two weeks ago, Ranka Lee stayed overnight, in a rather sudden manner, after conversation turned a little too close to the traumatic.

        But when Ranka is in town for a follow up to her advertising job, it's Emilia who reaches out this time, asking if she wanted to stay again.

        And then, in another unusual turn, she came asking her friends for advice on how to have a proper sleepover, stammering less than normal. Unfortunately one of those friends is Milly Ashford, Chaos Witch. From there matters have escalated.

        The end result is the Student Council Room has been shifted around, a bunch of futons laid together into, well, one giant futon.

        Now, after dinner, The gathered group are pyjama'd up and and ready for the slumber party part of the evening. Emmy's pyjamas are very bland and simple and... a little small, to be honest. She's got a light robe over them, again simple but this looks newer. But honestly, she doesn't care that much about how she appears right now. This is the first time she's had an event like this, with so many people. Even Miss Nunnally came... Well, that was maybe not a surprise. Maybe the surprise was Milly convincing Emmy to ask. But the people in this room wouldn't pick on Nunnally for associating with Emmy.

        But now she is in an unusual situation, situated on the futons. "I-I, um, I'm not sure... what happens. Next," she admits, looking to the others. "T-This is the first time, I've... um." She stops again. It's not, technically, but with Ranka it was a lot less cheerful. And so she casts a look to her seniors, Milly and Kallen. They have to have a plan, right?

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

There'd been a period in which Milly had considered having this particular activity take up the ballroom in the Student Council building instead of just the office, but that raised so many questions, like 'Aren't people going to see inside?' and 'Isn't it weird for Ms. Prez-for-Life to use potentially main hall locations for funsies?'

Milly can allegedly be responsible, sometimes.

Milly, clad in an absurdly frilly red nightgown, stretches out across a futon, knuckles cracking. "Well, I was thinking --"

Milly pauses. She looks at Nunnally.

"Hmmmm. I was going to start at truth or dare and escalate from there," Milly says, in a rare case of sounding slightly hapless, "but I think I have to reevaluate my answer with Nunnally here." She doesn't actually sound put out about it or anything; it fairly clearly comes from a place of 'I want to include Nunnally,' rather than 'I'm deeply put out that I need to owl down my unhinged powerplay kink witch energy like two whole notches.'

(Indeed, she gently rests a hand on Nunnally's hand at that point, if only for a few seconds.)

This means: she actually needs time to think about this question, or may even -- need to cede directing the flow of events to another person?! Scandal????

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen did not in fact have a plan. The escalation of events was something she wholeheartedly leaped on at maximum speed, that much is true. As she'd been somewhat desperate for the chance to pack a night bag and get out of the house for reasons that weren't elaborated upon.

But she's... never actually had a sleepover before. Kallen hasn't really had too many friends growing up. A few when she was particularly young, before the invasion... but how quickly everything changes with the onset of war and tensions skyrocketing.

Consequently, she also didn't have proper pyjamas. Thankfully she did pack an especially soft, fluffy bathrobe to wrap around her, but otherwise she naturally wears a comfortable tanktop and mini-shorts to bed. And thus, that's what she wound up packing to sleep in, without even a second thought. She feels drastically underdressed, compared to Milly. "I'm.. a little lost myself, admittedly. This is a first for me... More or less." The couple times she's been on extended missions and had to sleep in somebody's car shouldn't really count after all.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka was more than happy to come over for a sleepover while she's in the area. Certainly she's a hard worker, but she'd be lying if half her motivation for accepting jobs here wasn't to swing by to spend with friends...

... now it's post dinner, and Ranka is dressed in kigurumi that reminds everyone of a pink hippo, but is vaguely reminiscent of the cows back on the Zentradi farms on Island-3 of the Frontier Colony.

It looks a bit like this: https://openranka.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/127607819912254.jpg

Ranka has been building a small pillow fort around her futons with whatever spares were left, a bunch of pillows lining a lean-to of a few larger cushions. As Emmy stammers she's not sure what happens next, Ranka gives her a thoughtful look. Milly was going to suggest the dreaded truth or dare (A thought which brings shivers up her spine given what Milly is like.) but doesn't due to Nunnally. And even Kallen - whom she's only just met says it's a first.

Ranka abruptly collapses her fort with a tiny push, burying herself within it.

Rustle~rustle
Rustle~rustle

The pillows shift and move... and then suddenly, she bursts out, "Hi!" Wielding her orange Salamander like phone that's now elongated into a microphone, and... starts to sing...

        "Even if life in this world is tough, you still have your dreams, here and there.
        "Fluffy and light, silk and feathers delight.
        "Pillow loves you yeah!"

        "One day you will arrive at the future don't let your body give up before that.
        "Rest up your engine, you can always lay your head down
        "Pillow loves you yeah!"

        "You dedicate your life to love and work. But you enjoy it, right? Doesn't it fire you up?
        "Ready to fight, swinging soft delight!
        "Pillow loves you yeah!

        "Let's go, the universe is waiting! I know you are not scared at all.
        "How many enemies await? Show them their cushiony fate!
        "Pillow loves you yeah!"

Did she just modify a silly advertising jingle about carrots into a pillow jingle to suggest a pillow fight? Absolutely.

She clears her throat suddenly seeming nervous - she has no idea how it will be received, "So. My suggestion is, a pillow fight, where we blindfold ourselves... and put our phones on our persons just playing a tone on repeat. That way it's even more challenging... and everyone can take part."

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally's pyjamas are a sunny yellow affair, long in the sleeves and down to her ankles, skirt and cuffs ending in white ruffles. The buttons up her middle have all been done up, and her hair tumbles long as a waterfall behind her. She doesn't have much trouble getting here, from where she normally sleeps, for some mysterious reason. (She has firmly told her big brother that this is a girl's night, so he has to stay out. This is very important!)

        Nunnally smiles, to Emilia, with all the warmth she's always held; she'll respect her distance in school, but she's never brought into the idea that Emilia isn't worth her time. She's still sitting in her chair, for now, because she'd rather still be able to move about; Milly will surely help her to the futons when it's time to bed down. "Firstly... gather your friends!" She decides, bravely. "Second... um..."

        Nunnally pauses, here, fingers lifting to her lip.

        She feels Milly's approach, as her hand lays over the one still resting on her chair, and she directs her smile to her just the same. "Oh, Milly," she agrees, with cheer, "we both know you have more than one note to hit!"

        She laughs, and adds, lightly: "Sorry! Was that too truthful? You're right, it's much too dangerous." Someone might get the impression that Milly can do things other than be an evil witch. That just won't do.

        The fact that Kallen doesn't have proper pyjamas is lost on Nunnally; the fact that her feelings match the way she says she's lost is not. "We're learning together, right?" She asks her -- and Emilia, implicitly -- with light encouragement.

        Nunnally tilts her head, at the sound of someone collapsing into pillows -- in just the place Ranka was. (That feeling... it's got to be Ranka, given how Kallen feels, and how Emilia feels.) "Huh?" Nunnally hums, head tilting the other way, as Ranka --

        Sings!!

        Nunnally looks delighted, laughing behind delicately spread fingers. "Why does that sound familiar..? It's very clever, Ranka!" Her term of address is a little formal, but not so much as to leave a first-name basis.

        As for her idea, well -- Nunnally can certainly appreciate what Ranka's trying to suggest, and it feels a little strange to say just how she knows where to look to regard the girls in turn. "Hmm.. it sounds fun!" She decides, after a moment.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Ranka's sudden burst of music is a surprise, but a welcome one! It's all incredibly adorable, really! And then she offers a suggestion. One that the ever-kind, caring Nunnally is on board with at that. So she'll go along with this. She's never had a pillow fight, unless one counts throwing pillows at her big brother when he'd come in her room without knocking. Or throwing them at her parents, when they'd do something embarrassing. Those definitely don't count.

"We've definitely gathered friends here. Hmm... what could we use to cover our eyes? Do you have any concert headbands, maybe?" If she's been working on promoting herself, it would make sense to be trying out some styles for her merch, to see what she likes. Of course, it's even more likely that Milly has blindfolds somewhere in this very room, just by virtue of being Milly. Not that Kallen knows the full depths of such.

What she does know, is that she's happy to be here right now, surrounded by friends and soon-to-be friends. People who have made her more than she was.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia thankfully, does not know the extent of Milly's macinations, just that it's twice now Milly has suggested that Emmy be anywhere but her own room with guests. She did have the requisite bluishing and stammering at Milly's look, but she kept it mostly to herself. Her eyes do go wide with the suggestion of Truth or Dare, a game she knows of, but it's instantly withdrawn, with Nunnally even teasing Milly a little...

        She's surprised by Kallen's expression of it being a first too, but Nunnally has an answer for that too. "...Y-Yeah. Mi- um, Nunnally is r-right." It's a sleepover. She doesn't have to be formal. Ranka dives into her pillow fort and is briefly confused before she gets a Ranka Lee arrangement. Emmy is surprised but in what seems like a good way. But also Ranka's voice is really nice.

        "O-okay. A p-pilloe fight!" There's excitement here. It's something new, and yet... something she should have head. "So, we need to, um, s-share p-pillows out." She looks around. It's the student council room, so... "M-Milly, um, is t-there anything... that would work? For, um, for blindf-folds?"

        When everything's ready, Emmy can't wait to start. Her phone is in position. She's set up her pillows. She pulls down her blindfold. "Nunnally, w-w-would you... um... count us d-down?" It's a question to Ranka too, do you count down? It sounds right.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

True! It is important to human flourishing that Milly be both cute and powerful. Nunnally's answer gets one of Milly's more gentle, relaxed smiles, rather than the kind of smile that indicates that she's about to commit shenanigans.

First order of business: Milly gives Kallen a once-over, and murmurs, "... I'm taking you shopping sooner than later," with that tiny-hint-of-shade that indicates that she's harmlessly unimpressed with Kallen's outfit. More importantly, though, she's getting an impromptu performance -- that gets her giggling in earnest.

"Hmmm... A pillow fight," Milly offers, tapping her chin. She considers whether that's fair for Nunnally, even blindfolded, given her decidedly low agility... but Nunnally *herself* sounds enthused. Even if things go poorly, Milly is right there, after all... and again -- it's better to let Nunnally both decide what her limits are and have them tested.

"I'll vote for that, too," she eventually concludes. As to the practical question, though:

"Oh, I actually just have blindfolds," she says, perhaps concerningly. "They were a punishment game for Absolute Silence Day last year." Kallen is right. Milly gets up and goes to a chest of drawers, roots around for a while, and eventually puts one on. "Okay," she says, seizing her pile of pillows. ... usually she has a team for this type of thing... then again, she does have a significant reach advantage over absolutely everyone.

"Ready," she says, with a big smirk on her face. ... not that anyone gets to see that.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka's whole body seems to relax as everyone seemed to enjoy it, she was worried a bit! Kallen's a new face and she doesn't know Milly or Nunnally all too well yet. "It's from an advertising job I did, for carrots. Though it was a bit tough... most kids don't like carrots."

The moment of truth comes though and Nunnally... seems to like the idea and her mood just seems to jump, exhilirated! Kallen though asks if she has headbands... "Ah not my own. I haven't debuted yet so I don't have that kind of merchandise." Fortunately Milly has them covered!!!

-=-=-

Ranka's got her headbanded tied tightly over her eyes, her Orange Salamander phone is back on her shoulder. It's playing the first few bars of 'Lion' on repeat. Right next to her is her deconstructed pillow fort, a stockpile of ammunition.

Emilia asks Nunnally to count them down. And Ranka just nods her head until she remembers that Emilia can't SEE that and she answers, "Absolutely! Unless someone just starts it with an ambush... that can happen too."

It's actually the most frequent way for it to happen... Ranka however resolves to give Emilia the full experience and the fun of her first pillow fight, which is why she's trying to angle herself juuusttt slightly towards Emilia's voice...

... waiting for the countdown.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally laughs, as everyone tries to figure out how to cover their eyes. It's not a meanspirited sort of laugh, really. She thinks it's nice how everyone wants to know what it's like.

                        She doesn't remember why being blinded would be upsetting,

        so she isn't upset in the slightest.

        Her phone plays a classical-piano ringtone -- the big buttons speak their functions and have texturing to help her fingers find their way. Given it's held in her lap, she's probably not difficult to find, even given everyone's present condition.

        Nunnally can hear the smirk in Milly's voice, because she's never seen it on her face.

        "Okay!" She declares, lifting the pillow she's been handed, with cheer. "Ready...? Three... two... ONE... go!!"

        She leans forward, and FLOMPS her pillow forward, right towards the place she last heard -- and felt -- Kallen. As it happens, she's targeted the one girl who might be able to immediately tell that Nunnally, for all she's in her element here, doesn't have that much of an advantage; since her chair is operated with psycommu technology, her arms don't get much exercise either. Nunnally really is a frail girl.

        Even so, she gives the thwack her all.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen has to fumble with her phone a few times, to find music that would be appropriate here. So nothing too sad or raucous. Certainly nothing with... connotations. This means everything she's been listening to lately is out of the question. But eventually she finds an instrumental that's just enough tilted to be upbeat.

Moments later, she's being FLOMPED with a pillow, from the most unlikely player to have gone after her. It's not particularly hard of a hit, but those aren't the goal of a pillow fight anyway. As far as she knows anyway. She has no special sense to help in this. She can only try to hone in on what she can hear, and hope she hits the Prez-for-life, as intended. It's time to raise a coup d'etat, and fly the banner of rebellion!

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emilia's choice of sound is a simple beeping, standard system noise. The only other things are... well, a Sheryl Nome album and some of the music Ranka has shared with her. It does stand out amongst everything though, which is the goal. Nunnally finish counting down, and then-

        Well then she catches a pillow against her back as she aims for Milly, who she feels is the fairest target. Emmy lets out a little surprised yelp, but not a bad. Emmy's throw isn't bad herself, but her aim isn't ideal. She's still getting used to aiming by sound, so her second attempt goes for Nunnally. She's keeping her swings soft, but being part of this means being attacker target both.

        And I mean, if we're all learning together, that includes Nunnally.

        At the end of the fight, Emmy has been a remarkably even attacker- but just about everything hits her too, apart from a few lucky dodges. But there's a clear upswing in her energy- those who can feel such things can definitely feel her having fun, as much as it's in her body language. That said someone else might need to call time.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

The tone Milly has chosen -- perhaps in contrast with her usual style -- is a bit of light organ music. ... insofar as organ music can ever be light, at any rate. (In another universe, with a slightly different history, it'd probably call to mind a very specific era of baseball.)

When Nunnally counts them down, Milly's ready; she doesn't want to swing hard on Nunnally, despite knowing exactly where she is, so she whirls around and --

-- gets smacked immediately by Kallen. "Wh -- How do you have that much upper arm strength?!" she says, hastily righting herself from a hit a little harder than she expected.

Honestly, that's true *regardless* of who hit her -- she didn't think anyone here quite had that.

Milly considers revealing her secret weapon... but doesn't lead with it, at least. Instead, she swings a pillow right back for Kallen, leaving herself undefended against further aggressors...!

It's shortly before they call time that Milly decides to surprise with a *neck pillow* she'd kept hidden; she gives it a soft, underhanded toss at a third party (which will probably be revealed to be Ranka). "Don't assume no one's kept a trump card!" she announces, grinning widely.

*She's* not going to call time.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Nunnally counts down, Ranka promptly tosses her pillow on the Go! With an overhand fling, she tries to hit Emilia mid-chest with her pillow with all of her strength. "YAAAA-!" She doesn't want to hold back on her first pillow fight as she's pretty sure that Emilia wouldn't want Ranka to treat her as fragile - Ranka herself doesn't like being treated as if she is.

Emilia should get the full experience.

Granted, she's a bit discombobulated from the blindness. She can feel the emotional tenor of the room quite well, even picking out the specific emotions of four other individuals around her with ease. However for some reason her spatial senses don't seem especially well developed for a Newtype.

"I'm a Hippo with an attitude and nothing to lose!"

Ranka doesn't spare anyone. Eventually aiming for everyone, including Nunnally. Whether she hits everyone is well... anyone's guess. And she definitely gets struck by Milly's trump card. "Oh no!" Ranka says as she gropes blindly to try and find the pillow that Milly threw, probably opening her up to more throws. "As expected of the president - to be well-versed in anti-Hippo warfare!"

-=-=-

"I haven't done that in years!" Ranka says after it's over still laughing (She sure didn't call time), the whole experience having given her nostalgia. (Usually it was just between her and Nanase.)

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally, as it happens, is terrible at dodging -- except for the one time Milly charged an attack with too much gusto only for Nunnally to zwoop her chair back and let her hit empty air. "Pillows aren't powered by hot blood!" She laughs, which might even be true, because they're real pillows.

        She gives as good as she gets, of course, though none of her pillows hit very hard -- but one might note that every pillow thrown at Nunnally enters the fray again, and for all she's terrible at dodging, she has excellent aim. She must be good at listening!

        (She's also good at listening.)

        In the end, though, Nunnally's the one who calls time -- all puffed out. She tires easily. She still doesn't regret it.

        "Haha..." She laughs, in the aftermath, all pulled up to the futons again. "We're very fierce!"

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Pillows have flown equally and in all directions, showing mercy to no target. It's definitely true that her arm strength and reflexes are... significantly more than they should be, for someone with her medical records. On multiple occasions she outright parries people attempting to smack her, but she still takes far more hits than she evades, by a wide margin. And the entire time she's laughing and enjoying herself. "I have been hauling around quite a bit of work lately. It's just another benefit the Student Council has hit me with!" She certainly wasn't going to be the one to call time.

Thankfully that was taken care of for her. So she falls back onto a stack of pillows, hair plastered to her face and just a bit glistening. And she could scarcely be happier. "Every one of us has the might of a hundred." She's curious about that punishment game bit from earlier, but asking with certain people here... perhaps a bad call.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        With time called, Emmy takes off her blindfold, pulls a couple of pillows together, and lays on them on her front to keep her up. She's certainly not tired, in fact she seems explicitly energized. But Nunnally's tired, so a break is needed. After a few moments, a small quiet smile on her face, Emmy says finally. "T-that was fun." It's something she frankly needs and deserves.

        "S-so, um, w-what do we do n-next?" She looks to Milly, source of wisdom and joy, and Ranka, experienced slumber party haver. "S-s-something..." She pauses, struggling to find the word. She gives up and settles on "Talky?"

        She looks around the room, glad for this small gathering. Who came and help when she asked. She's a little scared it out loud though, but... Maybe she has friends for the first time. And maybe that maybe shouldn't be there, even in her head.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

"Bbwaaagh --!!" Milly flops into a pile of pillows, overacting her defeat just a little bit. "S-such accuracy... I didn't expect...!" She remains flopped over for a little while. It's rare that Milly gets to be that particular type of vulnerable, and honestly, she cherishes those moments a lot.

The suggestion of a next activity gets her thinking, though. "... Hmmm. We could do never-have-I-ever," Milly says. That one's a little bit on her escalation treadmill, but compared to her starting point it's fairly low *and* it's easy to create a mutually-comfortable set of approaches with without too much fuss, unlike escalating to truth or dare.

"... But if we do, I'm going to make one of the wallflowers start us off," she finishes. It's too easy if Miss Prez goes straight for the jugular.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka doesn't realize that Kallen is supposed to be a frail flower given her vibe. She seems to be keeping up with them real well, though that also doesn't necessarily mean anything. If she were told Kallen were sickly she'd believe it in a heartbeat!

Though as Emilia asks about what they should do next. "Hmmm." Ranka says, from her position laid down on her futon, her legs kicking in the air in an even rhythm... she tries to think of good things to do at a slumber party... but talking about love!? Oh gosh... she couldn't do that. What's she gonna tell everyone? Especially if she were trying to be COMPLETELY honest instead of mostly honest...

"That's too much." Ranka mumbles to herself, of her own thoughts...

Though then Milly suggests 'Never-have-I-ever.' And Ranka perks up a bit. That's a lot safer. Even if it can be embarrassing.

'One of the wallflowers...'

Ranka looks between Kallen, and Emilia as if trying to sense comfort level and solidarity... before, taking a deep breath. She has to suck it up. "Never have I ever-" Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh what's safe for everyone. "-ate an entire pizza... by myself."

There, perfect, completely safe. Ranka looks to see who raises their hand.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emmy barely takes a second to think. She's never had that sort of appetite, or opportunity. Even if you call that stuff C.C. likes pizza. Her hand does not raise.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

"... I'd ask if personal counts, but actually," Milly concedes, "... I can't dodge this one either way. Have." She raises her hand. As the first person to raise, she also notes, "Make sure to say something if you get caught."

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen's hand stays in her lap. She can eat a decent bit, but an entire pizza alone? Not even once. She's not C.C. after all... or Milly apparently. She hardly needs to even think about it. Besides, that's not even remotely her sorrow-drowning food of choice.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka's eyes get real big as Milly raises her hand, "N-No I definitely meant... medium or bigger..." ...then perhaps her gaze flickers to Milly's chest for a moment, before burying her face into a pillow to hide the sudden blush

"N-Next please." Ranka says with her face smothered into a pillow.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Some amount of deliberation is required for Kallen, to consider what questions could be acceptable. Thankfully, with Rank and Nunnally here, the most dangerous potential options are cut off. Hmm... there's one that's borderline Milly level. But in this company? No. It might be too much. The questions have to be okay for everybody, right? So... "Never have I ever... kissed anybody in a romantic fashion." No wiggle room here. It's obvious what the spirit and letter of the words are. She feels a little bad, going for the hard play here. But... she was struggling to come up with a better one. And... well, her thoughts occasionally circle the drain like this sometimes. Surely at least ONE person would raise a hand for this? Right? ...Right? They can't ALL be hopeless, can they?

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        A round of no hands. Okay then. But at the question, this time, Emilia blinks. She's... both surprised and not to hear it from Kallen. The Kallen she knows outside is aggressive, and goes after what she wants. But the Kallen at school is timid. Maybe her sickness gets her down here. (They really need to talk about that.)

        Emmy does raise her hand. "...I h-haven't." She responds, for Nunnally's benefit. She does try to avoid anyone noticing her eyes lingering on Milly for a second. Maybe she's just eagerly anticipating the answer.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Surely Milly -- Milly, love terrorist; Milly, casual sleaze and scourge of at-large Student Council members; Milly, architect of Cupid Day -- has exchanged a kiss.

Surely Milly Ashford -- Milly Ashford, who has to fend off suitors nearly weekly; Milly Ashford, who has up to this point had the answer to every girl's romantic needs; Milly Ashford, whose hand is the final decisive weapon of the Ashford Foundation -- has known the warmth of another person's lips.

Surely this pause exists for effect.

Milly doesn't flinch, of course. But the clock continues ticking well past even the most generous pregnant comedic pause.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka keeps her face buried in her pillow, as she does not raise her hand at Kallen's Never have I ever. "Not me." Though after a moment she rolls her face to the side to check if Milly and Nunnally have...? She was basically mostly sure Emilia hadn't even before Emmy confirms it verbally.
She's a BIT embarrassed she hasn't had her first kiss yet but at least she's not alone in this.

However... suddenly her face comes up at the realization that Milly hasn't actually said anything, nor raised a hand...

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally has never eaten an entire pizza on her own! She appreciates Milly saying she has out loud, though. It's hard to listen for motion like that.

        She tilts her head at Kallen, surprised to hear the question coming from her... but in the end, having caught her breath a bit after all that effort, she says: "I haven't... not yet, anyway," she adds. For some reason, Nunnally is the one who takes point on talking about this one. "But since I'm the youngest person here, I have plenty of time to catch up!"

        Nunnally laughs, lightly. "Oh, but don't tell my big brother," she adds, cheerfully. "He'd be so worried! Right, Milly?" He's kind of protective, huh..? ... the fact that Nunnally's giving Milly something else to talk about here is surely a coincidence.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly latches onto that. "Not me," Milly says, before sneaking around to, "He'd definitely be worried to hear about a middle school romance," breezing along and getting away from the answer with a little more confidence. "Then again, that might get a few interesting noises..."

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Stunned is the only word for the expression Kallen is wearing. Not only that everyone here is in the same position as herself... But that of them all, it's Nunnally who seems to be the most upbeat and cheerful about making it happen in the future. Not Milly. Nunnally. Did that incident out on the water suck her into a parallel universe or something?!

Kallen buries her face in both hands, all as red as her unmistakable hair. "Let's... let's move on now. Next... please."

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly's up next; she needs a moment to think on this, though. Eventually, she decides on one *she* thinks will be a relative softball: "Never have I ever... used a fake ID."

... It's one she's actually a little curious about, lately, for practical reasons.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally grows quiet, for a moment, head canting just so; it's a sensitive question, and she knows Milly wouldn't begrudge her lying, given that. But, when she considers everyone's hearts...

        "Actually, I have," Nunnally Lamperouge says, after a moment. "But it's a secret, okay..?"

        Could the goodest girl Nunnally... have a secret life of crime?!

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen's face says more than anything else, about this entire thing. There's a pause as she has to consider... what counts as fake for her? She IS Kallen Stadtfeld. ...But her ID claims she's a full-blooded Britannian. So isn't that fake by its very nature? She raises her hand at the same time as Nunnally, for, unknowingly, the same reason. "I have."

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Nunnally breaks up the conversation with a bit of light cheer and hope for the future... Ranka doesn't seem to realize what she's doing at all, but then again she doesn't know Nunnally and Milly's relationship. And then Milly answers not her as well.

Noone in the room...

She definitely feels more solidarity with everyone here, though she's blushing again as she looks to each of them, Kallen included looks particularly red - red as her hair.

Then Milly is up...

And the question shocks her as something slowly dawns on her... Ranka takes a moment, eyes flicking towards Nunnally as she admits she has, allowing her to find courage... and after a moment she clears her throat... "I... have." Her older brother smuggled her into her Colony. All her papers are faked. All of them...

... she doesn't know where she's from.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emmy's eyes widen as Nunnally says yes, but she nods. Kallen, less surprising. But it's a secret. "I-I haven't." Emilia responds, brushing some of her lavender hair out of her face. "I, um, h-haven't... been a-able to a-afford one." She's up front about it at least. A fake ID would make getting out from under Grandfather's clutches easier. So she turns, to Ranka who is... struggling a little here, too.

And Emmy, reminded of a few weeks ago, reaches a hand out to the other girl, trying to be reassuring. She's still learning, but she'll try.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

... Milly's eyes widen a little. "Wow! We've got a pretty adventurous crowd going here," she says, playfully; she does give Nunnally a *slightly* worried look for a moment. ... one that's secretly for a completely different reason than one might expect, granted. "I'm actually kind of impressed... honestly, I feel like I think most of you are *more* reliable, now." ... How does getting up to crimes make someone more reliable?

... don't worry about it.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally thinks, for a moment, before she says: "If we're thinking of adventure... I have one." She smiles, and volunteers: "Never have I ever... had a secret base!"

        (The one she's thinking of wasn't hers, originally; even so, spending time there was pivotal to her development in Japan.)

        Why she'd associate secret bases with adventure is a question she doesn't immediately answer, as she waits, attentively, to listen for responses.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

"Strictly speaking, I *still* have a secret base," Milly says, with a little smirk as she raises her hand. She's back at stride, now. "... Oh, I didn't hand out keys to that this year," she realizes, offhandedly. "Those keycards must be in my desk, actually..."

... then again, not everyone here is with the Student Council, so she'll handle that later.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Kallen gets a surprised look as she has used one as well.

Emilia says she hasn't... because she can't afford it. Ranka knows... full well why she'd want one. Full well. It's the most understandable thing to her.

As Emilia reaches out... Ranka slowly takes Emilia's hand, and after a moment her fingers curl around it, giving it a squeeze... as she desperately needs it right now. It takes her a moment, but eventually she smiles at her. It doesn't quite reach her eyes as much as she wish it would to reassure her.

She knows that every time someone tried to tell her where she came from... it ended with her waking up in a hospital bed or on her couch at home... it's a terrible feeling knowing she could have the answer at any time... if her own mind would let her retain the truth.

Eventually she flushes a little at least, she has mixed feelings about Milly being impressed about this, but ultimately she still regards Milly as the 'coolest' person in the room and like any teenager she does want her approval if she can get it - surprised she finds that to be reliable, as she looks to Kallen as well in that apparent reliable solidarity.

Then Nunnally asks that... and... this question actually makes her heart a bit lighter. As she slowly raises her hand. "I have." Ranka admits... before adding with a glance to Emilia, "I went there to sing."

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Emmy gives a squeeze back. She's hesitant, still, but... Ranka seems to want it. And then Ranka talks about her secret base, and Emilia nods. She remembers what Ranka said about being scared to sing. So that was her safe place.

        Nunnally asks a question that causes her to pause for a few seconds. It's a complicated memory, made recently raw. But... The whole point of opening up to people, of this game, is to tell the truth. And Ranka talked about hers.

        So, Emmy's hand goes up. "U-um... I h-have." There's a few loaded moments as Emmy tries to work out if she can say it. It was happy memory then, but... not so much now.

        What feels like a minute passes before Emmy gets it out. "J-Just. Just for one day. Um. B-b-back in N-" It almost sounds like the letter hangs in her mouth. "-ew Y-Yark."

        And that's about all she can manage on that. "I-I, um.." She shakes her head but Nunnally can't see that. "I'd r-r-r-rather not. Talk. A-about it." Despite the bad memory, though, Emmy still wants to keep to playing.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Kallen thought her face couldn't lose color any faster than the previous question. She underestimated Nunnally's capacity for asking questions that drill deep. Her throat closes completely. Not even air can get through, for what feels like an eternity. She's gasping for air... struggling. It feels as if her heart stopped.

She could... well, could she really wiggle out? ZERO owns that base, right? But... the original base was Naoto's. Wouldn't that... also make it hers? That logic is starting to help her. Slowly. She's beginning to breathe, raggedly. Yes, that could work.

So she'll slowly raise her hand. Finally finding the confidence that she can squirm out of the unintended yet devious trap, while avoiding lying. "I... have. I had one passed down by... family." Had. After all, her brother isn't here any more. And that old base is gone now, since a certain raid demolished it.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Milly is very cool. Nunnally is very fond of her! Of course, even though she hasn't known Kallen or Ranka as long, she's fond of them, too; and even though Emilia's kept her at arms' length, she thinks of her fondly, just the same.

        It's Emilia to which she looks, now, feeling those feelings from her. "It's okay," she assures her, kindly. "Sometimes memories have to stay in the past so we can smile. But... I'm glad you could tell me." Nunnally at times feels so much more worldly than the innocence she holds; despite her constant optimism, she seems for all the world to be speaking from experience.

        Or perhaps it is because of her constant optimism that her advice can sound so genuine.

        And a base passed down by her family... that feels complicated, too.

        "It seems we've all had bases of our own..." Nunnally reflects, looking over to them. She smiles, bashfully, raising a hand to her lips. "But, you know... I tricked you! Because I've had a secret base, too." Trickery, from the kind heart of the Student Council?!

        "And since we're all here, we have a new one together now, too," she declares, with an encouraging smile. "Don't you think?" Too late, her plot is revealed: bringing together their shared experiences.

        She's definitely a best friend of Milly Ashford.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Well... it's not the worst thing in the world to find out that *everyone here* has had a secret base. Granted, the particulars sound like they vary rather a lot, but Milly doesn't mind that point of commonality between them one bit --

-- and when she finds out that this was a shenanigans question, Milly realizes the trick going on. ... Nunnally really has learned from the best.

"... You're getting sneakier... it's a good thing your brother's not that good a liar, or I'd have a real handful to deal with," comes Milly's teasing as she gently pushes Nunnally's shoulder.

She's actually doing it for a secret reason of her own, though: to get in close enough to whisper, "That question before last got me off balance. Good save. Sayoko will sneak a tray of macarons into your room tomorrow."

Effective subterfuge deserves a reward.

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

While she doesn't crowd Ranka (because she can tell Ranka wants her approval, and playing it cool is the best way), Emmy and Kallen's somewhat more muted responses *do* get a sympathetic look. Not much more than that, though -- Nunnally already did a good job of being reassuring, and she doesn't think it's productive to smother her friends.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

The look Ranka gives Kallen is one akin to 'Are you alright???' worried perhaps - from something she feels off of her. This vibe. It's nothing more than a feeling but... eventually she answers. Ranka doesn't ask it verbally, as if she were afraid to rock the boat.

Ranka tries to squeeze back Emilia's hand supportively as she says she'd rather not talk about it. She doesn't say anything, letting Nunnally talk to Emilia about it instead. What she says is... well, it's something she can relate to too, giving Nunnally a look of wonder.

Then Nunnally says she tricked them, and Ranka actually puts out an audible, sincerely surprised gasp. As she then reveals... they all have a new one together now too. Ranka's smile grows and... "You got us."

It's a kind of trick that she doesn't mind...

"Sadly I can't say the same..." Ranka says with a small sulk, "... my older brother is a very good liar."

That lie apparently STILL smarts hard.

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        There is concern for Kallen there. (Emmy hadn't even thought about the Bus, it's still too temporary. too new, too losable.) "Kallen...." Her hand can't reach that far, but...Emmy does give her a caring look.

        And then Nunnally pulls the rug out from under everyone. "...Isn't a b-base a p-lace you can-" There's a sudden realizatio and after a moment Emilia dunks her face in a pillow for mild comedic effect and to hide her blush of embarrassment. A place she can go back to. That's just for the five of them. "I like t-that..."

        It's Emmy's turn now, and she has to think. What would be a good question. She's still holding Ranka's hand. "N-Never have I e-ever..." No, she wants something fun, but others might have done. Today is for something happy. Milly's said crime, Nunnally secrets, Kallen love, Ranka food.... Only Milly's old enough to drink... So what's left...

        "O-okay. Never h-have I e-ever..." Come on, Emmy, think. "...spent all my budget on one outfit." It sounds kind of lame but... Emmy's very good at value for money.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

They've all been tricked. But... Kallen calms down immensely. Gradually so, at least. That one was especially rough, so she's just taking time to recover. "That sounds great... All of us, having a place for ourselves together." Her heart might just burst at this rate. Even though Nunnally was pranking them. Learning from the best it seems. ...These people all care. Yeah, she'd love to have a special, secret base with them. ...One day she'll tell them the truth.

Thankfully, this question is taking them back down into easy territory now. "I've never." She HAS blown her budget on things before.... but not clothes. Which really just goes back to that shopping plan Milly mentioned. She's just never really gone out to be a teenage girl, until recently. Until Milly and Emmy, and the concerts.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        "I learned from the best!" Nunnally tells Milly, with cheer. She giggles, fingers to her lips, as Milly whispers to her, and nods -- without saying anything to betray her secret.

        Nunnally smiles, to Ranka. Somehow, she's perfectly capable of looking at her without opening her eyes in the slightest. Perhaps it's not quite her face she's seeing? "Sometimes... big brothers don't tell us everything. I guess there are things in my big brother's life I don't understand, these days, too... like his girlfriend!... but all I can do is be there to support him, I think." She pauses, and adds, looking a shade bashful: "Hmm, maybe it's a different sort of situation..?"

        (The fact that Nunnally understands Lelouch isn't telling her everything speaks, perhaps, to her sharp intuition -- but she doesn't sound suspicious of him, given she's trying to tell that story to reassure Ranka. Maybe she really does just think he's growing up..? It is the most likely explanation.)

        She has warm smiles for Emilia, too -- Nunnally nods, with bright encouragement, as she realises the crux of her scheme. "Me, too," she agrees, when she shares that she likes the idea.

        But, that question...

        Nunnally thinks, for a moment. "Did it have to be an outfit for me?" She asks, finally. "Sometimes when we're shopping, someone notices something they like, and..."

        She laughs, raising a hand. "... I'm very irresponsible like that!" She chides herself, goodnaturedly.

        Quietly, Nunnally resolves to make sure Kallen goes shopping with her sometime, too.

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly, zero hesitation, volunteers, "Have," with a raised hand. "... Actually, I've done that a lot of times. My first four or five marriage interviews, middle school graduation..." None of them are actually her *favorite*, though she's certainly fond of all of them. (The truth is that there's been... more than a little mischief involved in the occasions she picks to splurge.)

"... I get the feeling I have the biggest budget here, too," she admits, with a playfully 'ah-heh' sort of laugh that one might mistake for self-effacement. "Maybe I should take a page out of Nunnally's book and spoil the rest of you a little some time instead~"

Nunnally thinks it; Milly just throws it out there cold, because she's ridiculous.

Something seems to click, though, once Milly has gotten the answering out of the way. "-- Your brother has a *girlfriend*? I'd love to hear all about this mystery girl! ... come to think, that's a better explanation for a lot of what he's been up to lately..." She could treat this as a puzzle -- but it is in the Britannian nature to gossip, and as expressions of that particular urge go... this is pretty harmless.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

As everyone approves... Ranka smiles and adds, only after she's sure that everyone likes the idea... "It is great."

Ranka gives Nunnally a look of wonder, before nodding along, though then she gets this confused look as she says she doesn't understand his girlfriend, "You don't... understand? Is it... that you don't approve of her?" She actually asks, as if trying to clarify what she doesn't understand before finally speaking more of the general question, "It's... not that different, he had a secret he didn't want me to know about... though it wasn't about love."

Though then Milly reveals it's hot GOSS that Nunnally's brother Lelouch has a girlfriend, she remembers him giving the speech in the park...

Ranka Lee double takes at Emmy's question... waiting and learning that Nunnally does it FOR OTHER PEOPLE (omg)... then... slowly... raises... the hand not clinging to her right now.

"I... have." She says, looking more than a bit embarrassed, "It was on sale at this expensive boutique and my budget was..." Ranka cants her head to the side. "... well I worked as a waitress at the Nyan-Nyan at the time, so it was..."

Ranka slowly buries her face in the pillow and slowly closes the raised hand into a fist and raises... 1 finger. 2 fingers. 3 fingers.

"Three paychecks worth."

Ranka stays facedown for a good five seconds before... she mumbles again.

"I love that dress."

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Well once again she's scanning responses. Kallen... is not what she expects from a Britannian noble. Emmy doesn't really follow the gossip mill, but Emmy is surprised. She's also mostly quiet about sibling talk. She often wonders what it'd be like, but Nunnally and Ranka paint very different pictures. But the gossip flies past and there is some momentary pause out of respect for the doomed.

        She's also surprised by Nunnally being open about it, and... Milly less so. But it's... She can't really hold it against them. She already knows how they spend their money. And Ranka, though...

        "I...I'd really l-like to see y-you in it. One d-day." Oh no Emmy is blushing again and she turns away for a second to shake her head. "I-I-I usually shop second hand, b-but the c-club has plenty of... georgeous outfits... So I d-don't miss out. Too m-much." She pauses again. "B-but I'm s-s-saving up for s-something, so, um. C-clothes sh-shopping is... a lower p-priority." She pauses. "D-do we want... to do a-another r-round? Or something else?"

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

Milly... may not be wrong, really. It wouldn't be unthinkable that the Ashfords, even now, still have a larger budget to work with than Kallen. Especially with how much that harpy stepmother of hers spends on... No. No, she's NOT going to think about that. Period.

But hold up, both Milly and Nunna said something huge. "Hang on... marriage interviews? That sounds... not remotely great, by any stretch. And Lelouch is ACTUALLY DATING SOMEBODY?! That... I'm having a hard time believing it, but... what's she like? It sounds like you've spoken to her before..." Poor Shirley. Of course Kallen has ulterior motive on that last one. This might be another link to her suspicions... And she's starting to think she needs to pen out a 'save Milly from forced marriage' operation too. It's only right, if they're trying to save Emmy.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        Nunnally... used to have a bigger budget, once upon a time. Never mind that, though.

        She laughs, a little nervously, hearing everyone's surprise. "Is it really that surprising..? Maybe this is why he's keeping it a secret... so please don't spread it around too far, okay?" Nunnally says, waving a hand, with cheer. She pauses, though, finger coming to her lip to think about whether she approves of Lelouch's Mystery Girlfriend or not. "Hmm... I wouldn't say she's a bad girl. She's just... complicated? I've never met anyone quite like her!"

        Which is to say: her psychic signature isn't entirely like anyone else Nunnally has ever met. Nunnally feels like she could identify it just from her walking into the room.

        If she says it like that, though, isn't it a little weird?

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

"I respect a woman who'll crawl over broken glass to get what she wants," Milly offers Ranka, as she affirms how much she loves that dress. "It's important to have something to strive for, too. If you feel like you don't have any choice in where you're going, you'll stagnate."

Emmy's comment... gets an answer of, "I think one round of that was good enough!" Then, with a little more menace, she says, "I've collected all the data I need, I think."

... Was this entire thing just an exercise in extracting more information on how everyone involved works...? Or is she trying to go back to broadcasting strength? You can never tell with Milly.

"Do you know her name?" she asks, rounding on Nunnally more completely. "Is she another student? Or is Lelouch sneaking off...?"

Like Kallen, Milly finds herself thinking about how to break this one to Shirley -- but, she decides, maybe she'll make Lelouch do it himself.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka peels her face off the pillow and smiles at Emilia, "First chance I get to show you. I'll bring it with me next time." Milly's respect causes a flush to Ranka's cheeks, as she confides... "I hope I won't have to crawl over broken glass but... there is something I'm striving for. And I don't intend to stop even when I get there."

Nunnally explains what she means, not a bad girl but complicated, never having met someone like her. Ranka nods thoughtfully, "So it's like she's... an experience, for you too. Not just him." She smiles, thinking that while Nunnally's description sounds weird - it also sounds like that weirdness has charmed her. So she's decided to just trust her instincts on this. Allowing Milly to ask more details about her.

It seems like 'Never have I ever' has come to an end... Ranka comes to a decision. "Well... it seems only fair... after we've shared so many secrets... that I share one more..."

Ranka says, as she momentarily unlaces her hand from Emilia's fingers, and steps away from her Futon, over to her bag. It's a little Variable Fighter backpack that appears old, like she's had it since she was TINY. And out of it, she produces a creature. It's small, long green and fuzzy with a bushy squirrel like tail, a red carbuncle gem on its forehead, and black pupiless eyes. It twitches that tail. Unusually, it does not appear to have LIMBS??? Extremities to move around with at all. Until Ranka puts down her Hippo hood of her Kigurumi, and suddenly out of pink slits on the sides of its body small tendrils slide out and grip to her head, before moving up to alight himself on her hair, before retracting back inside of his body.

"... we have another member of our sleepover tonight. This is Ai-kun. He's... someone I found here in Japan. I found him alone near a forest... or actually he found me... and... I just... knew that he didn't want to be alone."

Ai-kun makes a trilling noise atop her head, "I get the impression that he's a boy, but I was hoping we could... make an exception and let him stay with us tonight. I'm um..."

Ranka clasps her hands together, now looking nervous, "... breaking all kinds of ecosystem bylaws keeping him. But I'm worried what will happen to him if I turned him over to any authorities - especially if they can't figure him out either. Bad enough that I smuggled him across the border using my Nergal credentials. If I got caught, I'd obviously take all the blame... but I wanted to share, because, I feel like you're all good people, and I can trust all of you."

Thankfully she's PRETTY SURE all the Doors and Windows were securely locked by Milly because he can be a bit of an unholy terror when he gets loose.

<Pose Tracker> Kallen Kozuki has posed.

It's adorable. This sole thought crosses Kallen's mind when Ranka pulls out Ai-kun to show them all. She is thankfully composed about this. Just smiling... "He's so cute... uhm... can we? Would it be okay to pet him? ...I promise, I won't tell anyone you have him. This won't leave the room. Not without your direct say-so." She's repeating herself. A few times over. But can you blame her, when this bundle of adorable green is presented to her?

Being trusted with a secret like this. It... almost makes her want to share one of her own secrets. ...But trust is hard. Especially with a secret that could upend her entire life, even without the chance of linking her to... that place. Maybe... It feels like it's only a matter of time now. Her walls have been coming down steadily, having friends like these. Even as intimidating as Milly is... At this point the biggest reason not to tell her would be operational security. She's someone who could be trusted, at least that much. Isn't she? After exposing some of her own vulnerabilities tonight. When she never had to do any of it.

<Pose Tracker> Nunnally Lamperouge has posed.

        "Ahh... it's a little... I think she has a complicated situation," Nunnally says, head canting apologetically to one side. How else would she describe a girl coming to stay with them one day, out of the blue..? "But I'm sure things will work out!"

        Nunnally, of course, is completely and cheerfully unaware of how much she complicates things working out just by virtue of existing and speaking her mind.

        Luckily, Ranka has a secret of her own to share, so perhaps Nunnally is saved from revealing the identity Lelouch's secret girlfriend -- FOR NOW.

        She leans forward in her chair, as Ranka rustles around in something. Nunnally listens very, very closely, and hears... a trill! "Oh!" She claps her hands together, delighted. "You have a mouse!" I...is that a mouse..?

        He sounds like a mouse. A very bouncy mouse.

        "It's okay," she assures Ranka, immediately. "We'll make an exception for him! Won't we, Milly?" Nunnally turns her face to the President, with the sort of expression which is, let's be completely clear here, very hard to say no to.

        Finally, she smiles, and nods to the weird mouse. "It's nice to meet you, Ai-kun!"

<Pose Tracker> Emilia Eschonbach has posed.

        Complicated, huh? "I w-wonder what she's l-like..." She's sure she'd remember someone like that. (Spoiler, she hasn't yet). Still... "I'm... a l-little surprised... I th-thought Vice-President Lel-l-louch was... um. The r-responsible one." No that's fine to say to Milly. Emmy's stammer makes it hard to tell if it's a joke.

        But Ai-kun suddenly has Emmy's undivided attention. She's not sure what he is but she's staring right at him, eyes wide with fascination.

        "H-He's adorable..." Emmy suddenly snaps out of her cuteness stupor. "Umm, he's l-like... I-if a snake was c-c-c-cute and furry... and he has um... b-big black eyes. And... uum l-like a red, um, spot? Horn?" She shakes her head. "If... Nunnally should get to.. to pet him f-f-first."

        Emmy nods enthusiastically. "Y-yeah! He, he's our um. Our um s-secret." Like the song. She looks to Milly. "I-it's f-fine, right?"

        When did Emmy develop puppy dog eyes?

<Pose Tracker> Milly Ashford has posed.

Milly ... had actually considered asking if people wanted her to go get *her* pet, earlier in the night -- but this is...

... almost...

... as good as a big dog. Almost.

"... I feel like I should say no to this..." Milly reflects on Ranka's ... limbless carbuncle mouse. Nunnally stares at her. Emilia stares at her. ... Milly is ultimately, for all she presents as both a demanding taskmistress and a hard-nosed kind of person (who uses that hard-nosedness in the name of love and chaos)... pretty sentimental. In the end, if you give her a direct conflict between those two things...

... love and chaos, whenever she can get away with it.

"... but he seems very mannerly and very smart, so I'll permit it," she concludes, after a little while. "That's Student Council consensus," she says, glancing between Kallen, Emmy, and Nunnally.

<Pose Tracker> Ranka Lee has posed.

Ranka smiles at Kallen's reaction, and Nunnally's and Emilia's as she slowly brings him over. "Come on down Ai-kun. They're friends." Without using his tendrils this time, he simply bounds down to Ranka's hands - making an actually bouncy noise as he lands, sniffing the air in Nunnally's direction, before making a squeak. "He's a little shy until he knows you... but he likes pets." She informs Kallen, the response to her question, though as Emilia suggested she's about to give Nunnally the right to pet him first...

Though then Milly weighs in, and Ranka looks mildly worried for a moment. If Milly said no, she'd understand of course. She's putting her in a bad position. However... she allows it, and Ranka breathes a sigh of relief, "Thank you! Thank you so much! I'll be discreet. Promise." Before she then addresses him by turning him around to look him directly in the eyes, "Alright Ai-kun, I'm sorry you've been cooped up so much... so enjoy being spoiled a little tonight."

She then turns him around and extends him forward fully for Nunnally to pet. Even hold! He probably hops onto her hands with a bounce after just a few seconds of pets.

... which gives Kallen, Emilia, and Milly easy access as well, to pet during each other's turns and take his own. He doesn't even seem to mind if multiple people approach and pet him now that Ranka's given the sign off on the people in the room.

(She doesn't seem overly concerned about any harm coming to him. Indeed from what she's seen he is VERY sturdy???)

Anyone who pets Ai-kun will find him fuzzy - baby soft. Affectionate in that he leans into one's hand while they're petting them, slitting his eyes and stretching his neck against his hand... or even lightly head butting someone's palm directly when they stop.

As illegal sleepover secrets go, he's certainly a very cute one.