2022-02-11: Pixie Dust

• Log: 2-11-22 Pixie Dust
• Cast: Lilith Aiden, Eisen Daiwel, Romilly Draid, Alma Stirner, Anita Rosetta, Murrue Ramius, Callisto Diana, Nena Trinity
• Where: Club 27, Tokyo
• OOC - IC Date: February 11, 0096
• Summary: After the recent Angel attack, Captain Lilith Aiden organizes a celebration for Londo Bell and friends. A cowboy and an economics student(?!) jump in.

---

<Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Club 27 is a piece of music history. A Britannian expat in Tokyo set it up as a music lover's late night bar, grill, and club, and since everyone is either an adult or in the military, it's a perfect place to invite the Londo Bells who were involved in or part of the crew of an involved ship near the Tokyo-3 Angel attack.

Eisen Daiwel also gets an invitation, since Lilith thought he was pretty helpful. She'll get him past the carding to get in - alcohol is a whole different issue.

Club 27 is bright. Colorful. Loud - alt rock music, a live band, and multiple patio tables with an outdoor bar. It's outside where Lilith has set up under an umbrella, combining two tables and already ordering basically all the appetizers and vodka shots.

The vodka will help wash out the memory of blood. There's room both at the table and most of the other tables are empty, too.

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
It is perhaps a good thing that this invitation is in the midst of Tokyo, a bit after the battle, or Lilith would have had to deal with what Evangelion kids look like just after coming out of the Plug of an Evangelion.

As the youth approaches Club 27, he's dressed in proper clothing. For once, he doesn't have to wear a Plugsuit in case of an emergency deployment. So instead he's wearing something more casual... in as far as Eisen ever does casual. Black goth pants with green buckles and chains that keep jingling with every step he takes. A grey undershirt with a stylized black-and-green silhouette style image of Musashi Tomoe's Getter holding its core in the air and green light coming off of it.

That, and an overcoat that almost looks like a mantle, hanging over his shoulders, but the sleeves just hanging along the sides. He's wearing his telltale eyepatch, and there's black bandages wrapped around his arms all the way up to his fingers. There's notably also a strange scent of aloe on him. And to those who are particularly observant, would notice spots under his clothing where it bulges - suggesting some kind of medical bandages hidden beneath the cloth.

As he steps in, he does so with a confident gait, pushing the door open with just enough strength that it swings open with a certain amount of flair. Hand held up, grinning as he enters, tilting his head up. "The Mad Scientist, Eisen Daiwel, has arrived! Tremble before your devilish blackguard!" The youth declares at the entrance, which no doubt gets him some looks...

As he proceeds onwards to Lilith. Surprisingly, he knows to recognize her thanks to actually having looked up her file. The Lavender hair is a bit of a tell.

Notably for Lilith, who may have had some access to his file... he does NOT look like some 15 year old kid! He looks like he's well towards his twenties. Without a word, the youth sits down at the table across from Lilith - presuming it is free, and kicks his legs up on the table... because that is totally cool. Right? Grinning at her like a bit of a fool.

"Lilith Aiden." He declares, stating her name to her as if it holds some kind of great significance.

 <Pose Tracker> Romilly Draid has posed.
The blonde-haired man wasn't involved in the Angel attack--wouldn't have been invited, wouldn't be recognized. But he's here, having been in town for reasons of his own. For a night owl with a fondness for live bands, there's few better places. He's seated near the combined table. Red flannel shirt, unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up-- white crop top beneath, jeans, boots. Cowboy hat. Like the intersection of 'grunge' and 'folk.' Makes sense that someone like that'd enjoy a place like this. He looks up from his drink (something brown, on-the-rocks). Towards the devilish blackguard, Eisen Daiwel. Romilly bends the brim of his hat.

"Howdy, your devilishness," he offers with quiet politeness. Sip.

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma... isn't actaully a very big drinker, all told; she's learned a little from Lilith, and she can enjoy a nice clear liquor every now and then as a result... but what she actually has, usually, is some horrible sugary catastrophe that comes in a personal pitcher and is just a little too alcoholic to be reasonable to have come in a personal pitcher.

Today's flavor is lemon.

She gets situated, stretching out a bit. As Eisen approaches -- and then someone else addresses Eisen, too! -- Alma gives a little wave and sips at her pitcher. "Hmmm... I thought the Eva pilots were all kids?" she murmurs, looking Eisen over with a slight tilt of her head. "Like, that was the thing, right? They're another younger unit. Oh -- but I guess we had Helena, too..."

This doesn't hit Alma as weird at all. It just kinda happens. She was part of one, after all.

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita wasn't on combat duty during the Angel attack, but she'd seen everything on the monitors while helping out where she could aboard the Ra Mari. With the ship now in need of repairs, it puts her in the right position to receive an invitation out to Club 27 with rest of Londo Bell(and friends). It's good - she could really use the downtime, and it's a great opportunity to meet new people.

She finds the table easily enough, taking a moment to look over everyone gathered before offering a quick wave of greeting and sliding into a seat.

"Hey there, folks. Anita here, looks like I found the place." She greets. She's not quite old enough to drink at 19, but she is in the military... but what she's ordered for herself is not something alcoholic, but instead some sort of brightly-colored, obnoxiously fruit-flavored concoction. She likes it, at least.

 <Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.

        Gravity. Honest true EARTH gravity. It's always tricky to come back to, worse in fact than the landsickness, of coming back to land after being at sea. Worse than dealing with gravity after extended time in space ... doing it in h e e l s, and Murrue Ramius knows A L L of these situations.

        That's why she is wearing some comfy, worn in, block heeled riding boots as she rides up to this club she was invited to meet and greet at. With a last glance at the not service jacket photos she was sent to identify the party, SMurrue wonders if it will be hard, or easy to find them.

        SQUEEZING THROUGH A LARGER GROUP GOING INSIDE... Murrue does a quick two step, two avoid any checks or ID and shuffles down the steps but makes a turn to avoid the dance floor. Through clear frames she scans the room, moving to tip toes to see over and around some. A flash of hair that matched Lilith from an outside area, and an interesting dressed young man, she moves that way starting to see more.

        "Was that, Alma, I think, I... don't know the others from... here."

        Murrue continues to move quickly stopping to stand just a few, awkward moments, before stepping out infront of those there. Shy didn't do any favors, and no uniform on her here so...

        "SALUTATIONS! Hi. There. If this isn't the right place, this'll be a terrible story some day. If it is, Hi, I'm Murrue. I'm a ship captain. Who wants a shot?"

 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith is busy grabbing a shot while Eisen approaches. She's not sure it's him at first. Then he announces himself and approaches her, kicks his legs up on the table, and says her name.

She almost chokes on her drink, but is a professional. It goes down.

"Eisen Daiwel. Do you want nacho fries?" She asks, reasserting dominance. "That shirt is incredible and also never wear that in Britannia."

The cowboy nearby gets a response. "I think I'm the devilish one, here. It's in my name, cowboy." She did just get called Lilith, and she's quite prosocial, so talking to a stranger at a bar - a-okay.

Alma meanwhile got an entire pitcher of booze she's drinking out of and Lilith isn't going to stop her. She's an adult. "Yeah, that's what I thought, too, Alma. Aren't you fifteen?"

Taking an onion ring and popping it into her mouth, Lilith nods to Anita. "Well met, Anita. Take anything you want - it's for the table."

As Murrue passes by, Lilith gives her a wave. "You're at the right place, Captain...Ramius? Captain Lilith Aiden, Irish-class Gwennangorn." She gestures at her vodka shots, having her own. "I'll pay for anything but the booze. That stuff adds up."

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
"Love the name, Captain. Delightfully devilish indeed. If it were not for your name, I probably would not have come." Eisen admits. "And honestly... If the Britannians get uppity, let them." Pause. "No thanks on the Nacho Fries though. I did not calculate for that Demon's Calories."

Oh shit, it's someone with a Cowboy aesthetic. Eisen, you've prepared for this.

The youth pushes his chair back a bit, so it goes onto its back two legs, while considering Romilly Draid. "Hoooo?" Don't reply with Howdy. Return with a questioning sound. Then...

"I am glad you recognize you status. Lacking foresight upon your presence - I must inquire; is your aesthetic Neo-American or ironic-Britannian?" The youth inquires, pointing to Romilly Draid with one finger, before his attention drifts towards Alma.

"Hmm! Yes. Most of the Eva pilots are kids. However, due to a contract with a foul demon, you will find that I am no longer a mere human. The devil within has granted me a great deal. This unaging appearance is one of them." The youth makes a ludricous claim. What about it is true and what is false is anyone's guess. Well, aside from those who are high enough ranked to be able to get the unredacted version of this Evangelion pilot's file.

Anita Rosetta gets a 'Yo' from Eisen in reply, glancing to her with disinterest at first... then his eyes widen. He pulls his feet off of the table and stands up in this flurry of movements. As she sits down, he puts his hands on the table and leans in... uncomfortably close. The kind of close of someone who doesn't have a good sense of personal space. But his hands remain on the table. He would greet Murrue right now, but he's entirely lost in his current perseveration.

"Hooo! Is that third generation tech?" Staring deeper into her eyes with this FIERCE intensity. The light behind his eyepatch lights up, and there's this mechanical whirr that Anita might pick up on, as if something just started rapidly rotating behind it. He's trying to get a better angle at her eyes, leaning in close enough that a slap to the face or a kick to the chest is entirely warranted. Not 'creepy close', but 'too close for comfortable conversation'.

"I do believe that's a..." He rattles off the freakishly exact model of eyes that Anita has. "A decent update. But it lacks some of the features of the more modern models. Has Londo Bell helped you set these up yet with connectivity for Heads Up Display linking?" He then leans back, presuming he's not been roughly pulled away from Anita at this point. "What else?" By this point, he's looking for any other cybernetics that might be obvious to him. "And problems with electrical interference or resolution in dark spaces on these?"

 <Pose Tracker> Romilly Draid has posed.
"Ironic Britannian," he drawls at Eisen with a grin. "Who better to shit on it than somebody that's from there, right?" Sip. A glance towards Lilith. "'Spose you're right," he admits.

"Two tables, huh?" asks the cowboy, one leg now crossed over the other. He smiles cordially at Murrue, bending the brim of his hat in greeting just as he had for Eisen. "What's the occasion? Successful mission, I'm guessin', since miss over there," he says, nodding cordially to Alma, "Said the p-word." Pilot.

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
It's a big crew! The more that becomes the case, the more Alma seems excited. Hers is a heart that longs for companionship en masse.

"Ooh, it looks like we've got a whole crew here!" she says, grinning easily. "Looks like every ship and then some! The Archangel, the Ra Mari... even other branches!" She takes another sip. This one's a little abbreviated, by comparison.

... because she wants to snag some onion rings before Lilith kills the whole platter by herself, because that's definitely going to happen if she doesn't. "Oh, uh -- Lieutenant Alma Stirner, also Irish-class Gwennangorn!" Alma is... used to the AEUG's lack of formality. Introducing herself is a bit of a scramble. "I'm usually flight lead, if she doesn't take it. We kinda trade off. Sometimes it's better to have two of us out there, but..."

Alma did, in fact, say the P-word. "Yep! We helped take out a big monster in Tokyo-3!" she says. It'd be hard to miss that; she knows some of the finer details might be hush-hush, but you can't exactly disappear The Giant Time Monster Of Ice.

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita gives Murrue a nod of greeting. She's worked with the Archangel on a few missions - Murrue's one she recognizes. Her attention turns back to Lilith then, a grin crossing her face.

"I like you already. Don't mind if I do!" Anita replies. They haven't talked much, but she's heard her voice over the radio - and Alma's, too.

"Nice to meet you face-to-face." She greets with a nod and a smile. "For those who don't know, Ensign Anita Rosetta here, I fly with the Ra Mari under Captain York and Commander Lancaster."

She reaches for a cheese skewer, which is around when someone gets, not right up in her business, but pretty close. Anita replies an eyebrow, making a mental note of Eisen as someone who needs to Take it Down Several Notches.

"Skewer?" She offers, raising up the cheese skewer. "You're pretty knowledgeable there."

It's a fairly smooth attempt at avoiding the actual question at hand.

 <Pose Tracker> Callisto Diana has posed.
*typewriter noises with each letter*
NARITA NEO-NEW-AIRPORT
ONE HOUR EARLIER

A mobile phone errantly buzzes inside of Callisto's standard-issue Londo Bell slacks. Trousers. Whatever you call 'em. A bead of sweat drips down her forehead. The air conditioning in the waiting room is broken and a guy with a red diplomatic passport is holding the entire line up for 45 minutes as he berates someone whose job is to wave down passengers with an explosives-detecty wand.

Callisto has checked out of this already, mentally. But Ple Two? She wants to go grab one of those luggage carts and run over this guy with it.

Good luck, hero.

CLUB 27 BAR AND GRILL
NOW (NOW!!!)
 A short-haired, short redhead steps out of a taxi and exhales the frustration of the last hour out in one vile breath. It's almost enough to make you radiate psychic green fire.

Callisto sidles in through the front door and slips past the wait staff, half-turning and pointing at her uniform without a word, and carrying through. Where is--

--ah, there she is. Callie spots Anita and breathes a sigh of relief, not knowing any of these other people.

"Sorry. Airport disaster." she excuses herself and also introduces herself, sliding in next to her old school pal only slightly awkwardly. Now realizing she's interrupted. Uh. Um.

"...hey."


 <Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.


        Murrue grimaces first, realizing she stumbled all over Anita's own introduction in her nervousness, and brings a hand to her face, a palm to the face, or a face palm one might say. With a sigh and a laugh Murrue looks at Anita, "I, I am very sorry Ms Rosetta. This isn't my game board, clearly. So, my apologies. In reparation, if you need... a part or a favor, we can send from the Archangel, message me directly."

        Murrue takes a deep breath and turns towards the bar, walking with determined steps. Several moments later she returns with two full, tall glasses of a mollases colored liquid. One she sets on the table top, the other she brings to her lips, and begins to pour it back...

        07 seconds later and it's gone, the empty glass set upside down on the table, while Murrue smirks and starts turning the other glass by the rim, casting a glance at the rest of those gathered.

        "So Giant Ict Time Monster...?"

 <Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.


        Murrue grimaces first, realizing she stumbled all over Anita's own introduction in her nervousness, and brings a hand to her face, a palm to the face, or a face palm one might say. With a sigh and a laugh Murrue looks at Anita, "I, I am very sorry Ms Rosetta. This isn't my game board, clearly. So, my apologies. In reparation, if you need... a part or a favor, we can send from the Archangel, message me directly."

        Murrue takes a deep breath and turns towards the bar, walking with determined steps. Several moments later she returns with two full, tall glasses of a mollases colored liquid. One she sets on the table top, the other she brings to her lips, and begins to pour it back...

        07 seconds later and it's gone, the empty glass set upside down on the table, while Murrue smirks and starts turning the other glass by the rim, casting a glance at the rest of those gathered.

        "So Big Monster in TOkyo-3...?"

 <Pose Tracker> Nena Trinity has posed.
        A certain freckled red head shows up to Club 27 with a red crop tee and rocking pair of tight denim shorts. Once she gets to the bouncer, she grins at him, showing her ID. The bouncer looks at it.

        It says she's 18."

        He looks up at Nena.

        He hands the card back to her, "Nice try."

        Nena stares intently at the bouncer, "What? Don't believe me?"

        He just stares back, not budging, "Nope."

        Nena stares more intently, "Fine... You leave me no choice." She reaches into her bag...

        ... And pulls out a phone. A quick call and a conversation later and the bouncer's own phone suddenly rings. He answers, "Yes, sir? ... But... Yes... Yes, I understand."

        The bouncer grudgingly lets Nena through, who gloats on the way past, "It helps to know people in high places!"

        Soon enough, Nena ends up in the club proper, drink it hand, bouncing her head to music as she sits down next to a somewhat large group. A group that just happens to consist primarily of Londo Bell. And some others.


 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Eisen gets a blank face, and then Lilith downs another vodka shot, at basically everything he says. She orders another round. She's gonna get drunk by the end of the night. But when Eisen starts harassing Anita, she senses Anita's awkwardness. "Hey, Daiwel. Does this devil have a name?"

He's a teen playing at being scary. Get into his groove and distract him.

Romilly asks what's up, and she nods. "Yep. Was a real one, but we won." Is all Lilith says. She's not bragging, either.

Lilith then grabs a mozz stick, before ALMA eats all of THOSE. Speaking to Anita, she gives a nod. "Captain York and your crew did good work. I'm glad to be working with all of you."

As Callisto approaches, she gets a tip of the head from Lilith. "Captain Lilith Aiden, Irish-class Gwennangorn." She introduces Alma, because Alma is too casual. "This is Lieutenant Alma Stirner, from our flight wing."

Murrue downs two glasses, getting a whistle, and then gets an answer. "I'll tell you what the news will here, and the rest later. Ocean got frozen up, attacking ships. We managed to slay it, creating a massive pool of blood."

As Nena joins the nearby group, Lilith's senses can detect her good mood, and she bounces her head to the music too. Everyone here's real positive. Romilly and the other Newtypes can probably tell Lilith needed this to unwind - a lot of pent-up stress, dissolving.

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Skewer. Eisen instinctively takes the thing being offered to him, as if Anita was one of those pamphlet pushers in the middle of the city, handing out discount vouchers for the local maid cafe. He looks down at the skewer in confusion, why did he even accept this?

"I know I am knowledgable... but no, you see, that model has been known to have some trouble with dark zones if you lost the Silicon Lottery, which can affect your comb~..." The perservation runs deep with this one. See, this is a topic. And she NEEDS TO KNOW! The consideration that she may already be aware not even finding its way to this 'Mad Scientist' mind.

Luckily, Lilith distracts. "Devil?" Pause. What was he talking about again that contained the word Devil? Oh right! "I dare not utter its name." He steps back and settles back down, throwing his feet back up on the table and leaning back in that chair. "For were I to utter it, it would no doubt break its seal, and defile humanity's souls. It is best it remains with me." He touches two fingers to that cybernetic eyepatch of his.

Then, he points to Murrue. As dramatically as he can.

"Yes! Monster at Tokyo-3. You should have seen it. It defied all physics! A demonic bird born forth from beyond this Dimension!" Eisen motions his hand out. "It took an Army to take it out. There were all kinds of new units being fielded by NERV to combat the threat!" He then touches his chest with a fist. "Of course, I, Eisen Daiwel, contributed greatly to the victory and plunging out its very heart - and bathed within its blood like the great historical Siegfried!"

He wonders if anybody got a shaky-cam shot of his unit from a far! He hopes it looked cool!

 <Pose Tracker> Romilly Draid has posed.
Romilly lifts his drink. "Hell yeah, partner," he commends Alma. The more sensitive among them can feel... relief--it must be--radiating from Romilly. "Good work!" He downs the rest of his drink. "I'll drink to that."

He seems the type that'd drink to a lot of things, though his face doesn't seem to have suffered much if that's the case. Even when he's happy, even bobbing his head along with the music--his green eyes seem a little tired.

But whatever haunts those eyes hasn't deadened his perception--indeed, he does pick up on Lilith's state. "Been a while since I seen celebration," he notes with warmth in his smile. "I'd be glad to celebrate with y'all, if y'all'd have me."

"Call me Milly, if you got a mind for something other than 'cowboy,'" he offers as an introduction to everyone.

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Nahhh, don't worry about it. And just Anita's fine - we're all here to relax, right?" Anita replies with a shake of her head and a shrug in Murrue's direction.

Right now, though, she has Eisen to deal with. He's... very persistent, but at least it seems to come from a place of technological interest rather than anything Weirder. Fortunately, though, she receives some helping hands - Lilith comes in with a distraction(which gets a subtle, grateful nod), and a familiar face appears!

"Hey there, Callie." Anita greets, waving her over and making room next to for her. She's glad to see her school friend, that much is clear. She winces, though, at 'airport disaster'. "That bad, huh? Glad you made it, at least. Grab some snacks, we've got plenty - and have you seen the drinks here?"

Anita raises her obnoxiously-fruity juice combination to indicate. It's brightly-colored - almost neon, even.

 <Pose Tracker> Callisto Diana has posed.
Callisto's gaze sweeps to and fro, drinking in the scene. Always situationally aware. Things you can't unlearn. She breathes in through her nose and comes to rest, mentally, amidst the psychic churn of everyone's feelings. Kind of bobbing atop the sea rather than getting sucked into the swell. A well-practiced method.

Lilith is quick to jump to introductions. The short girl blinks quickly, attention snapping her way. "Ma'am." she lamely responds, before eyeing the row of empty shot glasses and making a mental note: probably don't need to be so polite. "Lieutenant Junior-Grade Callisto Diana, I'm with Eight's crew."

Anita helpfully shepherds her to the important part: food and drink.

"It was lame." Callisto sighs, eyes closed in irritation. "Just stuck waiting... anyway. Uh. What's good here? How are you holding up? I've been stuck flying on some special assignments, so..." she half-explains. She then pauses, and all her cool attitude melts away immediately as she turns to the bar staff and points at Anita's drink. "One of those, thanks."

 <Pose Tracker> Nena Trinity has posed.
        Nena is happily looking around the club, definitely in a good mood. She's in the midst of taking a sip from her drink through the straw when her phone beeps. She takes a look at it, noticing the news headline pop up: 'Celestial Being strike three Federation bases simultaneously.'

        Nena's mood improves even further. She'll read it later.

        It's not hard for Nena to catch the conversation from the table over. So she turns around in her chair with her drink, facing them and interupting shamelessly, "Ohhhhh? You guys are pilots? That's so cool! I wish I could do something exciting like that."


 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Eisen gets a gesture from a slowly intoxicated Lilith, who has gotten more shots. "Eat your skewer!"

Romilly asks to join. Lilith considers it - and sees something in those eyes and that feeling. She nods. "Come aboard, Milly. We weren't going to be talking work, anyways, and making friends is worth it. Food's still my treat, unless you want something expensive." A wink.

Nena says something, though, which is weird given Lilith already is having a weird reaction about her. "It's not as cool as it sounds. More dangerous than exciting." She's not going to encourage piloting to a party girl!

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen grins at Nena Trinity as she comments on how it's cool to be pilots. "You can always go to the nearest recruitment office and join the military." He offers to her, before glancing aside to Lilith Aiden again.

"You smell like Misato..." He counters her offer for eating a skewer. It's notably that he's not really... eating anything at all. No doubt there are delicious thigns around him. The kind of stuff that should have someone like Eisen practically salivating. But he's just having none of it. And with her comment on it being her treat; "Cheap like her too." He adds a bit more playfully.

"And don't let Lilith fool you. Piloting against Kaiju and engaging in battles absolutely is cool - as long as you do it with style!"

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma... has the *energy* to match chuunibyou, but she's also too hapless to really get it. She's been quiet for a few moments, because she is... shoveling mozzarella sticks into her face. The nice thing about this is that it is doing a *great* job of propping up her energy levels after what was, despite her general bobbliness, actually a pretty taxing operation. Just because you're a little bit invigorated by challenges doesn't mean you don't also run out of energy.

She does meet the toast from 'Milly.' That's at least a nice, friendly gesture, and one she's used to -- though it's a little awkward to meet the toast with half a potato skin in your mouth.

The room gets... a lot denser in terms of its emotional energy very fast -- a nd a little bit weird. Alma squints at Callisto for a long, long while, as if trying to place a face, except what she's *actually* trying to place is a vibe.

What she comments on, though: is Lilith and Eisen. "I dunno, it's still... serious? People tell me my style is flashy, but... that's not really as important as making sure everyone comes home safe, right?" ... A beat, before she admits, "The Evangelion units *are* kinda cool, though...!"

 <Pose Tracker> Nena Trinity has posed.
        Nena just grins at Lilith. It's... Perhaps a little unnerving. Though it's hard to put a finger exactly on why. It's just a friendly grin from someone having a good time in a club!

        Nena counters, "But that's what makes it exciting, no? The thrill of putting your life on the line. The difference between winning or losing everything coming down to just fractions of a second." She laughs, "You don't get that kind of excitement sitting in an economics lecture hall!"

        And then Eisen supports Nena's assertions, "See!? He knows the deal! Man, that sounds epic. You guys are heroes!"

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Uuugh." Anita replies sympathetically with a shake of her head, as Callisto remarks on the waiting. "That's the worst, right?"

Anita claims another cheese skewer. This one is kept all to herself, but she does grab another cheese skewer to offer to Callisto.

"Me? I've been doing alright - can't complain, really." Anita replies with a shrug. It feels like there's a little something there - a hint of hesitation there, something she's not quite willing to discuss in such a large group. "The Ra Mari got caught up in that crazy in Tokyo, though, so I'm sticking with the crew for now until it gets patched up..."

Anita beams as Callisto orders the same drink.

"It looks great, right? I had to try it." She says, then glances toward the others. It looks like they've attracted a bit of a crowd.

 <Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.


        Murrue leans in, intently listening to Eisen's desription of the Monster from Tokyo-3. It is certainly a fantastic description that she will be looking into back when she can check reports. THough she suspects that there will be a great bit of redacted data from those reports. "THAT, is pretty incredible. I, think I have seen some pretty incredible things but, that certainly sounds ... experiential. Nothing that I am seeing " Murrue makes a sound describing the Archangel flying off into space with a chuckle.

        Murrue looks at Eisen, Alma, Anita, Callie, Milly, Lilith, and Nena, and smirks, lifting her glass to Milly's toast. She looks thoughtfully and then in a lull "Pilots." She gestures wide at all of them. "You are why we do so much. I CAN pilot, but I'm not a pilot."

        Fidgeting with her jacket and setting her glass down she laughs and relaxes back into her seat. "Y'know I'm a Captain," she gestures from herself, to Lilith, to indicate something in kind, "But I've become an adopted mother, to so many like, well so many of you. The kids that ended up on my ship. Not ready, but none of us were, are, or will be lol. Who knows how to be a mom when I'm barely older than you. But, they need me. So I'm like, Captain mom! Sometimes... So it's nice to be not, always the Captain..." She looks to Lilith, "Riiiiiight, Cap'n?"

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
"See, that's good! Having a flashy style lets people recognize you! Sure, it's okay for you to save people while marching in formation and killing the bad guys. But who do you think the people, the military, will talk about? Who do you think gives people hope? Who do you think people fear! Some guy named Russel Bagman..." He is making up names now? "... with like, military buzzcut, piloting a GM II and fending off a Zaku at the edge of town? Or the Fearsome Carestia, stomping through the city of Tokyo, risking its life for the people. Ripping off chunks of the opponent!?"

Eisen points to Nena. "See! She gets it! She gets what tis is all about!" Pause. "Love the red hair by the way." There isn't really anything behind that comment beyond earnest aesthetic appreciation.

He huffs and then leans back; "Right? The Evangelion units are absolutely cool!" Finally, someone who gets the aesthetic. "Which one do you like the most? I'm obviously biased towards the Carestia. But I kind of dig the aesthetics of the Red unit with the electric crossbow." He won't give away names of pilots at least.

The youth then glances up at Murrue as she talks as she talks about her pilots like kids. "They're never going to grow up if you're like that. You have to be a cooler captain than that! Maybe like, wear a cap you pull down over your eyes when things get serious." The youth points out. "Gotta be all quiet and reserved... yeah... maybe yell at the when they step out of line." It's like he's trying to cast her or some kind of stereotype from a movie.

 <Pose Tracker> Callisto Diana has posed.
Callisto remains fairly motionless as she smiles and makes a little small talk with Anita, who she knows best, and waits for her drink. She ignores whatever's on the news at the moment because something has caught her eye.

To Alma's third eye, the girl she's focusing on is weighed down heavily by something. It's like a heavy black shadow lurking at the edges of her presence. It's weaponized and wielded. Also, there's a feeling like she's being stared at in return...

Snap back to reality (oops there goes--) and Callisto is smiling at Anita again. Small as that smile may be. She can sense that not everything is great. "That's good. I know it's tough, I'm glad everyone is okay." and she quietens because Murrue is calling for a toast, or a speech.

Callisto has no appreciation for what she might or might not get away with for Murrue, so she lamely raises her glass of water--still waiting on the goods--in return. "That's the captain of the... Archangel...?"

 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
"Hey, I ain't cheap. Almost no one here could afford me." Lilith grins, toasting Milly before she forgets. Nena makes her a little uncomfortable, but she's chalking it up to stupid teenagers. "Heroes, to some. To others...well, this isn't the time for that. It's a celebration. Don't join the military just to fly a suit, is all I have to say."

And then she shifts to check that no one's Overly Uncomfortable, and responds to Murrue. "Captain mom, huh? I've been doing this for sixteen years - guess I've got the seniority."

Eisen speaks up again, and she sighs through another shot.

"How much television are they letting you watch out there?"

 <Pose Tracker> Romilly Draid has posed.
Romilly reaches into his pocket, roughly at the same time that Nena checks her phone. He checks his. Green eyes dart towards her, briefly.

He stends up, smiling at Lilith. "Well, thank you kindly," he says with a tip of his hat, stepping away from his table to join the two combined ones. The light of the moon catches an earring as he does so. "Lucky for you I already ate, Ms. Lilith. But you know, I could go to town on some shots, nah." He eases into his seat with an 'oof' that belies his youthful appearance.

"Time was," he says, with a glance towards Nena, in apparent agreement with Lilith, "I used to like the danger too. Romanticized it, I guess. Wanted to be the next big ace."

He shakes his head, waving a hand dismissively. "Sure, it's your life on the line, and you can say there's meaning there. But to me, that's like wallpaper--scrape it hard enough and you see what's really behind it." There's a brief, sad undertone to his presence, but he forces it back down with...

With a bright smile, "You must do all kinda excitin' things, though! Reckon you oughta, if you got the good taste to come by a place like this."

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
This is actually a topic near and dear to Alma's heart. There's a flash of feeling as Eisen talks about the difference between who gets talked about and who doesn't. She's about halfway into her ~40 ounce personal pitcher, and once she puts it back down from her toast, she raises her voice with a little seriousness.

There's a *loud* emotion rolling off her, for those tuned into that type of thing. It's complex -- there's some pride, some sadness, some joy. "You can be as flashy as you want, with the most impressive paint scheme you want," she says, with a seriousness she hasn't really rolled out. "If people want to bury that, they're going to. You can't... hang your feelings on wanting to get talked about! It's going to hurt you... you have to just -- do it in a way where... do it in a -- you're at peace with what you did, even if no one hears about it again. Even if no one hears about *you* again."

She then flops back in her seat, and admits with a whine, "Aaah, I'm no good at this stuff! I want another order of cheese curds..." Her gaze tracks once more to Callisto though. There's something heavy there -- something with some *weight*.

... it's probably better if she shares it. "Heeey, were you... no, it's definitely not that you were with the..." She blinks. "... Ooh, come sit by me! Come try the potato skins!" she says instead. If she hazards a guess, she's probably gonna drag someone's goblins into the light, and this is squarely a let-me-stuff-the-potato-skins-in-your-mouth setting. She gestures to Anita, saying, "You too! C'mon, have a seat!"

 <Pose Tracker> Nena Trinity has posed.
        Nena beams as she gets a compliment from Eisen, "Thanks!" She looks him over in turn... For quite a bit, before responding, "You're not so bad looking yourself." While Eisen's words might have been harmlessly lacking in anything more, Nena's are not.

        But that only lasts for a few moments, before Nena turns her attention to someone else, Murrue specifically, "Woah, pilot AND captains! This looks like a high profile bunch!" She listens intently as Murue describes her experiences as Captain mum. So which Nena replies with a laugh, "I hope you're a better mum than mine! She's a real bitch. Always nagging me about my studies and my late nights. Of course she would FREAK if she knew I had snuck off to Tokyo for a little vacation."

        Nena feels a couple of looks from Romilly, turning her head to look and give him a smile, "Hi! I'm Nena by the way. Nena Trinity." She then looks back at the rest of the group, "Nice to meet you all! How about the next round on me? For your heroic efforts!"


 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith would reject the next round, but Alma's statement moves both her and her wallet, as she quickly requests cheese curds. Lilith doesn't have to say anything for Alma to know she agrees with her.

"I'll accept that, Miss Trinity. Thankya."

Yep, Lilith is gonna be plastered, and that means XO Ayelock is going to be in charge tonight.

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen keys in on Alma Stirner as she responds with a lot more calmth than one might expect from him. In fact, a bit of that energy seems to almost 'pause' for her. Listening to her with notable amounts of care. Only when she finishes speaking, does he jump back in with that usual bit of flair; "To be fair, it isn't about being talked about. Not really. It's... more about Expressing Me and making my Mark upon the world. If it hurts me, so be it. I already get hurt plenty when piloting." He touches his chest, to one of the spots where the fabric seems lifted. A wince.

He then turns to Lilith as she makes her little comment; "As long as I deliver results, they don't care about how many movies I watch." Eisen points out, before adding; "Why, didn't they let you watch movies when you were... younger?" He's not quite calling Lilith old, but it's clear that he had to adjust his sentence to make sure he wasn't about to insult her.

To those who are particularly sensitive amongst the NewTypes, something Eisen absolutely is not, the youth may feel... strange. He's obviously very high energy. It seems like he's saying whatever comes to mind. But those who study him will feel that amongst that storm of energy, there's something very calm and calculating at the center of it all. Something observing everything that is happening. Like something waiting to strike. Something darker, seeking a way out.

They'll probably also notice how kind-of-oblivious Eisen seems to Nena Trinity's remark on him not looking bad. Or perhaps less 'obvious' and more 'taking something different away from it than your average person! "It is important to have good aesthetics." He remarks with a tone of excitement, believing she is talking about the way he portrays himself in general.

Eisen then grabs something from within the pockets of his overjacket, which is still managing to hang off of his shoulders, and passes it to Lilith. It contains a whole bunch of REDACTED statements with a budget that reaches rediculous levels. "Figured you'd want to see. Since you were talking about hiring." He taps the paper. "It also contains the price for University Lectures. They may be within your organization's price range."

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
"Yeah... I'm thankful for that, things were a little touch and go for a minute." Anita admits, before turning her attention Murrue's way, listening as she gives her speech. Anita raises her glass as well, then nods Callisto's way. "Yup, sure is - Murrue Ramius."

Her attention turns to Alma, then, as she says something... pretty heartfelt! ...She sounds like someone who knows what she's talking about. Anita hasn't really chimed in on the pilot conversation, herself - compared to the rest of them, she hasn't been at this for long. For that reason...

"Nah, but thank you for the offer. I don't think I've earned it yet." Anita rejects Nena's offer politely.

And right now, Alma seems to be inviting her and Callisto over!

"Those do look good..." Anita notes of the potato skins, glancing Callisto's way. "Shall we?"

Anita claims her glass(and another skewer, can't forget that), moving her way over to one of the seats near Alma.

 <Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.


        Murrue looks at the now closer gathered group, smiling gratefully to Anita for the assurance of her identity, and nods, "Well this seems like an appropriate time."

        A leather bag is lifted to the table, and once opened, its contents removed. Two tumbler's, with the old unit insignia for the Fairy's on each, and an old bottle of McCallen. Murrue offers the glasses to Alma and Lilith. "Bring a gift if you're going to make an impression with someone, to make an impression with." She sets the bottle firmly in front of Lilith as well, though the pricey bottle of expensive whiskey is a gesture, who knows where it'll land.

        "It is my pleasure, to meet, and enjoy the night with all of you. Nena, I am sorry about you mother, I'm the Captain first, though I try to be there for my crew however I can be. Anyway, shall be bust open this obscenely expensive bottle?"

 <Pose Tracker> Callisto Diana has posed.
Callisto shares a conspiratorial glance at Anita as the two of them are called out directly and waved over, by Alma's excited hand. "We should mingle." she confirms, though the two seem to be in agreement on that. "Can't hurt."

She spares a glance for Murrue dragging out a fresh bottle of pure spirits. Momentary disbelief. "The top brass go hard, huh..."

Anyway, Callistwo (ho ho) brings herself, her baggage (mental), and her friend (Anita) over to take a seat by Alma. "... evening." she offers by way of awkward greeting after a few moments. Quiet one, this girl.

 <Pose Tracker> Romilly Draid has posed.
Romilly realizes he's staring at Eisen when Nena introduces herself. What was that... lurking behind the energetic exterior? Don't fixate.

"Romilly Draid," says the cowboy pleasantly to Nena, "And the pleasure's all mine. I ain't made no heroic efforts, but I will drink your booze!" He grins, amiably finger-gunning in her direction.

Alma, having spoken much the same sentiment that he had, earns... not verbal agreement, but a look of profound, overwhelming relief that someone Gets It. With a satisfied nod, the cowboy focuses on something else.

"Now, I'mma tell ya--coffee liqeur and tequila, on the rocks. It'll change your life," he says to Lilith. "Smooth. Warm. Earthy. But most importantly..." He snaps his fingers. "Efficient. You wanna blast off, ain't but a few of those and you're there."

 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Lilith keys in on Eisen's feelings, and despite being drunk, will Remember This. She then looks down at the budget, instead of replying about movies and her age.

"I think we actually filled up on our flight unit, sorry." Literally impossible, and also a joke.

But the glasses slightly sober her up, briefly. There's a soft, wistful smile. "I wasn't in her old division, and...well, it's up to her if we accept these." Fidgeting, slightly. "I'll gladly accept the whiskey, though."

And then it hits her again. "Whoo, that was a hard shot."

"Romilly states his name. She's keen enough to know who he is, and he probably figures it out the minute their eyes meet and she gives an Interesting glance, but then she responds. "I'm an OYW vet. I've mixed everything with everything, Milly."

Callisto gets a nod, too. "Of course we go hard! We're people, too!"

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma snags a potato skin. "... All right," she says, to Eisen; she knows, in the end, that you can't teach this type of thing just by saying it. It's better if she lets it go, for now -- lets him get a little seaoning. ... Hopefully that'll come to pass.

She chews at the, letting Lilith get some attention; she doesn't need to hoard the captain. Her eyes widen a little as she sees the bag, though -- and the unit insignia... "... wow, that must have taken -- wow. You really did some digging..." She brings a hand up to twirl in her red hair a bit. "Th-thank you." She's a little gobsmacked by the gesture.

She picks up her glass, looking at it for a while. "Lilith -- we should save some of that." Before Lilith gets *too* far in. "Maybe if we find another one of the..." She clears her throat. "... sorry, uh -- personal project. That one's. That's probably a secret, ehehe..."

As Anita and Callisto approach, though, Alma's all grins. "So seriously!" Her hands dart out, snagging a potato skin and a few cheese curds and putting a set onto one of the little novelty plates -- first for Anita, then for Callisto. "I think it's the extra bacon grease in the potato skins... you'd think it'd be gross, but..."

Her voice drops to a whisper as she gives Callisto her plate. "... Were you a Flanagan baby, or later? Either way... if you wanna talk some time, I'll *make* time." It's very quiet. She appends, "... Iiii flunked out, myself."

Then she's back to fun. "The Ra Mari's got such a good crew... and so many girls! It's kinda nostalgic..."

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen leans back and manages to quiet down, listening to the others. For a moment, he glances aside, feeling like he's being watched from Romilly's corner. But he doesn't end up catching what is bugging him. The youth himself is then taking in Alma for a moment. He knows that kind of 'all right'.

"I'll survive long enough." He answers her. He doesn't have to be a NewType to pick up on that social cue. Instead, he continues to lean back in that chair and closest his eyes for long enough to just listen for a bit. That stupid self-confident grin doesn't wash away, but it is surprising that this kid even knows how to shut up. Let alone listen to what is being siad around him.

When Lilith finally pipes up about having filled the flight crew, there's a little hard-to-read quirk of his lips there. Almost like he's... satisfied to hear it? Not satisfied to hear the content, but almost like he's satisfied by the reply itself. Satisfied with... himself. Like this was exactly what he expected and desired to be spoken by her. It's a subtly that is hard to pick up on.

"In that case!" Eisen lowers his legs off of the table and gets up a bit too fast, and winces for just a moment. A little hiss under his breath. "In that case, I should head out. I believe they're releasing a 5 Year Anniversary golden-plated miniature of the GaoGaiGai with Goldeon Hammer." He points out.

 <Pose Tracker> Nena Trinity has posed.
        Nena chuckles at Murue, "Not any more sorry than I am!" She watches Murrue unpack the expensive bottle and accompanying glasses. She actually doesn't get the reference. Not that it really matters to her. Although, maybe she'll look up that insignia later...

        Seeing the importance to Alma though, Nena wonders...

        Nena gives the other red head a grin, "It seems like you've been a pilot for a while! Surely you've got some awesome stories to tell?"

        As Eisen proceeds to get up, Nena gives him a friendly wave, "We should chat again some time! I think we'd get along great. I'm sure you can find my details easily enough, I'm all over the social sites." The funny thing is she is. There's even evidence of her enrollment at a university in Britannia!

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita listens to the chatter around. She doesn't mind large gatherings like this, but she's always been the type to just sit back and enjoy the ambience rather than be the life of the party. It's kind of nice, really. She's always been more comfortable around people.

She gratefully accepts a plate, quickly partaking. ...They are, indeed, quite good - this was the best idea.

"No, no, I get what you mean - it kind of adds a little something extra, right? What a technique." Anita confirms with a nod. She glances briefly between Alma and Callisto as the former whispers something to the latter - she doesn't press on it, though, but she does keep an eye to make sure everything stays alright between the two of them.

"We owe it to Eight, really, for bringing us all together - and Rena too, of course." Anita replies with a fond chuckle. "I can hardly picture myself being anywhere else now."

Nostalgic, though, huh... Lilith did mention Alma's old division.

"Was your old division like that too?" Anita asks, curious.

 <Pose Tracker> Callisto Diana has posed.
Callisto is a little uncomfortable already, since she'd rather be sitting in a simulator or reading a book in her hotel room or something. But surviving social situations is an important skill too, so it's a good place to grind.

She's getting comfortable and turning to look at why something in the chair keeps digging into her back when Alma pops a very pointed question.

                ... Were you a Flanagan baby, or later?

The red-haired girl looks sidelong at Alma with the telltale shrinking of pupils for one who has damn well recognized. "That's about right." she says, words carefully picked. "Maybe we'll talk later."

(Somewhere in Callisto's psychic signature, up there in twinkle space, a spark of alertness shines brightly.)

Measured humour returns to her tone. "Anita's right. The ship's crew are great." she returns to the conversation right on schedule. "Everyone looks out for one another, on and off the battlefield."

 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
As Eisen moves to leave, Lilith imagines it's an excuse, as she does not crack open the whiskey, but...she's a bit sad he's going. It's noticeable even by the unawakened. Even so. "Have a good trip, Daiwel."

Anita asks Alma about her division. A drunk Lilith chimes up. "They were really good. Gave me a run for my money. Alma shot me down enough times, though I bet she couldn't have done it without them." It's playful. She has no regrets over their opposition, and she's too drunk to filter.

 <Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.


        Murrue bids a farewell to Eisen, "I do, look forward to running into you again. Regale me again will you?" But she turns with a head tilt towards Nena, with a growing smile ... and a wink. A deep breath brings her attention back to nodding around the table before acknowledging the purple elephant gift in the room. "I, I hope I got it right. The signit I mean, the negative space was a little difficult with the medium, and the records were, honestly a bit confusing but, I... I, I'm sorry if it's, problematic." She heard the playfulness, she hopes she didn't cause a problem.

        Murrue spins her hands over one another trying to form the words, "I just wanted to make a gesture and I hope it isn't off taste."

        Murrue looks to Milly, gesturing a hat tip, then to Anita and Callie, "Drink? Things with the Ra Mari good? How... What is your favorite food?" Turning to Milly, "How do you feel about... deep dish pizza?"

 <Pose Tracker> Eisen Daiwel has posed.
Eisen grins at Nena Trinity and nods his head. "Sure! If you can find me - I'll gladly chat again. Always nice to talk to someone who understands aesthetics." He answers her all mock-mysterious. He hasn't actually committed her name to memory quite yet. Though he might manage to use his long term memory to remember it if he gets lucky.

He then motions vaguely at Lilith, smirking at her. "You know where to find me if you end up having need of me. Just don't do it too often. You have to pace your Super Sentai Sixth." Then to Murrue; "If you wear the hat, I'll think about it." He comments and starts heading on off, moving his jacket and throwing it over one shoulder instead.

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
Alma doesn't press. She got out of Flanagan very light, made friends, crashed a Grublo, got transferred, rest is history. ... a lot of people didn't. Instead, she offers Callisto a quiet, "... okay. My door's open."

She reorients, mostly-on-cue. Nena's comment to Alma gets a light laugh. She usually doesn't brag about this kinda stuff, but... "A-aahh, Lilith... don't brag about me!" she says, bringing both hands up and doing a quick wave-off gesture. "Anyway, a-ah, about that." Rubbing at the back of her head, she explains to Nena, "I was part of a women's-only special operations team under Lady Kycilia, during the war." When you say 'the war,' you know which one you're talking about. "They... kiiiinda tried to bury us. A lot. I think the Federation has more records on us than *Zeon* does... Gihren was kinda a petty guy." Her cheek puffs out a little. Scratch. Scratch. "Though I dunno how he would've buried our records after the war... anyway, a bunch of stuff happened and I'm with Londo Bell now! ... buuuut I think I'm the only one from my unit who is."

Alma decides to deal with a complex question in the traditional way: not. "That kinda made it hard for us to catch up after the war, though... keep in touch with each other, okay?" There's *no* bitterness about that, not even really any unhappiness, in how she addresses the Ra Mari crew; she's all smiles about it -- she genuinely wants better for them than she got for herself.

 <Pose Tracker> Romilly Draid has posed.
"Love it," he says to Murrue, firmly enough to banish any doubts that he enjoys deep dish. "Love Sicilian, too. Matter 'fact, I ain't seen the pizza yet I'd say no to. If you're askin' that 'cause you got it on the mind, I'll go in on a pizza." All the talk about food can make even someone who's not hungry for it suddenly start thinking about it! He will indeed chip in if there's to be one. And if it's just conversation, he's certainly made his pizza opinions clear.

"Thanks, by the way," he says to Lilith. Quietly. "For not usin' that name." He smiles, tiredly, but sincerely. As it turns out, he's decent company these days, whatever he might've done, whatever haunts him now. As the night goes on and the drinks flow, there emerges a more raucous, gregarious side. Everything has to end sometime, but endings aren't bad. Sometimes they can be quite nice.

As he'd said before, Romilly hasn't seen a lot of celebrating lately. It's nice to see--and even nicer to participate. Hours after the get-together, stumbling towards his accomodations after an uneventful ride back, he's still got a little bit of that smile left.

 <Pose Tracker> Nena Trinity has posed.
        Nena simply grins as she watches Eisen leave. Given the fact that he didn't even give his own name, that almost sounded like a challenge. Though it probably wouldn't be hard to get.

        But turning her attention back to the others, Nena looks between Lilith and Alma, "Wow! You two were on opposite sides during the war, but now are cool with each other? Ohhhhhhh, that sounds so much like a movie, or something! It's so cool, that you guys don't even mind that you both probably ended up killing a bunch of the other's comrades. Maybe even friends! I really respect that kind of... Well. Respect!"

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
Anita chuckles as Lilith chimes in with her own things to say on Alma's division. It's easy to tell they were on opposite sides. She doesn't ask which.

"They must've been a sight to see, sounds like." Anita remarks, chuckling at Alma's reaction to that. She listens, then, as Alma fills things in a bit more. It's true, she doesn't need to ask which war - and Anita doesn't judge, either.

"...That's a shame. I'm sorry." She says, of them all splitting up. She massages the back of her neck sheepishly. "I hope you'll be able to see them all again."

She nods, then.

"Yeah... I'm gonna have to hold on tight. They're going to have to shake real hard if they want to lose me." Anita says with a grin, as Alma encourages her to keep in touch with everyone. That'll... definitely be something she keeps in mind, though. She nods to confirm Callisto's statement, though.

"Yeah... it's a good bunch." She agrees. This serves as a good response to Murrue, too.

...Which she also asides, "Favorite? ...I dunno, just give me something with big flavor and a lot of meat, and I'm in heaven."

...Of course, some of her favorite foods are also the recipes her friends specialize in...

 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
"You deserve it, fairy princess." A teasing nickname. Oh no. She's SUPER drunk. Lilith turns towards Romilly and gives him a nod and a soft smile. "Pizza! Yes!"

And Nena tries to possibly damage a relationship. She doesn't need to be a Newtype to immediately feel the Impassable Barrier of Lilith Aiden, who is secure in her history. "Well, Tinkerbell here helped me learn how to fly. I won't speak for *her*, but for me? It's in the past."

She's wisely tapping Alma's foot with her own, a small signal that once they're done eating pizza she should probably get her home. Or possibly she's playing footsie. Who knows, but Alma's smart enough to figure the former.

 <Pose Tracker> Murrue Ramius has posed.


        Murrue had arranged for some deep dish which had arrived only slightly late, but that made it seem all the more on time after the exchanges of gifts and stories had seemed to give those, at least in the Captain's inebriated eyes a bit of bonding in multiple directions. She had to go hat shopping apparently. While some ate Murrue made sure to get water going around, to help with that dehydration that makes drinking worse or worsererer. AS pizza vanished, and parties left, Murrue tried to linger, until she made sure all bills were settled and generous gratuity was handled.

        "Thank you, I appreciate, this time with you," she tried to express to each, and sincerely she hoped it wouldn't be too long before she could do this again.

 <Pose Tracker> Callisto Diana has posed.
While she feels a little overwhelmed, you have to admit Callisto is doing alright for someone who instantly got their Real Self sniffed out as an old Zeon psychic-engineering kid.

She rests her chin in one hand for a moment, composing herself. Damn. Usually she's the one doing the hinting or the sniffing out. This... she's not used to. Murrue is helping to distract though, with offers of drinks and snacks. She needs calories to muster up the PSI points to deal with this. "Er--yeah, um. Thanks, Captain Ramius, just a bowl of fries or something would be good..." there's a pause, before the girl forces warmth back into her voice. Enjoy yourself, damnit. "If you want to see the Ra Mari sometime, I'm sure Captain York would gladly have you aboard?"

After a moment's shuffling, Callisto fishes her small, black, utilitarian smartphone from her pocket and slides it across the table to Alma, unlocked. "Add yourself in there, please. We can catch up later?"

Oh yes. Much for the old Zeon furniture to discuss.

Last but not least. To Anita, the sunshine-haired girl turns her head to regard with another one of those tiny, but sincere smiles. "Sorry. But the moment you and everyone else signed up, you're doomed to get protected by Eight and I. Now you can't lose us."

(Look at you, cavorting, so friendly. So cherished. Not bad for the runt of the litter...)

Callisto returns chin to hand. Her gaydar immediately registers a POWERFUL signature coming from somewhere in the room, best not to make a point of noticing. "... this wasn't too bad." she admits soon after, quietly. "Thanks for reminding me to come along, Anita."

 <Pose Tracker> Alma Stirner has posed.
"Aaah, it's fine. We made a promise, so we're gonna figure it out," Alma says. Her pitcher is drained, so she's pretty casual about the whole thing. "You guys totally got this," she adds, to Anita.

It's hard to tell if Nena is trying to stir something, but Alma just passes on any attempt to ruin her emotional landscape. ... The teasing and the footsie help. "Honestly, like, uh... it's pretty fair to say we saved each other's lives," she answers, rubbing at the back of her head. "We got in a lot of fights, but... she saved my life, and -- well, you heard it from her."

Standing up, Alma stretches out a bit. "... Okay, the Captain's a little further in than I am, so I think we might have to get the check and get out," Alma concedes, with a slightly lopsided smile. She lets Lilith and Murrue figure out the bill situation between them. "Thanks for tonight, everyone! I had a really good time."

She accepts the smartphone from Callisto, fumbling with it a bit. It takes her a couple tries -- but she gets it in there. "There ya go," she says, gently tapping Callisto's hand as she slides the phone back -- that little gesture of, 'I'm here -- no, really, I'm *right* here.' "Hang in there 'til next time, okay?"

 <Pose Tracker> Nena Trinity has posed.
        Nena looks wistfully, "Wow, that almost sounds romantic, in a way!" Nena didn't think they'd really fall for some a simple means of creating some hard feelings. But it was fun to try, regardless.

        People seem to have had enough though, as they are starting to head out. Nena also stands, saying, "Yeah, I should probably put an end to this vacation. I think I might have a test coming up soon... Anyway, it was great to meet you guys and hear about pilot stuff! Maybe I will think about signing up one of these days." Not bloody likely.

        "Ciao!" Nena proceeds to make her way out of the club. She starts giggling to herself along the way.

        Though once Nena is outside and some distance away, something approaches her from the shadows... It's round shaped! Nena frowns, "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay in the Drei."

        Purple Haro rolls out of the shadows, "New mission plan! New mission plan!"

        Nena groans, "Come on! We just FINISHED a mission! I want to get some rest."

        Purple Haro buzzes back, "Too lazy! Too lazy!"

        Nena kicks the Haro away, before walking off.

 <Pose Tracker> Anita Rosetta has posed.
'Fairy princess', 'Tinkerbell'... Anita doesn't know the source of those nicknames, but they're way too cute. She makes a mental note of this.

"Good." Anita replies, as Alma says she and her old team will figure it out. It'd be too sad, if they never met up - she hopes they'll get the chance someday. She nods and smiles, though, as she says she's got this... and, as Callie chimes in with a statement of her own. Anita chuckles.

"Looks like there's nothing for it, then. I'm in your care!" She replies. She can't help but smile, though, as Callisto comments that it wasn't too bad.

"Anytime, Callie, anytime." She replies with a nod.

 <Pose Tracker> Lilith Aiden has posed.
Callisto's gaydar is probably a compass right now. It's probably obvious where. Lilith takes as much of the bill as possible, even if she has to haggle with Murrue - this was her get-together, and she's the ranking officer, so. Besides, that was a LOT of booze.

Once they're done paying the bill, Lilith makes sure Alma grabs the glasses and whiskey, and waves everyone off. "Let's do this again sometime!"

She's going to be REALLY flirty until the two get back and she passes out immediately. Alma will have to explain the situation to XO Ayelock about why their captain will be hungover in the morning.