strategicnaps | IC INBOX FOR CONSIGNMENT

[Darn you & your pretending skills, Hanbei.

Waving back:] Come here and put the box down! You wanted a hug, right?

[Her mission was to remain reserved about the whole thing...but she already failed.]

[Look, he had to pretend for like 10 years, obviously he'd get pretty good.]

Coming! [He has more than just rice for you, by the way-- Dagger was kind enough to leave 6 daifuku dumplings for him in return for the efforts at Lusania. Of course, he didn't know they were from Dagger, and while he had suspicions that they were poisoned... he shrugged and ate one. And he's still standing! So he can leave the other 5 to Suzu.

~~How the fuck is he not dead yet~~

In any case, he's putting the box down-- honestly, he looks more like a kid than a full-grown adult right now, stretching his arms out like that...]

[Yes good, dumplings. Just don't tell her they're from Dagger, and everything will be perfectly fine. ~~But seriously, how does he survive at all.~~

Suzunomia's whole face brightens at the gesture ~~because he is just too adorable~~, yet she hesitates for a second even after taking a step forward to embrace him.

...She's not exactly sure how to position herself. As a Will, she's watched thousands upon thousands of hugs, even experienced one through Finnel. Except now that she's receiving one ~~at her own height~~, it takes her a second before deciding to wrap her arms his neck.]

Forgive me, this is my first hug.

[The momentary pause seemed to warrant an apology.]

[Hanbei's... left hanging for a while, and that makes it kinda awkward. Suzunomia's words dissipate that, though, and he's already used to being hugged around the neck (height issues). So don't mind if he just wraps his hands around your chest.]

Ahh, that's kind of pressurizing. Now I can't mess your first hug up. [He's joking, of course, and kind of squeezes her. Not enough to choke, but it'll be hard to struggle free.

(It's cold!!)

...Say something, Suzu, or else he'll ruin everything by making a whispered comment about you literally having no boobs at all.]

[That would be the worst thing to say, even if she would begrudgingly agree.

But thank goodness he doesn't royally fuck up. Instead, Suzunomia laughs a little when his hold on her tightens. It's a nice feeling-- surprisingly secure but not necessarily on a physical level. Like she can forget the worries that have become a daily routine by simply holding onto him.]

It's fine. You are...almost like a big pillow with all these layers on, hmhmhm~

[...She says as she nuzzles into his shoulder. If only she didn't turn back into clone!Finnel while asleep, she'd totally be fine with taking a nap together.]

[G-g-gck, well, it's a good thing she talks...! And actually manages to make Hanbei be at a loss for words at the moment, because the closest thing that's happened to him before like this is decades ago when Princess basically babied him before leaving to marry Nobunaga.

(Still bitter about that, yes. Fuck off, Nobunaga.)]

...Oh, we should go inside soon, though. It's still cold out here. [WAY TO KILL IT, HANBEI

But hugs are nice. He misses them. His best friend is basically the complete opposite of whatever you want to hug (even though Hanbei's probably tried... and had him look down on the shota will utter deadpan...). And everyone else is too serious. He could hug Nene, but she would kind of never let go.]

[Lost a potential waifu?

And that certainly kills the mood because suddenly she's holding him at arms length with a grimace.]

I apologize in advance on Trevor's behalf.

[Her expression is absolutely serious. This is no joke.

Albeit reluctantly, Suzu turns towards the rover to allow them inside, and the moment it's open, there's a wafting of something not quite right. To her, it reeks of men and substance abuse. The only thing that makes it okay is that her six little furlix are waiting for her, acknowledging the two with a few trills.]

[he's too much of a whelpling to ever win her over lbr here

especially when they've known you for so long they gave you nicknames like 'Crybaby Hanbei' and still makes jokes about how he used to wet himself it's horrible]

Huh? What do you-- [--and Hanbei immediately gets what he means when he smells that. He doesn't know what substance abuse smells like, only that if you use too much opium as painkiller things get weird and if anyone tries stealing any you kick them away asap.]

...One person caused that smell?

[...Suzu may actually get along with this Princess person.]

Possibly. It is hard to tell, living with four men in close quarters. Although I am very certain that Trevor makes up for the majority of it. [CAN YOU GUESS WHY SHE SPENDS MOST OF HER TIME OUTSIDE?]

Would you like to come in, or... [You know, not risk getting stuck in the funk. They're only lucky that Trevor is probably asleep.]

[Are you sure? Like, really sure?]

We only have one girl in my Rover, too. But it doesn't smell anything like this... [Not in the least! Well, Steve knows how to pick up after himself, Ivan's too nice to be an inconvenience, Sharon is pretty cool in her own right, and Bucky's alright.] I've never met him. And, right now, I might not want to.

[Sure, you can be a stinky dude and still be decent, but grossing up the whole Rover for your Rovermates is pretty shit.] Actually, maybe we should make the trip to my rover, instead.

Are those your pets?

[...Okay, maybe not. Although she looks like Sarapatra and Suzunomia had a love-child.]

I think I like that plan better. [So much better. The last thing she wants is to encounter Trevor with Hanbei, especially in the rover. The teasing would probably be endless, and Edward should be in the only one in Rover to experience such a thing. She has her pride too.]

Yes, they are. But do not worry about them. They have plenty of free time outside. [Pointing to each one:] Was, Yea, Ra, Chs, Hymmnos, and Mea. Be good for me now, yes? [They squeak in unison, and the image would be perfect if they had little arms to salute. And before they go, Suzu reaches for the crate sitting at the entrance-way that she packed with food.]

[oh god what

But yes, back to his Rover! He leaves the things he brought in her Rover-- what's the point of lugging it all back? The fluffy little critters are absolutely adorable, in a strange, alien way. Their lack of limbs and actual visible traits of intelligence is a bit disturbing, but the sounds they make are cute.]

That's good! I don't think I could last very long in a place like that, honestly. [Hanbei could. But no one likes to be stuck somewhere they hate the smell of. Whether it be substance abuse and decadence, or blood and metal.]

What's with their names? [It doesn't sound too Japanese.]

If you say their names like a sentence, it means "I will be glad to turn myself into a song". It is the first basic sentence humans learned to produce Song Magic.

[At the time, thousands of years ago, she was very proud of them.]

[Ah... what an ominous yet pretty sentence.

When they reach Hanbei's rover, it is noticeably less pungent, at least. While he might leave his stuff around ~~and stuff stored Madu meat in weirdass places, because no one's given him a talk on bacteria and food preservation~~ it's quite neat.]

So humans can produce 'Song Magic' too? Is that what your singing is?

[....~~Hanbei, you are seriously going to kill yourself before your lung disease does.~~

Suzunomia is a bit cautious at first, never having entered another rover aside from her own, and looking about to study the place once she sets the crate of food down. She's a bit envious. If only she could scare/blackmailing Trevor into cleaning up after himself like she did with Ed.]

Not in the current age, no. Only Reyvateils and I suppose some of the Teru can perform magic. But it is what my singing is, yes. [Her mouth twitches oddly at the mention of Teru, as if she may punch something. It passes, thankfully.] In the past, there were a group of people called the Moon Chanters. Their language used for Song Magic, Carmena Foreluna, was based on the language of us Wills. But in no way was it comparable to the magic of Reyvateils now. Humans do not have that sort of capacity, simply based on concentration.

[A pause, then:] If you were ever interested in learning a language of power, I would not mind teaching you. Whether it is Hymmnos, Carmena Foreluna, or Ar Ciela...I just cannot guarantee you would be able to perform Song Magic. [Even though she cannot properly teach him Ar Ciela beyond his human capabilities.]

[~~Shush, that's spoilers for Motonari's story.~~ Is he really that non-negotiable about being trashy? Maybe Hanbei can attempt putting his silver tongue to use. ...On second thought, Trevor might just fill said tongue with bullet holes.]

Ahhh, there's so many alien names. [But he is trying his best to remember. In fact, he's rather good at remembering things when he wants to. In a way.] But do you mean humans can't perform Song Magic because they can't concentrate enough?

[As in, literally can't concentrate on what they're doing?]

Hmmmm...the best way to describe it is that their thoughts and feelings are not pure or refined enough to produce Song Magic. Humans feel and think so many things at once, so they cannot properly concentrate for Song Magic due to those fluctuations. [That may not be the best explanation, so she tries again:]

Think of it like this-- the word 'chs' means 'to change'. A human may be thinking they want to perform the word, change, but other feelings...say, bodily sensations such as hunger, would also be added to the thought 'to change'. Thus, the song cannot be fulfilled because there are other thoughts getting in the way.

[Ah, okay. That makes sense.] So, Reyvateils can hit that level of concentration. To be so fixated on one thing-- that actually sounds a bit dangerous.

[And leaves yourself open to attack. Open to dangers that could occur, and so on so forth. Hanbei will never be able to perform Song Magic, because he thinks of a million different things at the same time.

But he is a strategist, so that fits his role.]

[It seems they're on the same page--] It is, sadly. That is why Reyvateils require partners to protect them while in battle. The strength of Song Magic may overpower any foe, but only if it is properly executed.

[Now, she reaches out to his sleeve, idly tugging at the fabric of probably one of many layers.] Do not underestimate me, though. If I wish to protect you or others, I hardly need a guard.

[Oh, come on, Suzunomia! Even if you said you don't need protection, he'll give it anyway... he's more likely to give protection that way...] Even the strongest warlords have a few bodyguards around them, though.

There's nothing wrong with having a guard!

[so yeah he'll be sure to kick ass for you if you need to cast song magic, cute lady]

[oh, swoon~]

Even when that genius mind needs to be put to use? [With a playful smirk, she leans in close only to swipe the hat off his head.]

And we haven't even Dived together yet. How do I know you won't laugh if I tried to perform really strong magic? [BECAUSE MAGICAL STRIPPING IS AN ISSUE.]

[Swoon indeed- hey that's his hat!!!] Eh? [And in a moment...]

Well, I guess I'm not that much of a genius if I could be distracted by your smile, right? [Smooth as sandpaper, Hanbei! ...Now give him back his hat, please.]

And laugh? Is there something funny about performing strong magic, then?

[It's hard to tell whether her face is heating up because of that smooth as hell pickup line or that she has to explain Purging. But nope, not getting the hat back while she's hiding her face behind it.]

...Hanbei. [--in that sort of tone that would be going along with 'this is serious business, don't fool around', but it fails at the end as she peeks past the brim of the hat at him with a smile that reaches her eyes.]

It's embarrassing, even to explain it. It would be on the same level as suddenly asking you to take a bath with me. [Trying to make this into some sort of joke was a bad idea.] I doubt I could perform song magic to that level.

[It's okay, for every single time his silver tongue makes a smooth move, it also says something horrendously stupid.]

Oh, what's wrong with taking a bath together, though? [NO NO NO HANBEI STOP] But if that's what performing that level of song magic requires... that's curious.

[he would've thought using strong magic comes from 'lots of practice' and not 'magical stripping']

Which part of bathing together is it like? [why is he asking this why why why]

[If she didn't have her pride intact, Suzunomia would probably be slamming her head against a wall.

What. Is. Happening here?]

A-ah...it's...not? [To make everything worse, that sort of question definitely has her heart going for a moment. The embarrassment is making her super tongue-tied, though.]

It's- it's everything...Especially...undressing...and--

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...half of my tag disappeared, wut

it happens

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