2011-06-16 - Stories of the SuiKyosha

So many times recently, Sinya had claimed that she would spend an evening on the SuiKyosha, but somehow things never seemed to work out as planned. Sometimes something came up at the Raven's Nest, and other times she ended up getting so absorbed into a project that time flew by and the catgirl ended up sleeping face-down in her guymelef, or her workdesk, or in the Gozu-style gunman that had served as her 'quarters' recently. That isn't to say that she's avoiding the Captain, or that the catgirl isn't dependable, but she manages to keep herself quite busy. A busy that generally keeps her out of trouble - like fighting other people's wars on Mars, or spending too much time worrying over that fledgling bond with the posessed battleship and her Captain. But tonight... well, tonight is different.

It's quite late by the time Sinya has finished her shift at the Raven's Nest and turned herself in for the full medical required of Raven personel. By some grace of the many possible gods, she manages not to crash Arius on the way up, or to fumble the landing too terribly in her nearly sleep-walking state. Even the night crew, all too eagar to get her to help them with the various gunman still in various states of disrepeair, can't get her attention (at least not for very long, anyways).

"Tomorrow, guys. I'm going to go crash in one of the guest rooms. I'll see you in the morning." It's a lie, one that only gets perpetuated as her assistant - Ling comes running up.

"You look exhausted."

Sinya replies with only a brief smile, nodding her head.

"Come on, let me walk you up to the lift."

This, to most of the hangar crew, appears as if she were heading off to spend the night with the young man - even if he'd flat out denied any relationship more than friendship with the catgirl. Of course, poor Ling does almost get used as a pillow as the two ride the lift upwards to the main level, her head bobbing forward onto his shoulder. "You going to make it?" He asks, laughing to himself.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Ling lets himself off on the main level, giving a wave back after hitting the button for the guest level. The moment the boy is out of sight, Sinya taps a top most key. Luckily, no one seems to be using the lift this late in the evening, or at the very least, the door doesn't bother to open at the other floors - not even when it reaches the fourth floor. The light simply goes out and the lift continues on. Elsewhere on the SuiKyosha, there are probably a few confused people wondering why the lift just passed them up. Just another thing to get reported to 'that catgirl mechanic' in the morning.

Normally, when this tired, Sinya would simply pass out somewhere, but each time her eyes drifted shut, the image from the radio chatter flashes into her head and keeps her just awake enough to keep one foot in front of the other. The upper part of one forearm is wrapped in bandages, the result of her medical examination, and the loss of blood from it probably isn't helping her mental state. She groggily walks out of the lift, moving as if on auto-pilot as she makes her way to the Emperor's quarters. Again - there is no one around to see her, although it seems that the SuiKyosha, or Xiang have a hand in that.

Ears folded back, the girl groggily stops to incline her head to the komainu outside of his lavish building, and then makes her way inside.

Xiang Yuan had quite a bit of free time on his hands, although he'd never let people think this to be true. And because of this, his medical check-up had been much earlier than that of Sinya's. It seemed he was in the absolute prime of health - as was his entire crew. The medics couldn't believe just how well the results for those of the SuiKyosha came out. No cancer, no STDs, no hernias, no nothing. It'd be easy to write this off as a healthy diet, but... the medics are certain it is something more. Almost as if there was some kind of spring of youth on board that ship. A dangerous assumption that humans have gone crazy about before.

Not worrying too much about this at the moment however, the captain finds himself in his own quarters, sitting before that little pot of warming tea, drinking a cup. Within his mind, he's following the process and state of the one known as Sinya, and he's quite aware that her mental state is... disrupted. And he knows why too - he'd felt it earlier, he'd caught a glimpse from the surface of her mind - the same thing he'd told 'that person' on the radio to be quiet about. It disgusted him, some of the people amongst the 'Trailers'. Those without honor, those who expressed such disgusting things without a tone of emotion. There's a slight twitch at his right eye. Sometimes he wondered if this was truly the place for him to be.

But what were the other options? The Federation? The Crusaders? Katharon? No. This ship was too much of a free spirit to be held by rules, chaos, or to be dumped into a terrorist's war. In fact, he could never do that to the people living on this ship. But as Sinya finally approaches the seventh floor, bringing her into the beautiful garden of the agricultural 'district' on the ship, the man stands up and leaves his cup on the floor. Now was not the time for tea. And when the girl finally makes it to his quarters, the doors swing open - the man using one hand on each magnificent door to move them, and looks down upon the groggy catgirl. Within a single step, causing the very winds to move for him, he's cut off her way inside...

Or rather, he's stopping her from coming in without his help. His strong arms wrap around her shoulders, and he places a hand at the back of her head to let her rest against his shoulders. Well, for a moment anyhow. "Excuse me. I believe miss Leland needs a hand." He's grown a bit bolder over the days, as he places his other hand firmly against her ass, and then lifts her up horizontally, lets the heavy doors close on their own, and literally /carries/ the girl towards his own personal bed.

That's where he, ever so gently places her down after stepping onto the bed himself and laying sideways, so they are immediately laying towards eachother, and he can return to the task of giving her a comforting hug. The fact that he still has his hand on her ass... forgotten. He's too busy concentrating on 'dropping' the captain act. "Welcome home, miss Leland." He whispers sweetly.

Normally, Sinya might argue with being shown such attentions - even if she inwardly didn't actually mind it at all. But tonight, she's too tired to even put up the semblance of a fight, allowing herself to be scooped up like an exhausted kitten and carried over to the bed. Her head leans against his shoulder as he moves, offering a soft purr by way of greeting. As she is set down onto the soft bed, she offers just a small nuzzle to his shoulder before her head sets down onto the pillow, yawning with a cat-like curl of her tongue.

"Sinya. You'll have to get used to it sooner or later. Unless you'd prefer me to keep calling you Captain." Her voice is more sleepy than actually bothered by it, but she seems to take the welcome with a small smile, blinking her weary green eyes towards him. "Thank you." She murmurs, stretching herself out before curling up close to him. If nothing else she could say for the strangeness of the bond with the SuiKyosha, it certainly had helped her issues with letting people close - at least when it came to Yuan.

"You didn't have to wait up." She seems to be at least attempting to stay awake for a little while, not wanting to just come in and crash without at least trying to talk to him. "They kept me forever doing that medical exam. The machines didn't know how to interpret things like claws, or fangs, or fluffy tails." She swishes that long tail behind her for a moment, then it curls at her side, laying against the sheets. In a totally cat-like way of greeting, she leans in and touches her nose against his. "Wanted to do the body scan twice because they couldn't believe the results." She smirks, showing a hint of those fanged teeth. But the expression fades slightly, "How did yours go?" She seems to have more worries over the people of the SuiKyosha than is obviously needed, but they had come from another world, so who knows what sort of strange things the medics might discover.

The captain chuckled when she yawned in that feline manner. It was cute. "Sinya." Xiang repeats, smiling at her. "I promise you, I will get used to calling you by your first name." Those grey-blue eyes of his gaze into those feline greens of hers, following even the slightest of motions within - all while connected to the surface of her mind. As is she to his. He moves his hand up and continues to give the feline a big warm hug, and positions himself a little so that she has an easier time curling up against him.

"Of course I had to wait up, Sinya." There we go. First name basis. "You were tired, and there's obviously something on your mind." His right hand goes up to her cheek and he gently strokes that strange coloration with the back of his hand, before laying that hand near the back of her head again and leaning forwards to give a small kiss to her lips.

"My medical went quite well. The were surprised at how young I really was, I guess. But other than that, it would appear that everyone on the SuiKyosha is in absolute /perfect/ health. Which raised a few eyebrows... but..." He shrugs his shoulders a little. It's what he was used to. That perfect medical condition of the crew had been something that had even been true when they'd still lived at the bottom of that cave. Although there /had/ been /some/ diseases, most of those were caused by physical trauma.

The man smiles, almost proudly, after he finishes saying this, and looks at those fanged teeth of hers. "I'm sorry it took them so long with you. But I can understand the confusion about... having to deal with demi-humans." His hand moves down along her spine to that tail of hers, and he gently lifts it up - letting it fall back down against his hand if gravity would take over. "I wouldn't know what to think about this either. Other than... it's you, and it's quite..." What's the word. "Adorable." Sensual had actually been the word. But, he decides not to tred such waters.

"Better." The catgirl murmurs, appreciating the fact that he is at least trying to use her name when they aren't in more 'public' circumstances. Her eyes close almost sleepily as his warm hand comes up to her cheek, offering a tiny purr as she nuzzles against his fingers and then tips her head forward into that gentle kiss. For a moment, there is brief comfort in her tired mind, the warmth and affection of being near him.

She lets those green eyes look at him again, taking in his features, "You fool people pretty well. But I see you, and you're no old man." She muses, and then offers a faint smile. "As for me, they mostly were confused. I guess they expected my biology to be vastly different from a humans. Like Lord Genome's creatures, but my people aren't that different. We're basically human, with a few perks." She responds to that compliment with a faint flush on her cheeks, her tail purposely stroking over his fingers.

But then that mention of the 'something' on her mind breaks the moment, jarring her to fully awake again. Wincing, the catgirl lightly sits up, not trying to push him away, but just shifting her position as she raises one hand, running it through her red hair. "You know what's on my mind, Yuan." And no, she doesn't actually mean what he can tell of her discomfort from the semi-telepathic abilities of the SuiKyosha. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm actually in the right place. You've got a chunk of the trailers who are mercenaries and don't care who they kill as long as they get paid. Another chunk who seem to be these disconnected nutjobs who don't seem to have any idea about normal emotions or feelings and have no problem talking about dismembering animals as if it were something you talked about over coffee." A shiver runs up her spine, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to visibly stand on end.

Really, she's rambling, but the discomfort that courses through her is almost palpable. Sinya looks down at him with a worried expression in her eyes. "Do you know what something like those drugs could do to me? To my people? If it fell into the hands of Zaibach..." The images that flash in her mind are quick, but gruesome. All the possibilities of terrible things - not the least of which seeing herself laid out on an operating table, cut open like some science experiment. "And they don't care. They offer something like that out as if it were candy, and act like it's nothing to just use it on some poor creature and then play around with it's organs." Wrapping her arms around herself, rubbing at her arms.

"Interesting." That's probably not the right response. But for once, it is perhaps the right one, for wording all the things that are going through the young Emperor's mind as she spoke those words - that she was biologically human - would probably be embarassing. She could probably tell what he was thinking about however. After all, it's not like he's hiding the thougths that well. "I wonder where evolution took that turn." That's right, the captain of the ship that runs on God and Magic, believes in evolution!

The topic of what she 'had on her mind' however, rips his mind away from that topic. It's the same dark place that he'd found himself thinking about earlier. "I... don't understand them either." Xiang admits, shaking his head. "And I do wonder the same thing sometimes. I know that we cannot judge the faction as a whole by some of its members. But if those... cold hearted people, are the most outspoken ones, I'm honestly not sure what to think." Even not a man with a heart as stalwart as his, can bare the dishonor those people bring upon his ship - simply by association.

"I am sure such things won't get to Zaibach. But I will be sure to get some people to look into it, and keep a watch out for that product. I don't want to even /think/ of those mental pictures that disturbed woman put into your mind." He continues to stroke Sinya's hair, trying to calm her mind. "Is there anything I can do to take your mind off of that horrid subject?" He wants to comfort her by any means nescissairy, but she could probably feel that Xiang isn't unaffected by that mental image too.

For the most part, Sinya's own mind is too cluttered to even notice the wanderings of others. "As bad as I had things growing up, you have to wonder what kind of twisted world they came from to think about things that way." While her words may seem sympathetic, it's all too clear that Sinya can't quite gather up that feeling for the Trailers in question. "But that's the problem, I got into the Trailers because of my family. And now I'm seeing the darker side of things." She tries to push the image out of her mind, the one that unsettles her so much that her normal cat-like tendency to fall asleep anywhere has been surpressed. "There are people like that across all the factions, though." With a sigh, the catgirl leans back a little, still sitting up, but resting slightly against him.

"You don't know that, Yuan. All it would take is one of them giving out a 'sample' and my entire people could be wiped out." She may not have lived on Gaea for a very long time, but there is still a connection to her own kind - as much as she might long to be more accepted by humans. "Or worse, if I hadn't known what it did... and they gave it to me. I don't even want to think about what might have happened." Oh, but she does, and it sends another of those shivers up her spine.

She finally lays back again, resting her head near his shoulder, seeming to take some comfort from his presense if nothing else. "Tell me a story. Anything. It can be made up, or about you, or whatever... just something to get that image out of my head." Sliding an arm around his side, Sinya snuggles up against his chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat against her ear.

"I don't. But I will put forth my resources to lessen the chance as much as possible." Xiang tries to set Sinya's mind at ease. But even he is disturbed. As much as he was interested in technological medicine, he wondered why humanity had to create such disgusting things. But then, why does humanity have to war eachother. Sure, he knew why. But it was still disturbing, to know that man created so many things that could easily lead to the extinction of an entire race, or worse.

Xiang feels that shiver going through the catgirl's body, and he cannot help but feel sorry for her. He tries to press his own depressive thoughts out of his mind, so she won't end up being fed by this. But when she asks him to tell her a story... he doesn't really know what to tell her. He knew little proverbs - so many many little proverbs. Little stories. But most of those were just as depressing. Something about himself? What was there to tell?

He'd have to think of something, and Sinya might very well pick up on shards of memories and stories he goes over. Dragons. Unicorns. Flying beetle mecha. Intrigue. Kingdoms. Snow White. Alladin. The day his master died. He cannot help but land on that sad subject. But should he? Well, it could at least take her mind off of that horrid thought of dissection.

"You know I had a master. Someone who taught me most of my life's lessons? His name was Xián Zhe Shui." The camera begins to zoom in on Xiang's face, and the screen begins to get all wavey as...

FLASHBACK

"A few weeks before I completed my studies under my master, a strange woman appeared at our house."

A beautiful house stands on a grassy hill, high above in the clouds. It's a beautiful mahogany red structure, Chinese styled, with a stone garden besides it, and a single tall tree. And turning around the mountain, a massive waterfall that comes crashing down. Beneath it, sitting on a rock, with his hands together, sits Xiang Yuan. A pensive look on his face, concentrating, whilst the enormous force of water crashes down on his shoulders. Before him stands an old man, small white beard, a top-knot, and an old and tattered blue robe. "Concentrate on the water, make it your own. Feel its flow, and tell it to bend around you." The man claims.

And something that physics cannot explain occurs. The area above Xiang begins to split up. As if an invisible rock was being lifted above the student, the water begins to split both ways. Almost as if it was afraid of touching the master's apprentice. "Good. Good. Now hold it there. Remain like that for an hour, then come up for dinner." The master knew he didn't have to watch his apprentice and left.

Within that hour of Xiang sitting there, light begins to darken. A beautiful moon and the night's sky open up to show its many stars - the Mystic Moon, and even the red moon. After after that hour has finally passed, Xiang stands up, letting the waterfall come back to its normal form. His body glistening in the water, the moon reflecting light off of the small beads that drip down his chest. He's wearing little other than one of those short Chinese pants. His head is cast up towards the moon, and he gazes at it for a while, before he turns and begins his way up the long and winding mountain path.

When he finally arrives, a woman is there. Dressed in an absolutely beautiful dress, she is embracing his master, whilst the man is making dinner. There's the tiniest of regal looking moles under her left eye. Her hair is between gray and silver, put up in a bunch - two hair-forks keeping it all stuck into place. "Master?" Xiang asks, not certain who the lady was. "Ah, apprentice. Welcome our guest - she will be staying here from now on." No explaination, nothing.

Obviously, the story is not yet over...

REALITY

If nothing else, the reason that Sinya had made the strange request would become somewhat obvious. The connection formed between them through the SuiKyosha did let her get to see and feel those surface memories, so when she focused in on his words, it is almost as if she were there. The girl's nose twitches slightly, smelling the air around her, her ears twitching to sounds that aren't there. The expression on her face is quite cute, her head tilting with her eyes closed, as if she were taking in every part of the image within Xiang's mind.

And then, she gives a little shiver. It isn't because of her own thoughts, but the chill of the water that flows around the younger Xiang in his memory. "Brr. How did you stand that cold?" The catgirl curls closer to the warmth of his body as she listens, and watches. It's a unique sort of way of sharing one's life and experiences, through something more than just words.

When he stands, with the water dripping off of him, set against the moonlight, the catgirl can't help but have a smile show on her features as she reaches out to place her hand over the cloth at his chest, as if she were reaching for him in that memory. He had been as beautiful then as he is to her now, and for a moment that apprecitaion radiates through as an undertone to her own thoughts.

As the story moves on, she follows along with it, her brows scrunching as the strange woman is brought into the tale. "Who was she?" She asks, although her ears are already starting to tip backwards. She knew already that this wasn't going to be a happy story, so perhaps she's already looking for that dark turn.

"You're right." Xiang replies to the unspoken words from Sinya. "She isn't a good person. I... still do not know who she is." Xiang smiles down at the feline however, gently stroking her fluffy hair and ears. He knew she was reading those surface thougths. It was simply easier to tell a story that way. "As for the cold, it just... took me years and years of training, getting scolded, and what-not."

FLASHBACK

"Welcome." Xiang kneels on one leg before the woman and bows his head. "Oh, who's this?" The lady asks Shui, placing a closed fan directly beneath Xiang's chin and forces him to look up. "My my... what a strapping young man you are. And so... strong too." She smiles, but is interupted by Shui stepping next to her. "I won't have time to continue training you for a while, Jiao Long. So continue the exercises we have been working on." After this, the master turned about, and wandered away with the woman into his bedroom.

From there on, time moves fast. Days pass, of Xiang training himself. Waterfall, jumping over rocks, wandering up and down mountains, fighting bears. And at the end of each day, his master would make him and the guest food. And each day, Shui would look... older somehow. And after a good few weeks, his master somehow got sick. The woman had suddenly disappeared into thin air - there one day, gone the next.

Xiang is now sitting next to his master's bed, kneeled down, tears rolling down his eyes, as he knows his master is dying. "It's alright, young apprentice. You have long since surpassed me. All you need to do to complete your training, is to go to the Mystic Moon." The man's eyes are closed. For he'd grown blind two days ago. The same day the woman had left. "You must travel, and return to your people. Not as Jiao Long, but as your new self. You are Xiang Yuan now, apprentice. You are now a dragon." Xiang continued to hold his master's hand for a while more. But after a while, the man stopped breathing.

That night, a great fire was made for his master, on which his body would be burnt to ashes. And those ashes were then carried down the dark mountain path, through the waterfall, in a jar - and placed in a beautiful shrine which was there. The items that had been there, golden artifacts, were all gone. Some of them had even been magical. Nothing is left over - Xiang realized upon arriving there. That woman had not just stolen his master's life somehow, but also all of his valuables.

The next day... he traveled. The day after that... he traveled. For ten straight days, Xiang Yuan traveled, through forest and desert, back to 'that place'. On a single little canteen of water.

The moment that the strange woman reaches that fan out to touch Xiang, Sinya seems to bristle slightly. A small growl rumbles in her chest and her lips curl back to reveal those sharp, bestial fangs. It is a reaction not only to his feelings surrounding this person, but also a brief flash of jealousy over his words. If nothing else, beastmen like Sinya were known throughout La Gias, and even beyond for their loyalty. A loyalty that already extended to Xiang even before she'd admitted how she felt for him, and perhaps even before the SuiKyosha had reached out to bridge that gap between them.

Sinya's eyes open from the dream when that other name is mentioned. Confusion shows in those green eyes, tilting her head towards him. "Jiao Long." She repeats the name, testing it out on her lips and then nudging faintly at his chin with her nose, "That's ... who you were before, isn't it?" This is the first time she had ever heard that name, and those surface thoughts seem to form the connections for her even without the rest of that separate story. Her fingers come up, taking hold of that braid of his, lightly stroking the hair with her fingers. She doesn't question too much - not yet.

Instead, her own mind interjects an image over the first. 'You are now a dragon.' It is the first night she'd spent with him, laying next to him while he slept, and tracing her finger over the tattoo of the dragon that spanned across his back. All too soon, this fades away again into the sadness of the story. With a sigh, she murmurs, "Did you ever find her... or your master's things?" Her green eyes linger on him, although she already suspects the answer. "Why did he let her..." She cuts herself off, almost afraid to ask the questions on her lips.

"That's indeed who I was before. But that is a story for another time." Xiang Yuan explains. He's come to trust this catgirl about as much as he trusts Yu. So it is no longer a thing about trust. It's just that he wants to find the right time for telling /that/ story. And he felt that right now was not that time. Those feelings of jealousy are picked up however. He doesn't say anything though. He knows that such emotions are personal. "I am Xiang Yuan now however. And I must ask you never to speak the name Jiao Long outside of these quarters." He seems quite serious and insistant about this.

His gaze then mobes towards his braid, whilst the girl is playing with it. Then that image of the tattoo. However, her question takes away his attention from either of those. "Dark magic." Xiang mutters. "I didn't know it then. But I traveled back one day, with someone more knowledgable on the subject. And we found remnants of dark dark magic, that basically warps the mind entirely. As well as that capable of sucking one's life-force. I've never been able to find this woman however." If only he knew... that one day soon, those words would become false.

Would Sinya have to live through that same pain he'd gone through? Or would she find a way to stop this woman? Fate can be disgusting at times when it comes to that.

"Jiao Long, Xiang Yuan. It doesn't matter what you call yourself. This..." Sinya moves that hand that rests at his chest, pressing lightly over his heart, "... is all that matters, to me." She doesn't press for that other story, knowing full well that it is something that will come in time. There were a great many parts of both of their stories that remained hidden within the mists - and perhaps someday those things would come to light. "Relax love." The catgirl leans up and places a cute, kittenish kiss to his nose before bumping his cheek affectionately. "I won't say a word, you know that."

The small, cat-like motions are all things that she normally surpresses, trying so hard to fit in among humans. Here, with him, she feels more open to express those things. Still, her ears stay folded backwards, those green eyes a bit unsure. There is something ominous about the story that seems to stay with her, although perhaps that eerie feeling isn't quite as bad as what had consumed her mind only a few minutes before. "Trust me." She nudges at his chin again, trying to be cute and drive that more serious and grim expression from his features.

With a all too quick peck on the lips, the catgirl draws herself out of his arms, moving with surprising speed as she grabs one of the pillows and chucks it softly at him. Sinya rolls sideways, landing in a crouched position on the edge of the bed, her tail playfully swaying behind her. It's almost like a kitten, demanding playtime. "Smile, Yuan. Otherwise... I might just have to find somewhere else to sleep that isn't so gloomy." The girl's nose twitches, obviously teasing. Her eyes are still tired, but there is still a need to do -something- to lighten the mood.

"I know." Xiang whispers, "But it's still sweet of you to say." He smiles gently upon the feline, laying a hand over the one she placed over his heart. "And I also know that I can trust you. I'm not too worried. But I figured it needed to be said." He bumps his cheek towards her nose, then moves to rub his nose along hers - returning the same sign of affection. "I trust you." The captain repeats once more, and gently ruffles her hair a bit.

Then suddenly. Pillow! Xiang backs away slightly and... lets the pillow bop right into his face. A few mock-feathers go flying from it, after which Xiang puts a hand before his face - taking the pillow, and reveals... a youthish smile. "Oh-hooo... so, it is a pillow fight you want huh?" He moves back a bit and grabs a second pillow. "Well, I hope you are prepared then... for the double pillow toss technique!"

It's not often that his inner child comes out. But when a pillow fight is involved, that's certainly one of those times where he just lets loose a bit. The first pillow flies straight for the girl's tummy, whilst the other goes for her head. Softly, of course. But they're still decent tosses. Followed by the emperor sticking his tongue out at her.

There is a small laugh from the catgirl as she wiggles her nose in continued challenge to her beloved. "Oh no, not the double pillow toss!" Sinya gives a quick 'nya' as she stands up from her knees and grabs the incoming pillow aimed at her head, but then takes the second one to the stomach and goes tumbling backwards off of the bed with a thump. For a moment, it's quiet, but then another of those soft laughs shows that she's just fine.

Not quite stealthily, her ears peek up above the edge of the bed, followed by a shifty-eyed look as she does a quick toss-and-duck of one of the pillows towards him. It's a distraction technique, waiting for him to have to deal with the pillow before she comes barreling back up onto the bed, launching herself at him like a high-speed ball of fluff aimed right at him. The sudden pounce is just enough to knock him backwards onto the sheets, where the catgirl climbs up, straddling herself across his waist as she gives a little cheer. "And the catgirl wins. Sinya 1, Emporer Yuan 0." Sure, she's boasting a little, but it's playful.

The girl leans down, supporting herself on her arms as she does another of those cute nose nuzzles to her beloved. "There's that smile I love." She murmurs, and then places a soft kiss to his lips. "I feel a bit better... how bout you?" She asks, her red hair hanging down and nearly tickling his face.

The jaws theme plays as Xiang watches those pair of large ears wobble past at the edge of the bed, causing the young emperor to chuckle. It was kinda silly, all in all. But that was alright! He needed some fun and silliness in his life! And when the first pillow comes in, and he bops it to the side, he kind of 'lets' her barrel him over. Besides, within moments, he has a chipper catgirl sitting on his waist. Who is he to complain!? "So it seems." He chuckles and bops his nose against hers.

Of course, she ends up just nuzzling her nose against his. They did this quite a lot. The nose nuzzling. Xiang isn't sure why, but he enjoyed doing so. He continues to smile, even when she kisses him. "I feel better." Is the simple reply. She could probably feel it already. Physically and mentally, that he was feeling 'better'. "Thank you." Xiang follows this up with and abruptly kisses the cute catgirl to the lips, whilst ignoring the ticklish feeling of her hair - short of letting in the scent of it.

Another of those soft purrs rumbles up from Sinya's chest as the two nuzzle so close to one another. A smile seems to have finally replaced her own worries as she accepts that abrupt kiss, meeting his lips with her own. The catgirl's ears twitch slightly backwards as she hovers her lips over his for a moment longer, then whispers against them, "Love you, Yuan." It's such a sweet, almost innocent way of expressing it, the catgirl's ears drawing back just slightly. She leans back, resting across his legs as her tail curls around one ankle, folding her arms over his chest as she lays her head atop it, looking up at him.

The affectionate way that she's sprawled across him is certainly quite cute, but it seems that there are still other things on the catgirl's mind. "So how did the trip to Gaea go?" When she'd heard about the SuiKyosha's impending trip, Sinya had made her excuses to be elsewhere. The metal bracers still wrapping her wrists were all too visible, even now - and would easily identify her as an escaped slave. "Did you run into any trouble with Zaibach?" Her ears tip even further backwards now, as her thoughts shift a bit to her homeland. A brief image of her village from the eyes of a child flashes in her mind, followed by a faint rubbing at those metal bands. "What about the beastmen clans. Did you see any?" News from home is obviously still important to her, even if she had cut ties with that land a long time ago.

"I love you too, Sinya." Is the simple response from Xiang, spoken both in mind and in words. After all, they had that kind of connection through the telepathic spirit of the SuiKyosha. When she leans towards his lips, and then tries to escape however, the emperor quickly makes use of his 'royal imperative' to kiss the girl he likes. That is to say, quickly pecking another kiss to her lips.

The man looks up at the girl sitting on his waist. Both clothed, mind you, you perverts. "As for the trip to Gaea." Xiang knows what she means. It's the area of La Gias she comes from. "It went quite uneventful." His gaze follows her as she lays more flat along his chest, and chuckles - ruffling her red hair again. "We tried to get the military to come out, but they never showed. At least, not that we could tell." He'd heard of the invisibility cloaks after all. But using 'rain', the SuiKyosha had attempted to make it impossible for invisible shapes to get past unnoticed. Still, no Guymelef from Zaibach had showed.

"I probably would need to be a bit more aggressive to get them to show up. But I rather not create more trouble for the common folk than needed. I am not a pirate." The captain mutters, and follows that movement of the catgirl's ears. "As for beastmen. Actually, we did meet up with a few. They are still being prosecuted by Zaibach. I've concidered creating an amnesty program for them - and start saving a few of the clans. Pick them up and let them live on the SuiKyosha. But Yu believed that it might be better if you were involved in this process..."

In that moment, Sinya simply lets that hint of Xiang's emotions flow over her, closing her eyes as a small smile forms on her features. There is a cute little rub to her nose, and then another of those adorable purrs as she returns that kiss. "It's good to be the Emperor?" The catgirl teases with a flick of her tail, chuckling to herself. At the very least, she certainly felt in a better mood than she had been when she stepped into his quarters. That's one of the definite pluses of being in love - it lets you block out the rest of the world, if only for a little while.

Even mention of Zaibach doesn't seem to break it too much as she offers a nod of her head, leaning her cheek softly against her arm as she watches him, drawing one hand up to fiddle with that braid of his hair. "I'm sure they were watching, but Zaibach doesn't have anything large enough to really take on the SuiKyosha. Last I remember they were still running the stealth guymelefs." Snuggling her head against her arms, Sinya slips into another of those kittenish yawns, her ears rotating at the height of it, and her back arching slightly before she gets comfortable again. "Maybe next time, head into one of the villages or towns and see if there's any news of fighting. You might be able to find a battle site with some salvage. That's really your best shot at it, unless you wanted to try walking in with a Freid guymelef or maybe something from Asperia. Those would get you shot at."

While her suggestions might be helpful in luring out the enemy pilots, Sinya certainly is not going to lend a single paw towards such an operation, and that much is clear from the thoughts already running through her mind - like what excuses she can use when the SuiKyosha goes back that way. "Your best bet is probably hiding the battleship and going in a salvaged military unit. They'll just think that it's a patrol." The comment about the beastmen clans does catch one of those fluffy ears though, causing it to perk slightly. "You might be able to save a few refugees, but most clans would rather stay in their ancestral lands. We... kind of have some pride about that. Refusing to be bullied or driven away from our homes." Her eyes settle on his braid as she runs the hairs over her fingers. "Besides, most beastmen hate being cooped up. We're used to living outdoors. Most of the clans are hunter/agriculturalists, I'm not sure any would want to uproot their lives to come aboard a battleship, but... you might find a few individuals wanting a change."

"It's good to be the emperor." Xiang repeats after her, chuckling lightly at those words. Yes, there were a many a thing that he could do on this ship, simply because he was an emperor. But at the same time, there were restrictions too. That's part of why this whole relationship with Sinya has been kept a deep secret. The tail gets a light grab when she begins to tease him with it, and he then lets go of it again. "Silly feline." He says this word with the utter respect. He didn't wanna call her 'Kitty', because he figured that she might resent him for that one.

Her tactical analysis gets a nod from Xiang. "Yu was suggesting things along those lines too. But we didn't have that much time to just stay and loiter around. Asturia you say huh?" The Emperor watches the feline get comfortable and start yawning. Which of course results in a yawn from the stalwart man himself, stiffled beneath his hand.

"The refugees. Well, yes. I'm definitely not going to force them do anything like that. You know me, I'd want them to be aware of the dangers. And I cannot expect them to just follow some absolute stranger - like me. Unlike my people, the beastman clans don't know me in the least." Sure, he'd wanted to ask Sinya for help on this before. But he knows just how much that area of La Gias freaks the catgirl out. His gaze skips to his braid again, with the catgirl playing with it, and grabs it closer to the base to raise it up - dangling it above her, like teasing a cat with a little toy. "Well, there's agriculture here too, you know that. As for living outdoors. Well, I guess I cannot do anything about that."

"It also sucks to be the Emperor, too." Sinya notes, her ears flicking back slightly. Sometimes, the secrecy is a bit hard on her, especially when at least one of her friends had already figured things out. "Edward knows..." She mutters, sounding as if she blamed herself for that. "I didn't tell him, he just kind of figured it out from before..." Before, meaning when she'd locked herself away from the SuiKyosha - having been unable to quite figure out what the ship was doing to her or what it meant for her feelings.

"And Feng has been having me followed again. His goons keep finding reasons to be wherever I am." Her tail lightly runs along his hand, although the end seems to be twitching with her mild irritation. Luckily, the 'guard' didn't have any idea that she was on the SuiKyosha at the moment, and it may not be until morning that they realize she's here. Even so, something was going on there - although just what Feng is planning seems hidden too deep for even the ship to reach.

She doesn't seem to mind him calling her silly, or the use if 'feline' in such a way. In fact, she probably wouldn't care if he called her kitty. There were plenty around the hangars who called her that - or kitten, or some variant there-of. She'd gotten used to it. As for his dangling of that braid, Sinya just looks up once, then looks at him with a skeptical little tilt of her head. Rather than batting at it like one might expect, she just quickly leans in and licks his nose. "No teasing the sleepy kitty." She murmurs, and then settles her head back down, looking pensive.

Her tail thumps lightly thruming out a regular rhythm with her thoughts. "You want me to go back." She sighs to herself, ears flattening along her skull. "Yuan, I can't. I'm a slave, remember?" She pushes herself up, sitting across him once again as she raises her hands so he can see the bracers on her wrists. "I'm as good as dead there. And trust me, there are plenty of those, even among my own kind, who would be all too happy to turn in an escaped slave in exchange for the protection of their own families." The catgirl rubs at her wrists, her eyes troubled.

"I know." Xiang nods at Sinya when she brings up the fact that she is a slave, and that Zaibach is out to get her. Sure, he could suggest taking those bracelets off - to make this fact no longer recognizable. But... something was stopping him. "I am not going to bring you there, Sinya. You know that. I refuse to do anything against your will. I promise you that." The thumping of that annoyed tail is caught onto, and Xiang's gaze is caught by her rubbing her own wrists. He looks... worried.

This worry had already been there though, because of what she'd said about Feng. "Yeah. I don't know what is going on with that." Xiang mutters. "I try to keep tabs on them, but it's getting more difficult. I'll see what I can do about guiding you through the she - or letting SuiKyosha help you get through the ship - without meeting thoe folk." It's the best he could do. After all, as long as Feng didn't come out and do anything bad, he couldn't really act. Doing something pre-emptive was sure to back-fire.

The young emperor then sighs, shaking his head a bit. "It won't be long anymore, Sinya. I promise you. Just a little while longer, and I will let them all know that we are together. That we are an item of sorts." Wife or no wife. Tradition or no tradition. "It's fine if Edward knows. As long as he knows not to speak about it over the radio, or to my people directly." He lets out a sigh. "Come on. What's with all the dreadful thoughts. I thought we were meant to sleep while in a happy mood."

The problem is - removing the bracelets was easier said than done. They were nearly skin-tight against her, to the point that trying to cut them lose would be dangerous. Worse, the center was filled with that liquid metal that is the key in so many of Zaibach's machines, which could be dangerous if it were to get onto her skin. The combination there-of made the whole situation so much more difficult than just 'cut them off'. "Unless we can figure out a way of removing these without poisoning me or hurting me in the process... my hands are tied." She doesn't seem to notice the pun, although the girl shakes her head from side to side. "That's why I was hoping you might find one of their liquid metal controllers. Those are about the only things that can remove these easily."

She lets her hands drop back down, playing one across his clothed chest and letting the other rest across her thigh. She doesn't seem to have much to say about her 'stalkers', offering only a shrug of her shoulders. "Just ask her to keep an eye on me. I don't trust Feng." The catgirl looks down at him, letting that hand at his chest come up to paw at a few strands of his hair affectionately.

"Don't worry yourself, love." She leans down and kisses his forehead, and then shifts herself off of him, settling down at his side as she scoops one of those pillows from nearby and snuggles it underneath her head. "As long as you love me, that's all that matters to me. I'm not worried about secrets." She hesitates, as if she had some secret of her own, and then lays her head against his shoulder. "I'm going to need to go away for a little while." This seems to come quite suddenly, almost as if out of nowhere. "A few days, a week at the most." Reluctance lingers in her thoughts. "But... you're right, we should sleep." She nuzzles in against his shoulder, closing her eyes as if trying to use that as a way of blocking out any questioning.

Go away for a while? Sure, she'd gone away before, but usually she said where she was going, or he could catch it off of her surface thoughts. That was not the case this time. But, he tries not to let her notice that this actually worries him. "Sure." That reluctance is picked up on. But again - not a word - not a thought. But it was likely that after a few days of her being gone, he'd try to figure out where she'd gone.

As for those controllers. With her claiming that it was the key to releasing those bracelets, it seemed to suddenly have become much more important to Xiang than before. "I do not trust him either. But he is good at what he does - as the military leader on board this ship. I cannot just kick him out - it'd probably cause distrust and discord amongst the SuiKyoshans." Xiang proceeds to mutter. "But you are right. I will make sure to have SuiKyosha keep an eye out for trouble. And of course - as long as you love me..." He pauses. He does wonder what she meant with that 'secret'. But again, he doesn't dig into it.

Instead, he closes his eyes and leans his head down on the pillow, letting his thoughts drift away, until finally... sleep.