2011-07-25 - The Night Before Battle

Evening has given way to night, leaving the skeleton crews who handle the nighttime operations of the SuiKyosha as the only real activity onboard. Sinya had waited until now to dock up her guymelef, having been given the signal from Yu Zhi Wu that Xiang had gone to sleep. For now, her cunning plan depends solely on the ship not alerting him to her presence, or him sleeping through it for long enough to make the long way up to the Emperor's quarters from the hangar. Few people question her coming and going these days, especially juggling the chaos that surrounds the Raven's Nest.

Sinya has gotten used to moving through the ship by now. Sometimes, it almost seemed to come naturally. She'd get lost in a hallway, and somehow always be able to find her way back out again. It was eerie at first, but eventually she accepted it as another part of sharing that weak connection to the spirit of the battleship. She offers weary smile to a few people as she passes, those who don't question at all that she might want to crash somewhere away from the Nest for the evening. By the time she gets to the lifts, though, the catgirl is alone.

Letting out a soft breath, she punches the key for the right floor, then leans back, tail-twitching. Either Xiang would know she was coming, or the plan would go off without a hitch, either way. When the lift opens, Sinya follows the path towards the Emperial quarters, being careful to be quiet, especially with any sound carrying in the open space. Giving her regards to the guardian lion-beasts outside, she lightly pushes the door open, which thankfully doesn't creek at all as she slides in, shutting it with just a slight shift of air.

Then, it's stealth-cat time. Sinya's ears fold back as she sets her shoes down, adding her trousers and toolbelt atop the pile. Then she moves forward on all-fours, creeping almost silently through the room until she comes to the edge of the bed. Her head peeks up over the edge, looking right, then left. Cunning beast, stalking her prey. Then, she nudges up under the sheets, and climbs over, sliding herself up and over until she's pressed against the warmth of his back, sliding an arm around his side, purring quietly.

Xiang's days have been fairly quiet as of late, yet a bit stressful. He's been keeping an ear out for any trouble that may be brewing because of the whole chaos around the Raven's Nest. Even now, he still isn't sure if he should get involved. He knows that there are a many trailers who have friendships within that place, but it also is a place that creates incredible amounts of problems. And with the A-LAWS getting involved in all of this, he has to try and think of both his own family - the people of the SuiKyosha - as well as what is right.

It are those thoughts that fill his mind during this evening, even within his dreams. Though his body lies still, his mind is going through the many options he has laying before himself. Options that suddenly all wash away as a warm sensation covers his body and pulls itself against him. Even within his dreams, he grows more content with this gesture, and drifts into a more peaceful sleep, one hand moving up only automatically, so that it may lay over hers. But his breathing reflects that he is indeed not awake at this time.

Sometimes, the hardest hardest part about being in love and not being able to be public about it is not getting a chance to have moments like this. Most nights, Sinya simply was stuck either by her work or by too many prying eyes, making such things a rare occurance. And ontop of all of that, the actions of the A-LAWs had come to be more and more troubling. She had kept from getting Xiang and his people involved, at least directly. He had the entire ship and all of her crew to think about, not just the friendship of one person. Sinya - well, she didn't have such responsibilities.

With a sigh, she curls herself against him, letting her tail rest over his leg. There is something that is just comforting about his presence, even if he isn't awake. Things were going badly, and that worry radiates through her. With a small sound, she nuzzles against his shoulder from behind, and then lightly lifts her free hand, tracing the line of the dragon tattoo there. She's too on edge to sleep, but at the very least, she's here.

Sinya is not the only one bothered by the secretive manner in which the two are forced to conduct themselves around those of the SuiKyosha, how they are forced to keep their love a secret. Though this may not be on Xiang's mind right now, it is still a thought that is important to him. Following the minds of others, trying to find the right moment to announce publically that they love eachother. But the time isn't right yet. This is a thought that greatly saddens him; not just for himself, but also for Sinya. With her past, he cannot even imagine what it must be to finally have found love, only to have to keep even /that/ a secret. Keeping secrets... always keeping secrets, much like how she'd kept herself from others.

But still, that didn't take away any of these sweet moments, a sweet moment in which the man slowly finds himself waking due to the movement behind him and that gentle touch against the sensitive skin of his dragon tatoo. Xiang stirs lightly, his fingers flexing and his arms moving so that he begins lifting himself slightly. He lets out the slightest of confused sounds, before he lowers himself again and lets out a relaxed sound. "Hrrrm... Sinya." He whispers in that warm toned voice of his, sounding happy that she has joined him. "Didn't hear you come in." He hasn't opened his eyes, but does reach up to the back of his head for a moment to move his braid, which he was partially laying on.

"Hrrm." He lets out yet another soothed sound and just gets comfortable again. The Emperor is only barely awake at this point, so there's not a lot of talking or moving from him. "Welcome home."

It isn't just the secret sometimes, but also the way that others spoke about their beloveds. Kazuma, even Solis had so much more of an openess in his relationship with the human girl who somehow saw past all the strangeness of him. Still, she'd keep the secret her entire life, if it meant she could keep him right along with it. Even if that would be a hard sacrifice.

Sinya's ears lift slightly as she catches those furst murmurs of him waking. "Sorry." She whispers, keeping her voice quiet. There is no one to listen, and she knew that they had the quarters to themselves, but she couldn't help but want to keep her voice down. "I was being stealthy." She muses, and then nuzzles his shoulder once again. "Wanted to surprise you." She does sound a little strange though, worried. Rather than saying what troubles her outloud, though, she simply slides both arms around his chest, pulling him against her as she sighs, laying her head against his neck from behind.

At the surface of her mind, there is a troubled flash of images. An Armored Core being delivered to the Raven's Nest, training lessons on how to pilot it from a few of the more experienced operators, and an overall feeling of dread and unease. Did Xiang even know about the raid on the A-LAWs that R had planned? Did he know about Nell being taken, or the fact that so many Trailers had pledged to the cause of rescuing her?

Xiang indeed knew. There were Armored Core pilots who visitted the SuiKyosha. He could read it off of their thoughts. But Yu Zhi Wu had also been contacted to join in rescueing Nell, and she was still milling over joining in on the assault or not. But when he catches that flash from the top of Sinya's mind... he becomes worried. After all, he remembers just perfectly what had happened the last time she'd been involved in one of those 'rescue attempts'. And she could probably read it off of the top of his mind, that distinct sense of... not wanting to let her go.

"It's a nice surprise." Xiang tries to distract his mind and lets out a weak chuckle. That nuzzle against his shoulders just lets him be here in the moment for now. Her arms around his muscled chest, and the smaller catgirl laying against him... this is what made him happy. Really, it was the only thing that made him truly happy these days. Everything else had kind of faded against the stark contrast she put up in his life.

The man lets out a little sound to warn the girl, and then begins to turn, so that he may lay on his back, and can actually look at the sweet redhead. "No need to be sorry about it." He then whispers and puts an arm beneath her head and a hand on her back to lightly pull her towards him - so she could put her head on his shoulder or chest if she wanted to.

"I wanted to..." She starts to say something, but then cuts off the thought midway, through, leaning back as he turns to lay on his back. For a moment, the catgirl looks down at him, her ears slightly tilted backwards. It would be all too easy to fill in the rest of that sentence, just from the look on her face: '... spend one more night with you, just in case.' Her green eyes show a bit in the darkness, the soft glow of the bioluminescent plants along the walls reflecting in them. "I'm going on the mission against Novak." She admits, sighing softly to herself.

She stays half-sitting for the time being, her tail curled around her legs. "Solis dropped off Reaper. I might be piloting that. But... it's going to be pretty dangerous, and we just might end up with the entire might of the A-LAWs coming down on the Raven's Nest." Sinya scootches herself forward a bit, letting one hand play over his chest, following the lines of his muscles before settling over his heart. "I'm no soldier, no mercenary, but I can't stand by while my friends get threatened, chased across the galaxy, and hurt. It's too much like Zaibach all over again."

A little shiver runs through her. It /is/ a bit too close for comfort. A military organization interfering with free peoples, imposing their mandates and their laws where such things aren't welcome. It goes against everything Sinya has tried so hard to build for herself, especially her freedom. If they let them step all over the Trailers now, it might just be that way forever. "I don't know if I'll make it back, Yuan." She looks away, ears folded down, taking a few quick breaths.

Xiang understands what she meant to say, and the look in his eyes is indeed one of understanding, betraying this fact. "I know." He whispers, as if to say that this wasn't an unexpected revelation. The man continues to listen to her as she speaks of how she is going to fight then, how things might go badly, and it just makes him more worried. Especially as she comments on this being like Zaibach. And then she claims that she doesn't know if she'll make it back... Yuan holds his breath.

He couldn't just let this girl leave on her own. As selfish as it was, he realizes that sometimes, one needs to forget about their duties and do what one wants themselves. "I won't let that happen, Sinya." Xiang speaks with certainty, in response to her claim of uncertainty. "Since I will be coming with you." Though this is a little known fact, Xiang actually knows how to pilot machines other that the Azure Dream. In his time as a Trailer, he's practiced within some of the more mass produced units. If you've pilotted an Armored Core once... you've pilotted them all.

"I will of course not be able to take the SuiKyosha, or the Azure Dream. But I will still be following you in battle. That is my decision." He has the feeling that this girl is going to try and object to this decision, so he gives her that certain stare of his. His will stalwart - unmoving like a rock. Also refered to as... stubborn as an ass.

Sinya knows just how hard her words are, and just how scary they might be for the both of them. What cruel fate it would be for them to have found each other, only to be ripped apart so soon. She'd made it out of hard fights before, but this was against a trained military force. They might not be quite so forgiving as even the Crusaders she'd faced down. Taking a breath, the catgirl looks down into the worried face of her beloved, and whimpers softly. There isn't much that she can say.

Not until he insists that he's coming with her. "Yuan..." She seems about to protest, but the look quiets her as she hesitates before nodding her head. "Just... be careful. Your life is worth more than mine." And she sounds as if she truly does believe that. Afterall, his people depend on him, on his wisdom, his judgement, and his ability to command the SuiKyosha. There were relatively few people who depended on Sinya for anything but standard repairs. "You can take Reaper if you want. It'll protect you better than anything else in the hangar."

Letting a sigh slip from her lips, she leans her head down, and then softly rubs her nose against his. There is such softness, such sweet affection to the motion when she does it, showing that tender part of herself. "Just don't die. I'd wander the shadowlands for all eternity if I knew I'd caused that." Normally, Sinya rarely spoke of anything regarding religious beliefs, but this seems to edge close to it. "And I don't want to have to live without you." She leans her forehead to his, then places a soft kiss to his lips. "Promise?"

Xiang looks kindly back upon Sinya and moves a hand to the side of her face, having listened to her words. "Didn't you hear? I'm the Emperor. My word is law. I decide whether I die or not." It is obvious that he is trying to calm her down, even though they both know that just because he says he is not going to die, it doesn't mean that things won't go differently. "Besides, it is not in either of our fates to die just yet. No... we will be fine Sinya. We will be fine, return here, and one day will have a family and die of old age. That is what our future holds. /That/, is what I promise you." And he seals this promise with a kiss.

Softly, the catgirl nuzzles her cheek against his fingers. There is a small, bemused smirk that forms on her lips, and then she laughs, the tension seeming to ease slightly from her shoulders. "Oh right, I forgot, you control life and death now." Sinya finally lets herself relax, settling in against his arm so that her chin rests on his shoulder comfortably, but she can still look up at him. It's one of those cute, big-eyed cat looks, with her tail swishing out behind her. "I'll have to remember that."

She meets his kiss with one that at least seems to hold some hope. "Why don't we take it one step at a time. I'm not exactly itching for the old age thing. I plan on being young for as long as I can help it." The family part, well... that's another issue. Sure, she can imagine that someday it could happen, but there is so much in between that could go wrong between now and then. Even as much as he might want to make that promise, they both know that fate may have a different hand in store for them. Who knows just what destiny has in mind for those connected to the SuiKyosha.

Trying to find some reason to change the subject, she reaches a hand out, and starts to play with that braid of his hair. "I finished working on my new Gunman." This is new. She'd been working on it for almost a month now, trying to get everything to work properly. "I still can't get it to move for me, though." She admits, a frown framing her lips for a split second. "Guess I just don't have the spirit for it. So it might just become part of the army, I guess." She shrugs her fuzzy shoulders, bat-bating the end of his braid. "I was thinking of calling it the Azure Sky."

Well, Xiang /is/ the judge of this particular ship, so by technicallity, he has the right to claim the death sentance on someone. However, nobody has called for that brutal punishment in quite a few generations of rule. He decides not to bring this fact up. Instead, he continues to rub his fingers along her cheek, as if he were petting a kitty. "So you will." The young man agrees with her having to remember this made up fact of life-and-death control, and looks down into those brilliant green feline eyes of hers.

When Sinya brings up the subject of old age though, the Emperor's chest trembles up and down as he laughs, "Well, yes. You and me both." Though he often acted much older than he was, and in a ways he wasn't 'being young' like Sinya, he still prefered for his body and parts of his mind to remain at the age he was. And sure, old age would take a long time to get to, especially on this particular vessel. "Being young is good, and there are many things I wish to do in life. And with that...~" He places another kiss on her lips; "~... many more things with you."

Sinya's playing with his braid gets observed after that kiss, and he nods his head in response to talk about her Gunmen. "I'm sure you have the spirit. You just have to know how to make the machine - the Azure Sky... good name by the way - submit to you." The young man moves a hand to his braid and kind of holds it up, so it is hanging above her - making for a great 'catgirl-toy'. "I can teach you if you want."

While the Emperor might have control over the lives of all those who live under his rule, Sinya rarely saw him that way. Perhaps, it is because she is still an outsider, not sworn by any oath other than loyalty to the ship and her people. Then again, perhaps it is simply her heart that lets her see him more as a man than a title. She loves him for the person behind the throne, not just for the power that comes with it. The catgirl gives a faint purr, offering him a little smile before nosing at those fingers.

"See, you're already old, though." She teases, fluffing a bit of that white hair as if to prove her point. "Keep it up with the serious face, and it'll stick that way." Her voice is light, obviously not meaning a word of it as her hand releases that braid and then lays over his chest. "Oh, you have plans?" She asks, sounding amused. Sure, she should be settling in to sleep, but she hasn't had a chance to spend real time with him in what seems like forever. So, Sinya wiggles her nose and peeks curiously up at him. "What kind of things?" Her tail swishes.

She closes her eyes for a moment, ears lightly folding down as she returns that kiss to him. It seems so strange how easy it comes to her, that sweet touch, especially with how hard accepting physical contact had been. The bond she shares with Xiang might be new to them both, but it certainly is a strange one. When she opens her eyes again, it's to the comment about her Gunman, and Sinya lets out an exasperated breath, blowing a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "I wish it were that easy. It's not as if anyone seems to be able to explain anything to me other than that it just 'works'." She sighs, and then looks up at him. "Yeah, Yu Zhi Wu told me to ask you to teach me. I just don't know if it'll be too... obvious. I mean, the Emperor taking time to teach the hired help how to pilot."

Xiang lowers the braid and lets go, so it falls down onto his chest opposite to Sinya - so it won't hit her in the face or get in the way. "Heh. Well, I guess I am a bit old. But one is only as young as one feels - and whenever I am around you, I feel like I am no older than eighteen." Xiang explains, smiling rather brightly. A smile that doesn't falter when she asks him what his plans for her are, and just shakes his head. "Secret." He chuckles. Really, it wasn't much of a secret. His plans were fairly sweeping ideas...

Things that involved Sinya sitting on a throne, celebrations, kids, happy times together, times with the Leviathans, dancing on the icerink. Simple things, small things and big things. But all of them, far in the future. After all, the first step was his peoples' acceptance. But before that, there was this. This battle Sinya was going to be involved in, and he would push himself into. He'd need to go out of his way to do things a tad secretively, but he wanted to be there for her.

He closes his own eyes and lays his head back down onto the pillow and breathes in slowly. "It's okay. I've taught quite a few of those in our military. Though some of them picked it up naturally." Poeple like Feng, who contained enough rotten anger to force the machine to move, or those like Ling who have plenty of good hearted spirit. "And if it needs to be, nobody says it has to be while people are awake." The captain shrugs his sholders a bit, and then lets out a little sigh. "It'll be fine Sinya. No worries."

As the braid is set down, Sinya quickly snatches it up again. It's almost as if she's playing a game of cat and mouse, not quite letting him tease her, but showing her appreciation none the less as she fidgets with the strands of hair. "I'm kidding." She reaches a finger up and taps him lightly on the nose. "Besides, if you're old, that means I'd have to admit to being old, and then we'll have trouble because I don't think either of us are ready to sit on my porch and yell at people to get off the lawn." A chuckle rises from Sinya's chest, her pink tongue showing for a moment as she sticks it out in response to his enigmatic 'secret' response. "Hrmph."

Still, she seems mostly amused by things, rather than bothered. "It's funny how you can look so far into the future. I'm lucky if I can look into next week." She shrugs her shoulders. "I guess it's just how you learn to live, day to day, when things are hard." And things had been very hard for Sinya in the past. Even now, she rarely thought too much on things. It passed her mind time and again that she didn't exactly fit the traditions of his people, but she'd learned not to say anything. The truth is - if she didn't think about it, she didn't worry about it.

"Well, if you're willing, I need to learn." The unspoken thought lingers at the surface of her mind: 'If we make it out from tomorrow's fight in one piece.' "At the very least, I should try to understand more about how they work before I get too far into designing Macua's Gunman." Pause. Blink. Sinya realizes that she hadn't told him about that. "Miss Huitl asked me to build her a Gunman from some spare parts she brought in. Pirate themed. She didn't want the hook for a hand, though, but I'm tempted to give it the ability to spit grog." Obviously, she isn't taking it that seriously.

Xiang's eyes follow the girl's hand as she moves out to grab that braid and pulls it back towards her in order to fidget with it. The man just smiles, then gives a momentary surprised look as she taps him on the nose. "Guess it is so indeed. I mean, I don't exactly have a lawn to tell people to get off of, but I understand what you mean." Though really, the agricultural floor of the SuiKyosha could easily serve that purpose. But that was public land for all the farmers to make use off, it was not just for him.

He moves that hand at her back and rubs her skin, and pulls her a bit closer against himself. "I have to." Xiang claims. But it isn't just that. He has hope, he has the belief that things will be fine in the future, and that there is no use to stand still to look /just/ at the obstacles before him. But perhaps most importantly... he's never had a life as 'rough' as Sinya's. He's never been in that place where every single day seems just hopeless. In that way, there is a small disconnect between the two of them. Though Xiang can put himself in her place, and can imagine it quite well with his experiences, no thought will ever match up with that horrid dread.

"But that all aside. Of course I will teach you." Xiang clearly doesn't think things will go as badly as Sinya does. Almost as if he had some kind of plan to stay alive. Who knows with him, really. "Hrrm." He doesn't really say anything on the subject of Macua however. Xiang has little respect for Pirates. There's been times that people had tried to board the SuiKyosha. Sure, none of them succeeded... but still. And what he did on the Spiral Plains was not something he could equate to privateering. But, Macua was Sinya's friend, so he simply accepts this as her showing her friendship to the girl.

"You could always stand on one of the decks and tell them to get off your battleship." She muses, finding the idea a bit funny - some wizened old version of Xiang shaking a cane at the air while he tells the world off. The idea is funny enough to have her covering her mouth, trying to restrain a laugh. It is still late, and she doesn't want to wake any of the servants who might be on the floor to attend to the Emperor's needs. The last thing she needs right now is to have to explain why she's sharing a bed with their ruler.

"When we get back then." Sinya agrees, nodding her head before laying it against his shoulder, her hand still wrapped around his braid in an almost innocent sort of fashion. She's quiet for a time, listening to the sound of his heartbeat so close next to her, and the sounds of water that seemed to come everywhere in the ship if you stopped long enough to listen. "Mmm. I don't think she intends to go out pirating. It's just a joke, you know. Since a lot of Gunmen look like skulls." She shrugs, and then snuggles in closer to him.

"Do you think you could make sure your servants don't come early tomorrow? I'd like to sleep in for once." Something she almost never had the chance to do, not since the night they'd spent in the mountains - usually she had to sneak out in the early hours. If this is going to be the last night of their lives, she at least wanted to wake up with him without having to sneak around.

"No problem." Xiang whispers to the girl, kissing her forehead, and then waving his hand towards the doors. There is a moment of a blue glow... and then they close, and lock themselves down. "Done." Apparently, Xiang Yuan is starting to get better at this whole 'magic' thing slowly. The man then gets a tad more comfortable and slowly slips the sheets across the catgirl. "And I understand. It's still somewhat of a knee-jerk reaction." The man then closes his eyes and tries to drift off to sleep again. After all, she had awakened him amidst his sleep.