2011-06-17 - Birthday Dinner

A few hours ago, the Luddite 'family' went on a trip. This trip was not one within the Amenthes and Mayet to Mars. Or rather, as much as Seril is stuck in Ascian's Amenthes, and Alina in the Mayet, they are not the ones flying. The two Orbital Frames stand besides eachother in the hangar of a large BAHRAM cruiser, which is using a jump-drive to rush straight to Mars from Earth. It is only upon arrival, that the two Orbital Frames end up launching from said hangar - as they rush across the NUT facility. The Cruiser had a different final destination after all...

The frames, at high velocity, end up disappearing in the hidden side-hangar hidden within a valley at the side of the NUT facility. The hangar is absolutely gigantic. And while the facility itself may not be quite as large as the Earth Cradle, it is still an amazingly large location. It's part factory, part university, part barracks. And whilst the Earth Cradle still has a large part of it above ground - this place is entirely set within a rockface and the stone within.

After landing in the hangar, the siblings ended up leaving the cockpits. It was probably a good thing that the Amenthes was a two-seater, unlike its sibling. The two machines end up in the arm and shoulder locking devices, and a series of technicians that know what they are doing, quickly help the passengers out. Not before saluting Ascian however. He has quite some 'cred' going on here by now. "Welcome back, Lieutenant!" A blonde male technician salutes. "It's fine." Ascian waves his hand up and down as he climbs up. The exit of the cockpits are at a walkway on the second floor. So after Alina and Seril have made it out, the bluehaired young man ends up leading them all the way downstairs into the basement - past the barracks.

There they find his room. Opened with a keypad, revealing a rather huge room that clearly used to be a storage room of sorts. A large kingsized bed sits in the corner, there's tables along the wall showing Orbital Frame blueprints. And there's a simple table in the middle with an office chair before it. A rather fancy looking computer is the only thing that graces that table. There's some dressers in a corner. But other than that, this whole room is greatly 'unused'. "Just dump your bags anywhere you like." Ascian claims, and tosses his on the bed after wandering over there. "I'll let you two ladies get dressed." He takes out some clothing from the bag, then wanders off and out of the room - to get dressed elsewhere.

A trip back to Mars. Alina would be lying if she said that it didn't come with mixed feelings. She hadn't been on Mars since the testing facility that created both Amenthes and Mayet had been destroyed. She'd spent most of the last few months either in a coma, or bounced between various places as a prisoner. Returning to the red planet is almost like coming home - if your home was a warzone.

But there is more than one reason for this trip, and her homecoming is only one of them. Mayet needed the services of someone familiar with Orbital Frames and their programming, as well as some higher security clearances so that her AI could be unlocked from the basic level it had been restricted to. A level so restrictive that she couldn't even use the blue frame's Vector Trap. Something had to be done - so under Ascian's authorization, the unit had been ordered brought in for an upgrade.

As Mayet powers down within the hangar, Alina pulls off her flight helmet, running a hand through her short hair before accepting a hand out of the cockpit from a handsome young Martian with dark hair. She offers the tech a smile, and a word of her thanks, and then shoulers the small dufflebag which seems to hold about all of her worldly belongings at the moment. She'd yet to really make use of that stolen credit card, and had more-so, she'd yet to be paid any wages - the bain of being a newly enlisted Ensign.

"You two have a good flight?" She asks, jogging to catch up with her brother and younger sister, her blue eyes looking around the hangar with a bit of awed wonder lingering in them. It doesn't last too long, though, as she falls into step behind Ascian. She kept meaning to ask him about the 'data' that Mayet supposedly held, but somehow always kept forgetting - and once more, it slips out of her mind as quickly as the thought enters.

As they are lead into his room, Lin lets out a low whistle, "Nice place, Ian." She resists the urge to just dive face-first into the huge bed, but only barely. Instead, she tosses her bag down at the foot of the bed and sits on it, bouncing slightly. "I guess these sorts of places are the perks of rank." With a smirk playing on her lips, the female framerunner casts one look behind Ascian as he departs to get dressed himself, then peeks over at Seril, "Do you have any idea where he's taking us? He's being stubborn and won't tell me a word." Well, not a word except the advice to wear a dress - which had gone on Quatre's credit card... along with a new set of shoes.

Flying from Earth to Mars in a transport is *boring as hell*. Seril spent most of the flight in Amenthes, belted in and - Since all there was to look at was a panoramic view of the inside of a hanger - reading something on her datapad. In specific, she's reading about table etiquette, and about nine tenths of the words are going right over her head. The girl's expression just gets more and more confused as time goes on, up until Amenthes jerks, then launches. She lets her pad go, sitting up in her seat to watch the transition from space to planet with big purple eyes. Truly something she's never seen before. But it's so short before they're back in 'familiar' climes. The interior of a hidden base. She sighs quietly, disembarking and collecting her suitcase. A little wave is given to Alina, "It wasn't long enough." She puffs her cheeks out in a mock pout, "I barely got to see Space at all~." Be-roomed, she drops her suitcase on the bed and unzips it, shaking her head, "I don't know. He told me to pack my pretty things, though. I like surprises." The La Gian girl hesitates, then glances over at Alina once Ascian has left the room, "Um.. I'd been meaning to talk to you, without Ascian around. I didn't want to get between you two, so I was just waiting for a good time to grab you, and now seems like a good time." Glancing back down, she flips her suitcase lid open. Right on top of her clothes is an unopened make-up kit and a few lipsticks, but she reaches under this discovery for the pretty black dress she'd recieved not too long ago.

"Don't worry. I'm sure there will be plenty of chances for a good long flight." Alina glances at the closed door, double checking that Ascian well out of sight before she turns back, "Maybe we can convince him to let us take the long way home. Orbital Frames are pretty quick through space, and it wouldn't be nearly as boring." The white-haired girl offers a small smile, already having plans for a word with her brother about making sure Seril gets a real introduction into space travel.

She pulls up the dufflebag, starting to pull out a few things in search of that dress that's probably somewhere at the bottom of the mess of things she'd brought. Just about the time that she's tugging out the pair of shoes, Seril's questioning voice has Lin looking over, one eyebrow lifting. "Sure, what is it?" She asks, looking a bit curious.

Pushing herself up, she bed, Lin grabs one of the chairs from a nearby table and neatly tucks it underneath the handle of the door, making it impossible for Ascian to barge in on the talk between 'sisters', at least not without being allowed to.

Seril holds up her dress, looking it over, then lays it out beside her suitcase and takes a long breath with her eyes closed, "...I'm...not very good with words, so I might sound silly." Leaning forward a bit, the girl rests her hands on her suitcase, leaning on it, "But I've grown to think of Ascian as my real big brother. I trust him a lot." She bobs her head, eyes closed in thought as she searches for the right words, "...And you're his big sister... And he trusts you a lot." A little nod, and she glances towards Alina with those violet eyes of hers, "...So I have to learn to trust you the way he does. If we're gonna be a family, I can't keep any secrets." Hesitantly, Seril reaches up, gripping the edges of her long coat - A critical piece of her 'casual' attire. There's another pause, and then she simply sheds the jacket, tossing it on the bed beside her suitcase. With one hand, she moves her hair aside so her tiny wings can stretch out, then rest comfortably just over and behind either shoulder. "...I've only shown Ascian before. But since we're family, I can trust you too."

For a moment, Alina simply leans against the doorway to that other room, listening to the younger girl as she speaks. The smile on her lips falters somewhat, although her eyes have that same sort of kindness that her brother tends to have in his. She takes a few steps back towards the bed, placing her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "You know, I'm actually really glad you two found each other." With a glance at the door, Alina simply chuckles, "My brother's a butthead sometimes, but he has a good heart, and I think having you in his life helped him remember that."

The fondness that Lin has for her brother seems to be extended onto Seril as a small smile finds its way back onto her face. "But don't push yourself. I know how hard it is to trust people. I mean... Ian and I never had anyone but each other for the longest time. It's something I'm still learning, myself..." She trails off, biting at her lower lip. There is no point in arguing with the younger girl over such a thing, "I'll keep any secret you trust me with. I promise." She crosses her hand over her heart, then runs it over her lips as if she were locking it, flicking the imaginary key over her shoulder.

She takes a half-step forward, then hesitates again, watching as Seril removes that jacket and reveals those tiny wings for the first time. Cautious, Lin doesn't seem draw too close, not wanting to upset the girl. "Those... are real, aren't they?" She asks, having obviously never seen such a thing before. At the same time, she doesn't look frightened, or bothered, simply a bit surprised. "This is part of what Yagaratsu does?" Again, questions, but with curiousity. She presses her lips together, then shakes her head, "I mean, I don't think they're anything to be ashamed of. Not exactly normal, but... none of us are." She pulls down the sleeve of her jacket, showing the lines of metatron that glow on her forearms. "Besides, they're kind of pretty. Like you're some kind of angel."

Seril smiles a bit nervously, "Yeah... But he's been so good to me, I just hope I'm not being a bother." She looks down, fidgeting, "It seems like he does so much more for me than I can do for him, so I just do what I can. I'm not good at anything except fighting with Yatagarasu, and I know he..gets worried about me when I do that.." When their authenticity is questioned, Seril's wings flick upward and fan out in a stretch, then settle down again. "This..is what the Yatagarasu is doing to me.." Her voice is much quieter now, "..I don't understand why.." But that thought is derailed when their complimented. Seril smiles sheepishly, red creeping into her cheeks, "Ah.. Yeah. Ascian said they were cute, too." Quickly, she turns away so she can continue changing, "It..isn't that you pushed me to share. I wanted to share this with you. And since we'll be in this room together.. maybe I felt a little pressured. But this is better than trying to hide from you.." Pausing mid-change, Seril looks towards the ceiling, "..That might've made you think I didn't like you, or something."

"I don't think Ascian could ever see you as a bother." Lin replies, shaking her head. "What you do for him is in here." With a tap at her chest, over her heart, the white-haired framerunner settles down on the edge of the bed once more, pulling over her dufflebag as she continues the search for the lost dress. "He doesn't care about how well you fight, he just wants you to be happy. And... if he worries, it's only because he cares." For the most part, Ascian didn't worry so much over Alina getting into battles, but at the same time - she also wasn't piloting a god-machine capable of making physical changes to her either.

She quiets for a time, finally having found the dress and tugged it free. It's a simple tie-dyed color of blue that gets darker at the skirt and ties up around the neck to give it an open-back look. "I'm afraid I don't know much about machines other than piloting. And I know even less about La Gias." The girl's expression is apologetic. "But... nothing you could show me would scare me, or frighten me, or disgust me, Seril. You're family. Ascian loves you, and that means that I do, too. And love doesn't see people that way."

It doesn't take long for Lin to change from her comfortable non-combat flight-gear into the dress, smoothing it out over her body as she ties the straps behind her neck in a bow. The boots are slid up her legs, ziped up the sides and giving just enough of a heel that she may just be as tall as Ascian with them on. Some bracelets round out the outfit. As she's slipping the silver cuffs over her wrists, Alina just can't help but smile softly, "I wouldn't have thought that. I know you don't know me as well as you know Ascian. That takes time. So take as much time as you need, sis. I'm not going anywhere."

She pushes herself up from the bed, testing the balance of the new shoes and giving herself a girlish spin before seeming to come to the conclusion that the outfit is complete. With a few steps backwards, she hovers near the door, tapping her foot, "Let me know when I can release the beast." Her tone is obviously joking, wondering if Ascian has figured out yet that he's been locked in by his two sisters.

Seril closes her eyes with a pleasent hum, "That's a lot like what Ascian said... You two are a lot alike." She smiles a bit, shedding her clothes and dressing herself surprisingly quickly. It takes a bit once she's clothed to figure the dress' little secret out, and a bit more for her to slot her wings in to be properly hidden against her back, "Tricky..." She keeps her stockings and shoes, though. It's a nice combination, even if it makes her look a little too one-toned. Collecting the necklace that Ascian had given her, Seril holds it out, "I have trouble with the clasp. Could you put it on for me?" Seril stands, pulling her hair away from her neck and just draping it over her shoulder, back presented, while she pulls out her compact. Sorting, she eventually decides on a nice vibrant red shade and carefully applies lipstick via her little compact's mirror. Mwah~. Someone's clearly been practicing. "Oh, I think he can come in now. I'm just happy you understand." Glancing over her shoulder, Seril smiles--fangs and all--in that bright way she has a habit of doing, "You and I, we're a lot alike, too." She hesitates, looking down, then holds out her now-closed compact, "Did you want any? I got lots of colors for lipsticks."

With a little stage-whisper towards Seril, Alina winks, "He learned it from me." With a soft laugh, the girl doesn't let the joke go too far though. "We're twins. We get that eerie twin-sense thing every now and again. Just wait until we start finishing each other's sentences." Thus far, they'd managed to at least avoid doing that, even if a great many of the twin's reactions to things were similar. Much of that can be blamed on growing up in the same environment - and just a little on them being 'those weird sort of siblings'.

With permission granted from Seril, Alina nudges the chair out from under the door, freeing her brother - who may or may not have noticed his exile from the main room. Then, she walks over and takes the necklace from Seril, holding it in her hand for a moment, "It's pretty. Reminds me of the earring he got me for our birthday a few years ago." The same earring that dangles just now from her right ear, and Ascian used to keep carefully hidden away while she'd been missing. She can certainly attest to her brother's taste in jewelry at least. As she slides it over the girl's neck, Lin easily attaches the clasp, letting it come to rest against Seril's neck. "There. Done."

The pale girl returns the smile, nodding softly. "Yep. Which is probably part of why Ascian took you under his wing. But let me tell you one thing." She leans in, as if giving away some secret. "He loves you for who you are. So don't worry about me being back. You'll always be his little sister." She stands up shaking her head at the offer of makeup, "I think I'll go natural tonight."

Ascian's trips into the other room took a bit longer. Having found the bathroom, he used a bit of the time to get himself freshened up, after which he dressed himself in something fairly simple; a button up black shirt, black pants, black socks, and black dress shoes. And to top it all off, a set of designer sunglasses that end up hanging by one of the chestpockets. And that's how he ends up heading back out of the bathroom, having put on some cologne, and into the room - just after the girls have removed the chair from the door that gives access to it.

"Hrrm?" He just ends up wandering in as Alina pushes that chair away and gives a rather confused stare at the door, then at the girls in the room. "So..." He shrugged it off. "What do you think?" It is rather obvious that he is going for the cool and handsome kind of gentleman look. He walks slowly into the room and heads for his suitcase, opening a sidepocket, and removes the necklace he has in it and casually hangs it along his neck and pushes his hair back - so it doesn't get caught. A twosome of buttons are then opened to make sure it remains in view, even if it ends up slipping underneath the cloth.

The young man then sits down and looks at the two girls somewhat properly and begins... blushing. He casts his gaze to the side - but decides that the obvious must be said. "You two both look... beautiful."

The girl from La Gias nods once, closing her little case and quickly tucking it away inside her suitcase right before Ascian wanders in, "Okay~. I didn't know if you did makeup or not. I don't think I need much, but I think this red goes well!" It's a very good shade, coordinated between her highlights and the crimson gem now hanging about her neck. At least she isn't dolling up like some New Atlanta hooker. The man of the hour at last upon them, Seril first glances his way over her shoulder with a little 'hmm' sound. She quickly looks away, disguising it with a sudden need to close her suitcase and zip it up. A glance is cast towards Alina, before Seril at last turns to face Ascian more directly with her hands folded primly in front of herself. The girl gives a little bow, then a bright befanged smile, "Ahh, you look handsome, yourself. Are we going to a banquet or something?" Really, the girl hasn't 'eaten out' in her entire life, the idea of a fancy restaurant isn't even considered.

Between her arrival at the Earth Cradle as a captive and now, Alina had at least managed to get her hair trimmed. While it's still short, it at least has a bit of style to it, the longer strands hanging lightly against her forehead. The look actually suits her well enough, even if her hair is far, far shorter than either Ascian or Seril's. Lin just offers another small smile to her sister, "Oh, I do sometimes. Just going easy on it tonight." With another of those conspiritorial looks towards Seril, Alina chuckles, "I've got this great blacklight reactive makeup that I would wear sometimes." Blink. That strange expression of memory passes on the pale girl's face, but doesn't seem to linger for very long.

No, the distraction of Ascian draws her away from whatever memory had been trying to surface at that moment. Lin turns that smile towards her brother, giving him one of those appraising up and down looks before raising a finger. "You need some color." Without giving Ascian a chance to argue with her, Lin is back to rumaging in her bag. Perhaps she'd planned it, or perhaps she'd included it for herself and decided otherwise, but Lin plucks out a small purple silk flower, leaning down to pin it onto his breast pocket. "There. Much better." She nods once, and then steps back, folding her arms over her chest.

With a glance towards Seril, and then back at Ascian, Alina just shyly brushes a few strands of that short hair back behind her ear as she raises her bare shoulders. "Well, we kind of have to. We can't let you steal the show." She shifts her booted feet around, hooking one leg behind the other as she taps her toe to the ground, "So... where are we going? Or are you keeping it a surprise until we get there?"

"Something like that." Ascian replies simply, when Seril asks him if they are going to a banquet. "Just follow me." He grabs his datapad from his pocket, types something in quickly, and then sticks it back into his pockets - right about when Alina sticks that flower into his clothing. "Well, you always did have the better taste in clothing." The young man pulls a bit on the front of the shirt, making it fall a bit better along his shoulders, and then gives Seril a confused look - who is trying to be all sneaky about 'something' - he can't tell what.

His gaze skips back to Alina. "Thank you." He taps the pocket, and then sticks his hands into his pockets and nudges his head along to the door. "Meet me in the hangar when you two are ready." And with that, the young man wanders along. He figures the two can make their way back on their own - there'd only been two turns involved after all, and they were easily recognizable.

Whenever the girls would decide to arrive in the hangar, they'd be met with a large black hover-limosine, with Ascian already sitting in the back drinking a martini or something. The interior is a black leather one, looking rather luxurious and everything. There's some flowers here and there.

What Seril was being sneaky about was the makeup. There's nothing ultimately shocking or spooky about that, really. But she wants Ascian to notice she taught herself how to do something that, at least she figures, must be a mystery to most men. She's proud that she figured this out! That's part of Seril's charm, she's always so proud of doing such simple things. "Well... I think I'm ready to go." The girl turns her eyes up thoughtfully, running through a mental checklist, and then nods and gets the door for Alina, "Do you know what he's up to? It couldn't be something for me, my birthday isn't until December." A headtilt, "Oh, wait~! I bet he's celebrating your reunion!" That has to be it! Even if it totally isn't. In the corridor, Seril folds her hands loosely behind her back, self-conscious about the whole 'hiding her wings in plain sight' deal her dress uses to conceal her unusual anatomy. As a result, the girl stays quite close to Alina, radiating warmth the whole way.

"Well, one of had to be fashion conscious, and it certainly wasn't going to be you." Alina tugs lightly at the collar of his shirt, straitening it. "But at least you've learned a thing or two about it." With those final touches taken care of, she allows him to to head out in advance. She lags just a bit behind, having to root around for a purse and a tiny box that she'd hidden between some clothing. It's quite clear she's trying to keep this hidden from Ascian's sight, making sure he's out the door before she tucks it into the little shoulder bag.

Then, she chuckles softly at Seril, shaking her head, "Haven't a clue, although I do think I know what this is about." Alina places a finger to her lips as if she were sharing a secret. As the two girls walk through the hallway, Lin's heels click faintly, and she offers a little smirk, "It's our birthday today. I'd forgotten about it completely until Ian told me a few days ago. If it were our reunion, I think my brother would prefer to celebrate that by blowing the crap out of a few A-LAWs." Neither of the Luddite twins were too fond of them after they nearly got Alina killed, and then threatened to disect her for BAHRAM secrets.

As they walk, Lin doesn't seem to mind the other girl staying close to her. She even offers an arm out, trying to give Seril a little half-hug. "Come on, let's catch up with Ian." About the time that they reach the limo, Lin's eyes widen slightly. She ducks down, peeking her head in the doorway, "You got a limo? Seriously?" Still, the girl beams as she climbs in, being careful not to bump into anything on her way.

"Yep. A limo. Now get in." Ascian pats the seat and waits until both girls are sitting next to him - one on each side. That's the way he'd put himself. And after they get in,the limo hovers off of the ground and /blasts off/! They rush out of the NUT facility and go straight down along the road and within moments, hit a forest preservation area. "To us." Ascian suddenly raises his glass in the air, and presses a button at the ceiling of the car, and two drinks kind of 'come out' from sidepanels. One of them looks red and is literally /boiling/. Obviously, it's Seril's. A kind of strawberry hot drink.

With the speed of the limo however, they soon come out towards a large body of water, and finally comes to a halt after driving up a small island that was graced by a /huge/ tower of sorts. A observation deck at the top and everything. They come up to the front of the tower, where a butler-like man opens the door. A red carpet is laid out for the three, and Ascian is the first to come out, and then waits for the girls as he 'holds out' his arms out, for the girls to hook their arms into.

They'd then enter the beautiful hall of this rather extravagant place, and wander over tiles that hold a huge aquarium beneath them, to an elevator. And that elevator takes them up all the way to the top of the observation deck, where a restaurant is ready for /just them/. It actually looks more like a rich lounge of sorts. Lazy leather couches, chairs, tables, candles. There's a definite red, black and blue theme to it all.

"It's your birthday?" Walking close like that, Seril glances up at Alina, and then looks ahead thoughtfully. Whatever's on her mind is distracted by LIMO. It doesn't matter where you're from: Flying cars are awesome, and her exhuberance is palpable. The girl is inside quickly, and simply has to touch every little thing she can as if making sure it's real. Ascian makes a toast, even providing a nice hot drink for her, and she brightly joins in! At the destination, Seril hooks her arm through Ascian's immediately, then rests her other hand lightly on it as well, just ... drinking it all in. Once inside, and she has a chance to look down at the aquarium swimming below, then girl simply says: "Mars is amazing." An elevator ride later, the girl reluctantly lets go of her big brother's arm so she trot over to the windows, resting her hands on the plate glass and gazing out over the landscape, "...Mars is *amazing*!" She's forgotten about how certain anatomy moves when she gets excited. Somebody better do something before she embarasses herself!

"Mmhmm." Lin manages a quick little nod to Seril's question before the prospect of the limo has her absolutely entranced. Amusingly enough, Alina's reactions aren't all that different from Seril's. The white-haired girl runs her hands down the seats of the limo, staring out the windows and stretching her long legs out, seeming to enjoy the luxurious space. Even the toast seems to bring a bright-eyed smile to her lips as she raises the glass up to meet the others. "To family." She adds in, making short work of the drink, even before they arrive. There is even a moment as they are pulling up where she leans over Ascian, peering over the other girl's shoulder to get a view outside.

On arrival, though, Lin takes careful steps out of the limo, weaving her arm into her brother's. With the heels, she's nearly as tall as he is, but somehow still manages to balance fairly well. "Someone went a bit overboard, didn't he?" She muses, and then squeezes his arm softly. "It's wonderful, Ian." With that, she follows inside, only stopping for a moment to look down at the aquarium below them in that main entryway. She taps a toe near a fish, watching as it swims away with a delighted expression.

She's just a half-second behind Seril as the girl goes towards the window, and Lin takes a place right beside her, looking out at the Martian sky. It's so different from the few memories she has of Mars. Shifting her eyes away, which is quite a difficult task, Lin beams at her brother. "Okay, this is kind of awesome." She admits.

But it doesn't look like any of the servers care about that part of her anatomy. Perhaps it's the kind of servers they are. After all, the chef comes out. And it's... a dolphin. A dolphin in what looks like a large scuba-suit. And somehow, he manages to sound like Sean Connery; "Greetings, me lovelies." He says. It is obvious that... Seril isn't really going to stand out here. A threesome of La Gian catgirls then wander out from besides him, wearing male butler costumes, and quickly begin to set one of the tables present. One of them even begins sticking a small few boxes onto the table - wrapped with red ribbons. Obviously, Ascian has paid /quite/ some money for all of this.

Of course, Ascian ends up staring at the catgirls for a bit, slightly blushing, before realizing that he is supposed to be business like, and bows his head at the chef. "Greetings, chef. I think we're ready for our appetizer." He bows his head slightly, and the dolphin-in-a-mechanical-suit bows back and wanders off into a back room, in order to prepare dinner for the guests.

The young man then turns back to Seril and Alina, and approaches both of them and puts a hand on both of their shoulders. "No need to worry, Seril. None of the people here are strictly human. So your winged secret is safe, even if you flutter those about. As for going a bit overboard... well... no such thing really." Before them, the night is slowly starting to fall. The sun, way in the distance, lets its red shine roam over the ocean before them. There are patches of forests around, and some red mesas.

It doesn't seem to matter much to Seril that she won't stand out. The instant Ascian mentions fluttering, her cheeks redden and she glances over her shoulder in an entirely unsubtle manner. Even if she looks distinctive enough to be nonhuman already, she's still really nervous about that little bit of unusual physiology. Judging by her expression, the effort is considerable, but at last she seems satisfied. Turning a pouting expression on Ascian, the girl puffs out her cheeks, "Big bro~other! Don't talk so casually!" If she wants to go public with her unusual aspects, that's her choice! The chef is given a bewildered look, though Seril falls silent while looking at the mech-assisted cetacean. When the dolphin turns to walk away, she stoops down and follows him for a few steps, watching how those limbs move. It might be considered rude, but that's just so *interesting*. A few steps later, the girl straightens, her face nothing but fascinated, "...Everything on Mars is so cool." She turns, flashing a sparkling smile to Ascian, backdropped by the Martian scenery behind her, "Even the fish can walk!" ...she never went to middle school, be kind.

Alina's eyes move past her brother as she takes in the sight of the catgirls for a moment, following them with the same sort of expression on her features as her brother. Sometimes, as odd as it seems, the twins really do have the same reactions to things, which can be a bit amusing. She even wiggles her fingers at one of them before looking back to the chef, inclining her head to the dolphin. "A pleasure to meet you sir." She's learned to be quite polite at times, at least when the need called for it. Although her eyes to linger a bit longer than necessary, making it all too clear that she has never seen such a thing before, herself - at least not that she can remember, anyways.

Leaning towads her brother, Lin nudges him in the shoulder lightly, "Do I even want to ask how much this cost?" She muses, and then shakes her head, obviously enjoying the evening so far. Her eyes come again to Seril, sharing that moment of wonder with her younger sister. "Not everything is so nice on Mars, unfortunately. But places like this... well, they're part of why we fight so hard to protect Mars from the Federation." She sighs soflty, although the smile still lingers.

She doesn't comment about the other girl's wings, although she does give her brother a bit of a warning look. Afterall, the girl had only /just/ trusted Lin with that secret, and she didn't see a reason to push her quite so much. So instead, Alina walks over to the table, lingering near one of the chairs as her fingertips run along the tablecloth, her eyes looking to Ascian almost expectantly. Afterall - it is the man's job to hold out a chair for his ladies - even if they are his sisters.

Well, Ascian had of course /whispered/ those words at her. "No worries. They didn't hear me." He sounded rather sure of this. Similar to last time, when they'd been in the Mess Hall. "You know me. I am careful. Besides, no need to be so embarassed about it." He ruffles her hair. "But I understand your worry." And off she goes, wandering after the chef. Leaving Ascian standing besides Alina, who decides to prod him. "She'll be fine." He whispers. "The servers will only be around to bring us food, and refreshments. Other than that, they will remain in the back." He doesn't even /comment/ on Alina's notion on the price.

Instead, he concentrates on something else she'd said. "That's right though. We indeed fight for Mars because of beautiful places like this." Ascian wanders along with his sister to the chair, and then pulls it out for her to sit on, and then helps her move it forward. He then pulls one out for Seril, and waits for the girl to heed his call to come over, before seating her as well, and settling down.

The seats actually have some space in their backs - due to the rail structure, where Seril could potentially poke her wings through if she wanted to. Other than that, it still has the whole leather cushion thing going on. Before them sit beautiful plates, and at least four pieces of silverware on each side of said plate. "I know it all looks fancy. But no need to act other than yourself." The youth chuckles.

What follows next, is the catgirls wandering out again, and bringing out cocktails-glasses filled with letuce, shrimp, and other garnishes that together form a rather apetizing looking dish. "Now, I know you are not big on the spicy stuff, so I made sure not to get anything too spicy." Ascian comments to Seril, then turns to Alina. "Dig in." And off go the catgirls again.

Faaanserviiiice.

The La Gian girl pouts a bit more at Ascian, but when she drops the face, it's clear she's being a bit more playful about it now. She lets the twins alone for a bit, just taking in the atmosphere. Those catgirls had been missed the first time, but now that Seril has seated herself and has little else to look at. Animal people. She can certainly relate. Though they do seem much happier about the way they are than she does. Her eyes turn upward thoughtfully, considering the beastmen she'd heard about back in La Gias. Is it because they were born that way..? Shaking her head, Seril returns her attention to the intimidating spread of cutlery before her. It's possible to see the gears slowly turning as she struggles to remember what the book said about how to use each one. Facts like that just ... fly out of her head, though, and when Ascian speaks up about the appetizers, she only rewards him with a confused expression and a bewildered "Nyu?" ... "Oh." Somewhat nervously, the girl smiles, "Thanks~. I don't remember telling you," The tenseness wanders out, as she gradually forgets the debacle about the silverware, "So it's good that you remembered!"

Alina settles down easily enough once the chair is moved out, although she certainly doesn't sit as if she were at a proper restaurant. In fact, she hadn't done much research whatsoever about how one should act in such circumstances. Growing up a soldier, and mostly eating only in the Mess Halls or occassionally in the private of their own room, she simply never had a need for it. So, rather than being dainty about anything, Lin leans forward, folding her arms - elbows and all, on the table as she observes the appetizer as it gets placed out before them.

Apparently the catgirl who she had waved at earlier is the one serving her, and she offers the snow-leopard looking server a small smile and a nod of thanks. Once they are gone, though, she glances at her array of silverware, and then up at Ascian, "So... which one are we supposed to use?" She picks up a random fork, turns it in her fingers. "Guess it doesn't matter." She has no problem digging in to the first course, chewing thoughtfully until her eyes glance over those wrapped boxes on the table.

Holding one finger up, she swollows and then reaches into her shoulder bag, pulling out the small box she had placed in there earlier. Just where she got the money to buy much of anything is anyone's guess - perhaps another frivolous use of Quatre's credit card, but who knows for sure. In either case, she nudges the box in front of Ascian, but doesn't seem to really focus much on it just yet. There would be a time for that later. "So what kind of food do you usally like, Seril? I mean, if I'm going to cook for you two every now and again, I might as well figure out what to make."

"It's not really that you told me." Ascian comments. "I just noticed your reaction to the food you were given a few times, and made a logical assumption." That, and he was probably keeping track of Seril's diet, in case something would go wrong. After all, the only physician she has - is Ascian's personal one. He did notice something about that expression on Seril's face though. The way she'd looked at those people. He's not sure if he's saying the right thing, but something about that has him say; "I'll try to make you happy, Seril. Besides, you are cuter and prettier than they are." If Seril knew anything about Ascian's attractions to demi-humans, she ought to know that this was a darn big compliment.

The framerunner then looks down at the cutlery. "You work from the outside in. It's fairly simple like that, actually." He explains, and watches Alina grab just any fork, and then glances over at the snow-leopard feline-human hybrid, and then back at Alina. Well, that was a learning experience somewhat - seeing that expression. But he is quickly distracted from that thought, turning to the little box that moves onto the small 'pile' before him.

Ascian grabs the outside smallest fork, and begins working at the Shrimp. Indeed, he is going to take his time. The presents are something he can wait on. At least, until the appetizers are done. So, he eats, and watches the other two girls - hopefully - enjoying their food. And only afterwards, when the catgirls return to take away the cocktail-glasses, does the young man place two packages before Alina. One is a box that Seril might recognize. One that contained a Deus Mini, preloaded by things Ascian had set-up. Including a picture of the two together, when they still had blue hair. And the other... bunny-themed mittens! For when it turns winter. He'd gotten them from a girl named Ernula, many months ago.

... ... ... ... (Log is incomplete - to be continued.)