2010-07-28 - Nice to Meet You, Richelle!

"Aw, not again."

There's a young woman on the Argama, and she looks very much out of place. Why? Because she's wearing what appears to be Celestial Being clothes along with a highly-confused expression on her tanned face. Frowning deeply, the young woman just makes a sour face at a sign. It reads:

"CREW QUARTERS"

Lifting a gloved hand, she scratches lightly at the back of her head, wine-red hair tossled lightly about before she just heavily exhales and sags her shoulders. At her feet is a small cardboard box that appears to be some sort of empty liquor box. In it are what seem to be personal belongings. And half-exposed what appears to be some sort of expensive liquor bottle.

"This isn't the mobile suit hangar at all. Ahhhh, how did I get lost again??" In vain the girl's hands reach up and grab at the sides of her head, gloved hands stirring through her hair as she weakly throws what seems to be some sort of personal tantrum.

"Miss Sumeragi is going to be so mad at me..!"

"I -swear-, it tastes -really- good, you should give it a try!" says a voice out in the distance. Risa may not notice.

"I mean, would I lie to you?" A pause. "Well, I mean, y'know, ya can't really lie about personal taste so I couldn't possibly lie to you even if ya liked it, right?" Another pause. "You oughta just try i--"

'Miss Sumeragi is going to be so mad at me..!'

"Wahjja Shumerahee?"

SUDDENLY, the voice is DIRECTLY BEHIND RISA PZALLON. Standing behind her is a young man. This young man has slightly ruffled brown hair and bright eyes that stare at Risa with a mix of scrutiny and confusion. His red jacket is rolled up to his sleeves, and between his teeth he holds a single, bright orange carrot. In his right hand, there is a bag of carrots, in the other, a cup of guacamole that seems to have been layered with ketchup.

Yeah, this is totally happening.

Crunch. Chewing away at his carrot, Judau squints at Risa. That outfit isn't an Argama uniform - do they even have uniforms anymore, he can't even remember except that Bright was screeching about something like 'BLAH BLAH BLAH UNIFORMS BLAH ORDER BLAH WHERE IS EMARY BLAH' once. Still. SOMETHING ISN'T ADDING UP HERE.

"What," he says when he finally swallows the carrot, as if something is dawning on him. "Are ya late for a costume party or somethin'?"

He is on the ball with this stuff.

For real.

The trifecta is completed when a third person comes blazing down the halls of the Argama, taking advantage of the low gravity where possible and taking her time to walk when she has the proper chance. Sticking her head into the door, she finds exactly who she's looking for-- and she doesn't seem to have noticed the new addition to the room just yet. "Judau, I put in the order for the Gelgoog parts, but it's gonna be a few extra days so the suppliers can get them off Earth without much of a hassle--"

Wait. Slim jacket, stylized short-sleeve uniform shirt, white pants that look a bit snug on /anyone/ that wears them? The one time she wished she could add the garb of Celestial Being to her growing closet collection of uniforms pangs into the back of Rachel Miu Athha's mind, and she takes a few more steps inside.

"Oh, um. I-I'm sorry, I didn't realize we had company," the white-haired girl says, hands folding a little bit in front of herself. The Celestial Being pilot-- the girl that stands there in front of her-- there's a vague feeling of having met before, but that was lifetimes ago, or in so many lifetimes as "the past she'd rather not talk about."

"Do you need any assistance getting around? Or did you have a meeting with Captain Bright or Captain Quattro?"

"Ahhhh!"

Throwing her arms into the air, Risa is startled as Judau speaks /suddenly/ from behind her. She even leaps forward a bit, slamming her forehead against the wall before she recoils and groans. Rubbing at her now-aching forehead, the young Coordinator just frowns at herself before she turns around to regard whoever it is that regarded /her/ presence here.

For the longest time, Judau stares. And during that time, Risa stares back. After a few seconds of this, Risa's gaze begins to wander. You can almost see the hamster wheel spinning behind her green eyes. She's obviously drifting.

Then Judau speaks. As if prompted, Risa mutters, "...and that's why you don't wash a turtle."

Blinking twice, she "looks" at Judau, focusing on the young man.

"Costume party? Really? There is one??"

And just when Risa Pzallon gets really excited, another voice chimes up from behind her. Blinking a few times, she turns her head to the side before she looks to Rachel. "Captain Quaderno? No, I am not looking for a person like that, or Captain Bright." Lifting a finger to her temple, Risa idly pulls a lock of hair and absently twirls it around a gloved finger.

"Uhm, no, I was looking for the han--"

Wait a second.

"Oh my goodness!" Risa chimes, giving Judau a wide-eyed, startled look. "You're...the culinary genius from the radio!" Her arms flail weakly. "Waah, what should I do?? I am in the presence of a genius!"

"Whoa, hey," Judau says, suddenly seized up by concern as Risa hits her forehead. "Are you o--"

'... and that's why you don't wash a turtle.'

"... kay."

Judau pauses, mid-biting a ketchup-and-guacamole-encrusted carrot, to blink and absolute confusion.

"What? Is your date--" Which is what he assumes a 'Sumeragi' is-- "dressed like a turtle?? Why are you washin' your costume partner?! That theme doesn't even make sense!"

This conversation is doubtlessly going to end well.

And likely would, have, too, as Risa starts questioning about the existence of a party. "That's what I'M askin' YOU--"

Index finger extends from a gripped back of carrots as it stabs accusingly at Risa, /just/ about when Rachel shows up. This leads Judau to abruptly halt mid-point, leading him to some sort of awkward semi-crouched pose, as if ready to pounce on Risa. The young boy's green eyes swivel about.

"Oh! Uh, h-hey, Rachel!" Judau barks out with a slightly higher volume to his tone despite himself. Suddenly inexplicably feeling awkward, the young man rubs the back of his head, his carrot bag bouncing against the back of his neck in a bizarre movement as he does.

"H-hey, don't apologize, you're not interruptin' anything!" Judau suddenly insists, taking a look toward Risa. "She's just lookin' for a costume party! Yeah! An' then she forgot she was goin' to one, I think 'cause she whacked her head on the wall, she might have a concussion or somethin'! Not that I'm like, legally accountable for anything she mighta done to herself or anything--"

'Oh my goodness!'

"Whu--"

'You're... the culinary genius from the radio!'

"Whut."

Judau's brows scrunches together as he takes out a carrot; biting it, he then proceeds to lower his head to artfully dip the carrot into his bizarre dipmix, staring in a bewildered fashion at Rachel.

"D-d'yuh mow whud she'sh dalkin' 'boud?" he asks as he chews on his ketchupamole carrot stick, obviously concerned.

"Costume... party?"

She can't remember the last time that she was ever at a party, and the whole matter is kind of fuzzy, and -- well, she's not going to talk about the dress that she wore or the person that had given it to her and the motivations that she had in giving it to her and and and--

-- well, it's just awkard.

Rachel's head tilts a little bit. "The ... culinary genius?" Bringing a finger up to her chin, the white-haired Athha starts to comb through her memories of radio converstaions and public chat. Sure, there was a lot of times that Judau said he was /hungry/, and there were times where he gave his own insight about waffles and the like, but ... culinary /genius/?

Yeah. She looks confused.

"No, I don't," she replies with a slight frown. "There was the time we talked about the pizza... and the waffles? I know the waffles came up before. And... w--" Rachel walks closer to Judau and leans in a bit, sniffing the concoction he's dipping the carrots into. "What in the name of Anaheim Electronics are you dipping those in?"

There's a carrot pointing at Risa's face.

Blinking several times, Risa peers at the orange vegetable, green eyes intensely thoughtful as Judau speaks. What this really means is that no matter what he says, Risa is probably not "listening" to him. She just watches the carrot closely, essentially ignoring the fact that Judau very likely appears to a third party observer like some predator.

But when Rachel Miu Athha arrives, Judau turns his attention to the other young woman. Blinking again, Risa's gaze follow Judau's voice toward the white-haired woman, staring at her before it dawns on her that Judau is the genius she recalls from radio conversations. Lord only knows what the hell Risa Pzallon is talking about.

"Yes, yes. Culinary genius! He's a master of food wizardry!" the Coordinator merrily chimes, gloved hands pressed together at her chin. "I am so envious of his genius, both as a chef as well as...uh..." Pausing, she taps a finger on her chin, eyes to the ceiling before she shakes her head.

"Th-the point is, I'm a huge fan!" Even if Rachel doesn't approve.

However, the mention of Anaheim draws Risa's attentions away from Judau (perhaps thankfully) and onto Rachel. "Oh! Oh!" Lifting her arm in the air, she waves it like a third grade nerd wanting to give an answer in class. "Me! Me! I am--was--a test pilot for Anaheim! But I work for Miss Sumeragi now!"

Otherwise known as 'She's C.B.'s Problem Now.'

Waffles. Waffles... Judau chews his lower lip, his expression clearly STRAINING /HARD/ to try and discern just what either of them are talking about, because Judau's memory is about as selectively amazing as a goldfish. "Hrrrrrrrrmmmmm..."

'He's a master of food wizardry!'

Once again, Judau looks back at Risa. He squints, before he suddenly finds himself much more warmed up to the young woman. "Heh heh heh! I sorta am a genius, aren't I!" he says, grinning so broadly his eyes shut. Until something dawns on him. "Wait, are you the grilled grepes girl--"

SUDDENLY, Rachel is leaning in, the motion enough to take Judau enough off-guard to make him leap just /slightly/ off his feet. "Whoa! The unfortunate part of this is that in zero gravity, this means he just keeps lifting up and up, essentially floating through the air at /slow speed/ while trying his best not to blush, because he is a MAN, and that was INTENTIONAL. "Uhhh-- err, it's great! You oughta try it!" Despite his current predicament, Judau takes a carrot, awkwardly dipping it into his sauce bowl before holding it out in a slowly-drifting-away-offering toward Rachel. It, unsurprisingly, looks extremely unappealing.

"See, I took some guacamole, right, an' then I was like 'man, you know what'd be good with guacamole? KETCHUP!' an' then--"


 * INTEREST OVERRIDE

It isn't Risa flailing her arms. Or even how she talks about Anaheim. No, it's-- "Wait, you're a CHEF?!" Judau asks, with renewed interest. "'Cause our chef has been sorta down lately, an' if you can cook, then y'know--"

'But I work for Miss Sumeragi now!'

Pause.

Squint.

Frown.

BIGGER FROWN.

"/What./ What the hell's a Sumeragi even?! Why's she stealin' the cooks?! ARGH I oughta knock her down a peg!" he says, of the woman he does not even know and at one point thought was a food.

She's staring at that carrot as though it were poison.

Christ, it probably is. Who knows how old that guacamole is? Who knows where Judau actually managed to find it? And-- why is Risa so absolutely excitable? Trying to make the best of a situation where she is, SOME-FUCKING-HOW, the most logical and centered person in the room, she tries her best to answer Judau's question /while/ making things pretty clear.

"Miss Sumeragi is the Captain of the Ptolemaios II, Judau. She's with Celestial Being. Our allies, remember?" She makes a very slight gesture toward Risa. "She's wearing their uniform."

"I've been working on Anaheim machines a lot lately, though. All of the Gundams, my Mobile Suits... Captain Quattro is letting me learn how to use the Hyaku Shiki, so I'll be able to take that one out into battle pretty soon, I think. Anaheim makes some great equipment, too!" Her hand lits to her chin, deep in thought. "I might be able to retrofit some of the parts and get them to work in the Gelgoog, now that I think about it..."

"A-- Anyway... what are you doing here, Miss ... erm. I-I'm sorry, I don't think I ever caught your name..."

Grilled grap--

"Yeah that's me!" Risa chimes, nodding her head eagerly at Judau. "That was the first time I ever heard your wonderful ideas!" She's been totally enamored of his genius since--true fact. All but beaming at the Gundam pilot, Risa keeps doing so, even after he startles and drifts away.

Looking back to Rachel when she speaks, the young Coordinator nods her head. "Yup yup, she came here and offered me a candy bar and asked if I would join." Taking advantage of the mentally challenged? It's more likely than you think. "Well that and, you know, I want to help them stop all these wars." Puffing her cheeks a bit, Risa folds her arms and nods sternly.

"I only worked with Anaheim for a short time before they assigned--" Dumped. "--me to the Arguruma with Itzpapalotl. B-but Miss Sumeragi said I was a good--" She was being nice. "--pilot and wanted my help with Heavenly Being." Eh, it's close enough.

"Also my name is Risa Pzallon, but please just call me Risa." A hand is extended to Rachel.

However, when Judau shouts Risa flails weakly again, arms pinwheeling before she squeaks and manages not to fall back and hit her head again. "I'm a chef? Really??" she manages after regaining her balance, looking genuinely surprised. "Oh wow, I didn't know that! How lucky!

"And um, please don't hit Miss Sumeragi, she's a really super nice person and I really like her. If you did that I'd have to make you my enemy, and I don't want that." Pouting, she gives Judau a sad puppy face before noting, "I really don't want to hurt my new friends."

The carrot is definitely not poison.

Probably.

... Mmmmaybe.

The guacetchup-laced carrot is offered toward Rachel for a full half a minute before Judau ultimately shrugs, casually stuffing the thing into his mouth and chewing -- somehow remembering the lessons of 'KEEP YOUR MOUTH CLOSED OR I'LL HIT YOU' Leina imparted on him.

"So she's with Heavenly Being, huh," Judau mutters as he swallows down that carrot. "Are those the ones that like, fart sparkles an' all that stuff?" He pauses, remembering something -- he looks back towards Rachel, and furrows his brows a moment. Those Trailers, with their GN drives--

That rare potential moment of 'Judau Ashta is totally a master detective' is abruptly interrupted as Risa speaks again. "Wh-- ya just said ya were a-- aaahhhhh, forget it!" Judau throws his hands into the air, only to find himself suddenly and weakly smacking his head up against the ceiling. Giving a mildly surprised grunt, the young junker pushes /off/ that ceiling, falling back down to the floor as he squints at Risa. He's about to open his mouth, as if to continue his insistence of her self-declared chefitude, before--

She pouts. She looks at him with big puppy dog eyes. Judau looks momentarily aghast, taking a step backward as if to retreat from Risa as she makes that face. His right eye twitches, his lower lip stiffens--

"Aaaahhh, /fine/! Just-- just stop makin' that face, alright! She's probably too busy stealin' our chicken too for me to find her, anyway!" He pauses, as if considering this a very real, very possible, and very horrifying fact, before--

"An' my name's Judau. Judau Ashta!" His hand thrusts forward toward Risa, as if in offering-- before he looks back. "Whoa, wait, Quattro's lettin' you use the Hyaku Shiki?? That's awesome! That's -- oh man, Rach, we need t'like, get Anaheim to give us some wing binders, an' some of that gold paint, /an' put it on the Gelgoog/."

/Hyaku Gelgooshiki./

"/Yeah/!"

She what?

Wait. /Seriously/?

She's seen Risa in the past. There's apprehension in her tone of voice, in her mannerisms-- small, but still there. Itzpapalotl... the kindness, the /warmth/ she just seems to exude all the time, a form of innocence beyond what Tanith and Cagalli see in Rachel's own feelings and emotions-- was she someone from "back then?"

Taking Risa's hand, Rachel still smiles. "I'm Rachel. Well... Princess Rachel, I guess. Rachel Miu Athha. You might have met my older sister, Cagalli..."

Then, she looks at Judau. She looks at him with her mouth hanging open, and she looks at him like he just said something really stupid and she can't find it in her heart or mind to find the appropriate words to say to express this. This is where that innocence /definately/ plays against her, afraid to really hurt someone's feelings.

Still, she tries to push the thought off to the side as subtlely and gently as possible. "I... I thought we were going to restore it and sell it to a collector, not paint it a crazy color..."

"Yes, Miss Sumeragi is the captain!" Risa happily chimes, nodding her head eagerly in response to Judau's inquiry. "And, uhm, well, the Gundams they use do, b-but not mine. Mine's just a regular old mobile suit--but it's a good machine! Even if...even if I am not the best pilot!" But she tries, and that matters for something, right?

"I'll get better, though!"

Looking back to Rachel, she offers a big smile and shakes the young woman's hand. Yes, Risa all but exudes an air of 'genuine sincerity' and incredible innocence. It's like she's never done a terrible thing willingly or knowingly in her life--ever. It's almost disgusting, really. But there it is.

"Nice to meet you, Miss Raelynn," Risa replies, nodding her head eagerly. "I didn't really get a chance to meet many people when I was stationed on the Argama, but I am very glad I came back for a few belongings. If I didn't I wouldn't have met you both!"

Her gaze shifts from the Princess to Judau then, her face still lit up by an incredibly cheerful smile. "And your name is Julian! Nice to meet you too!" She'll accept the offered hand, shake it a few too-happy times and then withdraw. Her expression goes from 'cheerful' to 'puzzled' really quickly.

Oh no, they're talking weird things.

That's about when Risa kind of clams up.

Raelynn? Judau looks over toward Rachel and squints, even as his hand is offered out.

"Rachel Raelynn Miu Athha?" he asks, because he assumes it is just another one of Rachel's many names. "How many middle names d'you have--"

Hand gripped.

'And your name is Julian!'

"Wh..."

His hand is shaken firmly even as geen eyes stare dumbfoundedly at Risa; so surprised is he that his signature POWER HANDSHAKE becomes more like 'a dead fish flopping around listlessly' as Risa enthusiastically whips it around.

"Uhhhh... My name's not Julian, it's Judau. You know, like... Jew-dough. It's..." He stares at Risa, smiling bright, before ultimately, he just relents. "Aaaahhhhhhhh, nevermind." His shoulders lift in a defeated shrug, right arm shifting to pop another carrot in his mouth. There's something weird about her, that he can't just place. She's as bright as the sun.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, as much as he feels like he's going to go mindblind just talking to her.

However, he has more pressing things to consider. Things of DIRE IMPORTANCE, such as the Hyaku Gelgooshiki. Such as Rachel's very obvious distaste for the idea. Dense as Judau may be, he isn't completely oblivious, especially when someone looks like they were just shot. The young man leans forward. He squints at Rachel scrutinizingly, even as she tries to explain, tries to oh-so-diplomatically turn his runaway, rampaging train of thought away from its current path. His right hand lifts--

--and he pokes Rachel right in the forehead.

"You think it's dumb, right?" he asks, pointedly, before leaning back and crossing his hands over the back of his head. "You don't gotta try an' sugarcoat things for me, Rach! If you think it's stupid just say you think it's stupid, c'mon! You don't hafta worry about hurting my feelings." A pause.

"Man, though. It sure would be awesome to put tail binders on somethin' an' paint it gold. That sorta paint reflects beams, y'know." Judau turns his gaze slowly towards Risa. Once he has achieved LOCK-ON, his brows furrow at her confused stare. Oh, right. He ought to-- "Don'tcha think?? Hey, wait -- maybe we could do it to your mech! You said you've got one, right? You'd like to have a gold suit with tail binders, wouldn't you??"

//Include her.//

Looking between Risa and Judau in confusion, her attention eventually focuses on Judau as she looks at him with raised eyebrows and the essential 'I didn't do it' face. "N-No, I don't have-- I mean, just the one-- but--"

'Julian!'

Her eyebrows scrunch a little bit as the dusky-skinned girl's trying to put things together while Judau takes the time to correctly explain his name to the newest member of Celestial Being. Before, she couldn't pronounce 'Argama' correctly, but this time she did. She couldn't remember their names right after introducing themselves? To an extent, Rachel Miu Athha knows Sumeragi Lee Noriega.

They have a mutual understanding, of a sort-- of their pasts that they're trying to put behind them. Of amends they need to make. She also knows that Sumeragi would never let a known spy or major security risk on her ship, which means this girl is either... in the best case scenario, 'terrible at remembering things,' or at the worst... someone like herself.

That makes her frown just a little bit, the worry rolling off her in mild waves--

-- then a finger jabs into her forehead.

Her eyes focus on the finger and follow it all the way to her forehead with a confused expression, though once the boy makes contact, the white-haired pilot reacts with a small flinch, eyes snapping shut for a moment and worrying that something worse was going to happen, like suddenly his finger turns out to be a micronized plasma torch or something insane that Judau would totes do.

"S-Sorry, Judau..." she says, sheepishly.

The scarred teenager turns toward Risa again and gives a small, polite smile. "I wouldn't let him modify your Mobile Suit unless Miss Sumeragi says it's okay, I wouldn't want you to get in trouble over it."

"Got it. Jesus!" Risa chimes happily, nodding her head again as she draws her arms back, returning it to support the weight of the small box in her hands. She just continues to all but merrily beam as he dismisses her UNFORTUNATE PROBLEM. That works out best for everyone in the end.

And so she watches, green eyes drifting slowly from Judau to Rachel, then back again as they converse. Eventually the Junker draws Rachel out of her mental paranoia, bringing her back with a poke to the forehead. Risa blinks once, brows lifting. Then, slowly, she squints at Judau, a deeply-thoughtful look on her face.

When addressed, Risa does not immediately reply. She still seems lost in thought, oddly staring at Judau with that same, intense expression on her face. Even Rachel's words seem to fall upon deaf ears. Only a minute later does the young Coordinator blurt out,

"Are you two dating?"

She smiles instantly after, green eyes bright as she shifts her attention in-between the two. "That's so cute!"

'Got it. Jesus!' Judau slowlty looks over toward Rachel, frowning.

"Is there, like, somethin' wrong with her brain?"

Fortunately, his wonderings are all thrown by the wayside in the wake of talk about tail binders and gold paint and Quattro Bageena's stylish lack of sleeves, which has not yet been discussed but is only an inevitability of talking about tail binders and gold paint. In fact, Judau looks like he might be on the verge of suggesting Risa rip her sleeves off as well, except--

"Aawww, c'mon, Rach! I'm sure Ms. Sparkle Burper," because that is now her name, "isn't gonna mind if I make Risa's suit even more amazing than it probably already is! I bet it'd even make those stupid dumb sparkles look cool!"

Self-assuredly, Judau pops a carrot into his mouth. There isn't even time to correct Judau about how Risa's mech doesn't have GN particles or blah blah blah before--

'Are you two dating?'

Judau's eyes widen, and he takes in a deep breath. "WE--hhhhhhhkkk!"

A deep breath that suddenly seizes up. Guacametchup dipping sauce and carrot bag go floating through zero g as Judau Ashta is suddenly gripping his fingers desperately over his throat.

And Risa Pzallon cheerfully congratulates them as Judau Ashta flails about in mid-air, face turning blue as he chokes on his (AWESOME-TASTING) carrot.

"Gggggggg--"

Looking at Judau with an awkward expression at the mention of 'Ms. Sparkle Burper,' this is one of those moments that she wishes she had more worldly experience or wit, something to reply to the name with or to make a joke of her own. At a loss and lack for words, however, Rachel's mouth simply opens, then closes before she can get a word out.

Then, Risa asks the million dollar question.

"A-- Ah-- uh--"

Rachel has enough trouble trying to understand her own feelings when Tanith's are thrown into the mix. Though she has all the problems in the world grasping the emotional side of things, she gets the terminology-- the academic-- quite easily. Still, it's easy to see her get a little flustered in that stammer. "N-No, we're-- we're ju--"

"Judau!!"

Stepping closer, her scarred left hand lifts, then swings down to clap him /hard/ across the back in the hopes of dislodging the carrot from his throat.

Fortunately for Judau, Risa doesn't hear his question; instead, she just smiles between the two, like some happy but clueless lost puppy--which is basically an apt description of the young Coordinator at this time. Even the pet name for Miss Sumeragi falls upon deaf ears--that, or Risa has no clue who he's talking about. It's quite possibly the latter of the two.

"But mine doesn't have sparkles! That's just their Gundams! I don't even have a Gundam! Haha, you're silly!" Risa protests, though her protests sound more like too-cheerful, chipper replies. This, while Judau nearly begins to die as he swallows his carrot lodges itself in his throat.

Only brief does the young woman look puzzled. Her attention looks to Rachel briefly.

"Just..? Oh, are you Jermaine's /fiance/? Oh, I am so sorry for the mistake!"

Meanwhile, Rachel is slapping Judau on the back to attempt to dislodge the carrot still haunting his throat. "Well, oh hoooo, I'll give you two the personal time you two probably want. I didn't mean to interrupt you both!" Shifting her weight, and the box in her hand, the young, freshly-recruited Celestial Being 'Meister' just beams merrily and begins to drift from the pair.

"Hey guys, I should leave. Miss Sumeragi is expecting me! Let's meet again sometime, friends!" she calls, waving an arm excitedly as she drifts toward the MS Hangar of the Argama. "A-and can I come to the wedding?? I will promise to bring a gift! Would you like a toaster??"

Before either can properly correct her, Risa has since floated around a corner.

HOW CONVENIENT.

Judau continues to claw at his throat with one hand as he pounds his chest with the other, as if tearing into his wind pipe is the medically appropriate way to cure 'lodged carrot' in a safe and healthy way. Blue shades slowly bleed into purple as the young man floats up and up and--

And then he inhales AGAIN as Risa mentions fiances. He looks like he's trying to say something, anything. Unfortunately, it all comes out as:

"Hffffsh! Chhurkrlee! HURRR--"


 * SMACK

Judau Ashta's eyes manage to somehow go even wider than they were before the exact moment Rachel's hand comes down like the hammer of the gods. The carrot is spat out half-finished as Judau is suddenly forced into a high-speed forward flip through the air from the force of the impact, looking like he's doing some incredibly bizarre, incredibly awkward zero-g acrobatics.

Which all promptly end with the striking of Judau's head against the wall with a very distinct WHUD.

"Aaawwwwww my heaaadddddd..." Judau groans as he looks blearily upward, and then remembers something. His head jerks up-- "WE'RE NOT ENGAGED OR ANYTHING YOU DIMWIT! SURE SHE'S KINDA CU--"

And then pauses as he finds himself staring at Rachel, and no one else.

"...
 * "... uh."
 * "... uh."

A long period of silence follows that is punctuated by Judau's face slowly growing more and more red. Five seconds, ten seconds, fifteen--

"Uhhh ha ha ha thanks for savin' my life we oughta get t'work on the Gelgoog sometime oh look at the time I gotta go Leina's got study hour comin' up and I'm really interested in studying an' learning stuff so later Rach--"

And he's gone.

Like a ghost.

A ghost that comes back five seconds later to get his bag of carrots, and his dip, before pushing off again as fast as possible.

"L-LATER!"

/Fiance/?

/Wedding/?

... ///TOASTER///?

Rachel's jaw is absolutely hanging right now. Her attention turns when Judau makes impact with the wall, and then she realizes that she might've used a little too much force-- and is pretty sure Judau never realized how physically strong she actually is, with a sting of worry-- and brings her hands up over her open mouth in dismay for his situation.

Then /he/ starts yelling.

"WH--"

Her hands fall from her face, but remain in front of her in that cupped position while for a moment; it looks like the dusky-skinned Princess is somehow going to turn as white as a sheet before a bit of red flushes through her face and her hands ball up into little fists, and and and--

"W... WHAT?!"

Rachel exclaims, briefly unaware of the fact that she's the last person standing there in the room, sending a shockwave of embarassment /through the entire ship at once/.