2328/A Wo-nderful Meeting

A Wo-nderful Meeting
Date of Scene:	26 May 2015
Location:	Boston-666
Synopsis:	Wo starts her vacation in Boston-666. She meets up with Psyber and a few of the Fleet Daughters. A special present causes Wo to react in an unexpected way.
Cast of Characters:	253, Wo, 637

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Wo has posed:
    'We're weapons.' 'We can never know peace.' Those weren't the exact words Samar had said, all those months ago, that somehow seems even longer a span of time than it truly has been. They remain close enough, however, and in the back of the mind of the Wo-class aircraft carrier. It's like that song that you catch yourself humming, before you realize it. It would be an easy truth to accept...except, then, why are they able to interact with the surface people? Why are some so accepting? And why, most of all, has she gotten tired of it all, if only for a time. These are the kinds of questions she mulls over, as she awakens in a three-star hotel room, bolting upright in an instant switch from resting and awake, before reaching up a hand to palm at her face. Ungloved, for once. The inconsistencies have begun to pile up, but where is she going to find those answers?

    A knock on the door of the room, which she'd rented herself like a responsible surface dweller would, brings her out of her thoughts, standing up from the firm bed to pace over to the door. "Who...is it," she wonders, with a trace of caution leaking into her reverbed, near-monotone? "Cleaning," comes a noticably more human reply, one that is obviously uninterested in more than the basic interaction. Opening the door, the cleaning lady prepares to change the sheets and do the usual routine, but instead her frown deepens at the wet spots on the carpet. Nothing she hasn't seen before, though, considering after the pause she steps on in. Wo watches her for a few moments, before putting on the rest of her own 'civilian' set, without any heed. It was much like Psyber would have seen her in before. Her full size flight deck will be left to bother the cleaning staff.

    Psyber would have been notified that she was going to be taking her leave here ahead of time, as well as where she would be staying, but she hadn't made any specific plans, other than that. That was apparently the point of surface people taking these things they call vacations, after all. She wasn't even completely certain that he wouldn't be busy with something else. Regardless, she steps out of the front doors, tugging on her gloves, then shading her teal green eyes with a hand. The broad daylight is so different than the restful deep.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber was already waiting for Wo outside of her hotel's front doors. He's leaning against the roof of a car (probably not his own. It looks like an economy car) and playing with the phone in his hand as he uses some messenger client or another. He yawns a bit, a hand coming up in front of his mouth as he does so. Eventually, after typing in some message or another, he looks up.

    "So. First long term stay in the city? You know the front desk of your hotel will have some sight-seeing pamphlets and all that so you know where to go to see all the cool stuff," Psyber says, thinking on it, "Plus I think there's a crab festival later this week, but don't hold me to that. I don't much make appearances at those," As a local celebrity, stopping in at any Boston function was hectic at best for Psyber.

    Psyber's outfit is different, mostly because he lacks his long coat while Boston gives way into spring and summer. Instead, he's dressed more like one would expect an off-duty cop to be. Jeans, sneakers, black t-shirt, short black coat with a holster under it, "How're you liking the city, Wo?"

Kongou (637) has posed:
    Meanwhile, elsewhere in Boston, a silver-haired girl in green and her dour, raven-haired companion stand on a street corner. The smaller of the two (though it's an awful close measurement) holds a couple of flat boxes in both arms, while the taller with the silver hair consults a map of the city with a little frown.

    "I could have sworn we were going to Walnut," Zuihou puzzles to herself, "But this is Birch." She turns around, examining signs, "Isn't that 16th Street? But that's way on the other side of town from where we were going..!"

    "...Scout plane," Hayashimo murmurs quietly.

    "...Of course!" Zuihou flickers as her rigging appears around her hips and shoulder and she fires off a rapid transmission. A few minutes later, she unslings her bow and draws an arrow.

    That was half an hour ago.

    A few minutes after Wo and Psyber meet up, a light buzzing noise makes itself known over the regular sounds of traffic and cursing that is the sound of Boston's streets. Moments later, a small green aircraft with yellow markings flies down the street, a dozen meters or so off the ground to clear any big trucks or power lines. Clearly a scout plane with no armament, it banks sharply at the next intersection and makes another pass, dipping its wings to display its identifying markings as a part of Zuihou's personal air group.

    Looks like she got permission for an unarmed aircraft. Who needs GPS?

Wo has posed:
    How long had he been waiting there? There's the subtlest trace of a start to the carrier, as Psyber speaks up, right about the time her vision clears from her eyes adjusting to the light outside. She doesn't seem frightened, just caugh unaware. "Psyber..." Her head cranes around at an awkward angle to look back towards the hotel lobby, which proudly proclaims its air conditioning and cable in every room with signage out front. "Tour-ism," she mumbles thoughtfully, having apparently picked up some surface dweller terms for things since they'd gotten a chance to speak last. Turning back around to face Psyber, as well as step up to him, she gives a lightly disapproving sound, "No... Those sorts, of things. Too..." She pauses and visibly strains for a word, with a few false starts before eventually settling on something that's close enough, "Pre-fab-ricated." If she's to get the most out of her visit, she wants to see things that aren't on the gaudy green street maps.

    Her eyes travel next to the car Psyber was leaning against, oddly enough, and stay fixed on it for a perhaps unusual amount of time, given how otherwise unremarkable it is. Her mind briefly wanders to the ones she'd seen zipping around, and possibly been honked at by, as she gives it a pat with a gloved hand, and proclaims it, "A nice, land-ship. Is this...yours?" Monetary values, and Psyber's take on them, aren't something she really knows about. To an earlier question, her mouth quirks, perhaps trying to smile, but still unable, "It is... Re-laxing. It's been, so bu-sy, lately." As he certainly would have seen from the reports.

    She's soon distracted by buzzing. The almost hilariously tiny guns on the lighter version of her hat swivel skyward on reflex, as her eyebrows furrow...but she soon sees what sort it is, as well as easily guessing whom it belongs to, given where they are. She also, after a moment, nervously lowers a hand she had suddenly thrust in Psyber's direction, at the sound of an incoming aircraft. Had she intended to push him out of the way or something? "...we've been, discovered," she says, softly echoing, and rather anti-climactic.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber looks at the car he's leaning on, "No, not mine. And it's actually called a car. I tend to drive more uh... muscle-car stuff," He thinks about it, "You'll know my kind of car when you see it." He takes out his phone and holds it out to her. One of his cars is on the screen, a black 1970 Pontiac GTO.

    "I agree, though. Pre-planned tourism is too hokey. You should pick your own sights you wanna see and head that way, figure out where to view and all that junk," Psyber notes, smiling a bit and turning his phone around to type on it some more. When the phone goes back in his pocket, he reaches behind him and takes a paper bag off the hood, "Brought you a bite. It's a bacon cheeseburger with aluminum foil instead of lettuce." He's still trying to slow-roll her towards human food.

    He looks up to spot the plan and says, "Ah. I guess the faeries will report in and they'll catch up pretty soon."

Kongou (637) has posed:
    The Saiun levels out and starts a somewhat elliptical circling pattern, using the opposing intersections for the space it needs to turn around, and generally making some noise but not causing any trouble. A few tourists take pictures of it, thinking its some kind of model air show or something. Just adding to the fakeness of Boston's manufactured 'sights to see'.

    It's some time before the girl the plane belongs to shows up. Zuihou rounds a street corner one block down and trots along the sidewalk, with Hayashimo scurrying along behind her with her cargo. When they come to the intersection, though, they stop to wait for the signal. Too far out to talk just yet, Zuihou raises a hand to wave to Psyber and his newest companion.

    Conspicuously, Hayashimo disappears behind the carrier almost completely, just the tips of her hair visible when the wind catches her. That girl's pretty good at remaining unseen, isn't she? Or is it just because she's so small.

Wo has posed:
    She'd been so cool, when she'd told Kuma that they'd meet in Boston. Yet, in reality, it's only been a few days. While she remains stable in her standing, a light shudder rattles across her frame, as she reaches the previously extended hand up to rub lightly at her forehead. As much as it might be uncomfortable, though, this is another part of the neutral ground agreement. It's even more those fleet daughters' home than it is hers. "Yes," she confirms, with little room for error. The display by the fairy pilot left no doubt, as well as the fact that it is soon circling about the area. She'll just have to take a few moments to prepare herself mentally for their arrival.

    Until then, she's looking at the image on Psyber's phone, and then thinking about it once he puts it away. "Car. Yes," she ably allows herself to be corrected on the terminology. While they're intended for different things, machine knows machine well enough for her to note the difference, as well as comment about it, "Power plant...much larger. Faster." She finally lets her hand lapse to her side, as she seems to relax, though it soon gathers up what Psyber had offered. Her lean fingers slide and lift through each layer as though it were a stack of cards in a rolodex. What passes for an expression on her face makes it clear that it's not out of distrust, but more curiosity. "Hmmm.." She visibly shifts again, as she tries another unfamiliar surface convention - the compliment, "You are - very thought-ful, Psyber."

    The miniature hat, while not quite as extensive as her full-size one, nonetheless retains its ability to emote effectively, perhaps ironically better than its wearer. At the burger, especially the aluminum, its smaller, flipper-like tendrils flap excitedly, in a 'gimme' manner. Unfortunately, it lacks the apparatus to eat, on its own, unlike its larger counterpart, so Wo has to heed its whims with her own mouth. Opening her mouth wider, and giving a rare glimpse of her elongate canines, she effectively takes a bit out of the whole thing. Pausing to consider the texture, she talks as she chews, unapologetically, which makes her usual tone a bit warbly, "Yes.. The real - Bos-ton. I'd like...to see it." No matter how rude and crude it gets.

    Swallowing, her eyes swivel to the immediate distance. The light carrier is conspicuous enough, but the one accompanying her does not escape her notice, despite minimizing her radar profile. "They're here," she says, passing the burger with a bite taken out of it up to her hat to hold, as she begins taking some steps forward, to meet them halfway. She hesitates, as though realizing something, and glances down at her hands as though she'd just noticed she had them, and then returns the gesture, lifting - and waving. "Wo, wo," she calls, though it likely gets washed out a good deal by the sounds of traffic.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Engine, but yeah. It's higher performance than a car like this," Psyber says with happy tone. More than happy to encourage Wo in her ever-going journey to learn new surface terms and proper interaction. The phone is twirled in his hand in an absent-minded fashion, as if he's trying to resist any of the other vices he engages in when he feels awkward or stressed out.

    "Oh, aheh. Thanks," He says in regards to the comment about being thoughtful, "I figured rather than expect you to like surface food, I'd try to make surface food slowly become more appealing till you can try both. I'm glad to see that it's working at all," He replies, hands clutching the phone and stuffing it into a pocket. When she branches into the 'Wo, wo', Psyber seems to pick up on it.

    The couple times he's seen her do it, he knows it means she's either anxious, nervous, embarassed or stressed. All of these are negative emotions, so his response is to extend one of his hands and pat her on the shoulder, "It'll be alright. Neutral territory, none of them will do anything besides try to socialize with you, I promise."

    He might be way off on picking up the social cue, but it's the one he guesses at. Towards the approaching Fleet Daughters, though, Psyber waves a hand and gives a chipper smile.

Kongou (637) has posed:
    When the signal changes, Zuihou lowers her waving arm and raises her opposite, displaying her flight deck. On cue, the Saiun dips its wings and descends, deploying landing gear. Only once the plane has touched down and caught her arresting cable does the girl lower her arm and cross the street, converting the plane back into an arrow as she moves and tucking it away. Once done, her rigging vanishes back whence it came, leaving an normal girl in abnormal clothing.

    "Mister Psyber, you found miss Wo-class way before we did!" She sounds chipper as ever, the easygoing light carrier of the Fourth Mobile Unit. She bows to the angel, briefly exposing the destroyer still hiding behind her, "And hello, miss Wo-class!" A second bow. This time, Hayashimo's caught on that she's been revealed, single eye widening and her posture straightening right before Zuihou obscures her again.

    "We wanted to welcome you to Boston too!"

    Slowly, Hayashimo peeks just so much around Zuihou's arm. Just enough to see the (to her) towering standard carrier. And then she retreats again.

Wo has posed:
    Normally, she wouldn't be nervous. It's hard for her to pinpoint why she is, to begin with. Maybe it's related to her strange feelings while withholding information from Wake. Though, she dismisses it as battle fatigue, the supportive pat from Psyber at first causing her to tense, but then her posture appears to relax, at least a few degrees. "Wo..," she mumbles, one last time, reaching up to tug at her hat as though it might regain her composure, as well as to retrieve the burger. "You're...right," she responds to Psyber, half-turning her head to stare him in the eyes, briefly. "I sup-pose, it's just - hard to, relax. After...every-thing." They were certainly still the enemy, but here they were young girls with circumstances not dissimilar to her own. She takes a deep breath...

    "Zui-hou," she says, remembering the name. It's not quite as melodic to her as the name the Ko-class had adopted for surface interactions, but it suits her slightly shorter counterpart well. To the notion of Psyber being a better scout, she is quickly deflecting of it, giving a light shake of her head, "No - your plane's per-formance, was...well-tuned. But... This is, Psy-ber's, city." Even if it is their neutral meeting grounds, he still has a distinct advantage in navigating it. Plus, she allows, reaching up to adjust her hat again, while speaking around another bite of the burger, "I had...also, in-formed him. Of this - place." A subtly meaningful glance is given to the hotel, before her mouth twitches, perhaps still giving her best effort to return Zuihou's smiles. "I..app-reciate it. ...I know, things are - strained, right now."

    She's lifts the burger up again, about to finish it completely off from its (imaginary) red condition sticker, when with Zuihou's cheerful shifts in position, her eyes fixate on Hayashimo, and she appears to freeze in place. She goes ahead and takes the bite she had intended to, but everything seems like someone had hit the 'two-hundred percent slower' button, somewhere. It ends with a look of subtle, glowing recognition -- perhaps it's best that the girl is avoiding her, before fading into her usual expression. "Wo? The girl...back there. What is, your name?" There's nothing accusing about her tone, at least.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber laughs and echoes the rough sentiment that Wo conveys, "Over the years, I've been able to set it up so that there's very little that happens in Boston, particularly with regards to the paranormal, without my at least passing knowledge," He notes this with a joking tone to his voice, suggesting it to mostly be humor. Despite this, somewhere, across town, a small devil-blooded child picks up a candy bar from a shelf. His mom takes it out of his hands and chides that kids who shoplift get taken by Psyber. He promises to be good.

    "And mm, I can understand how recent events would stress you out. And stress relations. That's part of why I think a place like this is so immensely important," He waves around a bit as he addresses both parties in regards to this sentiment, "If the Fleet Daughters and the Abyssals want to eventually reach understanding, there needs to be a place where they don't fight and they can communicate." He places his hands in his pockets after his impromptu speech.

    "Ah, but anyway..." He kind of trails off. He hadn't meant Hayashimo personally, only heard about her. And briefly talked to her, but that was fleeting (Haha, ship puns). So he mostly regards her with a curious glance.

Kongou (637) has posed:
    "Eh hee~," Zuihou reaches up, rubbing the back of her head, "Yeah, you've got a point! Mister Psyber, you're pretty amazing, aren't you?" She lets it slide that Wo had already told him where she was anyway, negating any need for a search to begin with. On the subject of strained relations from both angel and carrier, Zuihou lowers her hand, "Mm~... Yeah, so we've had a few sorties. But just because we believe different things doesn't mean we have to hate each other, right? We fight on the sea but off the sea is different, that's how I see it."

    When Wo draws attention to the girl behind the carrier, Zuihou glances over her shoulder, "Neh? H-hey, why are you hiding! Come out and meet miss Wo-class and mister Psyber!"

    "No."

    The carrier turns around and reaches, and there's a bit of a scuffle, before she pulls the smaller girl around and plants her on the sidewalk in front of her. Like this, Zuihou's presence forms a barrier that blocks the raven-haired girl's escape.

    "U-uhm..." Still clutching those two boxes, the girl recognizes she's been defeated, though she looks down and away, shrinking, "...Yuugumo-class. ...Hayashimo."

    "Please excuse her!" Zuihou pipes up, "She's shy around new people, but she's really nice."

Wo has posed:
    As much as she might want to say what is truly on her mind, as of late, the trust still isn't quite there, yet. Psyber is jovial, and likely the surface person she feels she could confide in the most - but the anchors are sunk in deep. She will instead let it go at the surface, and let the assumptions only be reinforced, with a slight, agreeable nod of her head, despite a shift in her cheek indicating, to those versed in her body language, that she's likely holding something back. "The isolated...base," she nonetheless confides, distilling complicated feelings into something easier to digest and less revealing, "Was not - my fav-orite place." Her eyes her stare down of Hayashimo, giving a brief reprieve, to look at Psyber, and then around the city. "It is...nice, to have - this place. Away, from the fight-ing. But... The voices, of my sis-ters...never stay, quiet. For long."

    Hayashimo would know all about that, wouldn't she? The destroyer has the abyssal's attention again. The outright refusal to come out from hiding doesn't seem to offend her, instead her head tilts to the side, curiously, with one of the hat's tendrils now hanging lower than the other. "Well, if she -- doesn't..." She was about to dismiss it, but Zuihou just won't have any of it, Wo's eyes blinking as the light carrier displays her true strength when her whims are fought against. Definitely, not an older sister to be trifled with. "Haya-shimo, I see..." Yes, 'new people'. Getting an even better look at her, there's a feeling that confirms what Wo had already suspected. The young girl might be able to read this even beyond her mask-like expression. Though, after a few more moments in the glaring spotlight, she softens again, and says almost dismissively, "Don't be...hard on her, about it. I am - the enemy, after all."

    Adjusting her gloves, and pulling them taut, her mind finally wanders back to nicer things, like vacation. "Psy-ber," she addresses, "I have heard - of a, game. Sports, the surface dwellers..play. They hit - a ball, with - a stick. I should..like, to see this game." It appeals to her ballistic sensibilities. Her eyes wander to Zuihou and her shy friend, as well, "You - should also, see."

Psyber (253) has posed:
    Psyber raises a hand and waves to Hayashimo again, "Heyo. Nice to meet you. I'm Psyber," The half-angel introduces himself. He gives a faint smile and then lets his hand fall to his side.

    Almost imperceptably his face tightens, then he says to Wo, "What do they say, Wo? Your sisters, that is. What do they ask for?" He seems to show serious concern at this, squinting at the carrier girl for a long few moments. This breaks, though, at her request.

    "Oh, baseball? Yeah, sure, I can do that," He tilts his head to the side and thinks, "There might be a game this week. Or on Monday. I don't know."

Kongou (637) has posed:
    "...Ah." Hayashimo dips her head in a slight bow towards Psyber. She can't do it properly due to her parcels, "..Thank you for your hospitality." Her eye wanders towards Wo again, then she looks down at the boxes in her hands, hesitant and pensive all at once. It's Zuihou that speaks up next.

    "Ah, baseball!" Zuihou claps her hands, "That's become popular in Japan, too. I'd like to see a game played in America, it sounds fun!" She pushes Hayashimo along, keeping the destroyer in front of her now to join the taller pair.

    Hayashimo almost looks ... ashamed. Though the emotions swirling around in her head are more confused than anything. For some reason this enemy--who looks pretty much like the others of her type--feels very familiar and she cannot place why. Trotting silently along beside and somewhat in front of Zuihou, her head still dipped low, she murmurs, "...You are the enemy. ...But. ...I don't hate you."

    "Speaking of islands, though, miss Wo class, was it you who was in that battle?" Zuihou leans forward past Hayashimo, "We did a little looking around after the battle and I think I found some things that belong to you, so I wanted to give them back." Eyes closing with a smile, she nudges Hayashimo, who starts and then fumbles, holding up the topmost of the two boxes she carries.

    "...We couldn't...um...fix this one. ...But maybe you can."

Wo has posed:
    It's Psyber's suddenly serious question that gets Wo's response, first, before they can discuss any baseball plans. It actually catches her a little off-guard, as she often forgets that what is normal for her, isn't for most everyone else, especially not the surface dwellers. Her lips, normally inexpressive, twist slightly, as though she were trying to get a grasp on how to articulate it. "The voi-ces..? Sisters...are in pain. A-fraid. Ang-ry. There is, not one - reason." While her voice had managed to sound almost sociable, a few moments ago, grows cold again as she glances distantly into space, "I can...calm them. Some-times. I was, also like that. ...once. There are...no words, a surface person. Could under-stand. And yet - they speak." She visibly trembles, but not out of fear, but an intense sadness as she recounts this. She gives a shake of her head, and changes the immediate subject, "Any day - is fine. ...no real, plans."

    Hayashimo and Zuihou receive her attention, now that they have fully closed the distance. They are beings that are essentially the same, so why must they feel so alien to her? Curiously, it is the destroyer girl's words that capture Wo's imagination the most, immediately, and she looks intensely curious, within the framework of her muted expressions. "You..don't? But..." Her mouth hangs slack for a few moments, mid-sentence-forming, before she shifts gears to try and deflect things away, "I have...sunken, ma-ny, you know. ...you should not, be...that fast, to for-give it." Somehow, her words are serious, even if it'd be obvious from the outside that it's a diversionary tactic, on her part.

    Assuming she hasn't sent Hayashimo scrambling again, she blinks her subtly glowing eyes at the packages. With 'Al's Specialty Burger' completely consumed ahead of time - including the wrapper, if there was one - it leaves her hands free to accept them, even if she's not certain what reason they would have to deliver things to her. "Wo," she wonders, in for once obvious disarmed confusion? Her mind thinks back to the aftermath of the battle, and rewinds to the preparation before. ...her planes that she had intended to come back for? She opens the first box. Psyber would see that it's a mostly-assembled Abyssal fighter. The Wo-class carrier looks puzzled, "You... Brought that back, to give it...to - me?"

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "I see. And if you can understand them, it is your duty to listen," Psyber adds, thinking the matter over as he scratches at the back of his head in thought. It's a hard feeling for him to articulate as well, but he can empathize with Wo in some capacity due to his nature as a Guardian and protector. He takes a slow sigh and then shrugs a bit. Out of habit, Psyber puts a cigarette in his mouth and lights it.

    This causes Wo to get her first true taste of Boston. Because as Psyber exhales smoke, a guy stops and yells at Psyber, "'ey! The fahk you doin'? Don't give me lung cancer just because you need a smoke. Friggin' douche."

    Psyber shouts back at the guy, "Don't you fahkin lecture me on what to do. I don't go where to you work and slap the broom out of your hand ya piece of shit. Friggin' stop on the street talkin to people, why don't you just keep walkin'?"

    Beyond this, there's not a terrible amount for him to contribute. He pats Wo on the shoulder a couple times as he watches her open boxes with gifts.

Kongou (637) has posed:
    "Mm~..." Zuihou nods once in understanding as she listens to the discussion about the voices that only Wo can hear. The voices of her sisters, the destroyers and cruisers who cannot themselves speak in words that Zuihou could hear. Psyber expresses what she's feeling, and in turn she leans forward with a nod, "I think I understand! Someone has to bring their voices to others, right?"

    When a passerby starts cursing Psyber out, Zuihou reaches up and covers Hayashimo's ears, a placid smile on her face. The whole motion is almost... practiced. Perhaps she's had to do this more than once already today. "Ah, Mister Psyber, it's almost like a whole different language, isn't it? You're full of surprises!"

    When Wo opens up her fighter, Zuihou nods, "If it's not yours, can you give it back to the carrier it belongs to?" She nudges Hayashimo, who holds out the second parcel, "And this one, too! I think this one is a bit more precious than that one, so please take very good care of it."

Wo has posed:
    Briefly turning back to the most serious topic, the Wo-class looks thoughtful of both Psyber and Zuihou's thoughts, on their situation. It is a complicated matter, with what is likely hundreds of voices to filter at times, a small mercy being that those farther away are less intense. "...they each want, peace," she finally says, summing things up. "I in-tend, to help...each, and every, last one. Find, their peace." She often gets so wrapped up in this, that she neglects her own inner voices. What was it that she wanted, and why did she keep coming back, when she could have stay sunk forever? Unspoken, but perhaps readable in her eyes, which while blank and pool-like as ever, somehow stare into the box before lifting out the half-finished plane. It is completely harmless like this, its black shell glimmering in the light. Tinkering with her plane's performance, to bring out their best - that is also a carrier's duty.

    She glances up from her distraction, as Psyber and the passerby have an exchange. She stares for a good few moments, before tiltering her head to the side. Her head then cants forward, and for the briefest of moments, something like a choked bit of laughter actually sound like it's coming from her. It certainly couldn't have been, though, and she quickly excuses it, "Sorry.. Not used - to surface, smoke stacks." What was that weird sensation, though. Had she actually found the exchange, as the word Samar had once used, amusing? She quickly advances on, hopefully before anyone can ask any uncomfortable questions.

    "It is...mine," she confirms, now that she's gotten a good look at it. There might be no visible markings, but she has a certain connection with it, as it is her own creation. "I was...at the base, yes. ...gave, the last - order. Surprised, anything - survived." She turns the plane around in her hands, before passing it up to her hat to hold on to. It seems to puzzle over it for a moment, before lifting its body up and settling on keeping it beneath itself. The second parcel receives similar consideration as the first; a curious glance, but slightly less so than the first, as she assumes it will be another partially completed abyssal fighter. There is no ceremony to her undoing the top, as she accepts it from Hayashimo.

    Perhaps a forboding music should have keyed up, though, as once she lifts the top off, her body seizes up completely. Have you ever wondered if abyssal ships sweat? Because some manages to bead up around her frozen expression. Inside the box is a small but scale sized Grumman F4F, mostly completed but, as Zuihou would know, non-functional for a fleet daughter's purposes, still. A fairy, perhaps having formed in the box alongside it from having been in proximity to the fleet daughters, looks up and smiles, waving while holding a hamburger. Unfortunately, Wo won't be able to follow Zuihou's request, this time, as her hands shake and drop the box - thankfully packaged well enough to prevent damage, but the fairy goes tumbling out from the momentum.

    If her skin weren't already practically pure white, it would have faded several shades. "Wh-where did you..." That's right, she had made that. She'd pushed it into that dark corner, intending never to see it again. Her hat falls off from the recoil of her clutching her head, and her normally soft tone gives way to a howl of pain, as disparate images flash in her head, something that hasn't happened in her waking hours in quite some time.

    "I can...still," she sobs, showing more emotion in the short, pained burst than she has to any surface dwellers before, "Stop, I'm... Why are they -- torpedoes..." The strain seems like it was a little much, as she suddenly begins listing, and falls forward, soon to join the box if not caught mid-way. Zuihou couldn't have sunk her more assuredly if she'd actually tried to.

Psyber (253) has posed:
    "Aheh," Psyber laughs awkwardly, returning to his normal demeanor right after, "It's just... something you pick up living in the city," He replies to Zuihou with an awkward sort of smile and a sheepish rubbing of the back of his head with his free hand. He tries to play off the slip of attitude, waving it off. Though he does note that it seems to have amused the Wo-Class, which is good to remember for later.

    That reaction changes once Wo receives some sort of reaction from one of Zuihou's presence, "Wo?!" Psyber says urgently, calling out her name as she clutchers her head and seems to be in intense pain from that gift in the box. The half-angel looks to Zuihou and Hayashimo, "What's going on?! What happened?"

    As she lists forward, Psyber moves to put both arms under her stomach and catch her, trying to hold the ship upright and steady as he says, "Wo, just take some deep breaths. We're here, it's okay."

    Is she having a PTSD flashback?

Kongou (637) has posed:
    "Ah, okay," Zuihou nods once, "I wasn't sure, there are lots of other Wo class carriers too. But I don't think I've seen that kind of plane with the Nu class girls." She folds her hands, eyes closed with her smile, "There wasn't much, but the room these were in hadn't been destroyed." When the second box is opened, the carrier's smile widens, "It looked so great, I wanted to keep it, but I knew I should give it back to you!"

    "...Miss Wo-class?" The lack of a response prompts Zuihou's eyes to open, "...Torpedos--" The smile disappears and she reaches when Wo collapses, though Psyber gets there first, "Wha--!? Miss Wo?!" The silver-haired girl starts fretting, not sure what to do with her hands while stepping back and forth in confusion, "I didn't do anything, I didn't do anything!"

    Hayashimo's demeanor, remarkably, does not change. She watches with that dim look in her eyes when the woman strains and then faints, though she reaches for the box when it's dropped without the speed to catch it. The destroyer pauses, perplexed, then reaches down to collect the fairy by the collar of her little bomber jacket and lift her up to eye level, "...Where... did you come from..?"

    Her face now wearing a small frown, Hayashimo pulls the box containing the Wildcat closer, then deposits the fairy inside. She lifts the box, cradling it to herself gingerly. Single eye lowering to Wo, she murmurs, "...Old wounds. ...This... ...In another life, it was hers." Looking down further to the aircraft in her arms, Hayashimo adds, " ...I'm sorry. ...She was not ready. ...for the memories."

    Meanwhile Zuihou is starting to lose her mind, "I broke the friendly Wo! I didn't mean to..!"

Wo has posed:
    Though she had completely collapsed, some part of her remains conscious, in that twilight sort of way. Psyber's words, Zuihou's panic and even Hayashimo's spot-on explanations filter into her ears, even if it's all muddled and still mixing in with memories, vibrant, but still playing back like a poorly spliced back together film reel. 'That was mine,' she thinks? 'I...still don't... Re-member. But...why did, I react. So strongly.' These images still belonged to her, somehow, she realized. Yet, something was holding her back.

    All the while, her eyes had remained open, though more unfocused than usual. There's no real heartbeat to tell whether she's alright or not, in that capacity. Thankfully for Psyber, and perhaps the hysterical Zuihou, she lets out a light groan shortly after, more from her throat than her lips. A blink of her eyes soon follows, but considering how physically strong she usually is, she even feels a bit weak and flimsy in Psyber's grasp. "...I..." The words come even more difficult for her now, but at least she's speaking, "...tow me..back. ...for now. Sor-ry, to have, worried you."

    She's pointedly avoiding staring at much of anything, instead allowing her eyes to lapse closed, as she seems to fall into what for her kind must be a more restful doze. There doesn't seem to be any actual breathing to deepen, however.