Scene #8900: Pikmin Camping Trip

Owner	Pose
Aidan Proudpick	The ground just outside the Warpgate is a packed dirt, unusually rocky with tiny monochrome boulders, polygonal almost. Despite the report of the signal being in the middle of a forest, the ground warps and buckles every dozen yards. Dunes of packed dirt form. Great cliffs of sand loom with distressing number. Thin but deep crevaces gouge the land. Rivers trickle here and there, seeming to answer to no rhyme or reason. Great green monoliths, almost completely flat, stretch up to the sky where their viciously jagged edges taper to a point. Despite their rigged lines and sturdy exteriors, they blow gently in the breeze, tips curling as they sway. Great thin tubules of green burst out of the ground, stretching even higher into the blue abyss above, topped with enormous floral suns. Each base is ringed with sharp vicious looking green blades, curled and pointed in such a way to demand respect from any that would come for it. Great canopies of green burst from the ground, held aloft by almost troublingly thin tubules, wide planes that could fall at any moment. Shocks of red, purple, and yellow stand on display in the air like permanent fireworks. And out in the distance, the shuffling of feet, the shift of foliage. A short distance from the Warpgate, an ovoid object stretches, coming to a tip, a decorative knob at the end, perhaps to punch the face of God with. A rocket ship. The kind you might see in a Duck Dodgers cartoon. Aidan, for his part, is touching everything. Feeling the ridges of flat monolith, struggling to bend it and failing. Pressing his fingers along each cliffside. He has, at some point, even found a cool stick! A bent dried tree root that has a bit of a lightning bolt shape. Without the radio on, Aidan takes his pleasure in mundane things. Like having a cool stick, a wrench in his belt, wearing shorts and a loose shirt, and a hemp sack full of seed cakes and reusuable cooler bag of beer. A simple rescue mission. An exciting world to see. The clearing itself, in the distance, also contains a strange tripod contraption the size of a water tower, under which stand a few dozen odd little humanoid shapes. They are eerily still, only their large eyes blinking, each one of the primary colors.
Kale Hearthward	Kale got the mission alert. But Kale's not here. Hazelthistle, Kale's combination medic, engineer, second-in-command, and court jester, is here instead. "Aidan, you're-" The mouse moves a bit more towards him. "You shouldn't be touching everything like that," she says. "Do we even know what this is? Is this an archaeological site? Something modern?" She glances over towards the clearing. Alien wildlife. Carefully, she clicks her heels together, priming but not yet activating her jet boots. "... And... what are those?"
Sarracenia	This is...certainly an odd place. Sarra has come along, though she is unusually quiet. Something that was said on the radio last night really got to her, and she is having trouble with it. She isn't feeling of everything like Aidan is, but she is at least looking around. With a very neutral expression. In addition to her internal thoughts, she sees huge plants on a daily basis. The mouse is someone she is not familiar with, and she offers a light curtsey in greeting. The strange creatures beneath the water tower thing draw her attention at least. "Yes...what are those?" she wonders in agreement with Hazelthistle. The princess has a new accessory today, too. A shiny metal flower with a rusty red color to it. It is almost the color of her hair. And is pinned in her hair with a similarly colored beret.
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan doesn't listen to the radio. He truly has no idea. So when he looks at Sarracenia, he just has his normal warm expression on his face. "I'm glad you came with us! I think we can all use a little small job, right? Oh! Sorry. Sarracenia, this is Hazelthistle, she's one of the smartest engineers I know. Hazelthistle, this is Princess Sarracenia Sundew of the Sundew Kingdom, the bravest princess I know!" "You shouldn't be touching everything like that." Aidan blinks, pulling his hand off with the sort of speed that only comes with an implicit trust. "Oh!" He flicks it twice, looking at his hand to inspect it for any sort of poison residue. "Is it dangerous?" He moves up towards the edge of the clearing as Hazelthistle does, focusing in the distance on the small guys, "They are kinda..." A scratch on his cheek, "A little bit creepy." But he's quick to look up excitedly at the rocket, "What's that? It looks like a-" Stop. Brain correct. "Sweet potato." The rocket itself looks like it came out of a museum, a faded red and white, rusted and long over due for retirement, like a playground slide that has not been replaced since 1970. As soon as the group gets too close, of which is probably Aidan first, the flock of creatures all turn in unison to focus on them. Once the group has moved just far enough into the clearing, a loud speaker on the top of the rocket suddenly comes to life. "You there! You have been conscripted by the Hocotate Freight company! Our pilots are in critical stasis, and it is wasting precious company resources." Aidan pipes up, "Hey! I'm Aidan and this i-" "You are to immediately help by collecting resources over the planet, or you will be charged!" "We did come to h-" "Inside the rocket, you will find the supplies to retrieve the necessary items! Losing those supplies will incur a fine." "Okay, bu-" "There is a communication device within so you can remain in contact with us at all times." "Ok-" "All answers are on the communication device and equipment, begin immediately, you are burning daylight." "Hello?" The rocketship responds by opening near the bottom and sliding out a long metal gangplank that hits the ground. The little creatures stay unmoving.
Kale Hearthward	"Hi, Hazelthistle, East Wind Disaster Response Team," says Hazelthistle. "And good, you're here too, Princess. I actually need to talk to you both about-" She gets cut off by the rocket speaking up. She waits patiently till it's finished. "Hocotate freight..." "Well, I don't know about the legalities of conscripting foreign personnel, but if there's answers inside, might as well take a look. Just keep the entrance clear, please." She goes on inside to check things over.
Sarracenia	Sarracenia's expression softens somewhat when Aidan introduces her as the bravest princess he knows. And the warm expression helps. Of course, he could be playing her... Hazelthistle speaks to her, and Sarra looks a bit confused. "To me? What is a Hocotate freight?" Her expression turns to a true if slight frown when the rocket rather rudely orders them to help or be charged. She is pretty fed up with robots charging her when she is just trying to help people. "...I am in a smashy mood. Can I just smash it?" she says to the others. With HT heading inside, Sarra waits outside. And stares at the creatures. "...is this your rocket? If so it really need some better manners."
Aidan Proudpick	Just keep the entrance clear, please." "On it!" Aidan carefully sidles around the strange little people, who keep watching like some sort of Haunted Mansion amusement from 1970, always sliding around to look at one person or another. Aidan finds a particularly flat rock to put his hemp sack on and open it up, flattening it out. He lifts a cooler bag out, which clinks with the beer bottles within. "Sorry, wasn't sure the best thing to get for ya, Sarracenia. It felt weird bringing wine and I ain't any good at knowing the good stuff. You probably got a fancy palette. Us rural folk got simple tastes." He sets out several bottles. A few of the 'tavern swill' that he is fond of; sour, hoppy, weak, the kind of stuff you can drink an entire mug at the end of the day and not get more than a slight buzz. And one or two microbrews. Seedcakes, and a little vegan cake. "...is this your rocket? If so it really need some better manners." As Sarracenia directly addresses them, the creatures, their heads about to chin level, with their flowers to the top of Sarra's head, suddenly all flock over. About thirty of the creatures form a circle around her, looking up at her with those large expectant eyes, none of them make a single noise. They also have no sense of personal space, being only about a foot away from Sarracenia's legs. The inside of the ship is equally outdated, if you can tell what outdated is on a rocket ship. Yellowed plastic covers dials that sway back and forth, perhaps unnecessarily. The ground is uneven, plates of metal popping up from the floor. A refridgerator marked 'Health Stasis Pod' sits in one corner of the small space, in which floats a squat man with an enormous melon shaped head and a far too large nose. On the table next to it sits an astronaut's fish bowl helmet, complete with whistle, as all astronaut helmets surely have, and a purple rounded rectangle device. Two buttons on the right side, a cross shape of buttons on the left, and a screen showing a list of necessary objects. As an ENGINEER, Hazelthistle can tell that a lot of the ship has fallen out. Engines are missing, control units, life support, radar, a very large bolt. The helmet itself has diagram on the back. A picture of a man with a large head grabbing a tiny creature by the diddlybob. A picture of a man with a large head throwing a tiny creature by the diddlybob at a large object. Blow whistle.
Kale Hearthward	"This... doesn't look too good in here," Hazelthistle calls to outside. She starts to examine everything. "And... he doesn't look too good." She's drawn soon enough to the guy in stasis. Is this a human? She's only spent a few years around humans, she can't say with complete confidence that this is outside the range of standard human proportions. "Let's see..." She takes another look around, noting the helmet and the instructions, but then returns to the man. Carefully, she tries to work the console on the ship, seeing if she can bring up any diagnostic information on what might be wrong with him... and/or giving him a once-over herself for any external injuries or other visible signs of trauma.
Sarracenia	'You probably got a fancy palette.' Sarracenia mmphs slightly in annoyance at that. "Why? Because I am a princess?" she says a bit sharply, then blinks and pauses a moment before sighing softly and crossing her arms. "I rather enjoy carnival fare and street vendors. My favorite ice cream is Rainbow Vanilla with Pop Rocks." she says, then after another moment adds, "And...I do not really drink alcohol. It is...a bad idea." Then suddenly...she is surrounded! All those eyes looking up at her rather spooks the princess, and she barely keeps herself from leaping outside of the circle. "Ah...h-hello. Um...can I help you all with something?" Odd but somewhat cute flower creatures are in little danger of her smashing them, at least. She hears Hazelthistle inside the rocket and coughs lightly. "Ah...excuse me. Someone may need help." she says. She gently pushes her way through the plant creatures to head inside the rocket, already pulling out a green mushroom. Sarra also does not react overly to the giant head. In her world, people have rather odd proportions sometimes. "Is he injured? If so, use this on him." She hands the mushroom to Hazelthistle.
Aidan Proudpick	Bare skin, ears on side of the head, no tail. Probably human. The man within the health stasis box(is that a carton of milk back there?) appears to have suffered a minor headtrauma, as shown by the bruise on his head. On the side of the health stasis cube are attached several large blocky diagnostic tools. These are monochrome green monitors, very simple in design, with the cross on the left and the buttons on the right, presumably to caliberate. The computer is quite old, as if no one had bothered to replace it since the 1970s. It takes a bit of doing to bring up the diagnostics for the large headed man. Patient: Captain Olimar Marital Status: Wed Blood Type: A+ Weight: 1.2 grams Height: .75 inches Diagnostic Notes: Patient recieved concussion after striking ship with asteroid on way to pay vast amount of debt. Patient was advised to get into Health Stasis Cube so that aid may be requested. Once ship is repaired by outside agents, he will be taken back to Hocotate for medical aid and continue paying off debt. "Why? Because I am a princess?" A sheepish smile, "Sorry, yea, I figured yer tastes for drinks were like your clothes! I went and assumed again. I shoulda brought a cola for anyone who didn't want alcohol, I'm real sorry, Sarra." The creatures follow Sarra carefully like baby chicks, crowding behind her as she has to carefully step through up to the doorway of the ship. It's crowded with the both of them in there. The creatures, thankfully, stay at the bottom of the gangway. Aidan pokes his head in at the bottom corner of the doorway, curious, but out of his element.
Kale Hearthward	Hazelthistle takes the mushroom and stares at it for a moment. "... Thanks." She sets it up on a shelf in the ship, and then goes to pick up the helmet. "Here, you can try this," she says, passing it through the door towards Sarracenia. She goes back to the console and reads it again. Something seems wrong, but it's not till the third read-through that she realizes what it is. "The measurements are way off," she says, to herself. "Let's see, though... if he's suffered a concussion, then it's safe to get him out of the pod and treat him. I doubt this ship can make it to space right now, let alone interplanetary travel." She tries to work the console to get him out and start treating him. "By the way, Aidan... Kale's mad at you." "Like.... really mad."
Sarracenia	Sarra sighs softly at Aidan's apology, then waves a hand dismissively. "It is alright. I appreciate the thought, though. But, you forget." She reaches into her purse and pulls out a grapefruit soda in a can. "I carry my own refreshments." She pops the top and sips of it. The creatures following her like that sort of endears them to Sarra, and she can't help a slight giggle before patting one of those flowers on the...flower. The princess is handed the helmet. She blinks in surprise, then looks it over. The illustrations on the back of it leave her a little confused. "It does not really go with my outfit." she says, then shrugs and puts it on. It balances on her crown and so sort of floats around her head. She then steps out again and looks at the plant creatures. "...are you all sure it is alright if I toss you by the flower?" She reaches out tentatively, and if they don't shy away she picks one at random and holds it by the diddlybob before tossing it gently. She does not want to hurt them, after all. 'Kale's mad at you. Like...really mad.' Sarracenia's expression sours again. "...I am a bit upset as well." she says after a few moments.
Aidan Proudpick	It takes a bit. 'Hacking' might not even work here, as equipment is older than electronic locks and things like that. The Health Stasis Cube pops open with enough fiddling and removing of locks and equipment. It should be simple to put back together after getting Olimar out. Green monitors go dead as they are pulled off and the locks finally able to be pried open. Finally, the computer relents to a defrosting sequence, in which the blue light of the fridge gradually fades, replaced by a pleasing orange glow. "Like.... really mad." Aidan sighs. "Just when I was- But it sounds like he's madder than usual at me." Aidan runs through his head. "Is it about the mission? It didn't go great, but we got reports, at least." He smiles over at Sarracenia. The whistle is mouthlevel for Sarracenia, for whatever purpose it may serve. The creatures turn towards her again as she speaks to them. The red one she picks up doesn't even blink as she hefts it back and throws it off a short distance. It lands with a little bounce before standing up and just sort of standing there. It doesn't go back to Sarracenia, it just sort of turns around and looks at her. "...I am a bit upset as well." Aidan blinks, tail suddenly drooping. "Wh- Is it about the mission, Sarra? I didn't know there was going to be that big flower thing, no one coulda known that."
Kale Hearthward	Hazelthistle keeps her attention on the fridge. "Treatment for a concussion is honestly just time and rest. We'll get him through the warpgate to a hospital just to make sure, and then we'll work on getting him home to..." She looks at the console again. Crippling debt? Well, he has a family, it looks like. Maybe best to ask him what his preferences are. Once he's over the concussion, anyway. > "...I am a bit upset as well." "Mmm. I can imagine a bit, but... Kale was talking about stabbing Aidan. And he doesn't usually joke about extreme violence. As in when he does joke it isn't really a joke..." "He likes Xion, he likes Lilian, and you insulted both by using the honor duel as a distraction for a mission, you know? Aside from Kale, you've also got a lot of people that are going to be mad at you, because Lilian's starting to go into another depression spiral. I wish she'd take things easier, but that's neither here nor there." "It also cheapened things a bit for you, you know? Whatever you hoped to gain out of getting beat up at the arena, whatever you did gain, I think you've lost it all and then some. And you've upset Princess Sundew as well." "This is... not really all that good, Aidan. I can diagnose biologicals, not social standings, but if I had to take a shot at it... I'd be calling in the patient's family right about now. It's that bad."
Sarracenia	The creature doesn't come back. Sarra remembers that last picture. She starts to blow on the whistle...then realizes she has no idea where it has been. She lets out an 'ick' sound and pulls off the helmet. She reaches into her purse and pulls out a sanitizing wipe. She wipes off the whistle as best she can, then puts the helmet back on and gives the whistle a blow. Then, she looks down at the ground, not looking at Aidan. "...yes. But, not about the flowers. Those I actually liked." She motions to the one in her hair, a rust red metal lotus with white ceramic outer petals. She takes a deep breath, then lets it out again as Hazelthistle speaks up. "...how could he of all people like Lilian?" she mutters under her breath, then speaks properly again. "I am upset because...I said yes to the mission without question. And because...you likely knew that I would...because I do not have friends." She turns her head just enough so that one blue eye is visible but is not really looking at him. "...did you ask me merely because you knew I would say yes and not because I am dependable or a friend? I cannot just dismiss that Ishirou was the leader, and he does not seem to like you much at all." She hesitates a few moments before continuing. "And...did you use us and the mission to add purpose to a fight you were only having to save face?"
Aidan Proudpick	The Health Stasis Cube gets warmer, the odd squat man inside slowly stirring to life with a groan. He likes Xion, he likes Lilian, and you insulted both by using the honor duel as a distraction for a mission, you know?" "I di-" He isn't going to normally defend himself to anyone, he would stop there, but he can talk to Hazelthistle, at least. "That honor duel meant everything. I put all my heart and soul into that. I didn't go to make it a distraction. I went because I deserved it. I needed to do that battle. And I pushed everything at it. I KNEW with all my heart I could win that. I wasn't even thinking of the mission during that fight. The mission was just a good time to do it. Security would have been down. To save people!" Aidan leans against the wing of the rocket, putting his hand to his head, "I'm not HIM, I'm not Lilian, I'm not Hibiki. I'm doing what I can wherever I can. And I still get burned for it." He rubs his face, smoothing back towards his hair. "Angela said the same thing. Because I hurt Lilian. I should go off and die somewhere." He folds his arms, leaning there against the wing, head down, thinking. "Yea. Yea... I guess if I'm gonna live up to my promise and help Kale get to the future, get Angela out, I got one more bit of pride to kill." "And...did you use us and the mission to add purpose to a fight you were only having to save face?" Aidan truly looks like he was shot now. "I asked you because you are strong and determined, Sarracenia. Because I trust you, I know when the chips are down, you are good at what you do. Look at how much better you were than me at the Quicknest mission. You've supported me more than anyone on the battlefield. Ishirou wasn't the leader, I asked you both to go as a team. Ishirou's one of the best supporters and heroes I know, and you are determined and have the combat power!" The little creatures gather up quickly around Sarracenia as Aidan speaks, "No. I fought that duel as hard as I could, and I wanted to win more than anything. I didn't do it just to give it meaning. I asked because I trust you, Sarracenia. If I had to bring two people on a mission with me besides whatever strength we could get, it'd be you and Ishirou."
Kale Hearthward	Hazelthistle waits patiently while Aidan talks. Only once he's finished does she respond. "I don't really buy into all of that honor and pride stuff, Aidan, so I can't give you advice on maintaining that if you care about it." "What I can say, is... if you're going to be pragmatic, if you're going to claim it was merely a good opportunity... then be prepared to hold to that. Being pragmatic. Being ruthless, maybe. Results above all else. Kale still has your shield, you could probably steal it back from him with a little bit of effort, and be effective in combat again. If you can convince one of Petra's Lobotomy Corporation friends to meet you somewhere, you could hold them hostage and make demands on her for their safe return, she probably cares a lot more about them than the people in the robots." "And you could probably get in and kill the Gale Emperor in his sleep, that would help a lot of your people. Launch a raid to rescue them during the chaos, or negotiate with whoever takes the throne and mask next." "That is the pattern that matches someone who arranges a raid during an honor duel. If that's the route you're taking, then - if you stick with it and you're consistent, then people might even respect you a little bit for it. Or at least take you seriously, which is like respect. But if you're doing that while at the same time saying 'I keep my promises' and 'I care about peoples feelings' and 'I want this duel to have meaning' then..." Hazelthistle pauses. "No?" "I don't think people are going to take either the pragmatic Aidan or the compassionate Aidan seriously."
Sarracenia	Sarracenia listens to what Aidan says, and by the end of it that one eye he can see is sparkling with moisture. "...that just...makes it even worse." She sniffles lightly. "I...I am not strong. I do not have any power on my own. It is all my power ups and my hammer. And I proved it when I failed. We failed. Ishirou and I...I am not sure we can even work as a team. He hates me for reasons I do not understand and a few I do. He did not say it exactly, but he wishes I had died there. I tried to help him once. To get him to come out of his shell. He told me to never speak to him again. I have tried to oblige his request, because I did wrong him." She reaches to wipe at her eyes, but her hand plunks against the helmet. She lets out an angry sound and grabs one of those creatures again. She winds up to throw it hard, then...stops. She looks at it, a blue one this time, then just holds it like a plushie between her arms. "...they made it sound like you had cheapened it by sending us during the duel. Lilian, Petra, Kale...but, Gregory told me how hard you fought. So...I had to be sure. That you were giving your all during the fight. It was a good tactical idea. Even Lilian said so. But...it did cheapen the fight as well. I think they are right. You cannot be both earnest and...pragmatic and be respected." The princess sighs and sets the creature down. "And, in addition to all of that, I cannot support such covert actions. It is why I left the Watch. I much prefer direct action with no hidden agendas. I am not sure I -could- even hide an agenda if I tried." She finally looks at Aidan fully. "So please...if you do plan more Watch-style attacks...I am not one you should ask. I will support you in heroic endeavors and direct actions, but...sneaky actions just leave a bad taste in my mouth. Like when we entered the factory in the Gale Empire and freed only a few people then fled like co-..." Her hands clench. She does not want to say that word. "...I would have preferred to stay and free all of them. Once you start something you should finish it, you know?" Sarra takes off the helmet and wipes at her eyes properly with the back of one of her velvet gloves. "...so..um...what resources are we supposed to gather anyway?"
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan cuts out a slice of cake for himself, sitting down on the flattened rock. He brings it up half way to his mouth. "Kale still has your shield" He stops, considering that. "I figured he woulda brought that to my mother by now." He mutters, "Probably give him a reward." He bites into the piece of cake, looking back up into the doorway, chewing on it. "It's the Watch. Liza Grier wants me to kill people when she tells me I need to kill people. Red told me that rallying the people isn't what we do. That's Paladin thinking. But I can't be a Paladin. Someone needs to be on the outside of the Paladins who can do stuff that they can't." Aidan will not admit he thinks of himself as the Anti-Kale. "If Liza Grier asked me to kill anyone-" he shakes his head. He did it out of compassion for his people, but, did he think of Xion? Or Kale? Two people he actually respects. negotiate with whoever takes the throne and mask next. A shake of the head, "No. I..." He has to commit. "No. I was gonna ask Kale if you had a report on him. I wanna know everything I can about him. Perry Talon too." Aidan shakes his head, "I already decided that. I'm gonna try and learn why. Why Perry is the way he is, why the Emperor is the way he is. Mister Parsons said that thing. No one is REALLY evil. I think Perry's a good guy. The Emperor... like Zephiel, maybe there's something in him." Aidan grips his fist. "Everything. Heart and soul." He is talking to himself again. Pulling himself out of that spiral of depression. "Sarracenia, what about Iron Man?" He moves up to Sarracenia. "Iron Man just has that cool suit of armor! I heard he's smart, but you have to be strong to wield that big hammer!" He gently reaches out a hand to touch Sarracenia's shoulder, "Listen. Missions fail. You got out, you learned something, and you know what not to do next time." He nods along, "I did the same thing to Ishirou. It was really wrong. Ishirou's going through something that we don't understand, we don't have experience with it." Aidan winces. If Sarracenia agrees, well. "No amount of apologizing is gonna fix this." He points a finger at Sarracenia, "Please, Princess. We weren't being cowards. You can't fight everyone. There are some things worth dying for, but fighting an entire empire at once isn't it. You won't get anywhere. There were a LOT of people there, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds. But I hear you. Next time, I won't ask you to go on sneaky missions. And I'll tell you exactly what we are doing, and you can ALWAYS say no, and I will STILL be your friend." "I might sneak. But no more pragmatism. No more doing it Liza Grier style." He lifts his arms slightly, offering both, "Hug or handshake?"
Kale Hearthward	"So that leads me to the next thing..." "... We're planning an assault on Petra's operation. Kale, Ru Li, Futaba, Ishirou... possibly some others." "You have, both of you have, a very conditional invite to join the mission. Kale says it's because Ru Li thinks you'd be useful, otherwise he wouldn't invite you to help." Hazelthistle pulls a notecard out of one pocket, and refreshes herself on the conditions. "Okay, so to paraphrase..." "So the first condition is that if Ru Li says jump, you jump. Anything he says, it goes, no question. This is up to and including if he decides it'd be worth it for you to get injured or killed in service of getting your people free. You trust him fully and you obey his every order, politely, or not at all." "Second condition is that you don't fight Petra directly when she shows up. Because she'll try to for-real kill you, and none of the team have the focus to stop her, and we don't want the headache of a Watch or Concord agent dying during a Paladins-lead mission." "Kale says, also, that there's no negotiation on these two conditions, and he expects me to bring back a clear yes or no from you both." She puts the notecard back away. "Sorry. That's just how it is."
Sarracenia	"Iron Man?" Sarracenia has never met him, but it is hard not to have heard about him. She considers it a moment, then starts to say something. But, Aidan places a hand on her shoulder. She stops whatever she was going to say and just listens some more. She hmphs softly. "You cannot -win- against everyone, perhaps. But, we could have cleared out that factory and then gotten away. We had the power and mobility. We did not do enough. If we were true heroes we would have finished what we started or at least pushed until it was impossible to keep going, -then- escaped." she says. She smiles though when Aidan says he will not ask her on sneaky missions anymore. And then...he offers a hug. Sarracenia's smile turns quickly to surprise and uncertainty. Someone...wants to hug her? Almost before he can react, Aidan has the tall princess squeezing him tightly, both cheeks now with a small flow of tears. It probably would not be flattering to Aidan if he knew that she would take most any hug if it was sincerely offered, but still. Then Hazelthistle says her piece. Sarracenia frowns deeply. "So, if we said no...who would have the time to stop us if we simply showed up and helped?" She asks the question, but it seems more rhetorical than anything. "Kale is not our boss or commander or anything of the like. That he thinks we need to be invited..." Her hands clench into fists. "...but, if Ru Li is leading it, then fine. He may think little of us, but at least Ru Li will not send us somewhere simply to see us be injured or die, and will allow us to use what strength we do have to be of help. I give my word that I will follow Ru Li's orders to the letter with proper manners." She hmphs after that. "...Kale is a jerk, though. I guess he is having difficulties of his own, but he is still a jerk."
Aidan Proudpick	The Health Stasis Unit goes DING and Captain Olimar stumbles out, groaning in pain. Outside, the sun is sinking. The portable console begins to blip, putting out a slowly increasing alarm. "Yes," Aidan says immediately, without hesitation, before even hearing the conditions. When Hazelthistle says the conditions, he says 'yes' immediately again, without hesitation. "I trust Ru Li, he wouldn't throw my life away unless it was important to the mission. And I definitely am not in a good condition to take Petra head on." He might have argued, though. Aidan shakes his head. "Absolutely." Aidan squeezes back just as hard, smiling as he releases her. He opens his mouth to defend Kale's current state, then reconsiders. He, after all, has the luxury of knowing that one piece of information. That's for her and him to work out. "It's worth being humble to help people, Sarracenia." He grimaces. It sounds hollow coming from him, he realizes. "Conscripted workers! You must return the Pikmin to their matter storage unit, and seek shelter before night falls! At night, the breadbugs will swarm and devour your bodies, which would make it hard to complete your task!" "Wh. Oh. So much for a campfire time." He was a little hopeful. But, Aidan jerks his thumb back at the warpgate, moving in to help with Captain Olimar. "Come on, we better get out of here. We can come back later and help fix the rocket." The technicolor creatures are sucked up into their storage. The group has just enough time to get back to the warpgate before the creatures come fully out of the woods to attack, creatures the size of houses.