Walking into the bar, the aroma of cardimine and various teas hits the senses. Looking around, mixed stares, glances, and raised brows are thrown at the new figure.
Ozei Ruousha, a man, takes in a deep breath, holds it for a few seconds, then releases it slowly. He thinks to himself how he is somewhat glad that he is not addicted to the scent that is picked up by his nose, the cardimine. Nothing personal against the Chrysanthemums for using the drug; it actually kept them more tightly knit, a respect that had found its way into Ozei's mind. Regardless, he found himself able to become tolerable to them without actually taking the drug, even becoming trusted with a small handful.
Finding an empty table for himself, sitting down, he motions for the bartender droid for a bit of wine. Upon receiving the glass, Ozei sloshes its contents around a bit, sniffs it, then sips at the fluid. Red wine, it was called, something from a far off land called the "House of Gallia." Ozei had heard the name a few times, though he had never taken any time to actually research it.
As he was sitting there, the various stares he was receiving were eventually ceased, seeing that the man was keeping to himself, the women of the bar left him to his own. Ozei was to meet someone that particular day, of whom he was uncertain. After draining half of his wine glass, he left it sit.
Then, he waited...
A solid man in his late forties enters the bar with what could best be described as 'caution'. His face was clean shaven and his hair was short and brown with intruding flecks of white. He smelled the Cardamine and crinkled his nose with what could best be described as mild disdain before asking the bartender robot for some Liberty ale.
"Sorry, we are currently out of stock. Would you like some sake?"
He sighed and acquiesced. Despite apparently ignoring most of the other inhabitants, most of whom were eying his unassuming Libertonian clothes and masculine gender with thinly-veiled displeasure, he noticed one of the few men in the establishment perk to attention at the sound of his voice. After grabbing his drink, he made his way over to the table of Ozei, unaware of who he was.
"I don't frequent these parts, so it's rare I meet someone who recognizes my voice. Do I know you?"
Chi walked towards the tea-house-entrance slowly, she stopped at the door-frame and peeked into it, swallowed and took a deep breath since there were so many people inside. She, wearing her present, a kimono from the, for Chi, still nameless woman, and a beenie to hide her unpleasant horns, walked into the tea-house.
She looked around for Ozei, since they both agreed on a meeting on Ainu a while ago. Chi was late, obviously and clearly visibly just awake for a little bit. She spotted him and slowly walked to the table, adjusting and straightening her kimono aswell as the beenie. She looked down at him and smiled, then sat down on the opposite of him. Her gaze drifts over to other man who just sat down next to him aswell, tilting her head but then looked back at Ozei, clearing hear throat. "Gomene, Ozei-san...I'm late..."...
After having waited for a bit, Ozei heard a recently familiar voice coming from near the droid. Looking over, he saw another man, looking to be a bit old, and definitely looking foreign. The voice was all he needed to hear to know who it was.
Ozei also glanced over to see that a rather slender, somewhat shy looking woman walked into the bar. Ozei instantly recognized the beanie, and allowed her to sit down once she reached the table.
"Chi-Chan, so nice of you to make it! And do not worry, I was awaiting a meeting between someone else of the Sisterhood as well, so you are quite alright."
As soon as he finished speaking to Miss Chi, the foreign looking man approached the duo of them, asking if he knew Ozei.
"Oh, I do believe you are that one sir that assisted Miss Sei and myself the other day in Leeds! Care to have a seat then? And I do not think you ever mentioned your name, did you...?" Ozei gestured, crossing one arm whilst extending his forearm, his hand somewhat raised above the table.
*This is becoming interesting, Ozei thought. Here I am just waiting for an "arrangement deal" and up comes Miss Chi and this other man. So much for a quiet meeting...*
The man slid a chair back and sat down, nodding his thanks.
"Now that we're all seated, allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Captain Eugene Debs, of La Villa Strangiato." The good Captain paused to take a sip of his sake, swishing it in his mouth to get a taste for it. He shrugged and took another sip. "After the little scrap we got into, Sei gave me the coordinates of this base and invited me up. Since my travels are mainly dictated by my whims, I decided to come up north and see what it's like."
He paused, and looked between Chi and Ozei. "Am I interrupting something?"
*Eugene Debs, hmm? Interesting name to say the least.*
"iie.. Of course not! I am sure you would not mind if Mister Eugene joined us, would you Chi-Chan? Miss Sei and I met him in Leeds the other day, he helped the two of us stave off a trio of Corsairs, one of them even being a gunboat!"
Continuing on, glancing over to Miss Chi, "Unless of course, you wanted this to be somewhat private, between friends? To tell you the truth I had been expecting someone else of the Sisterhood as well, in order to discuss a certain.. *Ahem* arrangement, one might say." He sloshed his wine around a bit more before taking a sip, setting it down afterwards, awaiting Chi's thoughts.
Chi looked over to Ozei, tilting her head, then smiled at him just lightly, bowing just a little. "I don't mind...Just go on with your important conversation, if Sei-san trusts him then I will aswell..." She looked at Eugene, bowing lightly aswell. "A pleasure to meet you, Eugene-san, I welcome you to our little paradise on Ainu."
The bartender robot walked to the table just a few moments later, speaking to Chi..."Would you wish something to drink, Chi-san ? The usual, maybe ? Green tea ?"
Chi nodded smiling. "Hai ! I do, one little cup of green tea, onegai"
The bartender robot quickly walked to the bar, getting her tea ready and walked back to their table, placing the cub slowly but precisely right infront of Chi on the table. "Have a nice evening, Chi-san."
The robot walked away, Chi smiled at the cup of tea and grabs it with one hand, raising it to her mouth, taking a small sip. She watched Ozei and Eugene and listened to them closely, holding her cup of tea still, with both hands.
"So, you're a mercenary that works for the Chrysanthemums?" Eugene asked, sipping his drink. "I'd imagine most Kusarians aligning themselves to their cause would outright join it. I suppose you prefer your personal freedom to submitting to a stricter hierarchy inherent in organizations such as this one. Or maybe you're just a bit more greedy."
He was eying Chi inquisitively, trying to measure the newcomer accurately. And there was likely another to be here shortly. "What can you tell me of this region of space? I'm a trifle new here," he announced to no one in particular.
Ozei raised a brow, smiling all the same. "Greed? Heavens iie! And as for joining the Sisterhood of the Chrysanthemums, I do not see them in accepting a male member any time soon, to be honest. After all, they are all women, hai? As well, I feel that I have much more to contribute with my own agenda than under that of any organization's; it allows for certain things to get down quickly, and in some cases quietly.." He lifted his glass from the table and took a swig, before clonking it back down.
Moving on, Ozei continued. "As for this little region of space known as Kusari, it is an intricate web of various groups either allying themselves or waging wars against one another. It is not a single, unified nation as some would believe from the outside looking in, as I have learned." Pausing for just a brief moment, to take in a deep breath, Ozei spoke.
"This particular part of space is known as the Shiden Cloud. Outside of it, Hokkaido's sun spews massive amounts of radiation that are quite deadly to any unshielded vessels. Bit of a suggestion: Do not find yourself in a combat situation without the radiation shielding of the cloud..."
"Besides that, Hokkaido is a relatively swell place for hiding, given its clouds with low visibility and sensor reducing properties. Just be wary of the Dragons that pass by; they tend to be uptight and somewhat unwelcoming of anyone who is not either a Dragon themselves, or a Sisterhood member."
Looking back at Miss Chi, Ozei turned friendly again. "So then, important conversation?" Ozei tilted his head somewhat. "I do not believe it has begun yet, I must await a fourth person for that! Unfortunately, I am unsure who is to meet me. Do you perhaps know of anything about today's meeting? Particularly," Ozei leaned in so that only Chi heard this: "I was going to meet someone about a certain arrangement of exchange between the Sisterhood and myself." Leaning back, Ozei laughed to try and disguise his serious sentence to be a somewhat comical joke between himself and Chi. He did not want Eugene - though he seemed trust worthy, Ozei had yet to know him fully - to know of the deal he intended to arrange with the Sisterhood.
He had been working with the Chrysanthemums for quite some time now, having played escort, wingman, and general janitor to unwanted elements. The time had come for an attempt at obtaining something he had had his eyes on for a while: An Orchid class Chrysanthemum Bomber. Should they hear him out, the GC would come into possession of a rather majestic vessel...
Speaking once more before allowing someone else to butt in, "So Chi-Chan, I trust things have been well for you this past week? Anything of interest to mention?" Ozei gestured for an answer from the young woman with the beanie draped over her head.
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Standing just outside the bar in the hallway, Sei pauses to compose herself. She wasn't exactly one for joining in on the daily conversations of the sisters and visitors, but for this particular person she was making an exception. Putting her hair up for the third time since she had left her quarters, she takes a deep breath and calmly enters the bar.
Walking over to the bar, Sei asks the bartender.
Lemon-hai? Very cold too.
Filling a tumbler with ice, the bartender poured the drink and handed it to Sei, placing a slice of lemon on the side. Sei bows slightly as she turns around and leans on the bar. Looking around she sees that the bar has many patrons so she begins scanning for someone. While she is looking, she hears a familiar voice.
"Anything of Interest to mention?"
[color=#FF9966]Sei's eyes dart over to a table with, strangely enough, one of the sisters, Chi, was sitting with two men, even here at Ainu. Seeing one of them is unfamiliar to her and she can't quite make out the other figure, Sei walks over. Getting closer, she now matches the voice with the face and confirms it is that of her contact for this evening.
[color=#FFCCCC]Konnichiwa Chi-san. To you as well Ruousha-san, glad to see you on deck instead of in space.
Sei smirks at him and places her drink in front of an empty chair at the table.
I hope you don't mind my dears?