Observing and taking notes

[kuro]

Kuro watched with great interest as the boys in research and development worked on new weapons and on upgrades for knightmares."hmm the energy wing technology has been put towards weapons but when else could it be used for?" he mused as he scribbled down note and plans going thru his head. " Your highness would you like to see some of the basic operations of some of the systems?" one of the workers asked, Kuro Nodded a smile coming to his face" that would be Great it would help me in my work" he said as he walked over to the worker and started to looks at some of the ways the energy wings and blaze luminous shields work. "With the idea behind the systems I can possibly think of ways to make them more efficient and effective even come up with a new weapon or two" he said with a thoughtful look on his face as he looked at his notes" thank you for you time sir" the worker said to him as he got back to work and kuro moved back to his seat to watch.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

“HIME-SAMAAAAAAA!!!!!!” The grounds of the palace shook, causing dust from the ceiling to fall. Several of the maids stopped their work to glance up, only to sigh dejectedly.

“Here we go again..”

“How much are you wagering?”

“This week’s salary. I’m giving Her Highness five minutes.”

“Eh~ You’re being too generous, Yuki-chan~ I’m giving the princess 3 and wagering my month’s salary.” Just as the words came out of the maid’s mouth, a rumble could be heard and within a matter of a few seconds, a blur of orange came speeding around the corner, nearly colliding with the maids.

“Ahh~ Gomen ne Yuki-san, Maria-san!” Ayame Li Britannia called as she sped down the palace halls. The two maids merely chuckled, shaking their heads slightly. It would never get old.

“HIME-SAMA!!” A tall woman in her early 60s soon appeared from the corner, smiting stick in hand. With her glasses hiding her eyes and hair pulled into a tight bun, she was the supreme image of perfection. She was Ayame’s favorite source of amusement, the woman who was teased more than any other person within the vicinity, a woman who had earned both the respect and fear of many. She was Ayame’s etiquette teacher. And she was not happy. “HIME-SAMA! PLEASE STOP ACTING LIKE A CHILD AND COME BACK! WE ARE NOT FINISHED YET-

“Like I said….” the third princess began as she made a sharp right, towards a balcony where she grabbed the railing, hoisting herself over. “I DON’T WANNA!” she finished as she soared in the air, causing her teacher to squeak (for that was the most polite form of an outburst) in panic. As soon as her feet were firmly planted on the ground, Ayame continued to bolt off, living up to her name as the fastest escapee the guards ever had to deal with.

Back in the palace, the two maids remained standing there, silently blinking at the balcony as Ayame’s teacher rubbed her temples tiredly, muttering broken phrases as she headed off to her quarters.

“From the fifth story….that child one day…must get a hold on her…going to give me a heart attack…” The two maids blinked twice at the retreating form of the teacher, slight sympathy on their faces. Poor woman.

“Wonder what she’s running away from this time?”

“Lessons maybe? That’s the most popular one.”

“But today is her day off from lessons, isn’t it?”

“Is it? Hm, then…ah! I just remembered! Wasn’t today the day that the princesses had to be fitted for their gowns for the wedding? Both girls looked at each other for a few seconds, this information sinking in. Ayame + dresses = ?

Both sighed at the same time.

“Figures.”
“Figures.”

Meanwhile, Ayame continued to race across the courtyard, occasionally looking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn’t followed. On her day off they wanted her to try on dresses. Dresses. On her day off. How could they do something so cruel to her? Surely that had to fall under a category of some kind of child abuse! The images of the frills and the poof and the utter….pinkness of the dresses that her teacher had lined up for her flashed through her mind, causing her to shudder in fear. God… she hadn’t seen that much pink and fluff since the last time she saw Nia-Neesama’s room. The nightmares of Pon-Pon being dressed up in frills still haunted her at night.

Ayame shuddered again, shaking her head, trying to get the images out of her head. No, no, no. No more thoughts about the sheer scariness that is pink. She had escaped. She was in the clear. Question was…what now? Ayame skedaddled up a tree, sitting on the highest branch as she regained her breath. Golden orbs scanned the area, her amusement locators tingling as her eyes fell upon one of the buildings detached from the main palace. She could faintly hear the sounds of machines whirring and the sounds of drilling. Her eyes glittered as a huge smile spread across her face.

“That’ll do.”

Hopping down from the tree in one go, Ayame soon headed off towards the Research and Development Facility, excitement bubbling once again inside of her. What sort of havoc could she reek this time? Perhaps she could see the test trials of some new Knightmare Frames? Word was that there was some in the making. Or maybe she could just go and have a little chit chat with some of the head scientists. They were pretty cool. “Should’ve brought some cook-ah wait a sec!” Ayame pulled her shoulder bag from her side so that it was in front of her and, without loosing a step in her sprint, began to dig through with one hand. “Cookies…cookies…I know I had a bag in here some- aha ha ha~” Ayame sang out as she pulled forth a medium size bag of assorted cookies, still perfectly wrapped in cellophane, complete with curly ribbon. Good thing she always carried a bag of her infamous baked goods on her. Never know when it might come in handy.

Placing the cookies back into her bag, Ayame clutched Pon-Pon closer to her as she approached the Main Building. Greeting the guards with her usual wave, Ayame bopped inside, head turning from left to right as she tried to find a place to start.

"With the idea behind the systems I can possibly think of ways to make them more efficient and effective even come up with a new weapon or two" Ayame paused mid-step as she passed one of the experiment labs. Tilting back on one foot, Ayame poked her head inside, blinking twice. That voice…wasn’t that…

“Kuro-niisama?” she whispered to herself, tilting her head as she got a better view of the man. Tall, dark hair, clipboard in hand (that was complete with notes)...

A mischievous grin soon formed on her face. Taking a few steps back, Ayame positioned herself. “Hang on tight Pon-Pon…” she whispered to her beloved stuffed panda as she soon sprinted fully into the room, leaping over the banister. “KURO NIISAMMMAAAA!!!” she hollered as she landed fully on top of her half-brother, clinging to his neck a la piggyback. Fortunately, the girl was petite. Tilting her head to the left, she grinned cheekily at him from the side.

“Yo.”

[kuro]

Kuro was caught off guard by her suddenly landing on him and he bearly caught his notes before they fell"Hello Ayame Escaping the maids and teachers are we" he said with a smirk on his face as he looked at her with his crimson eyes, Kuro perked up a bit as he heard the teacher comeing this way screaming he chuckled a bit"Your such a troublemaker but then again thats refreshing here"he said as he smiled and rubbed her head a bit to mess with her , Kuro enjoyed Ayames pranks because they made the Palace a bit more lively and he also didnt mind amusing her "Do you need a place to hide?" he asked as he looked around the room for a hiding spot for her if the teacher got this far. The workers chuckled a bit at what was going on as Kuro tried to get her to let go of his neck so he could listen for the teacher better"I need to look thru these notes soon I can't let Alastair know what is going on yet its not fully ready" he thought as he glanced at his notes briefly

[Ayame Li Britannia]

Ayame remained firmly attached to her brother’s neck, grinning ever so merrily as she saw him stumble forward to collect his notes. Using this as an opportune moment, Ayame leaned over, her eyes scanning the pieces of paper.

Immediately, her eyes began to see double. All what Ayame saw was a bunch of scribbles with the occasional doodle here and there-nothing she could make out to be of any sense. ‘And I thought my handwriting sucked…’ Ayame thought to herself as she shook her head, trying to get her eyes to see normally again. Wow. Talk about gibberish. Ayame glanced down again at the paper, despite common sense telling her not so. She raised an eyebrow dryly. Five bucks the crappy penmanship was intentional.
“You’re such a troublemaker but then again that’s refreshing here.” Ayame turned her gaze back to her brother and grinned cheekily.

“Sore wa, domo~” she said, with a tilt of her head. Of course she was refreshing! She was Ayame Li Britannia, spastic teen extraordinaire! She was so refreshing, she put Ziploc to shame!

Ayame cringed slightly. Ok…that last one was bad. ‘Note to self: not all Madagascar quotes kick ass. Some are corny as hell.’ The sudden sound of heels clacking and muffled orders being shouted followed shortly by stuttering “M-Ma’am!”s sent a shiver down Ayame’s spine. Slowly turning her head towards the door, Ayame’s face paled with each passing second, her grip on her brother’s neck becoming tighter and tighter. No…it couldn’t be…she shouldn’t be…

“HIME-SAMA! I KNOW YOU ARE HERE! COME OUT AT ONCE! YOU STILL HAVE 13 MORE DRESSES TO TRY ON!”

It was. Ayame gulped as she saw the silhouette of her teacher approach the door of her current sanctuary. ‘Crap on a stick…after all that….can’t she give me a bloody break already?’ Ayame thought miserably to herself. Surely if she came in she would be sold off to the devil; her brother (as sweet of a sweetpea he was) would most likely side with her teacher. All of her siblings were like that. All of them claimed that sitting for hours on end, learning things such as how to blow one’s nose properly would be beneficial to her in the long run. Yea. ‘Cause heaven forbid you do not hold your hankie at a 29.873 angle to your upper lip. All hell shall rise.

Raising one arm, Ayame held Pon-Pon over her head, ready to fling should the door open. Hey, she was not going back without a fight. However, just as she prepared herself for the worse, an angel spoke.

“Do you need a place to hide?" Ayame snapped her head back down to Kuro. She swore, the man grew freaking wings. Big, white, fluffy ones. Complete with musical accompaniment. Eyes tearing up dramatically, Ayame clung tighter to her brother’s neck, hugging his head as tightly as she could.

“Did I ever tell you that I love you?” she asked as she hopped down from his neck, thus enabling him to breathe again. Sniffing slightly, Ayame dug into her back. He deserved a cookie. He should have a cookie. She had a cookie on her. In fact, she had a lovely little baggie full. Now where the hell that baggie was…

Letting out a tiny squeal of victory as her fingertips found what they were searching for, Ayame pulled forth her bag of assorted cookies, a wide smile on her face. Opening up the package, she held it out to Kuro, allowing him to choose for himself. “Here. You save me from the horrors that is dress fitting as well as the wrath of sensei and you get some deluxe cookies.” Ayame tilted her head slightly, a hopeful grin on her face. “Deal?”

[kuro]

Kuro Stiffned for a moment before he took a cookie and looked around" Alright fine now come on and hide" he said as he Opened up a door to a closet it was fairly clean so he wasent worried.

"A Kuro-Sama have you seen Ayame-Sama around here?"the teacher asked him

"No I havent seen her miss she stopped gave me a cookie and ran off towards the gardens you might fine here there if you are quick" Kuro said trying to miss lead her so Ayame would be safe I need to make sure Ayame doesnt figure out these notes or my plans he thought as he watched the teacher give him a stern glance.

"I would not look at me like this miss its not a wise option" he warned dangeriously at ehr as he glared a bit.
The Teacher suddenly relized what she was doing and bowed
" my deepist apoliges Kuro-Sama I was out of line" she said to him

[Euric Qi Britannia]

(Aloysius and Euric are both in this post, therefore Aloysius present and at your service if needed.)

”Right this way, your Highness.” told the russet-haired Chief of Science to Euric, as he led the nowadays First Prince of Britannia through the corridors and different sections of the Research and Development Facility, presenting him the newest development and the inventions of his research team. They had walked around already for a good while and as Euric wasn’t that much fond of their machines, nor even less about their usage in warfare which he so much detested, the prince kept patiently following the scientist through the building and giving him an approving nod or a smile every once in a while. After all him being the First Prince of the Empire and thus having a good share in the financing of the whole business, it was only common courtesy for him to pay them a visit every once in a while to inspect and see what they had achieved with the money provided to them. Be it then however boring or gave him chills of antipathy, Euric would just have to bear with it for being part of the royalty as he was.

Once again a way to a new room – or this time more like a hall – was being shown to him. Aloysius led him while telling him about something related to the past Energy Wings System – at this point Euric wasn’t really listening. He gave the scientist one more nod, as well as formally greeting the workers who had now paused their work for a while inside as they turned to salute the prince who had just arrived in their presence. The Chief of Science continued their circuit and began to show the 1st Prince some graphic designs on the screens of the monitors they passed by, stopping every once in a while and telling a bit more deeply about the project detailed on the screen. And Euric kept nodding and smiling and nodding once again, once giving the scientist a small “Hmm” and then continuing to nod to the point he was beginning to feel a bit of an ache at the back of his neck. The First Prince sighed mentally. A though of Ayame passed his mind, making his lips curve into a slight smile. Escaping from all the boring or unpleasant lessons etc. just like he once had done – probably she was doing so also right at the moment, the prince chuckled and couldn’t have known how right and close to the truth he actually was.
But it was long since he had had to bear with Mrs. Etiquette Teacher, and nowadays he definitely was not able to escape what he didn’t like. No, nowadays he just had to bear with it like any good royal and instead of escaping, to actually put it into use what he once had learned from the same lady now mentoring his younger half-sister. Ah~

Stepping in to once again a new room after the Chief of Science – he still babbling about something the 1st Prince had long ceased to listen – and noticing a movement at the corner of his eye, Euric snapped out of his thoughts. He could have sworn to have seen the just mentioned teacher lady exit the room at it’s other end. And on top of it, the people in the room seemed to be already at their positions to greet a VIP for that matter. Now this could mean only few things. Firstly, Euric noticed Kuro straight away at the back of the room. The workers could be greeting him – but no, with all the notes his half-brother was holding, he must have been there for a while already. And Mrs. Etiquette Teacher having shown up here… Would mean only one thing. That also one other younger sibling of his was most probably present – hiding, knowing her as her teacher had been looking for her here. Euric sharpened his gaze. Now wasn’t that a cookie – one of Ayame’s to be exact – his brother was holding? Unmistakably so – for the First Prince simply loved his sister’s baked goods. He wouldn’t mistake them with any other pastries. Now he was sure of it – the Third Princess had to be here, hiding, yes, but definitely present. With the cookie present there was no doubt about that.

Unthinking – for he was a bit surprised to find so many of his sibling here (Kuro’s interests he knew and it was only natural for him to be, of course, but also Ayame) – Euric had stopped at the doorway while Aloysius had just simply greeted his people and continued his way. Though soon another silent – but very audible nonetheless – wave of muffled orders and clacking heels soughed over the room and the workers inside turned to greet him instead with the formal poses and salutes. Euric just quietly nodded and gave them a sign to continue their work instead of being servile in front of him which was completely useless anyway – now hadn’t he got a good deal of practice for his neck muscles today, eh? He then stepped further in and began advancing towards his brother, the workers returning to their places. Apparently the Chief of Science had noticed the absence of the prince who should have been following him, as after a while he returned to walk by his side.
”Now aren’t I popular today among the royalty…” Euric heard the Chief of Science mumble to himself, but then he reached his brother, and greeted him with a polite gesture and a warm smile.
”Nice to see you, Kuro. Now hasn’t it been quite a while since I last saw you...”
He made a quick glance towards his brother’s scribblings. In his eyes, they weren’t as much gibberish as in Ayame’s, but not much did he either understand of them – though Euric shared his half-brothers fondness towards his siblings, the Fourth Prince’s interest of machines was not for the First to follow.
”At it again, now aren’t we?”

Aloysius on his behalf greeted the Fourth Prince with a deep, polite bow and then excused himself to observe the work of his subordinates for the Princes’ to talk more freely with each other.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

The sounds of heels clacking became louder and Ayame’s heart began to race slightly as she snapped her head back and forth between her brother and the door, hand still outstretched. ‘Accept the cookie…you know you want it…take the damn cookie alread-

“Alright fine now come on and hide" Ayame’s face visibly brightened six notches. He took it! Doing a mental victory dance as she crawled into a closet, Ayame made a mental note to bake her half-brother some brownies when she got back home. Yes, some double choco-chip delight brownies. Always a hit.

Looking around in the tiny closet, Ayame could only thank her lucky stars for being petite. It was in times like this that she was grateful for getting the shrimp gene, as well as being made of rubber. For the closet that her brother had chosen as her hiding place, while was cleaner than most (not that it bothered her), was slightly…cramped? For lack of a better word, as the closet itself was already being used as a storage of sorts, mostly filled with paper work and bits and bobs, thus giving the third princess little room. Ayame mentally sighed. Ah well. Nothing a little bending wouldn’t take care of. Adjusting herself so that she was in an upside-down fetal positon, Ayame remained silent as she listened for anything going on outside, particularly anything involving Sensei.

“A Kuro-Sama have you seen Ayame-Sama around here?” Ayame gulped slightly at the sound of her teacher’s voice. She could imagine what her teacher looked like. Prim, proper, hair pulled into its infamous tight bun, glasses spotless, standing up straight and tall…complete with smiting stick in hand. Ayame grimaced at the thought of that seemingly made of wood object. She swore on the life of her that the bloody thing was freaking titanium!

“No I havent seen her miss she stopped gave me a cookie and ran off towards the gardens you might fine here there if you are quick" Atta Nii-sama! Ayame mentally cheered for her brother as a chibi Ayame began to wave a banner that said ‘GO NII-SAMA!’ in bright techno colors. Screw the brownies. This guy was getting a full-fledged seven tiered cake when she got back.

Suppressing the urge to squeal in delight as she heard the sounds of her teacher’s heels fade away, Ayame, whilst still remaining upside down, reached out towards the doorknob, just about to open it when the sounds of footsteps approaching made her stop. Who was it this time? Guards? Maids? SWAT team? Ayame blinked dryly. Wouldn’t be the first time…

”Nice to see you, Kuro. Now hasn’t it been quite a while since I last saw you...” Ayame’s eyes widened slightly. That voice…wasn’t that Euric?!

A wide smile soon spread across her face. Euric! It had been a while since she last saw the First Prince. However, that was to be expected as he was the next in line should anything happen to Alastair (heaven forbid). Euric was someone that Ayame considered to be a role model. Simply because when he was her age, rumor had it that he was just as crazy as she was. But then age caught up with him and he was now a prime example of a perfect prince. But that did not lessen Ayame’s respect for him, for in her book ‘once a spazz, always a spazz.’ Plus he adored her cookies, which gave him bonus points.

But what was he doing all the way over here? Seemed weird how she had run into two of her siblings already…was there some giant super-secret-musn’t-tell-Ayame-for-fear-of-world-destruction experiment going on? She tilted her head (as best as she could in her position) in thought as a cheeky grin soon spread across her face. Interesting~

“At it again, now aren’t we?” ‘Again?’ Was Euric referring to Kuro’s notes? Ayame made a confuzzled/appalled face. How the hell could he read those notes!? They were practically written in Ancient Biblical Latin for crying out loud! She blinked slightly several times in awe. The talents of some of her siblings…

Ayame strained her ear, trying to hear for a second voice. She was certain that there was someone else with Euric. She had felt the presence of two people entering, not just one. Hearing a muffled greeting, Ayame’s eyes widened with delight as she recognized the source of the voice. Aloy-chan! Her favorite scientist! Wasn’t she the lucky one today? Deciding it was time for her to come out (as the fear of sensei returning had gone), Ayame reached over and opened the door, revealing her upside down position to her siblings.

“Ello, ello ello~” she greeted as she slowly unbent herself, her limbs cracking slightly in the process. Aie. She was getting rusty. Once fully unbent, Ayame bopped over to Euric and promptly giving the elder man a hug, her smaller form reaching no more than his waist. Grinning up at him, Ayame quickly dug into her bag and pulled forth her bag of cookies. Opening the packet, she plucked out a chocolate covered cookie, complete with sprinkles and placed it in her brother’s hand. “Here. Have a cookie.” She said as she tilted her head back to see behind her brother. Lo and behold, there was he was. Ayame’s fourth favorite person to tease. Her mouth twitched slightly in amusement. Skipping over, Ayame leapt slightly into the air, only to land onto poor, dear Aloysius, clinging to his neck a la panda. “Aloy-chan~ Long time no chat…whatcha been up to? Anything fun?” she asked, keeping her grip firm yet not chocking, thus allowing the scientist a slight breathing passage. Grinning at him from the side, Ayame held out her bag of cookies in offering. “Cookie?”

[kuro]

Kuro watched as the teacher left and he smirked a bit she was so guillable"piece of cake" he chuckled as he gently brushed off his white coat he was never without. He looked up to see Aloysius and his half brother Euric coming towards him"Nice to see you, Kuro. Now hasn’t it been quite a while since I last saw you...
" Kuro smiled a bit"yes it has Euric how have you been since I last saw you?" he asked as he watched Ayame emerge from the closet and he laughed a bit
"Ayame be careful next time you escape I might not be there to save you" he reminded her as he suddnely heard Euric speak to him again

"At it again, now aren’t we?"

Kuro relized he was talking about his notes and nodded" I'm taking a few notes to see if I can create a few new things of even improve the current ones" he said to him before he moved his head so he could see Aloysius "Hey Aloysius I want to walk to you later about some of my notes and some idea I have alright?" he asked loude enough for him to hear then he turned to Euric"So what brings you here Brother the last time I remember you werent that interested in machines?"

[Euric Qi Britannia]

“Oh, me? Pretty much the usual – negotiations between some arguing nobles, tons of paperwork – you know.” Euric answered to his half-brother with a smile, then only to have his attention drawn towards a door of a closet opening in the corner of his eye.
“Ello, ello ello~”
Now wasn’t this like speak of the devil, as in the closet he saw the half-sister of his he had just thought about not too long ago. The girl bopping over to give him a hug, Euric answered to it with a good, hearty hug in return and then, his smile couldn’t have grown wider as the 3rd Princess gave him one of her those oh so infamous cookies of hers which Euric just couldn’t help but love. In return for such a gift he ruffled her hair gently and with a smile even wider, if possible.
“Thank you. I just can’t bring myself to tell you how much I have missed these…” He took a bite of the cookie, after a while observing Ayame to let go of him.
”So what brings you here Brother the last time I remember you werent that interested in machines?”
”You remember right, brother – but because of my position I’m still funding these things, so it’s my duty to check them and their progress every once in a while. Now wouldn’t you want to know where your state’s money goes if you were sitting on the chest from which it is taken from?” He sighed, then turning to look as Ayame had now moved over to fly-tackle the Chief of Science instead, Euric laughing gently at her while she did so.
“…And you’re at it again, now are you, young lady?” He smirked.
”Just, please, don’t give your teacher a too hard time, for it’s still me who has to listen to most of her complaints – and it’s not any easier because of my past in her guidance. You know she can be as stingy as…”
Euric stopped suddenly, for what he was going to say might have gone well between siblings, but officially he was still checking the Research and Development Facility and there were also others present, so his words might not have fitted so well into the mouth of the First Prince of the Britannian Empire.
”Well, you know. I’m not that fond of her lectures either - as much as you are fond of pink and dresses. But, at some point one has to stop escaping an start to endure it instead. ” He smiled.
”You’ll get your freedom one day, I promise – just like I got mine.”
Jeesh, what a lecturer he had become. Surely if Mrs. Etiquette Teacher had heard that, she wouldn’t have had to blame him about his past deeds anymore. But, she wasn’t there – and it was better so, anyway.
”Well, not to be too boring and serious – for it wouldn’t be much of my style, now wouldn’t it? The First Prince let the smirk return to his face.
”So, what were you running from this time?”

[Aloysius Drebbel]

“Aloy-chan~ Long time no chat…whatcha been up to? Anything fun?”
”Umf.” Was pretty much what the Chief of Science could answer to the princess while she attacked him and clinged onto him – and definitely he had no time to hear how interested Euric had been about the whole presentation of the facility, not that it much mattered to him anyway. Be there funding, then would Aloysius be happy.

So sudden, and so surprising – and as the princess had not actually had the chance to do so for some time now and thus Aloysius had been spared from the experience lately, he didn’t quite even remember the power of it and was near to fall. Well. Her Highness attacking him was no surprise and his subordinates had witnessed it happening many times already, so it was no news for them, and much less to Aloysius. It took a while for him to recognize the cookie offered to him as something to be eaten, but once he got the hold of his balance again, he couldn’t but ignore it for the time being for the princess was pretty effectively blocking the movement of his hands, and could only answer to her questions.
”Well, you could call my doings fun, though lately I’ve done hardly any real progress.” He smiled slightly to her, though keeping it polite, of course – be it her attacking him and clinging to his neck, she was still a royal and in Aloysius’ books it meant that be the other person how unformal ever, he couldn’t have simply let it pass and treat them the same way. Not that he really could have done so, anyway.
A bit of an uncomfortable tone began to shimmer in his voice as he tried to get the princess off himself:
”I’m sorry, Your Highness… But may I ask you to let go?” He kept a tiny pause, thinking.
”As much as I would like to, I can’t even accept Your Highnesses cookie for I’m all tied up like this.”
”Hey Aloysius I want to walk to you later about some of my notes and some idea I have alright?” The Fourth Prince interrupted, and to him, Aloysius could simply nod in place for a better polite gesture.
”Naturally, My Prince. I’m at Your service as much as you need.”

[Ayame Li Britannia]

"Ayame be careful next time you escape I might not be there to save you” Ayame rolled her eyes slightly, a grin still plastered on her face.

“Hai~” She sang out, still keeping her position on the head scientist’s head. Dude had a point. She had gotten lucky this time. If it hadn’t been for Kuro, odds were Ayame would be in the midst of being dragged back to her chambers, where piles among piles of dresses were waiting for her.

Ayame paused slightly. Wait a sec. Dresses? On her…bed!? Ayame paled slightly, slight panic settling in the pit of her stomach. What were the chances of sensei having said dresses removed by nightfall? Ayame mentally snorted. The chances of her joining the royal cheerleading squad were higher. Groaning slightly as realization settled upon her that she may be camping out tonight, Ayame planned out her evening. Lets see…well, first off she would have to find a place to snooze. Maybe that tree in the courtyard by the pond? The fish there were fun. Or perhaps she could squeeze in that space between the two statues? No…too cramped for a nightlong sleep. Maybe-

“I’m sorry, Your Highness… But may I ask you to let go?”

“Hmm?” Ayame snapped her head down, arms still firmly clung to the scientist.

“As much as I would like to, I can’t even accept Your Highnesses cookie for I’m all tied up like this.”

“Eh?” Ayame’s eyes widened slightly as she glanced down at her hands. Blinking slowly, the third princess’ mouth formed an ‘o’ as realization dawned upon her. Her hands…were clinging to Aloy-chan….Aloy-chan couldn’t eat her cookies….

Aloy-chan could not eat her cookies.

“EH!! GOMEN NE!!!” Ayame screeched as she quickly hopped down from Aloysius’ neck, granting the man the easy breathing passage he deserved. Scratching her head sheepishly, Ayame held out her packet of cookies again. “Sorry ‘bout that Aloy-chan…didn’t realize I was killin’ ya. Here. Have a cookie.”

“…And you’re at it again, now are you, young lady?” Ayame visibly flinched. Ah. Busted. Turning around slowly to look at her older brother, Ayame put on an innocent look as she began to laugh nervously.

“Ahaha…why I haven’t the foggiest as to what-

”Just, please, don’t give your teacher a too hard time, for it’s still me who has to listen to most of her complaints – and it’s not any easier because of my past in her guidance. You know she can be as stingy as…” Ayame snapped her mouth shut, her ears perking up. Oho~ Was Big Brother two seconds away from badmouthing sensei? Ayame unintentionally leaned forward, eager to hear the words come out of Euric’s mouth. ‘C’mon nii-sama! You know you wanna say it! C’mon-

Ayame caught the glance around the room and frowned. Tch. Self-conscious eh? What a bummer. She sighed slightly to herself. Well, she guessed that’s what happened when one gave in to society and became a true and proper royal. Ayame crinkled her nose slightly. Like hell she was gonna become like that.

“Well, you know. I’m not that fond of her lectures either - as much as you are fond of pink and dresses. But, at some point one has to stop escaping an start to endure it instead.” Ayame made a disgusted face, pointing a finger towards her mouth for emphasis, complete with gagging accompaniment. “You’ll get your freedom one day, I promise – just like I got mine.” Ayame raised an eyebrow, skeptical. Freedom? He called having to constantly go from one meeting to another, accompanied by a miniature army 24/7, paparazzi being on your freaking tail every second of your life freedom? Sheesh.

“So, what were you running from this time?” Ayame flinched again. Crap. A part of her had hoped he would have forgotten. But then again, who was she kidding? This was Euric she was dealing with. First Prince, current next in line…and former spazz case. Of course he wouldn’t forget.

Slumping over to her brother, Ayame clung to his waist, her eyes teared up dramatically. “It was horrible, Nii-sama…” she began, looking up at him, eyes wide and teary. “Sensei, she….she…SHE WANTED ME TO TRY ON DRESSES!!!” Ayame wailed out, clinging tighter to Euric. “Such cruelty….on my day off too! Today I was supposed to be free from sensei and her smiting stick…but nooo, instead I got double the amount! Dresses, nii-sama…dresses.” Ayame stared up at her brother, her face showing fear as the images flashed through her head. “Have you any idea how scary sensei is when it comes to frills, Nii-sama? You think your tailoring is hard? Try having sensei squeeze you into a corset!” Ayame took a cookie and bit into her, the taste calming her down slightly. “And you know what’s worse? The dresses are in my room. My room. On my bed. You know what this means, Nii-sama? I can’t go to bed tonight! If I show up, I’ll be pounced on! Sensei and the helpers….they’re like bloodhounds…except they’re just sensei and other little old women…so I can’t really hurt them…” Ayame ranted, eyes wide, face pale. After a few seconds, Ayame looked up to Euric, a pleading look on her face. “Nii-sama….can I sleep with you tonight?” She clung to his shirt, wibbling. “Please? I’ll make brownies? Complete with a side of mini cakes?”

[kuro]

Kuro nodded to Aloysius and looked at Euric" Thats very true brother I woudl want to make sure that our countrys money is being used wisely also is it possable to gett more funding for my project I'm working on" he asked Euric hoping it was possable more funding ment more powerful weapons and knightmares to be created" Also I have a few things that might peak you and the emperors intrest" he added thinking of the new weapons and knightmares he had created that were public that he hadent held back from them"They will help bring this war to a close I think" Kuro mentioned as he looked over his notes again

[Euric Qi Britannia]

Euric could but shrug with a bit of an helpless smile. He knew Ayame didn't share his opinion of his freedom for sure, but what could he have done about it. For him to get to travel around and not being tied into the palace all the time was more that he once could have even dared to imagine - be it then along with negotiations and whatever he might have to deal with. As long as the only cage holding him was his title. Not something build of concrete and stones and what else.

Listening to his sister complaining about the dreadfulness of the dresses, his expression did soon change into a frown, a more merciful look making its way on to his face.
"Now did I heard this right? They forced you to do something like that on your day off?" The first prince shook his head in disbelief, sympathy shimmering in the tone of his voice. He slightly straightened his posture, subconciously beginning to scratch his chin.
"Well, that's most definitely something that won't do. What do they think day's off are for?" A shiver ran through Euric's spine for the sheer thought of it - in the old times, the teacher had at least respected the days off he had been blessed with. He wouldn't deny her horror - having seen many kind of costumes women wore, or had towear, he would have been more like to be surprised if someone had claimed them to be comfortable pieces of clothing. She was right - tailoring him was hard enough (the frills he had had to cope with had been horrible enough) but being stuffed with them into something that barely allowed one to breath was something Ayame really managed to make sound more like torture than just fitting some dresses.

Oh, no. Never should it be looked over as just fitting some dresses. Mentally - almost also visibly - Euric shook his head. He had gone through with that kind of tailoring many times enough to not overlook the matter. Though when his sister made her request completed with the offered pastries, he still had to think for a second before answering. He leaned a bit forward and gave her hair a good ruffle.
"Well, I'm not sure if I'll be back at the palace to sleep there - but I'll talk to your teacher. Be it then any ball or banquet - even Alastair's wedding - days off should really be kept as days off. Heck, with no peace at all I honestly don't know where I would have ended up... If the dresses won't be remove before evening, I'll promise you that you can sleep in my quarters - with me present or not. That's probably the most I can do about it." He smiled to her and straightened himself, soon hearing his brothers voice talking to him.

Though hearing his words made him visibly lift an eyebrow.
"Oh? Well, that naturally depends totally of to what kind of a project the funds are being used for. Of course, you'll have to consult also the Emperor about it - he's the one with the final word, after all." It wasn't that Euric totally lacked the interest towards his half-brother's projects, but hearing the words about stopping the war with some new machines or such made him sigh deep - mentally, sure, but still. For Euric had no faith that a machine nor even less a weapon could stop a war - if stopping it was done by force, there would eventually be a counterforce hitting one back for the blow given first. More weapons meant more fighting, and more fighting meant always grief for someone in the end - which would always revive the fighting even if it did cease for a while. Euric knew his brother meant well, but in his opinion the younger prince just had totally wrong means to achieve his goal. Well, couldn't be helped - not that even the First Prince had anything to straight accept or deny anything like those projects. He simply nodded to Kuro - the thing would eventually be discussed with the Emperor.

[Aloysius Drebbel]

“EH!! GOMEN NE!!!”

Now if the third princess' fly glomp before had not actually startled the poor, dear scientist, the yell right next to his year sure did. It made Aloysius wince and instinctively raise a hand on his year while taking a step back, him only then realizing what he was doing - as it dawned upon him that the person responsible for the sound and having clang to his neck had already gone from on him - and stopping it for the sake it could be considered plain rude.

“Sorry ‘bout that Aloy-chan…didn’t realize I was killin’ ya. Here. Have a cookie.” And what could Aloysius do with his hands freed but now accept the cookie - not that he really would have minded it. Once having taken it and after having thanked the princess politely with a slight bow, he once again made a silent move of retreating, now staying few steps away from the royalty, waiting, and munching the cookie a bit absently.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

Ayame stared up at her elder half-brother, her eyes tearing up with each word that came out of his mouth. Angel! Freaking heaven-sent Angel! “…but I'll talk to your teacher. Be it then any ball or banquet - even Alastair's wedding - days off should really be kept as days off.... If the dresses won't be remove before evening, I'll promise you that you can sleep in my quarters - with me present or not. That's probably the most I can do about it.” Ayame sniffed, staring up at Euric as if he were some God before promptly clinging to his waist, squeezing him as hard as she could in her signature hug.

“Did I ever tell you how much I love you?” Seriously…only someone like Euric truly understood Ayame. Everyone else always thought she was being some overdramatic/high of sugar/in need of a cool down hyperactive teen. But not Euric. He understood Ayame’s nature, because he himself was a spazz case once upon a time. And for that he was numbered as one of Ayame’s favorite siblings as well as the ultimate comfort pillow. Ayame could only wish there were more of him.

Still remaining firmly attached to her half brother’s waist, Ayame grinned slightly to herself. Maybe she could get him to get her out of having to wear a dress at all…

A few seconds went by. Ayame blinked to herself. And sighed. Unlikely. As much of a help as Euric was, he was still an (Ayame gagged at the word) adult and a proper one at that. He would get her out of dress fitting simply because it was her day off and whatnot, but he wasn’t that much of a saint as to go as far as to let her not wear a dress at the wedding of the freaking Emperor. ‘Maybe I should pull the sick card that day…’ No, but then she would have tried on all those dresses for nothing. Which would only aggravate her even more. If she was going to have to sit through hours upon hours of being poked with needles and being suffocated in corsets, then she was sure as hell gonna be dressed up for the actual event. Sighing once again to herself, Ayame mentally cursed any and all possible gods that may have come up with the idea of females wearing dresses. Who came up with that idea anyways? Ayame tilted her head slightly in thought. Meh. Too complicated of a subject. Always was an invite for the crazy feminists. Who weren’t as much fun as Ayame would have hoped.

“They will help bring this war to a close I think.” Ayame turned her head to Kuro, his clipboard still in hand. Cue eyebrow raise. Heh~ So that’s what them hieroglyphics were about! A way to end the war, eh? What was it? Some super duper high tech boom boom stick? Or perhaps another version of that bomb….FLEJA was it? Ayame crinkled her nose slightly. Why couldn’t everything be settled over cupcakes? Everyone loves cupcakes! Cupcakes were good! And fluffy.

“Oh? Well, that naturally depends totally of to what kind of a project the funds are being used for. Of course, you'll have to consult also the Emperor about it - he's the one with the final word, after all." Ayame paused slightly, her grip on Euric’s waist increasing slightly. The Emperor, eh? A slight frown came across the third princess’ face. Something was fishy about Alastair nowadays. Ayame hated fish. For some reason, the Emperor was giving off the not so cool vibe. Nothing major, but Ayame was beginning to feel a tad bit…nervous, for lack of a better word…whenever she was around him. Which made her all the more freaked out. He was her brother for crying out loud! Half, whole, ¾-it didn’t matter! Fact was he was family and she shouldn’t feel so weird around him…yet she did. Glancing up at Euric, Ayame’s eyes flashed back to the papers in Kuro’s hands.

“Final say, huh…” she said softly, before quickly snapping her head up, trademark cheeky grin plastered back on her face. “Ne, Kuro-niisama? If it’s some new Knightmare Frame or something with a steering wheel, can I test drive it? Pleeeeeaaasse~” she batted her eyes in what was she hoped was cute. “I’ll bake brownies~”’