Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Point D4 - Draco Outpost
Date: January 31, 2050
Evening - Sundown
“Phew, we made it.” Mana was coming in feet first for a landing and let out a tired sigh. It had been a short flight to the rendezvous, but with all the fighting done so far, she needed the moment to catch her breath. Stretching her wings out behind herself, the tense white feathered limbs finally relaxed and furled snug to the back of her hip. “I didn’t think we’d actually win. I’m not complaining, though I’d never wanna do that again.”
Dahlia hopped off her back and tepidly stood beside her. The smaller young girl glanced around, wary of their new surroundings. It was overwhelming. Twilight was taking over the sky, which meant night was coming, and it didn’t diminish or obscure how expansive this place was now that they were here. The first thing Dahlia noticed were the people. There were so many new faces, all of them working in what was usually a quiet time of the day.
Having flown to get here, they had gotten a good look from above. This outpost, apparently named Draco 4, was shaped like an 8-pointed star fortress with a perimeter of high walls that capped the approach of its layered defenses. Inside those walls, she had seen from above what seemed like two massive airstrips, several large buildings she could only assume were hangers, and an even greater number of smaller establishments. On top of her growing surprise, when they finally landed the scale of everything became so much more daunting.
Hundreds of personnel in drab brown and gray uniforms were hauling crates and hammering metal posts into the ground. Dahlia realized that they were setting up accommodations for the arriving students like herself, the CDU trainees, and CAU trainees. Behind her, Aerial Group Gamma,dispersed at the immediate bark of orders from someone who seemed to be the commanding sergeant.
“S-So, uh?” Dahlia asked softly, trying to not draw attention. “Where is this?” She was unsure how to take this all in. This was supposed to be a practical training class, which made her expect it to take place in a normal setting. Though now it seemed like the class was becoming a boot camp with how milteristic everyone was dressed. “And why are we even here? I really don’t think students like us are welcome to a military installation like this one.”
Dahlia’s eyes flitted to all the hard looking veterans bustling around, setting up field tents and aid stations. They didn’t seem like bad people, except, she still had her reservations in trusting certain.. humans.
“That's not exactly the case.” Mana said, “We’re in fact supposed to be here.” She turned to the others in their group and waved to get Osamu’s attention. “Hey, I’m going to show Dahlia around, can you handle Chisuke and that Haruka girl?”
Osamu gave her a lazy sigh, adjusting a certain someone on his back who was out cold. “Sure, why not.” He said sarcastically, “Not like I wanted a break or anything. I’ll just keep carrying our resident maniac as you go and..”
“Alright, thanks.” Mana said, interrupting and taking Dahlia by the hand as they made their way through the growing field camp. “We’ll be back in about an hour.”
Osamu shrugged his shoulders as they left, cracked a loose smile, and shuffled over to one of the nearest aid tents. As he opened the tent’s flap, he found a young medic talking with Gen. The guy had apparently been a step ahead of him and was already getting their temporary accommodations in order.
“This way.” Said the medic, gesturing as she ordered a pair of what Osamu guessed were trainees or assistants. “The cots are filling up, so you came at a good time.”
Gen followed, hauling the explorer they had fought on his back. He held Haruka like a sleeping princess. If you gave him a suit of armor, it would look ironically funny. Osamu locked gazes with Gen for a second. The question of where the others were flashed, so Osamu rolled his eyes as a response.
Gen understood. “Guess we’re on babysitting duty.” He said, trotting along down rows of set up cots. “It can’t be helped, it’s just our luck.”
At the prompting of one of the trainees, Osamu threw Chisuke off his back, flopping his unconscious ass unceremoniously into a vacant cot where other trainees began to examine and take his vitals.
“Looks like it. So, what now?” Osamu slumped himself onto a cot of his own.
Gen did the same after laying Haruka down, albeit gentler than Osamu. He then pushed up his glasses as he drew out a deck of cards from his sleeves as if it were a magic trick. “Wanna play a few games? We can bet using the rations bar we’ll get later.”
“Oh, you’re on.. And this time, I’m beating your lucky streak.”
***
“Come on.” Mana said, urging Dahlia along between the pitched tents. “It will be fine, you don’t need to worry so much, we’re not snooping, just browsing about.”
“But..” Dahlia mumbled, shying away from all the attention coming their way. The two of them stuck out, especially since one of them had antlers and the other had wings. “They’re all looking at us funny.”
“You’re imagining it, don’t worry so much. Here, let’s do this.” Mana wrapped her arm over Dahlia’s shoulder. “Just stay close to me like the old times. I’ll give you a short tour and then we’ll head back to the others. I promise it won’t be long. There's not much interesting stuff around anyway, but it’s important that you get the lay of the place. It should help you get more comfortable with the usual school life here.”
“I.. I uh.. Okay.”
As confirmations went, it didn’t sound all too assured, though, it was a step forward.
Mana beamed as her brown furry ears flicked in delight. “That’s the spirit.” She gave her a friendly pat on the back. “You’ll get used to living here in no time.”
She kept Dahlia close as they strolled around, occasionally watching as new groups arrived either from the air or ground. Dahlia, at one point, was startled by a roar in the air. No else was spooked and Mana directed her attention up. Enormous human shaped silhouettes flew overhead, coming in for a landing. Their towering frames knelt to the ground and Dahlia realized these were the TAC, or Tactical Armor Cores, that had been participating in the training exercise.
The sight of them took her breath away and Mana had to shake her shoulder to get her to come back to herself. Another few minutes walking around went by. Here and there, Mana stopped to speak with a few of the people working on the tents, exchanging some simple pleasantries as she shared to Dahlia about her experiences from the last year she’d gone through. There were some do’s and don’ts, like not to trespass in a few marked areas and learning how to recognize who was in charge by what they wore on their uniform.
“So, any questions? I know it’s a lot to take in, but it should be pretty straight forward.”
“Uh.. Y-yeah.” Said Dahlia. “After hearing about all you’ve been through since you’ve been here, I’m starting to get a picture of what this place expects of us. Being an explorer is starting to sound more like being a soldier.”
Mana grinned. “You’re catching on fast, and you’re not entirely wrong. There are some differences, but for now you need to keep a heads up for what’s next today. These monthly practical classes usually take place in a training facility, and it seems that the rest of today’s activities will probably be over there.” She pointed over to the high wall ahead of them. “See that? We’ll likely be in there for tonight.”
At this distance, Dahlia was again hit by the scale of this place. Wherever they were, she was sure it was a military installation of sorts, and a kind that scaled in the size of having the capabilities to house several hundred thousands of soldiers.
“Are training exercises like today’s regular?” Dahlia asked. “Will every month be this intense?”
Mana shook her head. “It’s different every time, but the bulk of our training usually happens over in a facility. Today was just.. Special.”
Mana didn’t want to get into the specifics of why it was special and pushed the tour on. While Dahlia seemed to be getting used to the surroundings, Mana was proving to have little success in breaking the ice for her friend when it came to interacting with the soldiers on duty. Not once did Dahlia relax her grip on Mana’s arm, a tell of how anxious she was around other people.. Or well.. humans.
Can’t doubt her for that though. Mana thought. Was I like this before in my first year? She recalled those times, a full 12 months before today. And now look at her. Guess I’ve done pretty well for myself, if I do say so.
Like she promised, Mana did her best to make the tour short. As they were heading to meet up with Osamu and Gen, Dahlia spotted that more and more of the busying soldiers had a different kind of uniform to the CDU or CAU trainees. They had a different patch on their shoulder, and seemed overly well versed and experienced, moving with an incredible amount of control and professionalism.
“Guess you noticed.” Said Mana. “If you’re wondering, they’re from a different branch of the Terra Colony’s military. Like the CDU and CAU, they’re soldiers too and they call themselves the CSU.”
“They’re another branch?” Dahlia was taken aback. “Just how many are there?”
“Well, there's only three, I think.” Mana tried to sound placatingly, though the whole organization of the colony’s armed forces put her brain through a loop. “But I get your surprise. Unlike the towns and cities you’re used to Dahlia, the Terra Colonies run on an entirely different system of government.”
Dahlia poked her fingers together, embarrassed. She was like the country bumpkin trying to settle into city life. “I know that, but.. It’s.. It’s just so strange.” She turned her head around, unable to come to terms with how many people there were working and moving around the place. “So is everyone here in the military? This seems.. Like a lot for one outpost.”
Mana nodded. “Yup, and this is only one Terra Colony. Think of what the other Terra Colonies are like. The number sure gives you a headache.”
She went on to explain a little history. Originally the CDU and CAU hadn’t existed until recently. A little fact about them is that they were originally subbranches of the CSU, or Core Support Unit. Unlike the Core Assault or Core Defense Unit, who work more in the frontlines, the CSU prided themselves on maintaining the structured command needed for governance and order, which was in short supply after the Starfall war.
Joining up with Osamu, they found him on the losing end of a string of poker matches he was having with Gen. Mana spied a three of kind on the makeshift poker table and there was one last card left to flip on the field. Osamu reached for the top card of the deck and flipped it as fast as he could. Gen then showed his hand.
“Shit!” Osamu tossed his cards and fell back, his head thumping against his cot. “Dude, are you seriously using your powers to win? This doesn’t seem fair at all.”
Gen scooped up his winnings, a pair of rations bars stacked in hand. “You know that’s not how it works. It’s random and I don’t have any control over it.”
Osamu snorted in pure disbelief. “Random my ass. That was your 5th win in a row, and last game, you got a royal flush. Either you’re lying or you’re cheating.”
“You wanna test that theory?” Gen collected the cards and shuffled them up into a neat deck. “You still have a few more rations left. I’ll bet all of mine in the next game and you’ll bet only one, what do you say? Wanna take a chance?”
There was a pause. Mana was tempted to goad Osamu along. In the end, she didn’t need to. Osamu righted himself back up on his butt and slammed the brown ration packet onto the crate between them. Intrigued, a few trainees saddled up to see if they could get part of the action.
Next to Mana, Dahlia made a hesitant step forward, trying to dredge up the courage to give them all warning. Gen had shown to have an uncanny amount of skill, slide of hand, and seemingly limitless luck, and the idea of letting them make a reckless bet didn’t sit well with her.
“Better not get involved.” Mana warned in a whispered tone. “When it comes to hair brained ideas and reckless gungho ideas, these guys are known for not giving a damn. Really, they're just idiots.”
She sat down with Dahlia on a couple cots and reached under them for the supply crate stowed there. Breaking the lid off the ceramic container that was about the size of an oversized textbook, she passed over and opened a ration bar.
“Here, you should eat while you can.” Mana wrapped her own bar and took a big bite. “It’s not tasty, but it will keep you full.”
Dahlia carefully nibbled on her’s, then picked up speed when her stomach remembered it was empty. As she indulged in another, she saw the CSU personnel tending to the new arrivals. The open-air accommodations weren’t ideal, though with so many patients it couldn’t be helped. Many of today’s participants had been injured, and it was a miracle to her that no one had died. Dahlia guessed this was either because the administrators of the exercise knew what they were doing or because explorers, even those in training, were quite sturdy. Off a couple rows away, a CSU medic was bandaging a beast human’s arm and starting up a conversation.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
This was going to be rude of her, but Dahlia listened in, enhancing her already better beast human hearing with core energy. She didn’t know what to expect, not after recalling a certain memory she still had questions about. For now, listening in helped her get a gauge of how Respectful these CSU soldiers were to people like her. Her impressions started to become neutral rather than apprehensive when the medic shared a laugh with the beast humans around.
She shifted in her seat, unsettled. There was an uncomfortable feeling pestering the back of her mind. When she tried to remember what exactly made her feel this way a foreboding sensation crawled on her skin. It had been happening more often since the last couple of hours. Delving into her past–those dark times, ones that she had thought she had blocked out–was like opening old wounds. It wasn’t pretty and she tended to not want to do that. Except, she was starting to believe that there was more at play for why she didn’t recall everything so clearly.
Every subsequent plunge in the past dredged up new small details, like the color of someone’s hair, a voice, a couple words off in the distance, a name of a place, and other random stuff. Was she just forgetful? No, I don’t think so. Something in her past, an event or trauma, had changed her.
Just as the night swallowed up the last of the daylight, the field camp was finished. Campfires and electric lanterns lit the grounds as groups upon groups of students and trainees arrived at the rendezvous. There was a honk of horns that caught everyone's attention.
“We got a new group coming in.” Shouted one of the CSU soldiers on watch. “It’s a big one, I need hands over here, now!”
A column of jeeps and tanks were coming in quick from the horizon. The CSU personnel immediately moved to help make way for their arrival. The approach to the camp was littered with a number of obstacles. Barricades, like dragon’s teeth and anti tank debris, had to be moved so that the larger vehicles could safely advance. Dahlia and Mana helped, pushing and lifting a few out of the way. Normally you’d need heavy equipment, but everyone here could enhance their strength using core energy, so solid hunks of metal and concrete were easy enough to move in pairs.
After the column of vehicles passed through and parked besides the kneeling TAC mechs, another CSU soldier ordered a second group to set the barricades back up. “Alright! Close it up! I want this done on the double.”
image [https://i.postimg.cc/zvLhkjRH/1710410145014.jpg]
Dahlia wondered why they’d go through the trouble. It was probably for the sake of training, so she kept silent on her thoughts. Just as she was about to sit down on a nearby bench, someone called out to her. She tensed; ears drooping while Mana eased closer to her on her right.
“Hey there, I recognize you.” The voice was to her left. She found that a tall, mature looking blonde woman was walking up to her. “You must be that beast girl Stella told me about, the one who healed Itsuki’s arm?”
Dahlia was about ready to run until she heard her mention Stella. “You know Stella?”
“Of course.” The blonde held out a hand. “I’m Arielle, I was one of the explorers who was tasked to help with today’s training exercise. I’m also the one you and your friends fought today.”
With her hand still out, Arielle waited patiently. Mana tugged on Dahlia’s hand a second before she stepped back.
Finally accepting the handshake, Dahlia asked, “So, did you win?”
“No, not at all. I was pretty much duped at the last moment.” Arielle turned and gazed over her shoulder to indicate a trio of students coming their way. “That Ikki guy is kinda ballsy. He ran straight in and fought like one of those noble knights in a last stand. If I ever fight him again, I’d rather be on his side if you know what I mean.”
“I see.”
Dahlia gave a cursory look at the trio, recognizing them to be Ikki, Stella, and Shisuki. Ikki had Stella and Shisuki on either side of him, each girl hugging one of his arms and glaring at each other from time to time. Dahlia picked out what they were saying with her heightened hearing.
“Will you give it a rest, Shisuki.” Stella huffed, clutching Ikki’s arm between her plump breasts that were tightly restrained by her buttoned uniform. “I’m not going to let go, and I’m definitely not the one crowding him. That’s your fault for being such a siscon.”
Shisuki snorted, leaning her head on Ikki’s shoulder. “I recommend you check yourself, little princess. Yes, I am a siscon, so I am his sister, his family. I can crowd my sibling as much as I want. You on the other hand are just some weird stalker pushing your fat chest against his arm. Don’t you dare get cocky just because my sweet brother tolerates you as a roommate.”
“I am not fat! And at least my boobs are soft unlike your washboard of a chest! I bet Ikki hates how you’re grating his arm.”
“My chest is soft even without being plump.” Shisuki pressed Ikki’s hand under her uniform and Ikki’s face reddened like a tomato. “See! It’s soft, right brother?”
Ikki flustered, gibbering for a moment in shock before he retracted his hand and slipped out from between the two of them. Stella fumbled for a second. There was a concerned look on her face that changed to irritation when she snapped her eyes to Shisuki. The two of them got right back into bickering, all while Arielle came up and gave the scene an amused whistle.
“Well well, it seems like you’re having a hard time tending to your flowers.” She said, then lowered her voice to ask Ikki, “So tell me, are you actually into your sister? You were pretty red when she let you grope her, and you didn’t even fight back.”
Ikki sighed. “No, of course not. And I was taken off guard. I’m not really at a hundred percent right now.”
“A backlash from your little stunt from earlier?” Arielle asked.
Ikki nodded. She scrutinized him, eyeing him up and down as if appraising his strength. She didn’t miss the slight jitter of his hands and the pale tone of his skin. He was almost sickly.
Arielle moved on, hands on hips. “So, what’s the deal with her? Don’t tell me your sis let you fondle her when you were kids.”
Ikki didn’t answer for a moment, then he turned to her with a deadpan stare. “You’re just messing with me, aren’t you?”
Arielle made a throaty laugh. “What? Can’t I tease you too? It’s really fun to see you all red.”
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t.” Ikki begged, slumping his head. “If Shisuki and Stella see you trying to do anything, they’d go ballistic.”
“Anything?” Arielle raised a brown. “Well, how about something like this?” She wrapped an arm around Ikki and pressed his face headfirst into the deep cleavage of her bouncy breasts. He gave a muffled cry, struggling to get free. Arielle was stronger though and she cackled when Stella and Shisuki suddenly stopped fighting each other and began glaring at her. The two-maiden radiated off a menacing aura. “Hahahaha, guess you were right Ikki, they are going ballistic.”
Dahlia, off to the side, didn’t really get what was going on. This was starting to seem like one of those love dramas Mana used to watch as a kid. She never really understood the plot of those kinds of stories, though she understood the humor and let herself crack a smile with her friend.
A minute later, a shrill cry broke the night air. Dahlia covered her ears, wincing from the piercing sound. With how night had fallen, it was spooky, like some horrid movie murder had happened. Following the scream, the familiar roar of an engine grew louder. The CSU soldiers on watch shined spotlights and their rifle’s flashlights to get a visual. To say they were on edge was an understatement. Dahlia saw that a number of them had their aim sighted up, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
“Stand down!” Barked a commanding officer. The crisp cut of his camo uniform, along with the numerous medals and ribbons adorning it, told everyone that he was the boss around here. The deep set of his eyes and his intimidating burly frame was another tell that he was a man not to be reckoned with. “I said stand down! Continue overwatch, I’ll handle this.”
No one had yet seen what exactly was making all that noise. The screaming sounded human, Dahlia swore she recognized the voice.
“Colonel!” Reported a soldier. “I have visuals, bogey, 2 miles out. Your orders?”
“Reposition those spotlights and mark a path to..” The Colonel paused to listen to the earpiece in his ear. He then said, “Yes.. I understand.. Will do.” He waved off the soldier, telling them to return to normal operations.
A few seconds later, the staccato roar of an engine and the terrified cries of a girl became clear enough to hear.
“AHHHHHHHHH! For the love of GOD! Slow DOWN! SOMEONE! ANYONE! GET ME OF THIS THING!”
Dahlia perked up and peered ahead through the gloom. “Is that? Amanda?”
A few hundred meters out, the headlights of a motor bike rushed into view of the spotlights. The vehicle had a sidecar and was racing across the last distance to the field camp’s outer perimeter. Unlike before, this driver decided to take the shortest path rather than wait for the barricades to be moved out of the way. The bike gun forward with all the speed while Amanda was screaming her head off as they weaved between the barricades, barely fitting and scraping by.
“ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY!” Amanda yelled. “Just stop! For the love of GOD! Stop already! You’re going to kill us with your damn driving!”
“Will you SHUT UP!” The driver roared. “You’ve been complaining this whole time. At this rate, you’re going to mess me up.”
He revved the engine and wheeled the bike to do a wheelie. The front tire slammed onto the slanted slope of one of the barricades, raced up, jumped, and came soaring over the last few rows of obstacles just outside the camp’s inner perimeter. The motorbike landed with a smooth thump that was unlike what anyone expected and skidded to a slow stop a few meters behind the soldiers manning the entrance lookouts. Dahlia rushed over to see for herself and found Amanda floundering off the motorbike.
Throwing off her helmet, Amanda glowered at the driver who was taking off his own head gear. “What the hell were you thinking, Itsuki!” She screamed. “When you said we were going to use that to get here, you didn’t have to drive it like a maniac. We weren’t even in any of a rush!”
Itsuki wiped the sweat off his brow and swept his short blonde hair out of the way. He stowed his helmet in his storage ring, ignored Amanda, and reached over to shake the passenger in the side car. “Richard, Hey, wake up. We’re here.”
“Huh?” Richard blinked, his hands gripping the sidecar’s seat belt with all his strength. He looked totally unsure of where or who he was. “Wha.. Wha happened?”
His words were slurred, as if he had been put through the washing machine on the highest tumbler setting or had just drunk himself under the table. The girl leaning on his chest shifted on his lap. She was fast asleep, somehow, she’d snoozed through all that bumpy driving. Realizing where he was, Richard made to get up, except that was harder said than done. His legs were like jelly and he wasn’t sure how to grab the girl in his lap. If he wasn’t careful he’d touch somewhere he wasn’t supposed to.
The sleeping girl grumbled in her sleep and rolled over. The white sheet covering her shifted and fell down. Richard scrambled to grab it and cover her. His hands trembled as they orbited around the girl’s enormous chest. There was.. A hint of temptation in his flushing face.
“Hey!” Amanda rounded on Itsuki. “Are you listening!”
“Yeah, but I think I’ve heard enough from you today.”
“Why you!” Amanda wanted so badly to smack him across the face. “I’d oughta..”
“Sir!” Announced the Colonel, approaching and shooting off a curt salute to Itsuki. A trio of officers behind him followed suit, their eyes set with a serious edge to them. “It’s good to see you, Sir! Do you need any assistance!”
Amanda, having been cut off, knew when to back off. The abruptness of all this had thrown the rug out from under her and she didn’t feel all too comfortable being between whatever was about to happen.
Itsuki dismounted and returned to the welcoming gesture with a salute of his own. “Colonel, I see you are in good health.”
“As good as I’ll ever be.” Laughed the Colonel. “The war wasn’t kind, but these last couple decades have been a cake walk.”
One of the officers offered their coat to Itsuki. “Sir! Night is setting in, would you like to cover up? Being bare chested in the middle of winter isn’t ideal.”
Itsuki accepted with a nod. “Thank you. Most of my replacement clothes were burned or damaged during the training exercise. I’ll be sure to return it to you.” He turned and surveyed the field camp. “Is everyone accounted for?”
“Just about.” Said Arielle, joining in on the conversation. Ikki, Stella, Shisuki, Dahlia, and Mana joined her. “So what took you so long? I thought you would be the first one here.”
“Not this time.” Itsuki pointed over to the side car, where Richard and Sinder were being helped out by a pair of CSU medics. “Sinder gave me some trouble, and I needed to make a few detours because an irritating passenger wanted me to change directions so many times.”
“You should be glad that I did.” Amanda remarked. “You were planning to jump a gorge to save on time.”
Itsuki didn’t acknowledge the comment, though mumbled, “We could’ve made it.”
Arielle chuckled. “Trouble, eh? Heh, that’s pretty rare for you to say you had your hands full.”
Itsuki shrugged and stowed the motor bike back into his storage ring. “Where’s Haruka?” He asked. “Is she here? Or did she run off doing her own thing like usual?”
“No, not this time. Follow me, we can go check on her. Bet she’s pretending to be asleep.”
The Colonel and his entourage followed them. It was strange how these hardened men of rank fell in line behind Itsuki, who seemed like a child due to his short stature. Amanda and the others came along, and noted how these officers all gave him an amount of respect. There was hushed conversation being exchanged between them as they passed under one the kneeling TACs. Its mechanical head turned down in their direction and its eyes lit up.
“Boss? Is that you?” Said a voice coming from the TAC’s speaker. “Welcome back! Took you long enough.”
Everyone stopped and gazed up to see that the pilot compartment of the TAC hissed open, and the apparent pilot jumped down. It was about a 5 meter drop and there wasn’t any hesitation in the action.
“Boss!” The pilot squealed, throwing off her helmet and crashed into Itsuki, who caught her as if her weight and momentum were no problem.
The Colonel and his officers broke from their conversation when Itsuki raised a hand before anyone cut in to ask what this interruption was about.
“Shis, glad to see you made it back here before me.” Itsuki held the pilot in his arms as he got a good look at her, taking in how tall she was and how young her oriental features were. “Any injuries?”
“Nope, I’m spick and span.” Shis hugged him, her purple bodysuit pressing flush to his chest. To say she was curvy was an understatement, and the form fitting material brought out all her womanly appeal. “Speaking of injury, how about you? You’re late, I was starting to think that something happened to you.”
“Nothing much, just need to stop at the infirmary after I report in at the field tent.”
“I see, but..” Shis pouted, as if Itsuki had done something wrong.
He tilted his head. “What? You seem upset.”
“Did you forget already?” Shis did an offended little snort. “Remember how I said I’d be waiting for a reward after this?”
It took a second. Finally, Itsuki realized it when he recognized the TAC. It was the one that helped get Amanda and her group escape their last stand. “Oh, yeah. Well? What do you want?”
“A kiss.” Shis said abruptly, nuzzling into his neck.
The colonel and his officers kept a straight face, though the same couldn’t be said for Amanda and everyone else.
Itsuki frowned. “No, choose something else, if not, we can talk about your reward later.”
As he went to put Shis down, she pursed her lips in a begging kind of fashion and clutched onto his shoulders with teary eyes. They were obviously crocodile tears. “Oh, come on Boss, at least carry me if you're not going to indulge me.”
Itsuki obliged and walked along, all while Shis got comfortable in his arms. The Colonel and his officers wordlessly followed him to the field tent. Amanda and the others stared in slack jawed bewilderment. How anyone could flirt with Itsuki seemed impossible. The guy was a hard ass and unsociable freak normally. Arielle could relate to their surprise, though she rather enjoyed their adorable confusion.
“Hehehehe.” Arielle covered her mouth and faced away. “Guess that was a shock for them.”