Luckily for them, the weather wasn`t going to get rainy soon... it might start to pour later, but that wasn`t something to think about before it happened, right?
Loaded with seven blankets, Bullet followed Ragna`s footsteps, and close behind her, Caelica carried four.. with some trouble, but she was holding up well.

"How is this blanket going to protect me if those ancient tracks break in half and we fall out of the sky...?!" She complained, but Bullet just groaned.

"Use it as a parachute and hope for the best, then. Actually, don´t worry, Ragna will save us all."

Caelica sighed lightly and reminded herself not to look down when they were in the railway car. "Oops, sorry, i forgot he was the incredible Hulk."

"Nope, we brought him down earlier today. Ragna´s just Deadpool without the silly antics."

The station is a towering carcass of metal; like most noncivilian areas, it isn't designed with cosmetics in mind, and naked steel gleams in the noon sunlight everywhere, along with the sheet metal floors. It's not rickety, but it manages to feel like it in a sort of jury-rigged way. The counterweight itself is a steel hemisphere on the underside of the track with a door welded into its side. It looks like a little more than a cozy fit.

Ragna glances back from where he fiddles with the control board of the track, brow wrinkled in confusion. "You city girls are weird." he says. "Who the hell are they? And more importantly, why can't I be them, eh? What is it I'm lacking?"

The quirk at the corner of his mouth betrays him, and he turns back to the board and flips a switch. The door in the counterweight hisses open, and he nods towards it, lifting his eight blankets and carrying them inside, ducking to get under the low roof. "Plaster the walls with the blankets so we don't bash into them." he instructs, turning about as he drapes the interior with his load of textile cargo. It looks like an economy-class carriage without any of the cushions or windows, with a crate of tools taking up most of the leg room; those, he drapes an extra two blankets over to prevent scraping. "Can you both fit in here, even? It's a tight squeeze."

Bullet climbed inside first, plastering the walls with blankets.. as he commented on the limited room though, she just waved him off.
"Oh, don`t worry. It`ll fit. In the worst case scenario, we`ll just smother you with our supple young bodies."

Alright, enough teasing for the while. Caelica seemed glad that the car had no windows, though she was a bit shaky when she climbed inside.
"...I used to be scared of heights as a kid... but this... this is ridiculous. Even the train station is fifty feet above ground or something!"
Shuddering, the witch continued to attach blankets everywhere, using every screw that was poking out of the metal and every sharp edge as an attachment point for them- surely they would fly everywhere if the ride was as bumpy as Ragna claimed to be.
"...alright, i`m done." Placing her last blanket over the toolbox, Caelica sighed and sunk to her knees, sitting against a wall that was now cushioned and comfy.

"That's a worst-case scenario?" Ragna quips, hopping atop the crate and awkwardly trying to fit a place to sit atop the poky tools, leaving the rest of the car for the girls. "What happens if we have a good day for once?"

Groaning, he stretches out atop the crate as best he can, and presses a button in the pad set into the ceiling of the counterweight. The door closes, and the miniature car jerks into motion, slamming Ragna into the wall with a thump - be'd been near neither seat at the time. "Ow." he mutters. "Well, at least we're in motion finally."

He glances down at Caelica. "You comfy down there, lady? And don't worry - these are actually the most secure parts of the rail. They're affixed directly to the track, and unlike the cars, they have automatic breaks should there be an interruption in the track. Kinda pointless if your repair gadget gets trashed trying to fix things, ain't it?"

"So instead of falling out of the sky, they get stuck and we`ll have to climb out. Brilliant."
Caelica complained, hugging her legs and hoping for the best.

Bullet was actually still standing, athough rolling her eyes at Ragna`s comment- the mere thought of any intimate actions while this bucket rattled, shook and made whirring noises from its old electric motor wasn`t exactly thrilling. As it slowly picked up speed, though, she decided it`d be better if she took a seat on the ground and held on to something- the handlebar for getting in and out was covered with the blankets, so she just positioned herself in one corner and found the support of two walls more reassuring than of just one... or her legs for that matter.
"...i hope this isn`t gonna take very long." Was all she said about the situation.

"It won't." Ragna answers, shifting uncomfortably atop the crate, and finally bracing himself between two walls by pressing his feet firmly against the opposite one. "We'll arrive at the next station in maybe five minutes. That should be Ibukido, and that's in Ikaruga - I'm sort of welcome there, so it shouldn't be much trouble to grab an actual hotel room and get settled there. From there we hitch a cargo flight to Wadatsumi and Kokonoe. Or really whatever - I don't know what your all's plans are once we reach civilization again."

He rolls his shoulders, trying to ignore the itching cramp in them. "I know I want a goddamn shower. Can't imagine either of you would skimp on that either."

Bullet cleared her throat and nodded.
"Yeah, that was kind of my plan in the hotel penthouse... too bad the whirlpool, shower and bathtub had developed life from lifelessness."
A minute pause, then she looked over at him rather concerned.
"... what if that doesn`t work? We were delibertly transported hundreds of miles away, got no idea who did it and why... what if it happens again? Don`t even wanna think about it."

Caelica snorted lightly as well.
"My plans... Kokonoe didn´t even finish telling me what the hell happened in those hundred years i`ve missed. Except for maybe Jubei and Hakumen, all my friends are gonna be dead... not sure if i can return to my time, now that i`m here and technically am there as well..."
She sighed deeply.
"I can`t think of anything aside from a shower either."

"If it happens again I track down Jubei and he uses Musashi to cut whatever's making it happen in two." Ragna answers, tone uncompromising. "I know where he is almost all the time - an Ars we use to keep track of each other - and that Nox of his cuts right through any kind of spell that's yet been made. I'm not prone to surrender, lady, and neither should you be, because I'm gonna drag both your asses out of whatever mess this is right along with me."

He turns and claps a hand on Caelica's shoulder. "You have friends now." Ragna states firmly. "You've got me. Alright? If you don't know anywhere else to go, you can tag along with me. God knows the stupid cat does that enough anyways, I won't mind a little company that is actually sane."

The counterweight creaks to a halt and Ragna nods at the door. "And besides - the worst part of our trip is already over. We socked out a crazy man, Bullet gets her bounty, and we get an actual damn bathroom. What more could you want?"

As the door opened, the rain that had been foreshadowed earlier was pouring down on Ibukido. As such, the station and everything surrounding it was lifeless, everyone who might have occupated the streets moved into their shelters.
Bullet took a look outside, grimaced and then managed to smirk wryly at Ragna.
"... an umbrella."

Caelica was off the best, already having a coat on for that kind of weather, and Bullet simply soldiered through the rain- it wasn`t life threatening, so fuck it- as they went for the nearest affordable hotel in the city.
A full twenty minutes later, Caelica and Bullet stopped in the lobby of a motel- probably built during the time the monorail station was, but still run by someone- and the older one looked around her two companions.
"So..." The mercenary said. "Since i have no way of telling if they caught Azreal or not, i got no idea if i recieved the bounty or not... so, can you two afford a room of your own...?"
Caelica looked at her deeply, saying nothing.
Bullet sighed a moment later.
"Right. You don´t have any kind of modern currency on hand... i forgot that."

Ragna shakes his head, shedding raindrops in a spray of water, and extracts a bottle from an inside pocket. It's one of the trinkets from the mining attraction hotel they had stayed at - and it's full to the brim with gold dust stolen from behind the counter, glittering in the bright lights of the motel. "Not money, no." he notes. "But I bet I can barter this for a room, what do you think?" Pocketing it with a grin, he saunters up to the counter and begins negotiations.

Ten minutes later, with half the bottle sold to the motel, Ragna flops atop the bed of the best room in the establishment, sighing with relief as the feathery mattress bounces him up into the air. "I done good." he says, satisfied. "Who wants shower first?"

The room is a masterpiece, all soft cushions and couches and luxuries, with a fully-stocked fridge of wines that make even Ragna, the cooking master, raise an eyebrow upon seeing them. The bathroom is nothing short of opulent - the bathtub is an actual swimming pool set into the floor. It's a slice of heaven; for a night, at least.

Bullet raised her hand the second he asked that question, grinning wide.
"I`ve been waiting for you to ask that!"
Without even another word, she rushed over to the bathroom, closing the door behind her, though she was in such a hurry that she didn`t even lock it.
Besides, she was with friends and had no need to lock herself in.

Caelica in the meantime looked around in the room, standing in the middle of it and folded her hands.
"I... i can`t even bring myself to sit anywhere- everything is so nice and tidy and clean, i feel like i´m staining the room just by being here..."
She smiled weakly and unsecure, thinking about simply leaning against the wall until it was her turn.

Ragna barks a laugh as Bullet rushes past, and bounces on the bed again contentedly. It's far more luxurious than anything he's ever slept on, and he plans to take full advantage of it. "Caelica!" he calls, watching the girl stand awkwardly off to the side. "Heads up!"

And then he hurls a pillow at her face.

"Stop being skitzy and enjoy yourself." the boy says, folding one leg over the other and leaning back, closing his eyes and thoroughly luxuriating in the furniture. "They wash and clean everything after every guest anyways. Be kinda stupid not to, yeah?"

Caelica nearly fell over when she got hit by a pillow out of -more or less- nowhere.
She blinked twice, seeing the Reaper lie down and chill out like he used to when she knew him in the past.
Odd. But not unenjoyable.
"Ragna..." She muttered, picking up the pillow and tossing it his direction.
It seems to miss him at first, but as it hits the wall and plops to the ground, it lands on his face regardless..
In the meantime, the witch took off her shoes and jumped on the bed, knees first to join in.

Ragna lets out a muffled cough when the pillow lands on his face, and he swats it aside with a swing of his arm, but grins at Caelica anyways. "That's the spirit." he says, watching the bed bounce her into the air in response, the ripples of the mattress hopping him into the air as well. "Enjoy yourself. Don't kick holes in the wall, that's my only request. I'd like a non-drafty sleep for once in my life."

He raises an eyebrow at the girl and asks, "What am I like where you're from, anyways? Have I got as much a stick up my ass as Hakumen? Please tell me no. I'd die of starch overdose."

After briefly thinking about kicking a hole in the wall, Caelica settles down and rests her hands in her lap, looking at him puppy eyed.
At his question, though, she has to think for a while.
"Uhhh... well you don´t look too different, you just can`t use your right arm and your right eye, so... you just let your right sleeve hang down uselessly too. As for your character... i can`t see much of a difference. The Ragna i know is just a bit less.. rude sometimes."
She smirked, holding back a giggle at this comment.
"Aaand... he hates vampires and Terumi for reasons he doesn`t know about anymore. Thats it."

Ragna nods in approval at the last bit. "Good. At least this guy knows what he's on about. Or, well, he doesn't, but he's sticking to his guns. I can approve of that." He peers up at the doe-eyed look at Caelica's face, vaguely uncomfortable with the undisguised adoration - it's not something he had ever run into on his own before. "Sounds like I lost the Grimoire when Nu went Beast, then. Dunno what happened to the eye, though. I like the damn things, even if I forgot to pick up a matching set." he frowns. "Hope I didn't lose it shaving or something, that would be embarassing."

Caelica shook her head after being a bit shocked by the thought of that.
"Oh, no no no, he still has it, its just... non-functioning. Oh, i forgot... My sister didn`t like him at first, so she slammed him into the ground when they first met... pretty much literally. But that changed later."
She looked down, still smiling a bit.
"I dunno if you share that trait, but... despite the rough edges and the attitude, people believed in him, followed him and fought with him very quickly."
The witch looked even further away, blushing slightly.
"And... uh, with me... he managed to do even more than that. You might`ve noticed that."

"Well, it's kind of how I met everybody." Ragna says, droll. "They kick my ass. I dunno why anyone's ever scared of me, considering that."

He turns and glances curiously at Caelica, then reaches out and plants a hand on her shoulder. "Been meaning to talk to you about that." Ragna says, gentle. "I know this other guy you know is supposed to be me, but evidently he had a few memory problems, and moreover he probably went through some stuff I didn't. I'm not him, not exactly, and I don't want to be a replacement for him either. I'm my own man."

His head lowers as he looks Caelica in the eye. "So. I'm Ragna. Pleased to meet you, Cae."

Caelica beamed as he introduced himself properly.
"Hi! I´m Caelica, and we... kind of already met." She blinked a bit at that. "Its just hard to see the difference between you two... but i`m fine the way it is. If you love Bullet, i`m not going to butt in and stop you."
The witch smiled honestly and leaned against the wall behind her, almost determined to say something but she ends up not doing it.

Ragna blinks.

"What?" he says blankly. "Bullet? Why the hell would I -"

He frowns and stares at Caelica. "Look, we flirt because it's fun, but I'm doing the same damn thing with you here now. We don't know each other well enough to jump to the vows and declarations of love yet, because we just aren't familiar with each other yet for that."

Ragna kicks off his boots and folds his legs beneath him, his stare turning amused. "How long have you been hauling that belief around, eh?"

Caelica shrugs, blinking once.
"Well i`ve woken up in this totally unfamilliar enviroment and you run around with this girl, you two flirt around all the time and frankly you get along really well... so i just assumed its been going on for some time."
Shrugging, she stretched herself once, spraying out on the bed.
"How was i supposed to know you didn`t know her either?

From the bathroom, a mercenary with wet hair and a confused look is spawned into the room, dressed in merely a bathrobe and an expression that said"What the hell did i just walk into".
Finally, after a few seconds, she opened her mouth to talk.
"Did i miss the party bit of this sleepover or are you two just that lame?"

"You forgot to bring the snacks and the booze so the party was cut from the program." Caelica pointed out.

Ragna shrugs. "Met Bullet at the same time I met you. I've known her two days total." He grins. "And you coulda picked that up by me having to introduce myself to Bullet. You were awake for that, as I recall."

He turns to wave at Bullet and cocks his head at her. "You know I wonder if it's possible to inherit white hair." he says curiously. "Because you are literally the only person I've seen with it naturally. It can't be that common."

The Reaper sits up and kicks off the bed. "The booze actually is part of the program." he notes, ambling over to the fridge and extracting a bottle of perrigone from the fridge, which he hefts up to display to the others. "And we do, in fact, get room service, so if you're hungry - go ahead and order. It's the one time you'll get food as good as mine without me cooking it. Take advantage - I certainly plan to."

Caelica beamed.
"Then we just need pyjamas and some corny outdated music and we have the perfect sleepover party."
Hopping off the bed, she began to see through the closets in the room to find any sleeping attire in their sizes... in the meantime, Bullet stood in front of the heater and let herself dry off.

"And then we get drunk and on the next day we forgot everything that happened, two of us are pregnant, one wakes up in the street without pants on and various other desasters occur." The merc closed her eyes with a grimace. "I`ve seen it happen. I was the only one to make it out sober and untouched."
A sigh, and a dramatic pause later, Bullet finally adresses Ragna`s question. "But my hair isn´t something that happens naturally... i think its a genetic error or something, my parents sure didn`t have it."

"I'll concede the managing of the sleepover to you, that is not my area of expertise." Ragna says to Caelica, as he sets the wine aside. With a smile, he saunters on past Bullet and bumps her hip with his. "I have respect for our self-control and blushing virginities. I don't think we're going to lose either one soon. But if it makes you feel better, you can be the winemaster in charge of rationing out the alcohol. Since you're so experienced in this matter."

He cracks a smile back at the mercenary and then drapes his thick coat on a hanger, leaving him in casual clothes again. "Caelica, if you're not in the shower in two minutes I'm taking it, ya hear?" he calls across the room.

From inside the closet, a little yelp could be heard, then Caelica exits it again, a bit dustier than before.
"They didn`t clean that one up. I demand a refund." She commented, then darted off to the bathroom.

Bullet sighed, watching her go like that.
"I doubt we`ll get one just for a dusty closet. Maybe if we break a window and claim its always been that way."
Then, pulling out a few bottles of wine, she starts to arrange them in order of dry to sweet, placing them all on the table along with three wine glasses and a corkscrew they`ve convinently provided as well.
"Jesus, some of those are older than i am." She commented, looking through the various labels. "I hope they haven`t gone bad over the years or i`ll really demand a refund."

"You complain about being dusty as you run to the bathtub." Ragna comments drolly at Caelica's fleeing tail. "Clearly, a tragedy."

He shakes his head and turns back to Bullet. "I think breaking a window would get us thrown out. Let's not jump at that option, much as I am for property damage." Ragna says thoughfully, walking back over to beside Bullet and choosing a sweet red that he uncorks promptly. The hiss of released air is potent enough that he leans back. "Damn." he says, admiringly. "Get a whiff of this, Bullet. This is quality stuff."

The odor is rich and deep, the sort of scent that you can feel on your tongue already; Ragna scours up a pair of glasses and pours a pair of fingers for two into them, pausing afterwards to set the bottle back and scoop up his glass. "To capitalistic plundering." Ragna says with a wry smile.

"Thats big words for a brawny guy like you." She chuckled, also taking a glass and simply letting the two clash together briefly.
"Just cheers is fine."
As she took a sip, ancient alcohol burned in her mouth, but it was a common feeling, nothing that put her off. Rather, it was a nice taste- faintly of the berries it originally came from, but it was like every year it spent in a barrel the taste refined and left its own unique flavor in the mix.
Bullet breathed out slow and deeply, savoring the taste until it vanished at last.
"So... we get drunk and fall asleep before our resident teenager even comes back from showering. Thats a good plan."

Ragna's cheeks flush a little. "I was a book brat back before I went on my little personal crusade." he mutters, glancing away and out the window. "Had to spend a lot of time around my little siblings taking care of them. Lots of time spent sitting on my can. Reading was a way to pass it."

He runs a finger around the rim of the glass and takes a sip, sighing at the pleasant taste. "This is some hella nice stuff." The Reaper notes, surprise passing over his face as he lifts the bottle and inspects the label. "A thirty-year vintage is nothing to scoff at, I'd guess."

Ragna leans over and bumps shoulders with Bullet. "Nah, I want to see her taking her first drink of wine." Ragna notes with a faintly evil smile. "Let's give her the whiskey test. Tell her it's best to down a whole shotglass in one go."

Bullet widened her eyes, then groaned as the idea began to sink in.
"Oh lord. I think i`ll count the seconds until she falls asleep in the middle of the room."
Her eyes peered over to the bathroom door, wondering how long it would take for her. She had short hair herself, but Caelica`s probably covered her butt when it was untied... that had to take a while.
"I wonder when she´s gonna notice i used the only towel they hung up there."

Ragna snorts, first at Bullet's reaction and then at her comment, covering his face in response as he snickers. "Stop or she's gonna hear me." he laughs, choking down his amusement. "I'd hate to ruin the surprise."

He shakes his head and wanders over to the closet, extracting one of the few non-dusty towels and shaking it out just in case. "You're an evil little child, aren't you?" he notes, moving over to the bathroom door and hanging the towel on the handle. "Well, from my limited experience, I'd presume she'd just ask if I'd like to join the costume party. Since neither of you are much for overdressing."

Ragna tilts his head. "A fact I can appreciate, but I'll try not to stare." he says with a crooked grin. "Long as you promise not to steal my last towel too. I have my limits."

Bullet held back a laugh, but cracked an evil smile. To help keep his promise, she pulled the bathrobe tighter inwards, tying the sash in front to keep it together.
"You`re the man, you don`t need one. Showing off your packs and guns is part of your job." She shrugged with a grin. "Though i could probably show off some too, its not as enjoyable for our young one." She paused for a moment, then thought that over. "I`m assuming that, at least."

Just in time, a little squeak can be heard from the bathroom as Caelica DID discover the missing towel.
It was just a matter of time until she would figure to look on the other side of the door.

Ragna ambles away from the door, smile growing more and more wry. "Fine, I'll just throw on a pair of pants and strut until Caelica has a heart attack." he comments. "That'll take about twenty seconds. That or she'll jump me and you'll have to shield your innocent eyes, or step in as our wisely-appointed moderator of wine and pregnancy."

He pauses, then turns a blank look on Bullet.

"Why is it that we're treating the hundred-plus year old girl in this group like a kid? There's some kind of backwards logic here. I mean besides time travel, that's all kinds of fucked up without me even thinking about it."

"And why do you think i`m so innocent?" Bullet remarked, blinking a bit. "I`ve probably had more body contact than you and her combined."
Slowly, the bathroom door opened, and like a cautious serpent crawling out of a pit, one of Caelia`s hands reached around to grab the towel and disappear as quickly as it appeared.
"Caelica IS a teenager, there`s no way around it. Just because we`re living in a time far ahead in the future doesn`t mean she`s any older."
Bullet tapped her chin, thinking that over.
"At least i think thats how that works."

Ragna shrugs. "You've probably had more experience, no arguments, but you haven't had more body contact." he corrects. "I lived with the Kakas for awhile, and traveled with one for most of a year. They're very, very clingy. I am entirely willing to bet I've been hugged, climbed over, jumped on, piggyback rode, crawled under, and unabashedly groped more than you have. No doubt."

He grins at Bullet's look. "Quit changing your argument, you were calling her the same thing earlier. Either she's an old hag or she's younger and prettier than you are." Ragna rolls his eyes exaggeratedly, taking another sip of wine. "So long as you keep your catfights nice and public for me to see."

Then he cracks a grin and scratches the back of his head. "Though I suppose that means I have to be genre-savvy too." he muses. "Don't think I can pull off a nosebleed. Crack me in the nose so I can go stare at Caelica for awhile."

Bullets grin widened. "Should i? Azreal told me i have a 'good' punch, so i`m expecting you to fly into a wall. Though i`ll gladly take the honor of tugging her bathrobe open."
A second later, Bullet actually felt a tug on the sash of her bathrobe from behind, as Caelica had left the bathroom and overheard what she was talking about.
To her support, the robe actually held together long enough for her to cross her arms over her chest, even without the sash.
"I think he didn`t mean that, Bullet." Caelica said with a smile, fully devoting herself to the role of the evil mistress.
Her hair was already tied togerher, though her ponytail sat lower to let the hair dry out better, and her bathrobe fit her small frame better than it did for Bullet.

"Aw man, don't bring up that psycho in the middle of a good flirting streak." Ragna groans, throwing up his hands. "Can you imagine him trying to buy flowers? Or reserve a table at a resturant?"

He glances around, licks his finger, and then spikes his hair up in the characteristic style of the blue berserker. "THIS TABLE IS MINE BY RIGHT OF MIGHT!" he booms, planting a foot on a chair and stabbing a finger at an invisible infidel. "COME TAKE IT IF YOU DARE! THE MIGHTY AZRAEL WILL SMITE YOU DOWN!"

A pause.

"Or something like that." Ragna says with a shrug, looking back at the others just in time for Bullet to snap her arms closed on her newly loosened robe. "Shit, horrible timing on my part. Can I get a replay?"

He gives a thumbs-up to Caelica over Bullet's shoulder. "Nice response, Caelica! Audience approved. Feel any better, properly sanitized?"

"You might if you`re a good boy and take a shower yourself. You`re the last one."
Bullet responded, a bit stressed, but she feels like she -could- let loose if she wanted. Probably a side effect of the alcohol, most likely not.
"In the meantime i`ll get this pesky brat back for what she just did."

Caelica showed her tongue to Bullet and went over to bounce on the bed.
"Come and get me then~"
Somehow it seemed like she was drunk before she even took a sip.

Ragna grins and turns his back on the others with a wave. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." With that unhelpful caution, he wanders into the bathroom and shuts the door behind him.

A moment later he darts out and snatches a towel from the closet, shaking it out. "Almost forgot mine." he says, and sticks his tongue out at the girls, before secreting himself away in the bathroom again.

~*~

Ten minutes later, Ragna exits the shower with a stretch, towel looped over his bare shoulders comfortably to absorb the water dripping from his damp hair. "That feels fantastic." he sighs, glancing around for the girls, adjusting his pants to make sure they stay decent. They're the loose hospitality variety, and keep sliding down his hips. "Where'd you two get to and where are the bodies hidden?"

Bullet raised a hand from the bed, where she and Caelica were spread out and were watching a talkshow on TV.
They both seemed pretty exhausted, but both their bathrobes were still on, more or less.
"We`re here, but i hid the bodies in the fridge. Don`t drink too much of that fucking wine. Its potent."

Caelica, almost dozing off, raised her head and turned around to greet Ragna as well, her hand plopping down on Bullet`s stomatch afterward.
"...whoa, what?"
She began to rub it.
"Jebus, your tummy is all muscle, isn`t it!? That impact felt like hitting a rock!"
Bullet glanced at her for that comment, but then chose to ignore it.

Ragna nods, ambling over to the bed and plopping down on it besides the girls, stretching out on the bed. It's easily huge enough for all three of them, and he grants them space enough that it's not awkward. "Yeah." he says with a nod, unsurprised at Bullet's definition. "Bullet's a grappler. Most of her strength comes from her stomach, being able to duck and weave and grab. That's called core strength, and it also defines how well you take a hit too, because without it you get the wind knocked out of you with even a tap."

He smirks. "And Azrael did a hell of a lot more than tap you. That was impressive, by the way. Not many people can rumble on my level."

The Reaper glances at Caelica. " . . . And don't you get started on feeling bad just because you couldn't fight because we'd have died long before Azrael of leukemia or some other disease shit if you hadn't been there. You're queen of your own domain here, lady."

"If i`m a queen, then kiss my ring, peasent." Caelica commanded, holding out her limb hand to him, but aside from a stern look, didn`t do any more.
Instead, she snuggled up to Bullet, who just rolled her eyes in response and kept watching TV.
"She`s really fluffy otherwise, Ragna." The girl commented, rubbing her face against her chest without even a shred of shame. One glass seemed enough for her.

Bullet slowly turned her head to Ragna, raising an eyebrow at him.
"It was your idea to give her alcohol, wasn`t it...?"

Ragna scoops up Caelica's hand and kisses her knuckles, unabashed. "By your leave." he murmurs, flashes a grin at her, and then rolls away before she can retaliate.

"It totally was my idea." he answers, almost proud. "Look at her now all . . . not grown up and yet shameless. I'm so proud, and almost horrified. I'm entirely mixed on how to feel, except that this situation is made of awesome."

Ragna sets a finger on his chin. "I might be mildly experiencing some of that wine myself, except I'm not getting less wordy." he muses. "I think I owe you thanks for exposing my hidden natural talent in being silly and contradictory." He wobbles to his knees - more because the bed shakes under him than any lack of balance - and bows to Bullet. "Miss Bullet - whatever your last name is - you've been an inspiration and a tease. Thank you."

He grins, and the silliness and humor falls away for a moment to show that he's not drunk at all, but the poorly-suppressed delight in his face and smile is no lie. "But seriously. Thanks. It's been an awesome couple days with y'all. Better than I've had in years."

"You`d be the first one to hear my real name, Ragna, and i don´t think you wanna hear it." Bullet responds with a deadpan face, still trying to shift around so Caelica`s face rests on the matress rather than on her assets.
A smile crosses her face a few seconds later, and Caelica makes a happy sound as she further buries her face in Bullet, who`s the only one to respond to him.
"I just wish we would have met under different cirumstances. But with people like us this is pretty much the only way we could ever meet... neither of us would`ve met Caelica normally and i`m pretty sure we two would`ve just been trying to... murder each other."
That last part of the sentence came out with a lump in her throat, despite the fact that this kind of stuff was normal in Kagutsuchi and the surrounding cities these days... Ragna himself told her thats how he met half the people he knows.

Ragna smiles a bit and lies back down, propping his head on an elbow. "We're worse at it than you think." he says. "There's not very many of us out there - I mean people able and willing to cut loose their ties and wander. Never have been. And perhaps because of that I've never tried especially hard to cut down someone that's found me on their own. You have to respect a traveler's resolve."

He nods towards Bullet. "So, yeah, if we had met otherways, we'd have some bruises - like the man said, you have a good punch too. But you or I would hardly be dead. Just like one of my best friends is the highest-ranking ace of the NOL Academy, and I've worked with Relius Clover's son, and I've traded punches with Hakumen. People who have got nothing in common with me, save for violence, but after our meeting of the ways none of us are dead. Life, for those people willing to wander it, is too precious to squander."

Ragna reaches up and flicks Bullet on the forehead. "So chill." he says. "In this universe or any other, I'm pretty sure the only thing we beat each other is innuendo."

Bullet blinks twice, then chuckles a bit.
"You really have been a bookworm before, i can see that. A caveman like Azreal couldn`t come up with a speech like that out of nowhwhere. Still.."
She returned the flick she`s been given with a smirk.
"Do something productive or sleep. Caelica`s keeping me busy but i`m sure she`ll fall asleep in five minutes... maybe four. Then i`m tied down and i`ll have to succub to that fate as well."
She briefly looked at the ponytail clad head that was buried deeply in her bosom. "...i think she`s drooling on me. Or maybe thats a bleeding nose, i can`t tell."

Ragna gives Bullet a peaceful smile, catches her hand, and turns it up. His lips press against her palm gently. "Think I'll take that sleeping option." he murmurs, squeezing her hand once before he releases and rolls onto his back, snatching a pillow for his own and sliding it beneath his head. "You get some rest too, miss incognito. If the bed bug bites - or does anything else with her mouth - she's ticklish under her arms."

A last wry smile, and then he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, during a strange dream experience, Caelia`s head moves away from Bullet`s chest and over to Ragna... where she finds much more comfort despite the lack of cushion.
She continues to drool there, while her body is sprayed out all over Bullet in the meantime... who gratefully has a deep sleep and doesn`t notice. Yet.