Disclaimer: I don't own Strike Witches, and am especially glad Humikane Shimada hasn't sent a battalion of striker wearing lawyers to get me. On second thought, if they are wearing strikers, he can send as many as he wants...
A minor update (77 words). I had initially cut out the portion I named "Shirley's gloating grin" because it didn't really add anything to the story. It has become more relevant in the second story, and will be as I combine them into an over arching story.
Thanks for reading!
A gentle rapping sounded on Perrine's door.
"Perrine?" asked Miyafuji, tentatively. "Perrine, are you awake?"
There was no response. Lynnette and Yoshika looked at each other, trying to decide telepathically whether to open the door and peek in or not. Lacking telepathy, they failed to reach consensus.
"Perrine?" Yoshika knocked again.
Hearing no response, Yoshika reached for the door knob, and carefully opened the door. Peeking inside, she spied Perrine curled up in her bed.
"Perrine?" said Lynnette tentatively. "Is everything okay? We're going to breakfast. Want to come?"
The lump of bedding quivered and made a noise that sounded negative.
"Please?" Yoshika pleaded. "We didn't see you at lunch or dinner yesterday. You must be hungry."
The bedding monster stirred again. A hurricane of thoughts crashed through Perrine's mind. Happy thoughts of crawling away and dying of starvation collided with thoughts of waffles,eggs, sausages, fruit, crepes... Mortification at the thought of seeing Major Sakamoto or - worse - Minna fought with the gnawing hunger at the pit of her stomach. In her distraught state, her stomach won the battle.
The bedding lump shuddered then split open, disgorging the Galian girl. Perrine's cheeks were streaked with salt lines from dried tears. Her eyes were red, her hair disheveled and her clothes looked exactly like what had happened to them. Retrieving her glasses from the reading table and slipping on her shoes, Perrine stood up.
Yoshika and Lynne started for the door with Perrine following.
Eila slipped quietly out of her room. She wasn't as exhausted as Sanya, but she was close. And she was hungry. She decided to get a little breakfast and return to bed. Sanya had night patrol alone that night, a thought that made Eila a little sad. She idly thought about joining Sanya anyway, a happy but impractical thought she dismissed with a shake of her head. No, she had day patrol tomorrow, and would be completely wiped out if she snuck out to join Sanya on patrol tonight, never mind the issues of maintenance, fueling, and whatnot related to the strikers themselves, not to mention flying unauthorized... No, she decided, better to bring Sanya a pastry or bun with some jam instead. She smiled happily to herself at the thought.
As her mind daydreamed about Sanya's reaction ("Eila, thank you! You shouldn't have!") she saw Miyafuji, Lynette, and Perrine leave Clostermann's room.
"Oi! Where do you think you're going?" she called.
"We're going to breakfa..."
Eila breezed by the junior witches and hooked Perrine by the elbow and practically dragged her back into her room. "What are you doing...?" protested Perrine.
Eila sat Perrine down on her bed and picked up the hairbrush on the Galian's boudoir. Sitting down next to Perrine, she began expertly brushing the bespectacled girl's hair, a task practiced countless times on her sister, Aurora.
Peering into the door, Miyafuji and Lynne watched Eila go over to the Cheffineer and pick out clothes, which she then carefully lay over the chair at the writing desk. Eila then shooed them into the hall, calling to Perrine over her shoulder: "Change quickly and we'll all go down to breakfast together."
They heard shufflng and rustling of clothes, and a short time later Perrine join them in the hallway. No longer was she a disheveled mess.
Eila smiled approvingly. "Now you look like a proper Galian Noblewoman," she pronounced. She hooked one arm each through Yoshika's and Perrine's. "Let's go," she said. "I'm starving."
Shirley and Lucchini had cooking duties that morning. Breakfast was more savory than sweet, with spaghetti with a garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil sauce; spicy sausages; bacon; eggs; thinly sliced smoked meats; cheeses; and crusty bread. As a sop to those who needed sweet foods in the morning, there were also muffins set out on a plate.
Eila bent over and took a whiff. Ah! she thought. Lucchini's zucchini muffins! She grinned at the alliteration. She grabbed two muffins and wrapped them in a napkin to take back to Sanya, then dished herself up a hearty breakfast. She made a smoked meat and cheese sandwich for later, too, though she couldn't predict which of the two would actually wind up eating it.
She went back to the dining table to drop off her food, then went over to the side table where coffee, tea, milk, and juice were set out for the witches.
Shirley wore a smug grin as she watched Eila pile her plate high with food. As the previous evening's festivities kicked into high gear, speculation turned to who would be the next to tie the knot. Eila and Sanya were the obvious candidates, and there was much speculation regarding the whens and wheres of their relationship.
It amused Shirley that Eila was blissfully unaware of the bets riding on the anticipated stages of her and Sanya's relationship.
"Good morNING!" greeted Lucchini in her sing-song voice. She seemed especially chipper this morning.
"Hi!"
"'Mornin'" Yoshika and Lynn returned.
"Oh! You guys!" interjected Shirley. "You're the first ones here today." A broad grin split her face. "I would have thought at least Barkhorn would have been here by now," she continued, mischievously. Shirley knew quite well that she and the other witches had celebrated the engagement announcement late into the night, raising toasts to the spouses-to-be and trying to pry details of the events leading up to Minna popping the big question. No one would have expected Minna or Mio to make it to breakfast at their normal time, and it was never a surprise when narcoleptic Hartmann missed breakfast. But who would have thought Barkhorn couldn't hold her liquor? Shirley was making it her mission that it would be everyone.
"I didn't see you at the party last night," sang Lucchini when Perrine stood in front of her to get eggs and sausages. "I would have thought would want to congratul-Aiee!"
Shirley deftly kicked Lucchini in the shin from behind the kitchen divider. Hard. The Romagnia girl crumpled out of sight, moaning "oooowie... owie owie owie..."
Time stood still. Yoshika and Lynne were frozen in place, eyes wide saucers of fear. Perrine's right eye twitched convulsively, while her lower lip quivered. She desperately prayed for the earth to swallow her whole, immediately. Shirley grinned desperately through gritted teeth. Why couldn't the Neuroi attack right now? Why couldn't ten thousand Nueroi attack right now? Where were they when you actually needed them?
From her seat, Eila calmly said "I slipped her a shot of Salmiakki liqueur yesterday to celebrate."
Shirley visibly sighed with relief. She would rather drink a tall glass of Sakamoto's fish liver oil than have another of Eila's tongue numbing treats. She remembered Erica's declaration: "This is what Neuroi taste like!" Perrine laid low by a shot of a drink made from that vile substance wasn't hard at all to believe.
"Why does nobody appreciate my national treats?" Eila asked petulantly into her coffee cup.
The girls sat down with Eila and began eating. Perrine smiled appreciatively at Eila's save, while Yoshika and Lynne suggested starting a vegetable garden on base to expand their limited food supplies.
Eila got herself and Perrine another coffee, and the four witches ate together quietly. After finishing they broke into groups; Yoshika and Lynnette to their assigned laundry duties, Eila and Perrine to the dormitories, but not before Yoshika and Lynne had extracted a promise from Perrine to meet later in the day to plan the garden.
Once they reached their rooms and bade goodbye for the time being, Eila slipped into her room, put the food she had squirreled away on a little plate, and changed into her pajamas. She brushed her teeth at the little sink by the door, then slipped under the covers, wrapping her arms around Sanya. Sanya surprised her long haired girlfriend by rolling over and mumbling "welcome back, Eila." Sanya then planted a lingering kiss on Eila's lips. Eila didn't remember falling asleep in her lover's embrace.