Spoilers: Conflict (BEACH PARTY!)

[Cream]

Unlimited leisure: it was a poison, the kind of idleness that tilted against materialist expectations for survival in the world of responsibility and flew in the face of any kind of pretension to virtue. This brand of leisure tended to part itself into two, creating a surplus of impoverished weeks pervaded by languid boredom, set against resplendent days of vital energy and testaments of self and relationship to be enshrined, forever, into one’s memories. Today fell into the latter camp, ostensibly, despite only having begun. It might have been more difficult to forget the expanse of sand, scratched at by the timid ocean like an anxious addict trying to pick away at a scab that was not there, for an eternity, if Levi had not spent to much time in Cuba in recent months. But there were other cues that he would remember, beyond just the beach itself: the coolness of the sand, not quite yet hot, for the Sun had yet to take its place at the zenith of the sky; the patches of grass further away from the ocean, worn out, always a perennial tactile comfort.

Levi was caked in sunscreen. Tons. It was the only way to ensure he’d not get burned, given that his skin was so prone to it. He wore a straw hat and sunglasses as extra precautionary measures. It wasn’t, obviously relative to his light sensitivity issues, his idea to go to the beach, but he’d not been against it either. A small group of them had made the trip out early (really early) from the city out to the beach, for a day of relaxation. Again, unlimited leisure made the trip a bit redundant: there was not much going on to relax from, aside from the general despondency of the Earth Sphere (Levi thought this to himself, as a comforting joke, but also…).

An expansive sandcastle was been outlined, using sketched geometry and symbols, to designate what would be going where. It was the brainchild of Dan, and eventually Levi had joined in- there was not much to do yet, his sunscreen was not water-proof and the water had not heated up yet.

The crown jewel Super Newtype test-subject was not at the beach. She was somewhere, not too far off. The silent psycho-fascist had grown to be a contentious subject amongst the progressive circle, not to mention the university itself. She was pure side-show to him, at once just another Newtype, but in a more meaningful sense a person whose abilities had exceeded standard metric for psychowave quantification. There had been moments when Levi managed to experience something over and above the designation of pure category. Aporia lived in that realm, always.

Silently, somewhere, Aporia mapped out the psychic terrain. It was a limited space, something that she had proven in concert with other Newtype test subjects, and there was something more peculiar than a mere power balancing act at play.

"There are no ongoing major wars right now," Levi said to Dan.

"So you're wondering why we're political?"

"No, not really, but did you know, in Eurasia, there's actually..."

[Snow]

The Earth was the centerfold of the Solar system's political geography, fitting as the birthplace of the human species regardless of evolving opinions regarding its place in unfolding history. Yet every planet touched was but an insignificant, glittering speck, not unlike the very grains of sand which from a distance made up the smooth tropical shore of the balmy coast of the African continent.

And it was here the five Eberhart sisters found themselves now, identical and perfect, only the length of their hair and the color and style of their swimwear denoting any semblance of individuality between them. Of them, Philippa despised the Earth. It was hot and its environment heavy and oppressive, and the humid, salty air made her feel as though she were breathing thick soup. She clutched at her forearms modestly, a frown settled on her features even as the scandalously suited Susan led her sisters down the strand. At least she was enjoying herself. Effervescent and vivacious, it had been Susan's idea to spend the remainder of their time on the planet in Africa, much to Philippa's chagrin (Although the sweet-natured Caroline was quick to agree with the unbelievably fun idea. Philippa snorted irritably to herself.

"I don't think I put on enough..." Caroline worried as they walked, looking over her pale limbs, "I hope I don't burn..."

"Maybe we can borrow more from someone," Susan responded, "Don't worry, this'll be a lot of fun."

There's that word again. Fun. Philippa would be having fun when she was no longer forced to endure the Earth's environment.

"Yes-- Oh!" Caroline chirped, "Let's ask them!"

The five sisters' attention was drawn to a pair near them, approaching with friendly caution.

"Hello." Four of them said at the same time and at a polite distance, Josephine and Elizabeth flanking Levi, with Susan standing in front of him. Philippa lingered in the back, disinterested. Caroline trotted innocently right up to the young man, flashing him a charming smile. Her eyes glanced from his face to his sunblock and back, bringing her arms across her chest and fidgeting shyly.

"Do you think I could borrow some of that...?" She asked sweetly, "I don't think I put on enough... I'd appreciate your help."

"Don't say it like that, stupid!" Philippa hissed, giving her sister a disciplinary swat upside her head, "You'll bother him."

"Ah-hahn~!" Caroline yelped, "But I don't want to burn, Pippa!"

[Nihren]

"You're sure it's on tight?"

"Yes Master, now shut up and drive."

As the sun rose above the African continent, Lieutenant's Caem and Mira of the CEU rocketed down the road in their jeep. Caem looked no different than any other day, dressed in a dark gray t-shirt that was a little tight, clinging to the muscles on his slim and toned body, his black pants, and a pair of sunglasses to stave off the harsh light of the sun. His hair remained short and jet black as always with no contacts over his emerald eyes. Mira, on the other hand, was wearing her light blue wig and contacts. It was tight enough on her head that no matter what it would stay on. In addition to that she exchanged her red and blue jacket for a blue sundress, underneath which her bikini was hidden. They weren't on a mission necessarily, in fact they were off duty, but Caem felt it necessary that she disguise herself as "Rin" yet again. Mira had wanted to go to a beach, and it just so happened that Caem had some business to attend to there as well, kill two birds with one stone.

"You remember our cover story right?"

"Yes Master. If anyone asks about us being together, I'll tell them you picked me up on the side of the road and agreed to take me to the beach since you were going there anyway."

"Good. Now lets hope they actually buy it if the need arises."

About half an hour later they arrived at the beach. The jeep pulled off into a dirt patch next to the road and came to a halt. Up ahead on the beach Caem could see a group of people. He moved his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose so that he could peer over them. "I spy with my little eye some beautiful ladies." As he looked to his right he was greeted by a very annoyed Mira who glared at him, got out of the car, and practically slammed the door, grabbing her bag out of the back. Caem sighed, pushed his sunglasses back up, and got out of jeep a lot more calmly, grabbing his own bag out of the back, slinging it over his right shoulder and walking towards the crowd of people. Mira, naturally arrived first. She wiped the annoyed look from her face and put on a happy one as she got closer to Levi. She could see past the five women standing near him and called out to him while waving. "Hey, Levi!" Mira, or rather "Rin" as she was now going by, was focusing all her attention on Levi. Caem, meanwhile, decided to focus his attention on the nearby women. walking towards them rather than Levi.

[Cream]

“And there was, like, sixty of them, it was pretty crazy,” Levi had reached the end of recounting the events earlier in the year, when he’d been entangled in the anti-insurgent operations in Eurasia. It was funny, he realized over the course of telling the story, that such events were not made particularly known to the citizens of the Union. Dan listened intently, not really believing much of the story, but unsure of where to draw the line between what happened and what didn’t: he was one of the few that knew some, well, part, of Levi’s situation and circumstances. It was still mostly a mystery that didn’t go much further than knowing that Levi was in possession of a mobile suit and had been affiliated with the Commonwealth military. Levi trusted Dan with he information, for the most part.

It was a little bit later in the morning, and people had begun showing up to enjoy the pristine environment. There was a lifeguard, now, and the water was a little more inviting. Beach-goers staked out positions, migrated across the length of the beach in search for better encampments, or stayed further up near to their vehicles.

The sandcastle was coming along rather nicely. An outer perimeter had been established, which would be the defensive wall of the castle- they argued about whether or not to build a moat, which would have been a frustration- and the inner part of the castle had begun to take form too, although as they progressed, it began to take the shape of a small encased village, rather than a real castle. It was about the journey, anyway.

The two had been oblivious to the presence of the Eberhart sisters from a distance, although once it was clear where the group of women were headed, it was hard to think about anything else. The two young men vacillated over pretending to still be interested in the sandcastle or shifting their attention entirely. Four of the five greeted them upon arrival, at which point Dan and Levi both waved at first, and then expressed themselves more emphatically. The pair caught onto the request for sunscreen quickly, prompting Levi to motion toward the towel, with various items scattered on its surface.

“We only have one bottle, uh, not sure if it’s going to be enough for all five of you…”

They appraised the group silently, quickly, and curiously. All of them seemed to look similar in terms of features, how bizarre.

“Beaches are great.”

“What are your names?” Dan asked, noticing Levi’s attention had been split between the encounter, and well, something else- he couldn’t tell what it was, but Levi’s head appeared to be in the clouds now. Dan’s voice prompted Levi to return to the situation at hand, and the two of them laughed gutturally at the minor spectacle that went on between the group of sisters. “I’m Levi,” he threw the bottle of sunscreen gently, into the air toward Caroline: it was lobbed high enough into the air that she should have time to catch it. “Dan Sala. Try not to use all of it, okay? Hah.”

Not even an instant later, Levi heard his name called out- and sure enough it was fate interjecting with a strong dose of coincidence- turned to face the voice and was utterly shocked.

“You…” He muttered silently, letting his face greet her in place of his voice.

[Snow]

Caroline, Susan and Elizabeth had returned their waves as they approached. Five sets of eyes flickering down to the blanket splayed across the fine sand at Levi's statement. Caroline appeared elated, happy she would not end up a lobster by the end of this vacation-- no. Mission. It was still a mission, right?

"That's alright!" Caroline said happily, fumbling to catch the bottle, "I'll be really careful..."

"Susan Eberhart," the quintuplet with the shortest hair and the skimpiest bikini answered Dan's question, "It's nice to meet you, Dan Sala and Levi..." She said their names playfully, tucking a short lock of fuchsia behind her ear, "These are my sisters; Philippa, Caroline, Elizabeth and Josephine."

Elizabeth and Josephine settled in the sand at either side of the young men, while Susan remained standing, back to the ocean as she seemed to regard their new friends with haughty appraisal. Philippa, meanwhile, had snatched the sunscreen from her sister, determined to help her herself-- only to squeeze far too hard upon the bottle, a shrill cry escaping Caroline as her back arched.

"A-Ah! No~ It feels so slimy...!" She wailed, the jolt causing her to loose her balance, toppling between Levi's legs.

"Don't be a baby," Philippa said grumpily, rubbing the creamy block into her sister's skin as Caroline clutched at the sand close to Levi's thighs absently.

"Y-You're too rough!" Caroline whimpered, "Please do it more gently..." blue eyes flickered to Levi's face, the girl's face pink, before she looked away bashfully.

Elizabeth looked to Dan, she and her remaining sisters seemed unperturbed by the ongoing shenanigans. In fact, she seemed more fascinated with the sandcastle under construction, "Can I help with this...?" She asked, her engineer's brain already fixated on the design.

[Nihren]

As Caem reached the gathering of people, close enough to hear what they were saying, he couldn't help but stare at the scene before him which felt like something out of a sleazy comic. He stopped about a couple feet to Susan's right. "Well, they seem like a lively bunch." Caem looked at Levi who was still sitting on the ground. "It's nice to see you again Levi. You seem to be having quite the time I see." Caem smirked at him. Meanwhile, to Caem's right, was Mira whose face had seemingly gone back to annoyance, but this time aimed at Levi. Out loud, she didn't say a word, but in her mind, which she opened to Levi, she was not happy. "I'd say it's good to see you again, but it's kind of hard when you've got a womans face practically eating your crotch. And here I thought you weren't that kind of guy." She practically turned her nose up at him.

[Kitsu]

“Hope this is what you wanted to do.” Yawning, Kit rubbed her eyes and then placed the pair of black sunglasses back in her face. It had been some time since they had a proper leave and had time to spend together. For a time of peace, it felt like she was busier than ever. Lauren had been hinting at wanting to do something a bit different with their leave. Going to a beach was something Kit want to do for some time, but never really had the chance.

“You should put some sunscreen on, also please behave.” There was a pleading tone at the end of the blonde’s statement. Lauren had been contained for some time now and Kit not wanting anything bad to happen to her, she set her free for the day. A bag packed with snacks, towels and sunscreen, Kit made her way down the steps from their rented beach front condo and walked through the warm sand. Hopefully Lauren would follow, the girl had been cooped up just as much as Kit had – she needed a wonderful day of relaxation and a walk.

Looking out towards the water Kit paused for a minute, “It’s pretty nice today yeah?” She dropped the bag and removed her tank top leaving her in a modest swimsuit top. Tucking the tank top away, she grabbed the bag and offered her free hand to Lauren. A soft smile and she nodded – seems there’s others with the same idea as us, wanna go say hi?”

[Harabec]

"It is! This is exactly the kind of thing to get me out of my own head," came Lauren's bubbly reply. She was already standing near the door, hand on her hip, waiting for her wife to catch up. The beach was decidedly more her scene than Kit's, and it showed in her enthusiasm. At this point, however, she would've been excited to go just about anywhere as long as it was outside. They'd been cooped up since they'd returned from their extended honeymoon and some time in the natural outdoors was long overdue. Even just some quality time together was at a premium, lately.

"You know it doesn't really matter, I'm going to burn in minutes anyways, I always do... And behave? Maybe you forgot, but I couldn't have any reeeaaaal fun even if I wanted to," Lauren said, puffing up her cheeks and contorting her mouth to one side. She stared very intently at the key about the blonde's neck, before waving her hand and turning about to face the door. "So you've got nothing to worry about, because I don't want to and I can't, so c'mon!" Kit didn't have to worry a bit about Lauren following; she'd already started off ahead of her, moving around the condo to the side to grab an umbrella. Unlike Kit she had no shirt to take off, she was already dressed appropriately: a red and white bikini top that crossed over her chest and connected at her collar, alluring but not quite the skimpiest top she could've chosen. Instead of a proper bikini bottom, though, she wore a thin matching red and white miniskirt.

She came bounding back up to Kit, her two long red ponytails swishing from side to side as she did. Nodding as Kit mentioned how nice out it was, Lauren took more than the girl's hand: she hooked her whole arm around Kit's and then entwined their fingers together. That only lasted for a few seconds of walking, however, as Kit pointed out the gathering assortment of people. "Yeah, let's, it's been a while since we've gotten to socialize!" With a smile Lauren picked up the pace, likely now nearly pulling Kit along behind her like an excited puppy.

[Cream]

Dan nodded with mild, falsely disinterested enthusiasm at the introduction to the Eberhart sisters, while Levi was still mostly distracted. With the tacit invitation to join the two, the sisters had brought a needed layer of novelty to the day at the beach. They day could only go down from here, all things considered: if things got any better, it would be bordering on some serious fantasy territory. Best to just let things play out, both men through to themselves. Their beach set up was unrivaled, a marvel of comfort and amusement: a portable music player filled the air with appropriate tunes, nested in a towel right beside a cooler filled with drinks, both alcoholic and not. They didn’t have an umbrella, which would apparently have saved everyone worrying about sunscreen lots of trouble, but there was something to be said to facing the sun directly.

Dan watched surreptitiously- the lion’s share of his gaze having been focused on Susan, initially- at Phillipa mishandling the bottle of sunscreen in a way that was, to be sure, an adroit and rushed clumsiness. In a flash, Caroline fell forward, taking a tumble into the sand, and directly into Levi. The man’s daze had been shattered, and now he could only feel a sharp embarrassment for himself and Caroline.

“Uh… Ah, shit, are you okay?” Levi scuttled backward quickly, trying to minimize the discomfort for them both. Caroline looked up at him as her sister applied the lotion, prompting Levi to look away just after she did. Dan laughed a little, feeling that the gaffe had already established a rapport between the seven of them. And just as the ice had been broken, two more beach-goers approached- Levi had already been made aware of them, but had forgotten just as quickly. He was utterly baffled: Rin and… the officer from Eurasia? Together? What was going on?

“Officer Zeer? I guess you’ve got some time off, huh? Glad to see you’re okay.” Levi looked back to Caroline to make sure she was okay, and upon doing so was bombarded by Rin’s presence. He felt as she did, momentarily, understanding her- and could only feel guilty. He didn’t acknowledge her, not entirely sure how to even go about doing so.

At Elisabeth’s request, Dan nodded and motioned toward the sandcastle. “It’s nothing special, feel free to get started whatever part of it you want to. This is the outter part, and I guess these are supposed to be the buildings inside of the wall, it’s not just one castle on the inside…”

[Snow]

Elizabeth returned Dan's smile sheepishly, scooting a little closer to him so she could help with his castle happily. She looked up at him absently adjusting the strap of her red bikini, her sarong splayed out behind her, the white hibiscus print bright in the sun, "Well, what are your plans for me...?" She asked modestly. Referring to what he wanted her to build on the sandcastle, of course.

Susan's attention, meanwhile, snapped to Caem, "My, so many people," she said, "I hope we're not interrupting any previously made plans."

Josephine instead looked to the two even newer girls, having the decency to at least wave. If enough people gathered, Susan's fears of having interrupted anything may be salvaged by an invitation. And besides... Josephine stole a glance to her sisters, then shook her head. At least these people seemed normal.

"Stop squirming, I'm almost done." Philippa hissed, making sure Caroline was sufficiently covered before giving her sister a gentle slap for the trouble her quest for sunblock caused, tossing the tube back on the towel. The girl yelped in front of Levi, her hand reaching forward and grabbing his in both gratitude and support as she lifted herself, breathing a little deeply from Philippa's irate onslaught.

"I'm fine... tha-thank you for that..." Caroline said, the pink dusting on her cheeks flushing down her neck, lifting their joined hands to absently wipe away at the thin trail of saliva that had escaped the corner of her mouth with her knuckles, "It was... really nice..."

"Finish your sentences properly, damn it!" Philippa sighed, fingertips at her forehead in vexation.

[Nihren]

Caem chuckled at Levi's odd circumstances. "Yeah, the brass decided to give me some leave for a change. Running into this young lady over here..." He gestured to Rin. "... was unusual enough. She needed a ride to the beach and I happened to be coming here anyway. And then I run into you of all people. Talk about a weird start to the day." A part of him wanted to stay and chit chat with Levi for a while, and he was partially curious about the other man, but they looked like they had their hands full with all the women showing up. Although, the two new guests who were making their way over looked familiar, but Caem couldn't quite place his finger on it, which frustrated him a bit. He moved his sunglasses up onto his forehead, revealing his emerald eyes. His attention shifted to the woman to his left, Susan. He turned towards her. "No plans to interrupt as far as I'm aware of, just an odd coincidence. However, I don't suppose you'd like to make some plans?" Caem gestured towards the beach. "I was thinking about taking a walk down the beach, and I wouldn't mind having the most beautiful woman here accompany me for the stroll."

While Caem was busy doing his thing, Mira was working out how to combat these interlopers on her mission. Her eyebrow was twitching and she had a somewhat evil smirk on her face. She had expected to be alone with Levi, with Caem keeping an eye on things from a distance, but there were so many people around. So many women whose busts were even bigger than her C-cups. And they were all huddling around Levi like he was some piece of man meat. At least her master had some tact, but these women were acting like a bunch of floozies. Mira needed to get Levi's attention back on her and get them off him ASAP. She didn't want too, but she was gonna have to get pushy. "Damn it's hot out here." Mira dropped her bag onto the sandy beach and took off her sundress to reveal her dark blue bikini.

[image]https://media.discordapp.net/attachment ... 3pAlzY.png[/image]

She ran her hands through her medium length light blue hair that fell just past her ears and strolled over to Levi. She kneeled down right behind him, her chest practically pushing into his back. Her head came around just over his left shoulder, Mira whispering in his ear. "The least you could do is pay some attention to me now that I'm here." She then switched over to her thoughts, touching his. "Besides, I thought we had a... special connection."

[Omni]

Mosa stumbled along the path leading down towards the beach, her flip-flops flapping against the dirt beneath her soles as she struggled to keep her balance with the weight she was carrying. In one hand, her cooler swayed with each step, the plastic shell slapping against her calves, the other hand was busy shifting the stereo propped up on her shoulder. She wanted nothing more than to relax in the sun listening to some music, and there was no better way than doing that with a piece of junk you just restored to its past glory.

The weather was fantastic, nice and hot. Mosa wondered for a moment if even bothering to wear a t-shirt over her bathing suit was a good idea, maybe she should have felt the full extent of such a beautiful day as she trekked down to the sand. She could feel beads of sweat begin to transpire beneath the towel that was wrapped around the back of her neck. The first thing she needed to do when there would be have a nice refreshing drink. She could hardly wait to get down and enjoy the beach. As she moved further down the trail, she could hear the voices of several people chattering away.

"Guess everyone else decided to come down today too." She muttered to herself with a slight frown as she finally could make out the various people she had heard speaking. Mosa knew this was totally out of her control, but somehow she still wished that it was an empty beach for her to relax on by herself. Her eyes widened for a moment as she saw the five identical girls scattered about the beach. She didn't think she had ever seen identical quintuplets before. She made her way past the bulk of the group and found a spot a small ways away to finally drop her cooler on. The towel dropped from her neck to the sand and she carefully lowered the stereo from her shoulder, making sure not to break it so soon. She bent over and arranged the towel on the sand, before plopping down on it and pulling the cooler closer to her. Her hand reached in, pausing for a moment as Mosa took in the refreshing cold of the ice before grabbing a can of beer. She brushed the chilled can along her forehead for a moment, as her brown skin washed over with goosebumps from the sudden chill. She breathed a sigh before cracking the beer open and taking a sip. Her brown eyes poked out from over her sunglasses for a moment as she took another glance at all the different faces.

"'Ey, you guys mind if I put on some music?" She called out to the group, hoping there wouldn't be any objections.

[Cream]

The social mixture reveled in a never ending crescendo, with the beach’s apparently natural disinhibiting effect in full force. What a contrast it was, in the face of an external world replete with hardship, isolation, and zero-sum compromises. That thought dawned on Levi, as an essential insight that slighted time entirely: he was at once fully aware of treasonous pleasure afforded by the one day vacation, and other facts, plucked from the realm of immediacy and frolicking into a domain of human dialectic that pitted the simple pleasures of being human against the paradox of experiencing joy in a world of injustice.

Levi had killed people in the past, he took lives! And now he’d been granted the opportunity to sit back, under a warm and inviting sun- skin issues aside- in the company of people who seemed to have no greater care than what they would eat later in the day. It was an affront. But further, worrying about it was the greater offense: how dare he tarnish the sanctity of leisure with pessimist musings? He could hear Caem talking to him; he felt Caroline’s hands grasp at his arms and the popsicle décor of his bathing suit seemed to leap out of place, as his eyes fell in that general direction: Green Apple, Strawberry, Grape… He wondered if the lives he’d taken had ever enjoyed a popsicle.

“Plans for you? Well, what do you think about a moat? We wanted one but the water usually gets absorbed so quickly and then you have to keep filling it up, so if you know how to make a functional moat that would be cool, but if not then I guess we can just try to make some really detailed battlements. Elizabeth, right?”

Levi could hear Dan’s voice now. Still borderline catatonic, Levi tried to latch onto the voice, anything that might drag him out of the traumatic stupor, but it didn’t work: he only heard the psychic wailing of universal, and particular, miseries.

Plus, one singular misery that, for a young man, stood above the traumas of war.

Levi could feel Mira’s physical proximity in the form of a thermal transfer that defied the logic of an already warm day, coupled with a warm breath as she whispered into his ear. A substratum of inviting deception, made painfully aware to the traumatized Newtype, undergirded her utterances, like an enchantress who spoke so convincingly that one was willing to entertain deception. The psychic space was brimming with just the two of them, and in that instance the presence of any other Newtype, for miles, maybe further, would have been pressed into a desperate corner.

“A connection? With you?”

Even an unrequited love was a weight on the agency of a person. However Levi felt about Mira- Rin- was not his conscious decision, but it wasn’t hers, either. He didn’t hear suffering anymore, only an eon of awkwardness and trivial anxiety. A figure beckoned to him in the distance- but no, it couldn’t be, love is just a chemical, after all, right?- revealing its true face, not banal or inspiring, but almost repulsive. Levi struggled to fathom the encounter, lacking the concepts and language to fully articulate the matter and form of the entity. It ridiculed him, were that even possible, and left him with nothing, perhaps (definitely, actually) taking something away as it departed.

“I… I can’t take that away from you.”

Dan turned the stereo down, as an implicit greeting to Mosa; he waved at her, fully elated with how things were going, “Sure! Put on something good!”

Levi slumped forward, fighting the impulse to lose consciousness entirely, or even worse, vomit. “What do you want, Rin?”

[Snow]

Philippa could feel the irritated twitch in her eye, sporadic and slight, as she watched her sisters mingle. What the Hell was even going on right now? She absently lifted a hand to her forehead, suddenly upset with herself for choosing to wear a black swimsuit. She was baking, even if it was a two piece. Sparing one last glance at her siblings she turned abruptly.

"I'm going to swim." she grumbled, walking rigidly toward the sea. Anything to get away, at this point.

Susan heard her departure, smiling to Philippa as her vulpine gaze shifted to Caem, "Oh my," She breathed, lifting her fingertips delicately to the full crescent of her lower lip, "But we all have the same face. How can you be so sure it's me?" she fixated on Rin behind Levi then, her smile turning sly, "Especially when you have such a lovely companion."

Josephine, meanwhile, seemed happy to have new company with better taste in music than the neutral din surrounding them at the moment. She walked to Mosa, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear with a curious expression, "What did you bring?" She asked.

"I'd love to help you," Elizabeth said, setting to work on a moat Dan had specified, her eye for schematics suddenly keen and ready to make this the most well defended castle on the coast. Her's was no mere circular ditch. No, Elizabeth began designing the complex fortifications of a star fort and moat surrounding Dan's sand castle, her eyes alight with satisfaction, "Please let me know if you need anything else."

Caroline gasped as Levi leaned forward, still holding his hand as his face came perilously close to her ample bosom in his forward dip. She brought her other hand up to hold onto the bicep of his other arm in support, her face concerned, "Oh no, are you okay?" She asked, "Did you get too much sun?" She scooted closer still, ready to care for him. She was, after all, a well trained medical professional.

[Nihren]

Caem wasn't surprised by Susan's question. She was, after all, one of a set of 5 identical sisters. Or at least, they were to an extent. Even twins can exhibit differences, both physically and psychologically. They may share the same face, and a general overall physique, but the differences exist, and Caem could see them. "I'll answer the second part of your question first. That young lady over there is actually a relative of mine. For most of our lives we didn't know of each others existence, estranged. Due to some unfortunate circumstances, we both found ourselves without any other living relatives, and happened to meet each other. Being the eldest of us, I took custody of her. So I guess you could say she's like a little sister to me at this point." He looked back, smiled at Rin, waved, and turned back to Susan. "As for the first portion of your question, you may be quintuplets, but it's your individuality that differentiates the five of you. As an example-" Caem raised his left hand and pointed at Susan's hair. "- Your hairstyles are all different from one another. Yours is the shortest between the five of you. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and your unique combination of physical traits, hairstyle, and choice of clothing, makes you the most beautiful woman here, to me personally."

Meanwhile, only a couple feet away, Mira was doing her best to try and keep Levi's attention off Caroline and on herself, but Levi seemed to practically be both mentally and physically exhausted already. Perhaps she had gone a bit too far with both the physical contact and mental stimulation. Mira backed up a bit to give him some space, but her attention was still focused on Caroline. As she looked down she saw a decently-sized crab scuttling in the sand. Her eyes lit up like that of a demon. Using her right hand she got underneath the crab and flipped it over Levi's shoulder and hurtling right towards Caroline.

[Cream]

Rin didn’t answer and the gap in exchange was enough to snap him out of his daze, if one were to be so gentle as to simply call it that at all, so Levi returned to his immediate surroundings in time to see a crab fly past his shoulder. It was sudden and quick enough that he didn’t know it was a crab, and the thing had made it to the other side of him just as he turned to meet it. This all happened his he reclined his body, away from Caroline’s chest, as fast as possible.

He chose to ignore the two and their futile competition for a person who had more of a tendency to look inward and away from others, rather than see who between the two was willing to go the furthest to achieve a result. There was no use in getting to know either of them, much less them both in competition. The matter might equally be construed as a self-flagellating pursuit of chastity, but it couldn’t be that, not possible. Levi would have found the attention flattering under the right circumstances, but coming right out of an acute panic attack, it didn’t seem like they were fighting over him so much as they were fighting over themselves.

Levi, in that instance, was just a determinate prop. He wondered why the two were so immediately competitive in not so many words or seconds, and conspicuously barrel rolled in the sand several times, culminating in him standing on both legs which did not falter in the wake of his trauma, and going to get a drink. He wasn’t far away from the cooler, but did pass Dan and Lizz, formerly Elisabeth to Dan, who was now calling her Lizz for the first time.

“Well, Lizz, you made the moat so you have to go get the water. I think your sister is out there now and maybe she wants so company, huh? Hurry back,” Dan gave Elisabeth a bucket and shooed her off with the motion of his hand. “Need a drink? Are you okay? I was kinda watching those two girls torturing you," Dan said to Levi, offering him a bagged fruit juice.

[Snow]

The crab hurled at Caroline certainly did hit her, the poor creature landing on her chest with a soft thud. It clung desperately to her swimsuit as she tried to pry it from her, though she didn't shriek as one may have expected.

"Oh, how cute," She cooed, "Poor thing," She looked to Mira with a frown, "You shouldn't throw animals like that. How cruel..." She looked watched Levi leave before standing herself, trotting innocently toward to shore, "Don't worry little one, I'll make sure you stay safe."

Susan meanwhile let loose an airy laugh at Caem's explanation, searching his face for the first time, then. Eyes scanned him intently, silently, before she smiled. It wasn't kind like Caroline's, although it wasn't malicious either. Sly, perhaps.

"How superficially charming," She said smoothly, turning already before she asked her question, knowing the answer, "And how far along will you be taking me?"

Meanwhile, Elizabeth nodded at Dan, the nickname apparently sticking. She met Philippa at the shore, and the sisters exchanged a glance.

"I hate this planet." Philippa said quietly, "Caroline and Susan don't want to leave."

"I noticed," Elizabeth answered, "You've taken it upon yourself to make us miserable until we do, right?"

"I was not--!" Philippa floundered, but a look at the smile on Elizabeth's face silenced her.

"It's alright, I understand." Elizabeth said, though Philippa still wouldn't get what she wanted, "Come help build my sandcastle. I'll let you be Queen."

Philippa's eyes found the group, and she frowned. Well, the sandcastle looked a hell of a lot better than whatever mess Caroline would get into with that poor man and his girlfriend.

[Cream]

Levi sipped at his juice and felt better; he heard a vaguely familiar song in the distance. The drink was tangy and tart, kind of hard to pin down but probably had some pomegranate as an ingredient. Not much work had been done on the sandcastle, but it was not quite the same between when he'd left it and returned.

"You seem to be in a good mood," Levi said to Dan, who was looking out toward the ocean and more or less ignoring him after judging he was not that out of it anymore.

"Yeah, I am, we're at the beach so why not be in a good mood? Just get your head out of the clouds and build this sandcastle- oh also, you know that girl and guy?"

"And apparently they know each other, small world." Levi needed a vacation from the day off, and then felt bad about being so defective.

[Nihren]

Caem smirked at Susan's comeback. Superficially charming? He thought he was being more clever than that with his answer, but apparently she didn't think so. Without actually accepting his offer, she asked how far down the beach they'd be going. Caem didn't actually have a specific distance in mind. "As far as you'd like. We could even hop in my jeep, get in my ship, and fly off past Luna if you were so inclined."

Just a short walk away, Mira was trying to figure out what to do next. Caroline had walked off towards the shore with the crab, while Levi had walked over to his friend and begun conversing. She was effectively left on an island all by herself in a matter of moments. She couldn't go back to Caem either because he was too busy flirting with the short-haired woman. It honestly made her jealous and it wasn't just the fact that the other womans boobs were bigger. Mira squatted on the ground and began drawing shapes in the sand, humming a tune both out loud and inside of her own mind. Any Newtype that was tuned in would be able to hear it.

[Kitsu]

Lauren was as animated as ever and the usually stoic Kit nodded as the woman explained her situation. A soft smile spread across the blonde’s face as she knew exactly what Lauren was getting at. The woman seemed to have been getting used to her situation – which brought peace to Kit’s mind. It was difficult enough already trying to calm the red head, but there had been some positive feedback. As usual, Lauren wrapped herself around Kit’s arm securely making sure that the woman was glued to her. Kit had gotten used to this as well and welcomed the possessive grab.

The thought of socializing wasn’t Kit’s first choice of fun, but she knew how much of a social butterfly Lauren was. Nodding, the lanky blonde followed her wife towards the group of people – doing her best not to dread the interactions that were to come. As they wandered over, Kit watched the group, like a solider she pinpointed each figure doing her best to gauge their threat level. As she did so, Kit picked up on a song that was being hummed mentally – though she was thrown off by it now coming into range of her ears physically. Vermillion eyes blinked rapidly as she looked towards Lauren, wondering if the woman could hear it as well.

She continued to watch and waited for Lauren to initiate contact. The red head was of course the more social one of the pair.