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[hr][center][color=#DE3163][h3]Under the Cradle[/h3][/color]
The Crow's Nest, Akaia's & Cerise's Room | Dawn
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Being back home after such a tiring yet successful mission was a really great feeling for Cerise. Yes, there ended up being casualties in the form of wounded comrades which even included Akaia. Still, nobody were particularly gravely injured or killed, and Cerise like to think that such was a blessing considering they even encountered a Tsar bomba. With her spirits high, the first thing she did as the Commune arrived back to the Crow's Nest was to perform some post-mission maintenance to Lariat before then taking a good bath. Afterwards, all clean and tidy, she had quickly retreated to her room to take a well-earned rest. For Cerise, such rest consisted of a few hours of just reading story books in silence before then sleeping for the rest of the time until the coming of dawn. She never needed more than a few hour of sleep every night.

Waking up, she remained laying on her bed for a while just calmly gazing at the ceiling, ruminating. [color=#DE3163][i]Ionna will be leaving us today in just a few more hours...[/i][/color] The decision to give Ionna over to the Provisional Government was one that gave Cerise some mixed feelings. On one hand, Cerise didn't want Ionna to leave because it'll basically be like losing a friend despite the short time Ionna was with the Commune. On the other hand, Cerise agreed that it was probably for the best for Ionna as a child. [color=#DE3163][i]The government will keep her safe...[/i][/color] As questionable as they can be sometimes, Cerise believed that the Provisional Government in the end really indeed have the best of humanity in mind. All they did, including the pragmatic deeds, were for the survival of humanity and civilized society... At least, again, that was what Cerise convinced herself to believe. [color=#DE3163][i]In any case, I should say good bye to her later.[/i][/color]

Her ruminations done, she rose from her bed, standing up and quietly doing some stretching. Taking a quick look to the other side of the room after that, she noticed Akaia still inside her capsule. Cerise smiled subconsciously, glad that her best friend was there with her despite the intense situation during the mission the day before. Not wanting to disturb Akaia, Cerise then quietly took a towel and her tooth brush, intending to start her morning preparations. She walked to the door, taking one more look back at Akaia's capsule. This made her realize a rather peculiar thing... A very faint glow from a box placed under the capsule. [color=#DE3163][i]Huh...[/i][/color] Curious, she walked over. Remaining quiet, she crouched down to examine the box. It looked to be quite old, with a red cross on top. Gingerly, Cerise used her free hand to pull the box closer before opening the lid wider.

[color=#DE3163]"....."[/color] Her eyes opened wide as she was briefly stunned, body tensing up. She did not particularly like what she found within. Promptly, she closed the lid of the box, pushed it back to where it was, stood up, and left the room quietly. The one she found the day before was enough of a surprise already and she definitely didn't feel like dealing with any other nasty surprises for a while.

One vestige was one too many. Two were just way too much to deal with.
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[center]The Crow's Nest, Great Room | Evening
Interactions: Erik[@FunnyGuy], Lysandra[@Force and Fury][/center]

After saying her farewell to Ionna, Cerise spent most of the rest of the day to help with the preparations of the karaoke night by decorating the room. It was nothing crazy, just some simple things like small party lamps or random small decorations hanged or attached here and there that will be easy to tidy up once the party is over. In the end, the preparations were done in time for the party itself. She left the room after that to check the garden and make sure everything was fine with the plants within.

Returning to the Great Room after about half an hour, she found Erik taking a slice out of a cake. Lysandra was also there, glancing around in a peculiar way with her own slice of cake. [color=#DE3163]"Hi big bro, Lys! Oh my, we have a cake ready for the party I see. Hehe, great!"[/color] She happily skipped over to the table where the cake was placed, took her own slice, and then walked over to a couch to sit down. She took a bite of the cake, finding it delicious just like Erik and Lys before her. [color=#DE3163]"This is delish!"[/color] She said, a big smile on her face. [color=#DE3163]"Did you make this, Lys? Or was it you, big bro? Whoever it is should be in charge of dessert from now on!"[/color] Of course, she was still oblivious of who in reality had made the cake. That will be another surprise in a day where she didn't feel like handling nasty surprises, but at least it will be a sweet surprise instead.

That said... She still wouldn't volunteer to take the first bite if she had known who made the cake.