A cute little squeak would welcome the arms sweeping her off of her feet and against a generous bosom. "Wh-, hey, I can.. walk..." her protests died as she rested her body into the voluptuous frame that cradled her. As she looked up, she saw the change in Miyuki's demeanor. A combination of embarrassments colored her cheeks, not least of which was the one that had her leaning her head into the tender, soft warmth.

"Arigato..."

She focused on the warmth and comfort, the sensations that rooted her to her body. She clung to her lazily, taking in her scent and feeling as much of the warmth she could offer as she could, before-

Yumeiko let out a small yelp as the sensations were torn away from her, only to be replaced by a soft, cloudy pad full of the scents she'd just been absorbing. She turned sluggishly over in the bed to watch Miyuki disappear behind the partitions. She groaned softly, instead making do with the scents and soft fluffiness of the bedding of her more-than-a-guest. [i]Maybe[/i] more-than-a-guest. She was too disoriented to know more certainly.

If Miyuki weren't here...

[hr]
The ship felt her absence, though things still ran. Her token aesthetic was replaced by a more generic design - the little anime icons of her face no longer appeared next to menu options, replaced instead with a plain dot, or something more locally significant. Interactions became more generic, less familiar and individual. Crew that knew what they were doing took charge.

After a few hours, Yumeiko stirred. The ship was keeping a watchful orbit over Earth in her absence, floating gently after completing post-combat operations. Her eyes opened slowly to see the ceiling that was certainly not her own quarters. The branches of the Core Tree were visible where she usually slept.

The scent still enveloped her. The priestess took a great heave of the comfort into her lungs as she turned into the nearest pillowy goodness surrounding her, gathering it into her face, heedless of where it might have come from.