Act 3: The Ball - Departure

9:46 AM, 11th of April 422
Aboard the Vulcan, Luxus

May wakes up in her cabin aboard the Vulcan, and the first thing she sees is Fluffle hovering above her, a worried expression on his face.

"Steve? Is that you?"

Then she remembers: she asked him to keep watch over her in case Steve woke up in her place.
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Nick wakes up alone in his cabin aboard the Vulcan, but sees no trace of Anne. She must have snuck away earlier this morning before the rest of their squad woke up. He should talk to her about this no fraternization rule; it's kind of been rendered moot by their fugitive status.

At least Smirk is back now. He's playing with the fairy crew, distracting them from the many corpses being carted away on wagons.
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Samantha wakes up in her bed next to a naked Femke. The Tyke woman is asleep and holding her tight, but for some reason, she isn't wearing her wedding ring anymore. Why is that?

Samantha's mind drifts away, and when she comes to, she's underneath a bedsheet and covers. Was it a dream? The agent/princess rests for a while, thinking about their son and feeling melancholic. Finally she opens her eyes and gazes at Femke, then notices the Tyke's left hand is missing her wedding band. She looks for it a bit lazily, but decides to bring it up later, intent on laying there in bliss. However, her arms don't brush against anything when she adjusts. That's when she notices her flat chest and bulging muscles, which in turn awaken her to the revelation of a limp appendage squished between her own legs.

She stirs to look at herself in terror, enough to probably wake her partner.

The drunk monk stretches and yawns, saying, "Don't worry Fluffle, Steve is still asleep. Looks like May dodged the sling bullet this time." She sits up to talk to her friend, all smiles.

Samantha

Femke immediately wakes up and reaches for the dagger lying on the small bedside table, ready to battle whoever comes through the door. When she realizes no one is coming however, she wrinkles her brow and looks at her wife in worry.
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Nick and Smirk

Meanwhile, on the deck, the fairies that have gathered around Smirk fly closer in worry and the girl named Sopaipilla asks, "Smirk! You okay, mate!? Got a headache?"
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May

Fluffle tilts his head and says, "I... don't think Steve would agree with you."

Sam... "examines" her private area. "Looking" for the familiar lady parts. She finds no such thing. What further perplexes her are the strangely familiar sensations of the new growths. She reaches out with her senses - there is nothing magical about her. She stutters in shock, struggling to make complete statements about the changes to her body. Finally she looks at Femke. Surely the Tyke must have some idea.

"Honey? What's happening to me?"

"May don't see why not. He never hurt anyone on purpose and sleeping makes sure our orbs don't merge." She absently reaches over to the nightstand to feel around for her bottle of late night bed wine but is surprised to find that it's not there. She looks around on the floor in case it fell off but lets out a frustrated sigh when she doesn't see it.

"Fluffle, have you seen May's wine? May didn't leave it in the bathroom again, right?"

Samantha

Femke stares back at her for a good five seconds before she asks, "Samantha, is that you?"
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Nick and Smirk

"Everyone! Fairy hug!"

The dozen of fairies hovering around Smirk all proceed to embrace him. It does help a little.
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May

Fluffle considers his response carefully, then says, "I don't know. Maybe Steve hid it somewhere? He's always liked pranking people. You could ask him."

Sam nods. This has been confusing for both of them each night since Edward put Konrad's orb in her head. Now she's completely forgotten about the missing ring. "Yes, it's me... I don't feel like myself right now. It's probably the orbs."

She slowly gets up and goes to the water basin to wash her face. "I got a little bit mixed up in my brain last time. I just need a shower and some time to reassert myself."

"No, May find it." She gets out of bed and pulls on some pants before heading to the door out of the room to look for her wine.

Samantha

"I see. Is there anything I can do?"

Femke places a hand on her hip, unconcerned by her nudity.
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May

Fluffle hesitates for a second, then lands on May's right shoulder—just like Jacob used to do—and says, "Maybe we should go to the galley and have breakfast first? It's bad to drink on an empty stomach."
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Nick and Smirk

Just as Nick finishes tying his boots, he hears loud knocking at his door.

"Mihai! You awake?"

That's his sister, Amber.

Sam grins, then looks up from the scarred face in the water, and back toward her still-naked lover. She picks up a bar of soap and toys with it.

"Hmm. We'll see once I finish up. If I still feel like a man, maybe you can help me feel like a woman."

"Pff, it's Tuesday, Fluffle. I don't eat breakfast on Tuesdays. It's time for wine and training." She opens the door of the cabin and heads for the toilets at the head of the ship to see if she left her wine there. She absentmindedly looks for Teddy amongst the fairy crew but doesn't see the captain anywhere. May decides to have lunch with him later.

Nick and Smirk

Amber frowns at Nick. "Well, better give the wheel back to Mihai, because we have a slight emergency right now."
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Samantha

Femke raises an eyebrow at Samantha and says, "You're... not embarrassed anymore?"

She gestures at Samantha's nakedness.
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May

Several of the fairies greet her by the name "Pizza Guy" for some reason. Weird. It should be Pizza Gal. Unfortunately for May, her sack of wine is nowhere to be found. She does vaguely remember Steve making himself a late night snack however.

Sam shakes her head. "It's not real!"

She gets into their bathtub and starts lathering soap, and shivers in the cold, clear water. "It's not there. I just need to clear my mind and start my routine, and it'll go away on its own."

May waves back at the fairies in acknowledgement but is starting to get grumpy now that she's had to work so hard just to get her wine and she still doesn't have it. She heads for the galley to see if Steve left the bottle there.

Nick and Smirk

After a moment of introspection, Nick realizes that Mihai's mind is already awake. He just can't tell where their minds begin and end.

As for Jasmine, there's no response.
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Samantha

Femke stares at Samantha without saying a word. Then, she silently walks up to the bath, kneels down next to her, and gently takes her in her arms. Just like Anne used to do.
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May

The monk enters the galley and sees Brünhilde sitting at one of the tables with many sheets of paper in front of her; she seems to be writing something. The instant she notices May however, she beams at her and says, "Steve! Good morning!"

"Oh, hey B. Steve is asleep. You haven't seen May's wine have you?" She heads for the kitchen area to see if Steve left the bottle there. Or even her wineskin. That would work though that's more for everyday drinking rather than drinking in bed. Which, now that she thinks about it, would be OK since she's not in bed anymore.

Something else responds to that. The womanizer inside her head. But Samantha focuses on that feeling of friendship, and hugs Femke back. She starts thinking about her friends. Where are they?

She dips her head totally under, comes back up, and starts to wash up while thinking about the past. About their son Triston, whom they took in after his father died. By the time she's done with her arms and chest, her face is threatening to screw up. Finally she just breaks and hugs Femke again.

Nick and Smirk

"Um... It's the Venators. The girl is crying, and her mother just keeps staring at her, very confused. I suppose that can wait a little though. I can look after them until you're... you know."

Amber stares at Nick, worried. He never liked seeing her like that.
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May

Brünhilde tilts her head and says, "Hmm, no, I don't think so."

"Don't worry about it, Brünhilde," Fluffle replies. He sounds nervous for some reason. "Seems like someone might have been playing a prank. I'll explain everything later."

"Oh, okay then!"

The girl happily goes back to writing, which appears to be a slow process. May finds a few bottles of wine in the cupboard, but no wineskin. Not her lucky day.

"You know, Smirk might know where it is," Fluffle suggests. "I saw him on the main deck not too long ago."
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Samantha

The young woman starts to feel a little better. Or at the very least, more like herself. Femke's hug reminds her of better times, and although she's still confused, thinking about the past seems to help put the pieces back together.

"You shouldn't stay too long in the water," Femke tells her.