1622/Sunset Aftermath: Ex Astris, Scientia.

Sunset Aftermath: Ex Astris, Scientia.
Date of Scene:	02 June 2024
Location:	Pikarigaoka Ward
Synopsis:	In the immediate aftermath of the defeat of Sunbreaker, Coco's magic comes back...and Setsuna discusses various things with her...including one of Setsuna's favorite television shows. Happens right after The Sound of the Bell of Hope (Coco Kiumi).
Cast of Characters:	Setsuna Meiou, Coco Kiumi
Tinyplot:	Sunset of Sora

---

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sometimes being the one to have to stay behind really sucks. Or is at least, frustrating.

With the sun gone dark and youma running around, someone had to defend the Casa, as there were at least two people in need of protecting within...but finding herself unable to do nothing, Setsuna had transformed and stepped outside, leaping to a nearby high point to do what she could by sniping any stalking youma she could spot.

It wasn't much, but it was something.

And then...things are back to normal.

A sigh of relief is breathed by the oldest Senshi...and she quickly makes her way from her vantage point back to her home...because if Sunbreaker has been defeated, that means that Coco almost certainly will be getting her magic back.

Thus, as the mermaid is making her way through the house, out of Setsuna's workshop and into the house itself...Sailor Pluto is entering the house through the back door right at the far end of the hall.

Seeing Coco on two feet again, she smiles, "Coco-chan! I see your magic has returned to you!"

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco smiles radiantly when she meets Nurse Meiou, really happy to see her. It was probably thanks to her that the Casa remained safe. "It sure has!", she replies to Setsuna when the mermaid is spotted moving around. "It feels so good to be back to normal!" And those were some unsettling hours there, with something as dangerous as (apparently) destroying the Sun and then replacing it.

Of course once the situation had stabilised, it was clear she hadn't actually done that, when the usual Sun got back in its place. If Hinoiri had actually made all life on this planet dependent on her continued existence... Well, things would have looked rather grim.

"I am sooo glad this is behind us. Thanks for protecting us", Coco adds, not really interested in the fact Setsuna would have protected her home anyway. She was still being defended there.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna waves Coco towards the very short hallway into the kitchen, indicating a seat at the kitchen island, "Well...have a seat...or stand, if you'd rather. I imagine you might be tired of sitting after this last week."

She stretches a little, then walks in after, "It was no trouble. I'm gonna cook something to eat...but I'm really not feeling up to a ton of effort right now, so I'm just going to do breakfast stuff. Eggs, bacon, pancakes...maybe an omlette. That sound okay for you? I can do something else for you if you'd like."

She glances around the room, "...is Coco up and about, I can get something out to thaw for her while we're eating if she's hungry."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Coco is in fact tired of sitting, and staying still in general, and once she has been deemed ready for one she is likely going for a run or a swim (possibly both). Still, the kitchen island has probably been made with the assumption that people would be sitting down for it, and either way, she knows it would be impolite to be the only one standing. "I don't mind sitting a bit more", she informs the Sailor Senshi of Pluto calmy.

She nods when asked if Setsuna's chosen breakfast would suit Coco. "Any of that sounds perfect to me. I really have no complaints when it comes to your cuisine. Best 'hospital' stay ever", she winks.

"She was curled around a rubber duck that Yuuto had brought in when I rushed out of the bathroom, but it won't be much longer that she picks up on the fact I am missing, so doing that would be great, please.".

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Sailor Pluto nodss...then blinks as she realizes she's still in henshin.

There's a moment of cosmic nonsense and the impression of ribbons as her henshin flares off of her...leaving the woman in question in what by now Coco will recognize as the kind of thing the woman bombs around the house in...namely some ridiculously oversized tshirt with a geek logo of some sort or other that she wears as a knee-length one-piece dress.

Today's is a heather grey with triangular logo with rounded corners that has a sillhouette of the Golden Gate bridge. The three legs of the triangle each has their own little bit of text. One reads: 'Starfleet Academy' the next reads: 'San Francisco MMCLXI' and the final one reads: 'EX ASTRIS, SCIENTIA'.

Once Coco approves of food plans, the older woman goes into prep mode. Grabbing a package of fish out of the fridge and setting it aside (they're individually sealed tilapa fillets...handy when one needs to feed fish eater), then she grabs a bowl, some eggs...and a bunch of small containers from the fridge.

A big metal plate is put down over the two front elements of her stove and turned on...then she's doing up some pancake mix, "...should we be adventurous and add chocolate chips to our pancakes, or keep them simple?"

Some butter is tossed on the griddle surface and allowed to melt as she dumps the containers into another bowl...apparently she had some diced veggies from last night's meal...onions, green peppers, and mushrooms. A few eggs are added, a little milk...and even some diced ham.

Bacon is deposited on the griddle and let to start cooking.

Apparently, Setsuna at some point got trained as a short-order cook...because she looks fairly practiced.

Coco Kiumi has posed:
No signs of puzzlement are given once Setsuna gets her henshin out of the equation in favour of her normal display, which doesn't get any recognition from Coco. It does get however a question. "Is that a famous series?", she inquires, her curiosity piqued by the completely extraneous elements.

While Setsuna prepares their meal Coco makes sure to gaze at each step of the recipe from afar without really getting in the way, leaving it all to Setsuna since her own cooking skill is decent. She could at least cook well enough to survive on her own, but that's really all.

"I would say to just keep them simple, but I am good with having the chips added in case that's what you like, Nurse Meiou", Coco clarifies her position, preferring to let her have her way.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna blinks and pauses dead for a few moments as she turns to look at Coco before smiling and shaking her head, "...sorry, I forgot for a moment that you're not originally from the land..."

She snorts and goes back to getting food made, "...yes, it is. It's from a series called 'Star Trek'. They're from America...they're a science fiction show about the Starship Enterprise..."

All the bits of the egg mixture are thrown together and mixed thoroughly, then she shakes her head, "Simple is fine, too. Plus I don't actually know if we have an open bag of chips...and getting a fresh one would take longer than I feel like bothering with if you're not attatched to the idea."

Pancakes are poured out and start cooking as the whole thing becomes a game of griddle area management, which lets Setsuna resume her explaination, "How did the intro go? Ah, yes."

And here, she shifts her tone and cadence a little to match the way Patrick Stewart narrated the intro to Next Generation, "...Space...the FINAL frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Her continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds...to seek out new life, and new civilizations...to boldly go where no-one has gone before!"

As she goes, Setsuna makes a handy little stack of small pancakes, having gotten in the habit of making many small ones so that certain members of the household with smaller appetites can easier manage them.

It's not terribly long before she's doing up some plates of food, "Anyhow, the series has been running through various shows, movies, and books for decades now. The logo on my shirt is from the organization's academy in it's futuristic San Francisco."

A couple of quick button presses have the heating elements turned off, then she steps over and puts a plate and some silverware forward for Coco. An omlette with onions, green peppers, mushrooms and cheese, several strips of bacon and a few pancakes with a plate of extras nearby, "For pancakes, we've got classic maple syrup right there in that bottle, or jam in the fridge if you'd prefer."

Setsuna sits across from the blonde mermaid and points to the leg of the triangle with the latin writing, "Since they're mainly an exploratory organisation, the logo for the academy is 'From the Stars, Knowledge'."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Ah-ah, yeah", Coco smirks nervously when Setsuna recalls her relative lack of knowledge compared to many people around here. She might also have in mind when Coco tackled the subject of time from what she knew of its magic rather than the wider cultural knowledge Amy or Setsuna had.

Nontheless the Nurse is willing to guide her through it, explaining the general plot, the series' structure and several more details about it, and she is a little bit amused when Setsuna's cadence shifts in response to narrating the introduction. Setsuna must have watched it thousand of times to memorise it that well.

"I definitely get the charm of finding out new things, but it's a good thing it's not turned towards us and people on land aren't as ardently determined to explore the marine life as people in this series. We would have a much harder time staying hidden."

Coco nods when Setsuna explains she doesn't particularly want to go for the chocolate chips. Simple it is then. "We can take it easy, yes, but I really appreciate the offer."

Coco breathes in the wonderful smell of the pancakes as Setsuna places them on a plate, it being able to incentivise any appetive she might have. "Hmm, they are really inviting", the mermaid adds, helping herself to them abd a small dose of maple syrup and starting to cut into them.

"Is the San Francisco Academy your favourite version of Star Trek or do you have one you enjoy more?", she inquires as she takes her first piece.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna snorts a bit, "Oh, there have been a few stories about exploring the deeps, too...but not as many. In some ways, the conditions in the deeps are even more hostile to us squishy land dwellers than the emptiness of space is."

Between bites of her food, she goes on a bit, sometimes absently gesturing with her fork, "The Academy never really had a series about it, per se. It's just a location that's appeared in several of the different series. I happen to like the motto for it, though."

Setsuna then hrms and takes a moment to think, tapping her chin, "...well, the Original Series was a classic...and fairly groundbreaking for it's time. Later on, Deep Space 9 about a starbase on the frontier was extremely well done...but my favorite series still probably has to be The Next Generation. Once the writer realized that their captain was played by Sir Patrick Stewart...a respected and talented Shakespearian trained actor and started writing speeches that took advantage of that...well, that was when the series really hit it's stride and is probably my favorite of the many, many ones."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Possibly unexpectedly, a small frown appears on Coco's face despite her stating the current low rate of exploration is better. "Yes, that part is actually annoying, I brought some of my human friends home, and I can never let them see the outside of my palace otherwise..." She sneaks a piece of pancake in the brief pause. "There is an enchantment protecting them while inside, but otherwise we are 3500 meters deep."

"I get that, yeah, the Academy is known and familiar to its audience, probably the last thing they want to focus on", Coco corrects her impressions when Setsuna brings up the Academy's more detailed role, and admits to liking its motto. "I wasn't there when people dove into the portal at Juuban Plaza, but is that the kind of thing that you would have liked, it requiring Beryl's involvement aside?"

"How many like Sir Stewart are out there?" Coco muses over The Next Generation's success. "Would it be hard to get it to happen again?"

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna Meiou says, "Oh, Sir Patrick was a rare talent...but there have been many others. In America, at least, it's a beloved franchise, and it's a bit of a cultural icon for a lot of people...so getting something as good as Next Generation will happen sooner or later. There have been other series since that are all good in their own way...but for now, Next Generation is my favorite."

She hrms and taps her chin in response to the question about the portal, "...well, as I recall, back during the Silver Millenium, right after the phenomenon was discovered, there was some talk about setting up an organization to study them...but the sad fact is that they're not only terribly hard to find, but that the conditions required to make them are very, very rare."

Setsuna frowns and finishes off her meal before huffing out a big breath, "...that being said, if it had been any other place and time and associated with almost anyone else...I might have been interested in exploring...which is not to say I didn't take advantage of the opportunity when I got thrown in there...I just enjoyed it a lot less than I might have in other circumstances."

Finally, she shakes her head, "...and three and a half kilometers down...that's...that's something like 350 atmospheres of pressure.""

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"Would you say it's a good idea to watch it despite having seen nothing else about it? With you having it in such high regard, I definitely want to give it a try", Coco asks, not actually sure if the genre appeals to her, but with such a glowing review, how could she not consider it?

The mermaid stops eating more of those bites, briefly staring at Setsuna when she brings up her enjoyment to expand her knowledge was much lower than it would have been been, comprehension setting in when Setsuna brings up that specific portal had been rather uncomfortable for her. "I am sorry. I am sure you will get your chance of it happening in a way you might actually enjoy, lots of different miracles have happened already." With Usagi already having an extremely rare artefact, a way can maybe be found one day.

"Yes, so I could only show them photos and such of what it's like outside. And on that subject, can I send you some later? Hotaru would like to have them too. She is really nice by the way. And she has a few amusing ideas." Her eyes glint as she pauses for extra effect. "She made an ink print of my tailfin."

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna smiles and giggles, "Well...I suppose that might me the most unique autograph you might be asked for." She shakes her head, "...that girl is a delight. Frankly, that she could grow up where she did, surrounded by the kind of madmen they have there and still come out like..."

She absently waves a hand off towards the part of the house with the bedrooms, "...like that?"

After a moment, the older woman shrugs and sighs, "She has some very...odd ideas of what's normal and certain details about...things...but we're working on that...and it's rather much a work in progress."

As Coco comments about her getting to explore in a way that she'd enjoy, Setsuna hrms and ponders the idea for a few moments, "...well, I won't say it's IMPOSSIBLE...but between the nature of magic these days making it probably rather hard for them to form..."

She hrms, "...to be honest, I don't even know what it'd take to make another..."

Her face twists into a small scowl, "...in any event, I found being cut off from the normal flow of Time to be rather uncomfortable...so I imagine I probably wouldn't be in much of a hurry to try again anytime soon."

Setsuna shrugs, "...but that's just ME. Others? Probably would find the experience a bit more interesting if they were doing so willingly."

Finally, Coco's question about Star Trek gets a smile from the older woman, "Personally, I think you might enjoy it. Given how much time had passed between when the Original Series and Next Generation aired, the writers didn't assume the average viewer would know more than perhaps the bare minimum about the show. The first season's a bit rough around the edges as the writers, showrunners, and actors were all kind of feeling things out and getting used to it...but from season two on, they really hit their stride and it was something special."

She nods towards the entertainment room, "I've got the streaming service that has all the episodes. So if you don't have that one yourself, just let me know and I'll see what I can do."

She hrms, "...which does bring up where we go from here. I've done up some records marking you has having had to be absent due to having been burned and kept in evaluation for a week at a special clinic, so you shouldn't have to worry about things there...and I know a few of your friends will help you out with your absence as well."

She stands up and begins putting dishes in the dishwasher, "Now that you have your feet under you as it were, you should be okay to head back to your dorm. Just let me know when you'd care to do so, and I'll run you home."

A glance is given outside, "...though given the day that's been...you're more than welcome to spend the night here and I can run you there in the morning instead. It's up to you."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
"I know, she was sweet all the time she'd visited there. I am really trying not to think about what she must have gone through at Obsidian. To see her see her talk so well of this senpai she cannot visit is almost heartbreaking. Cora told me a few concerning things. Nobody should smell like... Well, like she does." Coco stays silent for a few moments, the subject still hanging heavy. "On the whole, I have been ecstatic to meet and get to know her. She is really special", the blonde girl reserves a genuine smile then.

"I can't really thank you enough for all you have done", Coco asserts after imitating Setsuna in her disposal of the plate. "I have lucky to have had you come so quickly and treat me so well. With that in mind, I would like to at least you receive a token of my thanks. So if there is anything you could want? Please tell me", the mermaid fervently offers.

And after those small instances in which she weighs her situation and the day it has been with Setsuna's suggestion, it is quite reasonable. She will be sending many messages to all her friends to at least know how they are remotely and to let them know she is well, but she is inclined to accept Setsuna's offer. "I would like to stay the night if you could have me one last time, please. And that would be a yes to seeing Star Trek too", Coco asks to Setsuna, even if it does mean imposing on her a little bit more.

Setsuna Meiou has posed:
Setsuna stretches a little before reaching down to turn the dishwasher on, "Want?" She blinks for a few moments, shaking her head, "Truth told, Coco-chan, there is precious little I actually WANT...and most of those things are not in your power to grant..."

Like having the opportunity to introduce Beryl's face to the nearest bulkhead.

At speed.

Repeatedly.

...

Ahem.

The older woman shakes her head, then reaches into the fridge to snag a bottle of ramune and a bottle of juice, the latter of which she hands to Coco while keeping the other for herself, "...well...hrm...well, as you may have noticed, I rather enjoy doing costumes for people..."

Hard NOT to notice, as Coco has just spent the last week in the next room from a huge cosplay sewing room.

Setsuna smiles, "...so if you'd like, I could make you one. Maybe if you like the show enough, I can make you a Starfleet or Klingon uniform."

She nods towards the entertainment room through the archway into there, "...to that end, let's show you some episodes and see if you like it."

Coco Kiumi has posed:
Apparently, Setsuna's idea to have something she likes is to give Coco something, but she thinks she gets it. It is not too dissimilar with her being a singer. She would answer much like Setsuna in a similar scenario. "I would be glad to have the opportunity to try out one of your costumes!", Coco accepts, taking the offered bottle of juice too.

Coco looks in the direction Setsuna has nodded and starts walking towards that direction as soon as Setsuna herself does. Whatever the case, the chances of her being bored are nonexistent, if nothing else the person behind Nurse Meiou is fun to be around.