Walking on Sunshine

Jagaimo burst out laughing, loud and long as she watched the most powerful person she’d ever met blush red as she tried to describe very briefly what she had found in the archives regarding what was likely the subject of Saiyan Procreation. The way her friend squirmed and shifted on the bed told her all she needed to know about what might have been on those pages. Her shoulders shook as she slowly got control of herself again, wiping away an odd tear that had formed in her eye, head shaking with a grin on her face.

“That bit is certainly not going to help me now is it?!”

There was almost a giggle until she caught herself, looking down at the book in the other woman's hands, sliding it from her grasp and leafing through it a few pages at a time, raising an eyebrow at the bits she was able to read in such a short time. Jagaimo closed the book and slid it onto the bedside table, giving it a pat and leaving it there without another thought. It was something at least, probably more than she knew now but it was also something she put out of her mind for the time being, there was a way to go yet and the doctors knew everything they needed to…she didn’t need to become one for this to all be fine.

“Extra weight? If I hadn’t just survived getting knocked through several palace walls I'd give you a well deserved slap around the head! Extra weight my foot!”

She spread her arm out as she sat up in the bed…just one arm responding properly…the other one struggling to lift from her side and stay out before it fell again, the strain on her the young woman's face obvious despite the grin, and the cynical laugh that escaped her lips,

“I’ve never been in better shape! Don’t you worry about me…I’m not the one who’s meant to be running this place! I just walk around pretending to be important heh!”

When Zuqetta’s facial expressions changed to something less playful Jagaimo matched her, letting the smile slide off her face with practiced ease. She could hide what she was really thinking with the best of them, nodding slowly,

“You make sure you do that, we can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on and you know it. Everything isn’t always just on you to fix.”

Ah here it was.

“Yeah I own a bar…what? You think that comes close to the amount of work that's needed to run a whole kingdom? Pfft not even close, not by a long shot. I can look, I'll make sure it gets done because you're asking me to…but you know you're gonna have to trust people outside your circle of friends with some of these jobs one day right? You want those reports…fine I'll figure out what you need to know and I'll make sure it gets to you…but you're going to owe me a favour…your Highness…”

Was this what she was reduced to now, considered to be suitable for nothing more than counting numbers and pushing paperwork across a desk for the glory of the Kingdom? When she got her hands on..

“A Tramp?...you really don't know…a homeless person?”

That expression…it was often easy to forget that Zuqetta had been raised somewhat sheltered and only now was learning about how the other half lived, that not everyone had the benefits of such a wealthy upbringing…it made the other woman chuckle that despite it all her friend still showed some signs if innocence…

Jagaimo shook her head a little and chuckled quietly to herself, a smile across her lips at the cute and surprised look on the most powerful of Saiyan’s faces. For someone so traveled, and so experienced with life, Zuqetta was easy to mistake as someone older than her years would make her. The slightly older Saiyan nodded again from her seat on the bed,

“Can’t speak for the origin of the word…but even here we got a few from time to time with no place to call their own…not everyone has a palace to sleep in, some are just happy to find a roof from one day to the next. The war kinda put everything on hold when it came to looking after the city…still picking up the pieces now a few years on.”

While it was true that here in Sadala itself there was little homelessness…the academy housed a huge portion of the people that made up the military and support staff, while orphanages and halfway houses were fairly common through the lower Districts…the ravages of war out in the sticks, out in the towns and settlements closer to the borders had suffered greatly during the decades long conflict and it wasn’t hard to find someone it had affected in one way or another. Throw a stone in the Radditsu in any direction and you were likely to find someone living rough, having moved to the city to find some form of relief. Some found it, quite a few didn’t. It was just the way of things when a people tried to recover from war.

Zuqetta’s promise did make her smile a little wider though. If she kept even half of what she had planned then Sadala and Plant itself was going to be a much better place for all parties involved…and if war with the Empire could be avoided over the whole Lottus affair then it was worth the beating she’d taken in the throne room.

The knock at the door brought them out of their conversation and the shouts from outside brought with them the wafting scent of sun soaked crab, fruity fiery sauces and something that smelled like it had been barbequed by the gods and smothered in the finest herbs. It was all she could do to stop herself drooling and her stomach from gurgling. Whoever was out there seemed to know exactly who was on the other side and she stifled a laugh when her friend leapt from the bed and rushed to the door, dismissing the obstructions she had placed out there early to deter intruders and visitors. Bustling through the door almost as soon as Zuqetta had cleared some space was an odd pair that was for sure…An amazingly vibrant red Brenchian with a trolley before them as well as soothing green coloured Arcosian…with yet another trolley pushed into the room, the smell stronger now as they clearly brought food with them under the silver cloche’s that balanced on the carts.

Jagaimo gave a warm smile and a welcoming wave as the Queen introduced her to these two gallant crew members who had graced them with all the glorious requests of food she had made only moments ago. She picked up on the tone that the one called Fiyo used when they spoke about their day off being disrupted but like it often did, the subtle inflections on conversation seemed to drift over Zuqetta’s head…and the older Saiyan woman had little care to make any corrections or interfere…although when the other Saiyan pointed out that Jagaimo was the reason for them being here she gave a half sheepish smile and a polite shrug, inclining her head just enough to indicate that it had been their Captains idea to bring all this here right away.

When the Saiyan Monarch practically crushed her crewman’s hand in a vicelike grip Jagaimo almost jumped off the bed, the movement so sudden and violent after the peace and quiet they’d settled into. It was quite a contrast but reminded her that this woman, for all her pleasant airs and graces, was a very dangerous creature indeed. It was just lucky she was on their side.

Jagaimo had her hands up, patting Zuqetta’s arm lightly, sliding to pull on her wrist, urging her to release the poor alien.

“No it's fine…i'm good…it all smells so good…any more of this hospital care your Captain has invented and i might have had to lead a riot to the Radditsu District to find some real food!”

Her head turned away from the black haired alien and the Queen to the Arcosian…female…Jagaimo was never quite sure until they spoke…many looked the same in their bio-armours…stood on the otherside of the bed with a polite bow. The bed bound Saiyan smirked and laughed out a little, nodding in agreement,

“Your are pretty small to be honest…but you’ve never needed me to look out for you, i’ll give you that.”

Jagaimo turned to Fiyo,

“Your Captain’s always been able to handle herself as far as i can gather…But we try to steer her when we can…she always means well though!”

Even as the greenskinned alien was describing the food, the young woman sat cross legged on the medical bed was pulling the silver tray from her hands, the cloche pulling off to let the scent of the food waft subtly over them all…manners forgotten as she simple drove the spoon into the ice cream and devoured a huge pile of it in one gulp, shuddering at the coldness and the strange acquired taste…before slathering the next spoonful in hot sauce and swallowing that too…eyes finally lifting to look up at the three of them with her mouthful…pushing the bowl towards them and offering the sauce…

“Yovs wamt soom toh?”

"Bwarly...buth sthill shurter!"

Jagaimo chuckled in response to Zuqetta's defensive outburst about her height and the difference between them, all the while trying to inhale another mouthful of the strange flavoured ice-cream and a bucket of hot sauce slathered over the top of it, wiping the edge of her mouth with the sleeve of her hospital gown as some escaped the corner. She shook her head some and relaxed onto the bed a little more, the tray of food on her lap as she pulled a pillow up behind her as best she could. It was a strange combination...ice cold desert, burning hot sauce, and prime Rex Wagyu, pretty much all going in as one mouthful again and again. Everything just seemed to melt on her tongue with any chewing and the smells and tastes were divine as they wafted around the room from under the Cloche's. Whatever Zuqetta was paying the chef's in her mercenary company it was clearly not enough, the food tasted so good to her, unlike anything she'd savoured in a long time. And it had been brought to her lap! No hunting, no fighting or arguing...no wonder there were so many fat wealthy aliens out there...if you didn't have to work for it she could see just how you could fall into that trap.

In short order the conversation began to wind down and Zuqetta's crew mates made their excuses and left, leaving the young Saiyan woman and the younger Queen of the Saiyan's to themselves for a little while longer. And as the food vanished leaving just the empty plates, their conversation petered out as well, the bed bound Jagaimo stifling a yawn with the back of her hand as one braver member of the medical staff knocked to inform them visiting hours were now over, seemingly unbothered by the rank of the guest in the room.

It didn't take long, maybe a few minutes after her friend had been ushered from the room politely, before Jagaimo was snoring away soundly, one hand on her belly and a satisfied smile on her lips as the tip of her tail flicked back and forth off the side of the bed...