Well, whoever these people were, they certainly were hungry. Yumi's scheme seemed to have worked; bribing them with food was all it took to get them out of their Gunman and swapping life-stories (Or at least brief introductions. Which were probably better, to be honest.) Though she maintained her customary silence, the white-haired woman had no problem with listening. And besides, some of these people seemed to have some fairly interesting tales to tell.
[hr]
The minutes slowly drifted into hours as the group continued to talk, the moon rising high overhead. Warmed by fire, food, and company, the cluster of pilots paid little attention to the steadily cooling air, nor to the lethargy that threatened to pull them into sleep's deep embrace. Things got especially entertaining when someone brought out a flask of cactus juice; suffice to say that several of the party's members had a bit more of the thirst-quenching liquid then advisable.
Eventually, the conversation turned away from past exploits and stories that had most likely been fabricated. Soon, a single question was being tossed back and forth, everyone searching for an answer: What now?
Join up with the Dai-Gurren Brigade; that detail went without saying. But how to find them? It was a wide, wide world up here on the surface, and Simon and company could be just about anywhere in it. The pictures in the sky, though powerfully moving and inspiring, had rather failed to explain how to meet up with the Brigade. At this point, their best bet would probably be to just wander around in some arbitrary direction and hope they bumped into Gurren Lagann. Ideas, mostly bad ones, were tossed around and debated, but by the time sleep began to claim its victims no consensus had been reached.
The fire burned down to embers as people slowly drifted off, some stumbling back to their Gunman, others passing out on the sandy ground. Hopefully, the morning would bring inspiration, better ideas, or some miraculous sign.
[hr]
It was early in the morning when a series of explosions suddenly thundered across the landscape, violently yanking the dozing pilots from their slumber. To those that managed to wipe the sleep from their eyes, plumes of smoke appeared in the south, some pitch black, others fiery red, and others every color in between.
Gritting her teeth, Yumi hastily collected her effects. It looked like her hunch had been correct; the Beastmen did have a base nearby (The Gunmen had to come from somewhere, right?). And now it looked like something was happening to it.
Not bothering to wait for any of the others to get ready, the silent woman began running up the sandy slopes, heading towards the distant sounds of battle. If they chose to follow, the rest of the group should have no trouble catching up, what with their Gunmen.
