Floona looked over at Toxic as she sat back down and remarked,"I'm impressed. You took everyone's trays back to the kitchen with being hounded about it! You're maturing. I think River King is having a good effect on you." Kella nodded. "I think Floona's right. We've ALL worried about you after Jin's death, but you're more mature and less flighty about stuff. Personally, I'm proud of how you've healed back from it." Toffet smiled at her and smiled,"Good job, rainbow!" Toxic got a really odd expression and muttered,"Thanks, I guess. Prince and Leviathan helped,too. I really feel like part of a family, now. If they weren't here...I might have gone to pieces." Toffet snorted,"That's nonsense. You also have Me and Kella and Bluebell! We went through death together! We're as close as ANY family! You remember that! 'Ya want me to slap the crap outta ya?'" Toxic and Kella broke up laughing. Floona frowned and said,"Cree-eepy! You guys just give me the creeps talking like that! I've never been dead and do NOT want to be!" Kella said,"I wouldn't recommend it for everyone! Neblae kept us going while we were bodiless in Flying City 64, and it was almost five or six months in relative time, or a couple of days in real time. Our minds were thinking at light speed, instead of the usual nerve speed of a hundred kilometers per hour. It was pretty intense. We got to know each other on levels that are hard to describe." Floona laughed,"I've noticed! When you guys eat, you cover each other's back and eat with a breathless intensity, that only the River King and Prince can match! NO light dinner conversation with YOU guys! Gawd! You all eat like ...wild pack hunters! Like LIONS! Scary." They all broke out laughing. Toxic nodded."Yeppers! That's us! King,Prince and Levi are Family! These are my PACK! We bite things together!" Kella said,"I'll like to take a plug out of Malbess, after you stared at her ass yesterday,Toffet!" Toffet exclaimed,"She was walking on her hands to amuse Starshine and Sunny! It amused me,too! When anyone does weird things, I look!" The Measure walked through the mess-hall door and stood there, wiggling her bare toes. Toxic stared with her mouth open. Floona said,"You men are all the same! A woman flashes a bubble-butt in your face and higher reason goes out the damned window!" Toffet said,"Can you please stay out of this? This is between my wife and I. Baby, It's an uncontrollable human reflex to stare when someone is showing off! It's a survival instinct to notice stuff like that!" Toxic reached towards Toffet and exclaimed,"Hey! Hey, guys! Measure's showing off!" Floona flickered a glance over at her and said,"Yo,Measure-- Just a second! Toffet, Kella's just a bit jealous. It happens to women when a bigger, shapelier woman seems to intrude in their territory. In general, men just need to say the right things to her, and NOT about instincts and such! You're digging yourself into a hole,here!" Measure sighed. She put her right leg onto the table. Toffet was saying,"Alright, you do have a point. Kella, I'm sorry that you...HEY! What the hell? We were talking about Toxic maturing and Measure is turning into a kid?" Floona remarked,"Yeah! Measure could you take your feet and keep them off the ta...BLE?" They all stared in shock. Kella exclaimed,"OH MY GOD! Measure! YOU HAVE FEET?" The Measure said,"I could have WALKED in here, NAKED AND ON FIRE and gotten as noticed! YES, I got feet!" Toxic asked,"Meaure's got FEET?HOW?" Measure grinned,"Naga Hyper-Space-Storage devices are CONSIDERABLY more advanced than the Sururin HSDs! We can store BODY-PARTS in it with NO degradation and without the extra mass bleeding over. Snazzy, eh?" She puffed up and remarked,"Remember, the Naga has had technological..." They all finished,"...CIVILIZATION FOR 980 MILLION YEARS!" Floona remarked,"I think the Naga secret is out,now!" They all broke up laughing. --To be continued!--