I'm baaaaack! 
Suntan 13.1
Tuesday, July 26
"Mistress… Mistress, awaken…"
"Muu… uhh?" Your eyes are stuck tight together, and it takes nearly too much effort to pry them open. "Whaa?"
"Mistress's friend requests contact."
Your sleep-addled brain needs a second to parse Perfect Storm's typical language. A phone call, you think that is what is happening. You glance over at the clock and let out a whining moan. It is only eight in the morning; considering you had to get up at two-thirty to go to Australia and the fight with Leviathan ended about an hour later, plus the time to de-evacuate everybody, you are exhausted and for good reason. Who the hell is calling you? "Pick it up."
"Taylor, it's about time you picked up! I have great news!"
You aim a bleary glare at your Device and wish the girl on the other end could see it. "I'm going back to bed, Kayleigh. Talk later."
"Message terminated. Will defer messages until Mistress awakens again."
You are already asleep before Perfect Storm finishes.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
By noontime you are feeling much more like yourself, and after a shower and lunch you have Perfect Storm call Kayleigh back.
"Are we actually going to talk now?" the other girl asks in a voice just this side of petulant.
"Yes, we can actually talk now. I wasn't in the mood this morning because…"
You cast your mind out for a believable cover story, but Kayleigh beats you to the punch.
"Oh. Oh, wait. You went to fight Leviathan, didn't you? I heard that was really early this morning. I'm so sorry. You probably just got back when I called."
The truth works better than any cover story you could come up with, and you are rather grateful Kayleigh is able to understand why you had not been not in the mood to chat. "It was a couple of hours before you called. I was just still exhausted." You shake your head. "Anyway, not something you need to worry about. I'm rested and awake now. What did you want to talk about?"
"Remember what I said a couple of weeks ago about us going on vacation and how you and Samantha were invited? And how Daddy was just waiting to make sure Leviathan wasn't going to attack while we were there?" You give her a confirmatory noise.
"Clearly we won't have to run from an Endbringer, so I wanted to let you know so you can let me know if you want to come."
"I don't know. Isn't school supposed to start up soon?" School itself is not the main issue. It is more that you are sadly not well-versed in how typical non-cape vacations go. The last one you were on was a couple of years before your mom died, and even though you went world-hopping with Vista recently, that still had the feel of being Calamity Witch, not Taylor Hebert.
"Not for, like, two weeks. We have plenty of time. Daddy was talking about flying out on Friday and coming back on Wednesday. Laura's coming, too, so the three of us could hang out while Samantha spends time with my parents and aunt and uncle— Huh? I'm on the phone with Taylor. Why?…
"Can you hold on a minute, Taylor? Daddy needs to talk to me about something."
A rustle of cloth, and then you can only hear a dull susurrus as Kayleigh discusses whatever it is with her father. Considering the timing, it would not surprise you at all if it is to let her know that she is inviting too many people. You and Samantha would make three guests with Laura, so six in total. Her father works as an accountant if you remember right, so even if he makes enough to bring his daughter's best friend with them on vacation, six might push him past his limits.
"Hey, I'm back."
"Bad news?"
"Oh, no. Actually good news, depending on how you look at it. Like I was saying, my aunt, uncle, and cousin were all supposed to come with us. Well… It turns out he has to be in court on Monday. Apparently there's a girl who's saying she's pregnant with his kid and is trying to get him to pay child support, and he didn't tell anyone so my uncle didn't know until his lawyer called the house today, and the whole story came out. So they can't come."
"O… kay? I'm not sure how this is 'good news'."
"For one, we don't have to deal with him. I love Aunt Emma and Uncle Dan, but Herman's a dick. Literally, it sounds like." She snickers at her own joke.
"But the really good part is that they have a condo down there they were planning to stay in, and they offered to let us use it, except Daddy already rented two for all of us, so he said if I wanted to invite a couple of extra people, I could. I was thinking maybe you
could invite people. You've met most of my friends, and I'm curious to meet some of yours."
You cannot stop yourself from smiling faintly. Kayleigh is a puppy, alright; endlessly enthusiastic but still a little naive. "You know that all those friends are people I know from 'work', right?"
"Oh, yeah. I didn't think about that." A couple of meaningless noises come from her end of the line.
"Whatever. I'm still leaving it open. If you think of some people who'd be willing to come, they're welcome. If you don't, no problem."
"How is your dad even paying for all of this?" you wonder out loud. "If we're talking about eight or nine people going to Florida for a week, that's got to be expensive. I don't want to cause any problems for him."
"Don't worry about it. His day job is an accountant, but he also does some stock stuff on the side. And this is our big vacation for the year, so we've been saving up. But if you're not going to have fun with your money, what's the point?"
Not the view you would take on personal finances, but especially for the last few years you and your dad were solidly lower middle class. Kayleigh grew up just a
teensy bit higher on the socioeconomic spectrum. Whether her parents would have enough to pay the bills is undoubtedly a concern that has never once crossed her mind.
"I'll think about it," you finally tell her. And maybe ask Dragon for a loan just so you don't feel so much like you are taking advantage of Kayleigh's generosity.
"Awesome! Remember, we're leaving Friday morning. I can come pick you and Samantha up if you want. This is going to be so much fun!"
Yes, the special Arc 13 I have been looking forward to for so long is that anime staple, the beach episode!
Anyway, who among your friends and allies do you want to bring with you? You can have up to three invitees.
[ ] Tim – He's been busy, and everybody needs a break now and then. If he does not come on vacation, he will have a build vote as normal.
-[ ] Firefly and Nostromo – These Guardian Beasts will not leave Tim alone in the lab but can be left behind on their own. If they do not come, they will have 2 build slots each.
[ ] Lacey – After going to the Leviathan fight, she deserves some R&R. Because her job with the hospital is so new, she will likely take the mornings off to teleport back to Philadelphia to do some healing.
-[ ] Kurt – His marriage is still on the rocks, so he won't be surprised if Lacey goes on vacation without him. Sad, but not surprised.
[ ] Dragon – She has never been on vacation before, mostly because she never had a body. This would be a new experience for her.
[ ] Cassiel – Even though she did have a body before, she never visited the beach. She will be the automatic third invitee should Tim and Dragon both go as they do not trust Firefly and Nostromo to keep a close enough eye on her by themselves.
[ ] Vista – It isn't the same as fighting crime, but this should get her away from the stress of not going on patrol in Philadelphia.
[ ] Epoch and Maclibuin – This should be a good test to see whether they have re-solidified their positions in New York or not. Because you don't know them all that well, they are a package deal.
[ ] Standstill and Cat Sith – Standstill is the "official" invitee. Cat Sith would accompany her in cat form, and therefore they wouldn't count as two people like Firefly and Nostromo or Epoch and Maclibuin would.
[ ] Someone else. This is a write-in and subject to my approval.
If for whatever reason you want to bring fewer than three people, please include one of these in your vote:
[ ] Invite no one
[ ] Only invite 1 person
[ ] Only invite 2 people
