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Description
It was about 11:45, just after Third Period had ended. A low, guttural growl sounded off from a certain chubby Zephyrite's belly. Kodai sauntered about the hallways of the Unicornis Academy, making his way to the cafeteria for lunch. He was thinking about the lunch period all day as today was the Brunch Special and he had made every intention of taking advantage of the day's special. He swore that he could actually hear his stomach get progressively louder with every passing second, which furthered his anxious excitement. Within a few short minutes, the two made it to the cafeteria and quickly got in line. Kodai was first in line began his order.

"I'll have... six... No! A stack of eight buttermilk pancakes, heavily buttered with maple brown sugar syrup." Kodai began, earning shocked stares from his peers in line. "Can I also get some scrabbled eggs and hickory smoked bacon, two hashbrowns, and three sausage patties? Oh! And a quart of Apple Juice to wash it all down, please!"

"Good day in the morning!" a classmate beside him exclaimed. "You're gonna eat the entire cafeteria! You just about done?!" Kodai turned to respond when he was greeted by a brown humanoid eagle that he immediately recognized. A big dumb smile grew across the young Zephyrite's face.

"José?!" Kodai cried, holding himself back from a massive hug. José simply offered a sly smirk at his classmate.

"What's up, fatso?" José greeted, earning an awkward smile from the young Zephyrite. Normally, Kodai would take offense to that, but he knew José meant it in jest. A joke. One at Kodai's expense and low hanging one at that, but a joke nonetheless. Shortly after Kodai received his order, he and his old buddy sat at a nearby table to catch up.

"I haven't seen you in ages, man! Where've you been?" Kodai inquired, cutting a slice into his massive stack of pancakes.

"Took a semester off," Jose replied. "My family was in dire straights and they needed all the help they could get. Of course, when I came back I had to reschedule my classes, so I'm not too thrilled about that."

"Yeesh, sorry about that." Kodai responded between bites. "They alright?"

"They can manage," José commented, taking a quick swig from the orange juice he ordered. "It's nothing worth reporting, really."

"Well, I just hope you can catch up," Kodai said, starting on the eggs and sausage patties. "Midterms are coming up."

"Ugh!" José shrugged. "I am not looking forward to that..." Kodai took a good look at his winged buddy. He knew something else was going on, but he didn't want to press the issue any further than was necessary. That being said, José had his own questions.

"So aside from chugging down all that grease," José started, taking another jab at Kodai's dietary habits. "How's Project ZEPHYRION coming along?"

"Mwuah?" Kodai asked, not realizing his mouth was full of bacon, pancakes, and eggs. He took a swig of Apple Juice and swallowed down hard so he could ask again. "What about Project ZEPHYRION?"

"I was asking how progress has been going," José reiterated. "Last time I heard, you and the science division of the Unicornis Colony were testing the internal engine."

"Oh! That..." Kodai's thoughts quickly trailed off. Since he started high school at the Unicornis Academy, he had made it a personal obligation to work with the scientists and researchers that found both him and his father Goliath to learn more about the very Humanoid Battle Machine that they were found in. And while they made significant progress in getting the thing to run, they've had yet to crack open the black box that Kodai was sure was inside somewhere. It would certainly answer a lot of questions that he had since he was a kid.

"I take it that means you haven't completed it yet?" José asked, noticing how Kodai was once again staring into space.

"Oh, no! It's functional," Kodai replied, briefly being taken out of his own thoughts. "We're actually now on the testing phase."

"So who's the test pilot?" José asked.

"Not sure," Kodai answered. "Most likely, my dad will serve that role."

"Why not you, or anyone else?"

"Apparently, the Zephyrion only responds to Zephyrites. And I have no combat experience, so that rules me out automatically."

"Wouldn't hurt for you to try," José paused to finish up his orange juice. "You're practically a genius here at the academy."

"Only in grades," Kodai jested before "presenting himself" to emphasize his next point. "Besides, a guy like me would be useless in war."

"Hey, you never know," José reasoned. "Maybe you might have some hidden ability that makes you some legendary super soldier or something!"

"Okay, now you're just taking the piss," Kodai muttered, noticing the joke. Kodai proceeded to scoop up what remained of his meal and shoved it into his mouth.

"Maybe," José started, looking up at the starry sky above them. "But I could be onto something. You're different from all of us."

"Only to you guys. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just an ordinary alien boy." With that, Kodai chugged that last of his apple juice to finish off his hefty meal, signalling his triumph with a loud, hearty belch. José nearly busted out laughing in response.

"Haha! And the mysterious Zephyrite remains intact, ladies and gentlemen!" José joked as Kodai drummed on his full belly with his trademark lazy, satisfied grin. "Seriously though, one day I'm gonna walk in here and the cafeteria is gonna be littered with your remains."

"I'll be sure to save you something before that happens!" Kodai retorted, playing off José's own joke. As they got up from their seats and headed back to the Lecture Hall, José decided to bring up Project ZEPHYRION again.

"But in all seriousness," José began in a hushed tone. "If it's not for war, what are you working on the Zephyrion for anyway?" Kodai paused to think of an answer.

"Maybe... it's answers I'm looking for. Answers to where I came from, and why they left me and my dad all alone in that HBM." Kodai explained. "If I can at least have that, then that would be the best." José simply sighed at the answer. It wasn't as grandiose as he was expecting, but he knew Kodai well enough to know that was going to be the closest thing to a straight answer.

"Whatever man," José responded. "But hey, if you do end up becoming a super soldier because of this I'll treat you to something special!"

"Like what?" Kodai asked. "A dinner party, or something?" José answered with a deep jab at Kodai's belly.

"A super soldier needs all the fuel he can get, right?" José joked, but this time Kodai wasn't amused. He could take the fat jokes, if done in jest, but he never liked it when someone touched his belly without his consent. Despite this, he forced a smile all the same.

"Thanks man," Kodai said, just before smacking José on the beak in retaliation. "...and fuck you."

Description
It was about 11:45, just after Third Period had ended. A low, guttural growl sounded off from a certain chubby Zephyrite's belly. Kodai sauntered about the hallways of the Unicornis Academy, making his way to the cafeteria for lunch. He was thinking about the lunch period all day as today was the Brunch Special and he had made every intention of taking advantage of the day's special. He swore that he could actually hear his stomach get progressively louder with every passing second, which furthered his anxious excitement. Within a few short minutes, the two made it to the cafeteria and quickly got in line. Kodai was first in line began his order.

"I'll have... six... No! A stack of eight buttermilk pancakes, heavily buttered with maple brown sugar syrup." Kodai began, earning shocked stares from his peers in line. "Can I also get some scrabbled eggs and hickory smoked bacon, two hashbrowns, and three sausage patties? Oh! And a quart of Apple Juice to wash it all down, please!"

"Good day in the morning!" a classmate beside him exclaimed. "You're gonna eat the entire cafeteria! You just about done?!" Kodai turned to respond when he was greeted by a brown humanoid eagle that he immediately recognized. A big dumb smile grew across the young Zephyrite's face.

"José?!" Kodai cried, holding himself back from a massive hug. José simply offered a sly smirk at his classmate.

"What's up, fatso?" José greeted, earning an awkward smile from the young Zephyrite. Normally, Kodai would take offense to that, but he knew José meant it in jest. A joke. One at Kodai's expense and low hanging one at that, but a joke nonetheless. Shortly after Kodai received his order, he and his old buddy sat at a nearby table to catch up.

"I haven't seen you in ages, man! Where've you been?" Kodai inquired, cutting a slice into his massive stack of pancakes.

"Took a semester off," Jose replied. "My family was in dire straights and they needed all the help they could get. Of course, when I came back I had to reschedule my classes, so I'm not too thrilled about that."

"Yeesh, sorry about that." Kodai responded between bites. "They alright?"

"They can manage," José commented, taking a quick swig from the orange juice he ordered. "It's nothing worth reporting, really."

"Well, I just hope you can catch up," Kodai said, starting on the eggs and sausage patties. "Midterms are coming up."

"Ugh!" José shrugged. "I am not looking forward to that..." Kodai took a good look at his winged buddy. He knew something else was going on, but he didn't want to press the issue any further than was necessary. That being said, José had his own questions.

"So aside from chugging down all that grease," José started, taking another jab at Kodai's dietary habits. "How's Project ZEPHYRION coming along?"

"Mwuah?" Kodai asked, not realizing his mouth was full of bacon, pancakes, and eggs. He took a swig of Apple Juice and swallowed down hard so he could ask again. "What about Project ZEPHYRION?"

"I was asking how progress has been going," José reiterated. "Last time I heard, you and the science division of the Unicornis Colony were testing the internal engine."

"Oh! That..." Kodai's thoughts quickly trailed off. Since he started high school at the Unicornis Academy, he had made it a personal obligation to work with the scientists and researchers that found both him and his father Goliath to learn more about the very Humanoid Battle Machine that they were found in. And while they made significant progress in getting the thing to run, they've had yet to crack open the black box that Kodai was sure was inside somewhere. It would certainly answer a lot of questions that he had since he was a kid.

"I take it that means you haven't completed it yet?" José asked, noticing how Kodai was once again staring into space.

"Oh, no! It's functional," Kodai replied, briefly being taken out of his own thoughts. "We're actually now on the testing phase."

"So who's the test pilot?" José asked.

"Not sure," Kodai answered. "Most likely, my dad will serve that role."

"Why not you, or anyone else?"

"Apparently, the Zephyrion only responds to Zephyrites. And I have no combat experience, so that rules me out automatically."

"Wouldn't hurt for you to try," José paused to finish up his orange juice. "You're practically a genius here at the academy."

"Only in grades," Kodai jested before "presenting himself" to emphasize his next point. "Besides, a guy like me would be useless in war."

"Hey, you never know," José reasoned. "Maybe you might have some hidden ability that makes you some legendary super soldier or something!"

"Okay, now you're just taking the piss," Kodai muttered, noticing the joke. Kodai proceeded to scoop up what remained of his meal and shoved it into his mouth.

"Maybe," José started, looking up at the starry sky above them. "But I could be onto something. You're different from all of us."

"Only to you guys. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just an ordinary alien boy." With that, Kodai chugged that last of his apple juice to finish off his hefty meal, signalling his triumph with a loud, hearty belch. José nearly busted out laughing in response.

"Haha! And the mysterious Zephyrite remains intact, ladies and gentlemen!" José joked as Kodai drummed on his full belly with his trademark lazy, satisfied grin. "Seriously though, one day I'm gonna walk in here and the cafeteria is gonna be littered with your remains."

"I'll be sure to save you something before that happens!" Kodai retorted, playing off José's own joke. As they got up from their seats and headed back to the Lecture Hall, José decided to bring up Project ZEPHYRION again.

"But in all seriousness," José began in a hushed tone. "If it's not for war, what are you working on the Zephyrion for anyway?" Kodai paused to think of an answer.

"Maybe... it's answers I'm looking for. Answers to where I came from, and why they left me and my dad all alone in that HBM." Kodai explained. "If I can at least have that, then that would be the best." José simply sighed at the answer. It wasn't as grandiose as he was expecting, but he knew Kodai well enough to know that was going to be the closest thing to a straight answer.

"Whatever man," José responded. "But hey, if you do end up becoming a super soldier because of this I'll treat you to something special!"

"Like what?" Kodai asked. "A dinner party, or something?" José answered with a deep jab at Kodai's belly.

"A super soldier needs all the fuel he can get, right?" José joked, but this time Kodai wasn't amused. He could take the fat jokes, if done in jest, but he never liked it when someone touched his belly without his consent. Despite this, he forced a smile all the same.

"Thanks man," Kodai said, just before smacking José on the beak in retaliation. "...and fuck you."