<div class="floatleft">(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8073552/bridge%20purple%202.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Mei-Li Xiang<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Temp Quarters<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Team; Open<br/><strong>Doing:</strong>Thinking Aloud.<br/><br/><hr/><br/>The curtain rustled, as Mei-Li did up the buttons of her borrowed costume; It was rather different from what she was used to - As you'd expect in a miner's colony, most of the clothes were hard-wearing, in grey and basic black, with pull-up scarfs or hoods that could keep the omnipresent dust at bay. She *did* like the boots, which had the reassuring solidity of heavy synthleather - but the rest clearly hadn't been designed for a woman of Mei-Li's curves, which meant that it was *just* a little tight...And probably all the more flattering because of that.<br/><br/>She'd found a simple, off-white shirt, with an earth-toned vest over it - Dyed in dull shades, which was a good way of half-concealing the myriad pockets within it. She'd much rather have a dress, or at least a skirt...But she had to admit, the tight-fitting leggings were rather more practical here. After all, you never knew when you just *might* have to run. Just like pretty much every item of apparel here, it came with a dust-hood - but Mei-Li left it drawn back, slim fingers brushing stray strands of violet hair back from her lovely features as she gave herself the once-over in the mirror!<br/><br/>Her preparations were - Well, comparatively minor. She had her hold-out pistol concealed in a thigh-holster, her compact medikit folded into her vest...But her main nod to protection would be Karasu. After one last look back at herself - resisting the urge to adjust her shirt all over again! - she half-turned, stirred from her reverie by the other woman's words.<br/><br/>"-It's possible," she allowed. "I certainly wouldn't rule it out...Still, it's only one of the<em>many</em>possibilities out there. Then again...This<em>is</em>a small community. Any unusual occurrences like that - you'd think they would stand out." Unless, of course - came the unbidden thought - they were all in on it. Now *that* wasn't something she liked to think about. No reason to jump at shadows just yet...<br/><br/>"The animals...It *could* be, but I was thinking they might be collateral damage, more than anything else. At least it isn't some kind of contagion..." Her voice trailed off, as she stepped back out into the room - A little "Oh my~!" teased from her lips, her eyes sparkling with approval! Mei-Li had to say - That *was* a slightly eclectic outfit...But the girl looked like she was right at home~! Rather more concealing than she might've expected - which was a good thing, given how she was fairly certain Karasu was packing several times the firepower<em>she</em>was carrying...And rather more casually, too.<br/><br/>A hand came to rest on her curvy hip, as Mei-Li dipped her head in an approving nod - "You look great," she offered, by way of compliment; Really, she felt positively underdressed compared to Karasu! The lovely doctor drew a deep breath, allowing herself a moment to compose herself - "By-the-by...Have the others found anything, just yet~?"<br/><br/>There was a faint chime, as she keyed her wrist-comm; If possible, she'll do her very best to stay in contact with them. She had a feeling - a<em>bad</em>feeling - that Karasu's guess might be more accurate than she'd initially expected...But she had every intention of getting to the bottom of this.<br/><br/>She favored Liam with a nod of agreement, cupping her chin in slim fingers - "A<em>serious</em>digging...That leaves the question of *where*. And *what* they might be after..." Mei-Li's voice trailed off; she didn't have any specific idea - not yet - but the possibilities were hardly reassuring...