Sunny Days (IC THREAD) [ESQUARIUM ONLY!]

[Pisdara]

A map of Pisdara.

For a group of cashed-strapped students currently studying in the cold-gripped islands of Ainin, a break in the sun before exams may be helpful. And there's no place better then the ecologically stunning (and cheap) island of Pisdara!
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PISHDARA AIRPORT, 12:30 PM.
Joseph looked again at his watch. 12:30. Lowering his arm, he sighed slightly as he resumed pacing up and down the one-room airport. The plane from Beaurepaire was supposed to land twenty minutes ago, and Joseph had to make sure the gang got to the rented bungalow by 1:00. He had come back to his home island a week earlier to personally see his family and rent the beach house. Sitting back down, he picked up his copy of Sand and Fire: A Collective History of Pisdara, and tried to read to pass the time. He couldn’t. Placing the book down, he went up to the lone attendant’s desk in the building.

“Anbar’dug.”
“Anbar’dug sir. Can I help you?” A fairly dark-skinned woman, her tight hijab accenting her face, replied.
“My friends are on Aininian Flight 320 from Beaurepaire. Any word on if it’s coming on time?”
“Yes, just a few minutes, ten or so. Thank you for asking.”

Ten minutes could work. They would leave the airport by 12:40, and getting to the bungalow was only twenty minutes at most. Relieved, Joseph thanked the attendant, headed back to his seat, and pick up his book.

[Katranjiev]

Andon Paskalev was impatiently waiting for the plane to land. Fascinated by Katranjiev's colonial past, he sought to visit the colonies and learn more about them.

He had previously visited Zelenagora, and once underwent a world cruise via the Yuzhen more usluga cruise line, which stopped in Ashuragar. But he really wanted to learn more. After all, he wanted to experience Katranjian history on those islands and learn more from Pisdara than he could elsewhere.

He checked his watch nervously. He can now see the outline of Pisdara from the window. "Eto idvam..." he muttered, and a smile appeared on his face.

[Cailiuil]

Snapping awake after a much needed nap Rodrique looked out the window with a sigh of relief as he could just about see the out line of Pisdara. Muttering to his self "finally glorious land, I will be able to stretch my legs, like all good Cáiliúili should." He was very interested in seeing this small island nation, as he was interested in the political workings of such a small island nation, compared to his wide open home country of Cáiliúil.

[Sandhelm]

"For such a small place, they sure do have a large history." Kazumi thought to herself, fully engrossed in her book.

She was reading The Complete History of Pisdara, the only book about the island she could find in Vjaarlandic. Although she understood French quite well, she still found it easier to read in her native tongue. She really didn't know much about the island, except for that it was small and apparently "an epic place to party". In fact, she probably wouldn't even be on this plane if her friends didn't pressure her to go. It was true though, exams would be coming up soon and then there wouldn't be much time for relaxing, this was her last chance to really relax before things started getting really serious.

*sigh*
She set down the book and relaxed into her seat, turning her head to the side, she could see the outline of the island fast approaching. "Looks like we'll be landing soon", she said to herself, with a slight smile forming on her face.

[Pisdara]

As he saw the plane descending onto the sand-dusted tarmac through the large window overlooking the airport, Joseph began to pack his belongings and and head towards the arrival gate. As his friends entered the terminal, he smiled, and stated in a loud voice "Welcome to Pisdara!" Obviously excited, he was quick to move outside the airport, his jet-legged friends trailing behind him, as he showed them the rental car. The car, more like a truck, was monstrous, with a high suspension and a rather drab paint job. "It's not a beauty, but it'll do."

The drive to the bungalow was rather scenic, with the semi-arid rocks making up the island sharply descending into the light blue ocean. As this stretch of coast was popular with tourists, small bungalows and huts dotted the beaches, with the occasional hamlet or mosque in-between. The bungalow the group was sharing was on a stretch of beach property a mere five minutes drive outside of the main town and capital of Ashuragar. With its pastel colouring and yellow clapboards, it looked as if it had popped out of a travel catalog.

Stopping in the gravel driveway, Joseph announced to the group they had arrived, and walked up to the house to unlock it. The interior was just as cheery as the exterior, with a joint kitchen-living area bathed in pinkish wallpaper, with three bedrooms and one bathroom branching off the back of the house, will ample view of the public beach. Each bedroom offered two beds, a fairly large dresser, and a sliding door to the back porch. The bathroom held a toilet, two sinks, and a bath/shower combination, once again draped in those gaudy but oddly enduring pastel colours.

"So," Joseph began. "After we settle in and we figure out who's bunking with who, the beach behind us is having a barbecue at six, and apparently every local and tourist outside of Ashuragar will be there. If ya wanna head down with me then, you can." Before heading into his room to unpack, he quickly remembered something. "Oh! And tomorrow I was thinking of looking around Ashuragar, they have some museums and places we can visit."

[Katranjiev]

Andon Paskalev was not too jet-lagged, moving about the same pace as Joseph. He understood: Pisdara was not as developed as Ainin or Katranjiev.

On his way to the bungalow, Paskalev admired the coast. The houses, the mosques, they may be few and far between, but they each added to the character. As they sped by, he took note of the architecture. Some were influenced by Aininian designs, but others... others had native architecture. One could hardly imagine what it would be like in Poritsava...

Once they finally arrived to the bungalow, Andon was swift to get off it. For a moment, he felt like a little kid being taken to the summer dacha. When the doors were unlocked, Paskalev began to explore the bungalow. But first, he had to listen to Joseph speak: Andon wanted to come, of course.

He admired how the kitchen and living room was set up, but he wanted to see more. Thus, he ventured, peeking in the bedrooms. Save for a few superficial traits, there was not much difference. He then went on to look in the bathroom: it was decent, but he was puzzled: why were there two sinks in the bathroom? It made absolutely no sense at all.

He then returned to the bedrooms: he saw what seemed to be Joseph in his room, so he decided to ignore the room. He decided on going to the next bedroom over and unpacking his stuff there.

[Cailiuil]

Rodrique enjoyed the ride to the bungalow as the landscape and small population of the country side reminded him of the wide open plains of his home country. On his way by the houses and buildings he noted the native architecture with there flat roofs, which were drastically different from the often round tent like buildings of Cáiliúil. Upon reaching the quaint bungalow he listened to what Joseph had to say and then proceeded to drop his bags in the closest empty bedroom. After this he called to the other guys saying that he was heading out go for a walk along the beach to stretch his legs, and that he would meet up with them later at the barbecue.

[Fascesia]

The long flight was exhausting. The plane lifted off with a delay of about two hours. But that made him even happier having solid ground his feet. He didn't have to wait too long for his luggage. The first he noticed outside the terminal was the damp heat and the stinging sun. He should have taken a sun hat with him. Why had he forgotten to take it with him in the first place? Before going to the bungalow he was driven towards the city by a taxi.

"Stop!" he said in French. "Let me get out here for a second, I'll be back right away. I just have to buy something quickly. Then I would like to be driven to the bungalow outside the city."

Lucien sprinted out of the taxi without paying. He was hearing the driver shouting at him in Pisdari, and he didn't knew what exactly he was saying, but he knew it was not very kind. At a market stall he saw a sun hat, tried it on and bought it immediately. At home such a hat would cost like five times as much as here. He seems to have forgotten about the lacking quality of that hat.

"Putain de merde!" he clamored at the top of his voice as he realized that the taxi drove off together with his luggage. "Now I'll be late definitively."

At 6:30 pm he arrived at his place to stay, without luggage but with a sun hat. Shuffling he entered the bungalow and opened a bedroom door. A suitcase was lying on the floor and some clothes were lying on a bed. He laid his sunglasses on the vacant bed and started looking around in the room. He saw the beach through the window and there were some non-native people making a barbeque. They could be the other students, he thought to himself. Lucien left the bungalow and strolled to the beach.

[Pisdara]

OOC: Sorry for the lateness guys! Been busy recently

As 6:00 came, and the sun began to slip under the bright blue waters, Joseph opened the back door and stepped onto the patio. Ahead of him was the barbecue, and it seemed rather packed, at least for early March. Walking towards the aroma of the food and loud music, he noticed the sign informing of the event:

"BEACHSIDE BBQ!
Locals and visitors welcome!
All food is free and up to halal standards!"

Entering the growing group, he made his way to the barbecue, picking up a plastic plate and looking at the selection. There was seasoned lamb, chicken, and goat, along with soups, an array of breads, vegetables and fruits that grew on the island, and a large platter of gula'gishbil (a Pisdari delicacy, involving a thin dough stuffed with what was essentially a person's weight in grapes, lettuce, carrots, and other fruits and veggies). Grabbing some lamb, celery, and a gula'gishbil, Joseph placed himself at a table, waiting for his friends to come down.

The music was blaring, and it seems everyone was trying to talk over each other. There seemed to be two distinct groups forming, the locals discussing the weather, their crops, how Ashuragar was at once the worst and yet also best settlement on the island, an stories of what tourist said what this time. The other group were the tourists, speaking a slew of different languages, although French dominated. They seemed to be excited for a multitude of reasons, from hoping to check out the island's natural wonders, or to just get drunk in a Ashuragar bar (the Pisdaris still had a love for booze. Even the most devout Muslim on the island was most likely a slosh). Biting into his gula'gishbil, Joseph wondered when the group would head down.

[Sandhelm]

Kazumi strolled down towards the beach, enticed by the aroma of freshly-cooked food and sound of good music. The beach gave off a friendly and inviting atmosphere, with people all around her talking loudly and eating plateloads of food at the same time, these people sure knew how to party.

Looking over the selection of foods, Kazumi grabbed a plate and loaded it up with chicken, fruit and some strange looking pastry dish. Looking around, she saw Joseph sitting at a nearby table and walked over to it, taking the seat opposite of him. She bit into a piece of chicken, and asked Joseph "Are barbecues this big common here?"

[Cailiuil]

As Rodrique was heading back he could see the large crowd forming at the location of the barbecue, he tried to spot Joseph and saw him and another of the group sitting at a table with a plates of food. Making a beeline for the food he loads his plate, with all three meats, bread and vegetables, forming it into a sandwich of sorts, while o his way to Josephs table. Sitting down he remarks that the party is almost like those of his home, except for the lack of a central bonfire.

[Pisdara]

Biting into the dough, Joseph swallowed before talking to his friends. "Barbecues? Yeah, it's super common. If someone doesn't have a bonfire at least once a week, they're pretty much seen as weird." Taking a sip of beer, Joseph overheard a tourist loudly yelling something in French.

The tourist, a seemingly fourty-year-old looking fellow, was absolutely sloshed. Limping around the the beach and crowd in circles, he was obviously trying to reach the porta-potty, but ended up tripping and falling onto the sound system blasting the music. After being helped up, the man began to move towards the group's table.

"May wanna move, guys. I'm pretty sure this guy's gonna crash on our table." Moving his plate, Joseph began to get up, but was too late. The drunk had reached the table, and his murmurings were now focused on the group. Grabbing Kazumi's arm, Joseph tried to pull her away as the drunk began to tumble, losing his balance and falling onto the table. Luckily, Kazumi and Rodrique weren't crushed by the man. Unluckily, the table was. Hoping to get away from the mess, Joseph began to move towards the area where some of the visitors were dancing. As the police dragged the now plastic-stabbed man away, the group began to feel more relaxed, and moved closer to the dance floor.