A Festival of Spring (IC, open)

[The Selkie]

Good day! This is the IC to this OOC. Please apply and be accepted before posting.

Cothrom Field, near Silverport, Free Lands of the Selkie.
8:55 o'clock.
Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork smiled.
The woman in her late fourties, blue eyes sparkling, just finished her last round. It was her turn to host the Grian an Earraigh, the festival of the Spring Sun, of her group of "philanthropic businesspeople" as a foreign businessman once called them, a great pleasure and honour.
Of course, it was open to everyone and everyone was welcome to donate to their cause, be it by buying from the stalls and merchants, participating in the raffle or in the tournaments - the money would be used to help children in warzones, which needed education.
The last round was successful, no problems anywhere. Everything stood so far, they were ready.
Nora wore her Geansai beneath a thick coat, held up by a simple silver brooch. It was a bit cold, but the weather forecast said, that it would get warmer over the day. Not summertime-warm, but spring-warm with soft warm breezes coming in from the Silver Bay, which was nice to feel.
Luckily, it didn't look like rain, her greatest fear. Everything was nice and dry.
People could arrive easily from Silverport, a few carriage drivers offered their vehicles as shuttle services at strategic locations, ready to transport their customers to the festival grounds. Or one could arrive by the own horse or even by feet or car. Everything was possible in that regard.
The host of the festival made her way over to the entrance to the festival grounds, ready to receive guests and greet them properly. Nora took a peek at her little pocket watch: 8:56. In a few minutes, the gate would open and admit the first guests.
A few Selkie, young ones, mostly, were already waiting outside. She also saw one or two lances gleaming in the morning sun - some of them were there for the tournaments, which would be held. Others would be here to have fun and games by other means, there were games, food stalls and other kinds of things to do.
It would be great fun.
Nora breathed in, nodded towards the gatekeeper - he opened the small gate, more like a token-thing then an actual gate. The woman spread her arms out. "Good morning, people, and welcome! Come in!"
Around a dozen Selkie waiting outside did as they were told with grins, greetings and good cheer.

[Brytene]

Cothrom Field, near Silverport, Free Lands of the Selkie
9 o'clock - Opening Time

---

Godiva Teorell had walked from the airport, feeling it worth taking the time to experience a truly traditional 'Selkie' festival. Tall and blonde, she was the perfect image of a marketing guru - polished and manicured, in a navy blue tunic of fine silk that fell to just above her knees, knee-high strap sandals on her feet and a pale blue shawl lined with silver thread around her shoulders. Today she was appearing in her private capacity, however, not as a representative of IDAItech - she was already a prominent spokesperson for the Brytisc CSPRA wildlife charity, and she truly believed that it was the duty of every person to help out where and when they could. Having a little fun into the bargain couldn't hurt, of course, and she had been due a holiday, so here she was.

Beside her was Siobhan Fitzpatrick. Similarly tall, she boasted springy red hair in contrast to the straight golden hair of her boss. Her skin was pale, almost papery-white, but her eyes already had faint crows feet from too much time in the sun, and unlike Godiva she wore little makeup. Her outfit was also a little more modest, brown leather boots and trousers topped by a white frilled shirt. Neither woman wore a coat, as for them the mild morning was typical of a Brytisc spring and they found the chill refreshing. Siobhan, out of habit, stepped back to let Godiva go first, but the younger woman linked her arm through Siobhan's and pulled her alongside as they entered behind the first wave of eager Selkies. "You're here as my friend, not my employee," she chided playfully.

Ahead of them stood a middle-aged woman in a thick coat, welcoming the guests. Her Geansai was peeking out at the bottom and top, however, displaying trailing blue at the bottom and a flash of orange at the torso. Godiva tried to remember what those colours meant, then Siobhan nudged her and whispered 'Cork'. Godiva stepped up to the woman and smiled.

"Good morning, and what a lovely one! I am Ms Teorell, from Brytene." Siobhan stood a little further back, taking in the sights of the fresh Cothrom Field, filled with merchants, entertainers and beginning to fill with guests.

[The Selkie]

Cothrom Field, near Silverport, Free Lands of the Selkie
9 o'clock - Opening Time

---

Godiva Teorell had walked from the airport, feeling it worth taking the time to experience a truly traditional 'Selkie' festival. Tall and blonde, she was the perfect image of a marketing guru - polished and manicured, in a navy blue tunic of fine silk that fell to just above her knees, knee-high strap sandals on her feet and a pale blue shawl lined with silver thread around her shoulders. Today she was appearing in her private capacity, however, not as a representative of IDAItech - she was already a prominent spokesperson for the Brytisc CSPRA wildlife charity, and she truly believed that it was the duty of every person to help out where and when they could. Having a little fun into the bargain couldn't hurt, of course, and she had been due a holiday, so here she was.

Beside her was Siobhan Fitzpatrick. Similarly tall, she boasted springy red hair in contrast to the straight golden hair of her boss. Her skin was pale, almost papery-white, but her eyes already had faint crows feet from too much time in the sun, and unlike Godiva she wore little makeup. Her outfit was also a little more modest, brown leather boots and trousers topped by a white frilled shirt. Neither woman wore a coat, as for them the mild morning was typical of a Brytisc spring and they found the chill refreshing. Siobhan, out of habit, stepped back to let Godiva go first, but the younger woman linked her arm through Siobhan's and pulled her alongside as they entered behind the first wave of eager Selkies. "You're here as my friend, not my employee," she chided playfully.

Ahead of them stood a middle-aged woman in a thick coat, welcoming the guests. Her Geansai was peeking out at the bottom and top, however, displaying trailing blue at the bottom and a flash of orange at the torso. Godiva tried to remember what those colours meant, then Siobhan nudged her and whispered 'Cork'. Godiva stepped up to the woman and smiled.

"Good morning, and what a lovely one! I am Ms Teorell, from Brytene." Siobhan stood a little further back, taking in the sights of the fresh Cothrom Field, filled with merchants, entertainers and beginning to fill with guests.

Nora smiled, extended her hand.
"Indeed, it is lovely.", she replied, bowing her head slightly, a gesture of greeting amongst people of similar station in the Free Lands - and as businesspeople, they both were, although Nora was CEO and head of her own company, the local Silverport Dockyards Ltd.. "Name's Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork, from the Free Lands.", she joked a bit, "Welcome, Miss Teorell, welcome to Grian an Earraigh!"
The woman's and her company's reputation preceded her, her charity work for the environment was known, and although Nora respected that, she pitied her a bit as well: In the Free Lands, there was no need for environmental charity work, they simply didn't need it. They learned to live in tune with nature and not against it.
"Have fun at the festival.", she said, spotting someone else, "Please excuse me."
And with that, Nora was away to greet a young woman with black hair and rather similar eyes, dressed in tournament garb and a thick, purple coat over it, sword hanging at her side, hugging her with a huge grin, exchanged a few words. With the family member greeted properly, Nora released her daughter Gwen, sending her inside and jumping off to greet other guests, while Gwen went inside.
Nodding towards Miss Teorell and her assistant, she walked past.

[Riysa]

Cothrom Field

The three Riysians entered through the now open gate, dressed in formal business suits to greet the hosts, duffel bag slung over each one's shoulder. Maybe it wasn't going to be very fitting for the tournaments, but dressing up the best you can is a necessity for any formal events. Anyways, that was what the bags were for, carrying their equipment and some more comfortable athletic clothes to change in to, once the event started.

Following the diplomatic mission to the Free Lands last winter, more Riysians were interested in the nation and what it had to offer, so this oddball trio got up and went together to the Spring Festival, each with a different objective in mind. Firas, being a businessman, was interested in what economic opportunities there were to be had. Jawdat, a representative of the Hizb al-Sahwa al-Arabi - the Arab Sahwa Party - was here to make connections with people coming in from elsewhere, acting as an ad hoc Riysian ambassador. Hatim, the last one, was mostly tagging along for fun, with the caveat that he was likely going to be assigned as the diplomatic mission's military attache, so it was best if he gained experience with the people and their customs.

Waiting inside was a middle-aged Selkie woman, the lady who had set up this event and sent out the invitation to all corners of the world. Nora Cathlong, if their memory served them right, was her name. Of course, the first thing that they needed to do was go introduce themselves to her, so they moved up as a group. None of them knew if she had memorized their faces, by the identification photographs they had sent on their reply to the invitation, so of course they'd mention their names. Jawdat went first, being at the lead of the group.

"Greetings from the sands of the east, Mrs. Cathlong!" He smiled, purposefully exaggerating his movements and tone of speech to break the ice between them. "I'm Jawdat al-Rifai - that's "al-Rif-eie" - from Jisr Abyad, Riysa."

"Hello, Mrs. Cathlong, I'm Major Hatim Ghanam, from Halab, Riysa."

"Mrs. Cathlong." Firas nodded, patting his heart with his hand. "I'm Firas Asghar, from Nasiriyah, Riysa."

"Thank you very much for hosting us today." All three said in tandem. They looked happy to be here.

[The Selkie]

Cothrom Field

The three Riysians entered through the now open gate, dressed in formal business suits to greet the hosts, duffel bag slung over each one's shoulder. Maybe it wasn't going to be very fitting for the tournaments, but dressing up the best you can is a necessity for any formal events. Anyways, that was what the bags were for, carrying their equipment and some more comfortable athletic clothes to change in to, once the event started.

Following the diplomatic mission to the Free Lands last winter, more Riysians were interested in the nation and what it had to offer, so this oddball trio got up and went together to the Spring Festival, each with a different objective in mind. Firas, being a businessman, was interested in what economic opportunities there were to be had. Jawdat, a representative of the Hizb al-Sahwa al-Arabi - the Arab Sahwa Party - was here to make connections with people coming in from elsewhere, acting as an ad hoc Riysian ambassador. Hatim, the last one, was mostly tagging along for fun, with the caveat that he was likely going to be assigned as the diplomatic mission's military attache, so it was best if he gained experience with the people and their customs.

Waiting inside was a middle-aged Selkie woman, the lady who had set up this event and sent out the invitation to all corners of the world. Nora Cathlong, if their memory served them right, was her name. Of course, the first thing that they needed to do was go introduce themselves to her, so they moved up as a group. None of them knew if she had memorized their faces, by the identification photographs they had sent on their reply to the invitation, so of course they'd mention their names. Jawdat went first, being at the lead of the group.

"Greetings from the sands of the east, Mrs. Cathlong!" He smiled, purposefully exaggerating his movements and tone of speech to break the ice between them. "I'm Jawdat al-Rifai - that's "al-Rif-eie" - from Jisr Abyad, Riysa."

"Hello, Mrs. Cathlong, I'm Major Hatim Ghanam, from Halab, Riysa."

"Mrs. Cathlong." Firas nodded, patting his heart with his hand. "I'm Firas Asghar, from Nasiriyah, Riysa."

"Thank you very much for hosting us today." All three said in tandem. They looked happy to be here.

Nora smiled at the tree Riysians.
She had led the diplomatic delegation through her shipyards last winter, together with her daughter, including Yard 15's offices and facilities. The diplomats back then had been impressive people and the people in front of her now looked impressive as well, interesting characters.
She had been overjoyed to get their replies to her invitation.
Again, she bowed her head slightly to the people of equal rank before she extended her hand for shaking them, al-Rifai first, then the Major's and last but not least Firas'. "It's a great pleasure, gentlemen. I'm indeed Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork, from lovely Silverport. Welcome to Grian an Earraigh!"
She made a short pause. "If I remember correctly, all three of you wanted to participate in the tournaments held today. If you want to put down your bags, the tournament field is at the northern side over..." The Selkie pointed towards the small area surrounded by the stands. "...there."
While turning back to the three men, she spotted someone in the crowd, another familiar face, an old friend in more then just business. "If you would please excuse me?", she asked with a wide smile, "Have fun at the festival!"

[The Wolfussian Colony of Oceania]

Cothrom Field, near Silverport, Free Lands of the Selkie.
8:55

A cool breeze blew through the field, as a group of people walked up to the entrance of the Grian an Earraigh. In the lead, there were two adults wearing grey uniforms, the taller of the two carrying a large bag. Behind them, eight young children followed, looking around with pure wonder in their eyes. None of them had ever been outside of the Wolfussian State, and nature was mostly a foreign concept to their lives in the smog filled cities of their homeland. Finally, a large man wearing a ballistic mask brought up the near.

Rakel Wollum, the Overseer of Thought Purity, turned around when they neared the entrance, and told the children to gather around.
"Students! You have been chosen for this field trip by the Kansler himself, for your accomplishments in your studies and your loyalty to the Wolfussian Nationalist Party. You represent the youth of the State, serve your glorious nation well! I have only confidence that you will not disappoint the Kansler!" She said in her own language, and the students gave perfect victory salutes and spoke in unison, saying "Yes Overseer! Glory to the State!"

Rakel smiled with satisfaction, seeing how well disciplined the children were. "Wonderful! They will have a good time at this festival, no?" She said to the other adult standing beside her, and he nodded. "The Free Lands are certainly something to behold. But, I think these children will enjoy anything the State tells them to." He said, motioning to the opening gates. "Shall we go in?"

"Indeed!" Said the Overseer, and gestured for all the children to follow her once again. The group entered the festival, everyone politely greeting any Selkie that welcomed them, except for the man in the ballistic mask. He nodded, but didn't speak.

[The Selkie]

Cothrom Field, near Silverport, Free Lands of the Selkie.
8:55

A cool breeze blew through the field, as a group of people walked up to the entrance of the Grian an Earraigh. In the lead, there were two adults wearing grey uniforms, the taller of the two carrying a large bag. Behind them, eight young children followed, looking around with pure wonder in their eyes. None of them had ever been outside of the Wolfussian State, and nature was mostly a foreign concept to their lives in the smog filled cities of their homeland. Finally, a large man wearing a ballistic mask brought up the near.

Rakel Wollum, the Overseer of Thought Purity, turned around when they neared the entrance, and told the children to gather around.
"Students! You have been chosen for this field trip by the Kansler himself, for your accomplishments in your studies and your loyalty to the Wolfussian Nationalist Party. You represent the youth of the State, serve your glorious nation well! I have only confidence that you will not disappoint the Kansler!" She said in her own language, and the students gave perfect victory salutes and spoke in unison, saying "Yes Overseer! Glory to the State!"

Rakel smiled with satisfaction, seeing how well disciplined the children were. "Wonderful! They will have a good time at this festival, no?" She said to the other adult standing beside her, and he nodded. "The Free Lands are certainly something to behold. But, I think these children will enjoy anything the State tells them to." He said, motioning to the opening gates. "Shall we go in?"

"Indeed!" Said the Overseer, and gestured for all the children to follow her once again. The group entered the festival, everyone politely greeting any Selkie that welcomed them, except for the man in the ballistic mask. He nodded, but didn't speak.

Nora nodded towards the small group, not out of neglience towards her guests, but because someone else already called dibs on greeting the guests from Wolfrussia first.
Fiona Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan was this person. The brunette woman grinned as she saw her old friend, someone she met on a great many occassions. Her smile widened as she saw the kids trailling her and her companions.
"Rakel!", she called, waving her hand as she approached. She wore Geansai in her Tribe's colours, but without a coat - it was a bit chilly in the rather sharply cut garnment, but that was nothing which couldn't be avoided via good cheer.
She was with her after a few steps, extending her hand as she was close enough, a wide and open smile on her lips. "Hello, there, cara - long time no see!" Her eyes fell on the small group of children. "And hello there, searrach!", she greeted them, "How are you, kids?"

[The Wolfussian Colony of Oceania]

Nora nodded towards the small group, not out of neglience towards her guests, but because someone else already called dibs on greeting the guests from Wolfrussia first.
Fiona Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan was this person. The brunette woman grinned as she saw her old friend, someone she met on a great many occassions. Her smile widened as she saw the kids trailling her and her companions.
"Rakel!", she called, waving her hand as she approached. She wore Geansai in her Tribe's colours, but without a coat - it was a bit chilly in the rather sharply cut garnment, but that was nothing which couldn't be avoided via good cheer.
She was with her after a few steps, extending her hand as she was close enough, a wide and open smile on her lips. "Hello, there, cara - long time no see!" Her eyes fell on the small group of children. "And hello there, searrach!", she greeted them, "How are you, kids?"

Rakel grinned as she saw Fiona approaching, and returned a wave to the Selkie woman.
"Hello!" She said, accepting the handshake from Fiona. "It is good to see you again, kamerat!"
The Overseer had no idea how the Selkie could be wearing her Geansai in this weather, she had thought it too be a little too cold for such clothes. Perhaps Rakel had been spending too much time in India, and she was starting to lose her tolerance for the hard weather of her homeland.

As Fiona addressed the children, most of them looked at one of the older Wolfussians with confusion. "Go ahead, speak freely." Said the other Wolfussian, Ivan Lorvik. The children still looked a little confused, but one of the older ones spoke up.
"We are very good, ma'am. Thank you for allowing us to come to your nation, it is very beautiful." Said the young boy, straightening and saluting the older Selkie woman.

[Ganos Lao]

Cothrom Field

Unlike the other multiple guests, the Ganosian guests arrived separately. Jesse had made sure to adjust his collar and check his neck for any distinguishing marks before stepping out of his vehicle alongside the love of his life, Celina. They walked out of the vehicle with their arms firmly linked, Jesse talking at length about how he intended to have a blast with her at the festival. What Celina had not known was Jesse had concocted a cunning plan - a surprise, really - that he would implement after the festival ended. In his mind, he mulled over the details. A romantic dinner, a fine romp in the sack, and then two tickets to Olyan's international airport. He believed that once he showed her around Ganosia, he'd end with a little offering of his appreciation for her presence in his life. It had been enough time, he thought, and out of character amongst his fellow man, he hoped that he'd meet her parents today to convince them early of his good intentions.

Dolores Killbourne came out of her vehicle dressed in her Imperial Ganosian Army uniform with her beloved katana snug tightly along her waist. She was, despite the numerous stories, a rather beautiful woman, her long strands of hair let down underneath her general's cap and her striking eyes hidden behind the tinted, dark shades of her aviators. An imposing figure to say the least, but she was not too happy this day, for she wasn't accompanied by her husband, much to her chagrin, as he was apparently preoccupied. Nor did her daughter, Tala, who regretted to inform her mother she was pregnant. Dolores was very happy to hear that, but missed those days she'd spend time with her daughter, teaching her how to sick the hounds on home invaders or how to cut a man into pieces with a katana.

She did, however, bring her firstborn son, Alexander, who wore his own uniform, being a Army cadet and all. Alexander found himself invigorated by the Selkie society and customs. Alexander dutifully followed his mother, trying to convince her that Tala would surely make it up to her when they returned to Ganosia. "She has her duty, and isn't that what you taught us all these years, Mom? To do our duty?"

Dolores sighed. She hated when Alex did this, but she did love him for it. Alexander had taken after her, really - so much so that his teachers feared he was rather imposing on other children. They did note his physical prowess, however. Alexander had done such intense athletic training that he was quite talented on his academy's ice hockey team, racking up impressive numbers. It was so much, said his coach, that he thought he could win games against other schools' teams simply with having Alexander on his team and Dolores in the stands, hooting and hollering, demanding her son tear them apart. "No one," he said, "would want to check a Killbourne and think they could get away with it."

"I wish your father was here, at least." said Dolores. "Lousy good for nothing."

"He's busy too. He has his duty to his people." Alexander pointed out.

"Stop that." smirked Dolores, who looked over to see the other Ganosians. Alexander knew only a bit about each of them. Jesse, he knew, was all the talk in Court since it meant Ray's bastards had bright futures or some shit. Lilith was impossible not to know anything about, and Alexander found himself often devouring the contents of the tabloids in regards to her exploits. When he heard that Ava Fuil was attached to Lilith, he did some digging and discovered a picture of her that made him feel warm inside. How does Lilith find these beauties, he thought to himself. Perhaps he'd find someone for himself, he laughed inwardly. He had no desire for a Celina of his own. Relationships can wait, he decreed, focusing entirely on his cadet training and hockey numbers. He knew, though, that his mother had to defend his reputation when she met her fellow mothers from the other houses, from even within her own family.

"Alexander will find someone when he feels like it. He's not at all hopeless." sternly declared Dolores, who detested people stereotyping her children. She had recently given birth to a third, in fact, but in true Dolores fashion, once pregnancy's burdens were finally lifted, she immediately raced back into her old ways. As the Killbournes joined the other guests, they walked right past Her Imperial Majesty, Princess Lilith, who also seemed to be adjusting her attire and checking for any distinguishing marks. She wore a rather fashionable ensemble, one fit for the season and yet able to accentuate the finer aspects of her form, and carried herself with an air of carefree bravado. One look at Dolores put the fear of God in Lilith's heart, however, and she quickly resumed thinking about Ava Fuil.

After all, she had woken up beside her that morning after another "engagement" (Ava seemed to enjoy Lilith's appropriation of military terminology) and was quite invigorated by the memory. For what felt like years, the two had been pursuing comfort in each other's arms. Lilith found herself immersing herself more and more in the local culture. She found the women so interesting with their geansais and their dances, and the men seemed all the more willing to accomodate her desires. When Jesse saw Lilith, instinct demanded he keep Celina close to him, even though Lilith had already promised Celina was off limits. "I have no intention of trying to take her from you," Jesse remembered Lilith, then flanked by two prostitutes hanging off her arms, saying to him. Jesse always felt dirty around Lilith. Oh, sure, he was no saint himself in that regard, but Lilith was very greasy to him.

Lilith hoped there would be some more art to purchase and more women to dally with. Behind her was her dutiful assistant, Selene Merizan, who frowned upon Lilith looking over the women.

"Lilith," Selene said, "We aren't here to dally with the local tail. We're here to participate in a proud expression of the local culture."

"Oh, the locals express themselves alright." grinned Lilith.

"Yes. They do." Selene sighed. "Try to keep it down next time, will you?"

"I cannot help if they love me." grinned Lilith even more, which made her assistant roll her eyes. "Especially that Ava Fuil. I wish she'd quit this military racket and come live at the joint with me and the other girls. She should really see the ranch."

Selene thought about that. Lilith owned numerous properties, after all, the most notable being her chain of casinos, brothels and art museums in Innsmouth. Selene, being Lilith's assistant, knew all about them. The clientele wasn't exactly family friendly at times, and Lilith oftentimes opened investments "personally," which Selene was expected to arrange, at times, which made her feel off put at times by these expectations. Take, for example, that Brytene businesswoman up ahead. Selene would be expected, she knew, to talk to her about working with Lilith's corporation. Of course, she would be expected to schedule a meeting wherein Lilith would hit on her until she got both the partnerships she wanted.

"See those Brytene women up ahead?" Lilith said, nudging Selene. Luckily, the two talked quietly enough not to be heard, thought Selene.

"I do. That's Godiva Teorell." noted Selene. "She's IDAItech's head of marketing."

"The things I'd do for her to give me hea-I mean...." replied Lilith.

"This is a family atmosphere, Lilith. Try to keep your libido restrained. Remember that Ava said she'd meet up with you again tonight?"

"Thanks." said Lilith. "I will try to keep myself....composed. I'd hate for Quinn to worry too much. I wish she wouldn't. Who cares who I spend my time with as long as we are both happy."

Selene shrugged. "Just try to go about things properly, mmkay? I also see Riysans up ahead. Don't try to instigate any conflicts and if they do, don't feed them. I don't wish to have to pry you away from a diplomatic incident."

Lilith smirked. "Rest assured, I don't engage with the men of SACTO. Their women, however? I saw Romina Ramirez once in one of her performances. It was a stream. I found myself wishing I could look past her drab conservatism enough to get the wherewithal to pursue her. Well, that, and the fact I'd probably not be allowed into her country."

Selene shook her head and huffed as she moved out, provoking Lilith to follow, straight into---

"Oh, Aunt Lilith." said Mira. "I figured I'd see you soon."

"Mira," said Lilith, "I didn't think you'd be up for something like this."

"Well, we all have our escapes. I also noticed you dragged your assistant with you."

"Actually," chuckled Selene, "I willingly came today. I have to keep Lilith here from provoking those Riysans."

"Have faith, Selene." sighed Lilith. "Besides, I'm sure I can find something better to focus on."

"Like the asses of those Brytene women?" said Mira and Selene. "Lilith, you musn't give the impression you're only here to leer."

"Fine, fine. But Selene, I hope you will help me organize a partnership with that woman. IDAItech must be able to offer something to our casinos."

"Our?"

"Yes, ours. You do run things when I'm not free, remember?"

"That seems to be pretty often these days. You're supposed to watch aspiring talent, not...."

At that point, Mira hastily beat a retreat. She didn't mind Selene, but she didn't want her the rest of her story either.

Lilith, for her part, found herself picking to stand around Jesse, who greeted her as "Aunt Lilith," rather than Dolores, whose respectful gestures were hastily swept under the rug. Lilith didn't like talking to that woman, who she considered severely fucked in the head (even if she was quite appealing, she would never have tried to endure that sort of engagement).

"And Lady Merizan?" asked Jesse.

"Hello there, Jesse. It's nice to see you're having fun with Celina today." smiled Selene.

"Of course!" proclaimed Jesse. "We always have fun together. Don't we, Celina?"

But with Lilith moving away, Selene hastily followed her, leaving Mira to talk to Jesse and Celina. Mira then talked to Dolores before feeling Alexander's eyes burrow into the back of her head.

"You can't ignore me, Mimi." grinned Alexander wickedly.

"Can it, Alex." growled Mira. "And stop calling me that. It's bad enough my mother does."

"I am surprised to see you of all people here." Alexander replied. "It is not like you."

"I will have you know I am not that bad with the sword or bow and arrow."

"You are good in plenty of things."

"Don't you have a Ghantar whore to dally with?" retorted Mira angrily. "I mean, they do have those pits."

Alexander laughed. "Those women? Pah! They are so highly touted, but they can't keep up with me."

Mira shuddered then. She only could imagine what he meant.

"Besides," said Alexander, "I am keeping my options open."

"Well, they'll be staying open for years to come. I told you I'm not interested."

Before Alex could reply, he felt his mother's hand upon him, half-guiding him ahead and half-away from Mira.

"Thank you." Mira muttered before she ended up nearly stumbling, bumping into---

"Ah," said Dolores. "Mira FitzRaymond."

"At least you don't call me Mimi."

"Better that than the names I get." Dolores said calmly.

"I can only imagine what you get called, General Killbourne." smirked Mira. "I take it you've been training a lot? You seem more built than the last time I saw you."

"Oh, yes." said Dolores. "I've been training a lot. I've finally perfected the art of cutting a man down. Well, I've refined the art, I think that's the proper word. Did you know if you time it just right, you can cut them with a single strike and they'll split----"

It was at that point Mira ended the conversation, already knowing enough about Dolores' predilections. Hastily trying to find something sane, she ended up looking at Lilith again. Lilith, by then anyway, was sizing up the Brytene women. She came to believe that a red haired Godiva Teorell would've been fucking awesome, and noted in her mind to pursue both of them at the earliest opportunity. However, when they linked arms, it made Lilith wonder if they were already partners. Selene, who she asked for an opinion, merely observed that they could just be close friends. It then invigorated Lilith with the belief that a threesome could be arranged, much to Selene's chagrin.

Mira, noticing Lilith's fixation, decided to hastily look around herself. She noticed all the other guests. She was surprised to see the Riysans around - not that she cared about them, but that with Lilith around, they could make for some good entertainment. Didn't SACTO frown upon homosexuality? And with Lilith being what internet memes declared the "Most Lesbian Woman in the Universe," it made her grin a little to imagine them in some sort of skirmish.

She then looked to see Jesse laughing it up with Celina. Celina seemed nice, from what Jesse said of her.

"You just like her because of her breasts." joked Mira.

"That is just the bonus. She's actually a very bright and outgoing person. She's the total package." Jesse boasted.

"Sure she is." smirked Mira.

That was all back at the hotel, of course. Jesse had offered Mira a ride, but she refused, which meant Jesse could all but carry Celina off to their own.

At any rate, she hoped to have fun today. Even if she didn't win much in the tournies, her insufferable mother wouldn't be around, so she'd consider that her triumph regardless.

When each Ganosian found themselves before the greeter, they introduced themselves as follows:

"Howdy. The name's Jesse FitzRaymond. I'm here with my girlfriend, Celina. We're here to have some fun. I hope the weather stays this nice. It'd be a damn shame if the weather brought it to an early end or something."

"Greetings. I am General Dolores Killbourne of the Imperial Ganosian Army. This is my son, Alexander."

Alexander merely nodded, letting his mother speak. "I'm here to participate in the various tournaments. I hope my katana here is suitable for us. It's seen a lot of battles, a lot of blood and guts, but it's still trusty. Been with me ever since I was a wee little girl. Of course, I would love to try out all your weapons today. Do you have any weapon sellers here? My collection of the world's weapons could use some Selkie manufactured ones."

"Hello there," said Lilith. "I am Her Imperial Majesty, Princess Lilith Zurithalissaran. I am very excited to be here today. I've been touring the Free Lands, and I must say, that I, what's the word, oh, there it is, dig your culture immensely. Your people have also been quite welcoming, if I do say so myself. Why, just the other day, I met these women who wanted to tell me all about a particular dance. I was quite entertained. The woman next to me is my assistant, Selene Merizan."

Unlike Lilith's husky voice, Selene's was rather posh and professional. "I apologize in advance if Her Imperial Highness does anything out of order today. Please note that the views and opinions she may express at any given time are not those of the...."

"Oh, Selene, show some faith, will you?" Lilith replied before turning back to the greeter. "I do hope that you have some artwork to purchase. I've found certain pieces of your art to be most intoxicating."

Selene hastily pulled Lilith into the festival before Mira walked up.

"The name's Mira. Mira FitzRaymond. Sorry if any Ganosians embarass themselves. I'd like to have you know we're not all like this."

[Aurora Confederacy]

Earlier
Standing at the checkout desk at Peace Valley, Holly and partner Isis Anuket mc.Callum relax, knowing that for the next few days they are going to be having quite an enjoyable time however what lies ahead of them at this point is a long flight thanks to a Trans Polar Airlines GA11, they get to travel first class however, Spongebob doesn't, he gets to travel dog-carrier class in the hold of the giant airliner and so as the pet carrier heads into the darkness he looks at Isis with a look of sorrow and shame after all he isn't used to this.

"how do you think Bob will fare?" asks Holly

"not sure, but i think he'll be okay" replies Isis, putting her rucksack onto the belt before she and Holly hand over passports.

A few hours later
The hubbub of the airport is broken by the sound of the tannoy blaring a message out
"NOW BOARDING IS THE TRANS. POLAR. AIRLINES. FLIGHT TO SILVERPORT, THIS FLIGHT IS BOARDING FROM GATE TWO. THANK YOU"*DING DONG DING*

Holly looks up, puts her book into a carry on bag and hauls herself to her feet before giving Isis a hand. "thats us" says Isis and so the two of them join the queue to board the airliner. As they walk along the jetway Isis looks out to see the ground staff loading the jets baggage hold and catches sight of her pet carrier and its occupant, Spongebob, yes thats is the name of the jack russel however as he was a rescue dog, adopted from a centre that takes on unwanted pets, he had already been named and so Isis kept that name, Spongebob however is curled up in a ball under the blanket that Isis had put in there to give him comfort for in a few hours time, they will be cruising over open ocean to The Free lands of the Selkie.

For them, the flight passed pretty effortlessly with typical airline food and their famous, or should that be infamous taste of uni-bland drinks however the flight had to end sometime and so after 9 hours the jet, after passing over several oceans arrived in Selkie's radar control and began its approach to Silverport International, as it did Holly tapped Isis on the arm, bringing her from her slumber,
"aye?"
"down there" points Holly "thats where the festival is" Holly's arm pointing out some of the towers and bails of hay that form part of the set, probably part of the Archery competition but fom altitude of the plane it was hard to tell.
"oh yeah, I see it now. Looks a good one and a big enough field" points out Isis as the plane banks over to help line itself up with the runway and letting a whining sound followed by a clunk as the landing gear lowered and locked into place, this was followed a few minutes later by a thud and a screech from the tyres as they protested about going from zero to the rolling speed of a plane doing 160mph in a matter of seconds. As the plane jolted the dark cargo hold on landing, Spongebob who had fell asleeep for the flight was jolted from his slumber though he was scarred and frightenned as he still could not see what was going on in the hold as it was still completely black.

"we're here and its time for a happy holiday!" says Isis as she released her seatbelt just as the plane came to a stop, this too was followed by Holly and probably the other passengers too before Isis used the seat in front as a means to haul herself up before taking her carry on luggage out of the hold and then with Holly taking the lead the she follows Holly out of the plane and through the jetway to the terminal building where customs were checked and eventually being re-united with Spongebob.

Needless to say, with him catching sight of Isis and Holly he went wild with excitement, barking loudly and spinning around in the confines of the pet carrier though Isis soon had the dog under control, "HEY!" she said in quite a stern voice, this had the desired effect of rendering Spongebob silent, his ears pinned back and his eyes staring right at Isis, this allowed Isis to put the harness onto him and take him out of the carrier so that could now be folded up and strapped to their case.

Walking out of the airport, Isis, with her prosthtic leg on show had her rucksack slung over her shoulder and in her right hand Spongebob's leash whilst Holly pulled along their suit case, though as she and Isis left the airport Holly did a directions check for the Beith Gheal Inn, "I hope they're pet friendly" says Holly,
"if they're not there's bound to be somewhere where we could stay that is" replies Isis, watching Spongebob follow gently by her side and occasionally looking up at Isis, though with a new city there are lots of new scents and Spongebob wants to know everything about them so stops frequently snifs and runs back up to be beside Isis.

Beith Gheal Inn
Holly, leaned backwards against the door to open it as Isis then held it open with one hand "can you take el doggo Holls", says Isis, El Doggo being the on the cuff nickname for Spongebob, he gets called all manner of names of which most are cute and sometimes VERY feminine and not the sort of name you'd want to be called if you wanted to have a hint of machoness left, if only PETA were here! Holly just smiles, "sure" she says, before reaching for the lead "come here squarepants" she says as she takes hold of Bob's lead to allow Isis to take wrestle the second part of the door open before making their way to the bar.

"Hello, can someone point me to the manager please" says Isis when she gets to the bar counter as Spongebob sniffs the floor to see who's been in the bar in a manner that only a dog does though that doesnt last for long as Isis kneels down and scoops the little dog up. "come here trouble" she says as she picks up the dog.

[The Selkie]

Nora nodded towards the small group, not out of neglience towards her guests, but because someone else already called dibs on greeting the guests from Wolfrussia first.
Fiona Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan was this person. The brunette woman grinned as she saw her old friend, someone she met on a great many occassions. Her smile widened as she saw the kids trailling her and her companions.
"Rakel!", she called, waving her hand as she approached. She wore Geansai in her Tribe's colours, but without a coat - it was a bit chilly in the rather sharply cut garnment, but that was nothing which couldn't be avoided via good cheer.
She was with her after a few steps, extending her hand as she was close enough, a wide and open smile on her lips. "Hello, there, cara - long time no see!" Her eyes fell on the small group of children. "And hello there, searrach!", she greeted them, "How are you, kids?"

Rakel grinned as she saw Fiona approaching, and returned a wave to the Selkie woman.
"Hello!" She said, accepting the handshake from Fiona. "It is good to see you again, kamerat!"
The Overseer had no idea how the Selkie could be wearing her Geansai in this weather, she had thought it too be a little too cold for such clothes. Perhaps Rakel had been spending too much time in India, and she was starting to lose her tolerance for the hard weather of her homeland.

As Fiona addressed the children, most of them looked at one of the older Wolfussians with confusion. "Go ahead, speak freely." Said the other Wolfussian, Ivan Lorvik. The children still looked a little confused, but one of the older ones spoke up.
"We are very good, ma'am. Thank you for allowing us to come to your nation, it is very beautiful." Said the young boy, straightening and saluting the older Selkie woman.

Note: Quote modified by removal of Spoiler-tags.

Fiona grinned widely, as she watched the boy. He was just cute, in her opinion.
"It's my pleasure, searrach." Calling a child a foal was a long standing tradition in the Free Lands, their equestrianism getting ahead of them once again. She bowed down to the children, being more on eye-level with them without treating them as she would treat Selkie-children, unwillingly giving the older ones (and the soldiers accompanying them) quite a good view of her argumentation amplifiers. "And as far as I know, you haven't seen anything yet. So, searrach - off you go, have fun!"

Cothrom Field

Unlike the other multiple guests, the Ganosian guests arrived separately. Jesse had made sure to adjust his collar and check his neck for any distinguishing marks before stepping out of his vehicle alongside the love of his life, Celina. They walked out of the vehicle with their arms firmly linked, Jesse talking at length about how he intended to have a blast with her at the festival. What Celina had not known was Jesse had concocted a cunning plan - a surprise, really - that he would implement after the festival ended. In his mind, he mulled over the details. A romantic dinner, a fine romp in the sack, and then two tickets to Olyan's international airport. He believed that once he showed her around Ganosia, he'd end with a little offering of his appreciation for her presence in his life. It had been enough time, he thought, and out of character amongst his fellow man, he hoped that he'd meet her parents today to convince them early of his good intentions.

Dolores Killbourne came out of her vehicle dressed in her Imperial Ganosian Army uniform with her beloved katana snug tightly along her waist. She was, despite the numerous stories, a rather beautiful woman, her long strands of hair let down underneath her general's cap and her striking eyes hidden behind the tinted, dark shades of her aviators. An imposing figure to say the least, but she was not too happy this day, for she wasn't accompanied by her husband, much to her chagrin, as he was apparently preoccupied. Nor did her daughter, Tala, who regretted to inform her mother she was pregnant. Dolores was very happy to hear that, but missed those days she'd spend time with her daughter, teaching her how to sick the hounds on home invaders or how to cut a man into pieces with a katana.

She did, however, bring her firstborn son, Alexander, who wore his own uniform, being a Army cadet and all. Alexander found himself invigorated by the Selkie society and customs. Alexander dutifully followed his mother, trying to convince her that Tala would surely make it up to her when they returned to Ganosia. "She has her duty, and isn't that what you taught us all these years, Mom? To do our duty?"

Dolores sighed. She hated when Alex did this, but she did love him for it. Alexander had taken after her, really - so much so that his teachers feared he was rather imposing on other children. They did note his physical prowess, however. Alexander had done such intense athletic training that he was quite talented on his academy's ice hockey team, racking up impressive numbers. It was so much, said his coach, that he thought he could win games against other schools' teams simply with having Alexander on his team and Dolores in the stands, hooting and hollering, demanding her son tear them apart. "No one," he said, "would want to check a Killbourne and think they could get away with it."

"I wish your father was here, at least." said Dolores. "Lousy good for nothing."

"He's busy too. He has his duty to his people." Alexander pointed out.

"Stop that." smirked Dolores, who looked over to see the other Ganosians. Alexander knew only a bit about each of them. Jesse, he knew, was all the talk in Court since it meant Ray's bastards had bright futures or some shit. Lilith was impossible not to know anything about, and Alexander found himself often devouring the contents of the tabloids in regards to her exploits. When he heard that Ava Fuil was attached to Lilith, he did some digging and discovered a picture of her that made him feel warm inside. How does Lilith find these beauties, he thought to himself. Perhaps he'd find someone for himself, he laughed inwardly. He had no desire for a Celina of his own. Relationships can wait, he decreed, focusing entirely on his cadet training and hockey numbers. He knew, though, that his mother had to defend his reputation when she met her fellow mothers from the other houses, from even within her own family.

"Alexander will find someone when he feels like it. He's not at all hopeless." sternly declared Dolores, who detested people stereotyping her children. She had recently given birth to a third, in fact, but in true Dolores fashion, once pregnancy's burdens were finally lifted, she immediately raced back into her old ways. As the Killbournes joined the other guests, they walked right past Her Imperial Majesty, Princess Lilith, who also seemed to be adjusting her attire and checking for any distinguishing marks. She wore a rather fashionable ensemble, one fit for the season and yet able to accentuate the finer aspects of her form, and carried herself with an air of carefree bravado. One look at Dolores put the fear of God in Lilith's heart, however, and she quickly resumed thinking about Ava Fuil.

After all, she had woken up beside her that morning after another "engagement" (Ava seemed to enjoy Lilith's appropriation of military terminology) and was quite invigorated by the memory. For what felt like years, the two had been pursuing comfort in each other's arms. Lilith found herself immersing herself more and more in the local culture. She found the women so interesting with their geansais and their dances, and the men seemed all the more willing to accomodate her desires. When Jesse saw Lilith, instinct demanded he keep Celina close to him, even though Lilith had already promised Celina was off limits. "I have no intention of trying to take her from you," Jesse remembered Lilith, then flanked by two prostitutes hanging off her arms, saying to him. Jesse always felt dirty around Lilith. Oh, sure, he was no saint himself in that regard, but Lilith was very greasy to him.

Lilith hoped there would be some more art to purchase and more women to dally with. Behind her was her dutiful assistant, Selene Merizan, who frowned upon Lilith looking over the women.

"Lilith," Selene said, "We aren't here to dally with the local tail. We're here to participate in a proud expression of the local culture."

"Oh, the locals express themselves alright." grinned Lilith.

"Yes. They do." Selene sighed. "Try to keep it down next time, will you?"

"I cannot help if they love me." grinned Lilith even more, which made her assistant roll her eyes. "Especially that Ava Fuil. I wish she'd quit this military racket and come live at the joint with me and the other girls. She should really see the ranch."

Selene thought about that. Lilith owned numerous properties, after all, the most notable being her chain of casinos, brothels and art museums in Innsmouth. Selene, being Lilith's assistant, knew all about them. The clientele wasn't exactly family friendly at times, and Lilith oftentimes opened investments "personally," which Selene was expected to arrange, at times, which made her feel off put at times by these expectations. Take, for example, that Brytene businesswoman up ahead. Selene would be expected, she knew, to talk to her about working with Lilith's corporation. Of course, she would be expected to schedule a meeting wherein Lilith would hit on her until she got both the partnerships she wanted.

"See those Brytene women up ahead?" Lilith said, nudging Selene. Luckily, the two talked quietly enough not to be heard, thought Selene.

"I do. That's Godiva Teorell." noted Selene. "She's IDAItech's head of marketing."

"The things I'd do for her to give me hea-I mean...." replied Lilith.

"This is a family atmosphere, Lilith. Try to keep your libido restrained. Remember that Ava said she'd meet up with you again tonight?"

"Thanks." said Lilith. "I will try to keep myself....composed. I'd hate for Quinn to worry too much. I wish she wouldn't. Who cares who I spend my time with as long as we are both happy."

Selene shrugged. "Just try to go about things properly, mmkay? I also see Riysans up ahead. Don't try to instigate any conflicts and if they do, don't feed them. I don't wish to have to pry you away from a diplomatic incident."

Lilith smirked. "Rest assured, I don't engage with the men of SACTO. Their women, however? I saw Romina Ramirez once in one of her performances. It was a stream. I found myself wishing I could look past her drab conservatism enough to get the wherewithal to pursue her. Well, that, and the fact I'd probably not be allowed into her country."

Selene shook her head and huffed as she moved out, provoking Lilith to follow, straight into---

"Oh, Aunt Lilith." said Mira. "I figured I'd see you soon."

"Mira," said Lilith, "I didn't think you'd be up for something like this."

"Well, we all have our escapes. I also noticed you dragged your assistant with you."

"Actually," chuckled Selene, "I willingly came today. I have to keep Lilith here from provoking those Riysans."

"Have faith, Selene." sighed Lilith. "Besides, I'm sure I can find something better to focus on."

"Like the asses of those Brytene women?" said Mira and Selene. "Lilith, you musn't give the impression you're only here to leer."

"Fine, fine. But Selene, I hope you will help me organize a partnership with that woman. IDAItech must be able to offer something to our casinos."

"Our?"

"Yes, ours. You do run things when I'm not free, remember?"

"That seems to be pretty often these days. You're supposed to watch aspiring talent, not...."

At that point, Mira hastily beat a retreat. She didn't mind Selene, but she didn't want her the rest of her story either.

Lilith, for her part, found herself picking to stand around Jesse, who greeted her as "Aunt Lilith," rather than Dolores, whose respectful gestures were hastily swept under the rug. Lilith didn't like talking to that woman, who she considered severely fucked in the head (even if she was quite appealing, she would never have tried to endure that sort of engagement).

"And Lady Merizan?" asked Jesse.

"Hello there, Jesse. It's nice to see you're having fun with Celina today." smiled Selene.

"Of course!" proclaimed Jesse. "We always have fun together. Don't we, Celina?"

But with Lilith moving away, Selene hastily followed her, leaving Mira to talk to Jesse and Celina. Mira then talked to Dolores before feeling Alexander's eyes burrow into the back of her head.

"You can't ignore me, Mimi." grinned Alexander wickedly.

"Can it, Alex." growled Mira. "And stop calling me that. It's bad enough my mother does."

"I am surprised to see you of all people here." Alexander replied. "It is not like you."

"I will have you know I am not that bad with the sword or bow and arrow."

"You are good in plenty of things."

"Don't you have a Ghantar whore to dally with?" retorted Mira angrily. "I mean, they do have those pits."

Alexander laughed. "Those women? Pah! They are so highly touted, but they can't keep up with me."

Mira shuddered then. She only could imagine what he meant.

"Besides," said Alexander, "I am keeping my options open."

"Well, they'll be staying open for years to come. I told you I'm not interested."

Before Alex could reply, he felt his mother's hand upon him, half-guiding him ahead and half-away from Mira.

"Thank you." Mira muttered before she ended up nearly stumbling, bumping into---

"Ah," said Dolores. "Mira FitzRaymond."

"At least you don't call me Mimi."

"Better that than the names I get." Dolores said calmly.

"I can only imagine what you get called, General Killbourne." smirked Mira. "I take it you've been training a lot? You seem more built than the last time I saw you."

"Oh, yes." said Dolores. "I've been training a lot. I've finally perfected the art of cutting a man down. Well, I've refined the art, I think that's the proper word. Did you know if you time it just right, you can cut them with a single strike and they'll split----"

It was at that point Mira ended the conversation, already knowing enough about Dolores' predilections. Hastily trying to find something sane, she ended up looking at Lilith again. Lilith, by then anyway, was sizing up the Brytene women. She came to believe that a red haired Godiva Teorell would've been fucking awesome, and noted in her mind to pursue both of them at the earliest opportunity. However, when they linked arms, it made Lilith wonder if they were already partners. Selene, who she asked for an opinion, merely observed that they could just be close friends. It then invigorated Lilith with the belief that a threesome could be arranged, much to Selene's chagrin.

Mira, noticing Lilith's fixation, decided to hastily look around herself. She noticed all the other guests. She was surprised to see the Riysans around - not that she cared about them, but that with Lilith around, they could make for some good entertainment. Didn't SACTO frown upon homosexuality? And with Lilith being what internet memes declared the "Most Lesbian Woman in the Universe," it made her grin a little to imagine them in some sort of skirmish.

She then looked to see Jesse laughing it up with Celina. Celina seemed nice, from what Jesse said of her.

"You just like her because of her breasts." joked Mira.

"That is just the bonus. She's actually a very bright and outgoing person. She's the total package." Jesse boasted.

"Sure she is." smirked Mira.

That was all back at the hotel, of course. Jesse had offered Mira a ride, but she refused, which meant Jesse could all but carry Celina off to their own.

At any rate, she hoped to have fun today. Even if she didn't win much in the tournies, her insufferable mother wouldn't be around, so she'd consider that her triumph regardless.

When each Ganosian found themselves before the greeter, they introduced themselves as follows:

"Howdy. The name's Jesse FitzRaymond. I'm here with my girlfriend, Celina. We're here to have some fun. I hope the weather stays this nice. It'd be a damn shame if the weather brought it to an early end or something."

"Greetings. I am General Dolores Killbourne of the Imperial Ganosian Army. This is my son, Alexander."

Alexander merely nodded, letting his mother speak. "I'm here to participate in the various tournaments. I hope my katana here is suitable for us. It's seen a lot of battles, a lot of blood and guts, but it's still trusty. Been with me ever since I was a wee little girl. Of course, I would love to try out all your weapons today. Do you have any weapon sellers here? My collection of the world's weapons could use some Selkie manufactured ones."

"Hello there," said Lilith. "I am Her Imperial Majesty, Princess Lilith Zurithalissaran. I am very excited to be here today. I've been touring the Free Lands, and I must say, that I, what's the word, oh, there it is, dig your culture immensely. Your people have also been quite welcoming, if I do say so myself. Why, just the other day, I met these women who wanted to tell me all about a particular dance. I was quite entertained. The woman next to me is my assistant, Selene Merizan."

Unlike Lilith's husky voice, Selene's was rather posh and professional. "I apologize in advance if Her Imperial Highness does anything out of order today. Please note that the views and opinions she may express at any given time are not those of the...."

"Oh, Selene, show some faith, will you?" Lilith replied before turning back to the greeter. "I do hope that you have some artwork to purchase. I've found certain pieces of your art to be most intoxicating."

Selene hastily pulled Lilith into the festival before Mira walked up.

"The name's Mira. Mira FitzRaymond. Sorry if any Ganosians embarass themselves. I'd like to have you know we're not all like this."

Celina knew, that something was up with her boyfriend - and it wasn't nervousness. Neither was it her getup, he was quite used to seeing her in Geansai by now.
He was supposed to meet her parents today, which was an important threshhold.
He already knew her little sister, Little Ava, a true gem of a slowly blossoming young woman.
She let him pull her along, listening to his voice. He could read the telephone book and she would still have a pleasure in her ears usually only to be felt in other places. It was like satin petting her eardrums and she loved every minute of it.
The other persons from Ganosia were interesting characters as well: She knew of Lilith's reputation, or rather the outlines of it, and General Killbourne was on her older brothers' lists of women they did not want to meet in a dark alley, when she was angry on position four (after their mother and their two little sisters). Mira was, as the other people, more or less a blank slate.
Still, they would have fun at the festival.
Greeting their host was an important formality and Jesse went first, bringing her along: "Howdy. The name's Jesse FitzRaymond. I'm here with my girlfriend, Celina. We're here to have some fun. I hope the weather stays this nice. It'd be a damn shame if the weather brought it to an early end or something."
Nora Cathlong stifled a giggle, looking towards Celina, who grinned wildly as she unhooked herself from Jesse and hugged the older woman. "Morning, Auntie Nora!", she greeted, getting kissed on both cheeks, before she turned Jesse. "Jesse, meet my... 'godmother' would be the closest term in English, I think. Anyway, Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork. Auntie Nora, meet my boyfriend, Jesse Fitzraymond."
"It's a pleasure, Jesse.", the older woman said, shaking hands with the young man, looking him up and down. "Good taste, Celina, I give you that."
"You taught me a good deal of things, Auntie.", she said, hooking back up with Jesse. "It's only natural to put it to good use."
Nora smiled with pride, before she turned to Jesse. "Us two will talk later. But first, your father already called dibs on your time, Celina. He's in the central area. Good luck, you two!"
"Thanks, Auntie." Celina smiled as she began to tow Jesse away. "Dad will approve of him!"
This was her home turf, this was her country - and she enjoyed showing Jesse every stick and stone.

The next one was a uniformed woman with a uniformed young man at her side. Nora smiled at them as the woman introduced herself: "Greetings. I am General Dolores Killbourne of the Imperial Ganosian Army. This is my son, Alexander." The boy only nodded. "I'm here to participate in the various tournaments. I hope my katana here is suitable for us. It's seen a lot of battles, a lot of blood and guts, but it's still trusty. Been with me ever since I was a wee little girl. Of course, I would love to try out all your weapons today. Do you have any weapon sellers here? My collection of the world's weapons could use some Selkie manufactured ones."
The older Selkie smiled broadly. "It's a great pleasure, General. Although I have my primary business in shipbuilding, even I have heard about you." Her attention turned towards the boy. "And I heard of you as well, searrach. Sadly, I would not be aware of any hockey-clubs in the Free Lands, but I hope you will have quite a bit of fun here as well."
Nora grinned at both of them. "So, General, weapon sellers." She pointed towards the stalls covering the more technical parts of the festival. A blacksmith, a tree of a man hammered away on a piece of glowing metal already, having shed his shirt and bashing all impurity out of the steel, while an apprentice put the final touches on the stall itself. A stall away, a bowyer set up her store with her apprentices, who were erecting test targets for the customers. A lance-maker was setting himself up as well. "Follow the constant clinging and you will be there."

With the General sent on her merry way, the bickering couple of Princess Lilith and her assistant came, Nora greeting them with the respect the Princess deserved - even with her reputation. Or maybe because?
Nora wasn't quite sure.
Still, as they went past her, the Selkie turned. "Hold on a second, your Highness.", she told her and lifted a hand, making a gesture. A few short seconds later, a woman clad in blue uniform, SDF-Army Blue Dress, her blonde hair open, her face showing a neutral scowl, stood at her side. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Ava Fuil of the Tribe of Monaghan. When she heard, that volunteers were sought to escort guests at this festival as bodyguards, she volunteered for escorting you. I'll leave her in your care, Colonel."
"Thank you, Mistress Cathlong." Fuil saluted sharply. "Your Highness, I will guard your body with my own."
Nora raised her eyebrow, but nodded and left the three to enter the festival.

"The name's Mira. Mira FitzRaymond. Sorry if any Ganosians embarass themselves. I'd like to have you know we're not all like this.", the last person introduced herself.
Nora smiled. "It'll be fine.", she told her. "Have some faith in your kinspeople. Usually it works for me." Nora considered her. "Besides, we have high tolerances. So, off you go. Have some fun, Mira!"
She had heard, that she shared her last name with Celina's boyfriend, but she decided against commenting on it. She would ask the boy later about it.

Earlier
Standing at the checkout desk at Peace Valley, Holly and partner Isis Anuket mc.Callum relax, knowing that for the next few days they are going to be having quite an enjoyable time however what lies ahead of them at this point is a long flight thanks to a Trans Polar Airlines GA11, they get to travel first class however, Spongebob doesn't, he gets to travel dog-carrier class in the hold of the giant airliner and so as the pet carrier heads into the darkness he looks at Isis with a look of sorrow and shame after all he isn't used to this.

"how do you think Bob will fare?" asks Holly

"not sure, but i think he'll be okay" replies Isis, putting her rucksack onto the belt before she and Holly hand over passports.

a few hours later
The hubbub of the airport is broken by the sound of the tannoy blaring a message out
"NOW BOARDING IS THE TRANS. POLAR. AIRLINES. FLIGHT TO SILVERPORT, THIS FLIGHT IS BOARDING FROM GATE TWO. THANK YOU"*DING DONG DING*

Holly looks up, puts her book into a carry on bag and hauls herself to her feet before giving Isis a hand. "thats us" says Isis and so the two of them join the queue to board the airliner. As they walk along the jetway Isis looks out to see the ground staff loading the jets baggage hold and catches sight of her pet carrier and its occupant, Spongebob, yes thats is the name of the jack russel however as he was a rescue dog, adopted from a centre that takes on unwanted pets, he had already been named and so Isis kept that name, Spongebob however is curled up in a ball under the blanket that Isis had put in there to give him comfort for in a few hours time, they will be cruising over open ocean to The Free lands of the Selkie.

For them, the flight passed pretty effortlessly with typical airline food and their famous, or should that be infamous taste of uni-bland drinks however the flight had to end sometime and so after 9 hours the jet, after passing over several oceans arrived in Selkie's radar control and began its approach to Silverport International, as it did Holly tapped Isis on the arm, bringing her from her slumber,
"aye?"
"down there" points Holly "thats where the festival is" Holly's arm pointing out some of the towers and bails of hay that form part of the set, probably part of the Archery competition but fom altitude of the plane it was hard to tell.
"oh yeah, I see it now. Looks a good one and a big enough field" points out Isis as the plane banks over to help line itself up with the runway and letting a whining sound followed by a clunk as the landing gear lowered and locked into place, this was followed a few minutes later by a thud and a screech from the tyres as they protested about going from zero to the rolling speed of a plane doing 160mph in a matter of seconds. As the plane jolted the dark cargo hold on landing, Spongebob who had fell asleeep for the flight was jolted from his slumber though he was scarred and frightenned as he still could not see what was going on in the hold as it was still completely black.

"we're here and its time for a happy holiday!" says Isis as she released her seatbelt just as the plane came to a stop, this too was followed by Holly and probably the other passengers too before Isis used the seat in front as a means to haul herself up before taking her carry on luggage out of the hold and then with Holly taking the lead the she follows Holly out of the plane and through the jetway to the terminal building where customs were checked and eventually being re-united with Spongebob.

Needless to say, with him catching sight of Isis and Holly he went wild with excitement, barking loudly and spinning around in the confines of the pet carrier though Isis soon had the dog under control, "HEY!" she said in quite a stern voice, this had the desired effect of rendering Spongebob silent, his ears pinned back and his eyes staring right at Isis, this allowed Isis to put the harness onto him and take him out of the carrier so that could now be folded up and strapped to their case.

Walking out of the airport, Isis, with her prosthtic leg on show had her rucksack slung over her shoulder and in her right hand Spongebob's leash whilst Holly pulled along their suit case, though as she and Isis left the airport Holly did a directions check for the Beith Gheal Inn, "I hope they're pet friendly" says Holly,
"if they're not there's bound to be somewhere where we could stay that is" replies Isis, watching Spongebob follow gently by her side and occasionally looking up at Isis, though with a new city there are lots of new scents and Spongebob wants to know everything about them so stops frequently snifs and runs back up to be beside Isis.

Beith Gheal Inn
Holly, leaned backwards against the door to open it as Isis then held it open with one hand "can you take el doggo Holls", says Isis, El Doggo being the on the cuff nickname for Spongebob, he gets called all manner of names of which most are cute and sometimes VERY feminine and not the sort of name you'd want to be called if you wanted to have a hint of machoness left, if only PETA were here! Holly just smiles, "sure" she says, before reaching for the lead "come here squarepants" she says as she takes hold of Bob's lead to allow Isis to take wrestle the second part of the door open before making their way to the bar.

"Hello, can someone point me to the manager please" says Isis when she gets to the bar counter as Spongebob sniffs the floor to see who's been in the bar in a manner that only a dog does though that doesnt last for long as Isis kneels down and scoops the little dog up. "come here trouble" she says as she picks up the dog.

The Beith Gheal Inn was an old and traditional house, sitting atop of Crann Hill near the festival grounds.
A long time ago, it had been a fortified farmstead, then a fortified waypost, where weary travellers could rest and relax. Now, it was an inn.
The counter was in the foyer, to the left was the entrance to the bar-part of the establishment, one could see the keeper beding the bar getting ready for the evening again, a waitress in Geansai cleaning tables and swinging her rear end to some tune or the other she heard a few nights ago.
To the right was the entrance to the hotel-part, rooms for people to rest.
The man at the foyer looked at the two of them and their dog. One of them had a protestic leg, for which his establishment wasn't really equipped. The other was most definately not his cup of tea. He was a professional, though, so he wouldn't let anything slip.
"Stands in front of you, ladies.", he said with a bit of a cheer before he yawned. "Sorry, long night. Anyway: What can I do for you, ladies?"

[The Wolfussian Colony of Oceania]

Fiona grinned widely, as she watched the boy. He was just cute, in her opinion.
"It's my pleasure, searrach." Calling a child a foal was a long standing tradition in the Free Lands, their equestrianism getting ahead of them once again. She bowed down to the children, being more on eye-level with them without treating them as she would treat Selkie-children, unwillingly giving the older ones (and the soldiers accompanying them) quite a good view of her argumentation amplifiers. "And as far as I know, you haven't seen anything yet. So, searrach - off you go, have fun!"

Though the children had no idea what the Selkie was calling them, all of them nodded and smiled.
Ivan coughed and averted his eyes as Fiona leaned over to talk to the children, and Vaktansiktsløs 3345 didn't even take notice. He remained at the rear of the group of children, away from the Selkie woman interacting with his commander. His on visible feature, his eyes, shifted quickly as he looked around and took in his surroundings.

"Oh I'm sure they will have a good time. They have been speaking to each other about Selkie tournaments the entire trip here, trust me." Said Rakel, remembering how much the children chattered amongst themselves on the plane ride. "And of course, they are excited to see our own people complete. Ivan Lorvik, Head of the Fekting Korps. I don't believe you've meet." She said, presenting the other tall Wolfussian who stood beside her.
"Hello, pleasure to meet you." He said, giving Fiona a victory salute.

"And I have entered 3345. That should be good. I hope he wins the Geansai, that would be hilarious." Said Rakel, looking at the black uniformed soldier as he remained motionless a short distance away.

[Ganos Lao]

Celina knew, that something was up with her boyfriend - and it wasn't nervousness. Neither was it her getup, he was quite used to seeing her in Geansai by now.
He was supposed to meet her parents today, which was an important threshhold.
He already knew her little sister, Little Ava, a true gem of a slowly blossoming young woman.
She let him pull her along, listening to his voice. He could read the telephone book and she would still have a pleasure in her ears usually only to be felt in other places. It was like satin petting her eardrums and she loved every minute of it.
The other persons from Ganosia were interesting characters as well: She knew of Lilith's reputation, or rather the outlines of it, and General Killbourne was on her older brothers' lists of women they did not want to meet in a dark alley, when she was angry on position four (after their mother and their two little sisters). Mira was, as the other people, more or less a blank slate.
Still, they would have fun at the festival.
Greeting their host was an important formality and Jesse went first, bringing her along: "Howdy. The name's Jesse FitzRaymond. I'm here with my girlfriend, Celina. We're here to have some fun. I hope the weather stays this nice. It'd be a damn shame if the weather brought it to an early end or something."
Nora Cathlong stifled a giggle, looking towards Celina, who grinned wildly as she unhooked herself from Jesse and hugged the older woman. "Morning, Auntie Nora!", she greeted, getting kissed on both cheeks, before she turned Jesse. "Jesse, meet my... 'godmother' would be the closest term in English, I think. Anyway, Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork. Auntie Nora, meet my boyfriend, Jesse Fitzraymond."
"It's a pleasure, Jesse.", the older woman said, shaking hands with the young man, looking him up and down. "Good taste, Celina, I give you that."

"A pleasure to meet you too, Nora, and I figure I ought to thank you for the compliment. Been hearing that a lot lately." Jesse said with a sly smirk. "Of course, the same can be said of my buddies back home complimenting me on my taste when they see our pics on social media. Things are going so great these days that I almost feel I'll wake up and see it was all a dream."

"You taught me a good deal of things, Auntie.", she said, hooking back up with Jesse. "It's only natural to put it to good use."
Nora smiled with pride, before she turned to Jesse. "Us two will talk later. But first, your father already called dibs on your time, Celina. He's in the central area. Good luck, you two!"
"Thanks, Auntie." Celina smiled as she began to tow Jesse away. "Dad will approve of him!"
This was her home turf, this was her country - and she enjoyed showing Jesse every stick and stone.

Jesse dutifully followed Celina, eagerly listening to every story there was behind every stick and stone. He couldn't be happier knowing that she was the one he had decided to settle down with. He knew she'd be even happier when she discovered his plans.

The next one was a uniformed woman with a uniformed young man at her side. Nora smiled at them as the woman introduced herself: "Greetings. I am General Dolores Killbourne of the Imperial Ganosian Army. This is my son, Alexander." The boy only nodded. "I'm here to participate in the various tournaments. I hope my katana here is suitable for us. It's seen a lot of battles, a lot of blood and guts, but it's still trusty. Been with me ever since I was a wee little girl. Of course, I would love to try out all your weapons today. Do you have any weapon sellers here? My collection of the world's weapons could use some Selkie manufactured ones."
The older Selkie smiled broadly. "It's a great pleasure, General. Although I have my primary business in shipbuilding, even I have heard about you." Her attention turned towards the boy. "And I heard of you as well, searrach. Sadly, I would not be aware of any hockey-clubs in the Free Lands, but I hope you will have quite a bit of fun here as well."
Nora grinned at both of them. "So, General, weapon sellers." She pointed towards the stalls covering the more technical parts of the festival. A blacksmith, a tree of a man hammered away on a piece of glowing metal already, having shed his shirt and bashing all impurity out of the steel, while an apprentice put the final touches on the stall itself. A stall away, a bowyer set up her store with her apprentices, who were erecting test targets for the customers. A lance-maker was setting himself up as well. "Follow the constant clinging and you will be there."

Dolores reciprocated the smile with one of her own. If one noticed, her teeth had a peculiar form to them. It was once joked she had the teeth of a shark, sharp pointy things that could tear through flesh. A lot of stories were told about Dolores, but she always found them to be quite the riot. She was intrigued by Nora's knowledge of her, and it made her very interested in knowing just how many Selkie knew of her.

"Shipbuilding, you say? I would be interested in learning about the ships you build. I enjoy all instruments of war, but none come close to the artillery. I was an artillery spotter back in the day. It was very riveting, to say the least. But ships have their merits too. Don't they, Alexander?"

"Of course." grinned the boy. He was quite intrigued by Nora claiming to have heard of him. Perhaps she did some research on him? Not that he particularly minded, he thought, listening to his mother talk about shipbuilding with Nora. Dolores was quite excitable when it came to military matters. When Alexander came up in the conversation, he merely widened his grin and spoke in a suave fashion. "There are no hockey clubs in the Free Lands? No matter. The tournaments here today tell me that you guys have enough interesting sport to compensate for the lack of my favorite one."

Dolores laughed heartily. "I wonder if he'll go pro. Be picked first overall, all the tanking teams fighting over him, the works. Oh, that'd be great, it really would."

As Dolores went off to follow the mentioned clinging, Alexander hastily waved over to Mira, who scowled at him before he disappeared from view.

With the General sent on her merry way, the bickering couple of Princess Lilith and her assistant came, Nora greeting them with the respect the Princess deserved - even with her reputation. Or maybe because?
Nora wasn't quite sure.

Still, as they went past her, the Selkie turned. "Hold on a second, your Highness.", she told her and lifted a hand, making a gesture. A few short seconds later, a woman clad in blue uniform, SDF-Army Blue Dress, her blonde hair open, her face showing a neutral scowl, stood at her side. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Ava Fuil of the Tribe of Monaghan. When she heard, that volunteers were sought to escort guests at this festival as bodyguards, she volunteered for escorting you. I'll leave her in your care, Colonel."

"Ava," smiled Lilith wryly, licking her lips, "it's a pleasure to know you could make it. It would be my pleasure to be in your care. Oh, have you met my assistant here? This is Selene. She'll be accompanying us."

Before Selene could introduce herself properly, Lilith leaned forward to say, "For now, anyways," before pulling back to look over Ava's impressive physique. Selene had to wonder how long it'd be before the two went off to engage in debauchery.

"Thank you, Mistress Cathlong." Fuil saluted sharply. "Your Highness, I will guard your body with my own."
Nora raised her eyebrow, but nodded and left the three to enter the festival.

"There are many things you could do with me and my body with that body of yours, Ava." Lilith replied.

As Nora watched them enter the festival, Selene sighed silently and listened to Lilith immediately proceed to whisper in Ava's ear and gesture to nowhere in particular.

"The name's Mira. Mira FitzRaymond. Sorry if any Ganosians embarass themselves. I'd like to have you know we're not all like this.", the last person introduced herself.
Nora smiled. "It'll be fine.", she told her. "Have some faith in your kinspeople. Usually it works for me." Nora considered her. "Besides, we have high tolerances. So, off you go. Have some fun, Mira!"
She had heard, that she shared her last name with Celina's boyfriend, but she decided against commenting on it. She would ask the boy later about it.

"The ones I have faith in didn't bother to make it." smirked Mira. "But I'll handle. But high tolerances? With my aunt Lilith around? Prepare to see them tested."

Mira then went into the festival grounds, Almost immediately, she was bombarded by Alexander.

"So, Mimi-"

"Stop calling me that. Why aren't you with your mother?"

"She's talking to the blacksmith about his technique. It'll be a while." smirked Alexander. He gestured to Dolores eagerly observing the blacksmith working, but all Mira could do was shrug her shoulders and start walking away.

"Hey!" called out Alexander. "You don't want to have some fun?"

"I know your kind of fun. I'm not interested." retorted Mira.

"Feisty!" Alexander said, before being distracted by what looked like Lilith and Ava up ahead, looking rather close for a bodyguard and her client.

"The Princess has no shame." Alexander observed. "I like that in her."

He then looked for a concession stand and thought that he could use a drink. He figured that later he could convince Mira to see the error of her ways. Not only that, but perhaps he'd stumble upon Lilith and Ava. If only he were a wee bit older, he thought, listening to Selene demand a sense of decorum from her boss.

[Aurora Confederacy]

The Beith Gheal Inn was an old and traditional house, sitting atop of Crann Hill near the festival grounds.
A long time ago, it had been a fortified farmstead, then a fortified waypost, where weary travellers could rest and relax. Now, it was an inn.
The counter was in the foyer, to the left was the entrance to the bar-part of the establishment, one could see the keeper beding the bar getting ready for the evening again, a waitress in Geansai cleaning tables and swinging her rear end to some tune or the other she heard a few nights ago.
To the right was the entrance to the hotel-part, rooms for people to rest.
The man at the foyer looked at the two of them and their dog. One of them had a protestic leg, for which his establishment wasn't really equipped. The other was most definately not his cup of tea. He was a professional, though, so he wouldn't let anything slip.
"Stands in front of you, ladies.", he said with a bit of a cheer before he yawned. "Sorry, long night. Anyway: What can I do for you, ladies?"

It was Isis who spoke first
"basically sir, we're after a room for the duration of the festival two nights I think it is for, maybe three, and I hope you're pet friendly" says Isis as she holds her pet Terrier, "if its upstairs then its not a problem" she says, reaching into her jacket with her free hand to pull out some local currency in which to pay for a room.

Holly was taking in the ye-olde-worlde style decor of the bar whilst Isis tried to see if there was a room, as she does she pulls out a small digital camera and asks the waitress " excuseme, ma'am mind if I take a photo of this little gem?" she says, reffering to the bar as a little gem is meant to be taken as a complement, whether it is or not is open to debate, as she does so, she also reaches out to the Spongebob who is now quite content being cradled by Isis, his gaze flicking between Isis, Holly and the barman whilst his tail wags furiously, thwapping Isis's jacket as it does so.

[The Selkie]

Fiona grinned widely, as she watched the boy. He was just cute, in her opinion.
"It's my pleasure, searrach." Calling a child a foal was a long standing tradition in the Free Lands, their equestrianism getting ahead of them once again. She bowed down to the children, being more on eye-level with them without treating them as she would treat Selkie-children, unwillingly giving the older ones (and the soldiers accompanying them) quite a good view of her argumentation amplifiers. "And as far as I know, you haven't seen anything yet. So, searrach - off you go, have fun!"

Though the children had no idea what the Selkie was calling them, all of them nodded and smiled.
Ivan coughed and averted his eyes as Fiona leaned over to talk to the children, and Vaktansiktsløs 3345 didn't even take notice. He remained at the rear of the group of children, away from the Selkie woman interacting with his commander. His on visible feature, his eyes, shifted quickly as he looked around and took in his surroundings.

"Oh I'm sure they will have a good time. They have been speaking to each other about Selkie tournaments the entire trip here, trust me." Said Rakel, remembering how much the children chattered amongst themselves on the plane ride. "And of course, they are excited to see our own people complete. Ivan Lorvik, Head of the Fekting Korps. I don't believe you've meet." She said, presenting the other tall Wolfussian who stood beside her.
"Hello, pleasure to meet you." He said, giving Fiona a victory salute.

"And I have entered 3345. That should be good. I hope he wins the Geansai, that would be hilarious." Said Rakel, looking at the black uniformed soldier as he remained motionless a short distance away.

Note: Quote modified by removal of spoiler tags.

Fiona shook the Wolfrussian's hand. "The pleasure is mine, Mister Lorvik.", she told him, smiling at the tales of anticipation the children had for the tournaments. She looked forward to them as well.
"And I have entered 3345. That should be good. I hope he wins the Geansai, that would be hilarious.", Rakel told her as well.
The Selkie looked over to the bodyguard and into his ballistic mask. "That's going to be fun, yes. A friend of mine entered the tournament as well and I look forward to seeing you two compete.", she said, "I hope you forgive me for not wishing you good luck, coimeádaí."
A short lull in conversation followed. "So, what are you planning until the official opening? I could treat you all to a few drinks and a small sweet bite, if you want?"

Celina knew, that something was up with her boyfriend - and it wasn't nervousness. Neither was it her getup, he was quite used to seeing her in Geansai by now.
He was supposed to meet her parents today, which was an important threshhold.
He already knew her little sister, Little Ava, a true gem of a slowly blossoming young woman.
She let him pull her along, listening to his voice. He could read the telephone book and she would still have a pleasure in her ears usually only to be felt in other places. It was like satin petting her eardrums and she loved every minute of it.
The other persons from Ganosia were interesting characters as well: She knew of Lilith's reputation, or rather the outlines of it, and General Killbourne was on her older brothers' lists of women they did not want to meet in a dark alley, when she was angry on position four (after their mother and their two little sisters). Mira was, as the other people, more or less a blank slate.
Still, they would have fun at the festival.
Greeting their host was an important formality and Jesse went first, bringing her along: "Howdy. The name's Jesse FitzRaymond. I'm here with my girlfriend, Celina. We're here to have some fun. I hope the weather stays this nice. It'd be a damn shame if the weather brought it to an early end or something."
Nora Cathlong stifled a giggle, looking towards Celina, who grinned wildly as she unhooked herself from Jesse and hugged the older woman. "Morning, Auntie Nora!", she greeted, getting kissed on both cheeks, before she turned Jesse. "Jesse, meet my... 'godmother' would be the closest term in English, I think. Anyway, Nora Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork. Auntie Nora, meet my boyfriend, Jesse Fitzraymond."
"It's a pleasure, Jesse.", the older woman said, shaking hands with the young man, looking him up and down. "Good taste, Celina, I give you that."

"A pleasure to meet you too, Nora, and I figure I ought to thank you for the compliment. Been hearing that a lot lately." Jesse said with a sly smirk. "Of course, the same can be said of my buddies back home complimenting me on my taste when they see our pics on social media. Things are going so great these days that I almost feel I'll wake up and see it was all a dream."

"You taught me a good deal of things, Auntie.", she said, hooking back up with Jesse. "It's only natural to put it to good use."
Nora smiled with pride, before she turned to Jesse. "Us two will talk later. But first, your father already called dibs on your time, Celina. He's in the central area. Good luck, you two!"
"Thanks, Auntie." Celina smiled as she began to tow Jesse away. "Dad will approve of him!"
This was her home turf, this was her country - and she enjoyed showing Jesse every stick and stone.

Jesse dutifully followed Celina, eagerly listening to every story there was behind every stick and stone. He couldn't be happier knowing that she was the one he had decided to settle down with. He knew she'd be even happier when she discovered his plans.

The next one was a uniformed woman with a uniformed young man at her side. Nora smiled at them as the woman introduced herself: "Greetings. I am General Dolores Killbourne of the Imperial Ganosian Army. This is my son, Alexander." The boy only nodded. "I'm here to participate in the various tournaments. I hope my katana here is suitable for us. It's seen a lot of battles, a lot of blood and guts, but it's still trusty. Been with me ever since I was a wee little girl. Of course, I would love to try out all your weapons today. Do you have any weapon sellers here? My collection of the world's weapons could use some Selkie manufactured ones."
The older Selkie smiled broadly. "It's a great pleasure, General. Although I have my primary business in shipbuilding, even I have heard about you." Her attention turned towards the boy. "And I heard of you as well, searrach. Sadly, I would not be aware of any hockey-clubs in the Free Lands, but I hope you will have quite a bit of fun here as well."
Nora grinned at both of them. "So, General, weapon sellers." She pointed towards the stalls covering the more technical parts of the festival. A blacksmith, a tree of a man hammered away on a piece of glowing metal already, having shed his shirt and bashing all impurity out of the steel, while an apprentice put the final touches on the stall itself. A stall away, a bowyer set up her store with her apprentices, who were erecting test targets for the customers. A lance-maker was setting himself up as well. "Follow the constant clinging and you will be there."

Dolores reciprocated the smile with one of her own. If one noticed, her teeth had a peculiar form to them. It was once joked she had the teeth of a shark, sharp pointy things that could tear through flesh. A lot of stories were told about Dolores, but she always found them to be quite the riot. She was intrigued by Nora's knowledge of her, and it made her very interested in knowing just how many Selkie knew of her.

"Shipbuilding, you say? I would be interested in learning about the ships you build. I enjoy all instruments of war, but none come close to the artillery. I was an artillery spotter back in the day. It was very riveting, to say the least. But ships have their merits too. Don't they, Alexander?"

"Of course." grinned the boy. He was quite intrigued by Nora claiming to have heard of him. Perhaps she did some research on him? Not that he particularly minded, he thought, listening to his mother talk about shipbuilding with Nora. Dolores was quite excitable when it came to military matters. When Alexander came up in the conversation, he merely widened his grin and spoke in a suave fashion. "There are no hockey clubs in the Free Lands? No matter. The tournaments here today tell me that you guys have enough interesting sport to compensate for the lack of my favorite one."

Dolores laughed heartily. "I wonder if he'll go pro. Be picked first overall, all the tanking teams fighting over him, the works. Oh, that'd be great, it really would."

As Dolores went off to follow the mentioned clinging, Alexander hastily waved over to Mira, who scowled at him before he disappeared from view.

With the General sent on her merry way, the bickering couple of Princess Lilith and her assistant came, Nora greeting them with the respect the Princess deserved - even with her reputation. Or maybe because?
Nora wasn't quite sure.

Still, as they went past her, the Selkie turned. "Hold on a second, your Highness.", she told her and lifted a hand, making a gesture. A few short seconds later, a woman clad in blue uniform, SDF-Army Blue Dress, her blonde hair open, her face showing a neutral scowl, stood at her side. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Ava Fuil of the Tribe of Monaghan. When she heard, that volunteers were sought to escort guests at this festival as bodyguards, she volunteered for escorting you. I'll leave her in your care, Colonel."

"Ava," smiled Lilith wryly, licking her lips, "it's a pleasure to know you could make it. It would be my pleasure to be in your care. Oh, have you met my assistant here? This is Selene. She'll be accompanying us."

Before Selene could introduce herself properly, Lilith leaned forward to say, "For now, anyways," before pulling back to look over Ava's impressive physique. Selene had to wonder how long it'd be before the two went off to engage in debauchery.

"Thank you, Mistress Cathlong." Fuil saluted sharply. "Your Highness, I will guard your body with my own."
Nora raised her eyebrow, but nodded and left the three to enter the festival.

"There are many things you could do with me and my body with that body of yours, Ava." Lilith replied.

As Nora watched them enter the festival, Selene sighed silently and listened to Lilith immediately proceed to whisper in Ava's ear and gesture to nowhere in particular.

"The name's Mira. Mira FitzRaymond. Sorry if any Ganosians embarass themselves. I'd like to have you know we're not all like this.", the last person introduced herself.
Nora smiled. "It'll be fine.", she told her. "Have some faith in your kinspeople. Usually it works for me." Nora considered her. "Besides, we have high tolerances. So, off you go. Have some fun, Mira!"
She had heard, that she shared her last name with Celina's boyfriend, but she decided against commenting on it. She would ask the boy later about it.

"The ones I have faith in didn't bother to make it." smirked Mira. "But I'll handle. But high tolerances? With my aunt Lilith around? Prepare to see them tested."

Mira then went into the festival grounds, Almost immediately, she was bombarded by Alexander.

"So, Mimi-"

"Stop calling me that. Why aren't you with your mother?"

"She's talking to the blacksmith about his technique. It'll be a while." smirked Alexander. He gestured to Dolores eagerly observing the blacksmith working, but all Mira could do was shrug her shoulders and start walking away.

"Hey!" called out Alexander. "You don't want to have some fun?"

"I know your kind of fun. I'm not interested." retorted Mira.

"Feisty!" Alexander said, before being distracted by what looked like Lilith and Ava up ahead, looking rather close for a bodyguard and her client.

"The Princess has no shame." Alexander observed. "I like that in her."

He then looked for a concession stand and thought that he could use a drink. He figured that later he could convince Mira to see the error of her ways. Not only that, but perhaps he'd stumble upon Lilith and Ava. If only he were a wee bit older, he thought, listening to Selene demand a sense of decorum from her boss.

Celina pulled Jesse along, a huge grin on her face, finally having introduced him to the first family member older then herself. She happily chatted away, telling him about a fair she had visited on this field as a child, running off with Gwen, Nora's daughter, to see some of the horses from up close. They had met Marla, before they were all scooped up by a younger Tyran Cróimiam of the Tribe of Cork and delivered back to Auntie Nora.
It had been great fun to be delivered back by one of the best horseriders of the Free Lands, not under his arms, but sitting in front of him as he rode Capall, his trusty horse.
She withheld the fact, that the blue haired man had been her first crush (she was ten at the time), both because it would be a bit rude and because she got tackle-hugged by someone calling "Celina!"
The younger woman doing so shared many facial features with her, who wore armour, shield slung over her shoulder, her sword hanging on her side and it's hilt striking Jesse in the gut.
"It's good to see you!", Ava, Celina's little sister, grinned like a Chesire Cat, as she released her hold around her older sister, continuing: "Mom and Dad are already waiting and Dad is... well..."
"Dad?", Celina asked, Ava nodded. "I'll handle that. Don't you two worry one bit!"

The little exchange between Alexander and Mira was not only watched by Nora, who gave an amused snort, but also by someone else.
A young woman, fifteen of age, her red hair bound back into a braid, which swung around her back with every step she took. She was around 1.7 high, of a nice built for her age, only accentuated by her Geansai in all natural colours of the fur used for it, beige and black of a Tine, and white stockings.
After he basically got rejected by a woman, who seemed to know him, he seemed a bit lost. His mother was occupied elsewhere. He looked after Colonel Fuil and her charge, who were closer then it looked from the get go.
Volunteered my arse..., she thought to herself, wiping a strand of hair behind her ear.
As the ever-helpful Selkie she was, she made her way over. "You seem a bit lost. Can I help you?", she asked, putting on her best, rougish smile.

Meanwhile, unaware of them being watched (not only by Alexander, but also by a few Selkie, a Lieutenant Colonel in full Blue Dress did attract a fair bit of attention), Ava led Lilith a bit inside the festival grounds.
She remembered the night they first met each other, back when she was a fresh Captain and... well, she could remember that later.
She was well aware about Lilith's reputation. She knew her friend, as much as she should know her.
Between bouts of whisperings, Ava returned something: "I know a few merchants here. And I know about their art stocks. Wanna take a look after the official opening?"

[...]
It was Isis who spoke first
"basically sir, we're after a room for the duration of the festival two nights I think it is for, maybe three, and I hope you're pet friendly" says Isis as she holds her pet Terrier, "if its upstairs then its not a problem" she says, reaching into her jacket with her free hand to pull out some local currency in which to pay for a room.

Holly was taking in the ye-olde-worlde style decor of the bar whilst Isis tried to see if there was a room, as she does she pulls out a small digital camera and asks the waitress " excuseme, ma'am mind if I take a photo of this little gem?" she says, reffering to the bar as a little gem is meant to be taken as a complement, whether it is or not is open to debate, as she does so, she also reaches out to the Spongebob who is now quite content being cradled by Isis, his gaze flicking between Isis, Holly and the barman whilst his tail wags furiously, thwapping Isis's jacket as it does so.

Note: Quote modified by removal of spoiler-tags.

"One after the other.", the man behind the counter said with a grin, "We are pet-friendly..." A young man with a Grey Wolf at his side coming down the stairs served to emphasize this point. "...and we have a few rooms free for up to seven nights. If you are interested..."
That was the moment, when the Grey Wolf caught scent of the dog held by Isis.
He growled deeply, showing a quite impressive array of teeth as he did so.

The waitress was used to hearing people calling her bar all manner of names, but little gem was a first for her.
"Sure, go ahead.", the waitress said with a smile and went over to the bar, swinging herself up onto the counter so that the guest had an uninterrupted view of the restaurant.
A short smile was thrown to the waiter, who was decidedly not unhappy about the young woman's rear end being parked on his counter.

[Aurora Confederacy]

"Thanks, we'll take it" says Isis, holding Spongebob ever tighter. Spongebob had heard the growl, his ears had pointed up, his tail had gone straight back inline with his spine and his fur raised up along his spine as he too growled back sensing the danger that he percived the grey wolf to pose to Isis. Isis gave Spongebob a quick tap on the nose and raised her voice "HEY!" she says, bringing a finger to bare her dog's snout, enough to show him who's boss although it didn't deter him until Isis called again in an even harsher tone. "NO!" she says, and slowly the little dog backed down.

"Sorry about that" says Isis to the barman, "now, how much is it per night here sir?, we're here for the festival" she says, holding a wad of local currency in one hand and a small Jack Russel in the other. Holly had taken eye on the large grey wolf and she too was watching its movements closely, carefully not letting him out of her gaze as even with Isis holding the little Jack Russel it probably wouldnt be high enough off the ground should the larger animal decide to have a sudden wanting of a lunch, her gaze was however not one of fear but one of protection. "Isie, he's probably only protecting his owner, though he could also see Spongey there as a meal or threat, though he is a rather nice animal" she says.

Holly, once she heard the reply off the waitress turned on the camera and began to take a few photos. The camera was small, about the size of two cigarette packets stacked one on top of the other with a pop-out lens and a flash bulb at the front and an array of buttons and an LCD screen on the back with two more buttons and a scroll wheel on the top. the far side of the camera had a wrist strap which was now looped around Holly's wrist. With her thumb she pressed a button on the back to turn the flash off and with her fore finger pressed the capture button, this was done several times to get a view of the place. As she took photos of the bar, Spongebob, (who's name came from the previous owner's 4 year old daughter who had the dog for 6 months before deciding they didn't want it) , watched Holly carefully whilst paying attention to the large grey wolf that was also in the room though by now the ridge of fur on his back had gone down though his ears were still up.

The waitress was also photographed by Holly as she sat on the bar by the taps, at this Holly turned to Isis, "if we did that at the Panzer, the staff there would go nuts, however we could probably get away with that at Ryan's place." says Holly, putting her camera back in her pocket before turning to the barkeeper "any chance of a vodka anda pack of chease and onion flavour chips please?" she says, pulling out a note, before turning to Isis again "once we have the room, dump the gear in there and we'll head off to the festival, however I need to change the paddings in my cups to allow them to dry, its going to be a long day today"

"sure Holl, may as well jack em up an inch or two as well, having twin mounts mean you can do that, I can't however as I'd end up hopping or walking in circles!" jokes Isis before turning to the owner of the Grey Wolf, "nice wolf, how good is he with other dogs?" she asks, wanting to put Spongey down onto the floor but not totally sure about the temperament of the large Grey Wolf.

[The Selkie]

"Thanks, we'll take it" says Isis, holding Spongebob ever tighter. Spongebob had heard the growl, his ears had pointed up, his tail had gone straight back inline with his spine and his fur raised up along his spine as he too growled back sensing the danger that he percived the grey wolf to pose to Isis. Isis gave Spongebob a quick tap on the nose and raised her voice "HEY!" she says, bringing a finger to bare her dog's snout, enough to show him who's boss although it didn't deter him until Isis called again in an even harsher tone. "NO!" she says, and slowly the little dog backed down.

"Sorry about that" says Isis to the barman, "now, how much is it per night here sir?, we're here for the festival" she says, holding a wad of local currency in one hand and a small Jack Russel in the other. Holly had taken eye on the large grey wolf and she too was watching its movements closely, carefully not letting him out of her gaze as even with Isis holding the little Jack Russel it probably wouldnt be high enough off the ground should the larger animal decide to have a sudden wanting of a lunch, her gaze was however not one of fear but one of protection. "Isie, he's probably only protecting his owner, though he could also see Spongey there as a meal or threat, though he is a rather nice animal" she says.

Holly, once she heard the reply off the waitress turned on the camera and began to take a few photos. The camera was small, about the size of two cigarette packets stacked one on top of the other with a pop-out lens and a flash bulb at the front and an array of buttons and an LCD screen on the back with two more buttons and a scroll wheel on the top. the far side of the camera had a wrist strap which was now looped around Holly's wrist. With her thumb she pressed a button on the back to turn the flash off and with her fore finger pressed the capture button, this was done several times to get a view of the place. As she took photos of the bar, Spongebob, (who's name came from the previous owner's 4 year old daughter who had the dog for 6 months before deciding they didn't want it) , watched Holly carefully whilst paying attention to the large grey wolf that was also in the room though by now the ridge of fur on his back had gone down though his ears were still up.

The waitress was also photographed by Holly as she sat on the bar by the taps, at this Holly turned to Isis, "if we did that at the Panzer, the staff there would go nuts, however we could probably get away with that at Ryan's place." says Holly, putting her camera back in her pocket before turning to the barkeeper "any chance of a vodka anda pack of chease and onion flavour chips please?" she says, pulling out a note, before turning to Isis again "once we have the room, dump the gear in there and we'll head off to the festival, however I need to change the paddings in my cups to allow them to dry, its going to be a long day today"

"sure Holl, may as well jack em up an inch or two as well, having twin mounts mean you can do that, I can't however as I'd end up hopping or walking in circles!" jokes Isis before turning to the owner of the Grey Wolf, "nice wolf, how good is he with other dogs?" she asks, wanting to put Spongey down onto the floor but not totally sure about the temperament of the large Grey Wolf.

The owner of the Grey Wolf placed a hand on his side, making the large animal go silent.
"He's good with other dogs as long as I say, that he should be nice.", he told Isis, before he whispered something into his animal's ear. "Same goes for humans. You're going to the festival? Me, too." He thought for a moment, before he asked. "Please come here, Miss."
The barman and the waitress let her photograph her as she pleased, she was used to it. Many tourists photographed to their hearts contents and if she was honest, she couldn't hold it against them. Her inn was a beautiful inn.
The barkeeper meanwhile nodded. "You're lucky, Miss. We usually don't have foreign beverages.", he said and began to work behind his counter, "One Vodka for the lady, as well as chips with chease and onion flavour. There you go! It's on the house!"
The counter-man scowled over to the barman. "One night is four Gils, if you stay the week, it will be 25 Gils. That already includes breakfast, dinner, room service and stables."
The Gil was a currency without paper money, but only coins - largest ones of gold, medium in usual circulation of silver and smaller ones of copper, pure metals and no alloys. One Gil, a silver coin, weighed 31 grams and was worth around fifteen NSD, so basically, she would be paying 60 bucks for one night and 375 bucks for a week.
For Selkie, a Gil was a lot of money.

[The Wolfussian Colony of Oceania]

Fiona shook the Wolfrussian's hand. "The pleasure is mine, Mister Lorvik.", she told him, smiling at the tales of anticipation the children had for the tournaments. She looked forward to them as well.
"And I have entered 3345. That should be good. I hope he wins the Geansai, that would be hilarious.", Rakel told her as well.
The Selkie looked over to the bodyguard and into his ballistic mask. "That's going to be fun, yes. A friend of mine entered the tournament as well and I look forward to seeing you two compete.", she said, "I hope you forgive me for not wishing you good luck, coimeádaí."
A short lull in conversation followed. "So, what are you planning until the official opening? I could treat you all to a few drinks and a small sweet bite, if you want?"

The soldier's eyes stopped shifting, and focused on the Selkie when he realized that she was looking at him.
"No forgiveness necessary for a Vaktansiktsløs. I live only to serve." He said, in a deep raspy voice. Nearly every Wolfussian in the group immediately froze, even the children who knew what a Vaktansiktsløs was. Rakel's face broke into a even wider grin, and she walked over to the black uniformed soldier.

"Doubleplusgood." She said to the soldier, who didn't react in any way. The Overseer turned back to the Selkie woman, still smiling like a madman. 'That was a rare occurrence, very good. He doesn't usually talk to anyone but Vaktleder Mundahl. This is plusgood improvement." She said, seeming distant and thinking about other things. Then the Overseer snapped out of it, rubbing her hands together. "Ah, what am I saying, you don't care about such technical government things! We are at a festival! I apologize. Anyway, I have not planned much until the opening. That drink and bite sounds very nice, thank you."

Ivan was still looking at the soldier with a perplexed look on his face, but as Rakel mentioned the food he nodded with agreement.
"We can pay for ourselves, however. We have some local currency, because I assume the Fascistiskmark has no value here, yes?" He said, smiling.
The children were whispering amongst themselves in their native language, making stealthy gestures to the Vaktansiktsløs and saying things like sinnssyk mann and other words too fast to be caught by any Selkie. They seemed even more excited than before, after the soldier spoke up.

[Aurora Confederacy]

The bar / inn
"in that case, you have a deal" says Isis, handing over the money to pay for the stay, "we're here only for the festival as we have a business to run back home so don't want to be away too long" Isis totts up the amount, "not bad price Holly, three eighty for the week considering, its about the same as the Midnight in the burg, but no PA system blaring out repeating music"

"Yeah, thats annoying and great to get away from" says Holly as Isis moves towards the owner of the wolf, gently placing Spongey on the floor, "Eeeasy" she says to the dog, keeping the leash on his harness taught. Isis moves forward carefully, cautiously glancing down at her faithful companion. She then turns to the owner of the wolf, "Aye, we're here for the festival, see how it compares to the coming of the light ceremony back home, thats a ceremony in the north that welcomes the sun back after a long winter"

Holly leans to the bar, "Thank you sir" she says, picking up the pack of crisps and opening them before picking up the glass of vodka. "Bob.." she says, causing Spongebob to turn his gaze towards Holly, "Wanna chip?" she says, leaning down and offering him a crisp. Spongebob takes the item from Holly's hands gently and eats the snack before eyeing up Holly's glass of vodka. "umm no, sorry dog, y'aint having that!" says Holly.

After eating the crisp, Spongebob kept changing his gaze from the large wolf to Isis and back again, ears relaxed, tail up though still a little nervous of the larger wolf for he could probably have Spongebob in one bite.

"Isis, we better be making moves, gates open shortly" says Holly

"Dont worry, we have plenty of time, its only just around the corner and all we have to do is drop the bag into our room once we have the key, then we can walk there, let Bobbo here explore the area though he wont be off the leash. Did we pack the flexi leash?" says Isis.

"yeah, think so along with his other reflective harness" says Holly before turning to the counterman "sir, have you got our keys please so I can dump our bags in the room?" she asks.

[The Selkie]

Fiona shook the Wolfrussian's hand. "The pleasure is mine, Mister Lorvik.", she told him, smiling at the tales of anticipation the children had for the tournaments. She looked forward to them as well.
"And I have entered 3345. That should be good. I hope he wins the Geansai, that would be hilarious.", Rakel told her as well.
The Selkie looked over to the bodyguard and into his ballistic mask. "That's going to be fun, yes. A friend of mine entered the tournament as well and I look forward to seeing you two compete.", she said, "I hope you forgive me for not wishing you good luck, coimeádaí."
A short lull in conversation followed. "So, what are you planning until the official opening? I could treat you all to a few drinks and a small sweet bite, if you want?"

The soldier's eyes stopped shifting, and focused on the Selkie when he realized that she was looking at him.
"No forgiveness necessary for a Vaktansiktsløs. I live only to serve." He said, in a deep raspy voice. Nearly every Wolfussian in the group immediately froze, even the children who knew what a Vaktansiktsløs was. Rakel's face broke into a even wider grin, and she walked over to the black uniformed soldier.

"Doubleplusgood." She said to the soldier, who didn't react in any way. The Overseer turned back to the Selkie woman, still smiling like a madman. 'That was a rare occurrence, very good. He doesn't usually talk to anyone but Vaktleder Mundahl. This is plusgood improvement." She said, seeming distant and thinking about other things. Then the Overseer snapped out of it, rubbing her hands together. "Ah, what am I saying, you don't care about such technical government things! We are at a festival! I apologize. Anyway, I have not planned much until the opening. That drink and bite sounds very nice, thank you."

Ivan was still looking at the soldier with a perplexed look on his face, but as Rakel mentioned the food he nodded with agreement.
"We can pay for ourselves, however. We have some local currency, because I assume the Fascistiskmark has no value here, yes?" He said, smiling.
The children were whispering amongst themselves in their native language, making stealthy gestures to the Vaktansiktsløs and saying things like sinnssyk mann and other words too fast to be caught by any Selkie. They seemed even more excited than before, after the soldier spoke up.

Fiona took a moment before she caught herself.
She had met the ballistic masked soldier in Jolie Armour, where he had been as all Vaktansiktsløs, silent, brooding and a bit intimidating until one knew, that they wouldn't act unless forced or ordered to.
"You're welcome.", Fiona said, still a bit confused and surprised by the Vaktansiktsløs.
His voice sounded actually quite good, if a bit rusty and raspy from not often being in use.
"And yes, unless changed into Gil, the Fascistiskmark is without worth here, sorry.", Fiona told Ivan with a small smile returning and slowly replacing her confusion with her usual self-confidence. "But it's my treat, at least the first round. Come along, everyone!"
With that, she turned and led them towards the stalls at the later dance floor, towards one of them in particular, where the older man behind the counter was overjoyed to see her and her entourage.
"Fiona, searrach! Good to see you!", he called, coming out and leaving the store to his apprentice, hugging Fiona with a wide smile. "It's been so long, since you came to my bakery!" He looked at the people behind her, particularly Ivan, Rakel and the children. "I hope, that you all aren't her in-laws and children..."
Fiona laughed loudly.

The bar / inn
"in that case, you have a deal" says Isis, handing over the money to pay for the stay, "we're here only for the festival as we have a business to run back home so don't want to be away too long" Isis totts up the amount, "not bad price Holly, three eighty for the week considering, its about the same as the Midnight in the burg, but no PA system blaring out repeating music"

"Yeah, thats annoying and great to get away from" says Holly as Isis moves towards the owner of the wolf, gently placing Spongey on the floor, "Eeeasy" she says to the dog, keeping the leash on his harness taught. Isis moves forward carefully, cautiously glancing down at her faithful companion. She then turns to the owner of the wolf, "Aye, we're here for the festival, see how it compares to the coming of the light ceremony back home, thats a ceremony in the north that welcomes the sun back after a long winter"

Holly leans to the bar, "Thank you sir" she says, picking up the pack of crisps and opening them before picking up the glass of vodka. "Bob.." she says, causing Spongebob to turn his gaze towards Holly, "Wanna chip?" she says, leaning down and offering him a crisp. Spongebob takes the item from Holly's hands gently and eats the snack before eyeing up Holly's glass of vodka. "umm no, sorry dog, y'aint having that!" says Holly.

After eating the crisp, Spongebob kept changing his gaze from the large wolf to Isis and back again, ears relaxed, tail up though still a little nervous of the larger wolf for he could probably have Spongebob in one bite.

"Isis, we better be making moves, gates open shortly" says Holly

"Dont worry, we have plenty of time, its only just around the corner and all we have to do is drop the bag into our room once we have the key, then we can walk there, let Bobbo here explore the area though he wont be off the leash. Did we pack the flexi leash?" says Isis.

"yeah, think so along with his other reflective harness" says Holly before turning to the counterman "sir, have you got our keys please so I can dump our bags in the room?" she asks.

As the man behind the counter nodded and took care of the formalities, the Grey Wolf padded forward, slowly and unthreatening.
He breathed in Isis' smell, who, now that he was so close, could see, that he had a collar of thick leather around his neck, where no leash could be fixed. He took a few seconds, before he came to a conclusion.
The large animal lowered his tail and returned to his master's side. He grinned at her. "That's a good sign.", he told her. "Usually. I'm Liam, that's Glam.", he introduced himself and his companion with a lopsided grin. "It's a pleasure, Miss...?"
That was the moment, when the man behind the counter returned, placing two sets of keys and a large book onto the table. "Here we go.", he said. "Please sign inside this book, here and here." He indicated two places. "And these keys are for the same room. Room 24, double beds. It's right next to your new friend's room."
"I'll help you get your stuff upstairs.", Liam said with his smile still in place.

[Aurora Confederacy]

When Liam introduced himself, Isis nodded, "Thanks, im Isis Anuket, That's Bobby" she says, swapping the leash from one hand to the other so she could shake hands with Liam, "and my partner there, she's Holly". Before they leave to go to their rooms, both Holly and Isis then sign the guestbook, Holly signing it "Hollister Williams", Hollister being her full name as it is generally shortenned to Holly, whilst Isis signs it Isis Anuket Mc.Callum. The offer to help with the bags was welcomed with pleasure, and so Isis handed Liam the rucksack whilst Holly picked up the keys and rolled the case along on its castors before collapsing its handle at one end to allow it to be picked up by the other handle on the side in order to carry the case up the stairs.

As they climbed stairs, Spongebob, who's name is normally shortenned to Bobby stays by the side of Isis as she climbs the stairs, occasionally glancing up at Isis to see if he is doing the right thing. As they climb the stairs Isis takes one of the keys so she can open the room when they get to the door, she also glances down at Bobby then across at Glam before turning to Liam, "I might have a treat or two in there for Glam, does he like Pork rind?" she asks.

Climbing the stairs is for Isis done slowly and carefully as she, unlike Holly is only just getting back on her feet after a well hidden bear trap slammed shut on her leg reulting in its loss where as Holly has had several years to get used to being a double below knee amputee so as a result walks relatively normally. Once at the room, Isis opens the door and opens it before leaning down and unclipping Bobby of his leash, this has the desired result for he runs off into the room leaps up onto one of the beds runs to the pillows before using his head to push them apart in order to make room for himself where he then curls up between two of the pillows whilst Holly dumps the case on the same bed and opened it as Isis pointed to where she wanted the rucksack dumped, "place that there please" she says with a polite, soft tone to her voice.

Inside the case were some liners to go inside Holly's artificial legs, some clothes including a pair of orange fleece tops, jeans and combat style trousers, Holly removed items from the case and placed them on the bed until the flexi leash was revealed.
"Bobby" she says, instructing the dog to come forwards and so when he did, the leash was clipped to his harness, after that Holly sat down on the other bed, pulled up her trousers to reveal two prosthesis which she then slid down off her legs, removed and changed her stump socks before putting the prosthesis back on. As Holly dealt with her legs, Isis reached into the same case and pulled out some pork rind snacks.

"Liam, Bobby loves these" she says, and yes Bobby didnt take long to notice his favorite snack which technically is a human's snack but he doesnt care about that, he will happily eat them regardless whether or not Isis is looking! Seeing the pack of snacks he moves forward, eyes fixated on the packet as Isis opens them and takes a piece of pork rind out as Holly stands back up again, taking the leash.

"right, lets go" she says, picking up a tennis ball from the still open case and putting that ball into a pocket and preparing to make their way to the festival. As Holly moves, Bobby jumps down onto the floor of the hotel room and makes a b-line for Glam, tail wagging cautiously although he doesnt get far as Holly presses the button on the leash causing its pulley to stop, "eh where do you think you're going dog?" says Holly in a commandful tone, pulling back on the leash gently to let Bobby know that he is to do as he is told.

[The Selkie]

When Liam introduced himself, Isis nodded, "Thanks, im Isis Anuket, That's Bobby" she says, swapping the leash from one hand to the other so she could shake hands with Liam, "and my partner there, she's Holly". Before they leave to go to their rooms, both Holly and Isis then sign the guestbook, Holly signing it "Hollister Williams", Hollister being her full name as it is generally shortenned to Holly, whilst Isis signs it Isis Anuket Mc.Callum. The offer to help with the bags was welcomed with pleasure, and so Isis handed Liam the rucksack whilst Holly picked up the keys and rolled the case along on its castors before collapsing its handle at one end to allow it to be picked up by the other handle on the side in order to carry the case up the stairs.

As they climbed stairs, Spongebob, who's name is normally shortenned to Bobby stays by the side of Isis as she climbs the stairs, occasionally glancing up at Isis to see if he is doing the right thing. As they climb the stairs Isis takes one of the keys so she can open the room when they get to the door, she also glances down at Bobby then across at Glam before turning to Liam, "I might have a treat or two in there for Glam, does he like Pork rind?" she asks.

Climbing the stairs is for Isis done slowly and carefully as she, unlike Holly is only just getting back on her feet after a well hidden bear trap slammed shut on her leg reulting in its loss where as Holly has had several years to get used to being a double below knee amputee so as a result walks relatively normally. Once at the room, Isis opens the door and opens it before leaning down and unclipping Bobby of his leash, this has the desired result for he runs off into the room leaps up onto one of the beds runs to the pillows before using his head to push them apart in order to make room for himself where he then curls up between two of the pillows whilst Holly dumps the case on the same bed and opened it as Isis pointed to where she wanted the rucksack dumped, "place that there please" she says with a polite, soft tone to her voice.

Inside the case were some liners to go inside Holly's artificial legs, some clothes including a pair of orange fleece tops, jeans and combat style trousers, Holly removed items from the case and placed them on the bed until the flexi leash was revealed.
"Bobby" she says, instructing the dog to come forwards and so when he did, the leash was clipped to his harness, after that Holly sat down on the other bed, pulled up her trousers to reveal two prosthesis which she then slid down off her legs, removed and changed her stump socks before putting the prosthesis back on. As Holly dealt with her legs, Isis reached into the same case and pulled out some pork rind snacks.

"Liam, Bobby loves these" she says, and yes Bobby didnt take long to notice his favorite snack which technically is a human's snack but he doesnt care about that, he will happily eat them regardless whether or not Isis is looking! Seeing the pack of snacks he moves forward, eyes fixated on the packet as Isis opens them and takes a piece of pork rind out as Holly stands back up again, taking the leash.

"right, lets go" she says, picking up a tennis ball from the still open case and putting that ball into a pocket and preparing to make their way to the festival. As Holly moves, Bobby jumps down onto the floor of the hotel room and makes a b-line for Glam, tail wagging cautiously although he doesnt get far as Holly presses the button on the leash causing its pulley to stop, "eh where do you think you're going dog?" says Holly in a commandful tone, pulling back on the leash gently to let Bobby know that he is to do as he is told.

Liam helped where he could, Glam near.
He saw, that Isis was a bit uneasy on her feet, but Holly seemed fine - a few minutes later, after he sat down the rucksack at the intended place, he knew why: She had a prothesis. Something had snapped her leg off.
Liam tried not to look at her with pity, not because he was a heartless bastard, but because it didn't really seem right to him. She came to this festival to have some fun and maybe to forget about all of this - reminding her all the time with pity would be counterproductive.
He gave the little treat to Glam, who munched down on it with gusto as he watched Bobby coming towards him with caution. As the smaller dog was suddenly stopped, Glam gave a wolfish grin.
With a smile, he padded over to Isis, putting his head into her lap, his tail waving lazily. It was his way of thanking her for the treat.
Liam let him do.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Leaving the bar
There comes a time that a bar must be left behind, after all there is a festival to go, and so with Bobby on a leash, Holly and Isis made their way out of the room and locked it after Glam and Liam were out of the room for locking them in it would be embarrassing to say the least and not very funny either nor would it be the best way to make friends!

And so Holly and Isis made their way down stairs, Holly thanks to the fact that she still has her natural knees as her legs were chopped a few inches above her ankles after a motorcycle accident was able to pretty much jog down the stairs compared to Isis who was a little more cautious on her feet as she is still only 4 months after having her surgery so to some degree is still learning again. As Holly makes her way down stairs, Bobby keeps looking back up at Isis though at the bottom of the stairs, Holly waits and Bobby sits as Isis makes her way down.

"Holls, ya got the coins?" asks Isis

"yeah, I got them, how could I forget, I feel like i am carrying the royal mint and jingle like a Jailer's pet" jokes Holly, making reference to the rattling of the coins and the weight of them too

Leaving the bar itself, Isis smiles at the barkeeper and the inn-keeper, "see you when we get back" she says, as she leaves the bar before turning to Holly, "which way Holl?" she asks.

Holly turns around and looks for cues in the landscape, "that way i think" she says, pointing up the main street as she hands Bobby's leash back to Isis.

First thing Isis did was to give Bobby a little more run on the leash so allowed a couple of feet to come off the spring loaded spool, though when Bobby showed signs of wandering off, a quick jerk of the leash was enough to bring him back into line as he walked along, tail pointing vertically into the air and his nose skimming the floor as he took in its scents, everything was new to him and he wanted to know everything.

"So Liam, may I ask what you do for a living?" asks Isis as she walked along the street keeping a close eye on where Glam and Bobby were for though Glam seems to be friendly at the moment, Isis isnt totaly sure how he and Bobby are going to get along and doesn't want to take any chances.

[Ilha das Tormentas]

A journey of 10,000 miles and four weeks Amala had finally arrived at her destination. It started in Tormentas rounding up what few things she had including her beloved son and setting sail across the Venus sea first to neighboring nation, AHSCA where she would leave her son to be with her mother, his grandmother a important person in AHSCA but never too important to help her daughter out. She didn't want to leave him but it would be tough enough to travel and compete and travel back with her young three-year-old in tow so it was best to leave him with his grandmother.

There was two reasons Amala had traveled so long and far, one was to compete. She needed the money, even though Tormentas had strong tribal and communal culture it still was very much a survival society and people still need to pay penance to their Grand Liberator Valenzuela. A series of storms and disease have ravaged her crops and animals and ceremonial dancing only brought in so much money. Second, she was on a personal quest, a quest to find her birth father. A long complicated ordeal with her family leading her to be curious. From a reliable tip she found out he would be attending here today, or so she was told. The weather seemed good today, sunny beautiful morning she didn't know what it was like here she just her home country where storms could appear suddenly so she was prepared for anything that might occur but for now she was going to enjoy herself and make way to the festival.

[The Selkie]

Leaving the bar
There comes a time that a bar must be left behind, after all there is a festival to go, and so with Bobby on a leash, Holly and Isis made their way out of the room and locked it after Glam and Liam were out of the room for locking them in it would be embarrassing to say the least and not very funny either nor would it be the best way to make friends!

And so Holly and Isis made their way down stairs, Holly thanks to the fact that she still has her natural knees as her legs were chopped a few inches above her ankles after a motorcycle accident was able to pretty much jog down the stairs compared to Isis who was a little more cautious on her feet as she is still only 4 months after having her surgery so to some degree is still learning again. As Holly makes her way down stairs, Bobby keeps looking back up at Isis though at the bottom of the stairs, Holly waits and Bobby sits as Isis makes her way down.

"Holls, ya got the coins?" asks Isis

"yeah, I got them, how could I forget, I feel like i am carrying the royal mint and jingle like a Jailer's pet" jokes Holly, making reference to the rattling of the coins and the weight of them too

Leaving the bar itself, Isis smiles at the barkeeper and the inn-keeper, "see you when we get back" she says, as she leaves the bar before turning to Holly, "which way Holl?" she asks.

Holly turns around and looks for cues in the landscape, "that way i think" she says, pointing up the main street as she hands Bobby's leash back to Isis.

First thing Isis did was to give Bobby a little more run on the leash so allowed a couple of feet to come off the spring loaded spool, though when Bobby showed signs of wandering off, a quick jerk of the leash was enough to bring him back into line as he walked along, tail pointing vertically into the air and his nose skimming the floor as he took in its scents, everything was new to him and he wanted to know everything.

"So Liam, may I ask what you do for a living?" asks Isis as she walked along the street keeping a close eye on where Glam and Bobby were for though Glam seems to be friendly at the moment, Isis isnt totaly sure how he and Bobby are going to get along and doesn't want to take any chances.

The young man's eyes suddenly became old, very old, as he looked at the two women.
"Me?", he asked, "Oh, I'm in service of the government, you know?"
He did not look like a man in the late twenties anymore, more like a man in the early fourties, his green eyes sparkling a bit with humour as the two dogs played around, Glam more or less leading the other dog along while testing the different smells with the smaller of the two.
"Not exactly a paper-pusher, I have to say...", he continued, as a woman with purple hair, a bit younger then him, in green jacket with black cuffs and a black collar with light grey lining, a comfortable and green pants with heavy, dark boots.
She grinned at Liam as she handed him a dark long overcoat, which he immediately put on.
"High ranking government service, I have to say.", he continued, a small smile on his lips, "Thanks, Kendra."
"No problem, Sir.", the woman replied. "The Regiment is ready to move in on the festival. It's all in rule eleven: In absence of a commanding officer, command falls to the next highest authority."
"Indeed it does, Major. And my wife?", the man asked.
"Already on the grounds and waiting for you with the two shorties."
Liam laughed a short laugh, before he turned back to Isis and Holly. "Ladies, if I may introduce myself properly?", he asked, "Colonel Liam Óga of the Tribe of Laois, SDF-Army Mobile Forces Command." He shrugged. "Currently on vacation."

A journey of 10,000 miles and four weeks Amala had finally arrived at her destination. It started in Tormentas rounding up what few things she had including her beloved son and setting sail across the Venus sea first to neighboring nation, AHSCA where she would leave her son to be with her mother, his grandmother a important person in AHSCA but never too important to help her daughter out. She didn't want to leave him but it would be tough enough to travel and compete and travel back with her young three-year-old in tow so it was best to leave him with his grandmother.

There was two reasons Amala had traveled so long and far, one was to compete. She needed the money, even though Tormentas had strong tribal and communal culture it still was very much a survival society and people still need to pay penance to their Grand Liberator Valenzuela. A series of storms and disease have ravaged her crops and animals and ceremonial dancing only brought in so much money. Second, she was on a personal quest, a quest to find her birth father. A long complicated ordeal with her family leading her to be curious. From a reliable tip she found out he would be attending here today, or so she was told. The weather seemed good today, sunny beautiful morning she didn't know what it was like here she just her home country where storms could appear suddenly so she was prepared for anything that might occur but for now she was going to enjoy herself and make way to the festival.

By pure coincidence, as Amala made her way onto the festival grounds, she suddenly stood in front of Nora, who grinned at her broadly.
Of course, she didn't know, who Amala was, what she was here for, what she usually did - she had just the good or bad luck to be greeted by the host.
And she shook her hand, while noticing, that the woman opposite to her seemed to be ready for the seas coming down on them like mad.
"Hello and welcome, my dear!", she said to the younger woman, still smiling broadly, "Welcome to Grian an Earraigh!"