Welcome to Barentsburg, your new home

[Aurora Confederacy]

visit this link here to sign up to take part.

Barentsburg, Aurora's largest northern city, larger in fact that the previous capital, Valeria Port Aurora, lies on the eastern side of the island that forms a large part of the nation. With the Ecossian Sea to the East and the 3 Volcanoes national park to the west and the arctic circle around 100km to the south the city plays an important part in the economy of the Aurora Confederacy with a large port for fish and offshore oil rig support as well as ferries to Romberg's arctic islands.

And its just become your new home.

"...Good morning Aurora Barentsburg, I'm Robert Crilley and here is the news. Today as the sunset bares out its last few occurances for twenty sixteen, people in Barentsburg are getting ready for the summer and the fairground will be in town for the day of the sun, a national holiday that marks the beginning of the arctic summer and we say good bye to those dark winter nights until they return in August. A court, having convicted two people of placing illegal traps has been handed new evidence of additional trappings carried out by the same two men, they are reviewing the sentence with the possibility of adding two more jail terms onto the sentence which will take one of the inmates prison terms to fifty two years. Over in the national park after the eruption a couple of years ago, the mountain has finally settled back down it seems with no significant volcanic activity for three months and construction of a new visitor centre 2 kilometers from Barentsburg is well to begin, replacing the old one which was in need of replacement due to its age. Police and crime commissioner Leon Harris has announced that the city's crime budget has been increased giving police additional funds to carry on their business of keeping Barentsburg safe.

Weather: Today ithe forcast is for a warm day of around minus four degrees with chances of light snow fall in the morning with the afternoon high getting to around zero with a light norther eastern wind.

Traffic reports show no significant problems here in Barentsurg

That was the news with me, Rob Crilley"

Elsewhere, as its early hours many of the city residents are just waking up to begin their new day here in Barentsburg some are clocking off after a nights work at the power plant and the port whilst at the Northern Cross Ryan Halvaarsson is just getting ready to open up as he has been up a few hours. His new assistant, Zaph will be joining him in a few hours time dressed in a black catsuit and dark eye make up to enhance her eyes which have recently been tattooed red giving them a devilish appearance to them. (the things people do these days!)

[Ontorisa]

Valeria Port Aurora Airport
10:31 AM

Mikael Zayuriska stepped out into the airport. On one arm, he had his hockey gear. His skates, protective equipment, helmet (which he had a visor on now, not one of those cages), his gloves and of course, his five sticks on top of the bag, all of them wrapped together with plastic wrap. Dressed in khakis, a light blue dress shirt with a silver tie and a grey blazer underneath his black peacoat. Already he could feel the nippiness from the cold outside as the automatic doors opened and closed. He huffed, ran a hand through his hair before he picked up his backpack and then his suitcase. He was looking for someone with his name on a sign.

He passed by a huge grouping of people, some of them holding signs and waving, others simply standing there, probably waiting for loved ones. Zayuriska scanned the crowd, again, looking for the Barentsburg Bears agent or whoever was supposed to take him to the city. Keeping his head up, Zayuriska made his way towards a small seating area and took out his cellphone before dialing the number of his agent, Lajeb Gyretes, and placing the device to his ear.

"Hi Lajeb?" Zayuriska spoke in Estonian to his phone. "When was I supposed to meet the Bears' associate here in Valeria?"

"Ah, Jesus, one second Mikael." Gyretes replied before Zayuriska could hear the shuffling of paper and typing of a keyboard. "Uh, shoot, what if I lost the time?"

"Forget it." Zayuriska huffed before he looked up. "I'm just hoping he'll come find me or something, because I don't know my way around this airport at all."

[The Selkie]

Mungail leaned into the scratch.
As the little Selkie-family came to Barentsburg, they had high hopes, that the father, Donald Iasachta of the Tribe of Conn, would find employment with the local power plant, but that didn't work out. Not by a long shot.
So, planning time was on.
The whole family of four (plus Mungail, the pet Grey Wolf) sat around the kitchen table and held war council.
They had the money to move back, if they wanted, but that would be the last option. No, they wanted to stay here, four Selkie and a Grey Wolf: There was the younger daughter, Marla, ten years of age and currently scratching the Grey Wolf, the older daughter Gwen, the mother Ava, a former nurse, and the father Donald, formerly soldier, then a nuclear reactor technician and now unemployed in a foreign country.
Ideas were thrown around. Since they were Selkie, they knew nature and were practically born in saddles, so becoming Rangers in the local national park was one option, one Gwen flirted with as a side-work besides her school. Marla was a student, she had her school to attend, so she had other duties. Ava thought about applying as a nurse at the local hospital or at a local doctor's office.
"Well, there is another option.", Donald said, as the discussion reached a lull. He looked at his family. "How about we open a Selkie Restaurant?"
His suggestion was not met with the reaction he had hoped for: Marla looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Gwen scoffed rightout. And Ava told him: "Donny, you are a good cook, but a restaurant? Where and with what personell? What about local regulations and so on?"
Donald grinned. "Well, that's something to find out, isn't it?", he said with a grin.
The next day, a local newspaper had a small advert in it:

Looking for Restaurant/Pub rooms for rent. Please contact Donald Iasachta of the Tribe of Conn.

At the same time, a request was sent to the city hall: One should please send all information about regulations and hindrances concerning opening a restaurant to a certain Donald Iasachta of the Tribe of Conn, living in Barentsburg. He would very much appreciate it.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Valeria International Airport
Valeria port Aurora

The airport wasn't the busiest airport that Mikael Zayuriska had ever had the fortune to visit as with only a few hundred flights per week the airport is generally pretty empty and today was no exception. What however became aparent was the constant loop of music coming through the loud speakers across the entire airport complex though this was occasionally broken up by announcements and at Terminal 1 where he had landed it didn't take long to get to the arrivals lounge to get his luggage and of course meet that contact for he was landside, not airside.

Once landside, the airport activity changed with the concourse also acting as a shopping area as well as a place in which to board a train to Barentsburg which was a few hours south from the airport, and it was once he got landside that the agent met Mikael Zayuriska. The agent for the Barentsburg Bears was around 6 feet tall and wearing a suit with a long jacket and carrying a briefcase.

"Mr Zayuriska?, Gerrard Hurst of the Bears..." he said, holding his hand out for a handshake, "...Welcome to the Aurora Confederacy, I trust you had a good flight, my car is just outside". His tone was polite but business like. Across the concourse two students were obviously lost and in a bit of a panic, either that or they had lost something vital but they were however in the hands of the security staff at the airport.

[Aurora Confederacy]

The mail landed on the post room of city hall and was sorted along with all other mail as Barentsburg's town hall is where civic fines such as parking enforcement are paid along with non-faith weddings being performed, and as food hygiene is also managed from the town hall it has a lot of responsibilities, as such there are several departments at the building, by 6am the letter was on the relevant desk.

It took a couple of hours for the letter to be reached and soon the official responsible for enforcing food hygiene was writing his letter which would reach Donald in the morning but given the number of food outlets in the city, getting a pitch, store or restaurant is relatively easy, though standards regarding food and catering hygiene are however strict though this is understandable.

THUD!!..!! The morning newspaper landed on the floor, though the request for a pub was not in this issue, that would occur in the evening press, the morning papers are full of adverts for this, adverts for that as well as news and towards the back of the main part of the paper before the sports section there are several adverts including 3 stores in the mall that *might* be suitable, a small takeaway outlet on the fjord front about 200m from the Midnight Rendezvous hotel, though that store is quite litterally a counter with no seating area for customers, A restaurant building close to the city centre and a pub on the fjord front itself.

[Ontorisa]

Valeria Port Aurora Airport
10:39 AM

Zayuriska looked over at the mention of his voice at a man who appeared to be a few inches shorter than him, introducing himself as Gerrard Hurst of the Barentsburg Bears and extending his hand. Almost breathing a sigh of relief, Zayuriska shook the man's hand and smiled warmly towards him. Already, Zayuriska was beginning to warm up to the country, as long as he wasn't dunked into the snow on his first practice. Oh, that had happened back during his university days part of the Red Ones.

"Mikael Zayuriska, your team recently signed me to a contract." Zayuriska said in accented English, not to remind Hurst, but to almost remind himself. "The flight was bumpy along the way, a bit of turbulence but nothing too too bad, I found."

Picking up his hockey bag and the sticks and lifting them over his shoulder, Zayuriska stood, prepared to finally drive to his new home. According to his agent, he was supposed to be staying in an apartment with a teammate named Liam Brodie, who was one of the forwards of the team. Hopefully the two got along, because Zayuriska knew that the language barrier would come in effect during his stay in Barentsburg. Pushing his phone into his pocket and putting a grey wool toque over his head, Zayuriska was now ready to go to his new home.

[Motokata]

The early morning as mother and daughter sat together at the breakfast table as they always had between their long time in Motokata and their short time in this new place of Barentsburg. They talked together but also quietly listened to the morning news. Today was a big day for the two ladies, Hikaru her first day on the job as a prosecutor and for Nagisa her first day at her new school. Since arriving just over a week ago now it was a transition between the cold weather and new local customs.
Hikaru was dressed in her usual work attire, white blouse and charcoal skirt, Nagisa out of habit put on her old school uniform, white blouse with blue trimmings and her light blue knee length skirt and her black shoes and white socks

"-4 is warm?" Nagisa baked at the report

"Well to us it's very cold, baby but to them it's probably beach weather." Hikaru joked back

"huuh I miss the beach."

"Yeah I kind of do myself but this is a good start for us. Lord knows the farther we are from the drug crime the better I feel for you and me."

"Isn't crime what keeps you employed?"

"Oh hush up. We'd better get a move on or we'll both be late. Have you finished unpacking yet?"

"Not quite, I'll finish after school today"

"All right"

News of a volcano simmering down grabbed Nagisa's attention. She loved all things natural phenomenon weather and geological related. Storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, fascinated her to no end. Moving to a land of snow and ice sounded kind of plane for her growing up in a place prone to all three.

"Sweet, volcanoes."

"Right they do have that national park here. You and me will go sometime, once we get all settled in. See it's not all bad here now is it "

She gave her daughter an affectionate rub on her head "Ma, ma, please I got my hair set don't mess it up please"

Getting set for the cold for these ladies was like getting ready for extended deep sea diving almost between heavy winter coats and scarves as they continued their gradual adjustment to the change in climate. Getting the car warmed up and the windshield defrosted Hikaru drove her daughter to school first then onto work.

[The Selkie]

The mail landed on the post room of city hall and was sorted along with all other mail as Barentsburg's town hall is where civic fines such as parking enforcement are paid along with non-faith weddings being performed, and as food hygiene is also managed from the town hall it has a lot of responsibilities, as such there are several departments at the building, by 6am the letter was on the relevant desk.

It took a couple of hours for the letter to be reached and soon the official responsible for enforcing food hygiene was writing his letter which would reach Donald in the morning but given the number of food outlets in the city, getting a pitch, store or restaurant is relatively easy, though standards regarding food and catering hygiene are however strict though this is understandable.

THUD!!..!! The morning newspaper landed on the floor, though the request for a pub was not in this issue, that would occur in the evening press, the morning papers are full of adverts for this, adverts for that as well as news and towards the back of the main part of the paper before the sports section there are several adverts including 3 stores in the mall that *might* be suitable, a small takeaway outlet on the fjord front about 200m from the Midnight Rendezvous hotel, though that store is quite litterally a counter with no seating area for customers, A restaurant building close to the city centre and a pub on the fjord front itself.

On the next day, the Iasachta-Family, namely Donald and Ava, were planning.
First, they established reserve assets, namely money to go home, if everything else failed. Gwen said something about still being able to make money, if they needed it, but that was the emergency plan.
Second, they went over the hygiene regulations. They were strict, but not insurmountable, not by a long shot. Hygiene with food was important, to Selkie as well as apparently to the locals, so they would observe these rules carefully. Selkie-Cuisine, especially like they wanted to cook it, required cleanliness and care, especially the Stobhach. There were other dishes they would sell as well, maybe even of the Sweet Stuff. Scipeáil was an option as well.
Third, and most important, they went over the three possible locations:

The small takeaway outlet on the Fjord Front, a stone's throw away from the famous Midnight Rendezvous was right out. They didn't want a takeaway, maybe it was an expansion option, when everything went well.
The restaurant and the pub on the Fjord Front sounded better, far better.

Donald and Ava decided to make appointments for a viewing with each.
They already decided what it would be: It would become a pub, the Bia Baile Pub.

[Camelone]

Odran was frustrated beyond belief, he could not find a way to utilize his blacksmithing skills in this accursed city under his breath he mumbled "What city has no need for a man of the forge? They are the very life blood in Camelone." He was just walking the streets outside his one bedroom living arrangements trying to come up with a way to get experience for the guild. He wore a great coat and his blacksmith's apron was cast over his right shoulder and his sword clanked as he continued his walk. "I must find work, my funds from the guild are not going to last me forever and my oath forbids me from non metal work... I will send a letter to the local government, they will have more knowledge of the workforce." Odran concluded before rushing back to his tiny apartment.

'Honorable officials,
I am Odran of clan Ansaldi, I am a Camelonean journeyman of the Blacksmith's Guild. I have sworn a blood oath with the guild to partake in absolutely no work that does not involve work with iron or steel, though construction is allowed. I am writing this letter as I am in unfamiliar terrain so to speak, there is no guildhall for me to go to for work and I am unfamiliar with what certain jobs entail. I do hope to hear of a way to work soon. The Lord our God bless you and protect you.
Sincerely,
Odran Ansaldi
Journeyman of the Blacksmith Guild'

Finishing the letter he sealed it with a wax seal and pressed it with the insignia of the Blacksmith's Guild of Camelone. Quickly mailing it he decided all he could do was wait and pray to hear good news. Upon that thought he locked his door and began his walk to the Church of St. Mary.

---

Finn Vacca stood at the doorway of the house his family has been calling home for the past few days, it was situated in the north of the city and was more than big enough for him and his family. Though he and his family were incredibly lucky to get out of Camelone without a trail he knew he had to cut his ties with the Camelonean Mafia if he was truly going to end constantly running, the revolt was going to be crush in the next month at most in his mind and he knew that once that happened the mob would want him back in their fold. He shuddered inwardly at the thought of continuing a life of organized crime, a life he certainly did not want his son to follow him in.

Snapped out of his little daze by a kiss from his wife "Dear stop worrying the war is far behind us. We need to focus on providing for the kids in this new country and how to keep them from being brought to sin... How did you even afford this house Finn?" Martha asked him raising an eyebrow to which Finn chuckled at.

"Martha my love I knew we would be in danger when I heard of the revolution, and as you know I had connections, many connections, to the revolutionaries in our fair city. It was only prudent to save money and prepare for the worst. You learn that stuff growing up in the slums, the worst is bound to happen even to the most God fearing people." Finn explained, he did not want to tell her that he was still managing a gun running organization for the revolutionaries.

Before Martha could say anything else a flash of brown hair ran into Finn yelling "Papa can you take me to school?!" Oda's green and brown eyes peered into Finn's eyes, his hard features immediately fell away before he rustled her hair with a smile nodding to her request, he needed to go to city hall anyways and her school was in that direction.

"Of course aingeal. Now where is your broth-" Finn started before he heard a commotion from inside and Eckehard ran out with his blacksmithing tools and sword in hand. "Eckehard what was that!" Finn yelled at his eldest child.

"Papa, mama, don't get angry but I kind of wanted to see if I could alter the properties of a kitchen knife after heating it in the oven and kind of snapped it." Eckehard admitted looking at the ground, his mother trying to suppress a laugh while his father sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Eckehard you are coming with me to escort your sister to school than you will walk back home and continue to translate Aristotle's On Politics from Greek to Gaelic. If you finish you are to pray until dinner. Understood ghloir?" Finn ordered, to which Finn responded with a nod and a feeble "Yes sir."

Kissing Martha on the cheek Finn told her "I should be back by dinner. Take care my love." He walked to the car and let his two children in before driving off to the school, the car was borrow from one of his associates.

Watching them leave Martha waited until they were out of sight before walking back into the house and finishing an online post about business loans for start up businesses, she already sent one of her notices to a few local newspapers to increase the chance of it being published. She was hoping that with the money they have she would be able to get contacts and some sway in the local economy. "With capital comes influence." Martha repeated one of her fathers favorite sayings.

[The Selkie]

One of the things, that needed to be done was school.
Gwen and Marla were still required to attend school, if not by local law, then by Selkie law and in the very least by rule of their parents. If they wanted or not, they would go.
No discussions.
Then again, both of them were typical Selkie: Curious to a fault and not even trying to hide it.
So, school was something they did not really look forward to or anticipated, but had fun as it was. It was weird, but learning was quite something for them. They would be introduced to their new schools today.
Since it was a bit cold and maybe a bit distracting to wear Geansai, the two girls and their father, escorting them ahead, wore local clothing, warm, but not as used to. T-shirts, heavy jackets, pullovers, jeans, not entirely in this sequence, but still matching and, in case of the older daughter, quite form-fitting, where form-fitting belonged to.
Back in the Free Lands, back home, she had been a sportswoman.
Donald was quite sure, that she would turn some heads, especially with that red hair of hers.
They both had it from their mother.
As it stood, the two girls were conversing with each other about some thing or the other as Donald escorted them, a small smile on his face. Once his restaurant got up and running, he wouldn't have the time for this simple thing, he hoped and feared.
Until then, he would enjoy it.

[Camelone]

Finding a parking spot was a not as difficult as Finn thought it would be and he quickly pulled into it so he wouldn't have to wait for another one to pop up. Getting out of the car Finn reattached his sword to his hip, looking over he saw Eckehard reattach his blade to his hip and than open the door for Oda. Straightening his tie and jacket he began walking forward with confident strides, the strides of man who knew he was untouchable and felt invincible. Approaching the school he began to slow down a bit as he did not want to see Oda go just yet, and it allowed for Eckehard and Oda to catch up with him. He overheard their conversation and had to shake his head at Eckehard trying to save some of his dignity from his prior failed blacksmithing experiment and Oda just not buying anything that he was saying.

At the entrance of the school Finn turned and began to speak to Oda in rapid Gaelic, Finn's face growing a bit purple from speaking so fast and with very little time for taking a breath. Oda began giggling at the worry her father was giving her and Eckehard was standing off to the side, his hands clasped behind his back and he began adjusting his shoulder cape with his family's crest and the Blacksmith Guild's crest on it. He stayed quiet the whole time as his father spoke, his face kept tight in military fashion but began loosening as he started laughing a bit at his fathers worry also. Noticing Donald and his family approach the school, his eyes being drawn towards Gwen and lingering for a bit before he shook his head and returned back to his military fashion facial discipline.

[Romberg]

On the plane

First class seating was no stranger to our intrepid traveller. Born Yulia Herzogin von Hohenstein, she was after all a real duchess, and born to a family of old money back home. They no longer had power of course, but luxuries such as yachts and private jets were well within reach, although she went to a normal school and had relatively normal friends. Military conscription and university helped her become more grounded though, and she even had to take on a part time job when her parents decided not to fully fund her education. After all, intense media scrutiny and a distaste of excessive opulence in the past had changed modern Rombergian nobility. Many were not hereditary and only got the title for their contributions to the nation. A few like her family barely kept theirs as a gesture to recognize their cultural role to the nation. Even her flight this time was not family funded. She'd applied for an internship to work at the honourary embassy and got accepted; the first class flight was an expense paid by the embassy in a bid to hopefully retain their interns and encourage them to enter diplomatic service. She did not plan for this though. She was engaged to a prince and would be married in a few months, moving to her husband's country to further pursue a career there. But for now, to occupy herself for a couple of months while he was serving the country in the military, and to further build up her resume, she hence took up this position. In any case, had she been on holiday with her friends, she'd have had to take economy class like most people, and the funds would have to come from her own pocket. She was an adult in any case, and her parents thought she was old enough to pay for herself. In any case, the house of Hohenstein kept their wealth through good investments and controlled spending after all, and conspicuous consumption did not achieve much but waste money. Saving money was not lost to even the highest of Rombergian society. It was simply a fact that most had came to accept.

With that in mind, Yulia took care to not abuse the luxuries given, having already denied alcohol onboard the flight. Although, the flat bed was useful for the flight. One thing she did not understand was why they had to choose a flight with such awkward timings. Maybe it was cheaper. In any case, her flight was rather good in that there was little turbulence - a rarity given the arctic route Rombergia took, and after a period of sleep she would have arrived.

By the time the Rombergia flight landed, day had already broken although it was just after 4 am. It was late spring after all, and days were already short. During summer, she might even get to see the midnight sun. This timing was unfortunate though as it left her a few hours short of a proper nights' sleep, yet the day was already beginning. Fortunately, she would not have to report to work until the next day. Unfortunately, she still had to stay awake enough to get through customs without getting deported.

VPA Airport

Some things did help in her favour though. Not being an official part of the Rombergian diplomatic service yet, she was not granted a diplomatic passport. However, she was issued an official government stamp within her passport showing her status as a person under the protection of the Rombergian honourary consulate at Barentsburg and subject to diplomatic immunity, as well as proper documents such as her contract. What would be slightly different though was her passport. With a recent change in government policy, the nation of Romberg had divided itself into the dual monarchy, that of the Imperial Crown of Romberg and the Royal and Ducal Lands of Hohenstein. Most Rombergian citizens were part of the first category, and currently only those belonging to the Rombergian Arctic Islands or the house of Hohenstein were in the second. Thus her passport, while identical in every way to a standard Rombergian one or one prior to the formation of the dual monarchy (not expired of course), was marked "Royal and Ducal Lands of Hohenstein", with her coat of arms on it. Inset though, it was clear that there was no difference in a Hohenstein passport compared to a Rombergian one, and this was spelled out explicitly and clearly. A diligent customs officer would know this. Confidently, she strided towards the customs officer with the stack of documents as well as her passport in hand. She fully expected everything to go smoothly - she had nothing to hide after all.

[The Selkie]

Finding a parking spot was a not as difficult as Finn thought it would be and he quickly pulled into it so he wouldn't have to wait for another one to pop up. Getting out of the car Finn reattached his sword to his hip, looking over he saw Eckehard reattach his blade to his hip and than open the door for Oda. Straightening his tie and jacket he began walking forward with confident strides, the strides of man who knew he was untouchable and felt invincible. Approaching the school he began to slow down a bit as he did not want to see Oda go just yet, and it allowed for Eckehard and Oda to catch up with him. He overheard their conversation and had to shake his head at Eckehard trying to save some of his dignity from his prior failed blacksmithing experiment and Oda just not buying anything that he was saying.

At the entrance of the school Finn turned and began to speak to Oda in rapid Gaelic, Finn's face growing a bit purple from speaking so fast and with very little time for taking a breath. Oda began giggling at the worry her father was giving her and Eckehard was standing off to the side, his hands clasped behind his back and he began adjusting his shoulder cape with his family's crest and the Blacksmith Guild's crest on it. He stayed quiet the whole time as his father spoke, his face kept tight in military fashion but began loosening as he started laughing a bit at his fathers worry also. Noticing Donald and his family approach the school, his eyes being drawn towards Gwen and lingering for a bit before he shook his head and returned back to his military fashion facial discipline.

Donald saw the three people, two children and a man, step out of the car, both males being armed with swords.
Unconciously, the three Selkie checked their daggers with unsuspicious movements - armed and where they were supposed to be. Gwen's check, if her little blade was in the sheath at her lower leg, turned to a self-concious strut, Abhcan's Cadance in its purest form, only without the Geansai's skirt.
She strutted forward, ahead of her father and her little sister. Said little sister grinned.
"Children..." Donald smiled a bit forlornly at the man as he closed up, Marla at his side, flanking him as she looked at the boy with interest. "Bringing your children to school as well?"

[Camelone]

Interrupted in the middle of his long winded speech by the man he looked up, and finally took a decent breath of air. "Tá... I mean yes. Well only my youngest here. This is my daughter Oda of clan Vacca." He said gesturing to his daughter who waved with a giant smile. Than pointing to his eldest son he said "And this is my oldest, Eckehard of clan Vacca, he does not attend school in this country. He is a member of the Blacksmiths Guild so he is studying under their curriculum and his clan. Meaning me and my wife. Once Oda turns 16 she to will be home schooled."

Eckehard slowly turned to the man and struck his right shoulder stating the customary pledge every freeman must say when being introduced "Is e mo claoimh le mo theaglach." Finishing his pledge he bowed his head and placed his hand at rest on his sword.

"As for me I am Finn Vacca, patriarch of clan Vacca. It is a pleasure to meet you sir." Finn said extending his hand in greeting, he wondered if this man would shake his hand or clasp his forearm.

[Aurora Confederacy]

On the plane

First class seating was no stranger to our intrepid traveller. Born Yulia Herzogin von Hohenstein, she was after all a real duchess, and born to a family of old money back home. They no longer had power of course, but luxuries such as yachts and private jets were well within reach, although she went to a normal school and had relatively normal friends. Military conscription and university helped her become more grounded though, and she even had to take on a part time job when her parents decided not to fully fund her education. After all, intense media scrutiny and a distaste of excessive opulence in the past had changed modern Rombergian nobility. Many were not hereditary and only got the title for their contributions to the nation. A few like her family barely kept theirs as a gesture to recognize their cultural role to the nation. Even her flight this time was not family funded. She'd applied for an internship to work at the honourary embassy and got accepted; the first class flight was an expense paid by the embassy in a bid to hopefully retain their interns and encourage them to enter diplomatic service. She did not plan for this though. She was engaged to a prince and would be married in a few months, moving to her husband's country to further pursue a career there. But for now, to occupy herself for a couple of months while he was serving the country in the military, and to further build up her resume, she hence took up this position. In any case, had she been on holiday with her friends, she'd have had to take economy class like most people, and the funds would have to come from her own pocket. She was an adult in any case, and her parents thought she was old enough to pay for herself. In any case, the house of Hohenstein kept their wealth through good investments and controlled spending after all, and conspicuous consumption did not achieve much but waste money. Saving money was not lost to even the highest of Rombergian society. It was simply a fact that most had came to accept.

With that in mind, Yulia took care to not abuse the luxuries given, having already denied alcohol onboard the flight. Although, the flat bed was useful for the flight. One thing she did not understand was why they had to choose a flight with such awkward timings. Maybe it was cheaper. In any case, her flight was rather good in that there was little turbulence - a rarity given the arctic route Rombergia took, and after a period of sleep she would have arrived.

By the time the Rombergia flight landed, day had already broken although it was just after 4 am. It was late spring after all, and days were already short. During summer, she might even get to see the midnight sun. This timing was unfortunate though as it left her a few hours short of a proper nights' sleep, yet the day was already beginning. Fortunately, she would not have to report to work until the next day. Unfortunately, she still had to stay awake enough to get through customs without getting deported.

VPA Airport

Some things did help in her favour though. Not being an official part of the Rombergian diplomatic service yet, she was not granted a diplomatic passport. However, she was issued an official government stamp within her passport showing her status as a person under the protection of the Rombergian honourary consulate at Barentsburg and subject to diplomatic immunity, as well as proper documents such as her contract. What would be slightly different though was her passport. With a recent change in government policy, the nation of Romberg had divided itself into the dual monarchy, that of the Imperial Crown of Romberg and the Royal and Ducal Lands of Hohenstein. Most Rombergian citizens were part of the first category, and currently only those belonging to the Rombergian Arctic Islands or the house of Hohenstein were in the second. Thus her passport, while identical in every way to a standard Rombergian one or one prior to the formation of the dual monarchy (not expired of course), was marked "Royal and Ducal Lands of Hohenstein", with her coat of arms on it. Inset though, it was clear that there was no difference in a Hohenstein passport compared to a Rombergian one, and this was spelled out explicitly and clearly. A diligent customs officer would know this. Confidently, she strided towards the customs officer with the stack of documents as well as her passport in hand. She fully expected everything to go smoothly - she had nothing to hide after all.

The runway at Peace valley is one that just seemed to go on and on given its length being well over 6km in length, however once off the plane, Yulia, having handed her passport to customs was handed it back promptly, the customs officer gesturing her to one side. Was this a customs search, an immigration interview... NO, instead Yulia was being given the express lane and escorted through to the exit lounge area where was escorted down to the railway terminal as a train operated by VIPER was pulling into the station.

*Bing Bing Bing* "The train now arriving on platform three is the late arriving service to Lake Hai'lu'kai, stopping at Barentsburg, Peace Valley, Heysham, South Sands, Rai'Lal and Lake Hai'lu'kai, this service will be departing in fifteen minutes. Thank you", the tannoy crackling as it gave out the message before returning to Spiegel im Spiegel, which seems to be on a never ending loop and has been since the national public address system was installed back in 1984. A CCTV camera had picked up Yulia and photographed her and was already processing her data though she had nothing to fear from this as she had done nothing wrong and was here on official diplomatic business and her papers were in order.

Along with Yulia the rest of the passengers in her car were a mixture of business types and well to do's and were all travelling first class and for the next couple of hours her seat aboard the Valeria International Passenger Express Rail service would giver her just enough time to watch a movie as Valeria Port Aurora's airport railway station began to slowly glide past her window and within a few minutes, the scenery had changed from urban sprawl of the former capital city to the arctic wasteland of the 3 volcanoes national park to one side and the ocean to the other as the train picked up speed to around 200km/h. A few hours later, she would be in Barentsbrurg.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Valeria Port Aurora Airport
10:39 AM

Zayuriska looked over at the mention of his voice at a man who appeared to be a few inches shorter than him, introducing himself as Gerrard Hurst of the Barentsburg Bears and extending his hand. Almost breathing a sigh of relief, Zayuriska shook the man's hand and smiled warmly towards him. Already, Zayuriska was beginning to warm up to the country, as long as he wasn't dunked into the snow on his first practice. Oh, that had happened back during his university days part of the Red Ones.

"Mikael Zayuriska, your team recently signed me to a contract." Zayuriska said in accented English, not to remind Hurst, but to almost remind himself. "The flight was bumpy along the way, a bit of turbulence but nothing too too bad, I found."

Picking up his hockey bag and the sticks and lifting them over his shoulder, Zayuriska stood, prepared to finally drive to his new home. According to his agent, he was supposed to be staying in an apartment with a teammate named Liam Brodie, who was one of the forwards of the team. Hopefully the two got along, because Zayuriska knew that the language barrier would come in effect during his stay in Barentsburg. Pushing his phone into his pocket and putting a grey wool toque over his head, Zayuriska was now ready to go to his new home.

"So, Mikael, I have had the chance to read your files, when we get to the Burg I will introduce you to the coach of the team. We're in a sticky situation at the moment as we have had a not so good streak, last season were in the top five, this year we're above the relegation zone but in the lower half of the leagye after our striker was poached by the Heysham Kings at the end of last season, We hope you can help us turn the team around" says Gerard as the road that they were travelling on takes a trip downwards, becoming a tunnel as opposed to a surface motorway with lights and fans flashing by overhead as Gerard keeps his speed at around 100km/h, any faster and he'll get a ticket. "After the training session, we will all meet up at the club sauna as well, sauna is a way of life up here, not so much in the south of the country but certainly up here in the north, then tomorrow we will be training for the match in a few days time, we want you on the left wing"

A few hours later
Gerard peeled off the endless scenery of a giant concrete drain pipe and the road climbed up where it emerged in the northern suburb of Barentsburg close to where the new power plant is being built, a project that is well into its advanced stages, with the red oxide colour of the reactor vessel clearly visible poking out from the building so that had been constructed so far. In front of the car lay the shimmering silver of the stainless steel stadium and snowsports complex which is one of the largets public buildings in the city, beyond that can be seen the cathedral spire and the bridge that links the small island to the main land and Barentsburg is busy for it is rush hour!

[Aurora Confederacy]

Judge Kelvin Sanders

The early morning as mother and daughter sat together at the breakfast table as they always had between their long time in Motokata and their short time in this new place of Barentsburg. They talked together but also quietly listened to the morning news. Today was a big day for the two ladies, Hikaru her first day on the job as a prosecutor and for Nagisa her first day at her new school. Since arriving just over a week ago now it was a transition between the cold weather and new local customs.
Hikaru was dressed in her usual work attire, white blouse and charcoal skirt, Nagisa out of habit put on her old school uniform, white blouse with blue trimmings and her light blue knee length skirt and her black shoes and white socks

"-4 is warm?" Nagisa baked at the report

"Well to us it's very cold, baby but to them it's probably beach weather." Hikaru joked back

"huuh I miss the beach."

"Yeah I kind of do myself but this is a good start for us. Lord knows the farther we are from the drug crime the better I feel for you and me."

"Isn't crime what keeps you employed?"

"Oh hush up. We'd better get a move on or we'll both be late. Have you finished unpacking yet?"

"Not quite, I'll finish after school today"

"All right"

News of a volcano simmering down grabbed Nagisa's attention. She loved all things natural phenomenon weather and geological related. Storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, fascinated her to no end. Moving to a land of snow and ice sounded kind of plane for her growing up in a place prone to all three.

"Sweet, volcanoes."

"Right they do have that national park here. You and me will go sometime, once we get all settled in. See it's not all bad here now is it "

She gave her daughter an affectionate rub on her head "Ma, ma, please I got my hair set don't mess it up please"

Getting set for the cold for these ladies was like getting ready for extended deep sea diving almost between heavy winter coats and scarves as they continued their gradual adjustment to the change in climate. Getting the car warmed up and the windshield defrosted Hikaru drove her daughter to school first then onto work.

Being a prosecuting attourney certainly has its advantages for there is always an amount of work to sift through, sentences here in the Aurora Confederacy run consecutive sentences, so get busted for DUI and a vehicular homicide, his clients will do two seperate jail terms, and right now there is a pile of evidential notes to work through on his client, an 18 year old who has been arrested by the police for criminal damage after a firework and stone was hurled into the back of a police car, smashing its window and setting it on fire. He is facing charges of 1: Illegal use of a pyrotechnic device, 2: Arson, which if found guilty he could be facing a total of 10 years in Barentsburg prison and he's not the brightest bulb in the box.

Waiting for Hikaru is Judge Kelvin Sanders.

"Good morning Ma'am" he says in a polite manner, "before you start your work, I would like to invite you to sit in on one of our court hearings in order to give you a flavour of how we do things here. Coffee?" he says, picking up a cup from a cabinet in the corner of the office "here, we have a standard and a fast track justice system, fast track is exactly what it says. if you get arrested after being caught red handed the job for you is relatively easy, you just have to sit with the arresting officer and cross examine the accused as to why, then once that is done he gets to give his reasons and he or she is then sentenced. Those are primarily for misdemeanours, serious offences such as homicide, wounding with intent, armed robbery, larceny etcetera get a full jury trial"

Kelvin turns to the kettle and flicks a switch and slowly the water starts to bubble as he continues what he has to say,

"Last night one of our patrols parked their car up in an estate near here to do a routine foot patrol but when they returned to their car they found it had been torched, they have however got the person in custody right now and are waiting for him to be interviewed under caution though he's not the smartest person on the street, you could say a bit dim. Im sure you Motokatan's have your term for people like him. Turns out the little bugger used a brick to smash the window of the patrol car and threw in a lit firework. Its a relatively open and shut case though, but it'll get you started"

[The Selkie]

Interrupted in the middle of his long winded speech by the man he looked up, and finally took a decent breath of air. "Tá... I mean yes. Well only my youngest here. This is my daughter Oda of clan Vacca." He said gesturing to his daughter who waved with a giant smile. Than pointing to his eldest son he said "And this is my oldest, Eckehard of clan Vacca, he does not attend school in this country. He is a member of the Blacksmiths Guild so he is studying under their curriculum and his clan. Meaning me and my wife. Once Oda turns 16 she to will be home schooled."

Eckehard slowly turned to the man and struck his right shoulder stating the customary pledge every freeman must say when being introduced "Is e mo claoimh le mo theaglach." Finishing his pledge he bowed his head and placed his hand at rest on his sword.

"As for me I am Finn Vacca, patriarch of clan Vacca. It is a pleasure to meet you sir." Finn said extending his hand in greeting, he wondered if this man would shake his hand or clasp his forearm.

The father grinned, as he shook the other man's hand, a foreign gesture, which was adapted by Selkie, when they were abroad.
"I'm Donald Iasachta of the Tribe of Conn." He pointed at the young woman in the lead. "My elder daughter, Gwen." He pointed at the girl flanking him. "My younger daughter, Marla."
"Morning, Sir!", she greeted happily.
"It's our pleasure, Mister Vacca.", Donald continued. "Homeschooling, you say? Ava and I thought about that as well, but we think, that having them interact with kids of their age will help them integrate and will be an overall good experience."
"Plus...", Marla said with a sagely nod, "Learning is fun, but with other people, it'll be even more fun!"
Donald grinned. "And there's that, too!"
Selkie, it should be noted, weren't formal people. And it showed with the way, the three of them walked and talked with the three Vaccas - while the others seemed more then just stuffy, the three Selkie were free spirited, while the Vaccas were what most likely counted as formal where they came from, the three Selkie were informal.

Gwen meanwhile let Eckehard catch up, looking him up and down.
Eh..., she thought, Let's see if I can crack him up a bit!
"So... you're a blacksmith-apprentice?", she asked with a bit of interest.
Where she came from, there were still many blacksmiths and their works in high demands, because although there was a sizeable industry in the Free Lands, some things could only be done the old-fashioned way.

[Camelone]

"It is a pleasure to meet all three of you." Finn said with a smile and a bow of his head to each of them. "Me and my family are not planning on staying forever in this country, I just need to get the Inquisition and Eyes of the King to stop investigating me. I was a gun runner in my younger days before I met Martha, she is my wife if you didn't guess already, those guns ended up in rebel hands so they think I had something to do with it even though it was years ago. Absolute nonsense, though it does show that your past can always haunt you." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, his body was calm and relaxed giving away no clues that he was telling a white lie. He was never one to give away information fully unless there was something in it for him or his family.

Oda scrunched up her nose at Marla's enthusiasm "School is never fun, everything is so boring and complex. The only good thing is going outside in nature past the city walls... But there are no city walls or large forests nearby. Papa can you take me to the park today?" She asked with large eyes.

"How about this week aingeal?" Finn said to which Oda jumped up in excitement.

"Geez Oda you seem more hyper than normal, and that's saying something." Eckehard said, Oda sticking her tongue out at him. He than realized that the older girl, Gwen, was looking and speaking to him. "Yes I am an apprentice in the service of the Blacksmith's Guild, I still need to find a journeyman or master to finish my tutelage under and there seems to be a severe lack of those around here. Meaning I am stuck translating philosophy from the original language to others and my metallurgy classes. I can't even find anyone to spar with, no fighting squares anywhere for Camelonean wrestling, cath istigh, or sharp blade dueling. It truly is frustrating." He said folding his arms and looking at Gwen, he proceeded to look Gwen up and down himself though he found himself lingering a bit at certain spots and turned his head back to her face, his face reddening a bit in embarrassment and he coughed into his hand before he began speaking "So what part of town do you live?"

[The Selkie]

"It is a pleasure to meet all three of you." Finn said with a smile and a bow of his head to each of them. "Me and my family are not planning on staying forever in this country, I just need to get the Inquisition and Eyes of the King to stop investigating me. I was a gun runner in my younger days before I met Martha, she is my wife if you didn't guess already, those guns ended up in rebel hands so they think I had something to do with it even though it was years ago. Absolute nonsense, though it does show that your past can always haunt you." He said with a shrug of his shoulders, his body was calm and relaxed giving away no clues that he was telling a white lie. He was never one to give away information fully unless there was something in it for him or his family.

Oda scrunched up her nose at Marla's enthusiasm "School is never fun, everything is so boring and complex. The only good thing is going outside in nature past the city walls... But there are no city walls or large forests nearby. Papa can you take me to the park today?" She asked with large eyes.

"How about this week aingeal?" Finn said to which Oda jumped up in excitement.

"Geez Oda you seem more hyper than normal, and that's saying something." Eckehard said, Oda sticking her tongue out at him. He than realized that the older girl, Gwen, was looking and speaking to him. "Yes I am an apprentice in the service of the Blacksmith's Guild, I still need to find a journeyman or master to finish my tutelage under and there seems to be a severe lack of those around here. Meaning I am stuck translating philosophy from the original language to others and my metallurgy classes. I can't even find anyone to spar with, no fighting squares anywhere for Camelonean wrestling, cath istigh, or sharp blade dueling. It truly is frustrating." He said folding his arms and looking at Gwen, he proceeded to look Gwen up and down himself though he found himself lingering a bit at certain spots and turned his head back to her face, his face reddening a bit in embarrassment and he coughed into his hand before he began speaking "So what part of town do you live?"

Marla gave her a confused look.
"School's not complex.", she said matter-of-factly and while she was aware, that there people, who had difficulties with school or some subjects (she herself wasn't a born geographer, at least not when it came to things like plate tectonics and such stuff), Oda didn't strike her as someone with such difficulties. "Nor is it boring. At least not in the Free Lands."
Donald petted her shoulder. "Let's hope, that its not boring here as well. Though going out is quite fun as well, right?"
Marla nodded in approval. "The scent of the trees, riding a horse, hearing the sounds of nature...", she daydremaed, no doubt her own mind whisking her back onto the back of the mighty stalion her big sister usually rode, or rather had ridden, when they had been home, her big sister behind her in the saddle. While she was old enough to ride and had legs long enough to reach the stirrups, for that beast of a horse, it had never be sufficient and slowing their small trips had never been an option.

Gwen shrugged with a grin, well aware about where the blush had come from.
"Maybe you can open a martial arts studio as a hobby?", she suggested. "I'm sure, that there are some people interest in learning how Camelonean wrestling or fencing works. I'm a horsearcher myself and know my way around a sword as well, both as a dancer and as a fencer, so we could make a hobby martial artist group with more then just one offer."

[Camelone]

"Do you know what the scholastic method is? We are given a work to read and analyze than we read through multiple other books to either support or refute the assumed conclusion of the original work. Math is easy, though for most classes we are forbidden to use calculators, the teachers like us doing mental math and manual math over the calculator, says it weakens the mind." Oda explained to Marla.

"Camelone focuses on enlarging the mind over mechanical memorization of how to work a machine or to become practically illiterate." Finn responded with a grin. "So Donald Iasachta what are you doing in Barentsburg? I can conclude you are a foreigner much like myself, have you found employment at all?"

"Maybe though it is better to train with other Cameloneans that already know the art of cath istigh, I could show you some moves, my father is a decent practitioner of bladed cath istigh. I prefer unarmed cath istigh there is a hidden beauty to the brash and brutish nature of the art. As for fencing I was the greatest fencer of my age group back in my old city so it would be a great privilege to test my steel with yours. I've never heard of martial arts ever being a hobby for people, back in my country every man must serve in a levy, city, noble, or royal, and than that doesn't take into account the honor tournaments and honor trials. No I have never thought of martial arts as a hobby but as a facet of life... Are there people who really don't know how to fight properly?" Eckehard asked disbelievingly "How can they protect the honor of their family and clan if they can not fight?" A concept so foreign that it was lowering his guard as he leaned forward in disbelief.

[Motokata]

(Image)

Judge Kelvin Sanders

Being a prosecuting attourney certainly has its advantages for there is always an amount of work to sift through, sentences here in the Aurora Confederacy run consecutive sentences, so get busted for DUI and a vehicular homicide, his clients will do two separate jail terms, and right now there is a pile of evidential notes to work through on his client, an 18 year old who has been arrested by the police for criminal damage after a firework and stone was hurled into the back of a police car, smashing its window and setting it on fire. He is facing charges of 1: Illegal use of a pyrotechnic device, 2: Arson, which if found guilty he could be facing a total of 10 years in Barentsburg prison and he's not the brightest bulb in the box.

Waiting for Hikaru is Judge Kelvin Sanders.

"Good morning Ma'am" he says in a polite manner, "before you start your work, I would like to invite you to sit in on one of our court hearings in order to give you a flavour of how we do things here. Coffee?" he says, picking up a cup from a cabinet in the corner of the office "here, we have a standard and a fast track justice system, fast track is exactly what it says. if you get arrested after being caught red handed the job for you is relatively easy, you just have to sit with the arresting officer and cross examine the accused as to why, then once that is done he gets to give his reasons and he or she is then sentenced. Those are primarily for misdemeanors, serious offenses such as homicide, wounding with intent, armed robbery, larceny etcetera get a full jury trial"

Kelvin turns to the kettle and flicks a switch and slowly the water starts to bubble as he continues what he has to say,

"Last night one of our patrols parked their car up in an estate near here to do a routine foot patrol but when they returned to their car they found it had been torched, they have however got the person in custody right now and are waiting for him to be interviewed under caution though he's not the smartest person on the street, you could say a bit dim. I'm sure you Motokatan's have your term for people like him. Turns out the little bugger used a brick to smash the window of the patrol car and threw in a lit firework. Its a relatively open and shut case though, but it'll get you started"

Arriving for work on time was a good start as she walked through the hallowed halls of court getting ready to meet Judge Sanders. "Morning, Your Honor. I appreciate the coffee, thank you." As he explained the judicial process of the country she took it all in, a lot to remember it felt like she was starting all over again, fresh out of law school. She was handed the case file it was as simple as he said it would be, open-shut. "Yes, basic vandal case. I appreciate the chance, Your Honor. Good way to get me introduced it's been a while but I'll pick up again. My law professor always said, lawyering is like riding a bike, you never forget"

[Aurora Confederacy]

Upper Primary school campus,
Barentsburg School complex

It was around 09:00 when the first bell sounded and so students began to enter the main building to begin their school day. Some were putting soccer balls into their school bags, others were carrying back packs however all the students were wearing a uniform of blue trousers, a light blue shirt and a blue swetter with a red clip-on tie, this was the same for male students and female students so the new commers would however stand out.

As Marla made her way into the building, she was stopped by a member of staff who had her face on a clipboard, "This way please" he said. The member of staff was quite a broad man, a figure the result of too much piloting of a wooden desk rather than one of exercise, "My name is mr Anderssen, I am the assistant principal here, as this is your first day here I have been asked to ensure that you get your uniform which will include the usual formal wear as well as sports wear. You can provide your own sports clothing afterwards but as Education is provided by the city, it is our duty to ensure that you have everything you need" he said, escorting them to the store room, "...and once you are in your uniform you will be then handed to your forms"

As he walked, abdomen swung left and right making his walk seem more like a waddle than a walk, however he was it seemed polite.

The school itself was a typically modern building with large airy corridors and big windows to let in as much light as possible and the general paint scheme of white with pine woodwork and red doors, each one with a 1m wide circular window in it made the entire place seem somewhat confusing, especially as it was on 4 levels with the dining area being in the middle of the two wings, it was also warm inside, warm enough for bonsai palm trees and yukka plants to thrive in their habitat.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Lower High School campus,
Barentsburg School Complex

Located a short walk from the primary side of the school is the lower high school where lower secondary school, this school, shares a similar design to the rest of the school however as with everything else in the education system, order is the way here and so the only way to tell it apart is the doors are yellow and feature diamond shaped windows in the class rooms and the uniform is blue sweatters with red sleeves, though the shirts and the trousers are virtually identical.

Like Marla, Oda is met by the deputy principal for the lower secondary school, a young woman aged in her thirties wearing a suit, "good morning and welcome to the school miss Vacca, I am mrs brenda Leigh, deputy principal here, we need to get you issued with your uniform then placed with Mr Sorrenssen who will be your form tutor through the school, lessons begin at nine thirty, you have History first off".

[The Selkie]

"Do you know what the scholastic method is? We are given a work to read and analyze than we read through multiple other books to either support or refute the assumed conclusion of the original work. Math is easy, though for most classes we are forbidden to use calculators, the teachers like us doing mental math and manual math over the calculator, says it weakens the mind." Oda explained to Marla.

"Camelone focuses on enlarging the mind over mechanical memorization of how to work a machine or to become practically illiterate." Finn responded with a grin. "So Donald Iasachta what are you doing in Barentsburg? I can conclude you are a foreigner much like myself, have you found employment at all?"

"Maybe though it is better to train with other Cameloneans that already know the art of cath istigh, I could show you some moves, my father is a decent practitioner of bladed cath istigh. I prefer unarmed cath istigh there is a hidden beauty to the brash and brutish nature of the art. As for fencing I was the greatest fencer of my age group back in my old city so it would be a great privilege to test my steel with yours. I've never heard of martial arts ever being a hobby for people, back in my country every man must serve in a levy, city, noble, or royal, and than that doesn't take into account the honor tournaments and honor trials. No I have never thought of martial arts as a hobby but as a facet of life... Are there people who really don't know how to fight properly?" Eckehard asked disbelievingly "How can they protect the honor of their family and clan if they can not fight?" A concept so foreign that it was lowering his guard as he leaned forward in disbelief.

"That's what modern nations have police and military forces for. As well as judges and jurisdiction." Gwen informed him.
She did not believe, what she was hearing - while Selkie were rather traditional, they had a long standing system of Rule of Law, at least in the cities, which was now also on the countryside. And for outer threats, there was an organized military. What she heard about Camelone so far sounded more akin to a developing country then to a modern nation.
"And yes, many people do martial arts for fun.", she said, "A facette of their lifes, too, but one for fun, for exercise and for measuring themselves against their opponents."
They arrived by the schoolgate, Gwen turned to her father, who waved her over. "If you would excuse me for a moment.", she told her dialogue partner.

Marla, meanwhile, made a face.
"Okay, that does sound boring.", she relented with a frown. "That's not how lessons are done in the Free Lands, though. We get taught things, not read some boring book on the matter. We do things, like in arts and crafts. It's quite fun!"
"Well, other countries, other manners, Marla.", Donald told his daughter with a smile as they arrived by the schoolgate. He waved Gwen back, who came with a small smile. "That's it, then. You both know the drill. Be nice, be curious and be studious."
Marla nodded. "Yep, Dad.", she said with a smile, speaking for her sister as well.
Donald kissed both of his girls on the cheek. "Do well, searrach.", he told them.
They both grinned.
The bell rang. Donald sent his daughters on their way, looking after them.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to Finn. "Children. The most precious thing I have and yet, they have me, too." He smiled. "Now, you asked about work. In the Free Lands, I was a nuclear reactor technician. I applied here as that as well, but I was declined. So I'm opening my own restaurant. What about you?"

Upper Primary school campus,
Barentsburg School complex

It was around 09:00 when the first bell sounded and so students began to enter the main building to begin their school day. Some were putting soccer balls into their school bags, others were carrying back packs however all the students were wearing a uniform of blue trousers, a light blue shirt and a blue swetter with a red clip-on tie, this was the same for male students and female students so the new commers would however stand out.

As Marla made her way into the building, she was stopped by a member of staff who had her face on a clipboard, "This way please" he said. The member of staff was quite a broad man, a figure the result of too much piloting of a wooden desk rather than one of exercise, "My name is mr Anderssen, I am the assistant principal here, as this is your first day here I have been asked to ensure that you get your uniform which will include the usual formal wear as well as sports wear. You can provide your own sports clothing afterwards but as Education is provided by the city, it is our duty to ensure that you have everything you need" he said, escorting them to the store room, "...and once you are in your uniform you will be then handed to your forms"

As he walked, abdomen swung left and right making his walk seem more like a waddle than a walk, however he was it seemed polite.

The school itself was a typically modern building with large airy corridors and big windows to let in as much light as possible and the general paint scheme of white with pine woodwork and red doors, each one with a 1m wide circular window in it made the entire place seem somewhat confusing, especially as it was on 4 levels with the dining area being in the middle of the two wings, it was also warm inside, warm enough for bonsai palm trees and yukka plants to thrive in their habitat.

Marla nodded when necessary, quite surprised at how modern, new and awesome the school looked.
It was also warm enough for her to open her jacket.
"Okay, Sir.", she replied to the man with a huge grin, once he was finished. She was used to a school uniform, although hers from the Free Lands looked a bit different, but much of what he said sounded familiar to the girl. With the uniform in appropriate size handed to her, she looked at the Vice Principal. "So, Mister Anderssen... where do I change?"
There was a small blush creeping onto her cheeks.