Where Rivers meet, People meet (Spring Festival, IC)

[Krugeristan]

"Not sure about me?" Golahman asked. "I . . . can understand if so . . . I mean . . . your father mentioned there were others before me . . . is it because I'm . . . not like the others? In a good or bad way?"

"No.", Fiona said, "Neither 'not sure about you' nor 'not sure about me', but 'not sure about us."
The plane made its way down from the high heavens, approaching Cuan Regional Airport - despite the call to strap in, the landing itself was only a few minutes out.
"And it's not your fault, at least I don't think it is.", she continued, her nervousness of soon touching down overtaking her into rambling - she really, really hater landings. "I'm not so sure if I am to blame or not either, though... and yes, you are different, in both ways. Let's not go into details here, okay? It'll only make you wish you brought Vershenov, so that you can sic him onto the people in question."
Her joke was accompanied by a shaky smile.

"That's why I didn't bring Vershenov. I don't want to start conflicts," Golahman said, tilting his head in Evanu's direction. "Evanu's more docile, but just as capable as Vershenov." He weakly smiled. "Everything'll be OK. Things can work out."

[Aurora Confederacy]

The woman threw a few numbers around in her head, as she replied a bit absentmindedly: "Mount Kilanda is a volcano island a few hundred kilometres south of here, roundabout halfway between Farpoint Island and Droichid Island. There are a few research stations down there, as well as a small village, but the island is usually quite hot, as the magma chamber is relatively close to the surface..."
She made a small pause.
"I need roundabout half a ton of food and I'll collect it with a few people whenever you are ready.", she said and smiled a small smile, "And yes, we have credit and debit cards, we just prefer not to use them. You'll have to deal with a lot of coinage today, let me tell you that!"

Gina nodded, "sounds interesting, how active is it? We had a volcano let go last year, Mount Sula'm'buru blew its top again, had given rumblings for a while before it let go. As for the order, let me see, given the size, and how many you get in a pack, given the cost price of seven bucks fifty per kilo* of fish, you want half a tonne which is five hundred kilo, that works out at two fifty Gils, although we can negotiate on that! ", yes Gina is looking at encouraging haggling as is the way with a lot of Auroran market store holders. although 250Gil is at a quick tally up about half the cost of one individual pallet and this is premium Auroran smoked fish, she also has river salmon, Hake and other fish on offer too, in all the trailer has around twenty tonnes of food and soft beverages on board.

*7.50NSD/kilo is roughly the price of 1kg of REAL WORLD smoked kippers from R/L retailer Tesco

At the marina, the Doc nodded. "That's nice. I worked in a flying ambulance down at the Archipelago, too, when I was your age." She frowned. "Dang, that sounds as if I'm a fossil or something... anyway, there are a few designs of planes, as I heard, which would make you reconsider your words about modern stuff not being able to handle rough strips. A friend of mine, a Doctor with the SDF, told me, that they are currently introducing a jet aircraft, that is able to take off and land on so much as a frozen lake." She shrugged. "In howfar that indeed works and how it does that, I mean a jet engine is pretty hot and ice doesn't really like warmth, I don't know, but it does sound awesome, doesn't it?"
The last thing was accompanied by a wide grin.

"hey, I'm NOT THAT OLD" jokes Zoe, "although a jet engine isn't the white hot monster you think it is, and if you want a good jet that is designed for rough work, there is the Genesis Centaur family, twin engine over wing design where the engine sits on the wing not hangs under it, they're designed for rough work. Oh, how far is the airport from here to catch a bush hopper?" Zoe asked

[Sceidan]

"Ahh interesting. I always liked how traditional Selkie music sounded. I listened to some before venturing here. Very good stuff! Very different from traditional Sceidanese music however, which is very dramatic and features only a few key instruments. Sceidanese music is peaceful and relaxing or dramatic and brooding. Either way, both are usually slow in tempo and feature some pauses. Most traditional Sceidanese music comes from the feudal area, where that type of music would be played in the Emperor's Throne Room by his personal servants."

"I see.", Aingeal said, happy about the music history lesson - as a musician, she was of course interested in the history of her job in other countries, maybe there was something to be found by them, too. That being said, the Selkie could not only do merry tunes. "We have many different strands of traditional music surviving to this day, mixing with foreign influences as well along the way, if something ever came. Borvo's Song would fall into the Layman's Music, music played by the Servants of the Gods and other people to honour them at festivities, but one can dance and sing to it as well, that not being forbidden. There's also Temple Music, slow and mostly solemn, including with lyrics, but not danceable, Inn Music, which is the first thing most people think of when hearing Selkie-Music, Warsongs and, of course, Drinking Songs. The latter are my favourite, I must admit."

"Very interesting! It's nice to see different variation of cultural music. I love listening to the different genres of classical music from various cultures and seeing what is used technique-wise. A lot of my band's music has cultural influences actually. I feel as if adding culture to modern music helps it meet a larger demographic, no matter the genre." Akiko smiled, enjoying the conversation, but exhausted on what else to say, she changed topics. "I'm very excited to jam with you later! I can't wait to see you perform as well!"

[New Visayan Islands]

Samuel Cui
Béal Train Station

"I doubt that will be necessary, but thanks," Samuel replied before leaving the ticket booth. With ticket in hand, he boarded the train to South Cuan.

5 minutes later

As Samuel took his seat, he took the time to look at the interior of the train. With ninety minutes before his arrival, he had plenty of time to finish that book he took with him.

[Ru-]

Not mentioning, that the Greyfox Cup was a Lanceriding Tournament under jurisdiction of the Marcach Guild, Gwen nodded. "I think, that I heard the name Cui somewhere, but I can't recall, where... anyway, Amy is a friend of mine, too, she lives near Traverse and tends to the communities surrounding the City. And she takes care of Mona, her Little Mudskipper. Professor Ollamh is unlikely to attend today, though, he's indeed in the hospital and not getting better. His daughter stays with him. As for Faye..." She grinned. "I might know, who she is in real life, but we'd have to ask her. She's here today, I think... Finn mentioned something about her coming to the Petting Zoo with Gleoite."
He would see the Marcach in action soon enough, she thought to herself.

Yoshio's eyes widened in surprise that Gwen knew of all the Selkie on his list. A country like the Freelands was a big place afterall, and his list seemed to him like a random assortment of people who could have been from anywhere in it. Needless to say that Yoshio was quite impressed with her. "Hmm, well I sure know where I'll be going once the festival starts then!" he said. Sir Larra added "If there is any kind of ceremonial or other publicity event for the opening of the festival you were hoping his majesty would participate in then let us know. I'm certain he will be happy to oblige." Yoshio nodded his agreement while the knight continued "Otherwise I am sure we can entertain ourselves in the meantime, you have given some fine suggestions." He figured Yoshio might enjoy the musical performances and would want to wander to see what the peddlers were offering. The last thing that boy needed was even more junk, but at least it was sure to keep him occupied and out of trouble for awhile.

Yoshio continued to walk with the selkie ladies on the way to the inn, turning his head this way and that to take in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the city around them.

[The Selkie]

"That's why I didn't bring Vershenov. I don't want to start conflicts," Golahman said, tilting his head in Evanu's direction. "Evanu's more docile, but just as capable as Vershenov." He weakly smiled. "Everything'll be OK. Things can work out."

Fiona giggled, a little bit of landing stress vanishing from her eyes. "No offense to the good Corporal, but that sounded a bit like you were talking about a Grey Wolf.", she said and smiled, "But I can see that... hopefully, he can enjoy himself, too, a little bit. One piece of advice, though, to both of you: There will be women asking you for dances at one point or the other, so please decline them gently. No waving guns around at willy-nilly, okay?"

The woman threw a few numbers around in her head, as she replied a bit absentmindedly: "Mount Kilanda is a volcano island a few hundred kilometres south of here, roundabout halfway between Farpoint Island and Droichid Island. There are a few research stations down there, as well as a small village, but the island is usually quite hot, as the magma chamber is relatively close to the surface..."
She made a small pause.
"I need roundabout half a ton of food and I'll collect it with a few people whenever you are ready.", she said and smiled a small smile, "And yes, we have credit and debit cards, we just prefer not to use them. You'll have to deal with a lot of coinage today, let me tell you that!"

Gina nodded, "sounds interesting, how active is it? We had a volcano let go last year, Mount Sula'm'buru blew its top again, had given rumblings for a while before it let go. As for the order, let me see, given the size, and how many you get in a pack, given the cost price of seven bucks fifty per kilo* of fish, you want half a tonne which is five hundred kilo, that works out at two fifty Gils, although we can negotiate on that! ", yes Gina is looking at encouraging haggling as is the way with a lot of Auroran market store holders. although 250Gil is at a quick tally up about half the cost of one individual pallet and this is premium Auroran smoked fish, she also has river salmon, Hake and other fish on offer too, in all the trailer has around twenty tonnes of food and soft beverages on board.

*7.50NSD/kilo is roughly the price of 1kg of REAL WORLD smoked kippers from R/L retailer Tesco

At the marina, the Doc nodded. "That's nice. I worked in a flying ambulance down at the Archipelago, too, when I was your age." She frowned. "Dang, that sounds as if I'm a fossil or something... anyway, there are a few designs of planes, as I heard, which would make you reconsider your words about modern stuff not being able to handle rough strips. A friend of mine, a Doctor with the SDF, told me, that they are currently introducing a jet aircraft, that is able to take off and land on so much as a frozen lake." She shrugged. "In howfar that indeed works and how it does that, I mean a jet engine is pretty hot and ice doesn't really like warmth, I don't know, but it does sound awesome, doesn't it?"
The last thing was accompanied by a wide grin.

"hey, I'm NOT THAT OLD" jokes Zoe, "although a jet engine isn't the white hot monster you think it is, and if you want a good jet that is designed for rough work, there is the Genesis Centaur family, twin engine over wing design where the engine sits on the wing not hangs under it, they're designed for rough work. Oh, how far is the airport from here to catch a bush hopper?" Zoe asked

The woman frowned as she thought, her expression turning into a pokerface.
Fish in the Free Lands was cheaper, not by much, but still a difference, and had about the same quality as she assumed the produce brought by the two Aurorans had. The additional costs, she figured, came from operations and transportation.
Se didn't want to rob them blind. "Two Hundred Gil.", she said - still an enourmous sum, by Selkie-standard, but a manageable one.

The Doctor nodded - she had little idea about the mechanics of her own bicycle, so a jet engine was a bit out of her of expertise. Still, she remembered her SDF-friend saying something similar about the warmth of an engine, faintly.
She had no idea about the Genesis Centaur, though.
"About five minutes by foot in a walking-tempo.", she answered the question. "You go out..." ...which was followed by a simple description of the small walk to the River Airport.

"Very interesting! It's nice to see different variation of cultural music. I love listening to the different genres of classical music from various cultures and seeing what is used technique-wise. A lot of my band's music has cultural influences actually. I feel as if adding culture to modern music helps it meet a larger demographic, no matter the genre." Akiko smiled, enjoying the conversation, but exhausted on what else to say, she changed topics. "I'm very excited to jam with you later! I can't wait to see you perform as well!"

"I do, too.", Aingeal said, glad about the topic-change, too, the music running along in the background, "I heard so much about you, that I am quite sure, that you very good - and we can always invite other people for jamming, too. For example..." She nodded towards the stage and the two fiddlers. "See the redhead? The guy like a wardrobe? That's Ayden. He's usually my background fiddler, but he has a talent to make his instrument sing. Singing to his jamming, or having him jam to the singing, is always a joy to see." She made an awkward pause. "Hear. Always a joy to hear."

Samuel Cui
Béal Train Station

"I doubt that will be necessary, but thanks," Samuel replied before leaving the ticket booth. With ticket in hand, he boarded the train to South Cuan.

5 minutes later

As Samuel took his seat, he took the time to look at the interior of the train. With ninety minutes before his arrival, he had plenty of time to finish that book he took with him.

The last boarding calls were being sent out by the time Cui settled into his compartment, a simple, small room to the right hand side of the train's movement direction. There were two benches opposite to each other, a small foldable table between them, a large window, which could be opened relatively easily above that. Above the seats, light blue padding on it, was a bag net, where one, as the name said, could position all bags.
The door was a sliding door, which could easily be opened or closed, as well as any view being blocked by a thick curtain of wool, the same of which was hanging by the window.
With a start, the massive machine known as a train began to move - just as there was a knock on the door, a young woman poking her head around the edge. She was one of the redheads the Free Lands were so famous for, fire-red, shoulder-length and slightly unruly hair and red-brown eyes, around seventeen or eighteen and it showed. She wore a short-sleeved white shirt with a sailor-style collar, majorly black with white lining, around her neck, attached to the blouse. There was also a dark blue ribbon, which went underneath the collar to come together in a neat knot on her front. The black pleated skirt went down to the middle of the thigh, where it covered the garter belts of the dark stockings the young woman had on her legs.
All in all, it looked like and was a school uniform.
She smiled softly, her fiery eyes betraying her excitement: "Excuse me, Sir, but would you mind, if I were to take a seat in this compartment?"

Not mentioning, that the Greyfox Cup was a Lanceriding Tournament under jurisdiction of the Marcach Guild, Gwen nodded. "I think, that I heard the name Cui somewhere, but I can't recall, where... anyway, Amy is a friend of mine, too, she lives near Traverse and tends to the communities surrounding the City. And she takes care of Mona, her Little Mudskipper. Professor Ollamh is unlikely to attend today, though, he's indeed in the hospital and not getting better. His daughter stays with him. As for Faye..." She grinned. "I might know, who she is in real life, but we'd have to ask her. She's here today, I think... Finn mentioned something about her coming to the Petting Zoo with Gleoite."
He would see the Marcach in action soon enough, she thought to herself.

Yoshio's eyes widened in surprise that Gwen knew of all the Selkie on his list. A country like the Freelands was a big place afterall, and his list seemed to him like a random assortment of people who could have been from anywhere in it. Needless to say that Yoshio was quite impressed with her. "Hmm, well I sure know where I'll be going once the festival starts then!" he said. Sir Larra added "If there is any kind of ceremonial or other publicity event for the opening of the festival you were hoping his majesty would participate in then let us know. I'm certain he will be happy to oblige." Yoshio nodded his agreement while the knight continued "Otherwise I am sure we can entertain ourselves in the meantime, you have given some fine suggestions." He figured Yoshio might enjoy the musical performances and would want to wander to see what the peddlers were offering. The last thing that boy needed was even more junk, but at least it was sure to keep him occupied and out of trouble for awhile.

Yoshio continued to walk with the selkie ladies on the way to the inn, turning his head this way and that to take in all the sights, sounds, and smells of the city around them.

And what sights, sounds and smells they were: Vibrant and full of colours were the clothes of the people, was it the Geansai and other clothes, houses made of timber and stone, following certain guidelines, but all individual, flowers underneath every window, in all colours of the rainbow and maybe even more, smells of fresh good from the orchards and bakeries, the seas and the rivers, sounds of good and honest work, as well as people chatting with each other, people laughing, the odd song, either by bird or by human and instrument... what might struck out most to a foreigner, though, was, that there was a smile on every face in one way or the other and if it wasn't upturned corners of the mouth, it was a sparkling in the eyes.
More then one woman of... well-defined proportions, which would be called smoking hot in other cultures, strutted past them, looking at the small group - their gazes lingering longer then anywhere else on the Knight, Sir Larra, marking him for later dances. Subsequently, there was much walking in Abhcan's Cadance, the special way of walking invented by women of the Selkie to make the Geansai's skirt flutter to maximum effect.
"Thank you.", Gwen said with a bow of her head in respect, "And although that offer is very kind of you, I have to respectfully decline. There are precise rules as to who is in which parade during the opening and the Spring Sacrafice and where he or she has to stand. But again, thank you."
She smiled.
"However, if you want, you can assist me with the opening of the petting zoo." She grinned. "And believe me, Selkie Petting Zoos have little in common with the petting zoos people abroad have."
The Sergeant nodded, supplying in a melodramatic gruff voice: "In Selkie Lands, petting zoo animal pets you."

[Krugeristan]

"That's why I didn't bring Vershenov. I don't want to start conflicts," Golahman said, tilting his head in Evanu's direction. "Evanu's more docile, but just as capable as Vershenov." He weakly smiled. "Everything'll be OK. Things can work out."

Fiona giggled, a little bit of landing stress vanishing from her eyes. "No offense to the good Corporal, but that sounded a bit like you were talking about a Grey Wolf.", she said and smiled, "But I can see that... hopefully, he can enjoy himself, too, a little bit. One piece of advice, though, to both of you: There will be women asking you for dances at one point or the other, so please decline them gently. No waving guns around at willy-nilly, okay?"

"Another reason I didn't bring Vershenov," Golahman said.

Evanu overheard the "advice", and immediately frowned. He looked at his lap, taking a breath. He had to make himself look unapproachable, if he wanted to maintain his honor as a single man who was also a soldier. He looked at his reflection in the window, attempting to practice faces, trying to see which one would keep people away from him.

"Now, Assad," Golahman smirked, "he wouldn't mind being asked to dance, poor man. He loves his wife dearly, but he likes to make himself look like a real heartbreaker sometimes."

[Aurora Confederacy]

The woman frowned as she thought, her expression turning into a pokerface.
Fish in the Free Lands was cheaper, not by much, but still a difference, and had about the same quality as she assumed the produce brought by the two Aurorans had. The additional costs, she figured, came from operations and transportation.
Se didn't want to rob them blind. "Two Hundred Gil.", she said - still an enourmous sum, by Selkie-standard, but a manageable one.

The Doctor nodded - she had little idea about the mechanics of her own bicycle, so a jet engine was a bit out of her of expertise. Still, she remembered her SDF-friend saying something similar about the warmth of an engine, faintly.
She had no idea about the Genesis Centaur, though.
"About five minutes by foot in a walking-tempo.", she answered the question. "You go out..." ...which was followed by a simple description of the small walk to the River Airport

The fish brought down by Fitt was of exquisite quality, much of it from the Lake Hai'lu'kai region, a lake that is so pure you can drink the lake water without any requirement to purify it, boil it, or sterilise it, yes, its THAT CLEAN! the fact that the fish is from a lake so pure, free of pollution it has a notable affect on the taste of the fish, it tastes sweeter, richer and overall better, also by charging 200 Gills, Fitt is hoping that the Selkie woman will do what most Auroran's do at market stalls, Haggle! abd by that, Fitt turned to the woman "well, that is negotiable" she said with a smile, although the woman was also partly correct, the cost of getting the load from the Confederacy to the Free Lands was also factored in.

At the Luna Mysteria, Zoe nodded and made a mental picture of the map that the doc just described,
"sounds easy enough, so I will probably have to get changed into something a little more relaxed, and if we can get at the showground by ten we should be okay, thats probably means a what, zero six hundred flight, that gives us a couple of hours then", Zoe turned to Micky, I think you'd wanna get changed into something a little looser, those denim pants and the I went to Aurora and got snowballed T-shirt may be a good one". Micky nodded and went back below to find the clothing.

[The Selkie]

Fiona giggled, a little bit of landing stress vanishing from her eyes. "No offense to the good Corporal, but that sounded a bit like you were talking about a Grey Wolf.", she said and smiled, "But I can see that... hopefully, he can enjoy himself, too, a little bit. One piece of advice, though, to both of you: There will be women asking you for dances at one point or the other, so please decline them gently. No waving guns around at willy-nilly, okay?"

"Another reason I didn't bring Vershenov," Golahman said.

Evanu overheard the "advice", and immediately frowned. He looked at his lap, taking a breath. He had to make himself look unapproachable, if he wanted to maintain his honor as a single man who was also a soldier. He looked at his reflection in the window, attempting to practice faces, trying to see which one would keep people away from him.

"Now, Assad," Golahman smirked, "he wouldn't mind being asked to dance, poor man. He loves his wife dearly, but he likes to make himself look like a real heartbreaker sometimes."

Fiona smiled at Evanu's attempts at scaring people off and called over: "Corporal, that won't help you. For some reason, girls of a specific age like scary looking men in uniform... and if you even look too scary for that, approaching you will become a bit of a dare." She shook her head. "My recommendation would be to simply say: 'No, thank you.' and to leave it at that. Do that a few times and girls will stop approaching you, mostly at least. And the rest can be turned down, too."
She turned to her boyfriend. "Same for you. You can even use me as an excuse, if you want." Her smile turned apologetic. "Assad, however, would get a few of what we call pity dances: He'd be all alone and someone would approach him for one dance and then let him be, giving him a dance out of pity for some lonely guy. Not nice to spell it out like that, I know, but it's the truth."

The woman frowned as she thought, her expression turning into a pokerface.
Fish in the Free Lands was cheaper, not by much, but still a difference, and had about the same quality as she assumed the produce brought by the two Aurorans had. The additional costs, she figured, came from operations and transportation.
Se didn't want to rob them blind. "Two Hundred Gil.", she said - still an enourmous sum, by Selkie-standard, but a manageable one.

The Doctor nodded - she had little idea about the mechanics of her own bicycle, so a jet engine was a bit out of her of expertise. Still, she remembered her SDF-friend saying something similar about the warmth of an engine, faintly.
She had no idea about the Genesis Centaur, though.
"About five minutes by foot in a walking-tempo.", she answered the question. "You go out..." ...which was followed by a simple description of the small walk to the River Airport

The fish brought down by Fitt was of exquisite quality, much of it from the Lake Hai'lu'kai region, a lake that is so pure you can drink the lake water without any requirement to purify it, boil it, or sterilise it, yes, its THAT CLEAN! the fact that the fish is from a lake so pure, free of pollution it has a notable affect on the taste of the fish, it tastes sweeter, richer and overall better, also by charging 200 Gills, Fitt is hoping that the Selkie woman will do what most Auroran's do at market stalls, Haggle! abd by that, Fitt turned to the woman "well, that is negotiable" she said with a smile, although the woman was also partly correct, the cost of getting the load from the Confederacy to the Free Lands was also factored in.

At the Luna Mysteria, Zoe nodded and made a mental picture of the map that the doc just described,
"sounds easy enough, so I will probably have to get changed into something a little more relaxed, and if we can get at the showground by ten we should be okay, thats probably means a what, zero six hundred flight, that gives us a couple of hours then", Zoe turned to Micky, I think you'd wanna get changed into something a little looser, those denim pants and the I went to Aurora and got snowballed T-shirt may be a good one". Micky nodded and went back below to find the clothing.

The white haired woman smiled a smile, which was more in tune with a large predator looking down at the far smaller prey. Given, that the woman bred small predators on the side, being a big predator on the main.
All in all, it was not a pleasant smile to be on the receiving end.
"I'm afraid, that there's not much room to negotiate here, searrach.", she said. She was a Selkie, haggling was a part of their culture, too. "Two hundred Gil... and I'll send a few hungry people your way." She made a Pause, still smiling that predatorial smile. "Do we have a deal?"

The Doc shook her head. "Being at the Láir Square by ten would mean the eight o'clock flight. The plane takes roundabout an hour for everything and you can have an unhurried little walk to the Láir from the Regional Airport, enjoy the scenery and so on - something more comfortable would be a good idea, though.", she recommended with a smile.

[Krugeristan]

"Another reason I didn't bring Vershenov," Golahman said.

Evanu overheard the "advice", and immediately frowned. He looked at his lap, taking a breath. He had to make himself look unapproachable, if he wanted to maintain his honor as a single man who was also a soldier. He looked at his reflection in the window, attempting to practice faces, trying to see which one would keep people away from him.

"Now, Assad," Golahman smirked, "he wouldn't mind being asked to dance, poor man. He loves his wife dearly, but he likes to make himself look like a real heartbreaker sometimes."

Fiona smiled at Evanu's attempts at scaring people off and called over: "Corporal, that won't help you. For some reason, girls of a specific age like scary looking men in uniform... and if you even look too scary for that, approaching you will become a bit of a dare." She shook her head. "My recommendation would be to simply say: 'No, thank you.' and to leave it at that. Do that a few times and girls will stop approaching you, mostly at least. And the rest can be turned down, too."
She turned to her boyfriend. "Same for you. You can even use me as an excuse, if you want." Her smile turned apologetic. "Assad, however, would get a few of what we call pity dances: He'd be all alone and someone would approach him for one dance and then let him be, giving him a dance out of pity for some lonely guy. Not nice to spell it out like that, I know, but it's the truth."

"He would?" Golahman frowned. "Why, though? He isn't unapproachable. He's more sociable than me, or any Krugeristani for that matter, and he isn't . . . intimidating. I don't see how he'd only get pity dances. I'd be the one getting pity dances if I were alone."

[Criska]

Mona still smiled, but it got a bit smaller. "Endterms came and went, went well, attended to my duties as Envoy of Lodan Lir... 'baptised' a ship yesterday, the new flagship of the SDF-Navy." The Selkie baptising a ship had a few different and other connotations then abroad, but baptising was a close enough term. Still, that filled her with pride, which showed in her eyes. "Funnily enough, that vessel is not the Lodan Lir, but the Rhiannon."
She giggled at that irony, before she took a sip of her morning tea.
"How are you?", she asked, "And how's Mistress Cathlong?"

Lukas tilted his head back and forth for a few moments, like a scale that is going back to balance having weights on either side removed. "I wish I knew for sure, been busier then I would have liked as of late..." He began, looking into his pale brown coffee. "Her pregnancy has been going well, and last I knew she was in good health, but...Things cane change quickly." He said with a shake of his head as he looked at the young girl, a smile still present on his lips.

[Ru-]

And what sights, sounds and smells they were: Vibrant and full of colours were the clothes of the people, was it the Geansai and other clothes, houses made of timber and stone, following certain guidelines, but all individual, flowers underneath every window, in all colours of the rainbow and maybe even more, smells of fresh good from the orchards and bakeries, the seas and the rivers, sounds of good and honest work, as well as people chatting with each other, people laughing, the odd song, either by bird or by human and instrument... what might struck out most to a foreigner, though, was, that there was a smile on every face in one way or the other and if it wasn't upturned corners of the mouth, it was a sparkling in the eyes.
More then one woman of... well-defined proportions, which would be called smoking hot in other cultures, strutted past them, looking at the small group - their gazes lingering longer then anywhere else on the Knight, Sir Larra, marking him for later dances. Subsequently, there was much walking in Abhcan's Cadance, the special way of walking invented by women of the Selkie to make the Geansai's skirt flutter to maximum effect.
"Thank you.", Gwen said with a bow of her head in respect, "And although that offer is very kind of you, I have to respectfully decline. There are precise rules as to who is in which parade during the opening and the Spring Sacrafice and where he or she has to stand. But again, thank you."
She smiled.
"However, if you want, you can assist me with the opening of the petting zoo." She grinned. "And believe me, Selkie Petting Zoos have little in common with the petting zoos people abroad have."
The Sergeant nodded, supplying in a melodramatic gruff voice: "In Selkie Lands, petting zoo animal pets you."

Yoshio looked all around, quite fascinated with everything he was taking in. While the boy was busy looking at anything and everything, the knight was focused on just keeping an eye on him. However this did mean he failed to notice the attention he seemed to be getting from some of the local ladies. Maybe they liked his white cloak and armor. Though he was young, and tall, and considered very attractive back home. Being human probably also helped around these parts. He flashed them a winning smile as they passed by...for the sake of being friendly and gallant, of course.

After hearing Gwen's explanation he nodded and said matter-of-factly "Yes, of course, I thought that might be the case with the opening ceremonies but I didn't want to assume anything. I wanted to eliminate any possibility that you were just being reluctant to ask favors of His Majesty." Yoshio butted in "It sounds really neat! I'm looking forward to getting to see it, and I'll be happy to help out with the zoo! Was planning on visiting it anyway!" He giggled at the Sergeant's joke and couldn't help but wonder just what kind of crazy animals there were to warrant this kind of explanation.

After walking a ways further Yoshio pointed ahead at one of the buildings they were drawing close to "Hey, is that the inn over there?"

[Aurora Confederacy]

"You have a deal, and the more that come the better" says Gina before turning to Robbie, "can you put the reserved stock to one side please Rob?" She asks before returning to the woman "fancy a sample?" She asks, handing the woman a fillet of Lake Hai'lu'kai Salmon.

With the lake so clean, the fish is of high quality and has a rich flavour to it, not impeded by the environmental issues of other fishing grounds.

By now the square is filled with the rich scent of fish that gently cooks on the hob.

[The Selkie]

"He would?" Golahman frowned. "Why, though? He isn't unapproachable. He's more sociable than me, or any Krugeristani for that matter, and he isn't . . . intimidating. I don't see how he'd only get pity dances. I'd be the one getting pity dances if I were alone."

"You'd get pity dances of a whole different kind, Karak.", Fiona said with a smile, asking for him to trust her, "As for Mister Assad... he's in his fifties, looks like in his seventies, doesn't look like he could keep up with a Selkie, like at all, and looks like a creepy tourist out for 'pleasant company'. I know, that he is only creepy, when it comes to listening in on women on the loo, but he looks far worse."

Lukas tilted his head back and forth for a few moments, like a scale that is going back to balance having weights on either side removed. "I wish I knew for sure, been busier then I would have liked as of late..." He began, looking into his pale brown coffee. "Her pregnancy has been going well, and last I knew she was in good health, but...Things cane change quickly." He said with a shake of his head as he looked at the young girl, a smile still present on his lips.

Mona reached over, her tiny hand clasping Lukas' far larger hand, squeezing it in a gesture of comfort, her blue eyes suddenly making her look far older then she was, filled with assurance and a sort of wisdom, which was not taught in school, but learned in life.
A wisdom, which a thirteen Springs old girl was not supposed to know.
"It'll be alright.", she spoke softly, "She's a strong woman, and experienced in such matters. Have faith."

And what sights, sounds and smells they were: Vibrant and full of colours were the clothes of the people, was it the Geansai and other clothes, houses made of timber and stone, following certain guidelines, but all individual, flowers underneath every window, in all colours of the rainbow and maybe even more, smells of fresh good from the orchards and bakeries, the seas and the rivers, sounds of good and honest work, as well as people chatting with each other, people laughing, the odd song, either by bird or by human and instrument... what might struck out most to a foreigner, though, was, that there was a smile on every face in one way or the other and if it wasn't upturned corners of the mouth, it was a sparkling in the eyes.
More then one woman of... well-defined proportions, which would be called smoking hot in other cultures, strutted past them, looking at the small group - their gazes lingering longer then anywhere else on the Knight, Sir Larra, marking him for later dances. Subsequently, there was much walking in Abhcan's Cadance, the special way of walking invented by women of the Selkie to make the Geansai's skirt flutter to maximum effect.
"Thank you.", Gwen said with a bow of her head in respect, "And although that offer is very kind of you, I have to respectfully decline. There are precise rules as to who is in which parade during the opening and the Spring Sacrafice and where he or she has to stand. But again, thank you."
She smiled.
"However, if you want, you can assist me with the opening of the petting zoo." She grinned. "And believe me, Selkie Petting Zoos have little in common with the petting zoos people abroad have."
The Sergeant nodded, supplying in a melodramatic gruff voice: "In Selkie Lands, petting zoo animal pets you."

Yoshio looked all around, quite fascinated with everything he was taking in. While the boy was busy looking at anything and everything, the knight was focused on just keeping an eye on him. However this did mean he failed to notice the attention he seemed to be getting from some of the local ladies. Maybe they liked his white cloak and armor. Though he was young, and tall, and considered very attractive back home. Being human probably also helped around these parts. He flashed them a winning smile as they passed by...for the sake of being friendly and gallant, of course.

After hearing Gwen's explanation he nodded and said matter-of-factly "Yes, of course, I thought that might be the case with the opening ceremonies but I didn't want to assume anything. I wanted to eliminate any possibility that you were just being reluctant to ask favors of His Majesty." Yoshio butted in "It sounds really neat! I'm looking forward to getting to see it, and I'll be happy to help out with the zoo! Was planning on visiting it anyway!" He giggled at the Sergeant's joke and couldn't help but wonder just what kind of crazy animals there were to warrant this kind of explanation.

After walking a ways further Yoshio pointed ahead at one of the buildings they were drawing close to "Hey, is that the inn over there?"

Gwen giggled at the excitement of the young King of Ru - he reminded her of her own children, a bit, when they were that age. Granted, her children were not Kings and Queens, but they were exitable and adventurous.
Finn'll love him!, she thought with a smile, thinking of her husband, who indeed ran the petting zoo - and to some of the other participants there, as well as their entourages, he would be just as cute.
She looked ahead, to the house in question: A large building, four storeys high and build of timber, a small 'tunnel' leading into an inner courtyard, which was relatively large. Sans for a patch of grass and a gigantic tree standing in the middle of the free space, the courtyards was cobbled and had the entrance to the different tracts of the building. While the outside was relatively unassuming, the inside was lavishly decorated, silken banners and carvings on relevant pieces, the meaning of the intricate lines up for debate.
Waiters and other staff rushed around in the courtyard, serving customers and setting up tables and chairs for later.
"Yep.", she said with a firm nod, "That's the Ceannaí, one of the noblest houses in the Free Lands."

"You have a deal, and the more that come the better" says Gina before turning to Robbie, "can you put the reserved stock to one side please Rob?" She asks before returning to the woman "fancy a sample?" She asks, handing the woman a fillet of Lake Hai'lu'kai Salmon.

With the lake so clean, the fish is of high quality and has a rich flavour to it, not impeded by the environmental issues of other fishing grounds.

By now the square is filled with the rich scent of fish that gently cooks on the hob.

The woman with the white hair nodded and clasped the woman's hand, before she politely declined the sample. "Work first, enjoyment later.", she explained, ready to get moving, "I'll be back in a few minutes with a few people to carry and with the money. See you!"
Selkie were used to clean fish, the waters of their fishing grounds were clear, too, the fish itself fresh - it were the eyes, which told that. If the eyes were clouded, the fish was not fresh anymore. The smell was unimportant when judging the freshness.
So, while it was indeed a pleasant smell for most Selkie, it was not extraordinary. However, the first ones on the search for a late breakfast soon arrived and they were pleasantly surprised by those foreigners. Meanwhile, the smell of the petting zoo on the same square and the smell of fish not only mixed, the sizzling fish also attracted the attention of quite a few noses...

[AHSCA]

The three women smiled, reminded of the Regimental Children, meaning children of soldiers in their respective regiments, or in Viola's case the MFC's staff, which were nieces and nephews for them.
"I'm not quite sure, if we can help you with the storybooks, no one immediately comes to mind, and I know, that a steady export of animals of the Free Lands abroad is an absolute no-no - singular ones work, though - but I think, that we can help you with the next best thing.", Viola said with a smile, looking at her table-companions, before she turned back to the two. "You see, there's a company in the Free Lands, Áilleagán Limited, who produce toys, including, but not limited to, stuffed toys. Cute little things, come in all sizes and shapes."
She leaned forwards as if conspiring, whispering loud enough for Mamiko and the rest of the table to hear: "Including Fire Fenneks."
At this point, the animal in her lap yawned cutely and petted her upper leg, demanding more stroking, which the retreating woman happily supplied.
"What do you think?"

Kumiko nodded "I figured as much regular exporting of animals would be forbidden, same would hold for us but if a single one is workable whatever you can do to help is good." She listened furthered about the company taking mental notes about it. "That does sound perfect as a good start. Plush toys are really popular among older girls and even some adult women not to mention the many families who shop with us. It's perfect."

[Ru-]

Gwen giggled at the excitement of the young King of Ru - he reminded her of her own children, a bit, when they were that age. Granted, her children were not Kings and Queens, but they were exitable and adventurous.
Finn'll love him!, she thought with a smile, thinking of her husband, who indeed ran the petting zoo - and to some of the other participants there, as well as their entourages, he would be just as cute.
She looked ahead, to the house in question: A large building, four storeys high and build of timber, a small 'tunnel' leading into an inner courtyard, which was relatively large. Sans for a patch of grass and a gigantic tree standing in the middle of the free space, the courtyards was cobbled and had the entrance to the different tracts of the building. While the outside was relatively unassuming, the inside was lavishly decorated, silken banners and carvings on relevant pieces, the meaning of the intricate lines up for debate.
Waiters and other staff rushed around in the courtyard, serving customers and setting up tables and chairs for later.
"Yep.", she said with a firm nod, "That's the Ceannaí, one of the noblest houses in the Free Lands."

"Ah, cool! Let's go!" King Yoshio let go of her hand and rushed ahead a bit to check things out. The knight stood at attention a bit but decided that this was fine so long as the king stayed in sight. What he had seen of the city and it's people so far had him believe that the area was generally very safe.

He turned toward Gwen "Yes, it seems like a place that is indeed worthy of hosting His Majesty. It would also seem that there is much he can learn about the history and culture of your nation by choosing to stay here. Aside from fun, of course, that was a major reason for him to take this trip."

Yoshio looked back and motioned for the others to follow him. The knight walked forward "We should probably get him checked in." He also noticed the chairs and table "I assume we are eating breakfast here as well?"

[Aurora Confederacy]

As the woman talked to Gina, Robbie was in the trailer sorting out the order, wearing jeans and a denim jacket along with a ski-jacket for inside the fridge, it was around minus 5 degrees, cold enough to keep the fish from going off as it was the same temperature as a domestic freezer, but not too cold as it was dangerous to work inside, the trailer itself has a novel advantage as it can be opened from the inside so to maintain a thermal barrier when working as a mobile trade stand where the doors need to be frequently opened and closed again during the day.

Robbie however seems quite comfortable, lycra and latex liners and lycra overliner under her jeans keeping her legs warm whilst the jacket keeps her top warm. This left Gina to man the counter for a while, yet as the crowd gathered and the line got longer, Fitt didn't get flustered, carefully taking each order and cooking it up, serving every item up with a smile, although when Robbie rejoined Gina at the grille, she too got down quickly to business although periodically she would return to the trailer to get more supplies out of it to put in the small fridge that is in the trailer belly box to keep a steady flow of fish to the grilles and then onto the customers.

"Its a quaint little place, eh Fitt?" remarks Robbie, "and ya know what, when we close down tonight for the night, I fancy a drink at THAT pub over there"

"aye, sounds like an idea" replied Gina.

One thing of note, those in uniform, such as first aiders, police officers, soldiers however get a nice discount. It is a tradition in the AC that serving soldiers, ambulance technicians, fire fighters, police officers are treated with respect and in many cases, food is sometimes provided "on the house", however here they dont quite get that, they do however get a discount.

[Krugeristan]

"He would?" Golahman frowned. "Why, though? He isn't unapproachable. He's more sociable than me, or any Krugeristani for that matter, and he isn't . . . intimidating. I don't see how he'd only get pity dances. I'd be the one getting pity dances if I were alone."

"You'd get pity dances of a whole different kind, Karak.", Fiona said with a smile, asking for him to trust her, "As for Mister Assad... he's in his fifties, looks like in his seventies, doesn't look like he could keep up with a Selkie, like at all, and looks like a creepy tourist out for 'pleasant company'. I know, that he is only creepy, when it comes to listening in on women on the loo, but he looks far worse."

I've always thought Assad looks like he's in his forties, but that's just me, I guess.

"He really hasn't been out for any sort of pleasure in six years," Golahman said, "I wouldn't attribute it to anything unholy, besides, he was listening to your mother for my sake, or at least that's what he and your mother told me. I've known him for a long time, and looks don't always judge character." Why won't you trust me? Am I glossing something too much?

[New Visayan Islands]

Samuel Cui
In transit to South Cuan

Samuel was halfway through Sun Tzu's Art of War when he heard a female voice asking to take a seat. He had already placed his luggage in the bag net beforehand.

"Take the one across me," he replied, almost without thinking. As she proceeded to sit down, Samuel couldn't help but take a look at her. My good Lord, she's just a kid! the 48-year-old thought. She's probably accustomed to train rides in general. Pity Gabriel isn't here; I suspect they'd go along quite well. Ah, what the hell, he's 20 and an Accountancy student; he'll be just fine. Already he was thinking of his son. If the stranger now seated in front of him and Gabriel had met...

"Samuel Cui," he introduced himself, offering his right hand. "And you are?"

[The Selkie]

The three women smiled, reminded of the Regimental Children, meaning children of soldiers in their respective regiments, or in Viola's case the MFC's staff, which were nieces and nephews for them.
"I'm not quite sure, if we can help you with the storybooks, no one immediately comes to mind, and I know, that a steady export of animals of the Free Lands abroad is an absolute no-no - singular ones work, though - but I think, that we can help you with the next best thing.", Viola said with a smile, looking at her table-companions, before she turned back to the two. "You see, there's a company in the Free Lands, Áilleagán Limited, who produce toys, including, but not limited to, stuffed toys. Cute little things, come in all sizes and shapes."
She leaned forwards as if conspiring, whispering loud enough for Mamiko and the rest of the table to hear: "Including Fire Fenneks."
At this point, the animal in her lap yawned cutely and petted her upper leg, demanding more stroking, which the retreating woman happily supplied.
"What do you think?"

Kumiko nodded "I figured as much regular exporting of animals would be forbidden, same would hold for us but if a single one is workable whatever you can do to help is good." She listened furthered about the company taking mental notes about it. "That does sound perfect as a good start. Plush toys are really popular among older girls and even some adult women not to mention the many families who shop with us. It's perfect."

"Glad to be of help.", Viola said with a nod, grinning as she scratched the Fire Fennek between his ears, which he seemed to like the most. "Stuffed toys are popular around these parts, too, both handmade ones and factory-produced ones, amongst all ages and genders. They're popular gifts, too, especially today."
There were nods amongst the women, who smiled with a bit of a predicament, voiced by Ava: "Did you need to remind us, that we are all turning a year older today?"

Gwen giggled at the excitement of the young King of Ru - he reminded her of her own children, a bit, when they were that age. Granted, her children were not Kings and Queens, but they were exitable and adventurous.
Finn'll love him!, she thought with a smile, thinking of her husband, who indeed ran the petting zoo - and to some of the other participants there, as well as their entourages, he would be just as cute.
She looked ahead, to the house in question: A large building, four storeys high and build of timber, a small 'tunnel' leading into an inner courtyard, which was relatively large. Sans for a patch of grass and a gigantic tree standing in the middle of the free space, the courtyards was cobbled and had the entrance to the different tracts of the building. While the outside was relatively unassuming, the inside was lavishly decorated, silken banners and carvings on relevant pieces, the meaning of the intricate lines up for debate.
Waiters and other staff rushed around in the courtyard, serving customers and setting up tables and chairs for later.
"Yep.", she said with a firm nod, "That's the Ceannaí, one of the noblest houses in the Free Lands."

"Ah, cool! Let's go!" King Yoshio let go of her hand and rushed ahead a bit to check things out. The knight stood at attention a bit but decided that this was fine so long as the king stayed in sight. What he had seen of the city and it's people so far had him believe that the area was generally very safe.

He turned toward Gwen "Yes, it seems like a place that is indeed worthy of hosting His Majesty. It would also seem that there is much he can learn about the history and culture of your nation by choosing to stay here. Aside from fun, of course, that was a major reason for him to take this trip."

Yoshio looked back and motioned for the others to follow him. The knight walked forward "We should probably get him checked in." He also noticed the chairs and table "I assume we are eating breakfast here as well?"

With a smile, Gwen followed Yoshio, while the Sergeant hurried after him.
The older of the two nodded. "I would recommend that. It's one of the best breakfasts in Cuan." One of the waiters raised an amused eyebrow, to which Gwen replied with a challenging smirk, to which he replied with a nod, going towards the entrance into the kitchen. She smirked at the knight. "And we just challenged them to prove, that they are the best in Cuan, so it would be rather rude of us not to stay."
She made a short pause.
"But yes, this would be a good place to learn a few things about us.", she said with a smile, receiving the graceful nods in greeting offered by the staff with a bow of her head herself. Most of the waiters and waitresses were clad in a particular variation of the Geansai, one, which replaced the sleeves with an apron-like piece of wool with different, partially intricate patterns (the older the waiter or waitress seemed, the more intricate it was). "And about our cuisine."
The last one was accompanied by a smirk.

As the woman talked to Gina, Robbie was in the trailer sorting out the order, wearing jeans and a denim jacket along with a ski-jacket for inside the fridge, it was around minus 5 degrees, cold enough to keep the fish from going off as it was the same temperature as a domestic freezer, but not too cold as it was dangerous to work inside, the trailer itself has a novel advantage as it can be opened from the inside so to maintain a thermal barrier when working as a mobile trade stand where the doors need to be frequently opened and closed again during the day.

Robbie however seems quite comfortable, lycra and latex liners and lycra overliner under her jeans keeping her legs warm whilst the jacket keeps her top warm. This left Gina to man the counter for a while, yet as the crowd gathered and the line got longer, Fitt didn't get flustered, carefully taking each order and cooking it up, serving every item up with a smile, although when Robbie rejoined Gina at the grille, she too got down quickly to business although periodically she would return to the trailer to get more supplies out of it to put in the small fridge that is in the trailer belly box to keep a steady flow of fish to the grilles and then onto the customers.

"Its a quaint little place, eh Fitt?" remarks Robbie, "and ya know what, when we close down tonight for the night, I fancy a drink at THAT pub over there"

"aye, sounds like an idea" replied Gina.

One thing of note, those in uniform, such as first aiders, police officers, soldiers however get a nice discount. It is a tradition in the AC that serving soldiers, ambulance technicians, fire fighters, police officers are treated with respect and in many cases, food is sometimes provided "on the house", however here they dont quite get that, they do however get a discount.

There were quite a few policemen in uniform on the streets, both mounted and dismounted, but their uniform was not something both Fitt and Robbie would immediately recognize as such, mainly because they were armoured in the typically half-cuirasses preferred by the Selkie. It looked a lot like black-painted steel, which mainly came from the fact, that it indeed was black-painted steel, but that wasn't the main-part of the armour, which was intimidating enough when worn by a fully armoured and armed horseman - that was the brigandine beneath it, a woolen vest with small plates of ceramic armour woven into it. A cloak over the shoulder, showing the Coat of Arms of Cuan, identified them as police.
Despite their rather intimidating appearance, though, the policemen and -women were friendly. And, as the first got, that they both got a discount and that the stuff was good, they sent out a radio call towards their colleagues.
Meanwhile, however, another nose rose up and sniffed, making its way over on silent, but powerful paws...

I've always thought Assad looks like he's in his forties, but that's just me, I guess.

"He really hasn't been out for any sort of pleasure in six years," Golahman said, "I wouldn't attribute it to anything unholy, besides, he was listening to your mother for my sake, or at least that's what he and your mother told me. I've known him for a long time, and looks don't always judge character." Why won't you trust me? Am I glossing something too much?

Fiona may have overdone it with seventies, but 60s are a solid guess, I think. But... wasn't there a rule about no OOC on the IC? (Please imagine me rubbing the back of my head sheepishly at this point.)

Fiona wanted to retort, she really did, but at the moment she took in air, she was forced to release it in a surprised yelp.
They touched down.
Rather heavily.
The small plane slowed down and with it, Fiona's racing heart did, too, as she really wasn't too keen on such surprising and startling landings, she really did not like them. She breathed heavily, her eyes wide.
"Sorry.", came from the PA-system as they began to taxi, "We have to get used to these birds a bit more, then it'll be light as a feather, but... well. Sorry, again. On the bright side, welcome to Cuan!"

Samuel Cui
In transit to South Cuan

Samuel was halfway through Sun Tzu's Art of War when he heard a female voice asking to take a seat. He had already placed his luggage in the bag net beforehand.

"Take the one across me," he replied, almost without thinking. As she proceeded to sit down, Samuel couldn't help but take a look at her. My good Lord, she's just a kid! the 48-year-old thought. She's probably accustomed to train rides in general. Pity Gabriel isn't here; I suspect they'd go along quite well. Ah, what the hell, he's 20 and an Accountancy student; he'll be just fine. Already he was thinking of his son. If the stranger now seated in front of him and Gabriel had met...

"Samuel Cui," he introduced himself, offering his right hand. "And you are?"

The young woman smiled and hurried in, sitting down with her backpack, a small thing, on her side, looking out of the window for a moment, before she got comfortable.
She sat rather lady-like, her back straight, her legs together and her legs crossed at the ankles, one feet behind the other. It was prim and proper, especially as she smoothed her skirt a bit, but her hands did not stay in her lap.
The girl, somewhere near the border to be a woman, let her backpack rest against her left side.
She gave a small smile at the question. "Kiah Tincéir of the Tribe of Louth. As the uniform may tell, I'm of the Díreach Boarding School near Béal. I'm travelling home for the Spring Festival to visit my family in Cuan..." She blushed cutely. "I'm sorry, I rambled. Anyway... it's a pleasure, Mister Cui, and thank you for the seat."

[AHSCA]

"Glad to be of help.", Viola said with a nod, grinning as she scratched the Fire Fennek between his ears, which he seemed to like the most. "Stuffed toys are popular around these parts, too, both handmade ones and factory-produced ones, amongst all ages and genders. They're popular gifts, too, especially today."
There were nods amongst the women, who smiled with a bit of a predicament, voiced by Ava: "Did you need to remind us, that we are all turning a year older today?"

"Oh really? Well many wishes for you on your birthday." Kumiko said

"Mmmhm" Mamiko nodded enthusiastically

"Or as they say I suppose, happy birthday." Kumiko then added.

[Krugeristan]

I've always thought Assad looks like he's in his forties, but that's just me, I guess.

"He really hasn't been out for any sort of pleasure in six years," Golahman said, "I wouldn't attribute it to anything unholy, besides, he was listening to your mother for my sake, or at least that's what he and your mother told me. I've known him for a long time, and looks don't always judge character." Why won't you trust me? Am I glossing something too much?

Fiona may have overdone it with seventies, but 60s are a solid guess, I think. But... wasn't there a rule about no OOC on the IC? (Please imagine me rubbing the back of my head sheepishly at this point.)

Fiona wanted to retort, she really did, but at the moment she took in air, she was forced to release it in a surprised yelp.
They touched down.
Rather heavily.
The small plane slowed down and with it, Fiona's racing heart did, too, as she really wasn't too keen on such surprising and startling landings, she really did not like them. She breathed heavily, her eyes wide.
"Sorry.", came from the PA-system as they began to taxi, "We have to get used to these birds a bit more, then it'll be light as a feather, but... well. Sorry, again. On the bright side, welcome to Cuan!"

Golahman could only give a weak smile. He didn't like rough landings either, but wanted to look brave for Fiona. With that, he gave her a hug, kissing her forehead lightly, still attempting to be somewhat of a gentleman. "It's your country, and your festival," he said, "We will go wherever you want to go first." He gestured to Evanu, who stood up at attention.

[New Visayan Islands]

Samuel Cui
In transit to South Cuan

"Don't mention it, Kiah," Samuel replied, returning to his book. Too bad I can't smoke in here; I swear, I could use a cigar right about now, he thought. Ah well, I'll probably ask away when I get to Cuan.

He was almost finished with his book when he felt the need for a quick snack. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pack of crackers and began to wonder if eating was allowed in the train.

"I can eat in here, can't I?"

[Kuruva]

Ceol Inn

Paine Amora woke up slowly. She was still flight lagged and had woke up four hours before only to realize she might as well as well go back to sleep because it was too early to do anything. Her sister was already dressed and showered for the day, smiling. Her red eyes glinted slightly in the sunlight, and she was characterically wearing a black long sleeve shirt and leggings.

“Ashe, I told you to wake me up when you got up…” Paine stretched as she rose into a sitting position and leaned against the wall.

“I know, I forgot to. I wanted to watch the city get up.” Ashely Amora replied as she dashed the chair next to the window and put her elbows on the backrest and looked outside. Paine yawned and smiled, not regretting asking her parents if Ashe could come along.

“I’ll be ready soon, Ashe, don’t get into any trouble in the next half-hour please.”

“Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine.” Ashe smiled as she looked back and watched her sister enter the bathroom. She kept looking out of the window the entire time. Even though she was thirteen she acted normally closer to eight, mostly because she had nearly boundless energy and a keen interest in the world around her. Eventually, closer to an hour later, her white haired sister exited the bathroom in her normal attire; a studded leather folded top ahs shorts with a red-eyed skull sitting on her right hip; a gift from one of her archaeologist major friends, with tights and boots.

“Breakfast?” Paine breathed, smiling.

“Mhm.” Both of them headed down stairs to get food.

[Criska]

Mona reached over, her tiny hand clasping Lukas' far larger hand, squeezing it in a gesture of comfort, her blue eyes suddenly making her look far older then she was, filled with assurance and a sort of wisdom, which was not taught in school, but learned in life.
A wisdom, which a thirteen Springs old girl was not supposed to know.
"It'll be alright.", she spoke softly, "She's a strong woman, and experienced in such matters. Have faith."

Lukas gave a small smile. “New experiences with a rather destructive past don’t mix well.” He breathed. He recognized the look on her face; a knowing look, but decided he shouldn’t press the issue. No need to bring up anything that might be a painful memory while he was here for a festival. He looked down. “Whatever has kept me alive for this long, will keep her alive too.” He said with a certain amount of resolve.