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

[The Selkie]

"That's not a problem at all," Golahman said. "They . . . the Tines . . . they won't be aggressive if they smell . . . Luminous on me, will they?"

"Luminous?", Glynn asked his big sister with a slightly confused expression.
"The Tine Dad gave him.", his sister supplied before she turned back to Golahman, "And no, they shouldn't be. Usually. And if, we have ways of calming them down without causing any harm to anyone."
Glynn nodded, remembering what their father taught them.

Quite a few onlookers watched the Star Lynx and the two Aurorans by now, bemused by the latter two - the rope was a nice idea, but if a Star Lynx put a bit of effort into it, he would be able to shred them to tiny little pieces before they were even able to react, let alone bring the rope to bear.
However, the Star Lynx did not belong to the woman with the white hair. In the strict sense of the word, he did not belong to anyone, but he was associated with a redhead, who regularly helped with such petting zoos.
As it was, the man in question was nowhere to be seen.
As it was, as the Star Lynx approached, the crowd made way and the Star Lynx stood before the gazebo and in no way intimidated by the hot plates. He focussed onto the woman behind the counter, then looking at the fish ready to be cooked, then back to the woman and silently examining any obstacles, that might be in the way.
One of the current costumers volunteered an explanation: "I think, that he wants something to eat.", he suggested.

As the large cat came closer, and with the suggestion that the cat may actually be after breakfast, Gina reached across to a fish and put it onto the griddle hob, as it landed it began to sizzle and within a few minutes it was cooked, Gina then took the fish and glanced to the side then made her way out from the cooking area, waving to the large feline as she did before gently offering the freshly cooked fish to the said cat. "GENTLY!!" she said with a meaningful tone in her voice, although whether the cat gives a dam is anyone's guess!

Robbie grabbed her phone and put it onto camera mode then snapped a photo of Gina feeding the large cat a rather tasty fish. Smoked Salmon probably never tasted so good to this cat!

Meanwhile, over at the airport...
Zoe and Micky made their way to the airstrip and boarded a floatie to take the shirt plane flight to the city of Cuan where the festival is being held. For Micky it was an un-nerving time having Never been in an aircraft, yet alone an old piston engined float plane, although she has travelled on the Trans Polar Orbis R500 express across the barren wastelands of the Aurora Confederacy, which all things said, the R500 is probably quicker than the floatplane she is about to fly in, and also possibly more comfortable.

At the check in desk, Zoe handed over the papers "Cuan, 2 please" she says, "we flying on the Otter over there?" she asked.
Micky, with her camera took a few photographs before taking her boarding pass. "how old is the plane we are flying on Zoe?"
"older than us I think if its the one I think it is" she said, taking the boarding passes and walking with Micky to the aircraft where she greeted the pilot with a handshake.

The Lynx looked at Gina with an expression, which might as well be translated to 'Seriously?'
It was not because of the quality or smell of the fish, that was exceptional, but because of the reminder to be gentle - he was a large predator, a son of the Great Woods, domesticated in the widest sense of the word, and he was relatively young, despite his size. Gently was not in his vocabulary, despite many people claiming, that his fur was.
Still, he was careful as he took the fish into his mouth and bowed his head slightly, before turning and making his way back, a certain prance in his step, as he walked past the amused and bemused spectators of the scene. Unbeknowst to them, the fish was not for him, but for another animal, which had the Lynx's affection.
The one in the front row took out a few more copper coins and set them onto the counter. "I'll pay for him.", he said with a grin.

At Béal's little airport, the pilot grinned and shook the offered hands.
"Welcome aboard.", he said and motioned to his plane, "Don't worry about her, my Cliseadh might be older then the two of you put together, but she's a good plane. Well kept." He clapped into his hands, addressing his passengers as a whole. "Now, then, please board her and be prepared for lift-off, the flight should take us about an hour, everything included, and then we should be in Cuan. So, then... let's get us into the air!"
There were six other passengers on the plane, a young couple, the same people the pilot spoke to before, a young man with a haircut of military-style, an older woman and a stuffed toy resembling a Guarding Fox on her lap, and two pupils, one around thirteen, the boy with her around fifteen, both resembling each other like siblings would, both clad in school uniforms.
As everyone was seated and strapped in, the pilot turned on the engines.

"Oh my that's interesting. I've never given much thought to my age, for whatever reason birthdays and celebrating them just have never been a big part of island life like it is in so many countries. It wasn't really until after the war we began to keep calendars and dates and that. I think if we were a decade or two in the past now, I'd probably not even be able to tell you how old Mamiko is."

"I'm six" She replied out

The women smiled, Viola reaching over to pet Mamiko's head, gently as to not ruin her hairstyle.
The mentioning of war brought a somber mood, until Kendra asked: "So, Mamiko, six Springs to your name - that means, that you have all the fun things still coming at you, like school picking up, meeting with friends, vacations... and, of course, boys and their cooties."
There was giggling from Viola and Ava grinned, too.

With a small smile, Gwen watched the young King order his breakfast, helping the waitress to explain some of the 'foreign-sounding items', which were actually part of the usual Selkie-Cuisine, Scipeáil being made of a thick filling make of breadcrumbs, dried fruit and sweetener between two small layers pastry, while Maith was simply bread boiled in milk with sugar and spices. The grill, they explained with mirth in their eyes, would be used for grilling.
Neither of them were bothered by the curiosity.
All the time, she thought, that she was reminded of her own kids and their hunger - then again, children were the same everywhere in the world.
A good breakfast promised a good start of the day and so, the two Selkie ordered as well, Gwen a full course, too, and a wake-up-tea, while the Sergeant asked for a specific cake with a small blush and a sheepish smile, a berry cake.
The waitress nodded. "It'll take a few minutes until it'll all be delivered. Until then... farewell!"
And with that, she was on her way to the kitchen to deliver the order.
Gwen smiled at the three people at the table with her and exhaled, tension leaving her body visibly. "Now then, Yoshio... like it so far?", she asked.

After hearing about Scipeáil, Yoshio decided that he had to try it and ordered that as well. Overall Yoshio had been quite adventurous with his order. His knight would likely have expected him to go for the ham and cheese, since both were common in Ruvian breakfasts. The sausages were a particularly bold choice for him. Though sausages were a big part of Ruvian dining as well, battering them was pretty unheard of, much more often they would be spicy and drenched in an even spicier tomato sauce. The king was here to experience new things however, and at least for his first meal in the Freelands, he'd want a more Selkie experience rather then trying to grasp at what was familiar.

The boy bid farewell back to his server and turned to acknowledge Gwen. "Oh yes! There were a whole lot of things that looked good, and this table is great." He motioned cheerfully tot he grill once again. "Can't wait to see them light up that thing! Should be cool!" The knight was a bit eager to strike up conversation as well, seeing as they had a chance to sit still and relax a bit while they waited for their food. "So, have you known much about Ru before now?" It was a very casual question that he seemed to be posing to both of the ladies.

The waitress had noted the Scipeáil down as well, making her way to the kitchen.
Gwen, meanwhile, smiled at the enthusiam of the young King, him reminding her of her own children when they were his age more and more - curious about the world, with their eyes, minds and hearts open. If there were more people like him, she thought, she'd be out of a job.
However, at the knight's question, she had to smile a bit sheepishly. "I must admit, that I knew, Ru existed, but not much about it, so I consulted the vast knowledge of the Internet and. It seems like a pretty place with good people and good food. I'd love to travel there one day, either privately or business-related." She made a small pause. "Although privately will be a bit hard for the foreseeable future..."
The Sergeant withheld a comment, that she had never heard of Ru until her orders to protect their King had been in her hands, but that was not something, which one said as easily.

[New Visayan Islands]

Samuel Cui
Approaching South Cuan

He had just finished doing his business in the men's room when Samuel saw the signs of what was Cuan. Returning to his seat, he prepared for arrival, but not before asking Kiah something.

"I presume this is it? Cuan, I mean?"

[Krugeristan]

"That's not a problem at all," Golahman said. "They . . . the Tines . . . they won't be aggressive if they smell . . . Luminous on me, will they?"

"Luminous?", Glynn asked his big sister with a slightly confused expression.
"The Tine Dad gave him.", his sister supplied before she turned back to Golahman, "And no, they shouldn't be. Usually. And if, we have ways of calming them down without causing any harm to anyone."
Glynn nodded, remembering what their father taught them.

"Alright," Golahman replied quietly. He wasn't sure what else to say or do, as staying quiet seemed to be the best option right about now. He wasn't seeing a lot of people around, and he was certain that any foreigners who had come were remaining indoors, mooching off the Selkies' work. "You know . . ." he said, "I can do without . . . lunch."

[The Selkie]

Samuel Cui
Approaching South Cuan

He had just finished doing his business in the men's room when Samuel saw the signs of what was Cuan. Returning to his seat, he prepared for arrival, but not before asking Kiah something.

"I presume this is it? Cuan, I mean?"

Kiah nodded. "Yes, that's it, Cuan.", she said with a smile, looking out of the window - the train took a bit of a wide approach to give the people onboard the chance to see the city approach scenically. "To me, it's home."
She smiled at Cui, sadness in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, I don't need to get sentimental.", she said.

"Alright," Golahman replied quietly. He wasn't sure what else to say or do, as staying quiet seemed to be the best option right about now. He wasn't seeing a lot of people around, and he was certain that any foreigners who had come were remaining indoors, mooching off the Selkies' work. "You know . . ." he said, "I can do without . . . lunch."

"But you won't be without lunch.", Fiona said with a smile, going over to her boyfriend again and squeezing his hand. "Mom decided to invite the family for lunch as available, and your bodyguard as well - look forward to it, Corporal - so that's what'll happen. Mind you, everything else would look bad on us as your hosts, so..."
There was a pause.
"Let's get going.", Glynn said with a smile, motioning for them to follow him away from the spot the plane parked at, towards the more official part of the airport, where there were more and more people by the step, mostly Selkie, but also the odd foreigner. Still, he explained, it would be much more hectic later, when the whole city was awake and alive.
It was early in the day, after all.
They were edging along the masses, before they arrived at a carriage, more a covered cart. By the box stood a young woman, who grinned as they came, short black hair and blue eyes sparkling with mirth as they approached. "Hey, there, Fiona!"
"Hey, Gwenny!", Fiona replied, released Golahman for a moment and hugged her best friend close, before she stepped back. "Now then, what's the situation?"
"Hopeless, but not grave - as usual.", Gwen replied with a grin, turning to Golahman, offering her hand for a shake, far less awkwardly then Glynn, "Welcome back, Mister Golahman."

[Krugeristan]

"Alright," Golahman replied quietly. He wasn't sure what else to say or do, as staying quiet seemed to be the best option right about now. He wasn't seeing a lot of people around, and he was certain that any foreigners who had come were remaining indoors, mooching off the Selkies' work. "You know . . ." he said, "I can do without . . . lunch."

"But you won't be without lunch.", Fiona said with a smile, going over to her boyfriend again and squeezing his hand. "Mom decided to invite the family for lunch as available, and your bodyguard as well - look forward to it, Corporal - so that's what'll happen. Mind you, everything else would look bad on us as your hosts, so..."
There was a pause.
"Let's get going.", Glynn said with a smile, motioning for them to follow him away from the spot the plane parked at, towards the more official part of the airport, where there were more and more people by the step, mostly Selkie, but also the odd foreigner. Still, he explained, it would be much more hectic later, when the whole city was awake and alive.
It was early in the day, after all.
They were edging along the masses, before they arrived at a carriage, more a covered cart. By the box stood a young woman, who grinned as they came, short black hair and blue eyes sparkling with mirth as they approached. "Hey, there, Fiona!"
"Hey, Gwenny!", Fiona replied, released Golahman for a moment and hugged her best friend close, before she stepped back. "Now then, what's the situation?"
"Hopeless, but not grave - as usual.", Gwen replied with a grin, turning to Golahman, offering her hand for a shake, far less awkwardly then Glynn, "Welcome back, Mister Golahman."

Golahman looked at his boots, muttering a "Hello," as he glanced up, only for a moment. "I'm not allowed to shake your hand, Gwen," he said, "because I'm in a relationship."

"I can't because I'm on duty," Evanu added. "Sorry, ma'am."

[Aurora Confederacy]

The Lynx looked at Gina with an expression, which might as well be translated to 'Seriously?'
It was not because of the quality or smell of the fish, that was exceptional, but because of the reminder to be gentle - he was a large predator, a son of the Great Woods, domesticated in the widest sense of the word, and he was relatively young, despite his size. Gently was not in his vocabulary, despite many people claiming, that his fur was.
Still, he was careful as he took the fish into his mouth and bowed his head slightly, before turning and making his way back, a certain prance in his step, as he walked past the amused and bemused spectators of the scene. Unbeknowst to them, the fish was not for him, but for another animal, which had the Lynx's affection.
The one in the front row took out a few more copper coins and set them onto the counter. "I'll pay for him.", he said with a grin.

It was Robbie who took the payment for the fish that had been taken by the large cat,"sure no problem, that'll be three Uhma please" she said with a smile, as she talked, a glimpse of the two studs in her surgically split tongue was just about evident, although it doesn't appear to have affected the way she talks. "who's cat is that? we dont have anything that big back home, yes we have polar bears in the far north and brown bears further south in the tundra, but cats, biggest cat we have is a Caracal and they're not native" she enquired.

Gina, having handed a wild(ish) animal some food returned to the trailer, stopping off to clense her hands first with water and sterilising agent to prevent cross contamination and any biological contamination, even though she was wearing plastic gloves when she handed the fish to the cat. Those gloves are now in the disposal box and Gina is now sporting a new set of rather attractive blue plastic bio-hygienic gloves, although these gloves were there to serve a purpose and under Auroran law, anyone serving food to the public must wear them!

"did ya get a pic?" asks Gina

"Fitt, I got one, maybe two. Oh a customer paid for the fish as well" replied Robbie, "looks like its going to be a profitable day too, especially with local police although they got it wrong"

"Why?" asked Gina

"Fitt, we don't sell donuts!" jokes Robbie, "you know that cops only eat donuts on duty"

Fitt turned to the next customer, "yes sir, What can I get ya?" she asks in a very chirpy, friendly voice.

At Béal's little airport, the pilot grinned and shook the offered hands.
"Welcome aboard.", he said and motioned to his plane, "Don't worry about her, my Cliseadh might be older then the two of you put together, but she's a good plane. Well kept." He clapped into his hands, addressing his passengers as a whole. "Now, then, please board her and be prepared for lift-off, the flight should take us about an hour, everything included, and then we should be in Cuan. So, then... let's get us into the air!"
There were six other passengers on the plane, a young couple, the same people the pilot spoke to before, a young man with a haircut of military-style, an older woman and a stuffed toy resembling a Guarding Fox on her lap, and two pupils, one around thirteen, the boy with her around fifteen, both resembling each other like siblings would, both clad in school uniforms.
As everyone was seated and strapped in, the pilot turned on the engines.

As the large radial engine came to life, its vibration being felt throughout the cabin, Zoe smiled. back home she owns a small fleet of trucks and some tourbuses, ALL with 730hp 16.4 V8 engines, yes even the tourbuses, and yes she knows exactly what a sweet sounding engine feels like, and in Zoe's mind only one thing beats a big low reving V8 engine and that is a big radial engine. "Micky, it might get a bit noisy" she said, getting her camera out.

As the plane accellerated down the runway Zoe was also busy with her camera, photographing the scenery and the spray, then as the aircraft climbed higher she turned to the older passenger, "so, you going for the festival?" she asks as Micky drifts off for a snooze, she was on the last watch of the yacht before Zoe tied it to the shore, and so she has been up for most of the night and is now making good opportunity to get some sleep in whilst she can and as such with the drone from the large engine up front she is soon fast asleep, some would call it comatose, others would call it dead to the world, but one thing is for sure, with the scenery outside, being photographed, Michaela is missing it all as she is sleeping on her first ever flight in any form of aircraft.

[Ru-]

The waitress had noted the Scipeáil down as well, making her way to the kitchen.
Gwen, meanwhile, smiled at the enthusiam of the young King, him reminding her of her own children when they were his age more and more - curious about the world, with their eyes, minds and hearts open. If there were more people like him, she thought, she'd be out of a job.
However, at the knight's question, she had to smile a bit sheepishly. "I must admit, that I knew, Ru existed, but not much about it, so I consulted the vast knowledge of the Internet and. It seems like a pretty place with good people and good food. I'd love to travel there one day, either privately or business-related." She made a small pause. "Although privately will be a bit hard for the foreseeable future..."
The Sergeant withheld a comment, that she had never heard of Ru until her orders to protect their King had been in her hands, but that was not something, which one said as easily.

The knight nodded along with what she was saying. Her answer definitely was understandable. Ru may have been around since ancient times and was, and still is quite a large realm, it was also incredibly far away from the Freelands, and the two nations have not had much contact until recently. He had to admit himself that he knew very little about the Freelands or the Selkie himself until this trip for the king was arranged and he had to pour over a RIA dossier on the nation. Even then most of what he knew now was just the things that Ruvian Intelligence considered important, which meant not much about their culture, traditions, or what daily life was like for the locals. The idea that Ru ought to strengthen ties with the Selkie was a new one. That rabble-rousing old Chancellor, Flanders, was very interested in establishing diplomatic ties with the Freelands, and when Yoshio had the sudden childish impulse to take a trip here from his online correspondences, that man jumped on it and spearheaded the planning and fine details to make this vacation a reality. Perhaps he approved of this nation's predominant political sensibilities? Sir Larra was not the type to spend too much time pondering on the motives of politicians. The good chancellor had his reasons, whatever they may be. Yoshio may be the king of Ru, but it was Flanders who had all the real power. At least while the king was still so young.

King Yoshio seemed more interested in Gwen mentioning wanting to travel to Ru someday, and picked up on that right away, tearing his gaze away from the grill preparations to respond. "No time to take a vacation? Guess you must be really busy these days!" His tone was genuine. He was used to people being very busy with all their duties and obligations, he was often in that boat too himself after all! He chuckled a bit at his own observation and added. The Knight offered "Well, if you have any questions we'd be happy to answer them."

Yoshio perked up again "Or about us!" he seemed to leap on that idea "Yeah! This is a great chance for us all to get to know each other better while we wait for our food."

[The Selkie]

Golahman looked at his boots, muttering a "Hello," as he glanced up, only for a moment. "I'm not allowed to shake your hand, Gwen," he said, "because I'm in a relationship."

"I can't because I'm on duty," Evanu added. "Sorry, ma'am."

Gwen smiled and returned her hand to her side. "Okay, alright.", she said and motioned towards the covered carriage, "All aboard the Tine Train - anyone wanting to sit on the box with me?"
It was really a simple cart with a simple cover, pulled by two horses, both brown stallions, who calmly looked at the world, ready to rock it. She petted them both as she passed them, climbing onto the box on the other side.
Fiona took Golahman's hand and looked at him: "How about us two giving the Tines a good look?", she asked him.

The Lynx looked at Gina with an expression, which might as well be translated to 'Seriously?'
It was not because of the quality or smell of the fish, that was exceptional, but because of the reminder to be gentle - he was a large predator, a son of the Great Woods, domesticated in the widest sense of the word, and he was relatively young, despite his size. Gently was not in his vocabulary, despite many people claiming, that his fur was.
Still, he was careful as he took the fish into his mouth and bowed his head slightly, before turning and making his way back, a certain prance in his step, as he walked past the amused and bemused spectators of the scene. Unbeknowst to them, the fish was not for him, but for another animal, which had the Lynx's affection.
The one in the front row took out a few more copper coins and set them onto the counter. "I'll pay for him.", he said with a grin.

It was Robbie who took the payment for the fish that had been taken by the large cat,"sure no problem, that'll be three Uhma please" she said with a smile, as she talked, a glimpse of the two studs in her surgically split tongue was just about evident, although it doesn't appear to have affected the way she talks. "who's cat is that? we dont have anything that big back home, yes we have polar bears in the far north and brown bears further south in the tundra, but cats, biggest cat we have is a Caracal and they're not native" she enquired.

Gina, having handed a wild(ish) animal some food returned to the trailer, stopping off to clense her hands first with water and sterilising agent to prevent cross contamination and any biological contamination, even though she was wearing plastic gloves when she handed the fish to the cat. Those gloves are now in the disposal box and Gina is now sporting a new set of rather attractive blue plastic bio-hygienic gloves, although these gloves were there to serve a purpose and under Auroran law, anyone serving food to the public must wear them!

"did ya get a pic?" asks Gina

"Fitt, I got one, maybe two. Oh a customer paid for the fish as well" replied Robbie, "looks like its going to be a profitable day too, especially with local police although they got it wrong"

"Why?" asked Gina

"Fitt, we don't sell donuts!" jokes Robbie, "you know that cops only eat donuts on duty"

Fitt turned to the next customer, "yes sir, What can I get ya?" she asks in a very chirpy, friendly voice.

At Béal's little airport, the pilot grinned and shook the offered hands.
"Welcome aboard.", he said and motioned to his plane, "Don't worry about her, my Cliseadh might be older then the two of you put together, but she's a good plane. Well kept." He clapped into his hands, addressing his passengers as a whole. "Now, then, please board her and be prepared for lift-off, the flight should take us about an hour, everything included, and then we should be in Cuan. So, then... let's get us into the air!"
There were six other passengers on the plane, a young couple, the same people the pilot spoke to before, a young man with a haircut of military-style, an older woman and a stuffed toy resembling a Guarding Fox on her lap, and two pupils, one around thirteen, the boy with her around fifteen, both resembling each other like siblings would, both clad in school uniforms.
As everyone was seated and strapped in, the pilot turned on the engines.

As the large radial engine came to life, its vibration being felt throughout the cabin, Zoe smiled. back home she owns a small fleet of trucks and some tourbuses, ALL with 730hp 16.4 V8 engines, yes even the tourbuses, and yes she knows exactly what a sweet sounding engine feels like, and in Zoe's mind only one thing beats a big low reving V8 engine and that is a big radial engine. "Micky, it might get a bit noisy" she said, getting her camera out.

As the plane accellerated down the runway Zoe was also busy with her camera, photographing the scenery and the spray, then as the aircraft climbed higher she turned to the older passenger, "so, you going for the festival?" she asks as Micky drifts off for a snooze, she was on the last watch of the yacht before Zoe tied it to the shore, and so she has been up for most of the night and is now making good opportunity to get some sleep in whilst she can and as such with the drone from the large engine up front she is soon fast asleep, some would call it comatose, others would call it dead to the world, but one thing is for sure, with the scenery outside, being photographed, Michaela is missing it all as she is sleeping on her first ever flight in any form of aircraft.

A few of the police officers in line laughed at the thing with the donuts, including the one in the front, who handed her twice the amount of money he had given her for the fish of the Star Lynx. "Two of the same that he had. My partner and I need something more substantial then that and when he likes it...", he said with a nod. "Besides, that laddie was Ayden, he is part of the Lach-Household. Leonard will not be too thrilled to see, that he procured food for his beloved... you see, every Selkie knows his story. Do you have time while that sizzles?"
Meanwhile, the white haired woman arrived back at the trailer, this time with an escort of four men and three sleds pulled by adult Tines, one of the men having a very good eye on them as they came to the back of the trailer.
The woman cleared her throat to get Robbie's attention. "Hello.", she said with a small smile, which suggested, that she was used to giving orders and seeing them followed, "I'd like to take the fish with me we talked about. I also have the payment with me."

The woman with the Guarding Fox in her lap smiled. "Yes, I am on my way to Leathdhuine, that's a small village near Cuan, to visit my family there. You see, my daughter has a big house there and invited her hopefully dear, but definately old mother, her siblings and their families to her home... and since it's the first Spring for her son, I decided to bring a little present, this laddie here." She smiled and petted the stuffed animal like a movie villain would pet a cat. "When he's old enough, he might even get the chance to get a real one."

The waitress had noted the Scipeáil down as well, making her way to the kitchen.
Gwen, meanwhile, smiled at the enthusiam of the young King, him reminding her of her own children when they were his age more and more - curious about the world, with their eyes, minds and hearts open. If there were more people like him, she thought, she'd be out of a job.
However, at the knight's question, she had to smile a bit sheepishly. "I must admit, that I knew, Ru existed, but not much about it, so I consulted the vast knowledge of the Internet and. It seems like a pretty place with good people and good food. I'd love to travel there one day, either privately or business-related." She made a small pause. "Although privately will be a bit hard for the foreseeable future..."
The Sergeant withheld a comment, that she had never heard of Ru until her orders to protect their King had been in her hands, but that was not something, which one said as easily.

The knight nodded along with what she was saying. Her answer definitely was understandable. Ru may have been around since ancient times and was, and still is quite a large realm, it was also incredibly far away from the Freelands, and the two nations have not had much contact until recently. He had to admit himself that he knew very little about the Freelands or the Selkie himself until this trip for the king was arranged and he had to pour over a RIA dossier on the nation. Even then most of what he knew now was just the things that Ruvian Intelligence considered important, which meant not much about their culture, traditions, or what daily life was like for the locals. The idea that Ru ought to strengthen ties with the Selkie was a new one. That rabble-rousing old Chancellor, Flanders, was very interested in establishing diplomatic ties with the Freelands, and when Yoshio had the sudden childish impulse to take a trip here from his online correspondences, that man jumped on it and spearheaded the planning and fine details to make this vacation a reality. Perhaps he approved of this nation's predominant political sensibilities? Sir Larra was not the type to spend too much time pondering on the motives of politicians. The good chancellor had his reasons, whatever they may be. Yoshio may be the king of Ru, but it was Flanders who had all the real power. At least while the king was still so young.

King Yoshio seemed more interested in Gwen mentioning wanting to travel to Ru someday, and picked up on that right away, tearing his gaze away from the grill preparations to respond. "No time to take a vacation? Guess you must be really busy these days!" His tone was genuine. He was used to people being very busy with all their duties and obligations, he was often in that boat too himself after all! He chuckled a bit at his own observation and added. The Knight offered "Well, if you have any questions we'd be happy to answer them."

Yoshio perked up again "Or about us!" he seemed to leap on that idea "Yeah! This is a great chance for us all to get to know each other better while we wait for our food."

Gwen smiled and petted the young King's head in an affectionate gesture, hoping, that she wasn't commiting some grave insult to him with this. While she did that, she told him: "There's a saying with us Selkie: A friend is someone, who you don't know yet. I'd love to get to know you, Yoshio, both from a business standpoint, but mostly from a private standpoint, and not for the obvious reasons. You are a nice kid and you remind me a bit of my own..."
Her smile turned soft, before mirth entered it.
"That being said, while there are enough questions to fill ten times the amount of time we have until food arrives, it is you, who's the guest.", she continued, the Sergeant nodding, "So, if you have questions, searrach, ask away. Same, of course, goes for you, Sir."

[Ru-]

Gwen smiled and petted the young King's head in an affectionate gesture, hoping, that she wasn't commiting some grave insult to him with this. While she did that, she told him: "There's a saying with us Selkie: A friend is someone, who you don't know yet. I'd love to get to know you, Yoshio, both from a business standpoint, but mostly from a private standpoint, and not for the obvious reasons. You are a nice kid and you remind me a bit of my own..."
Her smile turned soft, before mirth entered it.
"That being said, while there are enough questions to fill ten times the amount of time we have until food arrives, it is you, who's the guest.", she continued, the Sergeant nodding, "So, if you have questions, searrach, ask away. Same, of course, goes for you, Sir."

Yoshio giggled and twisted in his seat a bit at the contact. Larra just smiled. While It was indeed a breach of etiquette to touch the king without him touching you first, or without him first giving some kind of sign that contact was welcome or expected. However, they were sitting together at the breakfast table, a casual friendly setting where such things were more permissible, and Yoshio did touch her first at the train station and they haven't left each other's company since.

Yoshio seemed happy with her friendly words about him, and took up the offer to ask his own questions. "You have kids? What are they like?"

Larra also posed a question to the Sergeant, wanting to know what the Rangers were like and how she came to be assigned to the King for the Spring Festival

[Krugeristan]

Golahman looked at his boots, muttering a "Hello," as he glanced up, only for a moment. "I'm not allowed to shake your hand, Gwen," he said, "because I'm in a relationship."

"I can't because I'm on duty," Evanu added. "Sorry, ma'am."

Gwen smiled and returned her hand to her side. "Okay, alright.", she said and motioned towards the covered carriage, "All aboard the Tine Train - anyone wanting to sit on the box with me?"
It was really a simple cart with a simple cover, pulled by two horses, both brown stallions, who calmly looked at the world, ready to rock it. She petted them both as she passed them, climbing onto the box on the other side.
Fiona took Golahman's hand and looked at him: "How about us two giving the Tines a good look?", she asked him.

"I'll try," Golahman whispered. "I'm . . . I'm just . . . I'm not comfortable, that's all." He knew Gwen--not well, just barely--and he was ashamed of being uncomfortable around her when she was Fiona's best friend. Surely, her unpleasant experience with Vershenov would've taught her a few things about how we work . . .

[The Selkie]

Gwen smiled and petted the young King's head in an affectionate gesture, hoping, that she wasn't commiting some grave insult to him with this. While she did that, she told him: "There's a saying with us Selkie: A friend is someone, who you don't know yet. I'd love to get to know you, Yoshio, both from a business standpoint, but mostly from a private standpoint, and not for the obvious reasons. You are a nice kid and you remind me a bit of my own..."
Her smile turned soft, before mirth entered it.
"That being said, while there are enough questions to fill ten times the amount of time we have until food arrives, it is you, who's the guest.", she continued, the Sergeant nodding, "So, if you have questions, searrach, ask away. Same, of course, goes for you, Sir."

Yoshio giggled and twisted in his seat a bit at the contact. Larra just smiled. While It was indeed a breach of etiquette to touch the king without him touching you first, or without him first giving some kind of sign that contact was welcome or expected. However, they were sitting together at the breakfast table, a casual friendly setting where such things were more permissible, and Yoshio did touch her first at the train station and they haven't left each other's company since.

Yoshio seemed happy with her friendly words about him, and took up the offer to ask his own questions. "You have kids? What are they like?"

Larra also posed a question to the Sergeant, wanting to know what the Rangers were like and how she came to be assigned to the King for the Spring Festival

Gwen smiled, giggling herself. "Well, I have three children, two sons, Tyran and Glynn, and the oldest being my daughter Fiona.", she told him, "All three of them are dependable and strong young people, intelligent, too.
Glynn is a marcach, one of the rather particular variation of equestrian sportsman here in the Free Lands. Later, during the tournament, you will see the Lancers at work, they are Marcach - granted, Glynn didn't manage to qualify, but he is a good one. As long as you aren't a lance or a ring, he's the gentlest soul one can imagine. He also comes right after his father in the looks department... and a breaker of hearts, even if only by accident.
Tyran is..." She drew blank for a moment, not knowing how to describe her middle son best. "...he's a good boy. A houseman, handiman, craftsman and good cook, despite his first tries being less then optimal. He also took a liking to stewardship, especially of one of the houses my family possesses in the area of Ironcastle. He has a girlfriend, which is the main reason why I know which Amy you talked about before, and took a shine to her little sister.
Fiona is a businesswoman, much like I am, and works as such for Gabha, having reached her position by her own merit, not due to me. She's responsible for representing the company to the outside, most of the time. When she does that, she is as hard-nosed as they come. Aside from business, she is a nice and wonderful young woman, gentle until one gives her a reason to be something else, and nothing can separate her from her Curly Mountain Fox, a lad named Sio."
She made a small pause.
"I'll think you'll meet them all three, or four, today."

The Sergeant smiled at the Knight and his question. "Well, that's a bit difficult to characterize. The Great Woods Rangers are the elite formation of the SDF, four companies of the best of the best of the best, capable of doing things most other militaries wouldn't even consider with ease. As we are special forces, I hope you forgive me for not going into more detail."
She smiled apologetically.
"However, what I can tell you is about how I was assigned to you two.", she smiled, "By lottery."

"I'll try," Golahman whispered. "I'm . . . I'm just . . . I'm not comfortable, that's all." He knew Gwen--not well, just barely--and he was ashamed of being uncomfortable around her when she was Fiona's best friend. Surely, her unpleasant experience with Vershenov would've taught her a few things about how we work . . .

As Fiona squeezed her boyfriend's hand and led him to the back of the cart, where she climbed up first and then helped him inside to the platform with four large cages, each with one adult Tine, each, most of which were happily snoozing away their trip, Gwen looked at Evanu and Glynn.
"Well, that leaves you two for the box.", she said and petted the spots at her side. "Come, jump on!"
Glynn rounded the horses and sat down at her left hand side, leaving the right for Evanu - it was not comfortable, not by any stretch of the imagination, it was a barren wooden board after all, but it did its job and that it did well. But one had an excellent view along with it.

[Krugeristan]

"I'll try," Golahman whispered. "I'm . . . I'm just . . . I'm not comfortable, that's all." He knew Gwen--not well, just barely--and he was ashamed of being uncomfortable around her when she was Fiona's best friend. Surely, her unpleasant experience with Vershenov would've taught her a few things about how we work . . .

As Fiona squeezed her boyfriend's hand and led him to the back of the cart, where she climbed up first and then helped him inside to the platform with four large cages, each with one adult Tine, each, most of which were happily snoozing away their trip, Gwen looked at Evanu and Glynn.
"Well, that leaves you two for the box.", she said and petted the spots at her side. "Come, jump on!"
Glynn rounded the horses and sat down at her left hand side, leaving the right for Evanu - it was not comfortable, not by any stretch of the imagination, it was a barren wooden board after all, but it did its job and that it did well. But one had an excellent view along with it.

"Ma'am," Evanu said calmly, "sitting next to you is illegal where I come from. Violates Section Three of the Military Personal Conduction Code. I shall sit on the floor."

"Please don't argue with him," Golahman whispered in Gwen's direction. At least he's not Vershenov.

[Kuruva]

Paine grinned when she said the ‘The Free Lands’ finest’ while Ashley barely seemed to notice, staring at the menu intently with the look of a detective. Paine glanced at the menu and knew what she wanted fairly quickly, smiling as she looked up at the brunette waitress. “Could I have fresh wheat bread, with a plate of hams and cheese, and a green iced tea mixed with red lemonade mixed in please?” She requested.

“Hmmmmmmmmmm.” Ashley gave an exaggerated questioning noise. “Aha!” She smiled. “Could I please have berry bowl, and a plate of eggs?” She asked more than requested, as she looked at the waitress. “You’re pretty,” She commented with a smile.

[Criska]

Lukas couldn’t do anything but smile. It had been too long since had been able to see Nora for him. He still wasn’t sure how the Selkie got used to having wolves and other typically wild animals walking in their midst, but he never did, or likely would ask about it. To him it was just part of the way the Selkie were. Wild in their own way, but also kind; not in a state where survival was something they had to worry about, but also close to their roots in nature. Lukas remained silent for several moments. “Well, breakfast, or perhaps a walk?” He asked with as charming as a smile he could pull of with still being tired.

[Aurora Confederacy]

A few of the police officers in line laughed at the thing with the donuts, including the one in the front, who handed her twice the amount of money he had given her for the fish of the Star Lynx. "Two of the same that he had. My partner and I need something more substantial then that and when he likes it...", he said with a nod. "Besides, that laddie was Ayden, he is part of the Lach-Household. Leonard will not be too thrilled to see, that he procured food for his beloved... you see, every Selkie knows his story. Do you have time while that sizzles?"
Meanwhile, the white haired woman arrived back at the trailer, this time with an escort of four men and three sleds pulled by adult Tines, one of the men having a very good eye on them as they came to the back of the trailer.
The woman cleared her throat to get Robbie's attention. "Hello.", she said with a small smile, which suggested, that she was used to giving orders and seeing them followed, "I'd like to take the fish with me we talked about. I also have the payment with me."

GIna took the money and sorted out the order, "so, whats it like for you guys here, enough to keep you busy or is the Free lands safe?"

It was at that point that the woman arrived, Robbie turned and nodded to the white haired woman, "Just let me serve this gentleman here and I will be right with yoy" she says, as she defltly wraps up some freshly cooked smoked haddock into a tortilla wrap before putting the tendered currency into a box, handing the due change back to the customer. With that done Robbie makes her way to the woman. "I've put your fish to one side ready for you" she says, "this way". She beckons the woman to follow her around to the rear of the trailer which was characteristically almost silent, giving a pull on the latch the door openned with a clunk as the latch released which allowed a chilly air to come out of the trailer and the lights to come on. Robbie then climbed into the trailer and made her way to the pile of boxes that were the reserved order. "We had a large cat around earlier looking for food, think it ambled over to the petting zoo over the way" she says, picking up some boxes and carrying them to the assistants, "here you go, there's quite a few boxes", she says, handing the boxes down to the assistants.

The woman with the Guarding Fox in her lap smiled. "Yes, I am on my way to Leathdhuine, that's a small village near Cuan, to visit my family there. You see, my daughter has a big house there and invited her hopefully dear, but definately old mother, her siblings and their families to her home... and since it's the first Spring for her son, I decided to bring a little present, this laddie here." She smiled and petted the stuffed animal like a movie villain would pet a cat. "When he's old enough, he might even get the chance to get a real one."

seeing the stuffed fox, Zoe smiled, and hearing the news on the newborn made Zoe feel happy too "congratulations" she says, "I dont have kids, My sister in law has two, one is in naval college, the other works in the Civic Forum as a secretary to a representative. Micky here has never flown before and she's missing the entire flight, although she was at the helm this morning until the wee hours. We will be staying at an inn near the show ground"

As Zoe talked to a fellow passenger, Micky had her head against the wall of the aircraft, a pillow made from a rolled up bomber jacket on her shoulder to give some padding, she was still sound asleep although proof of the fact she is still alive is evident as she just adjusts her body to get a little more comfortable.

"When Mary and William were six months old, they each had a stuffed bear too, Mary still has hers somewhere as its worth a bit" says Zoe, glaning over at her sleeping wife

[Ru-]

Gwen smiled, giggling herself. "Well, I have three children, two sons, Tyran and Glynn, and the oldest being my daughter Fiona.", she told him, "All three of them are dependable and strong young people, intelligent, too.
Glynn is a marcach, one of the rather particular variation of equestrian sportsman here in the Free Lands. Later, during the tournament, you will see the Lancers at work, they are Marcach - granted, Glynn didn't manage to qualify, but he is a good one. As long as you aren't a lance or a ring, he's the gentlest soul one can imagine. He also comes right after his father in the looks department... and a breaker of hearts, even if only by accident.
Tyran is..." She drew blank for a moment, not knowing how to describe her middle son best. "...he's a good boy. A houseman, handiman, craftsman and good cook, despite his first tries being less then optimal. He also took a liking to stewardship, especially of one of the houses my family possesses in the area of Ironcastle. He has a girlfriend, which is the main reason why I know which Amy you talked about before, and took a shine to her little sister.
Fiona is a businesswoman, much like I am, and works as such for Gabha, having reached her position by her own merit, not due to me. She's responsible for representing the company to the outside, most of the time. When she does that, she is as hard-nosed as they come. Aside from business, she is a nice and wonderful young woman, gentle until one gives her a reason to be something else, and nothing can separate her from her Curly Mountain Fox, a lad named Sio."
She made a small pause.
"I'll think you'll meet them all three, or four, today."

The Sergeant smiled at the Knight and his question. "Well, that's a bit difficult to characterize. The Great Woods Rangers are the elite formation of the SDF, four companies of the best of the best of the best, capable of doing things most other militaries wouldn't even consider with ease. As we are special forces, I hope you forgive me for not going into more detail."
She smiled apologetically.
"However, what I can tell you is about how I was assigned to you two.", she smiled, "By lottery."

Yoshio's eyes lit up when Gwen mentioned the tournament but the lad still listened intently to everything she had to say before responding. "Nice, I really look forward to meeting them then. You mentioned lances, does that mean that this will be jousting tournament?!"

He seemed very intrigued. Gladiatorial combat was the sport of choice for the masses of ancient Ru, followed by the joust, which was the favored sport of the nobility. While the former is now an extinct relic of the past, the latter does persist today. Though the ancient art of the joust was overtaken by modern team sports such as basketball with the fall of noble power, those with the pedigree of the former noble houses or just those with particular nostalgia for the past still practiced and honed the old knightly arts, and there were a few tournaments held here and there to commemorate Ruvian holidays and festivals. All 9 of King Yoshio's white knights could be counted among that group of people. Sir Larra in particular was considered an especially gifted jouster.

Now that King Yoshio was thinking about the upcoming tournament, he was also curious about the box they would be watching from, particularly who else might be joining them, and asked about that as well.

Sir Larra nodded at the Sergeant's words. He was no stranger to the notion of certain information being classified and respected it well. Though it was often him that had to keep secrets, as keeping the King's secrets was in fact one of the sacred vows he had to take when he accepted his white cloak and the spot in the respected ancient order that came with it. His duties often meant that he had to be made aware of information held by Ruvian Intelligence, often this could be highly classified as well. "You are forgiven, I am quite familiar with that kind of thing."

Yoshio followed up "A lottery eh? So was that the type of lottery they do cause everyone wants to win or because no one wants to be stuck with it? Like when your draw straws?" he smirked, the little king had a bit of a self deprecating sense of humor that came out from time to time.

[The Selkie]

"Ma'am," Evanu said calmly, "sitting next to you is illegal where I come from. Violates Section Three of the Military Personal Conduction Code. I shall sit on the floor."

"Please don't argue with him," Golahman whispered in Gwen's direction. At least he's not Vershenov.

Gwen nodded at the proclamation from the Corporal, thinking quickly and coming to a decision: "Alright, your decision... and rules, I guess. Though, if it gets too sugary sweet for your back there, we can always have Glynn sit between us!"

Paine grinned when she said the ‘The Free Lands’ finest’ while Ashley barely seemed to notice, staring at the menu intently with the look of a detective. Paine glanced at the menu and knew what she wanted fairly quickly, smiling as she looked up at the brunette waitress. “Could I have fresh wheat bread, with a plate of hams and cheese, and a green iced tea mixed with red lemonade mixed in please?” She requested.

“Hmmmmmmmmmm.” Ashley gave an exaggerated questioning noise. “Aha!” She smiled. “Could I please have berry bowl, and a plate of eggs?” She asked more than requested, as she looked at the waitress. “You’re pretty,” She commented with a smile.

The waitress smiled and bowed her head in gratitude, actually blushing a bit. "Thank you, young lady, it's much appreciated.", she said and grinned, "You know, in about ten years, you'll turn quite a few heads, too."
Having jotted down the orders while talking, she pocketed her pen and smiled.
"Breakfast is coming up in a few minutes.", she said, bowed her head again, "The kitchen is currently rather busy, so I hope you understand. See you in a few minutes!"
With that, the waitress went and delivered the order.
Looking at the tables directly around them, would have reveiled quite the assortment of characters: A black haired woman with brown eyes, eating her fruits by her lonesome while scribbling into a small notebook was behind Paine, in Ashley's back sat a man of the size of a tree, clad in shirt and pants, brown haired and brown eyed, who sat in amicable silence with a man with blue hair, who was similarly dressed and worked on an apple with a dagger. To their side was either the wall or the small gangway for guests and waiters, while across from that was a small family of redheads.

Lukas couldn’t do anything but smile. It had been too long since had been able to see Nora for him. He still wasn’t sure how the Selkie got used to having wolves and other typically wild animals walking in their midst, but he never did, or likely would ask about it. To him it was just part of the way the Selkie were. Wild in their own way, but also kind; not in a state where survival was something they had to worry about, but also close to their roots in nature. Lukas remained silent for several moments. “Well, breakfast, or perhaps a walk?” He asked with as charming as a smile he could pull of with still being tired.

"Breakfast.", Nora replied with a small smile, watching Sról, her daughter's steadfast protector turning to putty in Mona's hands, who he knew well and never tired of. He had taken it upon herself to protect her and Gwen let him go to her side, which made her immensely thankful to her daughter. "We can have a look at the festival later."
"I can leave you two alone, if you want?", Mona offered, looking up with the expression of a concerned child, which did not want to intrude into anything.
Nora smiled, gave Lukas a peck on the cheek and then moved to Mona's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'd love to have you have breakfast with us.", she said and looked to Lukas, seeing, if he wanted to have her stay too or not.

A few of the police officers in line laughed at the thing with the donuts, including the one in the front, who handed her twice the amount of money he had given her for the fish of the Star Lynx. "Two of the same that he had. My partner and I need something more substantial then that and when he likes it...", he said with a nod. "Besides, that laddie was Ayden, he is part of the Lach-Household. Leonard will not be too thrilled to see, that he procured food for his beloved... you see, every Selkie knows his story. Do you have time while that sizzles?"
Meanwhile, the white haired woman arrived back at the trailer, this time with an escort of four men and three sleds pulled by adult Tines, one of the men having a very good eye on them as they came to the back of the trailer.
The woman cleared her throat to get Robbie's attention. "Hello.", she said with a small smile, which suggested, that she was used to giving orders and seeing them followed, "I'd like to take the fish with me we talked about. I also have the payment with me."

GIna took the money and sorted out the order, "so, whats it like for you guys here, enough to keep you busy or is the Free lands safe?"

It was at that point that the woman arrived, Robbie turned and nodded to the white haired woman, "Just let me serve this gentleman here and I will be right with yoy" she says, as she defltly wraps up some freshly cooked smoked haddock into a tortilla wrap before putting the tendered currency into a box, handing the due change back to the customer. With that done Robbie makes her way to the woman. "I've put your fish to one side ready for you" she says, "this way". She beckons the woman to follow her around to the rear of the trailer which was characteristically almost silent, giving a pull on the latch the door openned with a clunk as the latch released which allowed a chilly air to come out of the trailer and the lights to come on. Robbie then climbed into the trailer and made her way to the pile of boxes that were the reserved order. "We had a large cat around earlier looking for food, think it ambled over to the petting zoo over the way" she says, picking up some boxes and carrying them to the assistants, "here you go, there's quite a few boxes", she says, handing the boxes down to the assistants.

The woman with the Guarding Fox in her lap smiled. "Yes, I am on my way to Leathdhuine, that's a small village near Cuan, to visit my family there. You see, my daughter has a big house there and invited her hopefully dear, but definately old mother, her siblings and their families to her home... and since it's the first Spring for her son, I decided to bring a little present, this laddie here." She smiled and petted the stuffed animal like a movie villain would pet a cat. "When he's old enough, he might even get the chance to get a real one."

seeing the stuffed fox, Zoe smiled, and hearing the news on the newborn made Zoe feel happy too "congratulations" she says, "I dont have kids, My sister in law has two, one is in naval college, the other works in the Civic Forum as a secretary to a representative. Micky here has never flown before and she's missing the entire flight, although she was at the helm this morning until the wee hours. We will be staying at an inn near the show ground"

As Zoe talked to a fellow passenger, Micky had her head against the wall of the aircraft, a pillow made from a rolled up bomber jacket on her shoulder to give some padding, she was still sound asleep although proof of the fact she is still alive is evident as she just adjusts her body to get a little more comfortable.

"When Mary and William were six months old, they each had a stuffed bear too, Mary still has hers somewhere as its worth a bit" says Zoe, glaning over at her sleeping wife

"Everything's fine, Miss.", the officer replied with a smile, "However, experience tells me, that the day really starts as soon as the opening is over."

The white-haired woman nodded and with a precision bordering military standards, the men went to work, loading one box onto each sled with a Tine to pull it, who went back to the petting zoo.
"That was Ayden.", the woman replied to the question, "It's a long story. Really long. By the way..." She pulled out a small bag with a string, which was quite heavy. "200 Gil, as promised. And the thanks of the Petting Zoo's fish eaters. I see, that my marketing campaign for your trailer worked so far?"

The woman gave a sad smile. "I hope, that by 'worth a bit' you mean worth in memories and not in money.", she said and pulled the Guarding Fox close, "It's a bit sad, you know? Far too many young people these days only measure things in their value in Gils and not in memories. I still have the Night Bear my mother made for me, he's on a place of honour on one of my cupboards, watching over the household. I have fond memories of him being by my side my whole childhood long." She smiled. "When I took entrance exams to university, I had him in my bag as a good luck charm, for instance."

Gwen smiled, giggling herself. "Well, I have three children, two sons, Tyran and Glynn, and the oldest being my daughter Fiona.", she told him, "All three of them are dependable and strong young people, intelligent, too.
Glynn is a marcach, one of the rather particular variation of equestrian sportsman here in the Free Lands. Later, during the tournament, you will see the Lancers at work, they are Marcach - granted, Glynn didn't manage to qualify, but he is a good one. As long as you aren't a lance or a ring, he's the gentlest soul one can imagine. He also comes right after his father in the looks department... and a breaker of hearts, even if only by accident.
Tyran is..." She drew blank for a moment, not knowing how to describe her middle son best. "...he's a good boy. A houseman, handiman, craftsman and good cook, despite his first tries being less then optimal. He also took a liking to stewardship, especially of one of the houses my family possesses in the area of Ironcastle. He has a girlfriend, which is the main reason why I know which Amy you talked about before, and took a shine to her little sister.
Fiona is a businesswoman, much like I am, and works as such for Gabha, having reached her position by her own merit, not due to me. She's responsible for representing the company to the outside, most of the time. When she does that, she is as hard-nosed as they come. Aside from business, she is a nice and wonderful young woman, gentle until one gives her a reason to be something else, and nothing can separate her from her Curly Mountain Fox, a lad named Sio."
She made a small pause.
"I'll think you'll meet them all three, or four, today."

The Sergeant smiled at the Knight and his question. "Well, that's a bit difficult to characterize. The Great Woods Rangers are the elite formation of the SDF, four companies of the best of the best of the best, capable of doing things most other militaries wouldn't even consider with ease. As we are special forces, I hope you forgive me for not going into more detail."
She smiled apologetically.
"However, what I can tell you is about how I was assigned to you two.", she smiled, "By lottery."

Yoshio's eyes lit up when Gwen mentioned the tournament but the lad still listened intently to everything she had to say before responding. "Nice, I really look forward to meeting them then. You mentioned lances, does that mean that this will be jousting tournament?!"

He seemed very intrigued. Gladiatorial combat was the sport of choice for the masses of ancient Ru, followed by the joust, which was the favored sport of the nobility. While the former is now an extinct relic of the past, the latter does persist today. Though the ancient art of the joust was overtaken by modern team sports such as basketball with the fall of noble power, those with the pedigree of the former noble houses or just those with particular nostalgia for the past still practiced and honed the old knightly arts, and there were a few tournaments held here and there to commemorate Ruvian holidays and festivals. All 9 of King Yoshio's white knights could be counted among that group of people. Sir Larra in particular was considered an especially gifted jouster.

Now that King Yoshio was thinking about the upcoming tournament, he was also curious about the box they would be watching from, particularly who else might be joining them, and asked about that as well.

Sir Larra nodded at the Sergeant's words. He was no stranger to the notion of certain information being classified and respected it well. Though it was often him that had to keep secrets, as keeping the King's secrets was in fact one of the sacred vows he had to take when he accepted his white cloak and the spot in the respected ancient order that came with it. His duties often meant that he had to be made aware of information held by Ruvian Intelligence, often this could be highly classified as well. "You are forgiven, I am quite familiar with that kind of thing."

Yoshio followed up "A lottery eh? So was that the type of lottery they do cause everyone wants to win or because no one wants to be stuck with it? Like when your draw straws?" he smirked, the little king had a bit of a self deprecating sense of humor that came out from time to time.

Gwen laughed and explained: "No, not jousting. There was once jousting practiced in the Free Lands, but that vanished again with the Christian Crusaders.", she grinned at the historic reference, "It's a bit more complicated, though. Each rider... no, other way around." She ordered her thoughts for a moment. "Lanceriding's objective is to dash in full gallop along a short distance and to collect rings with the lance or sword, hanging at different heigts, the hard part being keeping the rings on the lance while riding. Controlling the lance and the horse are a must. It had little to do with the original combat practice from days in the past, but it is a nice pasttime." She smiled. "Now, as for who else might join us... I hope my best friend, Nora, and her boyfriend, Lukas, mainly due to Nora being pregnant right now and I don't want her to hide away in their inn. Mona might join us, too, you'll like her!" There was a giggle. The two of them would be too cute of a team, she thought to herself. "Fiona, her boyfriend, and her brothers might come, too. I'm quite sure, that Colonel Alhajin is going to come, same with High Priestess Ardsagart. And I invited Amy, too, so she might drop by, too."

"Two pots.", the Sergeant explained, "In one, all officers and Sergeants of the Rangers, in the other, all foreign and domestic dignitaries, who requested either a bodyguard or an aide de camp." She smiled. "We took the High Priest of Carman Fea, a really nice old gentleman, and let him draw a pair, one from each pot. By that lottery, I was assigned to you."
She leaned forward.
"And while there were quite a few wins in it this time, I would consider you a win.", she said with a smile.

[Sceidan]

Akiko smiled as she watched Ayden play, soaking his melodies in. She was lost for a moment, but quickly returned to reality and turned to Aingeal. "Do you know when my band could have their soundcheck? We don't take very long to make sure everything is okay, but it's just sort of a last-minute rehearsal. And you'll get a preview of how we sound." Akiko smiled, leaning her head toward Aingeal a bit.

Aingeal smiled, letting the other woman rest her head onto her shoulder, watching her for a moment, as she heard Ayden play. Sometimes, she thought, one needed a new set of eyes to appreciate what someone had, in her case, that was indeed her fiddler Ayden, who she not directly took for granted, but of whom she sometimes forgot, how good he was, when he was solo.
He was always behind her on stage, never standing in the lights himself.
"Once the general technical check, what we are hearing now, is completed, the individual bands can do their individual soundchecks.", she explained, "Shouldn't take too long, now."

"Alrighty, understood! Since this is my first Free Lands Festival, I'm very excited. I have our whole set list lined up with some of my favorite songs from our recent album and some older ones. We're doing a few cover songs as well, so I hope the audience enjoys us! I try to project my energy onto the crowd and get them hyped up throughout the performance. It's proven to be very effective, but it's a bit easy since Metal is high-energy music." Akiko raised her head and popped her knuckles, looking up at Aingeal, since she was a bit shorter, and smiling.

[Ru-]

Gwen laughed and explained: "No, not jousting. There was once jousting practiced in the Free Lands, but that vanished again with the Christian Crusaders.", she grinned at the historic reference, "It's a bit more complicated, though. Each rider... no, other way around." She ordered her thoughts for a moment. "Lanceriding's objective is to dash in full gallop along a short distance and to collect rings with the lance or sword, hanging at different heigts, the hard part being keeping the rings on the lance while riding. Controlling the lance and the horse are a must. It had little to do with the original combat practice from days in the past, but it is a nice pasttime." She smiled. "Now, as for who else might join us... I hope my best friend, Nora, and her boyfriend, Lukas, mainly due to Nora being pregnant right now and I don't want her to hide away in their inn. Mona might join us, too, you'll like her!" There was a giggle. The two of them would be too cute of a team, she thought to herself. "Fiona, her boyfriend, and her brothers might come, too. I'm quite sure, that Colonel Alhajin is going to come, same with High Priestess Ardsagart. And I invited Amy, too, so she might drop by, too."

"Two pots.", the Sergeant explained, "In one, all officers and Sergeants of the Rangers, in the other, all foreign and domestic dignitaries, who requested either a bodyguard or an aide de camp." She smiled. "We took the High Priest of Carman Fea, a really nice old gentleman, and let him draw a pair, one from each pot. By that lottery, I was assigned to you."
She leaned forward.
"And while there were quite a few wins in it this time, I would consider you a win.", she said with a smile.

Yoshio had got his hopes up for a second that he'd see a joust this far from home, but the Selkie variation on it seemed plenty interesting to him as well he had to admit! "Oh I see! That seems like it'd be super fun to watch!" The knight thought it was just as well, if it had been a joust he'd be kicking himself for not having the foresight to sign up for the lists when he had the chance. His king would probably have tried to drag him down to try and enter him anyway, more likely then not.

Yoshio listened to Gwen list off all the people who could be joining them in the box and tilted his head curiously at the giggle that accompanied her comment about him and Mona. He nodded happily at the mention of Amy as well. "Seems like a big group, should be fun! I look forward to meeting them all." The boy listened to the Sergeant describe the lottery process and found out that he was mistaken on both of his guesses. He supposed that it may have been a bit arrogant of him to assume that the entire thing was about his visit only. To be fair his whole life so far was nothing but consistent reinforcement that he was a really big deal, it was an easy assumption to make for him. He chuckled happily at her last comment about him. "Heh, aw shucks!" he said with a goofy grin and a comical swipe of his hand.

[The Selkie]

"Alrighty, understood! Since this is my first Free Lands Festival, I'm very excited. I have our whole set list lined up with some of my favorite songs from our recent album and some older ones. We're doing a few cover songs as well, so I hope the audience enjoys us! I try to project my energy onto the crowd and get them hyped up throughout the performance. It's proven to be very effective, but it's a bit easy since Metal is high-energy music." Akiko raised her head and popped her knuckles, looking up at Aingeal, since she was a bit shorter, and smiling.

Aingeal nodded.
"I certainly look forward to it!", she said, as the fiddlers on the stage finished with their pieces - like everyone else, she gave her approval by clapping and a big smile for the redhead. "I usually like to only play songs, which my fiddler and I like, so we always have fun with our music and the audience usually loves it. Granted, sometimes, I have to stray into foreign territory as part of my other job, but the experience is nice, too." She grinned. "Though if you think, that Metal is high-energy music, you never heard some of our wilder dances!"

Gwen laughed and explained: "No, not jousting. There was once jousting practiced in the Free Lands, but that vanished again with the Christian Crusaders.", she grinned at the historic reference, "It's a bit more complicated, though. Each rider... no, other way around." She ordered her thoughts for a moment. "Lanceriding's objective is to dash in full gallop along a short distance and to collect rings with the lance or sword, hanging at different heigts, the hard part being keeping the rings on the lance while riding. Controlling the lance and the horse are a must. It had little to do with the original combat practice from days in the past, but it is a nice pasttime." She smiled. "Now, as for who else might join us... I hope my best friend, Nora, and her boyfriend, Lukas, mainly due to Nora being pregnant right now and I don't want her to hide away in their inn. Mona might join us, too, you'll like her!" There was a giggle. The two of them would be too cute of a team, she thought to herself. "Fiona, her boyfriend, and her brothers might come, too. I'm quite sure, that Colonel Alhajin is going to come, same with High Priestess Ardsagart. And I invited Amy, too, so she might drop by, too."

"Two pots.", the Sergeant explained, "In one, all officers and Sergeants of the Rangers, in the other, all foreign and domestic dignitaries, who requested either a bodyguard or an aide de camp." She smiled. "We took the High Priest of Carman Fea, a really nice old gentleman, and let him draw a pair, one from each pot. By that lottery, I was assigned to you."
She leaned forward.
"And while there were quite a few wins in it this time, I would consider you a win.", she said with a smile.

Yoshio had got his hopes up for a second that he'd see a joust this far from home, but the Selkie variation on it seemed plenty interesting to him as well he had to admit! "Oh I see! That seems like it'd be super fun to watch!" The knight thought it was just as well, if it had been a joust he'd be kicking himself for not having the foresight to sign up for the lists when he had the chance. His king would probably have tried to drag him down to try and enter him anyway, more likely then not.

Yoshio listened to Gwen list off all the people who could be joining them in the box and tilted his head curiously at the giggle that accompanied her comment about him and Mona. He nodded happily at the mention of Amy as well. "Seems like a big group, should be fun! I look forward to meeting them all." The boy listened to the Sergeant describe the lottery process and found out that he was mistaken on both of his guesses. He supposed that it may have been a bit arrogant of him to assume that the entire thing was about his visit only. To be fair his whole life so far was nothing but consistent reinforcement that he was a really big deal, it was an easy assumption to make for him. He chuckled happily at her last comment about him. "Heh, aw shucks!" he said with a goofy grin and a comical swipe of his hand.

You should., Gwen thought to herself as the King replied to the Sergeant, who giggled at the swipe, Mona's a sweet girl and quite sociable, too - you'll have fun!
Just as she wanted to continue the conversation, the waitress came back and grinned at them: "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure, that we welcome you this morning!", although adressing the whole table, her eyes were drawn onto Gwen, who nodded, "And now, we invite you to relax, let's adjust your chairs..." Both Gwen and the Sergeant did so. "...as the kitchen proudly presents... your breakfast."
And what came then carried by a stream of yound men and women was not a breakfast, but a breakfeast: For Yoshio, the full course, porridge, together with eggs, roasted from both sides, battered sausages (and an extra helping at that), fat from frying going with it, and bread to wipe the fat up, chips of potatoe came in a side bowl together with the lemonde. The Scipeáil came on a large plate into the middle, bribe of the house, as the waitress explained with a wink. For the knight, bread with butter, freshly made, and plates with small selections of cheese and ham native to the area, which was fertile and good land used by herds of cows and goats and sheep and horses, as well as a hot tea, a standard herbal mixture for calming nerves a bit.
Gwen got her breakfast, too, grinned and inhaled the scent with a wide grin as the Sergeant got the berry cake set in front of her, which looked very much like a flood in her mouth.
"Thank you.", Gwen told the crew of waiters and their original waitress, before turning to her guests, "So... any special customs we need to observe?"

[Krugeristan]

"Ma'am," Evanu said calmly, "sitting next to you is illegal where I come from. Violates Section Three of the Military Personal Conduction Code. I shall sit on the floor."

"Please don't argue with him," Golahman whispered in Gwen's direction. At least he's not Vershenov.

Gwen nodded at the proclamation from the Corporal, thinking quickly and coming to a decision: "Alright, your decision... and rules, I guess. Though, if it gets too sugary sweet for your back there, we can always have Glynn sit between us!"

"I am a young man," Evanu said, not even making eye contact with Gwen. "My back will be alright if the length of the ride isn't too much of a problem."

Golahman nodded with a weak smile, turning to kiss Fiona. He enjoyed showing little displays of affection to her, but he didn't enjoy doing it in front of people he wasn't fully comfortable with. Gwen was Fiona's friend after all; surely everything would be alright with her around. He kissed Fiona either way, anxious that he would be in a small space for any amount of time.

[Aurora Confederacy]

"Everything's fine, Miss.", the officer replied with a smile, "However, experience tells me, that the day really starts as soon as the opening is over."

The white-haired woman nodded and with a precision bordering military standards, the men went to work, loading one box onto each sled with a Tine to pull it, who went back to the petting zoo.
"That was Ayden.", the woman replied to the question, "It's a long story. Really long. By the way..." She pulled out a small bag with a string, which was quite heavy. "200 Gil, as promised. And the thanks of the Petting Zoo's fish eaters. I see, that my marketing campaign for your trailer worked so far?"

At the hob, Gina was in conversation, "well judging by what we have had so far, it could be quite a good weekend, although we will be closing the hobs down at five thirty this afternoon ready for cleaning and prepping for tomorrow, afterwards we may go to a bar tonight, know any good ones?" asked Gina as Robbie attended to the woman with the white hair.
"wow, thats got some weight to it. back home we use paper money for most cash transactions" says Robbie, as she slides boxes of fish down to the men with the carts, "I have also put aside some Lake Hai'lu'kai salmon, whoever is having that won't be let down, it really is fine fish". With the last box dealt with Robbie climbs down and locks the trailer up allowing the fans and cooler to kick back in again to help pull the temperature back down, although just before returning to Gina she went around the front and checked on the fridge. it was hovering around 3c in zone 1, -5 in zone2 and still -15 in zone 3 with the mini fridges used for personal items in the under-floor lockers hovering around 2c. to the white haired woman, Robbie smiled, "oh, yeah. We weren't quite sure what to make of him as he came ambling over, but seems to have drawn a crowd, oh where's the best bar around here?"

The woman gave a sad smile. "I hope, that by 'worth a bit' you mean worth in memories and not in money.", she said and pulled the Guarding Fox close, "It's a bit sad, you know? Far too many young people these days only measure things in their value in Gils and not in memories. I still have the Night Bear my mother made for me, he's on a place of honour on one of my cupboards, watching over the household. I have fond memories of him being by my side my whole childhood long." She smiled. "When I took entrance exams to university, I had him in my bag as a good luck charm, for instance."

Zoe was quite chirpy talking to the fellow passenger whilst Micky slept, "the bear, its worth both sentimentally and in terms of money, probably about three to four hundred dinars, its been around the world that bear has. When Mary went on her first overseas holiday as a child, she was only 4 and the bear came along, we made him a passport, complete with photo and the "bear republic" cover. Quite ammusing to see customs officials get handed a novelty passport for a stuffed toy, still some stamped it!" then something caught her eye, "excuse me" she says, picking up the camera and snapping a few photos off in quick succession, "poor Micky here is missing half of this flight, her first ever trip in a plane and she's sleeping"

[AHSCA]

The women smiled, Viola reaching over to pet Mamiko's head, gently as to not ruin her hairstyle.
The mentioning of war brought a somber mood, until Kendra asked: "So, Mamiko, six Springs to your name - that means, that you have all the fun things still coming at you, like school picking up, meeting with friends, vacations... and, of course, boys and their cooties."
There was giggling from Viola and Ava grinned, too.

"Heee, boys are silly all the boys in my class are really silly too!"

"They sure are, but you're plenty of a silly-heart yourself"

"And one of my best friends she is Riko and she is Miss Tainaka's daughter, the nice lady who also runs the shop with mama"

"The two are inseparable sometimes."

[Ru-]

You should., Gwen thought to herself as the King replied to the Sergeant, who giggled at the swipe, Mona's a sweet girl and quite sociable, too - you'll have fun!
Just as she wanted to continue the conversation, the waitress came back and grinned at them: "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure, that we welcome you this morning!", although adressing the whole table, her eyes were drawn onto Gwen, who nodded, "And now, we invite you to relax, let's adjust your chairs..." Both Gwen and the Sergeant did so. "...as the kitchen proudly presents... your breakfast."
And what came then carried by a stream of yound men and women was not a breakfast, but a breakfeast: For Yoshio, the full course, porridge, together with eggs, roasted from both sides, battered sausages (and an extra helping at that), fat from frying going with it, and bread to wipe the fat up, chips of potatoe came in a side bowl together with the lemonde. The Scipeáil came on a large plate into the middle, bribe of the house, as the waitress explained with a wink. For the knight, bread with butter, freshly made, and plates with small selections of cheese and ham native to the area, which was fertile and good land used by herds of cows and goats and sheep and horses, as well as a hot tea, a standard herbal mixture for calming nerves a bit.
Gwen got her breakfast, too, grinned and inhaled the scent with a wide grin as the Sergeant got the berry cake set in front of her, which looked very much like a flood in her mouth.
"Thank you.", Gwen told the crew of waiters and their original waitress, before turning to her guests, "So... any special customs we need to observe?"

Yoshio and the knight adjusted their chairs as they were instructed. The young king's eye's lit up at the food and he rubbed his hands together with anticipation as his food was plated for him. His mouth was watering from the sight and smell of it all, but he snapped out of it as Gwen turned to them both and posed her question. He smiled and answered immediately, clearly eager to have the opportunity to teach them what he knew about his country's culture. "Well, in Ru, you are allowed to eat as soon as your food is put in front of you." He shrugged with his palms out to acknowledge that their food was already given to them.

Of course in Ru, there were detailed and symbolic rules of etiquette that determined when one's plate of food was presented to them, and in which order the guests would be served. Typically among old former noble families and Ruvian high society, guests would be presented with a small snack or beverage as soon as they entered their host's home. This was an ancient custom meant to invoke an ancient guest rite, held sacred in the old pagan faiths of Ru and continued to be in the Caelian faith. It prohibited hosts from harming their guests while they were in their home, or vice versa. Once the guests have gathered for a meal, the host, his family, and the most honored guests would sit at the high tables (each seat had a different importance according to status), the host and perhaps a guests of particular importance, might give a small speech or lead a prayer and then announce the meal, at which point the servers would bring the plates out. The host would be served first, but he or she is an exception to the general rule of "eat when you're served" since the host would be presented with all the other dishes one at a time and tell the servers who to give each one to, in order of each guest's status. This was to represent that the host rules under their own roof, and was meant to provide the host with an opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty to their betters, and their generosity toward their equals and inferiors. In this case, however, they were in a restaurant, and the tradition for dining out was to have all the guests at a table to be served at once like they had been.

Yoshio briefly explained some of this. (he would have gone into greater detail had the food not looked so good) Then he added, "But, we are the guests here in your country, so it's probably me who should be asking you this question!"

[The Selkie]

"I am a young man," Evanu said, not even making eye contact with Gwen. "My back will be alright if the length of the ride isn't too much of a problem."

Golahman nodded with a weak smile, turning to kiss Fiona. He enjoyed showing little displays of affection to her, but he didn't enjoy doing it in front of people he wasn't fully comfortable with. Gwen was Fiona's friend after all; surely everything would be alright with her around. He kissed Fiona either way, anxious that he would be in a small space for any amount of time.

Gwen smiled as the young man avoided eye contact with her, looked to Glynn. The young man shrugged.
"Alright then, climb aboard!", she said with a smile, motioning to the back of her cart. "Next stop, the petting zoo!"
In the back, Fiona replied to the kiss in kind, bringing her lips onto his, putting a hand on his upper leg with a smile, softly stroking it. Don't worry., she said with that, Everything'll be fine!
The only awake Tine in the back watched them and showed fangs.

"Everything's fine, Miss.", the officer replied with a smile, "However, experience tells me, that the day really starts as soon as the opening is over."

The white-haired woman nodded and with a precision bordering military standards, the men went to work, loading one box onto each sled with a Tine to pull it, who went back to the petting zoo.
"That was Ayden.", the woman replied to the question, "It's a long story. Really long. By the way..." She pulled out a small bag with a string, which was quite heavy. "200 Gil, as promised. And the thanks of the Petting Zoo's fish eaters. I see, that my marketing campaign for your trailer worked so far?"

At the hob, Gina was in conversation, "well judging by what we have had so far, it could be quite a good weekend, although we will be closing the hobs down at five thirty this afternoon ready for cleaning and prepping for tomorrow, afterwards we may go to a bar tonight, know any good ones?" asked Gina as Robbie attended to the woman with the white hair.
"wow, thats got some weight to it. back home we use paper money for most cash transactions" says Robbie, as she slides boxes of fish down to the men with the carts, "I have also put aside some Lake Hai'lu'kai salmon, whoever is having that won't be let down, it really is fine fish". With the last box dealt with Robbie climbs down and locks the trailer up allowing the fans and cooler to kick back in again to help pull the temperature back down, although just before returning to Gina she went around the front and checked on the fridge. it was hovering around 3c in zone 1, -5 in zone2 and still -15 in zone 3 with the mini fridges used for personal items in the under-floor lockers hovering around 2c. to the white haired woman, Robbie smiled, "oh, yeah. We weren't quite sure what to make of him as he came ambling over, but seems to have drawn a crowd, oh where's the best bar around here?"

The woman gave a sad smile. "I hope, that by 'worth a bit' you mean worth in memories and not in money.", she said and pulled the Guarding Fox close, "It's a bit sad, you know? Far too many young people these days only measure things in their value in Gils and not in memories. I still have the Night Bear my mother made for me, he's on a place of honour on one of my cupboards, watching over the household. I have fond memories of him being by my side my whole childhood long." She smiled. "When I took entrance exams to university, I had him in my bag as a good luck charm, for instance."

Zoe was quite chirpy talking to the fellow passenger whilst Micky slept, "the bear, its worth both sentimentally and in terms of money, probably about three to four hundred dinars, its been around the world that bear has. When Mary went on her first overseas holiday as a child, she was only 4 and the bear came along, we made him a passport, complete with photo and the "bear republic" cover. Quite ammusing to see customs officials get handed a novelty passport for a stuffed toy, still some stamped it!" then something caught her eye, "excuse me" she says, picking up the camera and snapping a few photos off in quick succession, "poor Micky here is missing half of this flight, her first ever trip in a plane and she's sleeping"

The officer nodded. "The Puimcín, a very good house. Rarely any incidents and good ale, too. And good musicians."

The white haired woman watched her aides taking care of everything - she could not tell them, that those fish would be fed to the animals of the petting zoo, which ate fish, which were quite a lot. She just couldn't.
She also declined to comment on the matter of their currency - paper money was too flimsy and had no value, as it was a slip of paper something was printed on. However, Gil and the other coins had a real value to them in material as they were, indeed, of the material they were supposed to be of.
"Yes, Ayden has that effect on people.", she replied. "Though he wasn't sent by me but by his nose and his heart. He's a magnificent lad, let me tell you." She grinned. "If he'd be a man, there'd be lassies swooning over him like crazy!" She grinned and nodded. "Now, the best bar depends a bit: What do you need? Good drinks, good music, good rooms to sober up or good company?"

On the plane, the old woman giggled at the image of the bear's passport - she knew, that most of the customs officials would pretend to treat it as a real passport and stamp it, too.
"That's very cute.", the old woman said and smiled, thinking of the stuffed companions of those around her - no one ever went to these lengths for letting him accompany them on a foreign trip and that said something in most of the case studies.
What Zoe was snapping pictures of was the Trossach, the Home of the Selkie, as it was known, one of the large regions, that made up the Free Lands, and its corn chamber - rolling fields and streets winding through them, small towns and villages, the occassional farmstead and rivers glittering in the rising sun, small forests on the ground as well...

The women smiled, Viola reaching over to pet Mamiko's head, gently as to not ruin her hairstyle.
The mentioning of war brought a somber mood, until Kendra asked: "So, Mamiko, six Springs to your name - that means, that you have all the fun things still coming at you, like school picking up, meeting with friends, vacations... and, of course, boys and their cooties."
There was giggling from Viola and Ava grinned, too.

"Heee, boys are silly all the boys in my class are really silly too!"

"They sure are, but you're plenty of a silly-heart yourself"

"And one of my best friends she is Riko and she is Miss Tainaka's daughter, the nice lady who also runs the shop with mama"

"The two are inseparable sometimes."

The three women smiled. "Your best friend, eh?", Viola said with a nod, "But you are quite correct for your age: Boys are silly. We know many examples of them and all of them are that... but then, there'll be a time, when they aren't. The one, who's the silliest, though, has the most cooties!"
There were smiles all around as the three looked at each. "Now then...", Ava said and bowed her head in gratitude. "It was a fun to talk to you two, but I'm afraid, that we need to get going. Dress sharply, lassies, we're going out today!"
"Yes, Ava!", the two replied with smiles and stood up, the Fire Fennek jumping down from the lap with practiced ease. He went to Mamiko's side and looked up to her.
"He wants to say goodbye.", Viola instructed, "Hold out your hand to him."

You should., Gwen thought to herself as the King replied to the Sergeant, who giggled at the swipe, Mona's a sweet girl and quite sociable, too - you'll have fun!
Just as she wanted to continue the conversation, the waitress came back and grinned at them: "Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure, that we welcome you this morning!", although adressing the whole table, her eyes were drawn onto Gwen, who nodded, "And now, we invite you to relax, let's adjust your chairs..." Both Gwen and the Sergeant did so. "...as the kitchen proudly presents... your breakfast."
And what came then carried by a stream of yound men and women was not a breakfast, but a breakfeast: For Yoshio, the full course, porridge, together with eggs, roasted from both sides, battered sausages (and an extra helping at that), fat from frying going with it, and bread to wipe the fat up, chips of potatoe came in a side bowl together with the lemonde. The Scipeáil came on a large plate into the middle, bribe of the house, as the waitress explained with a wink. For the knight, bread with butter, freshly made, and plates with small selections of cheese and ham native to the area, which was fertile and good land used by herds of cows and goats and sheep and horses, as well as a hot tea, a standard herbal mixture for calming nerves a bit.
Gwen got her breakfast, too, grinned and inhaled the scent with a wide grin as the Sergeant got the berry cake set in front of her, which looked very much like a flood in her mouth.
"Thank you.", Gwen told the crew of waiters and their original waitress, before turning to her guests, "So... any special customs we need to observe?"

Yoshio and the knight adjusted their chairs as they were instructed. The young king's eye's lit up at the food and he rubbed his hands together with anticipation as his food was plated for him. His mouth was watering from the sight and smell of it all, but he snapped out of it as Gwen turned to them both and posed her question. He smiled and answered immediately, clearly eager to have the opportunity to teach them what he knew about his country's culture. "Well, in Ru, you are allowed to eat as soon as your food is put in front of you." He shrugged with his palms out to acknowledge that their food was already given to them.

Of course in Ru, there were detailed and symbolic rules of etiquette that determined when one's plate of food was presented to them, and in which order the guests would be served. Typically among old former noble families and Ruvian high society, guests would be presented with a small snack or beverage as soon as they entered their host's home. This was an ancient custom meant to invoke an ancient guest rite, held sacred in the old pagan faiths of Ru and continued to be in the Caelian faith. It prohibited hosts from harming their guests while they were in their home, or vice versa. Once the guests have gathered for a meal, the host, his family, and the most honored guests would sit at the high tables (each seat had a different importance according to status), the host and perhaps a guests of particular importance, might give a small speech or lead a prayer and then announce the meal, at which point the servers would bring the plates out. The host would be served first, but he or she is an exception to the general rule of "eat when you're served" since the host would be presented with all the other dishes one at a time and tell the servers who to give each one to, in order of each guest's status. This was to represent that the host rules under their own roof, and was meant to provide the host with an opportunity to demonstrate their loyalty to their betters, and their generosity toward their equals and inferiors. In this case, however, they were in a restaurant, and the tradition for dining out was to have all the guests at a table to be served at once like they had been.

Yoshio briefly explained some of this. (he would have gone into greater detail had the food not looked so good) Then he added, "But, we are the guests here in your country, so it's probably me who should be asking you this question!"

Gwen listened to the excursion into Ruvian Eating Manners and nodded along, trying to remember all of it.
It might come in handy.
At the last declaration, Gwen smiled. "I usually make it an important point to have guests at my table from distant shores able to speak their table prayers or things like that. Some are too nervous to do it or fear retribution - especially Christians, there had been a few... things in history - so sometimes a little nudge in the direction is all that is needed. That being said..." She smiled. "We are far laxer with such things. I'll explain after breakfast, okay?"
She looked at the Sergeant, who bowed her head in reverance.
"We thank the cooks for their gracious work and for having us, Gavida's blessing be upon them, we thank Ladra for bringing our pleasant company to our shores and we thank Rhiannon for this good meal.", Gwen said with a smile and grinned. "Let's dig in."
She looked at Yoshio, asking him by that, if they indeed did need to say their graces - if they didn't, they were free to indeed dig in.