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

[Ru-]

Lilly smiled, softly squeezing Larra's hand, as her reply about being sorry and that it was okay was cut out by the young man worrying about her grandfather.
So, she delivered her apology that way, with his hand in hers.
"Don't worry about Gramps. He loves talking to children, no matter how much they talk his ear off!", she said with a smile - and as if on time, her grandfather laughed at a remark of the young king. "See? Gramps, are you okay?"
"...and I quite like it alot!", the young King had just finished.
Cormac turned to the two younger people.
"Oh, I'm wonderfull.", he said with a grin, "Yoshio-Rí and I..."
Whatever was with the two was drowned out by the horn of the young girl with orange-blonde hair, a long and steady tone...

Yoshio swung around at the sound of the tone and dashed out to stand in front of the others in his party, standing on his tip toes and craning himself forward as far as he could to try and get as good a look as possible. The spot that they had been given was indeed great for viewing and he tried to take in as many details of this new culture as possible. He recognized Gwen leading the proceedings and waved to her, though he was certain that she wouldn't notice. He didn't know what he was supposed to do to participate so he took his cues from the crowd around him, doing his best to mimic their actions and follow along.

His eyes widened in surprise at the horse being sacrificed, and let out a sudden and somewhat excited exclamation of "Whoa!" in spite of himself. He certainly was not expecting that, in spite of this part of the ceremony being referred to as the spring sacrifice numerous times. Caelian sacrifices involved burning flowers, oils, and incense, so he had just assumed it would be something like that. Animal sacrifice in Ru was from the ancient days when the Ruvians still worshiped the Great Dragons, before the Faith of Cael swept over the land through Aiden the Conqueror's sword. The sacrifice had certainly gotten the boy's attention and Yoshio was now far more interested in the proceedings then he had been previously, and watched on with rapt fascination.

[The Selkie]

Samuel Cui
Teach Ósta

"I think I'll pass; thanks, anyway," Samuel replied with a tone of relief. If anything, he was starting to feel his tea; it worked exactly as Kiah said it did.

Passing the information he wrote, he smirked. "Just in case," he added; it had the added effect of giving Kiah his son's number. Gabriel would understand, he figured; Kiah had become his point of contact during his stay in The Selkie, and if that meant introducing him to someone he'd definitely get along with, that was fine by Samuel.

Kiah looked at the sheet of paper, looked at it and noted the number of the famed Gabriel. A smile came to her lips - not that this was how she usually got phone numbers, but it worked either way. She folded the paper carefully, putting it into a pocket of her skirt.
"Let's hope, that this case never arrives.", she said and nodded. "However, it is wise to be prepared." She smiled and took a sip of her tea, feeling more awake and alive. Her smile took a slightly mischievous note. "So..."

Golahman was silent throughout the opening proceedings of the Spring Festival, thinking about how Assad would be if he were here. He thought about his nerves and Assad's nerves while making their speeches during the Halloween Party, when Gwen mentioned that she wasn't one for speeches.

Overall, Golahman was physically and mentally alright up until the horse was sacrificed. While Evanu watched with a slight cringe, Golahman abruptly stood up, racing inside to vomit. Upon emptying his stomach, guilt filled the void, wondering if he had ultimately disrespected the people of his girlfriend with this reaction.

None of the Selkie felt in any way miffed at the President of Krugeristan running inside to vomit, but none of them was amused either - it was never nice to see someone vomiting or running off to vomit. Niochan nodded to one of the persons on the balcony, someone he knew to have the training of a medic.
Many of them were concerned, but they all knew to better leave it to a professional.
That person, a soldier in the green Duty Uniform with the red diamond on the sleeve, blonde hair and a soft smile, a woman like one imagines nurses to be, motioned to Evanu to follow her... and the retching to a toilet.
She knocked on the door. "Sir?", she called, "Do you need help?"

Their song faded out and Akela grinned, looking about the crowd. She turned to the technicians and nodded. "Certainly, we have some traditional instruments here, we'll test those out." Akela walked toward the back of the stage and brought with her a large Sitar. Instead of standing and playing, which she could clearly not do, she crossed her legs and took a seat, the large instrument laying across her chest. She whispered to her band mates in Jathani and smiled. Mara played a lot of traditional music infused with heavy progressive metal. Some songs were calm and serene, some were pressing and gritty, and some are a mixture of both. Usually songs that contained a sitar were more peaceful, and usually never backed by the other musicians, or backed by a few quiet riffs.

As Akela sat in a traditional style, her eyes closed, it was almost as if she was meditating. She looked peaceful. Slowly, she began to pluck at the sitar's strings, creating a peaceful and enchanting melody on the Hindu instrument. The melody was peaceful, and interrupted by no noise. Akela looked to be at peace playing the sitar.

Soon, the short melody faded, and Akela re-opened her eyes, standing up and delicately leaning the large instrument against a large amp. "Well, I hope everything looks good!"

As the song ended, the Selkie in attendance, all without exception listening, enchanted by the instrument's sounds, by the serene calmness, which was brought out by Akela.
When the song ended, there was no applause... they waited, until the last note had faded... and then they applauded, sweeping over the square and erupting like a volcano, only interrupted by the head technician over his own microphone: "Well, that looks good, Miss. More then good, in fact..." He looked over the crowd, then exchanged a few words with his other technicians. "Wanna give the crowd another one? Radio Cornwall 3 would be delighted, if you did and I think, that they aren't the only ones!"
There was approval from the crowd.

Lilly smiled, softly squeezing Larra's hand, as her reply about being sorry and that it was okay was cut out by the young man worrying about her grandfather.
So, she delivered her apology that way, with his hand in hers.
"Don't worry about Gramps. He loves talking to children, no matter how much they talk his ear off!", she said with a smile - and as if on time, her grandfather laughed at a remark of the young king. "See? Gramps, are you okay?"
"...and I quite like it alot!", the young King had just finished.
Cormac turned to the two younger people.
"Oh, I'm wonderfull.", he said with a grin, "Yoshio-Rí and I..."
Whatever was with the two was drowned out by the horn of the young girl with orange-blonde hair, a long and steady tone...

Yoshio swung around at the sound of the tone and dashed out to stand in front of the others in his party, standing on his tip toes and craning himself forward as far as he could to try and get as good a look as possible. The spot that they had been given was indeed great for viewing and he tried to take in as many details of this new culture as possible. He recognized Gwen leading the proceedings and waved to her, though he was certain that she wouldn't notice. He didn't know what he was supposed to do to participate so he took his cues from the crowd around him, doing his best to mimic their actions and follow along.

His eyes widened in surprise at the horse being sacrificed, and let out a sudden and somewhat excited exclamation of "Whoa!" in spite of himself. He certainly was not expecting that, in spite of this part of the ceremony being referred to as the spring sacrifice numerous times. Caelian sacrifices involved burning flowers, oils, and incense, so he had just assumed it would be something like that. Animal sacrifice in Ru was from the ancient days when the Ruvians still worshiped the Great Dragons, before the Faith of Cael swept over the land through Aiden the Conqueror's sword. The sacrifice had certainly gotten the boy's attention and Yoshio was now far more interested in the proceedings then he had been previously, and watched on with rapt fascination.

Cormac watched, from the corner of his eye, very intently what Yoshio was doing and how he reacted - after all, this was an important ceremony for the Selkie. Gauging by the youngsters reaction to everything going on was important.
He had to smile at the "Whoa!", but he wasn't the only one.
"The one time in the normal year, when we sacrafice a living being.", Cormac told Yoshio in a whisper, "All around the Free Lands, whereever a High Priest or High Priestess celebrates the beginning of Spring, one horse is sacraficed to the Gods, to be the steed of the God in who's name it was offered - in this case, Lodan Lir, God of Seas and Rivers."
With the first part of the sacrafice now finished, the next part came. Behind the little sacraficial stage was a large canvas, spanned to be taut, a line forming up on the side. The first one, a young lassie of fifteen Springs, a beautiful girl, went forward and kissed her pointer, then put it into the bowl with the horse's blood, before pressing her pointer onto the canvas, leaving a fingerprint in blood on it.
"This canvas will later be sacraficed, too.", Cormac explained in a whisper, as the lassie made way and cleaned her finger, "It's for the Gods to see, who reached adulthood this year."

[Krugeristan]

Golahman was silent throughout the opening proceedings of the Spring Festival, thinking about how Assad would be if he were here. He thought about his nerves and Assad's nerves while making their speeches during the Halloween Party, when Gwen mentioned that she wasn't one for speeches.

Overall, Golahman was physically and mentally alright up until the horse was sacrificed. While Evanu watched with a slight cringe, Golahman abruptly stood up, racing inside to vomit. Upon emptying his stomach, guilt filled the void, wondering if he had ultimately disrespected the people of his girlfriend with this reaction.

None of the Selkie felt in any way miffed at the President of Krugeristan running inside to vomit, but none of them was amused either - it was never nice to see someone vomiting or running off to vomit. Niochan nodded to one of the persons on the balcony, someone he knew to have the training of a medic.
Many of them were concerned, but they all knew to better leave it to a professional.
That person, a soldier in the green Duty Uniform with the red diamond on the sleeve, blonde hair and a soft smile, a woman like one imagines nurses to be, motioned to Evanu to follow her... and the retching to a toilet.
She knocked on the door. "Sir?", she called, "Do you need help?"

"I don't need help!" Golahman howled. "I'm alright!"

Evanu glanced at the woman. "I think it's best we leave him alone, ma'am," he said. "He's . . . probably ashamed and embarrassed right now. It'd be best if we get someone he knows--or just get Assad on a phone."

[Jathana]

As the song ended, the Selkie in attendance, all without exception listening, enchanted by the instrument's sounds, by the serene calmness, which was brought out by Akela.
When the song ended, there was no applause... they waited, until the last note had faded... and then they applauded, sweeping over the square and erupting like a volcano, only interrupted by the head technician over his own microphone: "Well, that looks good, Miss. More then good, in fact..." He looked over the crowd, then exchanged a few words with his other technicians. "Wanna give the crowd another one? Radio Cornwall 3 would be delighted, if you did and I think, that they aren't the only ones!"
There was approval from the crowd.

Akela smiled at the applause and nodded. One of her band mates lowered the microphone to meet her sitar and her face. "I think I can do one more for fun." She strummed a note once and leaned into the microphone
"These sitar tunes are all from our two most recent albums, Drink From The Stars and The Forest Speaks In Tongues. This song is called The Sky Beckons." She nodded to her band mates and continued strumming the sitar, letting out a peaceful, sparse melody. Soon, the melody picked up and increased in speed a bit, synths kicked in, playing an ethereal background melody. The drums joined in later, deep toms struck in a pattern, then followed by an acoustic played by one of the guitarists, as the ethereal synths continued to echo through, as if they were the noises of the galaxy itself. The drums kicked in more, and a steady beat was established, followed by a funky bass line from another guitarist.

As the song built and progressed, the sitar remained prominent, strumming out elegant and complex melodies of varying speeds, each instrument uniquely forming around the sitar's instrumentation. Akela's fingers moved quickly along the sitar as her speeds changed. Soon, the instruments all dropped out, save for the sitar and droning synths. The sitar played more peaceful and soothing melodies, washing across the crowd like a wave. The peaceful melodies began to pick up once more, and the bass, drums, and acoustic guitar all rejoined in an epic finale, with fast strumming by the sitar and guitar, supported by a funky groove from the bass and complex drum fills and patterns. The song finally culminated with an epic fermata by each instrument. There was a silent pause as each instrument faded, and finally, a single, slow strum from the sitar ended the piece.

[Ru-]

Cormac watched, from the corner of his eye, very intently what Yoshio was doing and how he reacted - after all, this was an important ceremony for the Selkie. Gauging by the youngsters reaction to everything going on was important.
He had to smile at the "Whoa!", but he wasn't the only one.
"The one time in the normal year, when we sacrafice a living being.", Cormac told Yoshio in a whisper, "All around the Free Lands, whereever a High Priest or High Priestess celebrates the beginning of Spring, one horse is sacraficed to the Gods, to be the steed of the God in who's name it was offered - in this case, Lodan Lir, God of Seas and Rivers."
With the first part of the sacrafice now finished, the next part came. Behind the little sacraficial stage was a large canvas, spanned to be taut, a line forming up on the side. The first one, a young lassie of fifteen Springs, a beautiful girl, went forward and kissed her pointer, then put it into the bowl with the horse's blood, before pressing her pointer onto the canvas, leaving a fingerprint in blood on it.
"This canvas will later be sacraficed, too.", Cormac explained in a whisper, as the lassie made way and cleaned her finger, "It's for the Gods to see, who reached adulthood this year."

Yoshio nodded and listened to the information carefully, happy to take it in. He was tempted to talk about Caelian practices and those of the followers of the Great Immortal Dragons that came before them. But instead he kept quiet, watched and listened. He already knew how to behave during the ceremonial portions of religious rituals and festivals. He himself had to play a central role in certain important Caelian ceremonies, as the King of Ru was also a religious figure of some significance according to the ancient traditions and scriptures.

[The Selkie]

"I don't need help!" Golahman howled. "I'm alright!"

Evanu glanced at the woman. "I think it's best we leave him alone, ma'am," he said. "He's . . . probably ashamed and embarrassed right now. It'd be best if we get someone he knows--or just get Assad on a phone."

"Well...", the medic said and shrugged, not sure about what to do...
...which was the time, when heavy, armoured boots came up the stairs.
"Ah, Fiona, good morning!", Niochan's voice came from behind them. "If you search for Mister Golahman, he's on break for the moment."
"Thanks, General.", Fiona said, giving her brother a short peck on the cheek, before she turned the corner to the hallway down to the bathroom. She, clad in a beautiful, intricately decorated half-cuirass and Selkie-Armour, sword hanging on one hip, bowcase of leather on the other, a quiver strapped behind it, stopped, when she saw the medic and Evanu, turning to the latter: "So..."

Akela smiled at the applause and nodded. One of her band mates lowered the microphone to meet her sitar and her face. "I think I can do one more for fun." She strummed a note once and leaned into the microphone
"These sitar tunes are all from our two most recent albums, Drink From The Stars and The Forest Speaks In Tongues. This song is called The Sky Beckons." She nodded to her band mates and continued strumming the sitar, letting out a peaceful, sparse melody. Soon, the melody picked up and increased in speed a bit, synths kicked in, playing an ethereal background melody. The drums joined in later, deep toms struck in a pattern, then followed by an acoustic played by one of the guitarists, as the ethereal synths continued to echo through, as if they were the noises of the galaxy itself. The drums kicked in more, and a steady beat was established, followed by a funky bass line from another guitarist.

As the song built and progressed, the sitar remained prominent, strumming out elegant and complex melodies of varying speeds, each instrument uniquely forming around the sitar's instrumentation. Akela's fingers moved quickly along the sitar as her speeds changed. Soon, the instruments all dropped out, save for the sitar and droning synths. The sitar played more peaceful and soothing melodies, washing across the crowd like a wave. The peaceful melodies began to pick up once more, and the bass, drums, and acoustic guitar all rejoined in an epic finale, with fast strumming by the sitar and guitar, supported by a funky groove from the bass and complex drum fills and patterns. The song finally culminated with an epic fermata by each instrument. There was a silent pause as each instrument faded, and finally, a single, slow strum from the sitar ended the piece.

The crowd, growing a bit larger, erupted with applause and praise, cheers and approval as the song ended.
This time, there was no delay, but more appreciation.
The Head Technician flicked a switch after a few seconds and from the speakers, a voice came: "That ladies and gentlemen...", the soothing, calm voice of a radioman came, "...was awesome. Big thanks to Mara for this little encore!" The crowd applauded again as the man known to them as the speaker for Radio Cornwall 3 spoke. "Hope to hear you later!"
The technician turned a switch and grinned. "From us, too. Now, next ones!"
Lilly and a few others offered their help to Mara, the rest blasted away by their performance.

Yoshio nodded and listened to the information carefully, happy to take it in. He was tempted to talk about Caelian practices and those of the followers of the Great Immortal Dragons that came before them. But instead he kept quiet, watched and listened. He already knew how to behave during the ceremonial portions of religious rituals and festivals. He himself had to play a central role in certain important Caelian ceremonies, as the King of Ru was also a religious figure of some significance according to the ancient traditions and scriptures.

Cormac smiled. "You will note, that most of them seem rather young - that's because we see a person of fifteen Springs as an adult, with everything belonging to it. Well, almost everything." He smiled at the boy. "It's both law and tradition. With girls, we call it 'getting shorter'." He pointed towards a girl a little bit younger then Yoshio, standing on the other side of the procession road, a cute girl with her long, black hair in two pigtails over her shoulders, wearing dark blue and white, Westmeath's colours, much like his daughter wore them. Her skirt was long on both sides, knee-length. "When they become of age, they get the skirt with the shorter left side, somewhere over the next few days, usually without ceremony. Was like that for my sisters, anyway."
He looked at Yoshio, watching him. "I can see, that there is something burning on your tongue, Yoshio-Rí.", he said with a wide grin growing on his face.

[AHSCA]

"That'd be awesome!", Liam said with a cheery, wide grin on his face, which bordered a bit into the stupid and giddy.
He was, for the lack of a better term, happy.
"Others will be bringing along their kids, too, so...", she leaned over to Kumiko to whisper, "...the young lad might have a bit of competition, soon!"

'Little' was not the right term to use... as an adult Star Lynx was around 1.4 metres tall.
As Ayden was a bit younger, he barely managed the metre... that, however, did not stop the young, dignified and strong predator to turn into a big, fluffy feline ball of putty under Mamiko's hand. He let out a happy sigh, as she petted him softly and was in his personal heaven.
Fiona and Finn grinned as the watched.

"Oho" She giggled at that "Well whatever happens happens. Well then it will be a magical evening to remember, I'm sure."

"Aww so cute." Mamiko pet and patted the Lynx "He sure does like it. It is a boy, yes?"

[New Visayan Islands]

Samuel Cui
Teach Ósta

"...what's our next port of call?" Samuel asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. Now that they had finished breakfast, he had begun wondering what was next on the itinerary.

[Krugeristan]

"I don't need help!" Golahman howled. "I'm alright!"

Evanu glanced at the woman. "I think it's best we leave him alone, ma'am," he said. "He's . . . probably ashamed and embarrassed right now. It'd be best if we get someone he knows--or just get Assad on a phone."

"Well...", the medic said and shrugged, not sure about what to do...
...which was the time, when heavy, armoured boots came up the stairs.
"Ah, Fiona, good morning!", Niochan's voice came from behind them. "If you search for Mister Golahman, he's on break for the moment."
"Thanks, General.", Fiona said, giving her brother a short peck on the cheek, before she turned the corner to the hallway down to the bathroom. She, clad in a beautiful, intricately decorated half-cuirass and Selkie-Armour, sword hanging on one hip, bowcase of leather on the other, a quiver strapped behind it, stopped, when she saw the medic and Evanu, turning to the latter: "So..."

"He had to toss his cookies when the horse was killed," Evanu said. "He's alright, just . . . on edge, I guess. Hasn't opened the door since."

[Aurora Confederacy]

The Opening Ceremony began under the watchful eyes of several Aurorans, the President of Krugeristan, the King of Ru and his bodyguard, as well as several hundred Selkie and quite a few cameras broadcasting for TV.
The horn had been blown by a girl with red-blonde hair, blue eyes sparkling like sapphires as she sat on the back of her colt, barely able to reach the stirrups. She was Mona Beag of the Tribe of Louth, Envoy to Lodan Lir and she was nervous. With a soft kick into her horse's flanks, she urged him forward into a slow trot, a procession was parting in front of her. The Selkie standing in her way made no fuss other then bowing their head in respect, which was returned by Mona.
At her side, two horsewomen flanked her, one being Fiona Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan and the other being Gwen Cathlong of the Tribe of Cork, both armoured in the half-cuirasses the Selkie preferred, their lances high.
Led by one hand by his reins, Mona was also with a fourth horse, one without rider - one of the most beautiful horses to ever clop his hooves. He was a fiery fuchsia, mane in white, adorned with gilded reins and a saddle of the best leather, dark as ashes, contrasting with his fur. He was strong and well formed, like a master sculptor had his hands in making him. Fit for a King... yet, destined to the Gods.
She and her entourage stopped as their own path linked to the main procession street, looking to the square's entrance.
Appearing there, a woman with brown hair, long and fluttering in the wind, escorted by a dozen horsemen, their lances adorned with a pennon showing the steel-grey and green of the Banphrionsas - indeed, under the cheers of the crowd, their hostess, Gwen Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan, armoured and armed herself, made an appearance, briskly trotting along, smiling and nodding. As hostess, it was only appropriate, that the people expressed their gratitude to her for making this Festival happen and the Cup, which would soon be fought for.
Or at least putting up most of the organization.
She bowed her head to Elder Crua, who returned the gesture with a smile, and stopped in front of Mona, a hush falling over the crowd. She bowed her head, deeply, before she reached over an pulled the girl into a short, yet heartfelt embrace.
"Welcome one and welcome all!", Gwen Banphrionsa, an arm still around the little girl's shoulder, called to the crowd, "Welcome to Cuan and the Spring Festival!" Cheers replied to the proclamation. "We are a bit behind the time table, so I'll make it quick... plus, I'm not one for long speeches." Laughs. "Welcome you all from both at home and overseas, guests of the Tribes of the Selkie and from distant shores. May your day be as blessed as the weather was so far, watm and beautiful... and may this year be just the same, full of the love of family and friends, full of light. Now, let's get it on the road!"
Cheers broke out and a few seconds later, the two of them were trotting along further, Fiona and Gwen integrating into the escort, until they hit a small stage with a large, bronzen bowl, already tended to by Priests of Lodan Lir. There, they turned and looked towards the beginning...
...and a hush fell over the people, as they all lowered their heads. A woman in the robes of a High Priestess, older, dignified and proud, rode onto the square, three dozen horsemen in shining armour following her and taking position by the flanks of the stage, together with the half-dozen of other people, amongst them a Flamen Minores from Lutetii, took position closer by them.
Gwen dismounted and spoke in a loud and clear voice: "Greetings, High Priestess, and may Lodan Lir be with you."
"I thank you, Gwen Banphrionsa, Chief of her Clan, and may Lodan Lir bless you.", the older woman replied. Her eyes fell onto Mona, who shrunk a small bit, but held her head high. "Envoy, Greetings to you."
The little girl nodded shortly, highly uncomfortable under the glare.
With little ceremony, the High Priestess dismounted and took the reins of the horse without a rider, while fifteen of her escort dismounted - their pennons showed many colours, seemingly random, but for those in the know, these were the colours of the Geansais of all fifteen Tribes. The High Priestess led the horse up the stage, as a song was sung by the Selkie in attendance, a song of Spring and the Gods, a song of love and good harvests, a song in their tongue, flowing like the waters of the three rivers of Cuan.
By the bowl, the High Priestess fed the horse a few herbs, calming the animal as the song reached a crescendo, as she raised a ceremonial dagger... and cut the horse's throat.
Blood gushed out of the wound, into the bowl, as the horse calmly went to eternal sleep, the potent sedative taking its toll on the animal. She guided it down to rest with a strong, yet soft hand.
The chant came to its natural end.
The High Priestess stepped forward, horse blood tipping from the dagger: "Our offering to the Gods is given, we will commit it to the flames by twilight. May this brave steed serve well in Arallfyd. For now, let's celebrate!"
And cheers answered her as the Festival was officially opened and the Spring Sacrafice made..

From Gina's position, she could not really see the horse get sacrificed, however for Micky and Zoe the view was a little more intimate, Micky wasn't expecting the slaughter so turned away at the last minute and yes even Zoe's stomach rolled over but soon the two had regained their composure, just having a large horse sacrificed wasn't quite what they had in mind.

Micky looked at Zoe, "ya's know the mega yacht that was next to us?"
"yeah, the spirit or what ever it was?" replied Zoe,
"I wander if the crew are around here somewhere?" asked Micky
"possible, wanna find out Micky?"
"yeah, looked a nice piece of kit"

and so quietly Zoe and Micky slipped from the square to start to search for the crew of the Indomitable Spirit

[Jathana]

The crowd, growing a bit larger, erupted with applause and praise, cheers and approval as the song ended.
This time, there was no delay, but more appreciation.
The Head Technician flicked a switch after a few seconds and from the speakers, a voice came: "That ladies and gentlemen...", the soothing, calm voice of a radioman came, "...was awesome. Big thanks to Mara for this little encore!" The crowd applauded again as the man known to them as the speaker for Radio Cornwall 3 spoke. "Hope to hear you later!"
The technician turned a switch and grinned. "From us, too. Now, next ones!"
Lilly and a few others offered their help to Mara, the rest blasted away by their performance.

Akela stood up and took a bow, as did the other members. "Thank you!" she said enthusiastically "We will see you later on!" The members accepted Lilly's help in carrying some equipment off stage and storing until later on. "I'm honestly surprised that a soundcheck got that big of a response. We'll be playing many more sitar and classical-based songs later on. Luckily we have some merch to sell here!" She laughed "I'm glad Selkies enjoy classical Jathani music. I like to add my own twist to it."

[Ru-]

Cormac smiled. "You will note, that most of them seem rather young - that's because we see a person of fifteen Springs as an adult, with everything belonging to it. Well, almost everything." He smiled at the boy. "It's both law and tradition. With girls, we call it 'getting shorter'." He pointed towards a girl a little bit younger then Yoshio, standing on the other side of the procession road, a cute girl with her long, black hair in two pigtails over her shoulders, wearing dark blue and white, Westmeath's colours, much like his daughter wore them. Her skirt was long on both sides, knee-length. "When they become of age, they get the skirt with the shorter left side, somewhere over the next few days, usually without ceremony. Was like that for my sisters, anyway."
He looked at Yoshio, watching him. "I can see, that there is something burning on your tongue, Yoshio-Rí.", he said with a wide grin growing on his face.

"Hm?" Yoshio looked puzzled but took the invitation to ask his questions "I was gonna ask if there'd be more people adding to the canvas but, that question's already been answered." he thought a bit and asked "Are the boys who came of age gonna be doing this too?"

[The Selkie]

"Oho" She giggled at that "Well whatever happens happens. Well then it will be a magical evening to remember, I'm sure."

"Aww so cute." Mamiko pet and patted the Lynx "He sure does like it. It is a boy, yes?"

Liam smiled, a bit of tenderness creeping into his expression. "With you, Kumiko, rinn, every second is magic.", he said tenderly, much like a schoolboy, nervous.

Fiona replied with a nod. "He's a he, yes.", she said with a giggle.
Ayden was a proud predator, who always got, what he wanted, but right now, he was putty in her hands, enjoying it with much gusto, her little hands running through his fur. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

Samuel Cui
Teach Ósta

"...what's our next port of call?" Samuel asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice. Now that they had finished breakfast, he had begun wondering what was next on the itinerary.

Kiah smiled. "Well, if I remember correctly, and please correct me, if I am wrong...", she said, shifting forward a small bit, "...we wanted to pay a visit to the Petting Zoo. My family helps out there, a lot of fuzzy and furry animals, quite a few interesting people... and I heard, that they have a cook-off in the making, between a pair of foreigners with a trailer of fish and a Selkie with his booth."
Her smile widened in a full-blown grin, playing with her eyes.
"Alternatively, I can show you the Pearl of Lodan Lir, the parts of it, where tourists usually don't dwell." Her voice dropped a bit. "This lovely inn is only a part of it,"

"He had to toss his cookies when the horse was killed," Evanu said. "He's alright, just . . . on edge, I guess. Hasn't opened the door since."

Fiona nodded, turned to the medic. "Sergeant, please go around the corner.", she said, received a nod and the medical-trained NCO went as Fiona turned to Evanu. "You stay here, please."
And with that, she went to the door, softly knocking on it. "Karak? You alive?", she asked, worry creeping into her voice and expression, "I wanted to check if you were alright and maybe steal a kiss from you before I had to accompany Mom to Opening the Petting Zoo... wanna come along, too?"

From Gina's position, she could not really see the horse get sacrificed, however for Micky and Zoe the view was a little more intimate, Micky wasn't expecting the slaughter so turned away at the last minute and yes even Zoe's stomach rolled over but soon the two had regained their composure, just having a large horse sacrificed wasn't quite what they had in mind.

Micky looked at Zoe, "ya's know the mega yacht that was next to us?"
"yeah, the spirit or what ever it was?" replied Zoe,
"I wander if the crew are around here somewhere?" asked Micky
"possible, wanna find out Micky?"
"yeah, looked a nice piece of kit"

and so quietly Zoe and Micky slipped from the square to start to search for the crew of the Indomitable Spirit

A few of the Selkie watched the two foreigners during them regaining their composure, thinking to themself, that they were overly squirmish. For Selkie, this was normal, the Spring Sacrafice the only time of the usual year, when a living animal was sent to the Gods as a present, as a thanks for the winter not being too harsh and in the hopes of the Spring and Summer being good, too.
Of course, foreign animal activists often protested such things, one group even going as far as to interrupt the ceremony, which was responded to harshly by the corresponding temple's guards, but that was a story for another day, while other groups decried it as superstition. That, usually, was not a worry, which the Selkie took too serious.
Squirmish tourists, however, were to some extend.
Just as Zoe and Mickey slipped from the square, a lassie caught up to them, a mop of dirty blonde hair on her head, young, maybe around seventeen, short, and quite something to look at - and well aware of that. Clad in a Geansai marking her as a Priestess of Ladra, she did stand out a bit, though. She had watched them from the corner of her eyes, turning away. "Hey, you two alright? You looked a bit green around the nose back there.", she asked with concern in her voice.

Akela stood up and took a bow, as did the other members. "Thank you!" she said enthusiastically "We will see you later on!" The members accepted Lilly's help in carrying some equipment off stage and storing until later on. "I'm honestly surprised that a soundcheck got that big of a response. We'll be playing many more sitar and classical-based songs later on. Luckily we have some merch to sell here!" She laughed "I'm glad Selkies enjoy classical Jathani music. I like to add my own twist to it."

Lilly nodded, watching the next group of musicians, two fiddlers, one of them a brunette woman, the other a red-haired man with the stature of a wardrobe, and a young woman with black hair and blue eyes move onto the stage.
"It sounds very good!", she commented with a wide grin, "We like to hear, what we like to hear, like everyone, so if we like to hear sittar-music, we like to hear sittar-music. An interesting sounding instrument. A distant relative of the guitar?"
One of the other bandmembers backstage took one of Akela's men to the side, smiling at him as he told him: "If you want to sell merchandise, there's a concessioned seller outside, he'll be happy to have your stuff - or so I heard.", he told him in a whisper, "You should hurry up, though."

"Hm?" Yoshio looked puzzled but took the invitation to ask his questions "I was gonna ask if there'd be more people adding to the canvas but, that question's already been answered." he thought a bit and asked "Are the boys who came of age gonna be doing this too?"

Cormac nodded, just as a boy broke the string of girls, adding his fingerprint to the canvas, close to where the girl before him added hers.
"They do, usually, but they mostly let the girls do it first. Couples, siblings and close relatives, sometimes close friends, go together, though, representing the bond they share.", he told Yoshio with a smile, watching as, after cleaning their fingers, the two hugged each other, looking relatively closely related.
"While the girls 'get shorter', the boys 'get longer'. They get a longer pike, the appropriately called Long Pike, when they train fighting in PE in school, as 'every child learning the arts of numbers and signs' has to learn how to wield a pike in accordance with ancient law, being capable of defending the city or town they live in. Granted, today its more of ceremony then a real military function, but in the past, it was very important as they were the last line of defense, standing in front of the ill, the pregnant, the old and the children."
He looked at Yoshio.
"Girls switch to the bow or stay with the Long Pike, depending on their own will - after all, they are able to decide.", he added as an afterthought, "Quite a few take both."

[Krugeristan]

"He had to toss his cookies when the horse was killed," Evanu said. "He's alright, just . . . on edge, I guess. Hasn't opened the door since."

Fiona nodded, turned to the medic. "Sergeant, please go around the corner.", she said, received a nod and the medical-trained NCO went as Fiona turned to Evanu. "You stay here, please."
And with that, she went to the door, softly knocking on it. "Karak? You alive?", she asked, worry creeping into her voice and expression, "I wanted to check if you were alright and maybe steal a kiss from you before I had to accompany Mom to Opening the Petting Zoo... wanna come along, too?"

A few minutes later, Golahman opened the door, his face pale and his limbs shaking a little. "I'm . . . alive, I guess," he muttered. "Just-J-Just didn't expect what I had seen . . . I'm so sorry . . ." He looked at the floor, grabbing his hands. "I'll . . . I'll come along with you."

[AHSCA]

Liam smiled, a bit of tenderness creeping into his expression. "With you, Kumiko, rinn, every second is magic.", he said tenderly, much like a schoolboy, nervous.

Fiona replied with a nod. "He's a he, yes.", she said with a giggle.
Ayden was a proud predator, who always got, what he wanted, but right now, he was putty in her hands, enjoying it with much gusto, her little hands running through his fur. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

"Aah" She gave an abated sigh of happiness and euphoria "You're so very kind. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were maybe coming onto me?" She was going for broke now "Perhaps you and I might want to know each other, a bit better." The only way she could put it into words though her language barriers. "I mean...Date...You and me? Tonight we're meeting up as a date?" She came for a simple trip but now it seemed she was getting more than a few trinkets to take back home with her.

"Aah well he is so very cute. I just can't stop petting he's so soft too!"

[Aurora Confederacy]

A few of the Selkie watched the two foreigners during them regaining their composure, thinking to themself, that they were overly squirmish. For Selkie, this was normal, the Spring Sacrafice the only time of the usual year, when a living animal was sent to the Gods as a present, as a thanks for the winter not being too harsh and in the hopes of the Spring and Summer being good, too.
Of course, foreign animal activists often protested such things, one group even going as far as to interrupt the ceremony, which was responded to harshly by the corresponding temple's guards, but that was a story for another day, while other groups decried it as superstition. That, usually, was not a worry, which the Selkie took too serious.
Squirmish tourists, however, were to some extend.
Just as Zoe and Mickey slipped from the square, a lassie caught up to them, a mop of dirty blonde hair on her head, young, maybe around seventeen, short, and quite something to look at - and well aware of that. Clad in a Geansai marking her as a Priestess of Ladra, she did stand out a bit, though. She had watched them from the corner of her eyes, turning away. "Hey, you two alright? You looked a bit green around the nose back there.", she asked with concern in her voice.

hearing the voice, Zoe turned to face where it came from, "yeah we'll be fine as we just weren't expecting a sacrifice, Micky i dont think has ever seen such a thing before" replies Zoe, her arm now around Micky's waist, Micky however just keeps quiet on the matter. Both Zoe and Micky however don't have anything bad to say about the slaughter as they are not animal rights activists but quite simply were not expecting to see a fine horse have its throat slit. "by the way what will happen to that horse now its been sacrificed?" asks Zoe, figuring although she has no idea about the sedative in it, that the horse will be cooked and laid out as a feast, possibly a feast to appease any gods that the Selkie believe in. It is also safe to say that for now, Michaela "Micky" Mariner won't be working in a meat works any time soon!

[New Visayan Islands]

Samuel Cui
Teach Ósta

"I'll believe it when I see it, Kiah," Samuel replied. "Since we're here, anyway," he added, "why don't we start with the Pearl of Lodan Lir? To see it in all its glory would, I suppose, be worth it."

While he would not admit it, being invited to see a part of the Selkie only few tourists like himself have witnessed stoked the flames of curiosity in his eyes. Why don't many tourists find this place worth a look? he started wondering. Let's find out...

[Ru-]

Cormac nodded, just as a boy broke the string of girls, adding his fingerprint to the canvas, close to where the girl before him added hers.
"They do, usually, but they mostly let the girls do it first. Couples, siblings and close relatives, sometimes close friends, go together, though, representing the bond they share.", he told Yoshio with a smile, watching as, after cleaning their fingers, the two hugged each other, looking relatively closely related.
"While the girls 'get shorter', the boys 'get longer'. They get a longer pike, the appropriately called Long Pike, when they train fighting in PE in school, as 'every child learning the arts of numbers and signs' has to learn how to wield a pike in accordance with ancient law, being capable of defending the city or town they live in. Granted, today its more of ceremony then a real military function, but in the past, it was very important as they were the last line of defense, standing in front of the ill, the pregnant, the old and the children."
He looked at Yoshio.
"Girls switch to the bow or stay with the Long Pike, depending on their own will - after all, they are able to decide.", he added as an afterthought, "Quite a few take both."

Yoshio nodded along to what Cormac had to say. "You keep up your traditions very well, I see." He shrugs and adds "We try to do that too in Ru, we have a very long history after-all, several thousand years depending on when you choose to start counting. We've modernized and shall we say, "westernized", quite a bit however. To the point where students training with a pike is quite strange to me. Though I guess your PE classes beat the heck outta dodgeball!"

[The Selkie]

A few minutes later, Golahman opened the door, his face pale and his limbs shaking a little. "I'm . . . alive, I guess," he muttered. "Just-J-Just didn't expect what I had seen . . . I'm so sorry . . ." He looked at the floor, grabbing his hands. "I'll . . . I'll come along with you."

Fiona softly took him into her arms, careful to avoid bashing her sword's hilt into his stomach.
She bedded his head at her steel-clad shoulder, smiling softly. "Nothing to be sorry about.", she whispered to him, softly kissing him on the forehead. "I should have given you an early warning, so it is me, who should feel sorry."

"Aah" She gave an abated sigh of happiness and euphoria "You're so very kind. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were maybe coming onto me?" She was going for broke now "Perhaps you and I might want to know each other, a bit better." The only way she could put it into words though her language barriers. "I mean...Date...You and me? Tonight we're meeting up as a date?" She came for a simple trip but now it seemed she was getting more than a few trinkets to take back home with her.

"Aah well he is so very cute. I just can't stop petting he's so soft too!"

Liam nodded, blushing heavily.
Then he nodded again.
"I'd love to make it a date.", he said, a small, nervous smile breaking out on his lips, "Getting to know you better... maybe a dance or two... Mamiko with us - well, maybe not all the time..." He grinned at her, his eyes sparkling. "If the inside of you is as beautiful as the outside, then I'll be dating someone as beautiful as the stars above..."

Ayden enjoyed the treatment he was receiving, and if she was honest, Fi enjoyed seeing him like that, too.
She smiled at Finn, who was grinning as well.
"Say, you two, wanna help me getting him ready for the big opening?", she asked with a smile, producing a brush from one of her belt's pockets.

hearing the voice, Zoe turned to face where it came from, "yeah we'll be fine as we just weren't expecting a sacrifice, Micky i dont think has ever seen such a thing before" replies Zoe, her arm now around Micky's waist, Micky however just keeps quiet on the matter. Both Zoe and Micky however don't have anything bad to say about the slaughter as they are not animal rights activists but quite simply were not expecting to see a fine horse have its throat slit. "by the way what will happen to that horse now its been sacrificed?" asks Zoe, figuring although she has no idea about the sedative in it, that the horse will be cooked and laid out as a feast, possibly a feast to appease any gods that the Selkie believe in. It is also safe to say that for now, Michaela "Micky" Mariner won't be working in a meat works any time soon!

The lassie nodded, smiling a small bit.
"At dusk, the horse and the canvas you see there...", she told them and pointed at a large canvas, where children, who became adults today, left their fingerprints in the horse's blood, at the moment a pair of boys, who grinned at each other, "...will be burned, thus sending the horse and the names of those, who became adults today, to the Gods. Then, the sacrafice is complete."
She nodded.
"Glad, that you two are alright.", she said, "I know, that most tourists are rather unused to our ceremonies, but I can assure you, that this is the only time in our year, when we sacrafice a living being in its totality and by fire."

Samuel Cui
Teach Ósta

"I'll believe it when I see it, Kiah," Samuel replied. "Since we're here, anyway," he added, "why don't we start with the Pearl of Lodan Lir? To see it in all its glory would, I suppose, be worth it."

While he would not admit it, being invited to see a part of the Selkie only few tourists like himself have witnessed stoked the flames of curiosity in his eyes. Why don't many tourists find this place worth a look? he started wondering. Let's find out...

Kiah's grin widened, knowing, that most tourists in the city kept to the main streets and rarely ventured into the city itself, mostly sticking to the Temples and the Bastions. Venturing, the adventure of travelling, seemed to be lost to most of them.
To this one, however, it seemed as if that was not the case.
Kiah waved to a waitress, the same as before, and paid with a smile, leaving a tip and receiving a few personal words, and a hug, from her friend. Said friend looked at Cui: "Watch out for her, okay?", she told him with a smile.
Kiah blushed.

Yoshio nodded along to what Cormac had to say. "You keep up your traditions very well, I see." He shrugs and adds "We try to do that too in Ru, we have a very long history after-all, several thousand years depending on when you choose to start counting. We've modernized and shall we say, "westernized", quite a bit however. To the point where students training with a pike is quite strange to me. Though I guess your PE classes beat the heck outta dodgeball!"

Cormac laughed loudly, grinning at the declaration from the young King. "That they do indeed!", he told him with a grin splitting his face, "Although I have very fond memories of playing football, or soccer, if you prefer that more, in PE..."
He wanted to draw in air to recount an old tale, as his granddaughter interjected from the side: "Sorry to interrupt, but the local schools are holding a few drill demonstrations over the day, so if the two of you are interested, we can watch them. They're there with everything belonging to it, including a Corps of Drums!"

[Krugeristan]

A few minutes later, Golahman opened the door, his face pale and his limbs shaking a little. "I'm . . . alive, I guess," he muttered. "Just-J-Just didn't expect what I had seen . . . I'm so sorry . . ." He looked at the floor, grabbing his hands. "I'll . . . I'll come along with you."

Fiona softly took him into her arms, careful to avoid bashing her sword's hilt into his stomach.
She bedded his head at her steel-clad shoulder, smiling softly. "Nothing to be sorry about.", she whispered to him, softly kissing him on the forehead. "I should have given you an early warning, so it is me, who should feel sorry."

Golahman didn't know if he wanted to start a "who's more sorry" argument, and refrained from doing so. He nodded a little. "I've seen a lot in my life, but, I could never handle an innocent animal getting hurt--which is why I panicked when Luminous fell off the bed one night. He was fine, thank God, but, I wasn't."

[Jathana]

Lilly nodded, watching the next group of musicians, two fiddlers, one of them a brunette woman, the other a red-haired man with the stature of a wardrobe, and a young woman with black hair and blue eyes move onto the stage.
"It sounds very good!", she commented with a wide grin, "We like to hear, what we like to hear, like everyone, so if we like to hear sittar-music, we like to hear sittar-music. An interesting sounding instrument. A distant relative of the guitar?"
One of the other bandmembers backstage took one of Akela's men to the side, smiling at him as he told him: "If you want to sell merchandise, there's a concessioned seller outside, he'll be happy to have your stuff - or so I heard.", he told him in a whisper, "You should hurry up, though."

The band member nodded and grinned upon hearing this information, and reported back to Akela what he was told. She replied, in Jathani, and told him to help bring the boxes of shirts and CDs to the concession seller. With that, the band members headed off, except for Akela, who remained behind. "Somewhat relative to the guitar. They were invented around the same time, just in different areas. The guitar was more of a western based instrument. For a while, the only music produced in Jathana was Jathali Classical music, which included the sitar."

[The Selkie]

Golahman didn't know if he wanted to start a "who's more sorry" argument, and refrained from doing so. He nodded a little. "I've seen a lot in my life, but, I could never handle an innocent animal getting hurt--which is why I panicked when Luminous fell off the bed one night. He was fine, thank God, but, I wasn't."

"I see.", Fiona said with a small smile, seeing, that Luminous came close to her boyfriend's heart with happiness. "Tines are pretty sturdy lads and lassies, believe me that."
She should know - she had experience with the large animals her father bred as a hobby.
"Speaking of which... Sergeant!", Fiona called, the medic poking her head around the corner, "Please relay to General Niochan, that I whisked away Mister Golahman on the most sacred mission of love, happiness and fuzzy animals."
The medic grinned, gave a playful salute. "Understood, Ma'am.", she said and was off.
Fiona turned to her boyfriend with a wide grin. "Come on, let's go!"

The band member nodded and grinned upon hearing this information, and reported back to Akela what he was told. She replied, in Jathani, and told him to help bring the boxes of shirts and CDs to the concession seller. With that, the band members headed off, except for Akela, who remained behind. "Somewhat relative to the guitar. They were invented around the same time, just in different areas. The guitar was more of a western based instrument. For a while, the only music produced in Jathana was Jathali Classical music, which included the sitar."

Some of the Selkie-Musicians went off with the members of Mara, helping out with them and the concession seller, who was quite glad to have them all as helping hands, only directing at that point - that was okay for the Selkie, mainly because it was his stall. The seller himself had quite a big stall already with a few helpers as well, selling merchandise from quite a few Selkie Bands, too.
Lilly meanwhile nodded. "Sounds interesting - the classical age of music has quite a few similar stories, but not similar instruments. The guitar came to us from abroad... the fiddle didn't. Neither did the harp. Both in their shape and form used by us original Selkie. And those two are the most important instruments of our classical music, too."

[Aurora Confederacy]

To the Priestess Zoe replied "sunset, okay then" before letting her to go on her way. Gina having returned to her stall smiled then gave Robbie a hug.

"How we getting on?" She asked.
"Nor so bad, was busy then it dried off just before the horn sounded" replied Robbie, taking a sip of water out of a bottle, "just waiting for it to pick back up"
Gina nodded and felt the weight of the takings box, noting it's weight
"Robbie, that's not bad so far, wanna go for a wander, i'll look after the store for an hour"

It didn't take long for Robbie to take her latex catering gloves off and to get out of the very stall whilst Gina put on a pair of gloves before putting a fresh batch of Fish onto the hot plate, sending an aroma of fresh fish down wind towards the petting zoo.

[Ru-]

Cormac laughed loudly, grinning at the declaration from the young King. "That they do indeed!", he told him with a grin splitting his face, "Although I have very fond memories of playing football, or soccer, if you prefer that more, in PE..."
He wanted to draw in air to recount an old tale, as his granddaughter interjected from the side: "Sorry to interrupt, but the local schools are holding a few drill demonstrations over the day, so if the two of you are interested, we can watch them. They're there with everything belonging to it, including a Corps of Drums!"

Yoshio grinned back a chuckled a little as he raised his hands up in front of him "Heh, well, I'm not talking about my own experiences you see. Being king, I don't really get to live the life of most children in Ru. Instead, I'm taught privately at the palace. And actually, unlike in the rest of Ru, my physical education is much like what you described for the Selike kids. I have to train with the sword, and a bit of the bow as well. In ancient times this was all very typical for Ruvian nobility. Though they toss a little basketball in there now, since it's our national sport."

He chuckles a bit more awkwardly when he adds "Heh, heh, I'm a hopeless athlete though, and I'm a terribly clumsy swordsman as well. M archery isn't any less embarassing either. At least I can ride a horse decently enough."

The suggestion of seeing some drills seemed to excite the boy and he eagerly agreed to go. Sir Larra nodded. "His Majesty..is..unfortunately, not being overly harsh with himself in that regard..though he never fails to try his best. I would very much like to have the chance to see this as well."

[Krugeristan]

Golahman didn't know if he wanted to start a "who's more sorry" argument, and refrained from doing so. He nodded a little. "I've seen a lot in my life, but, I could never handle an innocent animal getting hurt--which is why I panicked when Luminous fell off the bed one night. He was fine, thank God, but, I wasn't."

"I see.", Fiona said with a small smile, seeing, that Luminous came close to her boyfriend's heart with happiness. "Tines are pretty sturdy lads and lassies, believe me that."
She should know - she had experience with the large animals her father bred as a hobby.
"Speaking of which... Sergeant!", Fiona called, the medic poking her head around the corner, "Please relay to General Niochan, that I whisked away Mister Golahman on the most sacred mission of love, happiness and fuzzy animals."
The medic grinned, gave a playful salute. "Understood, Ma'am.", she said and was off.
Fiona turned to her boyfriend with a wide grin. "Come on, let's go!"

Following Fiona, Golahman gestured to Evanu, who, although aware of things going around him, wasn't pleased with going from place-to-place so quickly.

"Sounds . . . like fun," Golahman said, offering his hand to Fiona, knowing the rules of interaction in public in Krugeristan were nonexistent here. "I'm excited to see what other fuzzy animals you have here--Will I finally get to see a Star Lynx?" He had seen a Curly Mountain Fox, a Tine, a Sickle Cat, and a Grey Wolf, but hadn't seen the famed Star Lynx yet.