Celebrating a good Harvest (IC, OPEN)

[The Selkie]

Amy grinned, but blushed at the praise and encouragment.
"Thank you very much...", she said and fought her blush valiantly, still loosing, before she focussed onto something else: "My Dad was a computer technician, I guess, that I have my actual job thanks to his influence, but my passion for flying came from my Mam. She was neither aviator nor had anything to do with airplanes, except one thing: She always wanted to fly. And that was actually the first thing I did when I had my license. Took her on a spin."
She grinned.
"She is a teacher, too.", Amy finished.

"Aw how very interesting!" Kirie replied.

"Yeah I think that's very nice how much your folks motivated you into what you do and what you're passionate about. A lost tradition of following your folks in their footsteps." Sora mused

"Yeah it is." Kirie agreed "And I bet your ma loved it the moment you got to take her to the sky. No doubt she was so proud of you."

Amy nodded.
"She is. And she never tires of telling me that.", she said with a sunny smile at the thought, "Dad is, too. But they're also worried." She sighed. "You see, during the current NASJAR Series, there have been several incidents with a saboteur and as he apparently strikes randomly, we are all a bit worried. Nothing my ground crew can't handle and the others have very good ground crews as well, but a bit of worry remains."
She took a moment, then smiled again.
"But don't worry. We're going tae fly!"

Waari grinned, still swaying slightly in time with the music.
"Pleasure to meet you, Billie.", she said and let a small beat pass. "They indeed are all lovey-dovey. The song's fitting, too." She looked up to the little girl on her shoulders. "That one's called The Dance for my Beloved. Or something to that effect. It's usually played by beginners on the fiddle for someone they love, telling them, that they would love to dance with him or her." She smiled. "The beauty of this song is, that basically beginners can play that song, yet professionals like my colleague on stage can embeliish and improvise to it, creating something new and beautiful."

"It sure is pretty music." She replied entranced by the fiddle playing. Maybe just maybe Billie would have to take up fiddle playing and she too could play it that good for someone she cared about.

"So Waari, are you a farmer?" She asked with her eyes wide hoping she was a fellow farmer. "Well that's why we're here ya know because your farmers here are celebrating their good harvests! So we want to celebrate with them too cause we live on a farm." Now Billie was in getting into a long tangent, hopefully poor Waari would be able to keep up. It was also the time her country accent came out really heavy handed and she talked rather fast.

"I sure am glad y'all had a good harvest! Last harvest was good for us but not as much as papa had hoped when we planted in the spring," Even with the slightly sad story she was going into she still had a twinkle in her eye and bright spirited voice "Not as a good 'cause a big bad hail storm came and destroyed some of our crops before we could get it all. It was like all of a sudden we was eatin' supper and I was gettin' ready ta go ta bed and BOOOM! Big scary thunder clap and lots a lightnin' and clickity clack of hail hitting our house! Papa shouted everyone get yur coats on there's a hail storm goin' we gotta save the corn! So we did! Mama, papa and me all put on our raincoats and ran outside in the storm! Sure it hurt somethin' real firecre and we couldn't get it all, 'speically all the corn we hadn't picked off the stalks yet and the wheat too but it was still okay even with the storm cause we still made some good money. Mama was happy so was me but papa figured it could have been better still. But now we gots another whole season ahead of us. Hopefully we'll be blessed with some good fortune too with us comin' here as well."

Waari caught most of it, nodding.
"Sounds like you had quite of a scary run-in with nature there, Billie.", she said and added: "Glad, that it all worked out, though. As for me, I'm not a farmer, but a professional musician myself. And I work for the Foreign Office, that's our Ministry of Foreign Affairs." She grinned up. "They made for example, that you could come."
Looking back to the dance floor, she thought, that it was a bit more complicated, but that explanation could wait, until they were in a calmer environment.
"My grandparents and my Mam are Children of the Great Woods, though.", she added, "Woodsmen and herbalists and, on small plots, farmers. Their greatest danger are less rain and hailstorms, but wild animals. My best wishes for your farm, though."

Lisolette was surprised that Cel was leaning against the wall and she didn't saw her. But still happiness and joy invaded her body and she went straight to hug her.

"Celina long time no see,I missed to see an old friend like you. We need to catch up how life was after the PIA. Since you know,I only learned about your relation with Chris through his cousin in PiffleNet" she said very happy,but of course see old friends is always great.

"A-anyways we need to go inside since,I don't want that any of us catch an cold hehe" says Devienne ending the hug an little embarassed.

I returned Lise's hug firmly, pressing her body against mine for a moment, listening to her speak.
Her ending the hug made me smile.
"Actually, we're all in the garden. Don't worry about getting cold, though, I'm used to this!", I said and grinned. Indeed I was. Wearing Geansai for any occassion in any weather was a part of being a Selkie, after all. The others were more or less dressed for the weather. "As for Chris and me, his cousin was right. We are an item and we spent some time in the Archipelago as such..." I grinned at Lise. "Who knows, maybe you'll find your love abroad as well..."

With the music going on on stage, the check of the sound systems by a fiddler...

Main Town Square
"Wait, is... is that a whole ram's horn?" Irene questioned, looking at the object in question as it hung inside of the store & walking towards the building, only to pause & look behind her, "Uh... Elliot?" Her brother, as it turned out, had wandered off to a peddler selling an assortment of wooden toys, but it took a few moments of her frantically jumping up & down to find him by his messy black hair & the familiar red rod sticking out from his backpack. Once she did find him, she casually ran over to him, glancing briefly at the wooden toys. "Hey," she said, interrupting him from his mesmerized stupor, "I'm going to be in that shop over there, okay?" She gestured to the store with the ram's horn, Elliot slowly nodded, & she ran back inside to get a closer look at the horn.

It wasn't quite clear why the boy was so interested in the toys, but it was obvious to the merchant that owned them that Elliot was definitely willing to buy some, although he seemed to be a bit distracted by them.

---

Dramhaíl House Souvenir Shop
"Well, I'm searching for nothing in particular," Victoria said, unintentionally having a bizarrely indignant tone (but at least it wasn't a condescending one again), "Oh... uh, sorry about that. Just didn't expect anyone."
"I think that... black & blue lion-cat thing looks pretty nice! Same with that... uh..." Carrie suddenly cut in, her sister stepping slightly to the side to let her speak, "Beezle? Er... no... that orange weasel! Yeah... how much for both of them?" So long as the price was within reason, Carrie would agree to it & purchase it — either holding onto it for now to buy it at the register, or buying it right then & there, depending on the system that the store had.

"Oh, yeah," her sister would then say after that transaction was completed, "What's with this weird doll thing? It says that it's some sort of 'Dís, from La Friglas' & it doesn't seem to have any tags & whatnot. I think someone may have left this here..." She gestured to the doll, & it indeed lacked tags that would identify who owned it or whether it was a store item. What was certain, though, is that it had been placed at some point between the end of the day prior & the start of the day now, & had clearly not been valued enough for someone not to put a nametag on it... or was there one, & they just couldn't find it? Even if they could find one — wherever it may be, be it hidden inside the thing's open mouth or its fur — there was no guarantee that it would be useful.

Perhaps an employee who had been near the area during the start of the tourist rush could help, if they had for some reason been monitoring the area during those first few hours. Depending on how good that employee's memory was — assuming first that there even was one — they might either remember it simply showing up at one point when they turned back, or if everyone was lucky enough, it would be recalled that the plush had been placed by some sort of graceful, cloaked woman who showed only her clothing. However, with the way that the woman moved, it seemed impossibly dreamlike for real life, as though she had showed up in a dream that that person was remembering as an actual event.

One of the shops indeed carried a ram's horn, finely crafted out of the base material - the horn of a ram - the price tag specifying a rather hefty price. It was both a musical instrument, but also a signal giver.
And signals with this kind of horn were loud, vibrating through every bone. Of a deep brown-grey, it was also equipped with a masterfully made silver mouthpiece.
Testing it was better done not this close to the Main Music Stage, even if it was just during the sound test, people might hold it against someone, but there would be a chance to test it.

Meanwhile, the peddler with the wooden toys grinned at the young man in front of him.
They were all sorts of toys, from little figurines looking like a wide variety of animals to humans to even a small number of horsemen. It was clear, that these were both suited for playing with and for putting them on a shelf as decorations. There were also a number of toys, which were definately for playing, like the train, that a kid could pull behind itself on a string - primitive, but a lot of fun.
All of them were painted in natural, shining colours.
"Searchin' for a present, lad?", he asked the young man.

Dramhaíl House Souvenir Shop.
Inside the shop, the employee finished the transaction, specifying a combined price, which was a bit lower then the price for both of them seperately. In all, Carrie would get both of them for a Gil and five Umha, around twenty NSD.
With the young woman's purchases done, and the boy having noted them down on a small notepad, he turned his attention to the weird doll-thingy.
"If I may?", he asked and took the toy, turning it in his hands, checking for a manufacturer or a name tag or something. "Hm... doesn't seem to be one of ours... wasn't here yesterday, though, so my boss might know something about that." He placed the toy onto his trolley, at the front, letting his legs dangle a bit, making it look as if he was sitting there and enjoying the ride. He turned back to the Reiss Sisters, smiling. "Thank you for bringing it to my attention. Anything else I can help you with, Miss?"

Hieronymus Panzer strolled down the streets of Shella in a melancholy mood, in contrast to his surroundings. Having just arrived from an important and successful meeting in a third country, he was hoping to get away and enjoy the Freelands. However, an important part of his plan was scuttled. The young diplomat had planed and under the radar rendezvous with a certain Emma and now he held in his hand, a telegram from that same Emma, cancelling, for her part, their vacation. The telegram contained no explanation, but promised a letter would follow. Still, Hieronymus had his suspicions. Neither their parents approved of their relationship, hence the almost secret meeting, and Emma especially had been under enormous pressure to end it. Heartbroken at the idea that she could have given in to such pressure, the young man began his vacation.

His luggage was beginning to feel heavy as he approached the Píoráid Inn, where he had reserved. Man, they better have bellhops. he thought as he approached the reception. As a result of his diplomatic training, he had learned to hid his thoughts and emotions, but now he was on vacation, so he wore his heart on his sleeve. As he let his burdens down, he addressed the receptionist. "Hello, I have a reservation, under the name of Panzer." Emma and he had booked separate rooms at separate Inns, so the he didn't have to worry about her cancellation.

Seeing, that something was up with the young man approaching his desk, the receptionist nodded and began to look through his Book of Reservations.
"Yes, here you are.", he said and nodded, turning the book and holding out a ballpen, indicating to a specific point. "Please sign here." Turning away, he took a key from the corresponding rack, a very modern looking one, placing it on the desk. "Door's locked at midnight, after that, you'll have to ring the bell. Instructions on how to access the WiFi are on the table in your room and..." He turned to the side, motioning to a man bowing his head. "...that's Finnegan. He'll help you with your lugguage. It's 4-2."
"Indeed I will.", the man said in heavily accented English, but smiling politely. "Your heaviest bags go to me, please."
"Do you need help with anything else, Mister Panzer?", the receptionist asked.

[Saarkrisken]

The weary traveller thanked the receptionist and took the key. "No thank you, that's all" he said before handing his large suitcase to the bellhop. "Wait... actually, could you give me a few suggestions. It is my first time here and I am wondering what there is to do and see." After a pause, he added "Some where to meet people, you know?"

[Lillorainen]

Karl smiled when he received the handshake, and took a seat.
After an awkward silence he started. "I suppose you'll want context. Prussia-Poland has a colony in New Guinea called Kaiser-Wilhelmsland, in memory of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Capital is a coastal town called Neupommern, or New Pomerania. They're nothing alike, I assure you, Pomerania is not a tropical mosquito-ridden hell. Anyway, in the last 40 years there's been a communist rebellion. Nothing serious; throwing rocks at cars, blowing up disused drinking fountains, graffiti. Until the last 5 years. Shit happened with a worker's strike, the dispatched Schutzetruppe got nervous, one idiot thought they were about to riot and fired, and shit went downhill from there. It's grown out of the ability of the Kaiser-Wilhelmsland-Schutzetruppe to control, and since the Kaiserliche Marine has a major stake in K-W-L(There's a giant naval base there), they sent the IV. Seebattailon; my unit. It's based out of Port Erika, or Dar es Salaam as the locals call it.
Anyway, I find myself in New Guinea. 2 weeks pass, some guy catches a bullet in the shoulder, and we make a few raids. Then one day on our way back from a raid they tried to IED us. Again, dud, but a wooden case of ammunition fell from the overhead racks and landed pretty hard on my leg."

Filleadh House, Garden.
Yven arrived with the last chairs as someone rang the bell.
I motioned for him to stay and to get himself something to drink, I'd get it. "If you'd please excuse me for a moment?", I said and went off, leaving them with Chris, with enough seating for everyone.
I went to the door, only to see a very familiar girl as I rounded the house, not taking the route through the house. The black-haired young woman with the violin case was both invited and very welcome - it was Lise, after all. A wonderful violinist, she was, she had moved me with her music more then one time.
But still...
"Oh, I remember you for more then your violin, Lise.", I said with a grin, leaning against the wall. "Hi there."

Uachtair Inn.
Duncan replied: "The House's Restaurant is still serving breakfast. I think, today's special are the breadrolls?"
The receptionist nodded. "They are, yes.", he said, "And they have the fruit jam..."
"Please stop.", Duncan requested smiling, "I'm getting hungry at the mere thought." He turned to Hilda and her brother. "I would propose, that we first get your stuff to your rooms, then breakfast. Or I take your stuff up alone, you go to breakfast, but that'd mean me picking your rooms."
The rooms were nearly identical, but better ask then get a bollocking later.

Filleadh House, Garden.
Chris listened to Karl's more detailed version of the story about how he had gotten into that mess with his leg. A fight on a strike in the colonies ... this had become somewhat of a tradition amongst colonial powers since the 1950s. Dud, yes, he had gotten that, but legs usually don't ask what they're being hit by, but just hurt whenever they are.
Chris wanted to reply, then he heard another familiar voice call them. It belonged to Lisolette Devienne, or Lise for short, that wonderful violinist from the Purgatio trip. Cel got up to pick her up, and went around the house.
He nodded. "Did it, at least, pay off for the Commonwealth, or are they still rebelling down there?"

Uachtair Inn.
Fred nodded. "Breadrolls with fruit jam, sounds great! So yeah, I think we're not gonna starve to death if we get our luggage to our rooms first -it's not like we hadn't got anything in all these days."
"Yes, we can go on first" - Hilda confirmed.
A bollocking would be very unlikely, especially not if the rooms were almost identical anyways - nonetheless, it couldn't harm to already see them now, since they were quite curious about them.

[Adab]

"Oh, thank you very much!" Her voice was filled with relief, knowing she wouldn't have to move elsewhere. She rushed over to the receptionist, not forgetting to reach for her backpack and take out her passport. She slid it across the table with unbridled enthusiasm and wrapped her hand around the pen. "WLAN is that Wi-Fi thing, right? Sorry, I'm just not that well-versed when it comes to that kind of thing."

"Indeed. Instructions are on the brochure on the table.", the receptionist said, handing her a key. "Everything checks out so far. Have a nice stay in lovely Shella! It's room 1-E."
Unlike in other inns, there was no porter to bring the lugguage up, but room 1-E meant first floor anyway, room E being not far away from the stairs. It was a small room, basically an over-glorified broom closet, with a little desk, a chair, a comfortable, if a bit wide, bed, a dresser, a sink. The bathroom and shower was three doors down, shared by all on the floor, a little brochure speaking of 'additional services', which promised relaxed bathing in a sort-of bath house in the cellar, including massage, amongst other things.
For an additional charge, of course.

Oh thank God. Aida found herself smiling to no one in particular. Thank God the room was on the first floor; she was in no mood to climb the stairs. With the key now in her grasp, she sauntered over to the door and opened it in a rush, now that she finally had a place to rest. Such was the haste in which she made her way in that she nearly forgot to close the door behind her. The room wasn't too bad, and in fact it was somewhat better than she had imagined. She threw herself on the bed, laying her backpack next to her. Now she could finally rest, and she fully intended to do so; she deserved it, after all.

[Mervay]

I returned Lise's hug firmly, pressing her body against mine for a moment, listening to her speak.
Her ending the hug made me smile.
"Actually, we're all in the garden. Don't worry about getting cold, though, I'm used to this!", I said and grinned. Indeed I was. Wearing Geansai for any occassion in any weather was a part of being a Selkie, after all. The others were more or less dressed for the weather. "As for Chris and me, his cousin was right. We are an item and we spent some time in the Archipelago as such..." I grinned at Lise. "Who knows, maybe you'll find your love abroad as well..."

"Ahh same old Celina always with your Geansai" Lise says laughing an little of it,there were times in where she would catch an cold with she dressed like that.

"How long he has been here??? And,I don't think that my true love will be found. But if it happens,I would be happy" She continues,find her true love wasn't an priority for her now but if it appeared,she wouldn't protest about it.

Following Celina to the garden,the girl saw that this house was an beauty. Just seeing it made her want to buy an house here.

"Hey is there any chance that there is an house here in the upper town for sell,you know in case someone is interested??

[Prussian Polish Commonwealth]

snipp

Karl shook his head. "They're still rebelling. The last, end of the line option is to send in the Reichswehr and Freikorps, and if you've seen how they operate...it's not pretty."

[AHSCA]

Amy nodded.
"She is. And she never tires of telling me that.", she said with a sunny smile at the thought, "Dad is, too. But they're also worried." She sighed. "You see, during the current NASJAR Series, there have been several incidents with a saboteur and as he apparently strikes randomly, we are all a bit worried. Nothing my ground crew can't handle and the others have very good ground crews as well, but a bit of worry remains."
She took a moment, then smiled again.
"But don't worry. We're going tae fly!"

"That's terrible." Kirie replied sadly. "Terrible people would want to sabotage other's hard work. Anything to win, I don't understand why people would want to win by underhanded methods, I feel it would take away from the victory."

"That is no good, that's for sure. But you sound like you got it well in hand, Amy so do your best!" Sora encouraged her.

[Kuronami]

Waari caught most of it, nodding.
"Sounds like you had quite of a scary run-in with nature there, Billie.", she said and added: "Glad, that it all worked out, though. As for me, I'm not a farmer, but a professional musician myself. And I work for the Foreign Office, that's our Ministry of Foreign Affairs." She grinned up. "They made for example, that you could come."
Looking back to the dance floor, she thought, that it was a bit more complicated, but that explanation could wait, until they were in a calmer environment.
"My grandparents and my Mam are Children of the Great Woods, though.", she added, "Woodsmen and herbalists and, on small plots, farmers. Their greatest danger are less rain and hailstorms, but wild animals. My best wishes for your farm, though."

"Yeah it sure was. That's nature for ya, Waari, she's a real ornery type, rather like a real stubborn ox!" She listened to Waari her smile never fading from her face "Wow that's real neat! Sure wish you could have been one so I could meet my first farmer from outside Thunder Creek but I never met a musician before especially one who helped us come here! Oooh more to do with the animals than with storms! I reckon' that makes its own challenges especially if ya got live stock to worry 'bout! Not to much of animals in the plains where i'm from; 'scept birds and mice and stuff, but I hears the farmers in the mountains gotta deal with that! Foxes and wolves they may be cute but they aint anything to mess 'round with when you got chickens and that to worry about."

While Billie was chatting off the ear of Waari, her parents were still dancing with Charlie close in Jamie's embrace, just their hardships and worries lost in the sultry sounds of the fiddle but Jamie spotted his daughter sprouting out from the crowd. "Uuh babe?"

"Mmm?"

"My imagination or did our daughter grown about 10 feet tall."

'What?" Charlie looked seeing indeed their girl was on the shoulders of someone. She looked at ease and the woman seemed to be enjoying the company too but still they thought it was a bit odd and they hoped their little one was minding her manners. "What on earth?"

"Well let's go say hello, if she's gonna hoist Billie up might as well make acquaintance." The two broke from their dance going over.

"...And once you got 'em milked and ready...Oh look, it's my mama and papa! Hi mama, hi papa!"

"Hey sweet looks like you're having fun." Charlie remarked

"I sure am. This nice lady here is Waari, I know you say not to call grownups by their first names but she said it was okay. I was watching you dance and she helped me get a much better look."

"Then it's okay. It's nice to meet you, Waari. Seems you've made friends with our little girl here, thank you for keeping her company. We got a little lost in a dance with each other" Charlie confessed a bit sheepish. Last thing she could forget was her little girl but a quiet dance did really make her remember her first dates with her hubby.

"Ma'am." Jamie greeted as well

"Nooo papa she don't like to be called 'ma'am' call her Waari."

"Ah all right baby girl." He replied "It's nice to meet ya, Waari."

"She's not a farmer but she plays music so I bet she's real good at that."

"For sure. Oh I'm Charlie and this is Jamie. And I'm sure you know that she's Billie."

[The Selkie]

Waari caught most of it, nodding.
"Sounds like you had quite of a scary run-in with nature there, Billie.", she said and added: "Glad, that it all worked out, though. As for me, I'm not a farmer, but a professional musician myself. And I work for the Foreign Office, that's our Ministry of Foreign Affairs." She grinned up. "They made for example, that you could come."
Looking back to the dance floor, she thought, that it was a bit more complicated, but that explanation could wait, until they were in a calmer environment.
"My grandparents and my Mam are Children of the Great Woods, though.", she added, "Woodsmen and herbalists and, on small plots, farmers. Their greatest danger are less rain and hailstorms, but wild animals. My best wishes for your farm, though."

"Yeah it sure was. That's nature for ya, Waari, she's a real ornery type, rather like a real stubborn ox!" She listened to Waari her smile never fading from her face "Wow that's real neat! Sure wish you could have been one so I could meet my first farmer from outside Thunder Creek but I never met a musician before especially one who helped us come here! Oooh more to do with the animals than with storms! I reckon' that makes its own challenges especially if ya got live stock to worry 'bout! Not to much of animals in the plains where i'm from; 'scept birds and mice and stuff, but I hears the farmers in the mountains gotta deal with that! Foxes and wolves they may be cute but they aint anything to mess 'round with when you got chickens and that to worry about."

While Billie was chatting off the ear of Waari, her parents were still dancing with Charlie close in Jamie's embrace, just their hardships and worries lost in the sultry sounds of the fiddle but Jamie spotted his daughter sprouting out from the crowd. "Uuh babe?"

"Mmm?"

"My imagination or did our daughter grown about 10 feet tall."

'What?" Charlie looked seeing indeed their girl was on the shoulders of someone. She looked at ease and the woman seemed to be enjoying the company too but still they thought it was a bit odd and they hoped their little one was minding her manners. "What on earth?"

"Well let's go say hello, if she's gonna hoist Billie up might as well make acquaintance." The two broke from their dance going over.

"...And once you got 'em milked and ready...Oh look, it's my mama and papa! Hi mama, hi papa!"

"Hey sweet looks like you're having fun." Charlie remarked

"I sure am. This nice lady here is Waari, I know you say not to call grownups by their first names but she said it was okay. I was watching you dance and she helped me get a much better look."

"Then it's okay. It's nice to meet you, Waari. Seems you've made friends with our little girl here, thank you for keeping her company. We got a little lost in a dance with each other" Charlie confessed a bit sheepish. Last thing she could forget was her little girl but a quiet dance did really make her remember her first dates with her hubby.

"Ma'am." Jamie greeted as well

"Nooo papa she don't like to be called 'ma'am' call her Waari."

"Ah all right baby girl." He replied "It's nice to meet ya, Waari."

"She's not a farmer but she plays music so I bet she's real good at that."

"For sure. Oh I'm Charlie and this is Jamie. And I'm sure you know that she's Billie."

Waari had listened to Billie with a wide grin, enjoying hearing the girl talk.
She liked kids.
And when her parents returned, she just let Billie speak for her, she was great, making her grin widely as the girl admonished her parents about her habit of being called Waari.
"The pleasure is mine, Jamie, Charlie.", she said and carefully bowed her head lightly, minding the girl still riding her shoulders. "Billie is a wonderful girl, but I don't think, that I need to tell you that." She grinned. "I indeed make music and I'd say, that I'm good. I also saw, that the two of you are good dancers. Which inn do you stay at?"
That question was important, for Waari would play at one of Shella's inns in the evening, one particular one, and with some luck, the three of them would already have a reservation for the concert, as guests of the inns always had their spots reserved for such occassions.

"That's terrible." Kirie replied sadly. "Terrible people would want to sabotage other's hard work. Anything to win, I don't understand why people would want to win by underhanded methods, I feel it would take away from the victory."

"That is no good, that's for sure. But you sound like you got it well in hand, Amy so do your best!" Sora encouraged her.

"Thank you.", Amy said with a grin, "I don't understand it either, but the authorities believe, that the saboteur has nothing to do with any of the other pilots but basically is doing that for, sorry for putting it that way, for shits and giggles." Her expression turned fierce. "Well, his shits and giggles nearly caused desaster, twice, nearly killed people. He or she better pray, that the authorities get their hands on him before I do."
She exhaled deeply.
"Sorry.", she said a bit sheepish. "That all resulted in a lot of stress and in a lot of bad mood, and in the SDF posting guards for when we fly at Mianach again."

"Ahh same old Celina always with your Geansai" Lise says laughing an little of it,there were times in where she would catch an cold with she dressed like that.

"How long he has been here??? And,I don't think that my true love will be found. But if it happens,I would be happy" She continues,find her true love wasn't an priority for her now but if it appeared,she wouldn't protest about it.

Following Celina to the garden,the girl saw that this house was an beauty. Just seeing it made her want to buy an house here.

"Hey is there any chance that there is an house here in the upper town for sell,you know in case someone is interested??

I grinned at Lise as I led her around the house.
"It'll find you sooner then you think.", I answered her about love, before looking a bit sheepish, "Truth being told, though, if you really think about getting a house here, you should talk to Yven and Cao, this one actually is their family's vacation home and they know everyone around these parts. Maybe they know more?"
Speaking of, we just came in to catch the tail end of Karl's words about rebels still rebelling, me joining Chris side and motioning for Lise to have a seat herself.
"Look who I got!", I said with a grin, "Lise's with us, so the music is saved! We shall rival the Dearmadta Inn's stage today with just her being present!" Having praised her enough, I grinned, kissing Chris' cheek. "But before we start with music and dancing and drinking and fooding, we should wait if any more people come around."

The weary traveller thanked the receptionist and took the key. "No thank you, that's all" he said before handing his large suitcase to the bellhop. "Wait... actually, could you give me a few suggestions. It is my first time here and I am wondering what there is to do and see." After a pause, he added "Some where to meet people, you know?"

The receptionist and the bellhop exchanged glances.
"Where to start?", the receptionist said, "Well, our restaurant would be a good start, in particular around the bar. The Main Square, should be easy to meet people there. The harbourfront - they're having an airshow there later." He let a beat pass. "There're also the Tournaments, the Fletiching Cup and the Guard Cup are held here today."
"As for things to see...", the bellhop added, "There are a few museums and such things around town, but you'll have a bit of a hard time to meet people there."

[...]

Uachtair Inn.
Fred nodded. "Breadrolls with fruit jam, sounds great! So yeah, I think we're not gonna starve to death if we get our luggage to our rooms first -it's not like we hadn't got anything in all these days."
"Yes, we can go on first" - Hilda confirmed.
A bollocking would be very unlikely, especially not if the rooms were almost identical anyways - nonetheless, it couldn't harm to already see them now, since they were quite curious about them.

Uachtair Inn.
Duncan nodded. "This way, please."
A few minutes later, he had led them to the two rooms - on the fourth floor, with a wonderful view of the harbour. These rooms were premium and it was easily seen as to why: They were relatively large.
Truth of the matter was, that they were directly below the roof, these rooms having been storage rooms once, a long time ago. Where there had been the crane to lift the stuff up, there was now a wide balcony for the floors use, decorated with flowers, at the end of the floor's hallway.
The room themselves were indeed almost identical, relatively large, with their own bathrooms (shower and bathtub included) and had two dressers, an extra-wide bed each, a standing mirrow, windows, and a relatively large table with enough space for five and coming with three chairs.
The view was almost breathtaking, dozens of vessels of all manner of sizes and purposes below them in the harbour's waters, more arriving by the minute, some of them large and having to stay out in the Outer Harbour, like the Colm, some in the Inner Harbour, like the Aurelia and the Cineal. Others were work-vehicles, doing their duties despite the day.
And the waterfront was as busy as it could be.

[AHSCA]

Thank you.", Amy said with a grin, "I don't understand it either, but the authorities believe, that the saboteur has nothing to do with any of the other pilots but basically is doing that for, sorry for putting it that way, for shits and giggles." Her expression turned fierce. "Well, his shits and giggles nearly caused desaster, twice, nearly killed people. He or she better pray, that the authorities get their hands on him before I do."
She exhaled deeply.
"Sorry.", she said a bit sheepish. "That all resulted in a lot of stress and in a lot of bad mood, and in the SDF posting guards for when we fly at Mianach again."

"My my, sailor talk but I'm used to it with fishermen in the family." Kirie giggled a bit

"It's understandable to be a bit frustrated and even more when it's some freak doing bad things for the fun of it. Someone could get hurt badly!"

"Yeah hopefully things get better."

[Kuronami]

Waari had listened to Billie with a wide grin, enjoying hearing the girl talk.
She liked kids.
And when her parents returned, she just let Billie speak for her, she was great, making her grin widely as the girl admonished her parents about her habit of being called Waari.
"The pleasure is mine, Jamie, Charlie.", she said and carefully bowed her head lightly, minding the girl still riding her shoulders. "Billie is a wonderful girl, but I don't think, that I need to tell you that." She grinned. "I indeed make music and I'd say, that I'm good. I also saw, that the two of you are good dancers. Which inn do you stay at?"
That question was important, for Waari would play at one of Shella's inns in the evening, one particular one, and with some luck, the three of them would already have a reservation for the concert, as guests of the inns always had their spots reserved for such occassions.

"Oh my yes" Charlie giggled a bit "We're glad you could entertain her a bit while we took a little time to dance with each other. Thanks for the compliment by the way, we just like to do what we can to be a little romantic with each other when we can. As for Billie girl here, you probably have gandered she's a real talker this one, she probably has been talkin' yer ear off."

"Hehehe" Billie gleefully giggled.

"We're stayin' at the Meirdreach Inn" Jamie replied "Got in just today actually, all the way from Kuronami."

"Yeah we sailed a real long long waay" Billie added "Crossin' them seas and big waves! The boat went up and down and side to side!"

[Mervay]

I grinned at Lise as I led her around the house.
"It'll find you sooner then you think.", I answered her about love, before looking a bit sheepish, "Truth being told, though, if you really think about getting a house here, you should talk to Yven and Cao, this one actually is their family's vacation home and they know everyone around these parts. Maybe they know more?"
Speaking of, we just came in to catch the tail end of Karl's words about rebels still rebelling, me joining Chris side and motioning for Lise to have a seat herself.
"Look who I got!", I said with a grin, "Lise's with us, so the music is saved! We shall rival the Dearmadta Inn's stage today with just her being present!" Having praised her enough, I grinned, kissing Chris' cheek. "But before we start with music and dancing and drinking and fooding, we should wait if any more people come around."

Lisolette eyes were completely lit up of just hear that there might be someone willing to sell their house here and if help was on it's way too,she was more than happy for the possibility of buy an house here.

"Re-really thank you so much Cel,if those guys help me with that,I would be more than happy and see the good side if we se each other here during summer we might be neigbours" Devienne said with an grin on her face. When they were on the garden,Lise saw that she wasn't the only one there of the PIA since Irene,Karl,Ana and of course Chris were present with two other persons which she believed those were surely,Yven and Cao.

When Celina praised her,an giant blush on her cheeks appeared since she knew that she was good,but not that good for be praised.

"Y-you make me blush of just saying that Cel. But still,I might need that angelical voice of you to help me. Anyways guys is good to see you again we need to catch up an lot. Chris,I want to congrat you for your relation with Cel and,I hope that your relation goes well" she said now taking her seat and drinking something.

"By the way guys,I have discovered something 10X worse than Purgatio and is... Main Nation Ministry. I hope to have time to tell you that expirience guys"

[San Prospero]

*RETCONNED*

[Mediama]

It didn't take long for the group to be approached by a woman, not much older then they were, beginning of her twenties, her blonde-brown locks around shoulder length and her deep blue eyes sparkling, a small nose sitting between them. She wore a deep green tunic, arms free and showing them to be quite well-trained, her legs covered by a skirt in the same colour. The ensemble was completed by a pair of heavy, almost knee-high horseman boots.
Her dress did little in hiding the fact, that she was not really well-endowed, quite on the contrary, but she didn't mind.
She wiped a strand behind her ear and smiled.
"Good morning.", she said and looked at the many young men and women, smiling, "You are the Education Primary Group, right?" She waited a moment. "Wonderful... now, then, you must be Doctor Petrikov, then." She turned to the older gentleman, still smiling and bowing her head. "It's a pleasure. Professor Celina Ollamh of the Tribe of Monaghan, University of Leuda."

Katherine couldn't help but look up and down Professor Ollamh's body to gauge her looks, she had seen some of the women from the mainland, but none of them could've compared to the professor talking to Dr. Petrikov, and so, she couldn't help but fall back into her ponderings as Doctor Petrikov made his introductions and followed customary greetings.

Finally, Dr. Petrikov bowed back, "The pleasure is all mine, Professor. Shall we get started on?" pretty soon he called for everyone to gather behind the two professors, breaking Katherine's thread of daydreaming. she shook her head as she paired up with Alex to begin their tour on foot.

As the group started on their walk through the town, Katherine couldn't help but look around as the festivities were beginning. She couldn't help but notice the various stalls selling wares, the children running up and down the streets laughing, the smell of cooking and the general chaos of it all. It would be quite easy for any one of the group to get separated, which was the reason why she kept close to her friend, and to the group in general for now, she just focused on what Professor Ollamh was saying, taking in the sights and sounds and taking a few pictures along the way, though wisely since dude, film isn't cheap. All the while, she couldn't help but take a look at a few of the native girls on the island, nevertheless, she maintained her focus on the group so she wouldn't get lost.

It'll be about two hours until lunchtime. But until then, the general plans were to have a walk around some of the more easily accessible sights at the moment, stop for lunch at the markets, then continue to tour on until the afternoon, where the group would check in at the Temple Inn, before they freshened up, and headed out onto the town to enjoy the evening festivities into the night.

[Prussian Polish Commonwealth]

Karl shook his head. "They're still rebelling. The last, end of the line option is to send in the Reichswehr and Freikorps, and if you've seen how they operate...it's not pretty."

"Um, why do you need the colonies so bad anyway?", asked Ana. "If they're nothing but trouble, wouldn't it be better to abandon them? Surely that's better than sacrificing innocent lives for a train wreck that's beyond redemption."

Karl shrugged. "Ever consider that what comes after the colonizers is even worse than the colonizers themselves?"

[The Selkie]

Thank you.", Amy said with a grin, "I don't understand it either, but the authorities believe, that the saboteur has nothing to do with any of the other pilots but basically is doing that for, sorry for putting it that way, for shits and giggles." Her expression turned fierce. "Well, his shits and giggles nearly caused desaster, twice, nearly killed people. He or she better pray, that the authorities get their hands on him before I do."
She exhaled deeply.
"Sorry.", she said a bit sheepish. "That all resulted in a lot of stress and in a lot of bad mood, and in the SDF posting guards for when we fly at Mianach again."

"My my, sailor talk but I'm used to it with fishermen in the family." Kirie giggled a bit

"It's understandable to be a bit frustrated and even more when it's some freak doing bad things for the fun of it. Someone could get hurt badly!"

"Yeah hopefully things get better."

"Yes, hopefully.", Amy said with a nod and wanted to add something, as suddenly, someone called out her name.
A moment, an older woman, with similar brown-golden eyes, but flat as a board, threw her arms around Amy, laughing, hugging her close, speaking in Selkie. Amy held her close, pressed her against herself for a moment, then brought her to arm's length, smiling.
"Thank you, Mam.", she spoke in English, "Now, I indeed made some new acquaintances." Turning to the two Islanders, she introduced: "Mam, those are Kirie and Sora, tourists from the UIS. Kirie, Sora, my Mam, Belana."
"It's wonderful to meet both of you, and from the Islands, too!", the older woman almost gushed, bowing to both of them. "You know, I teach Geography and we're currently at the UIS in our lessons - might you be interested in telling a bit to my students? They're the kiddos!"

Waari had listened to Billie with a wide grin, enjoying hearing the girl talk.
She liked kids.
And when her parents returned, she just let Billie speak for her, she was great, making her grin widely as the girl admonished her parents about her habit of being called Waari.
"The pleasure is mine, Jamie, Charlie.", she said and carefully bowed her head lightly, minding the girl still riding her shoulders. "Billie is a wonderful girl, but I don't think, that I need to tell you that." She grinned. "I indeed make music and I'd say, that I'm good. I also saw, that the two of you are good dancers. Which inn do you stay at?"
That question was important, for Waari would play at one of Shella's inns in the evening, one particular one, and with some luck, the three of them would already have a reservation for the concert, as guests of the inns always had their spots reserved for such occassions.

"Oh my yes" Charlie giggled a bit "We're glad you could entertain her a bit while we took a little time to dance with each other. Thanks for the compliment by the way, we just like to do what we can to be a little romantic with each other when we can. As for Billie girl here, you probably have gandered she's a real talker this one, she probably has been talkin' yer ear off."

"Hehehe" Billie gleefully giggled.

"We're stayin' at the Meirdreach Inn" Jamie replied "Got in just today actually, all the way from Kuronami."

"Yeah we sailed a real long long waay" Billie added "Crossin' them seas and big waves! The boat went up and down and side to side!"

Still with Billie on her shoulders, she grinned.
"Lively kids bring life.", she said with a smile, not bothered by her ear being talked off by the girl. "So, the Meirdreach Inn... I'll indeed play there tonight. Granted, it's not the best of reputations that one has, and there are certainly reasons for it, but I personally like it. The acoustics in their restaurant are nice."

Lisolette eyes were completely lit up of just hear that there might be someone willing to sell their house here and if help was on it's way too,she was more than happy for the possibility of buy an house here.

"Re-really thank you so much Cel,if those guys help me with that,I would be more than happy and see the good side if we se each other here during summer we might be neigbours" Devienne said with an grin on her face. When they were on the garden,Lise saw that she wasn't the only one there of the PIA since Irene,Karl,Ana and of course Chris were present with two other persons which she believed those were surely,Yven and Cao.

When Celina praised her,an giant blush on her cheeks appeared since she knew that she was good,but not that good for be praised.

"Y-you make me blush of just saying that Cel. But still,I might need that angelical voice of you to help me. Anyways guys is good to see you again we need to catch up an lot. Chris,I want to congrat you for your relation with Cel and,I hope that your relation goes well" she said now taking her seat and drinking something.

"By the way guys,I have discovered something 10X worse than Purgatio and is... Main Nation Ministry. I hope to have time to tell you that expirience guys"

Smiling at Lise's blush about my praises of her violin, it was my turn to blush a moment later, grinning at Chris, before we were all seated.
Then, Lise added: "By the way guys,I have discovered something 10X worse than Purgatio and is... Main Nation Ministry.", she said, "I hope to have time to tell you that expirience guys."
"We'll have the time.", I said, quite serious, for Purgatio had been bad. One of my hands was balled to a fist without me realizing and when I did, I quickly shook it out. "Sorry. Bad memories." I exhaled, then spoke, a glimmer of a smile reappearing: "Are you thirsty, Lise?"
Purgatio had driven me to the point of almost murdering people, only Chris' embrace saving me - if Lise, a friend, found a worse place, then how worse would that place be?

It didn't take long for the group to be approached by a woman, not much older then they were, beginning of her twenties, her blonde-brown locks around shoulder length and her deep blue eyes sparkling, a small nose sitting between them. She wore a deep green tunic, arms free and showing them to be quite well-trained, her legs covered by a skirt in the same colour. The ensemble was completed by a pair of heavy, almost knee-high horseman boots.
Her dress did little in hiding the fact, that she was not really well-endowed, quite on the contrary, but she didn't mind.
She wiped a strand behind her ear and smiled.
"Good morning.", she said and looked at the many young men and women, smiling, "You are the Education Primary Group, right?" She waited a moment. "Wonderful... now, then, you must be Doctor Petrikov, then." She turned to the older gentleman, still smiling and bowing her head. "It's a pleasure. Professor Celina Ollamh of the Tribe of Monaghan, University of Leuda."

Katherine couldn't help but look up and down Professor Ollamh's body to gauge her looks, she had seen some of the women from the mainland, but none of them could've compared to the professor talking to Dr. Petrikov, and so, she couldn't help but fall back into her ponderings as Doctor Petrikov made his introductions and followed customary greetings.

Finally, Dr. Petrikov bowed back, "The pleasure is all mine, Professor. Shall we get started on?" pretty soon he called for everyone to gather behind the two professors, breaking Katherine's thread of daydreaming. she shook her head as she paired up with Alex to begin their tour on foot.

As the group started on their walk through the town, Katherine couldn't help but look around as the festivities were beginning. She couldn't help but notice the various stalls selling wares, the children running up and down the streets laughing, the smell of cooking and the general chaos of it all. It would be quite easy for any one of the group to get separated, which was the reason why she kept close to her friend, and to the group in general for now, she just focused on what Professor Ollamh was saying, taking in the sights and sounds and taking a few pictures along the way, though wisely since dude, film isn't cheap. All the while, she couldn't help but take a look at a few of the native girls on the island, nevertheless, she maintained her focus on the group so she wouldn't get lost.

It'll be about two hours until lunchtime. But until then, the general plans were to have a walk around some of the more easily accessible sights at the moment, stop for lunch at the markets, then continue to tour on until the afternoon, where the group would check in at the Temple Inn, before they freshened up, and headed out onto the town to enjoy the evening festivities into the night.

The Professor was well aware of the schedule: A quick introduction to Shella, then lunch, then continue the tour, then to the Temple Inn for freshening up and celebrating in the evening.
Celina smiled as she told them about Shella: First archaelogical evidence of habitation dating back around seventhousand years, first remains of vessels dating back to the Age of the High Kings. Shella could proudly claim to be home to the fifth-oldest shipwreck of the Free Lands, a Caogaidí, dated back to 299 BCE, a thirtyfive metres long, sharp keeled vessel for trade and war with a mast and fifty oarsmen.
The Island and the small town had been attacked by Lutetii a total of six times during the Dark Ages, succeeding twice, only for the MGoL to equip fleets to take the Island back, an operation done a total of four times. Twice, the MGoL failed.
On a viewing platform, she outlined the town's defenses in that time, pointing out the ruins of several watchtowers and where those had been included into the scenery, two of these towers standing right within the harbour, nowadays used as berths.
By 1718, it had become a trading hub and Celina used the chance on the viewing platform to point towards the waterfront, where the old warehouses still stood, one of them even still in the services of the MGoL. Many of the others were more like art projects.
She also explained, that the Eachtraí-Type of vessels, the Adventurer Type, heavily in use in the 17th century, is said to be originally from Shella.
Still on the viewing platform, with one hour still to go, she said: "Alright, chaps, we'll make a short break here. If anyone has questions, please feel free to ask, that's what I'm around for." A group of half a dozen girls in school uniforms, actually the sailor-style uniforms with blue-grey collars and a skirt of the same colour, plus a red neckerchief in neat knots. "Hi, Livvie, girls!"
"Hi, Professor.", the girls greeted back and politely bowed their heads to the group of students and their teacher, their leader's eyes resting for a long moment on Katherine. Said leader was blue-eyed, her hair short and dirty-blonde to brown, filling out her school uniform quite well. "Hello, everyone."

[Mervay]

Smiling at Lise's blush about my praises of her violin, it was my turn to blush a moment later, grinning at Chris, before we were all seated.
Then, Lise added: "By the way guys,I have discovered something 10X worse than Purgatio and is... Main Nation Ministry.", she said, "I hope to have time to tell you that expirience guys."
"We'll have the time.", I said, quite serious, for Purgatio had been bad. One of my hands was balled to a fist without me realizing and when I did, I quickly shook it out. "Sorry. Bad memories." I exhaled, then spoke, a glimmer of a smile reappearing: "Are you thirsty, Lise?"
Purgatio had driven me to the point of almost murdering people, only Chris' embrace saving me - if Lise, a friend, found a worse place, then how worse would that place be?

Lise was quite unconfortamble when Cel just went like that,Purgatio has made her almost go mad and she feeled like she opened Pandora's box.

"Sorry for mention that Cel and yeah,I'm an little thirsty,thanks for asking" Devienne said an little calm that the bad passed.

"Anyways here is my expirience there. Main Nation Ministry,it was an hell. When,I leaved the plane,I saw soldiers taking away some civilian that wanted to leave or something like that. The second thing,military controls around the travel around the nation,I saw at least 20 of them in my route to the academy" Lisolette says remembering those moments there,hell in the earth.

"I will continue with now the school. The exchange Academy,it was beautiful but an hell. Soldiers in the school,propaganda everywhere,cameras everywhere,even in our rooms. The principal was an soldier,students were punished if they disobeyed their superiors and profesors. They do some kind of punishment to students there when they speak against the regime or speak of more" she continues,that was just the first day.

"I would like to call that nation as the true example of Orwells society in 1984 and guys what,I'm telling you was just the first day" she ends the history of what happened.

[San Prospero]

*RETCONNED*

[The Selkie]

Smiling at Lise's blush about my praises of her violin, it was my turn to blush a moment later, grinning at Chris, before we were all seated.
Then, Lise added: "By the way guys,I have discovered something 10X worse than Purgatio and is... Main Nation Ministry.", she said, "I hope to have time to tell you that expirience guys."
"We'll have the time.", I said, quite serious, for Purgatio had been bad. One of my hands was balled to a fist without me realizing and when I did, I quickly shook it out. "Sorry. Bad memories." I exhaled, then spoke, a glimmer of a smile reappearing: "Are you thirsty, Lise?"
Purgatio had driven me to the point of almost murdering people, only Chris' embrace saving me - if Lise, a friend, found a worse place, then how worse would that place be?

Lise was quite unconfortamble when Cel just went like that,Purgatio has made her almost go mad and she feeled like she opened Pandora's box.

"Sorry for mention that Cel and yeah,I'm an little thirsty,thanks for asking" Devienne said an little calm that the bad passed.

"Anyways here is my expirience there. Main Nation Ministry,it was an hell. When,I leaved the plane,I saw soldiers taking away some civilian that wanted to leave or something like that. The second thing,military controls around the travel around the nation,I saw at least 20 of them in my route to the academy" Lisolette says remembering those moments there,hell in the earth.

"I will continue with now the school. The exchange Academy,it was beautiful but an hell. Soldiers in the school,propaganda everywhere,cameras everywhere,even in our rooms. The principal was an soldier,students were punished if they disobeyed their superiors and profesors. They do some kind of punishment to students there when they speak against the regime or speak of more" she continues,that was just the first day.

"I would like to call that nation as the true example of Orwells society in 1984 and guys what,I'm telling you was just the first day" she ends the history of what happened.

"Oh my God!", said Ana. "That's horrible, almost as horrible as Portugal. You won't believe what Salazar tried to do to me. Even after I moved to San Prospero, that maniac sent two agents to try kidnapping me. They pretended to be recruiters for a modeling agency and promised me an excellent pay. This was too good to be true, and I didn't know this was a trap until the guys tried to make me go into a room alone with them. At that point, I was pretty creeped out so I called Prima with my phone. Then the guys made a run for it. Now I'm afraid to go out alone, and don't know who to trust."

"But every dark cloud has a silver lining. From what Prima told me later, the two Portuguese agents were later shot and killed by police when they tried to get away in their plane. She sent me the video, and I think it was quite funny. Oh well, poetic justice I guess." Ana took out her iPhone and played the chase video for the others. The video was shot from the dashcam on the police truck, and showed the truck chasing the Portuguese agents' plane and ramming it square on the side before it could take off. The armed police then jumped out and surrounded the plane, filling it with bullets. The video cut to black.

(OOC: something like this chase)

Listening to Lise's and Ana's stories, I counted myself very, very lucky.
I had spent wonderful days and loving nights in the Archipelago, sleeping in the arms of my beloved, worrying about peepers and former friends trying to ensnare my boyfriend at most, not about psychotic dictators, wars or other such things. Declining to watch the video, I almost felt like a traitor.
It wasn't as if I hadn't been hard at work, too, my original reason of being at the Archipelago, for a summit of Fox Breeders, had not been forgotten in all of that time, but... it was more a background event.
We even went to see the Mianach Air Race!
Soiprigh nudged my leg with his snout, which made me look to him and lift him into my lap, where he rolled up.
I smiled at him, then looked up to listen to further stories.

[Prussian Polish Commonwealth]

snip

Irene gasped. "Jesus Christ, they went after you too?"
Noticing the(presumed) blank stares, she went on. "Salazar tried to put a hit out on me too. I was taking a walk in Munich when I notice a van following me. After going around a few blocks I climbed up a fire escape, made myself comfy, and popped one of it's tires with my 98k. 5 guys wearing ski masks and carrying FALs get out, about 5 seconds before an Opel Blitz operated by the local milita smashes into the van and 20 angry guys in gas masks, pickelhaubes and trench coats rush out before rifle-stocking the Portuguese into unconsciousness. Took one home with me and proceeded to beat the shit out of him with a pair of brass knuckles until I found out where he was from; after that I threw him out the door for the cops."

[Lillorainen]

I grinned at Lise as I led her around the house.
"It'll find you sooner then you think.", I answered her about love, before looking a bit sheepish, "Truth being told, though, if you really think about getting a house here, you should talk to Yven and Cao, this one actually is their family's vacation home and they know everyone around these parts. Maybe they know more?"
Speaking of, we just came in to catch the tail end of Karl's words about rebels still rebelling, me joining Chris side and motioning for Lise to have a seat herself.
"Look who I got!", I said with a grin, "Lise's with us, so the music is saved! We shall rival the Dearmadta Inn's stage today with just her being present!" Having praised her enough, I grinned, kissing Chris' cheek. "But before we start with music and dancing and drinking and fooding, we should wait if any more people come around."

Uachtair Inn.
Duncan nodded. "This way, please."
A few minutes later, he had led them to the two rooms - on the fourth floor, with a wonderful view of the harbour. These rooms were premium and it was easily seen as to why: They were relatively large.
Truth of the matter was, that they were directly below the roof, these rooms having been storage rooms once, a long time ago. Where there had been the crane to lift the stuff up, there was now a wide balcony for the floors use, decorated with flowers, at the end of the floor's hallway.
The room themselves were indeed almost identical, relatively large, with their own bathrooms (shower and bathtub included) and had two dressers, an extra-wide bed each, a standing mirrow, windows, and a relatively large table with enough space for five and coming with three chairs.
The view was almost breathtaking, dozens of vessels of all manner of sizes and purposes below them in the harbour's waters, more arriving by the minute, some of them large and having to stay out in the Outer Harbour, like the Colm, some in the Inner Harbour, like the Aurelia and the Cineal. Others were work-vehicles, doing their duties despite the day.
And the waterfront was as busy as it could be.

"Um, why do you need the colonies so bad anyway?", asked Ana. "If they're nothing but trouble, wouldn't it be better to abandon them? Surely that's better than sacrificing innocent lives for a train wreck that's beyond redemption."

Karl shrugged. "Ever consider that what comes after the colonizers is even worse than the colonizers themselves?"

Lise was quite unconfortamble when Cel just went like that,Purgatio has made her almost go mad and she feeled like she opened Pandora's box.

"Sorry for mention that Cel and yeah,I'm an little thirsty,thanks for asking" Devienne said an little calm that the bad passed.

"Anyways here is my expirience there. Main Nation Ministry,it was an hell. When,I leaved the plane,I saw soldiers taking away some civilian that wanted to leave or something like that. The second thing,military controls around the travel around the nation,I saw at least 20 of them in my route to the academy" Lisolette says remembering those moments there,hell in the earth.

"I will continue with now the school. The exchange Academy,it was beautiful but an hell. Soldiers in the school,propaganda everywhere,cameras everywhere,even in our rooms. The principal was an soldier,students were punished if they disobeyed their superiors and profesors. They do some kind of punishment to students there when they speak against the regime or speak of more" she continues,that was just the first day.

"I would like to call that nation as the true example of Orwells society in 1984 and guys what,I'm telling you was just the first day" she ends the history of what happened.

snip

Irene gasped. "Jesus Christ, they went after you too?"
Noticing the(presumed) blank stares, she went on. "Salazar tried to put a hit out on me too. I was taking a walk in Munich when I notice a van following me. After going around a few blocks I climbed up a fire escape, made myself comfy, and popped one of it's tires with my 98k. 5 guys wearing ski masks and carrying FALs get out, about 5 seconds before an Opel Blitz operated by the local milita smashes into the van and 20 angry guys in gas masks, pickelhaubes and trench coats rush out before rifle-stocking the Portuguese into unconsciousness. Took one home with me and proceeded to beat the shit out of him with a pair of brass knuckles until he told me he was Portuguese; after that I threw him out the door for the cops."

Chris nodded after Karl's reply.
Cel came around the house, bringing Lise, who had obviously considered getting a house here - Cel proudly announced her being here, sat down and kissed Chris' cheek; Lise had a seat, too, thanking Cel, notably blushing, then congratting Chris for his relationship with Cel, who thanked her, grinning. Ana was talking to Karl about the colonial issues Prussia-Poland was currently having, and about the risk of New Guinea ending up as another hellhole, like many former colonies before.
Lise mentioned Purgatio - and Main Nation Ministry.
His cousin Robert had sent Chris links of his and Lise's conversation on PiffleNet, where she had told about that Orwellian hellhole. Now, she told the others about that.
"Unbelievable that such places still exist" - he said, shaking his head. "Even worse than Purgatio. I couldn't really believe it when I heard about that, but looks like it's always possible to find a worse place ..."
Then, Ana and Irene told their stories about their experience with Portuguese agents, which made him shake his head again.

Uachtair Inn.
Duncan led Fred and Hilda to their rooms in the forth floor.
The rooms were not only rather large and contained their own baths and large dressers, beds and tables as well as convenient-looking chairs, but also had balconies with a nice view onto Shella Harbour and the busy waterfront.
It was overwhelming.
"Thank you, sir" - Fred said, took a 10 NSD bill out of his pocket, gave it to Duncan and said, grinning, "For your effort of getting Hilda's entire girls' stuff up here."
"Gonna laugh later" - Hilda said, but grinned too, "later, when I'm finished getting over being given the President's Suite - at least that's what it looks like."

[AHSCA]

"Yes, hopefully.", Amy said with a nod and wanted to add something, as suddenly, someone called out her name.
A moment, an older woman, with similar brown-golden eyes, but flat as a board, threw her arms around Amy, laughing, hugging her close, speaking in Selkie. Amy held her close, pressed her against herself for a moment, then brought her to arm's length, smiling.
"Thank you, Mam.", she spoke in English, "Now, I indeed made some new acquaintances." Turning to the two Islanders, she introduced: "Mam, those are Kirie and Sora, tourists from the UIS. Kirie, Sora, my Mam, Belana."
"It's wonderful to meet both of you, and from the Islands, too!", the older woman almost gushed, bowing to both of them. "You know, I teach Geography and we're currently at the UIS in our lessons - might you be interested in telling a bit to my students? They're the kiddos!"

What a warm sight to see, a mother and daughter greeting each other so fondly.

Both bowed in greeting with Kirie speaking first, "It's a pleasure to meet you! Your daughter Amy here has been so kind to walk with us and tell us where we should go first. We were just kind of wandering but now we have a destination."

"A fine pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Sora also greeted. Kirie lit up her eyes starry at the statement that Belana "Wow no way! I'm a teacher too! I would love to be able to talk to your students about the UIS!"

"That does sound pretty interesting" Sora agreed. "Being able to talk to some young school kids about home. Uh well, you're the teacher Kirie so you might not need me..."

"No of course I want you! We'd love to."

"Yeah sure thing anytime you like us."

[Kuronami]

Still with Billie on her shoulders, she grinned.
"Lively kids bring life.", she said with a smile, not bothered by her ear being talked off by the girl. "So, the Meirdreach Inn... I'll indeed play there tonight. Granted, it's not the best of reputations that one has, and there are certainly reasons for it, but I personally like it. The acoustics in their restaurant are nice."

"Certainly right about that." Charlie agreed with her statement. "She's a handful but she's a good girl. So you'll be playing at the inn we're staying tonight, we'll for sure have to go watch."

"yay!" Billie cheered "I can't wait ta watch ya play Waari!"

"It will be a great show I bet" Jamie nodded "We'll be looking forward to it."

[The Selkie]

snip

Irene gasped. "Jesus Christ, they went after you too?"
Noticing the(presumed) blank stares, she went on. "Salazar tried to put a hit out on me too. I was taking a walk in Munich when I notice a van following me. After going around a few blocks I climbed up a fire escape, made myself comfy, and popped one of it's tires with my 98k. 5 guys wearing ski masks and carrying FALs get out, about 5 seconds before an Opel Blitz operated by the local milita smashes into the van and 20 angry guys in gas masks, pickelhaubes and trench coats rush out before rifle-stocking the Portuguese into unconsciousness. Took one home with me and proceeded to beat the shit out of him with a pair of brass knuckles until I found out where he was from; after that I threw him out the door for the cops."

Chris nodded after Karl's reply.
Cel came around the house, bringing Lise, who had obviously considered getting a house here - Cel proudly announced her being here, sat down and kissed Chris' cheek; Lise had a seat, too, thanking Cel, notably blushing, then congratting Chris for his relationship with Cel, who thanked her, grinning. Ana was talking to Karl about the colonial issues Prussia-Poland was currently having, and about the risk of New Guinea ending up as another hellhole, like many former colonies before.
Lise mentioned Purgatio - and Main Nation Ministry.
His cousin Robert had sent Chris links of his and Lise's conversation on PiffleNet, where she had told about that Orwellian hellhole. Now, she told the others about that.
"Unbelievable that such places still exist" - he said, shaking his head. "Even worse than Purgatio. I couldn't really believe it when I heard about that, but looks like it's always possible to find a worse place ..."
Then, Ana and Irene told their stories about their experience with Portuguese agents, which made him shake his head again.

Uachtair Inn.
Duncan led Fred and Hilda to their rooms in the forth floor.
The rooms were not only rather large and contained their own baths and large dressers, beds and tables as well as convenient-looking chairs, but also had balconies with a nice view onto Shella Harbour and the busy waterfront.
It was overwhelming.
"Thank you, sir" - Fred said, took a 10 NSD bill out of his pocket, gave it to Duncan and said, grinning, "For your effort of getting Hilda's entire girls' stuff up here."
"Gonna laugh later" - Hilda said, but grinned too, "later, when I'm finished getting over being given the President's Suite - at least that's what it looks like."

I withheld my personal misgivings about the Rule of Law in the PPC and treatment of prisoners for myself, but what I did do, while petting the Black Fox in my lap and looking a bit like Doctor Evil, was feeling guilty.
I was sitting in the Flee Lands and rode my boyfriend, while they...
Yven came with drinks, lemonades for everyone.
"Alcohol after midday.", I explained the lack of it to those, who might have looked forwards to tasting the famous spirits of the Selkie, "Thanks, Yven."
The young man grinned, threw Marie a short wink, then went again, worrying about where his sis, Cao, might be as she was on an errant and had not yet returned. She would be fine, I was sure of it.
"But indeed, that sounds horrible, Ana, Lise.", I said, looking at both of them with concern, "They didn't lay a hand on either of you, right?"

Uachtair Inn.
Duncan grinned, stowing the bank note away.
"It was no problem, Sir.", he said and nodded, "Actually, that girl-stuff usually is not as heavy as one would believe... what you have to look out for in my job are wanna-be important people. Too much stuff in their bags and too little in their brains."
He bowed lightly.
"I'll leave you now to unpacking.", he said and smiled, "If don't need anything else, that is."

"Yes, hopefully.", Amy said with a nod and wanted to add something, as suddenly, someone called out her name.
A moment, an older woman, with similar brown-golden eyes, but flat as a board, threw her arms around Amy, laughing, hugging her close, speaking in Selkie. Amy held her close, pressed her against herself for a moment, then brought her to arm's length, smiling.
"Thank you, Mam.", she spoke in English, "Now, I indeed made some new acquaintances." Turning to the two Islanders, she introduced: "Mam, those are Kirie and Sora, tourists from the UIS. Kirie, Sora, my Mam, Belana."
"It's wonderful to meet both of you, and from the Islands, too!", the older woman almost gushed, bowing to both of them. "You know, I teach Geography and we're currently at the UIS in our lessons - might you be interested in telling a bit to my students? They're the kiddos!"

What a warm sight to see, a mother and daughter greeting each other so fondly.

Both bowed in greeting with Kirie speaking first, "It's a pleasure to meet you! Your daughter Amy here has been so kind to walk with us and tell us where we should go first. We were just kind of wandering but now we have a destination."

"A fine pleasure to meet you, ma'am." Sora also greeted. Kirie lit up her eyes starry at the statement that Belana "Wow no way! I'm a teacher too! I would love to be able to talk to your students about the UIS!"

"That does sound pretty interesting" Sora agreed. "Being able to talk to some young school kids about home. Uh well, you're the teacher Kirie so you might not need me..."

"No of course I want you! We'd love to."

"Yeah sure thing anytime you like us."

"Tomorrow or the day after, if it would suit you.", Belana said with a wide grin, happy to meet a fellow teacher, "I'm sure, that the kids would love it! They even know a bit of English already, so you can talk with them easily. And if not, Mister Caochadh still owes me a favour!"
Amy grinned, mouthing 'Long Story!'
"Come, let's go ahead to the Main Square, we can talk while we walk - we girl can multitask!", the teacher said with a grin.

Still with Billie on her shoulders, she grinned.
"Lively kids bring life.", she said with a smile, not bothered by her ear being talked off by the girl. "So, the Meirdreach Inn... I'll indeed play there tonight. Granted, it's not the best of reputations that one has, and there are certainly reasons for it, but I personally like it. The acoustics in their restaurant are nice."

"Certainly right about that." Charlie agreed with her statement. "She's a handful but she's a good girl. So you'll be playing at the inn we're staying tonight, we'll for sure have to go watch."

"yay!" Billie cheered "I can't wait ta watch ya play Waari!"

"It will be a great show I bet" Jamie nodded "We'll be looking forward to it."

Waari grinned. "And I look forward to playing for you!", she said, "Maybe we can even arrange something... hm..." She looked at the girl above her. "How good can you sing, Billie?"
Meanwhile, a young man joined them, red hair, brown-red eyes, an almost unnoticeable smile on his lips, nodding to Billie, then to her parents in a very respectful way. He was a good twenty centimetres taller then Waari, easily on eye-level with Billie, his broad shoulders would be an ideal vantage.
He made a motion with his hand, which asked the parents to wait a moment, he would introduce himself in a moment.

[Kuronami]

Waari grinned. "And I look forward to playing for you!", she said, "Maybe we can even arrange something... hm..." She looked at the girl above her. "How good can you sing, Billie?"
Meanwhile, a young man joined them, red hair, brown-red eyes, an almost unnoticeable smile on his lips, nodding to Billie, then to her parents in a very respectful way. He was a good twenty centimetres taller then Waari, easily on eye-level with Billie, his broad shoulders would be an ideal vantage.
He made a motion with his hand, which asked the parents to wait a moment, he would introduce himself in a moment.

"Mmmm" Billie thought a moment "I'm not bad I reckon'. We have music time in class and I like to sing and no one has complained yet!" She replied "If ya let me sing with ya, I'll sing best I can!"

"Well sounds like you'll be gettin' some time on the stage, baby girl." Jamie replied to his little girl.