Sinope Harbour Festival (IC, MT)

by **Aurora Confederacy** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:49 am

"Marie, the Aurora Confederacy is one of those nations where nothing really happens, it is big, empty and beautiful, can't say I've been to the Polish Prussian Commonwealth" replies Zoe as Micky takes a cup off a shelf in a cupboard.

"Tea?" Asks Micky

"We're a wealthy mercantile nation, we don't generally dabble in other nations and generally peaceful" adds Zoe, "which is why you haven't heard of us on the political stage"

by **The Scarlet Eagle** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 2:48 am

Peter, Frank, Thomas and Joe, spot too Lady Fara for a second or two, as they recognize her from photos shown to the by their grandchildren. As soon as she dissapears, however, their minds are back on their guide, and the way to their destination.

by **Shamsiyya** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 6:55 am

"Just the same as with our Sultan Jamal" - Layla said, having to grin about the imagination of a tourist running through a Kyrenaian Hammam covering his eyes with his hand. "He, actually, wasn't the one who listened to anyone at all. For example, back then, the local rulers had way more power back then than the cantonal governments have now - they even issued their own currencies! Totally surprisingly, it was extremely chaotic - just imagine what it would be like, if each Khanate in here printed its own money! Jamal changed that in 1902, contrary to all advices, and brought us the Guinea - the currency we still have. Along with a centralized National Bank for the whole country, which, again, still exists and is still nationalized. As you can see, he left us a lot of things we still profit from today."

Maryam nodded, grinning.
"Where do I know that from ... some guys, who surprisingly often turn out to be overly self-confident, just seem to wish to see either their arrows split, or their wallets losing weight - otherwise, I surely don't mind winning the honor ... and drinks."
She let a beat pass.
"Make an educated guess as to how I got to my first dance."

by **Lillorainen** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 8:40 am

When Marie Ernst Glück introduced herself, Ingmar, Merle, and Ratko bowed their heads again. They had to grin - the Federation of Lillorainen and its people enjoyed a certain reputation in the world, most associations with them were about beer, firearms, Mjölnir symbols ... and although the Federation's foreign policy was hardly different from the one the Aurora Confederacy maintained, Lillorainen seemed to be somewhat more present on the international stage - possibly because Lillos were more likely to be met at occasions like this one (Zoe's lack of some basic knowledge, like the fact that Kyrenaians were not Muslims, certainly being a result of this). And because the Lillöer-Archipelago wasn't that large, but surely not empty, quite on the contrary.
"We're really everywhere, eh?" - Ingmar said. "May I ask what country the exchange has gone to?"
Merle noticed how Jax was, indeed, waiting for her to leave him her rest of tea. She took one deep sip, then placed the cup onto the table.

by **AHSCA** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 9:41 am

Kyrenaia wrote:The Sultana smiled at that, closing her swimming vest, nodded.
"Now, I have another duty for you and Aurelia.", she said and produced a small box, opening it for her. Inside of it, was a flag, showing a constellation of stars in silver on a black cloth, which was bordered in gold. "The Personal Flag of the Ilkhana of Utica, when she is also Sultana. As I am aboard, the Harira will have the honour of flying this flag."
Aurelia appeared behind the wheelhouse, leaning against it with a grin, watching.

"Yes ma'am, it will be an honor to fly it! If you'll excuse me a moment I will see if the Captain desires me to run it up the pole." She took the flag into her hands and went to Aurelia. "Captain, as you're surely aware we're going to fly the flag, I'm ready to assist in running it up the pole if you wish."

Kyrenaia wrote:The voice, the voice tore Atif out of his thoughts, nearly made him drop what he held behind his back, but it made him smile, a bit of nervousness.
"No.", he said, softly, kissing Asuna on the cheek. "For you, waiting until eternity comes to an end is not enough..."
Her nervousness, her stuttering, it was so adorable, cute, making her even more beautiful in his eyes.
He wanted to tell her, that her being with him was enough, more then enough, but when she showed it to him, he lost his voice
He was silent for a moment, then smiled softly, leaning forward slightly.
"Indeed, it is.", he said and kissed Asuna on the other cheek. "Proper thanks will come in a moment... before that, may I ask you...?"
He leaned forward a bit more, making it easy for her to place the necklace on him.

Asuna smiled more "It is my first real date after all." She put the necklace on him. "I wanted to make it special. And being with you is also plenty enough for me. "It looks wonderful on you, Atif!"

by **Kuronami** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 10:38 am

Kyrenaia wrote:Lady Fara nodded. "Indeed. It is challenging work, you get around a lot, but you also meet a lot of interesting people.", she said, "Not too long ago, for example, I met the Emperor of the Empire of the Scarlet Eagle and his wife - granted, they did not impress me much, but they do have potential, if time is on their side."
She smiled slightly, leading Yuzu along the Promenade.
"My apologies, Young Lady, I was rambling.", she said.

Mahmut nodded - taking note which flowers to not, under no circumstances, give her.
"Interesting.", he said with a small smile, "I don't think, that the Cherry Blossom has any special meaning in Kyrenaia, although we do grow them in a few areas. They taste well."

Shirin giggled.
"Sadly, no, otherwise I would know, what's going on in that dunderhead's brain.", she said and smiled at Yuki, almost lifting her hand to put it on her head in a gesture of extreme familiarity - like she often did with the Cherries. "I simply followed your eyes. A useful skill for a Handmaiden!"
She winked.

"Please, please, Lady Fara, not at all, I'm a social butterfly, I enjoy talking and listening to people! And being abroad here in this fine place meeting many fine people is fun!"

"Ah so you do grow some here? That's very interesting. I must admit I don't know much about desert climates so I don't know what grows here honestly. But even in the desert there seems to be blooming life. oh how about this place?" Haru asked stopping in front of a shop.

"Aah makes sense, you can see it in the eyes. You're very perceptive, Shirin! More reasons I admire you!"

by **Aurora Confederacy** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 11:37 am

As Merle placed the cup onto the table jax's eyes followed carefully where as soon as the cup was set down on the table he made his move, leaping onto the table from the sofa and initially looking and sniffing the cup before putting his head in the cup where he began to drink the contents left therein.

Zoe looked at Merle, "told ya" she joked, "he loves tea" she then paused, "want to have a look around?" her gaze also turned to Marie too.

Hours earlier
On hearing that the friends were due to arrive in Sinope, two women prepared to fly out from Lake Hai'lu'kai into the night, checking in baggage and settling down into a waiting room lounge for Trans Polar Airlines, though that was just the first part of the trip, from there it was a 10 hour flight to the Khan Adil ibn-Ilia international airport where they were to clear customs. The two women were Gina Fittipaldi who wrote "Alone" a diary of surviving a shipwreck which was later turned into a film, the other Is Robbie Greenwood, (Gina's wife) who is somewhat younger and sports pink hair that is shaved on the right hand side of her scalp and has her own story to tell.

It didn't take long to clear customs and from there it was 2 tram rides to the Old harbour station. Gina, limping slightly due to discomfort from her prosthetic leg and Robbie not faring much better either but they are in moderately high spirits.

present time
Gina pulled out her phone and thumbed the menu screem, *camera mode ON* she then turned away from the marina, held her phone out in front in selfie mode and put her arm around Robbie, both smiled as they lined up the camera with the yachts in the background, one of which was flying the Lilloraineni tricolor, another was flying the PPC flag and the third was flying the blue diamond.

"gotcha" says Gina after the shutter sound went off.

Robbie looked at Gina, "Fitt, you're not?"

"I bloody well am kid" replied Fitt, tapping the screen and sending an insta-gram type pic which made Zoe's phone beep.

however Zoe didn't go straight to the phone as she was attending to additional business, showing visitors around.

in the mean time Gina arrived at the marina and began to make her way down the gang plank, stopping momentarily to take a photo
"What's up Fitt?" asked Robbie

"nothing, all because i stop suddenly on a gang plank doesn't mean im having a flashback from the sinking, Just stopping to take photos. Don't worry"

Gina and Robbie then made their way to the Luna Mysteria, she stepped onto the aft deck,
"Zo' you on here?" she called before entering the boat.

This naturally took Zoe by surprise, "Fitt, that you?"

"yep, with Robbie too"

"come on in, i think there's room for ya" said Zoe before turning to Ingmar. "Ingmar, Ratko, Merle and Marie, meet Gina and Robbie Fittipaldi"

by **Polish Prussian Commonwealth** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:58 pm

Marie nodded. "So like the Hanseatic League. Prussia-Poland...well, it's not the best country. I'll admit that. But it's my country, and I'll defend it with all I have."
Upon meeting Gina and Robbie Fittipaldi, she blinked.
"Err...Why do they have rings in their noses like cattle or beasts of burden? I haven't seen these at home. Is this a sort of ritual or custom you have in your native country?"

OOC NOTE: Marie was born in Polish Silesia, and grew up in Masovia. She literally has never seen rings in noses before.

Erika doubted Fara, but said nothing-for now. Later, of course, she would do some digging of her own.
Of course, she could try talking to the Patriarch, or she could seek out a Kyrenaian Christian and ask them what they had to say-although there still was the question of finding one. Perhaps there was a church somewhere...But first, she apparently had to wait for the others, and then to look for a time to give them the slip.

After awhile, she would get bored and start whistling the closest thing to a lullaby she had during her childhood.
Modlitwa obozowa, or Prayer of the Camps.
It was a relatively "new" song, being written in the 1940s by Prussian-Polish prisioners of war during WW2. The song was subsequently adopted by several insurgencies, all aimed at removing foreign influence from Prussia-Poland.
Nowdays it was rarely sung, except for a few select occasions-Prussia-Poland, after all, had been freed, although it had the geopolitical equivalent of obxnoxious neighbors. Still, all schoolchildren learned it by heart, as a reminder of the struggles their forefathers had gone through.

by **Mervay** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 2:04 pm

An while later, everything was set for their clothes to be made for tomorrow. The couple was now setting themsevles to continue their journey through the city either separated or together, although chances might be high of them being by their own for then later on enjoy with each other.
Their expectatives were high about the quality of the Fistan Alshams and they were sure that they won't dissapoint them.

"Well I believe everything has been set and now we just need to wait for the costumes to be ended tomorrow" Edward said as he and his wife begun to take out their wallets.
They were to give an last try in see if they could pay by advanced and with tip included, of course they won't insist out of this attempt if they reject the idea.

"Allow us to pay by advanced the costumes and to give an tip to you all for the help to us in everything please" Jessica asked, grinning. "In our home it's always an good sign to give tips to people which did an excellent job or helped their customers, we understand if you reject the tip and the paid by advanced so we won't insist more after this"

by **Aurora Confederacy** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 3:56 pm

Zoe smiled, "probably more like one of the Nordic's. Marie, its your home, so you will have those feelings"

Gina, holding onto the grab rail "these rings in our noses they have no tribal significance if thats what you mean, I've had mine since I was nineteen once I had learned to walk again. In some countries they have a ritual significance, it did however sting when I had mine put in, So where are you from then?" Gina asks, leaning casually on the woodwork. "I see you've put the launch photo up too" she added.

The Luna Mysteria was launched by Gina Fittipaldi and she is pictured holding the remains of a champagne bottle and flanked by Micky and Zoe with the Luna Mysteria behind her.

by **Lillorainen** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 4:47 pm

Aurora Confederacy wrote:As Merle placed the cup onto the table jax's eyes followed carefully where as soon as the cup was set down on the table he made his move, leaping onto the table from the sofa and initially looking and sniffing the cup before putting his head in the cup where he began to drink the contents left therein.

Zoe looked at Merle, "told ya" she joked, "he loves tea" she then paused, "want to have a look around?" her gaze also turned to Marie too.

Hours earlier
On hearing that the friends were due to arrive in Sinope, two women prepared to fly out from Lake Hai'lu'kai into the night, checking in baggage and settling down into a waiting room lounge for Trans Polar Airlines, though that was just the first part of the trip, from there it was a 10 hour flight to the Khan Adil ibn-Ilia international airport where they were to clear customs. The two women were Gina Fittipaldi who wrote "Alone" a diary of surviving a shipwreck which was later turned into a film, the other Is Robbie Greenwood, (Gina's wife) who is somewhat younger and sports pink hair that is shaved on the right hand side of her scalp and has her own story to tell.

It didn't take long to clear customs and from there it was 2 tram rides to the Old harbour station. Gina, limping slightly due to discomfort from her prosthetic leg and Robbie not faring much better either but they are in moderately high spirits.

present time
Gina pulled out her phone and thumbed the menu screem, *camera mode ON* she then turned away from the marina, held her phone out in front in selfie mode and put her arm around Robbie, both smiled as they lined up the camera with the yachts in the background, one of which was flying the Lilloraineni tricolor, another was flying the PPC flag and the third was flying the blue diamond.

"gotcha" says Gina after the shutter sound went off.

Robbie looked at Gina, "Fitt, you're not?"

"I bloody well am kid" replied Fitt, tapping the screen and sending an insta-gram type pic which made Zoe's phone beep.

however Zoe didn't go straight to the phone as she was attending to additional business, showing visitors around.

in the mean time Gina arrived at the marina and began to make her way down the gang plank, stopping momentarily to take a photo
"What's up Fitt?" asked Robbie

"nothing, all because i stop suddenly on a gang plank doesn't mean im having a flashback from the sinking, Just stopping to take photos. Don't worry"

Gina and Robbie then made their way to the Luna Mysteria, she stepped onto the aft deck,
"Zo' you on here?" she called before entering the boat.

This naturally took Zoe by surprise, "Fitt, that you?"

"yep, with Robbie too"

"come on in, i think there's room for ya" said Zoe before turning to Ingmar. "Ingmar, Ratko, Merle and Marie, meet Gina and Robbie Fittipaldi"

Polish Prussian Commonwealth wrote:Marie nodded. "So like the Hanseatic League. Prussia-Poland...well, it's not the best country. I'll admit that. But it's my country, and I'll defend it with all I have."
Upon meeting Gina and Robbie Fittipaldi, she blinked.
"Err...Why do they have rings in their noses like cattle or beasts of burden? I haven't seen these at home. Is this a sort of ritual or custom you have in your native country?"

Aurora Confederacy wrote:Zoe smiled, "probably more like one of the Nordic's. Marie, its your home, so you will have those feelings"

Gina, holding onto the grab rail "these rings in our noses they have no tribal significance if thats what you mean, I've had mine since I was nineteen once I had learned to walk again. In some countries they have a ritual significance, it did however sting when I had mine put in, So where are you from then?" Gina asks, leaning casually on the woodwork. "I see you've put the launch photo up too" she added.

The Luna Mysteria was launched by Gina Fittipaldi and she is pictured holding the remains of a champagne bottle and flanked by Micky and Zoe with the Luna Mysteria behind her.

Merle snorted. Of course, Jax did drink her rests, thus listened to what she had told him before. Although she would have liked to finish her tea, just like Ingmar and Ratko did, she didn't mind a lot. She wouldn't die of thirst in here.
"Cheers!" - she told Jax.
Marie compared the Aurora Confederacy to the Hanseatic League, which sounded about right, then mentioned, that, despite the fact that the Commonwealth wasn't the best place on earth, she defended her home country (and rightfully so).
In this moment, two other women entered, whom Zoe instantly introduced as Gina and Robbie Fittipaldi, the former of which, the three Lillo-sailors already had heard of, and seen on the picture.
Marie asked about their nose piercings - a thing she had probably never seen before and that wasn't extremely common in Lillorainen, but also not entirely unheard of. Rather a fashion article in most Western countries (for a given definition of the term. considering, that neither Lillorainen, nor the PPC were aligned to the West in any political sense), it quite did play a role in other cultures.
Ingmar smiled, as Gina, who indeed had a leg prothesis, for the reason the Lillos in here knew about, noticed the launch photo.
"You lasses have done an amazing job with Luna, I must say!" And already had said, to Zoe and Luna. "I'm still fascinated. Oh, I am Captain Ingmar Jülich, owner of the Milenka - the ship from Lillorainen" - he added. "Radovan Spasojević ..." - he vaguely pointed at Ratko.
"... Ratko, for you" - Ratko insisted, smiling.
"... and Merle Padrödning. As I said, we're sailing on the ship right next to this one. We've already been told about you, and it's a pleasure forr us to meet you."
Ratko and Merle nodded.

by **Folaisia** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 5:05 pm

"Wow, so much privilege," Cormag chuckled.

"If I were to see a member of the Royal Family pass by or walk on our boat, or better yet, be classmates with me, I would surely freak the fuck out on the inside," Alexander added, nodding, "Also, how did Aurelia react to the joke? Just wonderin'."

"Yeah, I'd like to hear that. Did she like she laugh her ass off or smack him like hell," wondered Cormag.

by **Polish Prussian Commonwealth** » Fri Feb 08, 2019 7:06 pm

Marie seemed to stand a little taller.
"A little covent in Masovia, outskirts of Warsaw, Kingdom of Poland, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prussian-Polish Commonwealth. The name is Marie Ernst Glück-apparently my parents were Germans, supposedly from Prussian Silesia. Born in Polish Silesia, moved to Masovia when I was a kid, parents died, got left with the covent.."

by **Aurora Confederacy** » Sat Feb 09, 2019 11:04 am

Lillorainen wrote:
Polish Prussian Commonwealth wrote:Marie nodded. "So like the Hanseatic League. Prussia-Poland...well, it's not the best country. I'll admit that. But it's my country, and I'll defend it with all I have."
Upon meeting Gina and Robbie Fittipaldi, she blinked.
"Err...Why do they have rings in their noses like cattle or beasts of burden? I haven't seen these at home. Is this a sort of ritual or custom you have in your native country?"

Aurora Confederacy wrote:Zoe smiled, "probably more like one of the Nordic's. Marie, its your home, so you will have those feelings"

Gina, holding onto the grab rail "these rings in our noses they have no tribal significance if thats what you mean, I've had mine since I was nineteen once I had learned to walk again. In some countries they have a ritual significance, it did however sting when I had mine put in, So where are you from then?" Gina asks, leaning casually on the woodwork. "I see you've put the launch photo up too" she added.

The Luna Mysteria was launched by Gina Fittipaldi and she is pictured holding the remains of a champagne bottle and flanked by Micky and Zoe with the Luna Mysteria behind her.

Merle snorted. Of course, Jax did drink her rests, thus listened to what she had told him before. Although she would have liked to finish her tea, just like Ingmar and Ratko did, she didn't mind a lot. She wouldn't die of thirst in here.
"Cheers!" - she told Jax.
Marie compared the Aurora Confederacy to the Hanseatic League, which sounded about right, then mentioned, that, despite the fact that the Commonwealth wasn't the best place on earth, she defended her home country (and rightfully so).
In this moment, two other women entered, whom Zoe instantly introduced as Gina and Robbie Fittipaldi, the former of which, the three Lillo-sailors already had heard of, and seen on the picture.
Marie asked about their nose piercings - a thing she had probably never seen before and that wasn't extremely common in Lillorainen, but also not entirely unheard of. Rather a fashion article in most Western countries (for a given definition of the term. considering, that neither Lillorainen, nor the PPC were aligned to the West in any political sense), it quite did play a role in other cultures.
Ingmar smiled, as Gina, who indeed had a leg prothesis, for the reason the Lillos in here knew about, noticed the launch photo.
"You lasses have done an amazing job with Luna, I must say!" And already had said, to Zoe and Luna. "I'm still fascinated. Oh, I am Captain Ingmar Jülich, owner of the Milenka - the ship from Lillorainen" - he added. "Radovan Spasojević ..." - he vaguely pointed at Ratko.
"... Ratko, for you" - Ratko insisted, smiling.
"... and Merle Padrödning. As I said, we're sailing on the ship right next to this one. We've already been told about you, and it's a pleasure forr us to meet you."
Ratko and Merle nodded.

Gina nodded, "Pleased to meet you, its a nice schooner too looks well kept too. When was she built, early nineteen hundreds?"

Robbie turned to Marie, "I'm sorry to hear that, being brought up in a care place is something I had to endure too, My parents simply wanted a boy so when I came along they left me at a care scheme. Not spoken to my parents ever since" replied Robbie with a somewhat solemn note to her voice.

"ingmar, have we got a time for the parade to start?" asked Micky, making room for Marie Gina and Robbie to the sofa. "Take a seat" she says to Marie, gesturing to the sofa whilst Jax made short work of what was left of Merle's drink. Once he had finished it off Jax went over to Gina and Robbie before jumping down onto the floor and making his way to the front cabin, meowing at the door until Zoe opened it.

by **Kyrenaia** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 4:40 am

The saleswoman, having escorted them, smiled slightly.
"We would prefer, if you wouldn't pay in advance. What if you don't like it after all?", she shook her head, "No, we wouldn't want to force you into that. If you insist on paying in advance, we can arrange that. The total price, however, would be a thousand Barquas for all of them combined. That includes a discount of mass already. And the materials you used were of a good quality."
She let a beat pass.
"As for the tip... we don't take tips.", she said, "But if you insist on paying something in addition to the actual price, there is a pair of dancers out and about, two girls, who collect money to aid children with Epidermolysis Bullosa. If you insist, then please donate the money to their cause."

The acoustics of the Hot Room the two young women were in allowed the song, the whistling to get a certain sound, an echo much like in a concert hall.
Seeing, that their topic was as good as closed, Fadia decided to listen to the song, which she never heard, and when it ended, she clapped. It was not a sarcastic clap, but one of honest appreciation.
"That was a nice song.", she said, smiling, "Say, how about the two of us get ourselves a pair of tellak and have them wash us - and while we do that, the two of us talk shop about hunting. With bows, with falcons and wolves, with spears, nets, whatever we can come up with!"
She grinned at that.
"Alternatively, we talk turkey about music.", she suggested, then leaned over: "Unless, of course, you want me to wash you..."

Lady Fara smiled.
"I can imagine.", she said, then sighed with a smile, "Youth these days... always searching for answers!" She giggled. No one would believe, that Yuzu indeed managed to make her giggle. "Please, never loose this spirit and sense of adventure and curiosity. It will be the opener to a whole new world for you."

"Well, not here, nor in the Ilkhanate of Megido as a whole, to my knowledge, but I know of a few, small plantations in the Ilkhanate of Sarepta, where I originally hail from.", Mahmut explained, then stopped to look at the shop himself.
It was a clothes shop, not a tailor like a bit further down the wall, but one, which sold pre-fabricated clothing. They sold traditional Kyrenaian clothing, from child- to adult-sizes, but the majority of their stock were t-shirts and other such clothing, which one found in large cities.
'Straight Outta Sinope', 'No Desert-Ships here' and such phrases.
Mahmut knew, that he would not get any of those for his sisters.

"Thanks.", Shirin said and blushed lightly, then turned back to the object of their observation. She took a moment to spot him again. "Huh... a shirt-shop." She considered for a moment. "Nope, he'll veto that one. At least for his own souvenirs."

Laila smiled.
"According to her, the Crown Prince heard the story, nodded, said something to the effect of 'If they want, they can come along - the more the merrier!', and grinned in that enthusiastic and charming little-boy-in-a-candy-shop-way, which makes one want to buy all the candy and all possible protests of his niece died a quick and merciful death.", she explained, before she added, "By the way, I'm not a classmate of Aurelia, she's a year above me... Princess Alya, though, you might have heard of her, is a classmate of mine. Once you realize, that they also have to write the same tests, eat lunch at the same diner and listen to the same music, though, the excitement wears a bit off."

"Well, worked out nice for you...", Atif said with a small shrug, "Meanwhile, our Ilia led Kyrenaia into a recession, the economy turned sour and he died in 1910, making way to Sultan Atif XIII., who's first order of business was a rapid industrialization of everything and anything he found - much of the railway network is owed to him, plus the first twenty years of the Decolonization Wars. He died in 1939 and Kian-Sultan followed him. I think, that you know the end results..."

"Someone beat your date at darts and said winner asked you for the honour?", the second teen asked with a grin, "Indeed, a very good method... we only lost our dances with the belles for that night, but not our actual dates - except for Atif, that traitor..."
"To be fair, one of said belles was his cousin.", the other one amended, "And really a cousin, not an excuse."

The Scarlet Eagle wrote:Peter, Frank, Thomas and Joe, spot too Lady Fara for a second or two, as they recognize her from photos shown to the by their grandchildren. As soon as she dissapears, however, their minds are back on their guide, and the way to their destination.

And then, suddenly, she was in front of them.
36 metres long, from the tip of the bowsprit to the stern, a bit more then threehundred tons in weight, built of wood and masterfully so, carvings along the stern and quarter gallieries showed that in intricate patterns.
Her profile was sleek, built for speed, cutting through the waves like a two-masted sword, which its profile resembled. And her crew, thirty young women, plus five adult supervisors, were busy at work, making sure, that she was in peak condition for the parade, which was set to begin in a bit.
The Sayarfur, with her four sails on two masts, would lead the parade past the Merchant Navy Academy.
She was still open for visitors, one of the sailor girls leading two young men over her decks and chatting, while an older one was introducing a small tour group to her intricacies. At the bottom of the gangplank, a sailor girl stood and collected money for the restauration of a Temple of Anahiti, a Sea God.
One should note, that all thirty HGA-Girls wore the HGA's uniforms, blue collared and blue skirted sailor uniforms with white blouses, which was iconic within Utica and model for the school uniforms within all of Kyrenaia and, as the Free Lands showed, also 'inspiration' abroad.
Qadir reached into one of her pockets and took out a small silver coin, putting it into the donation box. The girl gave a small bow.

The younger priest, unaware that the paramedic stabilized Seafood and were still taking him to the hospital, smiled slightly. He gathered, that the person he spoken with over his mobile phone had not much liking for the young man at his friend's table.
Despite his reassurance, that he would not worry, the young priest did not believe him for a moment, but he knew, that the cuppa was helping. They always did.
"I am sure, that his brother is very worried. He is, after all, his brother.", he said and smiled slightly, remembering something from a long time ago, "Believe me, when I say, that no matter what happens, brothers love each other. And when one is in danger, they worry."
A long beat passed.
"So... you are like the Spiorad, then?", he asked, then clarified: "Ancient in mind, young in body, the times and days themselves being foreign, places once familiar gone over centuries."

Indeed, there was someone in the room full of maps, a mousy looking, middle-aged woman in a pant-suit, who pushed up her glasses as she cleared her throat as she spotted Alexander.
Her voice was almost a whisper: "H-Hello, Sir.", she began, "Can I help you with anything? Any particular map you would like? Or a format you are searching for?"
She looked over to her computer and the big box of USB Sticks, which were to be used to copy needed maps in a format understandable for GPS-devices, next to it.
"We can provide.", she added as she turned back, her voice a slight bit louder with the self-confidence.

Enjoying having her rear massaged, and still promising herself to repay him in kind, Fara let out a breathy sigh. His proposal was met with silence, for a long moment.
"Under one condition.", she proposed, enjoying the feeling of his forehead against hers, "For the concert, the two of us see, whether or not Edgar, Sabin, Fadia and Erika want to come along. I know, for a fact, that Fadia would want to come, if Edgar were to come... she wants to get to know him." She let a beat pass. "Not in the way you and me want to get to know each other, but as an acquaintance, maybe even friend." She smiled. "And if none of them come along, we go by ourselves..."
She removed her forehead from his, but stayed close, their cheeks touching.
She whispered into his ear: "As for a little stroll to a nice, secluded spot, I already know where and which mode of transportation to take..."

Aurelia smiled, then nodded with a small bow.
"First Officer...", she said and suppressed a giddy giggle. "...if you would do me the honour of assisting me in Hoisting the Colours?"
She carefully took the flag and not even a minute later, the little Harira was, technically, the flagship of all naval vessels in possession of the Sultanate, from the Naval Service over Coast Guard, Merchant Navy, police, state-owned research vessels, to the Navy.
In just the right moment, the wind picked up and allowed the flag to fly proudly.
Aurelia stepped back, brought both fists to her opposing shoulder, left to the right and right to the left, arms crossed, and bowed her head as a sign of respect.
Raising her head again, she grinned at Marcella.

Atif smiled as she affixed the necklace to his neck.
"Thank you, Asuna.", he said, meaning every word and speaking her name as if he was referring to a Goddess. And in his eyes, only the Lioness Herself was higher then the woman so close to him. "I have a gift for you, too..."
He was getting a bit nervous now, he would admit.
"May I ask you to close your eyes, Milady?", he asked with a cheeky smile and wink.

by **The Scarlet Eagle** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:46 am

When they finally reach their destination, the four members of the Angels of Dunkirk take some time to detail the forms and lines of the Sayarfur.
"Not bad , not bad, comments Frank with a small smile, although for me, nothing can beat the good old silhouette of the Lexington, referring to the old carrier that was sunk during the Battle of the Coral Sea. May she rest in peace."
Meanwhile, Peter has spotted the girl at the foot of the gangplank, holding a small donation box for the restoration of a temple. After a brief exchange of glances with his wingmates, the four old men put their hands into their vest's right interior pocket, and pull out each a stack of 20 rolled Imperial Dollar bills, each maintained by a small elastic band, the number visible on the bills being 100.
Peter then proceeds to collect the stacks of his colleagues, then lifts the lid of the box and puts the eight thousand Dollars inside, before putting his right hand to his forehead in a military salute, a gesture repeated by his colleagues, before following Qadir inside the yacht.
In the meantime, Elven 1 has instructed Elven 4 to stay at the foot of the gangplank, while heim and his other two colleagues follow their masters inside.

by **Danceria** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:12 am

Kyrenaia wrote:Enjoying having her rear massaged, and still promising herself to repay him in kind, Fara let out a breathy sigh. His proposal was met with silence, for a long moment.
"Under one condition.", she proposed, enjoying the feeling of his forehead against hers, "For the concert, the two of us see, whether or not Edgar, Sabin, Fadia and Erika want to come along. I know, for a fact, that Fadia would want to come, if Edgar were to come... she wants to get to know him." She let a beat pass. "Not in the way you and me want to get to know each other, but as an acquaintance, maybe even friend." She smiled. "And if none of them come along, we go by ourselves..."
She removed her forehead from his, but stayed close, their cheeks touching.
She whispered into his ear: "As for a little stroll to a nice, secluded spot, I already know where and which mode of transportation to take..."

"You were planning this, weren't you?" Aceus chuckled. "Anyhow, Edgar and Sabin are a given to being here, and he'll most enjoy being a friend, who happens to be a boy. If Fadia will let them." he paused, "Erika...I'm not sure about that. I'm not sure if jazz is exactly her style of music." he tried to put some humor on the situation, but it was clear that he tried to keep his business life as far from Erika as possible to raise as somewhat of a normal person. Said normal people needed time to transition from being a wannabe mini-soldier to...well, having more civilian tastes. "But I'm sure she'll be fine with it. A, shall we say, good friend of hers has some taste in music. Who knows? She may yet surprise us both..." He would sigh. "But sadly, I do believe I've run out of you to caress, and any knots and cramps I can report to be thoroughly quashed." he almost put on a mocking display of sadness, but he was definitely enjoying having Fara be comfortable. "So speaking of surprises, I look forward to seeing what you've got in store for me..."

by **Shamsiyya** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:43 am

Layla.
Iska had to grin - she knew, that a litany on Shamsiyyan history was incoming now, but their shoptalk on the histories of their home countries seemed to go quite well. She hid her grin behind her hand, pretending to yawn (actually not having to, since they had sailed all night long) and looked over to Maryam and Atif's friends, who seemed to have a lot of fun - thus, she decided to prepare another round of drinks for the three of them, assuming to have guessed their Darts bet mode correctly.
Layla, meanwhile, nodded.
"Well, yes, that thing turned out well for us - unlike what came decades after Jamal. He died in 1906, after 41 years of reign. His successor, Sultana Bouthaina VI., had to correct some decisions by Jamal, which helped the economy out of stagnation again. Unfortunately, she also gave birth to a bunch of ... let's say, mentally challenged princes, who were not exactly satisfied by just ruling certain territories. When Bouthaina-Sultana died in 1929, they first started peacefully negotiating over the one big cake that Shamsiyya was - then they turned mad and started warring each other in 1936. As a result of both this, and another economic crisis, popular uprisings popped up all over the country, often supported by Qaranisa forces and some RSA divisions - the Seventh Intifada became a thing. At the end of the day, in 1942, General Amaru Faisali took over power and founded the Federative Socialist People's Republic."
She let a beat pass.
"You might know, at least vaguely, about the rest. Lesson learned: try not to give too much power to madmen."

Maryam.
"Not quite. I had a more ... morally questionable plan. I was young and needed the fun." Maryam grinned and shrugged.
"You see, even if small towns like the one I'm from, you have to stick out of the masses to remain in the lads' memories - especially if you happen to have an extremely common name like Maryam Abdaliha." Indeed, Maryam was a popular name in the Federal Republic, and Abdaliha, translating as 'Servant of the Gods', was the most frequent last name by far; combined with alternative spellings like 'Abduliha', it filled several pages in the phone books of almost every municipality in Shamsiyya. Maryam Abdaliha was also the name of two known actresses as well as one politician. A name like Mary Johnson or Jane Miller. "If you end up 'praised' with that name, for a given definition of the term, you need to be creative at methods to receive attention from the guy you wish to gain attention of. Wasn't that easy to get the first dance I wanted ..."

Festival Hall of Hammamat Alhadba, Canton of Mintaqa Aljibal, Summer of 2009.
Maryam left the bathroom, where she had brought her last drink away. Gods, Raki really had a severe effect on untrained, barely 16-year-old bladders ... but it was also supposed to finally sort some things out. It would be hard to find The One in this hall, full of people of her age, three school classes celebrating the end of the last Middle School term.
But she had a feeling, that tonight would be a good night; coincidentally, the relatively new pop song, which was now being played loudly, seemed to agree with her. This would be the night when she finally got her first dance, with no one else but Samir. Samir Assouani, also sixteen, from another class of the same school, brown hair down to the shoulders, green eyes shining like emeralds ... and very popular amongst the girls (surprise ...).
But how to convince him ...? Guys like him were usually the ones who chose their dance partners - the number of requests by girls most certainly had already two digits. As a result, Maryam needed a damn good plan. And better so before it was too late.
She could hear her heart beating faster than the rhythm of the song ... and louder.
She spotted Samir near the dartboard - and her worst competitor and rival: Farida Qusur, a.k.a. 'Miss Canton Oh-Three'. Really ...? If it was what it looked like, Maryam could drain her desire down the same toilet her processed Raki had ended up in. Not to mention the other girls who already formed up a queue - virtually -, waiting for getting their first dance tonight with Samir.
No, for Isis' sake, she couldn't allow that to happen!
She had to hurry, as one of the next songs played would most certainly be a famous romantic opening song for dance hours often played in Shamsiyya.
The dartboard caught her attention. Farida's last throw had gone onto the outer ring, and she generally wasn't good at it, as it seemed. Samir had done better, leading by ... roughly estimated, ten to fifteen points. Now, Samir raised his pointer, asking her to wait, then took his empty glass and went towards the bar.
That was it!
Maryam approached the board, looking at it distinctly. "Looks bad, eh?" - she told Farida.
Farida turned around, grinning. "Ah ... Marwa, right?"
"Maryam."
"Oh, yes ... well, looks like I lose my bet. If I won, I'd have a dance with Samir." She shrugged, but her arrogant grin clearly said something along the lines of, 'I'm still closer to that than you, Marwa, Maryam, Madiha, whatever your name is - have fun being jealous!'
Maryam noticed that, considered to wring that arrogant hoe's neck for a moment, but then grinned. "So, what if you lose?"
"Ten Guineas and a beer shower" - was her concise answer, along with a sigh.
Maryam grinned mischievously. "I have an idea. Look, it's more likely, that the national team wins the final match of the 2010 World Cup with 11:0, than that you win this darts game, right? So, it's technically still possible for you - granted that you hit the center. Which you won't do - so as you have nothing to lose anymore, how about you let me throw your final throw?"
Farida raised her eyebrows. "You're quite good at it, right? Now, it sounds like a plan ... but you won't do that for nothing, right?"
"That's correct. If I hit the center, I may ask Samir for a dance. If I don't, I'll pay the ten Guineas and take the beer shower."
Farida frowned. "What the shit, Maraya ..."
"Maryam."
"Maryam, you can't be serious, right? I've looked forward to that dance for ages. I mean, it's Samir!"
Maryam shrugged. "Well, if you're that rich and don't mind being embarrassed with the entire hall seeing it ..." She demonstratively turned around, pretending to just go.
"Wait, wait, wait!" - Farida exclaimed. "Okay, you've won. Just throw it."
Maryam turned back to Farida and grinned. "Must be your lucky day, I haven't planned anything else."

"... Long story short - I won, I thought my heart's gonna jump out of my body when asking him, he said yes, we danced, had a second dance, had a lot of Raki, shared a hookah, yadda yadda yadda, and I got famous in school suddenly."
Iska approached their table with three drinks, grinning. As usual, Maryam had yadda-yadda'd over the best part. (Or had she not?)
"I assume you guys wish another round?" - she asked.
Maryam nodded. "Since someone still owes me one, indeed. How are Layla and Atif doing?"
Iska grinned again. "Layla's shoptalking again, and Atif really doesn't seem to have a problem with it. He even does so himself. They're doing excellent so far!"

by **Polish Prussian Commonwealth** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:59 am

Marie shrugged. "Some people are...well, rotten. Just have to learn to live with them...what was it like, there, anyway? For me, well, it was as normal as one could get when you live in a Catholic school run by the few remaining martial orders* in Prussia-Poland."

*A martial order, in case you don't know, is essentially what happens when a bunch of monks or nuns decide to take the term 'Church Militant' literally and take up arms. In this case, she's referring to the Order of Kraków. Despite being a 'martial' order, most of the time they merely work as chaplains in the Reichswehr and only carry firearms for self defense.
Then there's the Order of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. Let's just say you don't want to meet them.

Erika allowed herself a small smile. "Thank you... I've been out of practice."
At the idea of letting others wash her, though, she winced a little. "Er...I'll pass. No offense intended, but back home you're supposed to wash yourself if you're not a toddler or an infant. We can still talk, though..."
She adjusted the towel covering her body slightly. "...so, you're a falconer, right? Reminds me of something the previous gov did...they tried mounting cameras on falcons for border patrol. Problem was, they forgot to take into account that falcons need to take a shit just as much as we do. So next thing you know, all those cameras get covered in...you know."

by **Lillorainen** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 10:57 am

Marie's and Robbie's background stories did not exactly sound nice ... Ratko and Merle were glad to each have had a good, lovely childhood and still excellent ties with their parents and other relatives back home.
Ingmar wished he could say the same ...
"What should I say ..." - he began, "I was born in the Republic of Stella Dorata - luckily, in one of the Autonomous Regions, not in the hellhole that is the Mainland. When I was seventeen, which has been fourteen years ago, I became a Regular Lillo, went to Nienhagen, gained citizenship of the Federation, and went to the Federal Navy - where I'm still in active duty. Now, as a Lillorainian soldier, I'm not allowed to enter Stelladoriani soil, with not being able to see my parents anymore as a result." He let a beat pass. "These bastards didn't even allow me in to attend my Granddad's funeral. Not even trying to bribe them helped."
He stayed calm, despite hating the living guts of the Stelladoriani junta.
He changed the topic, by replying to Micky's question. "I think we got a bit of time left, until the Parade starts." He checked his watch. "It starts at one-two hundred."
Meanwhile, Ratko enlightened Gina Fittipaldi about the date of Milenka's construction, "1911, to be precise."

by **Aurora Confederacy** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 3:53 pm

Gina hearing the tales of Marie and Ingmar reminded her of her own past, the post traumatic rejection by her own mother who hasn't spoken to Gina since she was rescued and returned to shore back in 1999 and so she pulls Marie in and gives her a soft, sisterly although some could say "motherly" hug, before gesturing to Ingmar, "sounds like there is some bad blood between nations then Ingmar" replies Gina in a friendly manner as one thing about Gina is she has an empathic streak that runs through her and she hates to see people depressed or getting to feel down. The only reason that Ingmar doesn't get a hug straight away is simple, she is at one end of a crowded cabin and Ingmar is at the other!

Robbie kept quiet, not wanting to let the guests know that she met Gina through being homeless and looking for food or how she was beaten to within in an inch of her life by someone who had an aggression control dissorder, although when Ratko mentioned the date, Gina turned to Ratko, "for that age, she looks very well unlike the rusty old tub I had to endure when My father wanted me to go to sea and work as assistant chef.

"you know what that means Fitt, you've been nominated as chief barbeque cook tonight" jokes Zoe Mariner, but that said and done, Gina is very adept at Mediterranean style cooking.

Micky flicks the digital chart to the virtual watch and spins the camera slowly around looking for movement in the channel in case people are getting to line up early, but also to see what is going on around the harbour, periodically zooming in on some of the other boats, particularly some of the older vessels.

Looking at Marie, Robbie having never heard of Martial orders asks "Martial orders, is that like a ultra orthodox group within the Catholic Church?" she asks with a soft voice

by **Lillorainen** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:20 pm

Ingmar, who already assumed that Gina would have too much of a hard time to cross the entire crowded room just to hug him, nodded.
"Indeed, there's quite a lot of bad blood there." He explained, "You see, considering solely cultural standards, Lillorainen and Stella Dorata are essentially one nation; we speak the same language, even share most dialects and minority languages; differences in religion, behavior, habits, and so on, are insignificant. The only difference are politics - Stella Dorata got independent from one of our predecessor states more than two centuries ago, also didn't join the Federation, when it was founded, in 1981; ever since a crisis resulting in a coup, it has been ruled by a military junta. They also hold claim to lands that would be rightfully ours, and for some time, they kept us awake by sending us terrorist, but we scrapped most of them. And now they are our annoying neighbor - or our evil twin, whatever way one wishes to put it." He shrugged.
Ratko waited for Ingmar to finish, then said, "As for Milenka, she's indeed always been maintained well. It was a hard job to make Luna look like this - but a good one you lasses did!"
Merle, who had noticed, that Jax had really taken the entire rest of her tea, listened to Marie's upcoming explanation on these ominous Martial Orders, as these were completely unknown to her.

by **Polish Prussian Commonwealth** » Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:02 pm

Marie gave Gina a slight glare. "Oi, toucheth not. We just met, miss."
She coughed.
"In any case, I suppose you want to know what a Martial Order is. A martial order is essentially a monastic order that operates troops-for example, the the Teutonic Knights, the Knights Templar, and so on. Prussia-Poland has two that are still active the Roman Catholic Order of Kraków, and the Lutheran Order of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia. Former just provides medics and chaplains, latter literally has an mechanized infantry brigade to itself."

by **Mervay** » Mon Feb 11, 2019 2:11 am

Kyrenaia wrote:The saleswoman, having escorted them, smiled slightly.
"We would prefer, if you wouldn't pay in advance. What if you don't like it after all?", she shook her head, "No, we wouldn't want to force you into that. If you insist on paying in advance, we can arrange that. The total price, however, would be a thousand Barquas for all of them combined. That includes a discount of mass already. And the materials you used were of a good quality."
She let a beat pass.
"As for the tip... we don't take tips.", she said, "But if you insist on paying something in addition to the actual price, there is a pair of dancers out and about, two girls, who collect money to aid children with Epidermolysis Bullosa. If you insist, then please donate the money to their cause."

An thousand Barquas or more than an thousand five hundred NSD, it wasn't so expensive in the end. Although by what the saleswoman said it was clearly thanks to the discount of all they bought even when the materials were of great quality.
They looked at each other and grinned about their luck with how it ended up everything, they belived it would be expensive.

"Alright, thought it would be more expensive" Edward said as he took half from his wallet and so his wife, then handed it over to the woman. "We will pay more if in the end the costs raise by surprise if needed. Now about those dancers which we can donate, you know where we can find them??"

by **Kyrenaia** » Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:23 am

At the salute, the girl gave a small bow, but as soon as they were gone, she sighed.
Where in the name of the Endless Sands was she going to get the money changed?
Qadir, meanwhile, did not comment as she led them up the gangplank, neither on the donation, nor on the guard staying at the foot of the gangplank (as long as they respected that the vessel was open to visitors and did not interfere with that, no one would give a damn) and least of all on the visitors already on deck.
She stopped at the top, looking to the young woman on the deck, leaning against a barrel, nineteen years of age, and asked: "Permission to come aboard, First Officer?"
"Depends on who you have with you, Miss.", she asked with a small smile, looking to the Imperials, "There were only four people announced."
Qadir left it to the Imperials to explain that.

Shamsiyya wrote:Layla.
Iska had to grin - she knew, that a litany on Shamsiyyan history was incoming now, but their shoptalk on the histories of their home countries seemed to go quite well. She hid her grin behind her hand, pretending to yawn (actually not having to, since they had sailed all night long) and looked over to Maryam and Atif's friends, who seemed to have a lot of fun - thus, she decided to prepare another round of drinks for the three of them, assuming to have guessed their Darts bet mode correctly.
Layla, meanwhile, nodded.
"Well, yes, that thing turned out well for us - unlike what came decades after Jamal. He died in 1906, after 41 years of reign. His successor, Sultana Bouthaina VI., had to correct some decisions by Jamal, which helped the economy out of stagnation again. Unfortunately, she also gave birth to a bunch of ... let's say, mentally challenged princes, who were not exactly satisfied by just ruling certain territories. When Bouthaina-Sultana died in 1929, they first started peacefully negotiating over the one big cake that Shamsiyya was - then they turned mad and started warring each other in 1936. As a result of both this, and another economic crisis, popular uprisings popped up all over the country, often supported by Qaranisa forces and some RSA divisions - the Seventh Intifada became a thing. At the end of the day, in 1942, General Amaru Faisali took over power and founded the Federative Socialist People's Republic."
She let a beat pass.
"You might know, at least vaguely, about the rest. Lesson learned: try not to give too much power to madmen."

Maryam.
"Not quite. I had a more ... morally questionable plan. I was young and needed the fun." Maryam grinned and shrugged.
"You see, even if small towns like the one I'm from, you have to stick out of the masses to remain in the lads' memories - especially if you happen to have an extremely common name like Maryam Abdaliha." Indeed, Maryam was a popular name in the Federal Republic, and Abdaliha, translating as 'Servant of the Gods', was the most frequent last name by far; combined with alternative spellings like 'Abduliha', it filled several pages in the phone books of almost every municipality in Shamsiyya. Maryam Abdaliha was also the name of two known actresses as well as one politician. A name like Mary Johnson or Jane Miller. "If you end up 'praised' with that name, for a given definition of the term, you need to be creative at methods to receive attention from the guy you wish to gain attention of. Wasn't that easy to get the first dance I wanted ..."

Festival Hall of Hammamat Alhadba, Canton of Mintaqa Aljibal, Summer of 2009.
Maryam left the bathroom, where she had brought her last drink away. Gods, Raki really had a severe effect on untrained, barely 16-year-old bladders ... but it was also supposed to finally sort some things out. It would be hard to find The One in this hall, full of people of her age, three school classes celebrating the end of the last Middle School term.
But she had a feeling, that tonight would be a good night; coincidentally, the relatively new pop song, which was now being played loudly, seemed to agree with her. This would be the night when she finally got her first dance, with no one else but Samir. Samir Assouani, also sixteen, from another class of the same school, brown hair down to the shoulders, green eyes shining like emeralds ... and very popular amongst the girls (surprise ...).
But how to convince him ...? Guys like him were usually the ones who chose their dance partners - the number of requests by girls most certainly had already two digits. As a result, Maryam needed a damn good plan. And better so before it was too late.
She could hear her heart beating faster than the rhythm of the song ... and louder.
She spotted Samir near the dartboard - and her worst competitor and rival: Farida Qusur, a.k.a. 'Miss Canton Oh-Three'. Really ...? If it was what it looked like, Maryam could drain her desire down the same toilet her processed Raki had ended up in. Not to mention the other girls who already formed up a queue - virtually -, waiting for getting their first dance tonight with Samir.
No, for Isis' sake, she couldn't allow that to happen!
She had to hurry, as one of the next songs played would most certainly be a famous romantic opening song for dance hours often played in Shamsiyya.
The dartboard caught her attention. Farida's last throw had gone onto the outer ring, and she generally wasn't good at it, as it seemed. Samir had done better, leading by ... roughly estimated, ten to fifteen points. Now, Samir raised his pointer, asking her to wait, then took his empty glass and went towards the bar.
That was it!
Maryam approached the board, looking at it distinctly. "Looks bad, eh?" - she told Farida.
Farida turned around, grinning. "Ah ... Marwa, right?"
"Maryam."
"Oh, yes ... well, looks like I lose my bet. If I won, I'd have a dance with Samir." She shrugged, but her arrogant grin clearly said something along the lines of, 'I'm still closer to that than you, Marwa, Maryam, Madiha, whatever your name is - have fun being jealous!'
Maryam noticed that, considered to wring that arrogant hoe's neck for a moment, but then grinned. "So, what if you lose?"
"Ten Guineas and a beer shower" - was her concise answer, along with a sigh.
Maryam grinned mischievously. "I have an idea. Look, it's more likely, that the national team wins the final match of the 2010 World Cup with 11:0, than that you win this darts game, right? So, it's technically still possible for you - granted that you hit the center. Which you won't do - so as you have nothing to lose anymore, how about you let me throw your final throw?"
Farida raised her eyebrows. "You're quite good at it, right? Now, it sounds like a plan ... but you won't do that for nothing, right?"
"That's correct. If I hit the center, I may ask Samir for a dance. If I don't, I'll pay the ten Guineas and take the beer shower."
Farida frowned. "What the shit, Maraya ..."
"Maryam."
"Maryam, you can't be serious, right? I've looked forward to that dance for ages. I mean, it's Samir!"
Maryam shrugged. "Well, if you're that rich and don't mind being embarrassed with the entire hall seeing it ..." She demonstratively turned around, pretending to just go.
"Wait, wait, wait!" - Farida exclaimed. "Okay, you've won. Just throw it."
Maryam turned back to Farida and grinned. "Must be your lucky day, I haven't planned anything else."
"... Long story short - I won, I thought my heart's gonna jump out of my body when asking him, he said yes, we danced, had a second dance, had a lot of Raki, shared a hookah, yadda yadda yadda, and I got famous in school suddenly."
Iska approached their table with three drinks, grinning. As usual, Maryam had yadda-yadda'd over the best part. (Or had she not?)
"I assume you guys wish another round?" - she asked.
Maryam nodded. "Since someone still owes me one, indeed. How are Layla and Atif doing?"
Iska grinned again. "Layla's shoptalking again, and Atif really doesn't seem to have a problem with it. He even does so himself. They're doing excellent so far!"

Atif nodded.
"We never really had any mad Princes, only far too many at several occassions.", he said and smiled, "If I remember correctly, Mahmut III. had nine legitimate children and, depending on which number you believe in, up to three-hundred illegitimate ones. All of which fought for the Ilkhanate's throne. With predictable results."
He shrugged.
"A lot of happened in Kyrenaia.", he added, "And I am sure, that a lot happened in Shamsiyya, too..."

The remaining teen nodded, raising a hand and getting out his purse to pay.
His comrade nodded: "Seems like two found each other.", he said, "He's a good lad. He deserves it. Much like you deserved your dance at the graduation party." He leaned back and grinned. "We, too, went through Middle School, but when we left it, we did not celebrate it... mainly because the Academies and other boarding schools also include High Schools and we basically had the same teachers for six years..."
"The feast for Graduation will be awesome, though!", the third one said with a grin.

Fadia laughed at that anecdote, noting how Erika covered herself up a bit more.
"Indeed, I can imagine.", she said and smiled, "Hence why our recon falcons carry their cameras on their heads so that the operator sees, what the falcon looks at. As falcons hunt small, ground-bound prey... but Junah is a hunting falcon, specialized less in reconnaissance and more in hunting, both for small animals and for birds, including drones."
She let a beat pass.
"Imagine a two-twenty spanning bird of prey, armoured in light kevlar plates over the body, the claws extended by claws, which can rip apart glass, descending upon a little drone...", Fadia grinned, "Luckily, we mostly only train that, the State Visits, which we escorted, did not need our interference. My Dog Leader has it rougher, though."

The saleswoman nodded, printed a bill for them as well as a small slip of paper with their customer number and a few other information and a stamp saying, that it was already paid for.
Handing it to either, she explained: "Last I saw them, they were setting up shop at the Western Entrance of the Bazaar. Out, to the right and along the wall, until you meet a main street." She let a beat pass. "Thank you - and have a nice day."
And indeed, the two traditional dancers in the traditional dress, dancing a dance, which could almost be called erotic by many foreigners, veiled - said veils flying at their rapid hip and shoulder movements, the little brass cymbals on their fingers chattering masterfully. Their dresses might hint at many things, but with how graceful they moved, their effect was only enhanced.
The pair was surrounded by tourists and locals watching the performance with interest, the music coming from a battery-powered CD-player.
The two were masters at their subject, smiling as they danced, their movements seemed naturally graceful, as if it was the most normal thing in the world for them.

"A bit...", Fara said with a smile, "Although Edgar would have to compete with a man of such high renown, that he is bound to loose."
Her explanation was accompanied by her sitting up, smiling at Aceus.
"You have a satisfied customer, if I may say so.", she added with a grin, "But amongst the two of us, Fadia is crushing hard on a lad from the TBA and I have to say, she has taste..."
She smiled and rose from the bench, motioning for him to lay down face down.
"Now, I personally love jazz-dancing and the band is said to be wonderful.", she added, "Maybe we can indeed convince Erika, that she might want to join us... what sort of boys does she like? And does she like boys?"

Sinope Harbour Festival (IC, MT)

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