Comin' together to Celebrate (IC)

[AHSCA]

Haru's humbleness made Leonard smile - it sounded like she was really a very good sailor, but then again, he was better in swimming then in sailing. She was right about Hina, though, it was luck, that she had only cracked the lens of her glasses.
He smiled.
"Indeed, farming might be more of your forte.", he teased Hina a bit, turning back to Haru, "So, about your boat... what sort of boat is it?"
He might be a better swimmer then sailor, but that did not mean, that he didn't know port from starboard.

"I do really like the farm I must admit....It's also more papa's thing but even he's a better sailor than me."

"Aw there there, my dear, we all have our strengths and no one can craft a rice dish as good as you! Ah my own personal boat, which is the one my girl and me sailed in on, is a junk ship. Pretty common in the islands, even The Duchess herself has one! As for my work when I'm ferrying passengers around the islands then I have a larger version of that. Long haul journies with cargo or passengers it will just depend on what I need. I've been doing this pretty much all my life so I've worked just about every kind of ship one can imagine, big to small, sail and steamer. Well I haven't worked modern cruise ship, I suppose I could give it a try one day but I rather like the adventure and challenge that sails and steam offer. Please, I hope I'm not boring you, if I am just tell me, I could go really on and on!" she laughed a little.

Branwen blushed, squeezing Shizuka's hand... and then hugged her.
"I am glad, too!", she said, whispered into her ear, "I mean, one rarely enough meets a kindred spirit, but... I was your fan, Shizuka... please allow me to be your friend."
Elin had stopped a few metres away, looking away. This was their little moment, she would only intrude. Besides, Shizuka would know a side of her sister, that she would not know, not any time soon, maybe never... she envied her a bit, if she was honest.
But if it made her little sis happy, then who was she to object?

"Oh, Dear Branwen, I'd be so pleased to be your friend! Now we are more than just fans I'm sure we can connect on more levels as we get to know each other really personally!" Actually Shizuka's phrasing might be somewhat questionable if taken out of context, it only occurred to her but she tried to hide her blushing cheeks behind her wide smile.

[Danceria]

The tea took two minutes, then the waitress returned with a small tablet.
The cup was of good porcellain, a small can on the tablet as well, filled with Matcha for two refills. A small container of sugar and a smaller carafe of fresh milk were on the tablet as well.
As she set everything up, the waitress couldn't help but glance at the notebook and the sketches, but also the photographs.
"They're good.", she complimented, "Hobby of yours?"

"The drawing more so than photography." the young man explained with a smile, nodding in appreciation for the young lady's work. "Friend of mine suggested that I take up photography and go into portraits, or go into journalism...haven't quite figured out what I want to do now that I'm out of college." he would sip his tea, barely adding any sugar and milk. "This is good strong tea." he complimented. "But that's mostly why I'm here, gaining artistic inspiration...mostly from the adorable animals at the petting zoo. Any suggestions on where one might get a few good photographs?"

[Kuronami]

Pina grinned, nodded.
"I hope so, too.", she said and looked forward, suddenly her grin turning softer, lovingly. "Speaking of..."
The young man with the dark blonde hair and the shining blue eyes smiled softly as well. He wore the tunic of Cuan's Green, a sword over his back, a quiver with arrows on his hip, the bowcase on the other side. He wore chainmail underneath the shirt, a padded shirt underneath that, and heavy boots.
He was lightly armoured, armed and dangerous only to one thing: The innocence of this scene.
Pina wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him while Lorgaire ran in circles around them, barking happily as he had found his master. A few of the inevitable audience chuckled at that, especially amongst the young men with the seven metre long pikes over their shoulders, dressed similarly to the young man, who was currently snogging Pina, but with helmets.

The little girls wooed at the sight of the two lovers coming together.

"Well looks like that was sooner than later." Charlie chucked.

"Very good!", Mara said with a nod, "Excitement is good!"
She nodded to Rona, who was looking from one to the other with her eyes shining happily.
On the stage, the two musicians from two bands jamming around, warming up, got company, the silver-haired Eileen Íseal of the Tribe of Conn was joining them with her bass-guitar and jamming away happily, much to the crowd's delight.
Some were dancing.
The melody was an old classic, a slow Jig for lover's, not at all their usual programme.
Someone cleared his throat, a young lad, around Mona's age, making her blush and almost hiding, but her mother's smile made her hold her position.
"What is it, Ciaran?", Mavie asked in Selkie with a smile.
The young redhead, who had approached them was red as his hair was, took a deep breath and then, in one long word, spluttered out: "Rona,mayIhaveadancewithyou?"
The little girl almost looked like she wanted to faint, but she took the offered hand, both of her mothers nodding in approval. He led her off to the impromptu dance floor in front of the stage with the jamming musicians.
Mavie's hand was finding Rona's. "Kids these days...", she said with a grin, watching the blonde and red heads.

"How adorable!" Mei cooed at the two kids joining in a dance together.

Tsukasa smiled quietly holding Mei's hand and leaning in against her. Tsukasa unfortunately had two-left-feet when it came to dancing but embracing her girlfriend was plenty. "I think that was how I asked Mei out for the first time."

"Hehe, come on Tsu-chan, you weren't that bad. Well nervous I could tell but your heart was in it!"

[Folaisia]

Getting something to eat sounded like a good idea to the three Selkie, so they approached that shop and even got in quickly, somehow catching a lull... and they had just restocked the shelves and display cases. It was a wonderful scene, breadrolls of dozens of different variations, of different flours and baking methods, from simple breadrolls, prepared and unprepared, to loafs flat and wide to those high and slim and anything inbetween. There were also sweets, from the ever-present Scipeal to a pot of Maith boiling in a corner, the old bread being cooked with fresh milk and spices, to other sweet stuff.
The staff-people mostly stayed with their work as they entered, but one of them, the main-cashierer, as it seemed, smiled at them. She assumed them all to be tourists, which was half-right, even completely right, considering, that Ida, Kiah and Enya were from Fortham and not Cuan.
In any case, she spoke: "Morning, people. What can we help you with?"

Alpin asked to Gordon if he wanted to come along and discuss the latter's horror addiction, but Gordon shrugged it off and insists to him that he wanted to try out food in the bakery. Alpin agreed and he was off to the video game floor. But however, the sight of the three girls heading the shop left him astounded, turning his head, narrowing his eyes, and putting up a smirk to hold back his laughter.

"Uh..okay then," he let out as he chuckled.

"Why don't we save the video games for later and get somethin' to eat," said Fiona, "I'm gettin' a wee bit hungry by the second for some pastries."

"Eh, why non," Alpin shrugged.

As Alpin and Fiona catch up with the three Selkie girls, Gordon and Marie browsed at the counter at the pastries, their faces shaped with astonishment from this . Gordon gave out a few nods of admiration as he crossed his arms, while Marie stared in awe, her mouth open as she places the fingertips of her right hand on her face. Alpin and Fiona evoked the same reactions as them as they went past the threshold, with Fiona eager to try them out as if she were high on sugar herself. Alpin then returned to the girls and asked what they would want. As for Gordon and Marie, Gordon gestured to Marie to ask the cashier.

"Hullo there," Marie greeted, "may I ask what you have and what would you recommend for us?"

[Foxfound]

Z chuckled. "Yeah... a horse might help with this backpack. We plan to camp out instead of paying for an inn, so I had to bring a tent and most of my other usual expedition supplies."

She grinned at the question. "Lots of things! A lot of our early history isn't very clear, and our island was definitely inhabited before the kitsune got there. There's plenty of artifacts waiting to be found to shed some light on these things. Plenty of things left behind by explorers from other lands, too.
But the best part is the ruins in the southeast, buried in the ice and permafrost. They seem to go really deep underground, and not a lot of people have explored very far.
The truth though... is that I'm not a very good explorer. I haven't found anything really awesome yet. And this is the first time I've been anywhere off the island."

She thought a moment.

"Well, I guess I did find something awesome once. I did meet Kiri as a result of one of my expeditions. A new friend is an awesome find in my book." Her and Kiri both smiled at this.


"It would have to be quite a few for you to forget..." Ren said. "Our leader's kept track of the years really meticulously, but then again, she's also really meticulous about everything else, so I guess she's just that kind of person. It's probably part of why she's in charge.
Someday I want to learn to dance... I'd probably be too nervous to sing, though."

Macha smiled at the tale of how the two met.
"Indeed, I could not imagine anything more worthwile then a new friend.", she agreed, "I treasure every acquaintance I have made over the years, even the small, fleeting ones, and friends, those are just awesome!" She grinned, leaned forward. Would they be boys, she might be worried about them having a good view, but as they were all girls... she didn't care. "Though, can you tell me, how exactly you met?"

Branwen chuckled.
"We were never good at record keeping, no matter if leader or not.", she admitted, still smiling, "Both in making the records and actually keeping them. But then again, for us... time is even less material then for the Selkie and they resisted the need for speed quite well!"
She smiled.
"As for dancing... meet a charming lad and you'll know how to dance soon enough!", she said, "And if I look at how cute you are, I doubt, that he or she will take long to dance to your fiddle!"

"Well... I ran into Kiri in the middle of this dark swampy forest. She was there because..."

She seemed unsure about something, and glanced at Kiri, who smiled and continued for her.

"Z doesn't want to say anything because she thinks it'll upset me, but it's fine. I was there because that was where I... died. Yeah. I didn't know where my parents had gone, and most people I met were scared of me, so I just hid there for a long time. Like... a really long time. Z was looking for artifacts there one day when she found this red ribbon. Ghosts need something important from their lives to anchor them to this world, and that's what the ribbon is for me. Anyway, I thought she was some kind of thief, so I followed her, but it turned out that she just didn't know it belonged to anyone, so we ended up being fast friends. I was her roommate for a while before I found my parents, which wouldn't have happened if I'd never met Z."

She seemed pretty happy now for someone who had been through so much. It seemed it didn't bother her so much anymore.

"Having friends like Z has helped me a lot, really. I used to stutter all the time because I was nervous, but I haven't done that for a while now."


Ren had blushed at Branwen's comment. "I don't know about that... I mean, I suppose I'm doing alright today, but usually I'm not very good at... talking... or... social... things... at all." She had her head down slightly.

[New Visayan Islands]

Domingo Hasegawa
The Stoc Inn

"I'd like to take a bite out of the Traditional Breakfast, if it's all the same to you...sorry, I didn't catch your name," Domingo replied. He was itching to take out Samuel's memoirs, but decided to wait until his order was taken in its entirety.

[Port Ember]

Gwen, as they linked arms, hoped, that his previous experiences would help him against Nora Cathlong.
Linking arms with Jan, Gwen, her pregnancy now revealed, led him towards the stairs, Srol in tow. His smile was wide and clear, warmed her heart and soul. It was a new beginning for life for him... Spring, in other words.
As they reached the lobby, one of the hotel workers, a middle-aged woman, smiled at Gwen, then at her younger colleague. Said younger colleague handed the older one a Gil-coin with incoherent grumbling under her breath. Gwen knew, that the Gil would go to the next temple.

Jan with Gwen

Jan observed the exchange of coin between two hotel workers, but thought nothing of it.

As he was walking with Gwen linked into his own arm, he clearly saw the picture presented once more - himself with a beautifull women on his arm, a baby in her stomach, and the wolf (yes an actual bloody wolf) in tow. He could not help but feel proud and alive. As if he was on top of the world again. As if he actually mattered in life. Had a purpose in life.

He decided to speak as little as possible, and follow Gwen's lead for now, to silently observe and take in his surroundings, to learn what he could from the exotic lands and people he now found himself in.

[Lillorainen]

En route to the Marcach Camp.
Marla even went so far as to kiss Hilda onto both cheeks as they hugged, but at the question of how she was doing... she exhaled and seemed to deflate a bit.
"Busy.", she said, "Mostly work for the Foreign Office. I am the diplomat attached to the SDF-Army Force Grey Wolf, read running around like a madwoman to organize things with people and the Army... all of which are remarkably stubborn and who seem to like to compare cannon-shaped dicks... even the female officers!"
She shook her head.
"My first free week in months.", she added.

In tactically sound advance towards the rear.
It didn't take long and we had picked up a small escort. Not only Soiprigh was on our heels, but also other Little Black Foxes: In the rafters, on the roofs, in the dark side-alleys, almost everywhere, one could see the little vulpines, if one was careful, almost a dozen, as I counted.
Then another dozen.
My boss' shop was well-known amongst the little vulpines of Cuan, my smell well-known.
And of course, everyone wanted to have a look at my boyfriend. It made me grin, as some of them even dared to step out of the shadows to get a better view.
Finnegan and Enya came closer to us again, Finnegan grinning.
Their diversion had been successful.

En route to the Marcach Camp.
Hilda did not mind Marla kissing her on both cheeks, quite on the contrary, as their friendship was well-established. She nodded along, as the Marcach and diplomat in a personal union told about this week being her first free one since ... an eternity.
She nodded again when she finished. She could well imagine how dicks were compared in the SDF, even with those who didn't have one, for what she knew, it was hardly different within the LFAF. Shenanigans like Operation Spartacus were, in comparison, rather unlikely to occur with these, though.
Yet.
"I can well imagine" - she said. "Give anybody, be it male or female, something to shoot, and they will feel like Thor Himself, just with a more efficient hammer. Especially if you put them into a uniform first."

In tactically sound advance towards the rear.
Not only Cel noticed, that many Little Black Foxes, around a dozen, followed the two of them. It didn't even surprise him a lot, given the numbers in which they had been roaming around already in Dumhach and, to a somewhat smaller, but still notable degree, in Shella - and finding them around the shop was just logical.
All of them were likely to know Cel, and they were obviously curious about the lad she was around with.
The fact that not only the foxes, but also Finnegan and Enya followed them made clear, that their escape had succeeded.
Chris grinned back and saluted. "Operation successful, Sir, Ma'am?!" - he said.

[Mediama]

Fiona returned the hug.
She saw them as friends, so far - with potential for more. Her hug, how she held the other young woman close, arms not wrapped around her shoulders or neck, but hips, pressing the two of them together, reflected that.
And how she missed Miranda's smile maybe being a bit too wide.
"Glad to hear that.", she said and took a moment to inhale Miranda's scent.

Hairs stood on the back of Miranda’s neck as she felt Fiona take in her own scent. And her blush deepened as she felt Fiona hug her by her hips, pulling them into an intimate embrace. It felt warm somehow, the more comfortable kind of warmth that made her want to stay in her arms.

But even if it felt right, it was all too much.

Heart racing, Miranda abruptly shoved Fiona away. She felt a rush running through her body, trembling as she stood frozen in front of the young Selkie girl, stuck in fight or flight mode.

“I-I...” Miranda stammered, flustered, before she turned and ran out the door.

As she ran out, she accidently bumped into patrons and Kathleen. Kathleen cursed as Miranda accidently bumped her into something, hoping to god above it wasn’t into the sword dance, where there was a chance she would be shredded to pieces in irony.

Miranda ran and ran, through streets and alleyways, she got lost in the crowds.

The Mediaman girl didn’t stop running until she found a clearing, a small park of some sorts. The type you’d find in urban areas usually with playground equipment, only this didn’t have playground equipment, only plants and trees. A bench lied near the tree.

With a racing heart, a panted breath, and an equally racing mind, Miranda walked up to the park bench, and had a seat, trying to collect herself over events that had quickly escalated within the span of an hour.

She took out the only things that could help her calm down, a notebook, and a pencil.

She started writing.

---

Liv smiled as she got up, without Kat's hand - the gesture was appreciated, but Liv was a big girl.
She knew this temple and its history, not as good as the one in Leuda, but she knew it. And she knew exactly, where to start: Now taking Kat's hand, she smiled and led her off from the large table.
"Now, we'll start at the beginning, in the Entrance Hall.", she said and led Liv to a large door... which did not lead into a hall, but into a small garden with vegetables, herbs and a large apple tree, which would take a few months still to be in bloom, but which was green already. A small cobblestone path led through the garden, between the little patches and both to two other doors and a small tool shack.
Liv took a deep breath and smiled at Kat.
Then she kissed her, onto the mouth, her arms snaking around the other young woman's neck. Although their was no tongue involved, it took a moment until they separated.
Looking into Kat's eyes, she whispered: "Thank you."

Kat smiled a close lipped smile as she followed along to Liv’s impromptu tour of the temple. Kat gently squeezed Liv’s hand as they walked out through to the main entrance hall.

As they stopped, Kat felt her breath be taken away. Before here was the aforementioned garden with the cobblestone path. A garden took up the space, a large apple tree taking up the center as the crown jewel of the temple gardens.

Kat was about to move for her camera when Liv kissed her. It was for a brief moment, too brief to escalate it into something more, but still breathtaking nevertheless.

Kat smiled an open mouthed smile as Liv thanked her, “It’s the best I can do for such a special occasion.” She said breathfully. She giggled to herself, “All of this because we just happened to crash into each other. Not sure if it’s fate, or someone up there loves us.” Kat openly pondered.

And so, as Kat waited for an answer, she looked into the deep colors of Liv’s eyes, and held her around the small of her back.

[The Selkie]

Haru's humbleness made Leonard smile - it sounded like she was really a very good sailor, but then again, he was better in swimming then in sailing. She was right about Hina, though, it was luck, that she had only cracked the lens of her glasses.
He smiled.
"Indeed, farming might be more of your forte.", he teased Hina a bit, turning back to Haru, "So, about your boat... what sort of boat is it?"
He might be a better swimmer then sailor, but that did not mean, that he didn't know port from starboard.

"I do really like the farm I must admit....It's also more papa's thing but even he's a better sailor than me."

"Aw there there, my dear, we all have our strengths and no one can craft a rice dish as good as you! Ah my own personal boat, which is the one my girl and me sailed in on, is a junk ship. Pretty common in the islands, even The Duchess herself has one! As for my work when I'm ferrying passengers around the islands then I have a larger version of that. Long haul journies with cargo or passengers it will just depend on what I need. I've been doing this pretty much all my life so I've worked just about every kind of ship one can imagine, big to small, sail and steamer. Well I haven't worked modern cruise ship, I suppose I could give it a try one day but I rather like the adventure and challenge that sails and steam offer. Please, I hope I'm not boring you, if I am just tell me, I could go really on and on!" she laughed a little.

Branwen blushed, squeezing Shizuka's hand... and then hugged her.
"I am glad, too!", she said, whispered into her ear, "I mean, one rarely enough meets a kindred spirit, but... I was your fan, Shizuka... please allow me to be your friend."
Elin had stopped a few metres away, looking away. This was their little moment, she would only intrude. Besides, Shizuka would know a side of her sister, that she would not know, not any time soon, maybe never... she envied her a bit, if she was honest.
But if it made her little sis happy, then who was she to object?

"Oh, Dear Branwen, I'd be so pleased to be your friend! Now we are more than just fans I'm sure we can connect on more levels as we get to know each other really personally!" Actually Shizuka's phrasing might be somewhat questionable if taken out of context, it only occurred to her but she tried to hide her blushing cheeks behind her wide smile.

Leonard smiled at the explanation.
“Oh, you are not boring me, quite on the contrary!”, he said with a shake of his head. “I think its very interesting. The junk sounds a lot like a Selkie-vessel, the Capall na dTonn, the Horse of the Waves. In use since the 16th century, they were used in shallow waters and on the high seas, for cargo transport, transport of persons and, of course, war and piracy.” His smile turned sheepish. “Though I must admit, that my knowledge of nautical matters mostly stems from the Spirit of Fire-novels...”

Branwen didn't care, what she had said when taken out of context – she knew the context and that was, what counted.
Shizuka's blush and wide smile made the Spiorad smile as well, press her closer to her body.
“I hope so, too.”, she whispered to Shizuka, “I want to get to know you, both through your writing and you personally. And maybe even closer then that...”
Now it was Branwen's turn to blush.

The tea took two minutes, then the waitress returned with a small tablet.
The cup was of good porcellain, a small can on the tablet as well, filled with Matcha for two refills. A small container of sugar and a smaller carafe of fresh milk were on the tablet as well.
As she set everything up, the waitress couldn't help but glance at the notebook and the sketches, but also the photographs.
"They're good.", she complimented, "Hobby of yours?"

"The drawing more so than photography." the young man explained with a smile, nodding in appreciation for the young lady's work. "Friend of mine suggested that I take up photography and go into portraits, or go into journalism...haven't quite figured out what I want to do now that I'm out of college." he would sip his tea, barely adding any sugar and milk. "This is good strong tea." he complimented. "But that's mostly why I'm here, gaining artistic inspiration...mostly from the adorable animals at the petting zoo. Any suggestions on where one might get a few good photographs?"

The waitress smiled – a lad, who didn't know, what he wanted to do in his life... where did she hear that song before? It was quite common for young people to need time to search for a calling in their life and if the waitress was honest, she was not that different.
“Hm, inspiration and cute subjects to photographs...”, she wondered for a moment, “The Petting Zoo might indeed be a good start, many cute animals and kids playing with them. The Tines are good and the foxes are, too, but especially with the young ones, I would ask the breeders first, if you are allowed to make photographs.” She thought for a moment. “The Ceol Square and the music stage might be good as well, cute scenes of love and longing. And, of course, the Bainis – something like that only happens once in a lifetime.”

Pina grinned, nodded.
"I hope so, too.", she said and looked forward, suddenly her grin turning softer, lovingly. "Speaking of..."
The young man with the dark blonde hair and the shining blue eyes smiled softly as well. He wore the tunic of Cuan's Green, a sword over his back, a quiver with arrows on his hip, the bowcase on the other side. He wore chainmail underneath the shirt, a padded shirt underneath that, and heavy boots.
He was lightly armoured, armed and dangerous only to one thing: The innocence of this scene.
Pina wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him while Lorgaire ran in circles around them, barking happily as he had found his master. A few of the inevitable audience chuckled at that, especially amongst the young men with the seven metre long pikes over their shoulders, dressed similarly to the young man, who was currently snogging Pina, but with helmets.

The little girls wooed at the sight of the two lovers coming together.

"Well looks like that was sooner than later." Charlie chucked.

"Very good!", Mara said with a nod, "Excitement is good!"
She nodded to Rona, who was looking from one to the other with her eyes shining happily.
On the stage, the two musicians from two bands jamming around, warming up, got company, the silver-haired Eileen Íseal of the Tribe of Conn was joining them with her bass-guitar and jamming away happily, much to the crowd's delight.
Some were dancing.
The melody was an old classic, a slow Jig for lover's, not at all their usual programme.
Someone cleared his throat, a young lad, around Mona's age, making her blush and almost hiding, but her mother's smile made her hold her position.
"What is it, Ciaran?", Mavie asked in Selkie with a smile.
The young redhead, who had approached them was red as his hair was, took a deep breath and then, in one long word, spluttered out: "Rona,mayIhaveadancewithyou?"
The little girl almost looked like she wanted to faint, but she took the offered hand, both of her mothers nodding in approval. He led her off to the impromptu dance floor in front of the stage with the jamming musicians.
Mavie's hand was finding Rona's. "Kids these days...", she said with a grin, watching the blonde and red heads.

"How adorable!" Mei cooed at the two kids joining in a dance together.

Tsukasa smiled quietly holding Mei's hand and leaning in against her. Tsukasa unfortunately had two-left-feet when it came to dancing but embracing her girlfriend was plenty. "I think that was how I asked Mei out for the first time."

"Hehe, come on Tsu-chan, you weren't that bad. Well nervous I could tell but your heart was in it!"

Pina and her beloved took a moment to stop their snogging, after which they separated with a long gaze into each other's eyes.
Lorgaire stopped his running around, sat down at a snap of his fingers by the young man, who then kissed Pina's nose, before they separated. He knelt down to greet his dog, grinning in a different way then when he had looked at Pina.
A bit later, he rose, grinning over his shoulder at the Kuronamis. “Hi.”, he greeted, then turned to Pina, “Friends of yours?”
Pina nodded. “If I may introduce? James and Charlotte, the kids are Billie and Jo.”, she introduced, “This is my boyfriend, Donnchadh Urdhún of the Tribe of Cork, Captain of the Póraitheoir High School Younger Militia Regiment.”
He grinned. “I prefer to go by the name of Donny!”, he added.

Mara and Mavie watched with pride, too, as the boy took Rona's hands and led her into a dance, given a bit of a berth by the other dancers. As the piece was slow, a tad bit romantic, the two kids held each other close, Rona resting her head on Ciaran's shoulder.
It was adorable beyond anything ever observed, if one asked the proud mothers.
“That's the important part.”, Mavie said, “That your heart is in it. And his heart certainly is in it.” She smiled. “He's a good lad.”
Mara nodded.

Alpin asked to Gordon if he wanted to come along and discuss the latter's horror addiction, but Gordon shrugged it off and insists to him that he wanted to try out food in the bakery. Alpin agreed and he was off to the video game floor. But however, the sight of the three girls heading the shop left him astounded, turning his head, narrowing his eyes, and putting up a smirk to hold back his laughter.

"Uh..okay then," he let out as he chuckled.

"Why don't we save the video games for later and get somethin' to eat," said Fiona, "I'm gettin' a wee bit hungry by the second for some pastries."

"Eh, why non," Alpin shrugged.

As Alpin and Fiona catch up with the three Selkie girls, Gordon and Marie browsed at the counter at the pastries, their faces shaped with astonishment from this . Gordon gave out a few nods of admiration as he crossed his arms, while Marie stared in awe, her mouth open as she places the fingertips of her right hand on her face. Alpin and Fiona evoked the same reactions as them as they went past the threshold, with Fiona eager to try them out as if she were high on sugar herself. Alpin then returned to the girls and asked what they would want. As for Gordon and Marie, Gordon gestured to Marie to ask the cashier.

"Hullo there," Marie greeted, "may I ask what you have and what would you recommend for us?"

The main-cashierer smiled at Marie and the others, including Ida, Enya and Kiah.
He stopped for a moment at the sight of Kiah and then at Enya, but he didn't explain why as his smile returned to Marie. “Well...”, he said with the rolling Rs and dropped vowels so typical for the Selkie-Accent. “I would recommend, depending on what you need, Scipeal for provisions for the day, a few breadrolls for breakfast and, maybe, a little cake for tea, but that depends on your personal plan for the day.”
Kiah nodded. “I'll pay for the Scipeal for all of us. Two sheets should be enough.”, she said and looked for her wallet, only to see Enya looking at her with her head cocked lightly to the side. “Alright, make it three sheets.”
The young man nodded and went to work. “Please feel free to pick out whatever you like as well!”, he said and cut the three backing sheets of Scipeal into smaller pieces, filling them into paper bags.
He stole the odd glance at Kiah while he was at it – she pretended as if she didn't notice it.

Macha smiled at the tale of how the two met.
"Indeed, I could not imagine anything more worthwile then a new friend.", she agreed, "I treasure every acquaintance I have made over the years, even the small, fleeting ones, and friends, those are just awesome!" She grinned, leaned forward. Would they be boys, she might be worried about them having a good view, but as they were all girls... she didn't care. "Though, can you tell me, how exactly you met?"

Branwen chuckled.
"We were never good at record keeping, no matter if leader or not.", she admitted, still smiling, "Both in making the records and actually keeping them. But then again, for us... time is even less material then for the Selkie and they resisted the need for speed quite well!"
She smiled.
"As for dancing... meet a charming lad and you'll know how to dance soon enough!", she said, "And if I look at how cute you are, I doubt, that he or she will take long to dance to your fiddle!"

"Well... I ran into Kiri in the middle of this dark swampy forest. She was there because..."

She seemed unsure about something, and glanced at Kiri, who smiled and continued for her.

"Z doesn't want to say anything because she thinks it'll upset me, but it's fine. I was there because that was where I... died. Yeah. I didn't know where my parents had gone, and most people I met were scared of me, so I just hid there for a long time. Like... a really long time. Z was looking for artifacts there one day when she found this red ribbon. Ghosts need something important from their lives to anchor them to this world, and that's what the ribbon is for me. Anyway, I thought she was some kind of thief, so I followed her, but it turned out that she just didn't know it belonged to anyone, so we ended up being fast friends. I was her roommate for a while before I found my parents, which wouldn't have happened if I'd never met Z."

She seemed pretty happy now for someone who had been through so much. It seemed it didn't bother her so much anymore.

"Having friends like Z has helped me a lot, really. I used to stutter all the time because I was nervous, but I haven't done that for a while now."


Ren had blushed at Branwen's comment. "I don't know about that... I mean, I suppose I'm doing alright today, but usually I'm not very good at... talking... or... social... things... at all." She had her head down slightly.

Macha nodded, slowly.
Well, that Kiri was a ghost had been well-established beforehand, but the exact logistics were a bit beyond her. This was a glance into a world, which was literally not hers.
It was exciting.
She smiled however.
“It is nice to see, that you not only found a friend, but also your family. I spoke with your Mam on Piffle and she is a wonderful woman.”, Macha said, “Misfortune can breed the greatest of friendships...” She giggled. “Sorry, I just remembered, how I first met Áed – Áed the Hunter, that is, the High King, who ruled from 321 to 338, CE.”

Branwen smiled, realizing her mistake of maybe being a bit too forward.
“I'm sorry.”, she said, softly, softly placing a hand on Ren's cheek. “All the age and wisdom in the world do not prevent a mischievous mind from speaking too quickly... but that should not prevent you from having fun, my dear.” She leaned over to whisper into Ren's ear: “Or to find a charming lad...”

Domingo Hasegawa
The Stoc Inn

"I'd like to take a bite out of the Traditional Breakfast, if it's all the same to you...sorry, I didn't catch your name," Domingo replied. He was itching to take out Samuel's memoirs, but decided to wait until his order was taken in its entirety.

The waitress was a bit surprised, that a foreign guest was actually interested in her name, so that she replied: “I'm Gwenny.” A moment of silence followed. This was an awkward situation for her, mainly because that didn't happen often. Foreign guests were usually only interested in the food, not in light conversation. “Right, sorry. Apple Juice and traditional breakfast, coming right up!”
She blushed as she noted it down on her notepad and was off in a second.

Jan with Gwen

Jan observed the exchange of coin between two hotel workers, but thought nothing of it.

As he was walking with Gwen linked into his own arm, he clearly saw the picture presented once more - himself with a beautifull women on his arm, a baby in her stomach, and the wolf (yes an actual bloody wolf) in tow. He could not help but feel proud and alive. As if he was on top of the world again. As if he actually mattered in life. Had a purpose in life.

He decided to speak as little as possible, and follow Gwen's lead for now, to silently observe and take in his surroundings, to learn what he could from the exotic lands and people he now found himself in.

Gwen led him outside and from there, to the right.
They quickly vanished in the seas of people around them, hundreds and thousands of people around them, Srol taking position before them to make a way free for them. The people were polite, usually making way, if possible, even the tourists seemed to have caught the friendliness-bug.
And the cobbled streets were good to walk.
Gwen led them towards the Mion Square, towards a large gate, which was the entrance into a fenced area with a lot of tents and smaller paddocks, some of them on grass, some of them on cobble, some on hay.
Gwen was spotted almost immediately by a woman, who Gwen knew to be in her fifties, but which looked like she was fresh in her thirties, brown hair reaching past her hips, green eyes, which sparkled with delight as she looked at Gwen and hugged her.
The two women exchanged a lot of words in a very short time, the older woman softly petting Gwen's stomach. Srol let her, which could only mean, that she was known to him.
After a minute of speaking in rapid-fire Selkie, Gwen smiled at Jan. “Sorry...”, she said, “...Jan, that's Gwen Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan, the closest thing I have to an aunt one could imagine. Gwenny, that's Jan.” She looked down. “His or her father.”
The older woman bowed her head lightly. “It's my pleasure, Mister Breytenbach. Gwen told much about you.”

En route to the Marcach Camp.
Hilda did not mind Marla kissing her on both cheeks, quite on the contrary, as their friendship was well-established. She nodded along, as the Marcach and diplomat in a personal union told about this week being her first free one since ... an eternity.
She nodded again when she finished. She could well imagine how dicks were compared in the SDF, even with those who didn't have one, for what she knew, it was hardly different within the LFAF. Shenanigans like Operation Spartacus were, in comparison, rather unlikely to occur with these, though.
Yet.
"I can well imagine" - she said. "Give anybody, be it male or female, something to shoot, and they will feel like Thor Himself, just with a more efficient hammer. Especially if you put them into a uniform first."

In tactically sound advance towards the rear.
Not only Cel noticed, that many Little Black Foxes, around a dozen, followed the two of them. It didn't even surprise him a lot, given the numbers in which they had been roaming around already in Dumhach and, to a somewhat smaller, but still notable degree, in Shella - and finding them around the shop was just logical.
All of them were likely to know Cel, and they were obviously curious about the lad she was around with.
The fact that not only the foxes, but also Finnegan and Enya followed them made clear, that their escape had succeeded.
Chris grinned back and saluted. "Operation successful, Sir, Ma'am?!" - he said.

En Route to the Marcach Camp.
Marla began to move again, her reins in hand, together with Leonard, as she replied to Hilda: “Indeed. Though I always had the feeling, that the thing to shoot or the thing to shoot it with wasn't the problem – it is the uniform.”, she said, “I mean, I know Colonel Aran for a while now and she has always cultivated that no-nonsense, hard personality with a farmer's fervor, but in my time on the Other Side...” She shook her head. “Gods... Gods!” A sigh later, she admitted: “But I do respect her, please don't get me wrong on that one.”

Reaching the place we are retreating to.
I smiled because of our escort, especially when Enya and Finnegan came back.
Finnegan returned the salute. “Operation successful, everyone's alive and confused!”, he joked, then dropped the salute, “We successfully distracted him and sent him towards the Imeall.”
I smiled. “Very good. Thank you.”, I told them and smiled as we rounded the last corner.
And there it was: Nestled between two larger buildings was the small shop, which was basically the ground level of the building. My boss lived above it, in the flat with the small balcony, which had flower pots already standing at the ready.
A sign with the silhouette of a Little Black Fox hung above the door, which was open.
Mister Folaíochta sat outside, the white-haired man with the red eyes peacefully smoking a pipe while a Blackie napped in his lap.
He looked to us and grinned, raising his hand in greeting.

Hairs stood on the back of Miranda’s neck as she felt Fiona take in her own scent. And her blush deepened as she felt Fiona hug her by her hips, pulling them into an intimate embrace. It felt warm somehow, the more comfortable kind of warmth that made her want to stay in her arms.

But even if it felt right, it was all too much.

Heart racing, Miranda abruptly shoved Fiona away. She felt a rush running through her body, trembling as she stood frozen in front of the young Selkie girl, stuck in fight or flight mode.

“I-I...” Miranda stammered, flustered, before she turned and ran out the door.

As she ran out, she accidently bumped into patrons and Kathleen. Kathleen cursed as Miranda accidently bumped her into something, hoping to god above it wasn’t into the sword dance, where there was a chance she would be shredded to pieces in irony.

Miranda ran and ran, through streets and alleyways, she got lost in the crowds.

The Mediaman girl didn’t stop running until she found a clearing, a small park of some sorts. The type you’d find in urban areas usually with playground equipment, only this didn’t have playground equipment, only plants and trees. A bench lied near the tree.

With a racing heart, a panted breath, and an equally racing mind, Miranda walked up to the park bench, and had a seat, trying to collect herself over events that had quickly escalated within the span of an hour.

She took out the only things that could help her calm down, a notebook, and a pencil.

She started writing.

---

Kat smiled a close lipped smile as she followed along to Liv’s impromptu tour of the temple. Kat gently squeezed Liv’s hand as they walked out through to the main entrance hall.

As they stopped, Kat felt her breath be taken away. Before here was the aforementioned garden with the cobblestone path. A garden took up the space, a large apple tree taking up the center as the crown jewel of the temple gardens.

Kat was about to move for her camera when Liv kissed her. It was for a brief moment, too brief to escalate it into something more, but still breathtaking nevertheless.

Kat smiled an open mouthed smile as Liv thanked her, “It’s the best I can do for such a special occasion.” She said breathfully. She giggled to herself, “All of this because we just happened to crash into each other. Not sure if it’s fate, or someone up there loves us.” Kat openly pondered.

And so, as Kat waited for an answer, she looked into the deep colors of Liv’s eyes, and held her around the small of her back.

When Miranda pushed Fiona away, the Selkie was confused, startled, wanted to get angry – but the look into Miranda's eyes told her to not be anything of that.
Quite on the contrary, Fiona was even more startled, reacting too late, trying to grab Fiona's arm, but falling short.
When the Midaman girl pushed her way through the crowd and into Kathleen, she pushed the other woman not into the dance, but into another member of the audience, who asked her, if everything was alright, but Fiona did not see any of that. She saw Miranda's head vanish in the crowd, towards a destination unknown to her, a bit of common land within the city, where a few horses grazed – their riders let her be, seeing her distraught.
The baker, too, saw her distress and confusion.
He sighed.
“Come.”, he said, “Get her friend inside and into the back. I'll put on the kettle.”
Fiona nodded dumbly, went outside to Kathleen. Once she was there, next to her, she admitted: “I... I fucked it up.”

“My Gods or your God, maybe the entire lot of 'em...”, Liv replied with a smile, returning the gaze. “We found each other, so they did a good Job.” She smiled, pecked Kat onto her lips again. “Say... do you want to make the Large Tour? Including to the back of the tool shed?”
She smiled, a bit of seduction in her eyes, her voice getting a bit husky.

[Kjalaara]

"Name's Njål ma'ma. But Neal will do. Pronunciation is a bit difficult." He takes his card and bows. First to the lady, then to the fox as well. "Inform arrangements are the best arrangements if you ask me and even more so if they are paid in cash. Or tax-free as we call it at home. Where do I go from here?"

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Kiah smiled.
"If you want to tell me, then go ahead.", she said and leaned back slightly, "As said, I have open ears and I will not force you to anything."
It would be the first time in a lot of time, that such a story was not bad memories, but Kiah was prepared for the best and the worst.

Marie nodded.
"Right...where do I begin." She scratched the back of her head. "Roughly 17, 18 years ago, parents left me on the doorstep of a boarding school run by the Order of Our Lady of Częstochowa. According to my birth certificate, born in Grünberg in Schlesien/Zielona Góra, in Prussian Silesia, but according to pretty much every other record, I was born in Katowice, in Polish Silesia. Bureaucratic headaches aside...well, I grew up in the aforementioned boarding school, which was on the outskirts of Krakow-a little town called Ochojno, to be precise. It was...pleasant enough, I suppose. Didn't really have any friends, and only real excitement that I got was when,every now and then, some rich idiot's kid set off a M-80 in the bathroom or threw pure sodium from the labs into the toilet and got his or her ass whipped, literally, by the Sister Superior. Never happened to me, thankfully."
She paused and took a sip of coffee.
"Anyway...first time I was exposed to the outside world properly was when I was 10, I think. Visit to St. Mary's Basilica and the Opera Krakowska, in Krakow proper."
She smiled slightly, recalling the memory. "Never thought such a place could exist. Towers so high, I thought someone was trying to replicate the Tower of Babel..."

OOC: No, she isn't done. Just breaking this into chunks, to allow Kiah to interject, comment, and ask questions.

Stoc Inn
A man and a woman walked briskly down the street, talking and laughing. The man was dressed in the coat, cutlass, and uniform of a Kaiserliche Marine officer, while his wife(?) was wearing more casual clothing-jeans and a sweater, to be exact. Both carried suitcases.

"...so I told him he could take his violin and shove it up his bloody arse, and the bow to boot, before throwing a peach at his head." recounted the woman, stifling a giggle. "Couldn't help but laugh when it bounced off his bald spot."
The naval officer wheezed at the mental image. "Hardly couldn't have done better myself, Anne."
The woman-apparently named Anne-shook her head. "Nah, Klaus. If you were there he wouldn't even be alive. Hell, he probably wouldn't even have give a final...how do they say it?" She paused, before adopting a obnoxious and snobbish French accent. "Oui, Oui."
The two continued chatting and laughing right until they entered the inn.
As soon as they entered, Klaus went up to the clerk.
"Eveni-I mean, morning. The name's Klaus Stortebeker...I believe I have a reservation here, with Anne Stortebeker."
"Fucking time zones..." he added under his breath.

[Danceria]

The waitress smiled – a lad, who didn't know, what he wanted to do in his life... where did she hear that song before? It was quite common for young people to need time to search for a calling in their life and if the waitress was honest, she was not that different.
“Hm, inspiration and cute subjects to photographs...”, she wondered for a moment, “The Petting Zoo might indeed be a good start, many cute animals and kids playing with them. The Tines are good and the foxes are, too, but especially with the young ones, I would ask the breeders first, if you are allowed to make photographs.” She thought for a moment. “The Ceol Square and the music stage might be good as well, cute scenes of love and longing. And, of course, the Bainis – something like that only happens once in a lifetime.”

He always hated lying to innocents, but that sadly came with the job. In truth, he merely sought out a hobby, and possible vocation for when being chief of counterintelligence eventually went toes up. Between incompetent governmental decisions, wildly chaotic nepotism, and the fact that every five seconds white nationalists apparently decide to spawn in the middle of Iraq for the sole purpose of causing headaches, the young man had quite enough.

"The...Bainis?" the collegean enquired. "What on Earth is that, and how come it's merely "once in a lifetime"?"

[The Chuck]

Soon after her start of the conversation, Eithne and Jeremiah found themselves in a fun and engaging conversation while navigating the streets of Cuan to the Blacksmiths' Quarters, where their destination was. Their topics ranged from distribution channels for hand-made toys to indeed making them, be they of iron and steel or other materials.
Eithne told her about a number of Traveling People in the Free Lands, who carved wooden toys and used Áilleagán Limited, the toy company, for their distribution with great success, while Jeremiah knew the story of a fellow blacksmith, who got under contract in product development in a major toy-manufacturing company.
And soon, their conversation was accompanied by the clanging of hammers, shaping swords and armours to measure of their customers. In one case, they came past a young man being measured for his armour - he stood there like the Gods made him, unpertubed that there were tourists around him and his blacksmith, who made photographs.
A few minutes after that, a voice called out in Selkie: "Ah, Eithne, Ilia and of course Mona, the Girl of the Day!"
The young woman, who would be married off to a God today, blushed lightly, the man in front of the smithy being a veritable bear of a man, massive and tall and grinning widely as he hugged the two kids with ease - while they still sat on the back of a horse.
"Happy Festival to you!", he said, then looked at Jeremiah, both kids still in his arms. "And who might you be, Sir?", he asked, switching to accented English.

Jeremiah Colton

Jeremiah had thoroughly enjoyed the conversation with Mistress Banphrionsa and had listened intently while she talked. As they had entered the blacksmiths' area he had started to glance around and was pleased to see that many of the smiths had impressive forges and workshops with a limited amount of large machinery. In Jeremiah's opinion, blacksmiths were artisans who created their craft from flame and steel with the strength of their swings instead of reliance on machinery for the majority of the work. Once they arrived at their destination, Jeremiah hopped off the sitting board and dropped to the ground while facing the mountain of a man who towered over his own impressive 6"3 frame. Listening in on the conversation, he was reminded that Mona was to be wed off to one of the Selkies' deities later that day. Holding Maude's bit ropes in his left hand, he bowed before speaking while stretching out his right hand.

"I am Jeremiah Colton, forge master from the town of Lindberg in The Chuck. I am here on vacation to meet with fellow blacksmiths of the Free Lands and to trade information and discuss our sacred craft."

As he spoke, Jeremiah braced for the age old tradition of a blacksmith's handshake. It was the kind of handshake that could fracture a normal man's hand if they weren't careful though it was a tradition among many forge operators.

[Port Ember]

Gwen led him outside and from there, to the right.
They quickly vanished in the seas of people around them, hundreds and thousands of people around them, Srol taking position before them to make a way free for them. The people were polite, usually making way, if possible, even the tourists seemed to have caught the friendliness-bug.
And the cobbled streets were good to walk.
Gwen led them towards the Mion Square, towards a large gate, which was the entrance into a fenced area with a lot of tents and smaller paddocks, some of them on grass, some of them on cobble, some on hay.
Gwen was spotted almost immediately by a woman, who Gwen knew to be in her fifties, but which looked like she was fresh in her thirties, brown hair reaching past her hips, green eyes, which sparkled with delight as she looked at Gwen and hugged her.
The two women exchanged a lot of words in a very short time, the older woman softly petting Gwen's stomach. Srol let her, which could only mean, that she was known to him.
After a minute of speaking in rapid-fire Selkie, Gwen smiled at Jan. “Sorry...”, she said, “...Jan, that's Gwen Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan, the closest thing I have to an aunt one could imagine. Gwenny, that's Jan.” She looked down. “His or her father.”
The older woman bowed her head lightly. “It's my pleasure, Mister Breytenbach. Gwen told much about you.”

Jan Breytenbach with Gwen

As they walked, Jan enjoyed the crowd control effect which Srol had. Reminded him alot of his own human bodygaurds back home. Yet this was better - this crowd controller was an actual wolf. Which was badass.

Jan noticed the friendliness of the people and wondered whether it was a inherent cultural trait or whether it was only the festival spirit taking a mass effect. People back home was quite infamous for being rude, with politeness being a rare exception. He decided that he would enjoy the large scale friendliness while it lasted however and not overthink it.

Jan's inner soldier senses worked overtime as he observed every detail around him, memorising the area and characters who stood out, and those who tried not to - the 'grey men' as they were known. He bookmarked landmarks and looked for entry and exit routes. He had no reason to feel unsafe or feel paranoid, no one knew the minister of defence of Port Ember was amongst them - he made sure of that. It was just his second nature and almost done this subconcionsely. He specifically noted the 'ancientness' of his surroundings. How a nation could still look and feel as if they lived in ancient times in this modern day was interesting. Majestic even.

When Gwen met Gwen (the humor was not lost on Jan), they spoke their selkian tounge rapidly. It almost sounded like a rave party which the kids of today attends. He smiled - he HAD to learn the selkian tounge. Jan decided that it will be done, and none shall stop him in his new quest.

When Jan was introduced to the older Gwen, he returned the gesture of bowing. He researched Selkian culture before traveling here and knew that was their normal way of greeting. He however took it slightly further, took the women's left hand in his right hand and gave it a soft kiss, in a gentlemanly manner. When he released her hand he replied "Madam the pleasure is mine indeed. A true honor to meet you Gwen Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan. I hope you did not listen too attentively to the stories about me - they might be true!" Jan smiled softly, hoping that his overly gentlemanliness and dry humour was not found offensively.

[Mediama]

When Miranda pushed Fiona away, the Selkie was confused, startled, wanted to get angry – but the look into Miranda's eyes told her to not be anything of that.
Quite on the contrary, Fiona was even more startled, reacting too late, trying to grab Fiona's arm, but falling short.
When the Midaman girl pushed her way through the crowd and into Kathleen, she pushed the other woman not into the dance, but into another member of the audience, who asked her, if everything was alright, but Fiona did not see any of that. She saw Miranda's head vanish in the crowd, towards a destination unknown to her, a bit of common land within the city, where a few horses grazed – their riders let her be, seeing her distraught.
The baker, too, saw her distress and confusion.
He sighed.
“Come.”, he said, “Get her friend inside and into the back. I'll put on the kettle.”
Fiona nodded dumbly, went outside to Kathleen. Once she was there, next to her, she admitted: “I... I fucked it up.”

Kathleen staggered back up, glancing solidly towards Fiona. “Well there’s a ‘no shoite’ sentence if I ever saw one.” Kathleen harshly said, briefly enraged at seeing one of her close friends seemingly disturbed by someone.

She dusted herself off and looked towards the Selkie girl. Her gaze softened as she noticed that Fiona held a distressed air about her, made worse by her berative taunt.

“What did you do?” Kathleen asked, “You two were really friendly half an hour ago, maybe a bit to flirty for your own good, but still not fecked up.”

Meanwhile, Miranda looked around briefly, taking in the horses and their riders. Had she been in the right state of mind, she would’ve stared at the various interactions between the riders and their steeds, maybe make up a little story about how the young woman over yonder who was fondly petting the black mare had raised her from when she was young, and how together they grew into youth.

But all she could do was blankly stare as she fought an internal struggle at what just happened, and just what to think of Fiona, of how to act.

On one hand, she had a fondness for the young woman, a certain beauty and the confident and charismatic air she had around her.

On the other, she remembered again, what happpend to Cass and Val, and to their sole reasons as to why the only correspondence they had were through coded letters hidden in plain sight to prevent censorship.

Miranda, with this in mind, stared back at her feet.

---

“My Gods or your God, maybe the entire lot of 'em...”, Liv replied with a smile, returning the gaze. “We found each other, so they did a good Job.” She smiled, pecked Kat onto her lips again. “Say... do you want to make the Large Tour? Including to the back of the tool shed?”
She smiled, a bit of seduction in her eyes, her voice getting a bit husky.

Kat smiled a knowing grin with crimson cheeks which spread down her neck to near her collar bone, and leaned in to kiss Liv again, this time nipping at her bottom lip. “I would love that very much.”

She wrapped her arms around Liv’s hips. “I can’t help to ask though, what’s so special about this particular shed? It doesn’t belong to a serial killer does it?” Kat asked with a mischievous grin and an equally husky, breathy voice.

The question was meant to be rhetorical, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She knew what might happen in the privacy of that shed.

Whether it was some sort of make out, or something more, one thing’s for certain.

This would be something that will be skipped for the sake of the couple’s privacy.

[Minroz]

From the perspective of the Selkie-Archers, who watched Tieguang's arrow fly, they expected a good hit, wished him luck and... remained in stunned silence as the arrow cluttered to the ground at the other end of the gallery, having missed the target entirely.
Silence.
"Ah...", that lonely sound of the archer broke the moment and loud laughter came up - it was not laughter with ill intent, but clearly amused.
The maiden saw that a bit differently as she snapped in Selkie for them to shut it. After all, they, too, had not hit their targets immediately.
That brought most of them to reason and they resumed their own shooting, the maid turning to the Minrozians. "Sorry 'bout that, Sir, Ma'am.", she said, "Sometimes, one can't help to think, if these blokes actually think..." She shook her head. "In any case, that first shot was promising. You didn't shoot your own foot. And before you ask, yes, we already had that. Now we just need to get you to aim properly."
She thought for a moment, then took out her own bow and an arrow.
"Let's pretend, that you were teaching me, Sir - show me, how you do it!", she said, ready to be guided through the steps by Tieguang.

“Eh!?” The Minrozian couple blurted out their surprises.

“Are you okay with it, ma’am?” Tieguang asked the Selkie maiden.

“Err…alright, well, if a beautiful lady like you ask, I don’t see why not.” He said casually with a smile. His eyes glanced with his wife’s own as if he’s asking if it’s alright. The Minrozian woman just gave a nod.

“I don’t mind, miss. Perhaps it’ll help my poor husband to have confidence.” Lianhua spoke with a smile.

“Alright…” Tieguang said as he comes around the Selkie maiden like a drill sergeant. For him, it began to feel like he’s training an army recruit like his job. Not that he complains or so, guiding a person had somehow made him felt easy to do. It’s not the first time he teaches people how to do things; training people in their vocation roles in the military is part of his job. Considering his background as a colonel in the Eight-Banners, the elite soldiers of the Middle Kingdom, he was used to instructing people on what to do.

Although, English is not his native language but he is not doing too bad for himself as he instructed the maiden on how to aim the bow, step-by-step. So far, the way Tieguang teaches the maiden is quite good despite his rudimentary archery skill. He’s more skilled in firearms than bow and arrow to be honest. To anyone who of military professional background, they can immediately tell he is a member of the military in his homeland.

[Lillorainen]

En Route to the Marcach Camp.
Marla began to move again, her reins in hand, together with Leonard, as she replied to Hilda: “Indeed. Though I always had the feeling, that the thing to shoot or the thing to shoot it with wasn't the problem – it is the uniform.”, she said, “I mean, I know Colonel Aran for a while now and she has always cultivated that no-nonsense, hard personality with a farmer's fervor, but in my time on the Other Side...” She shook her head. “Gods... Gods!” A sigh later, she admitted: “But I do respect her, please don't get me wrong on that one.”

Reaching the place we are retreating to.
I smiled because of our escort, especially when Enya and Finnegan came back.
Finnegan returned the salute. “Operation successful, everyone's alive and confused!”, he joked, then dropped the salute, “We successfully distracted him and sent him towards the Imeall.”
I smiled. “Very good. Thank you.”, I told them and smiled as we rounded the last corner.
And there it was: Nestled between two larger buildings was the small shop, which was basically the ground level of the building. My boss lived above it, in the flat with the small balcony, which had flower pots already standing at the ready.
A sign with the silhouette of a Little Black Fox hung above the door, which was open.
Mister Folaíochta sat outside, the white-haired man with the red eyes peacefully smoking a pipe while a Blackie napped in his lap.
He looked to us and grinned, raising his hand in greeting.

En route to the Marcach Camp.
As they went on, Mia and Sophus looking around at the landscape and, in a low tone, exchanged a few words in their mother tongue along the lines of, 'Gods, how beautiful this is!', Hilda nodded at Marla's words.
"Of course - it's rather the uniform, I have a similar feeling. A friend of mine ended up somewhat like this, too - Alena is a few years older than me, I've known her for ..." - she demonstratively looked at her watch, "... dunno, ten years, add or take. She went to the Army after finishing school - and, at least for my taste, enjoys it a bit too much. Some time ago, she used to be open for various shenanigans, which I'd better not go too much into detail about - but as soon as she didn't only have an MJR-102 rifle, but also a uniform, she changed a lot, and even more so with a new insignia." She shrugged. "We're still friends and everything, no worries, but it's quite a strange feeling, when spectating, how 'et Aleenche' suddenly becomes 'Captain Lindholm' ..."
She let a beat pass.
"Growing up is one thing - but this can get quite spooky."

Reaching the safe zone.
Chris grinned. "Wondersome. Thanks a lot!"
The small group rounded the last corner, reaching the small shop, easily being recognized thanks to the sign above the open door showing a sample of what, or better who was bred in here, nestled between too larger buildings but still fitting into this.
Chris recognized the incredibly old man, who was smoking his pipe and had a fox napping in his lap, at once, smiled and slightly bowed his head.
"Good day, sir!" - he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you again!"

[Greater Orcadia]

For Holly and Isis, the time had come to head out to the festival, no point staying inside when there are festivities to be had, turning to Isis, Holly seemed quite relaxed, "where's the nearest venue?" she asks

"Arena maybe, but I think there's bound to be folk music in the various pubs" replied Isis, "so come on, lets go"

Bobby, hearing Isis change her tone barked with exitement before leaping of the bed and running to the door, tail wagging, he however could not get through the door as Isis and Holly had closed it, behind him however was Holly, reaching for the keys to the hotel room before reaching down to pick up the little terrier as Isis came around and opened the door.

"so we starting with the bars on the main strip?" asks Holly

"may as well, then we should be at the arena in a couple of hours to see the events, don't think there's archery this year though"

Walking through the bar Isis turned to the bar keeper, "we'll be back just after night fall i think"

Once outside the bar, Bobby was placed on the floor and so the three of them began walking, Isis and Holly paying attention to what they see, Bobby sniffing the ground as he walks looking for new scent trails.

[The Selkie]

"Name's Njål ma'ma. But Neal will do. Pronunciation is a bit difficult." He takes his card and bows. First to the lady, then to the fox as well. "Inform arrangements are the best arrangements if you ask me and even more so if they are paid in cash. Or tax-free as we call it at home. Where do I go from here?"

"Njall.", the woman said with a nod, as the fox yipped. She smiled. "In any case... from here, we first go to my Dad. He operates and organizes this petting zoo, after all, he'll know."
She shrugged.
"Either that, or you go and see, where help is needed.", she pulled out a small pocketwatch, "The hay wagon should return in a few minutes, so that'd be a good starting point. Come!"

Kiah smiled.
"If you want to tell me, then go ahead.", she said and leaned back slightly, "As said, I have open ears and I will not force you to anything."
It would be the first time in a lot of time, that such a story was not bad memories, but Kiah was prepared for the best and the worst.

Marie nodded.
"Right...where do I begin." She scratched the back of her head. "Roughly 17, 18 years ago, parents left me on the doorstep of a boarding school run by the Order of Our Lady of Częstochowa. According to my birth certificate, born in Grünberg in Schlesien/Zielona Góra, in Prussian Silesia, but according to pretty much every other record, I was born in Katowice, in Polish Silesia. Bureaucratic headaches aside...well, I grew up in the aforementioned boarding school, which was on the outskirts of Krakow-a little town called Ochojno, to be precise. It was...pleasant enough, I suppose. Didn't really have any friends, and only real excitement that I got was when,every now and then, some rich idiot's kid set off a M-80 in the bathroom or threw pure sodium from the labs into the toilet and got his or her ass whipped, literally, by the Sister Superior. Never happened to me, thankfully."
She paused and took a sip of coffee.
"Anyway...first time I was exposed to the outside world properly was when I was 10, I think. Visit to St. Mary's Basilica and the Opera Krakowska, in Krakow proper."
She smiled slightly, recalling the memory. "Never thought such a place could exist. Towers so high, I thought someone was trying to replicate the Tower of Babel..."

OOC: No, she isn't done. Just breaking this into chunks, to allow Kiah to interject, comment, and ask questions.

Stoc Inn
A man and a woman walked briskly down the street, talking and laughing. The man was dressed in the coat, cutlass, and uniform of a Kaiserliche Marine officer, while his wife(?) was wearing more casual clothing-jeans and a sweater, to be exact. Both carried suitcases.

"...so I told him he could take his violin and shove it up his bloody arse, and the bow to boot, before throwing a peach at his head." recounted the woman, stifling a giggle. "Couldn't help but laugh when it bounced off his bald spot."
The naval officer wheezed at the mental image. "Hardly couldn't have done better myself, Anne."
The woman-apparently named Anne-shook her head. "Nah, Klaus. If you were there he wouldn't even be alive. Hell, he probably wouldn't even have give a final...how do they say it?" She paused, before adopting a obnoxious and snobbish French accent. "Oui, Oui."
The two continued chatting and laughing right until they entered the inn.
As soon as they entered, Klaus went up to the clerk.
"Eveni-I mean, morning. The name's Klaus Stortebeker...I believe I have a reservation here, with Anne Stortebeker."
"Fucking time zones..." he added under his breath.

Kiah smiled as she listened.
So Marie was gan teach na dtuismitheoirí, without parental home, as the Selkie called it. Grown up in a nunnery, too... not unheard of in Selkie-Lands, although there were no nunneries in the sense of Christian Nunneries, but it rarely happened.
And she grew up sheltered, too, first exposure to the outside with ten - a prisoner in the nunnery that became her home. Quite hefty, if one asked Kiah.
Although that didn't differ too much from kids, who did not feel the need to leave their home villages until they were about that age.
Still...
She nodded, asking Marie to continue.

The receptionist smiled at the uniformed man.
"Good morning, Sir. Give me a moment to look.", he said and looked through his book of reservations. A moment later, he looked up: "Indeed, there you are. Room 3-12. A porter will be with us in a moment... we have a few formalities to clear, though..."
He said and turned the book around, indicating to a specific line where Klaus would have to sign, then a few other formalities.
Meanwhile, a porter would take their bags upwards, to Room 3-12. It was not a bad room, one of the larger ones, with a large double-bed, a small bathroom, two closets, a medium-sized table for up to four people under a large window, which looked out over the main street and the busyness on it.
A fruit basket with fresh apples and pears stood on the table.

The waitress smiled – a lad, who didn't know, what he wanted to do in his life... where did she hear that song before? It was quite common for young people to need time to search for a calling in their life and if the waitress was honest, she was not that different.
“Hm, inspiration and cute subjects to photographs...”, she wondered for a moment, “The Petting Zoo might indeed be a good start, many cute animals and kids playing with them. The Tines are good and the foxes are, too, but especially with the young ones, I would ask the breeders first, if you are allowed to make photographs.” She thought for a moment. “The Ceol Square and the music stage might be good as well, cute scenes of love and longing. And, of course, the Bainis – something like that only happens once in a lifetime.”

He always hated lying to innocents, but that sadly came with the job. In truth, he merely sought out a hobby, and possible vocation for when being chief of counterintelligence eventually went toes up. Between incompetent governmental decisions, wildly chaotic nepotism, and the fact that every five seconds white nationalists apparently decide to spawn in the middle of Iraq for the sole purpose of causing headaches, the young man had quite enough.

"The...Bainis?" the collegean enquired. "What on Earth is that, and how come it's merely "once in a lifetime"?"

The waitress smiled, either not noticing, that he was not telling the whole truth or simply not caring - his question spoke of genuine confusion.
"Today, the Bainis happens. That is the ritual of marriage of an Envoy of a God to said God... or Goddess, whichever it may be.", she explained, "In today's case, it's Mona Beag of the Tribe of Louth, who is married to Lodan Lir. It's a huge occasion, as Mona will then ascent to a spiritual leader of the Selkie, in particular of the Cult of Lodan Lir, and will be living symbol of our connection to the Gods." Her smiled turned a bit sad. "However, burdening such a young soul so much... but we're all standing behind her, with mind, soul and prayers, but also deed."

Jeremiah Colton

Jeremiah had thoroughly enjoyed the conversation with Mistress Banphrionsa and had listened intently while she talked. As they had entered the blacksmiths' area he had started to glance around and was pleased to see that many of the smiths had impressive forges and workshops with a limited amount of large machinery. In Jeremiah's opinion, blacksmiths were artisans who created their craft from flame and steel with the strength of their swings instead of reliance on machinery for the majority of the work. Once they arrived at their destination, Jeremiah hopped off the sitting board and dropped to the ground while facing the mountain of a man who towered over his own impressive 6"3 frame. Listening in on the conversation, he was reminded that Mona was to be wed off to one of the Selkies' deities later that day. Holding Maude's bit ropes in his left hand, he bowed before speaking while stretching out his right hand.

"I am Jeremiah Colton, forge master from the town of Lindberg in The Chuck. I am here on vacation to meet with fellow blacksmiths of the Free Lands and to trade information and discuss our sacred craft."

As he spoke, Jeremiah braced for the age old tradition of a blacksmith's handshake. It was the kind of handshake that could fracture a normal man's hand if they weren't careful though it was a tradition among many forge operators.

The blacksmith bowed his head first, then clasped the other mans arm, how Selkie Blacksmiths greeted each other, and grinned wildly while doing so.
"It's a pleasure, Jeremiah!", he said and motioned to his shop, "Come in, I'll have my apprentice put on a kettle for you all! Berkant! We have guest, put the kettle on!" He turned back to the little assembly, then turned his head back to the building behind him. "Alaina! Horse!"
In the building, activity began to rise as the two apprentices began to move at the yells.
The blacksmith grinned.
"I'm Finnegan Inneoin of the Tribe of Monaghan, by the way.", he said and motioned to the others to follow him, "Come inside, the horses will be taken care of!"

Jan Breytenbach with Gwen

As they walked, Jan enjoyed the crowd control effect which Srol had. Reminded him alot of his own human bodygaurds back home. Yet this was better - this crowd controller was an actual wolf. Which was badass.

Jan noticed the friendliness of the people and wondered whether it was a inherent cultural trait or whether it was only the festival spirit taking a mass effect. People back home was quite infamous for being rude, with politeness being a rare exception. He decided that he would enjoy the large scale friendliness while it lasted however and not overthink it.

Jan's inner soldier senses worked overtime as he observed every detail around him, memorising the area and characters who stood out, and those who tried not to - the 'grey men' as they were known. He bookmarked landmarks and looked for entry and exit routes. He had no reason to feel unsafe or feel paranoid, no one knew the minister of defence of Port Ember was amongst them - he made sure of that. It was just his second nature and almost done this subconcionsely. He specifically noted the 'ancientness' of his surroundings. How a nation could still look and feel as if they lived in ancient times in this modern day was interesting. Majestic even.

When Gwen met Gwen (the humor was not lost on Jan), they spoke their selkian tounge rapidly. It almost sounded like a rave party which the kids of today attends. He smiled - he HAD to learn the selkian tounge. Jan decided that it will be done, and none shall stop him in his new quest.

When Jan was introduced to the older Gwen, he returned the gesture of bowing. He researched Selkian culture before traveling here and knew that was their normal way of greeting. He however took it slightly further, took the women's left hand in his right hand and gave it a soft kiss, in a gentlemanly manner. When he released her hand he replied "Madam the pleasure is mine indeed. A true honor to meet you Gwen Banphrionsa of the Tribe of Cavan. I hope you did not listen too attentively to the stories about me - they might be true!" Jan smiled softly, hoping that his overly gentlemanliness and dry humour was not found offensively.

The older Gwen smiled, acquainted with the gesture - she was a businesswoman of an internationally active company - and giggled at his humour.
"The honour is mine, Mister Breytenbach.", she said and smiled, "Please, call me Gwen."
"That might get confusing...", Jan's Gwen said with a smile of her own.
"Hm... point.", the older woman agreed. "We'll figure something out! In any case... you two look cute together." Gwen blushed lightly. "You remind me a bit of me and Fynn... when Tyran was on his way."
The older woman shrugged.
"Granted, we were married at the time already...", the older woman added and wanted to say more, when a bark interrupted her. "Oh, of course! I forgot Gwenny's stout protector!"
She knelt down, petting Srol, who was visibly happy with that turn of events.

When Miranda pushed Fiona away, the Selkie was confused, startled, wanted to get angry – but the look into Miranda's eyes told her to not be anything of that.
Quite on the contrary, Fiona was even more startled, reacting too late, trying to grab Fiona's arm, but falling short.
When the Midaman girl pushed her way through the crowd and into Kathleen, she pushed the other woman not into the dance, but into another member of the audience, who asked her, if everything was alright, but Fiona did not see any of that. She saw Miranda's head vanish in the crowd, towards a destination unknown to her, a bit of common land within the city, where a few horses grazed – their riders let her be, seeing her distraught.
The baker, too, saw her distress and confusion.
He sighed.
“Come.”, he said, “Get her friend inside and into the back. I'll put on the kettle.”
Fiona nodded dumbly, went outside to Kathleen. Once she was there, next to her, she admitted: “I... I fucked it up.”

Kathleen staggered back up, glancing solidly towards Fiona. “Well there’s a ‘no shoite’ sentence if I ever saw one.” Kathleen harshly said, briefly enraged at seeing one of her close friends seemingly disturbed by someone.

She dusted herself off and looked towards the Selkie girl. Her gaze softened as she noticed that Fiona held a distressed air about her, made worse by her berative taunt.

“What did you do?” Kathleen asked, “You two were really friendly half an hour ago, maybe a bit to flirty for your own good, but still not fecked up.”

Meanwhile, Miranda looked around briefly, taking in the horses and their riders. Had she been in the right state of mind, she would’ve stared at the various interactions between the riders and their steeds, maybe make up a little story about how the young woman over yonder who was fondly petting the black mare had raised her from when she was young, and how together they grew into youth.

But all she could do was blankly stare as she fought an internal struggle at what just happened, and just what to think of Fiona, of how to act.

On one hand, she had a fondness for the young woman, a certain beauty and the confident and charismatic air she had around her.

On the other, she remembered again, what happpend to Cass and Val, and to their sole reasons as to why the only correspondence they had were through coded letters hidden in plain sight to prevent censorship.

Miranda, with this in mind, stared back at her feet.

---

“My Gods or your God, maybe the entire lot of 'em...”, Liv replied with a smile, returning the gaze. “We found each other, so they did a good Job.” She smiled, pecked Kat onto her lips again. “Say... do you want to make the Large Tour? Including to the back of the tool shed?”
She smiled, a bit of seduction in her eyes, her voice getting a bit husky.

Kat smiled a knowing grin with crimson cheeks which spread down her neck to near her collar bone, and leaned in to kiss Liv again, this time nipping at her bottom lip. “I would love that very much.”

She wrapped her arms around Liv’s hips. “I can’t help to ask though, what’s so special about this particular shed? It doesn’t belong to a serial killer does it?” Kat asked with a mischievous grin and an equally husky, breathy voice.

The question was meant to be rhetorical, she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She knew what might happen in the privacy of that shed.

Whether it was some sort of make out, or something more, one thing’s for certain.

This would be something that will be skipped for the sake of the couple’s privacy.

Fiona sagged, both at the entire situation and at Kathleen's harsh, but true words.
This had been a 'No shit'-Sentence.
"The baker is putting on a kettle.", she said, motioning to the bakery behind her, "I... I don't think, that that's a conversation for the public."
Around them, a few curious ears were sharpened already.

The young woman and her black mare were indeed good to watch, an ideal example of Selkie-Horsemanship: Close and intimate between rider and ridden. Soft. Comfortable, as rider and ridden usually endured the same, together, being raised, ideally, from a very young age together.
The woman was Younger Militia.
And much like her fellow Militiawomen, she figured, that Miranda needed time to herself and let her be.

Liv smiled as she led Kat into the shed.
"Oh, it's a normal tool shed, which, as they say, also serves to praise Searc... Searc, who is the Goddess of Love...", she said and let the door close behind her, reaching up to the strings holding the sleeves in place, her fingers playing with one end seductively. A moment later, the sleeves slid to the ground, exposing her shoulders. Liv made a step to Kat. "...She is the only Goddess, that is allowed to be praised in any Temple."
And as her lips met Kat's... we leave them for a bit to their privacy, fading to black.

From the perspective of the Selkie-Archers, who watched Tieguang's arrow fly, they expected a good hit, wished him luck and... remained in stunned silence as the arrow cluttered to the ground at the other end of the gallery, having missed the target entirely.
Silence.
"Ah...", that lonely sound of the archer broke the moment and loud laughter came up - it was not laughter with ill intent, but clearly amused.
The maiden saw that a bit differently as she snapped in Selkie for them to shut it. After all, they, too, had not hit their targets immediately.
That brought most of them to reason and they resumed their own shooting, the maid turning to the Minrozians. "Sorry 'bout that, Sir, Ma'am.", she said, "Sometimes, one can't help to think, if these blokes actually think..." She shook her head. "In any case, that first shot was promising. You didn't shoot your own foot. And before you ask, yes, we already had that. Now we just need to get you to aim properly."
She thought for a moment, then took out her own bow and an arrow.
"Let's pretend, that you were teaching me, Sir - show me, how you do it!", she said, ready to be guided through the steps by Tieguang.

“Eh!?” The Minrozian couple blurted out their surprises.

“Are you okay with it, ma’am?” Tieguang asked the Selkie maiden.

“Err…alright, well, if a beautiful lady like you ask, I don’t see why not.” He said casually with a smile. His eyes glanced with his wife’s own as if he’s asking if it’s alright. The Minrozian woman just gave a nod.

“I don’t mind, miss. Perhaps it’ll help my poor husband to have confidence.” Lianhua spoke with a smile.

“Alright…” Tieguang said as he comes around the Selkie maiden like a drill sergeant. For him, it began to feel like he’s training an army recruit like his job. Not that he complains or so, guiding a person had somehow made him felt easy to do. It’s not the first time he teaches people how to do things; training people in their vocation roles in the military is part of his job. Considering his background as a colonel in the Eight-Banners, the elite soldiers of the Middle Kingdom, he was used to instructing people on what to do.

Although, English is not his native language but he is not doing too bad for himself as he instructed the maiden on how to aim the bow, step-by-step. So far, the way Tieguang teaches the maiden is quite good despite his rudimentary archery skill. He’s more skilled in firearms than bow and arrow to be honest. To anyone who of military professional background, they can immediately tell he is a member of the military in his homeland.

The maiden would not have asked him to do so, if she wasn't okay with it and as he instructed her, she watched him closely - she was a trained archer, after all, she knew, what a bow was. The idea was less to instill confidence into the man and more to see, where he made mistakes by him 'teaching' her the mistakes.
A few of the other archers watched with interest.
In the end, the maiden loosened an arrow - it flew and hit the fifty metre target she aimed for, not in the centre, but close enough.
"Hm.", the maiden made, looked to Tieguang. "I think, the problem is less with technique and more with practice."
"I'd say so, too.", one of the other archers, an old man, said with a firm nod, "You aren't bad, me lad, but you lack the practice." He suddenly wore a little grin. "Though, if I may ask, are you military? Your instruction style reminded me of back when... when I was the driver of a Faolchu!"

En route to the Marcach Camp.
As they went on, Mia and Sophus looking around at the landscape and, in a low tone, exchanged a few words in their mother tongue along the lines of, 'Gods, how beautiful this is!', Hilda nodded at Marla's words.
"Of course - it's rather the uniform, I have a similar feeling. A friend of mine ended up somewhat like this, too - Alena is a few years older than me, I've known her for ..." - she demonstratively looked at her watch, "... dunno, ten years, add or take. She went to the Army after finishing school - and, at least for my taste, enjoys it a bit too much. Some time ago, she used to be open for various shenanigans, which I'd better not go too much into detail about - but as soon as she didn't only have an MJR-102 rifle, but also a uniform, she changed a lot, and even more so with a new insignia." She shrugged. "We're still friends and everything, no worries, but it's quite a strange feeling, when spectating, how 'et Aleenche' suddenly becomes 'Captain Lindholm' ..."
She let a beat pass.
"Growing up is one thing - but this can get quite spooky."

Reaching the safe zone.
Chris grinned. "Wondersome. Thanks a lot!"
The small group rounded the last corner, reaching the small shop, easily being recognized thanks to the sign above the open door showing a sample of what, or better who was bred in here, nestled between too larger buildings but still fitting into this.
Chris recognized the incredibly old man, who was smoking his pipe and had a fox napping in his lap, at once, smiled and slightly bowed his head.
"Good day, sir!" - he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you again!"

En route to the Marcach Camp.
Marla nodded.
"When we have time, we should pay the Mounted Crossbows of Riverwood a visit. Younger Militia, specifically of one of the Boarding Schools.", Marla said, "The girls are flirty and fun to be around when they are not in their uniforms and on horsebacks. But they are as if they were exchanged once they are on horseback, in uniforms and with their weapons."
She shook her head.
"On the other hand, they take their job and duty seriously, which is always a good start for the day.", she admitted.

The Shop.
The old man smiled, set the little fox, who still napped, onto the bench next to him, then rose.
"Don't bow to me, lad, I heard, what you and Cel did every night in Dumhach!", he said with a grin, then threw his arms around both of us. I yelped a bit as he hugged us both at the same time. "It's good to see you both again... especially you, Chris! I know, that Cel missed you dearly."
I blushed, but I nodded. I had missed him dearly.
"You are part of the family now, Chris.", my boss said, still grinning, "A family of two vixens and three fireannaigh and a lot of cubs, but a family nonetheless... and you don't bow to family."
Behind us, Enya and her Finnegan were smiling, both with a light blush: Three fireannaigh, the term for male foxes, meant Finnegan, Chris and my boss, while the two vixens were me and Enya. Who the cubs were was quite obvious.
That my boss declared Chris part of the family... it warmed my heart, brought a soft blush to my cheeks, a softer smile to my lips and a tear to my eye.

For Holly and Isis, the time had come to head out to the festival, no point staying inside when there are festivities to be had, turning to Isis, Holly seemed quite relaxed, "where's the nearest venue?" she asks

"Arena maybe, but I think there's bound to be folk music in the various pubs" replied Isis, "so come on, lets go"

Bobby, hearing Isis change her tone barked with exitement before leaping of the bed and running to the door, tail wagging, he however could not get through the door as Isis and Holly had closed it, behind him however was Holly, reaching for the keys to the hotel room before reaching down to pick up the little terrier as Isis came around and opened the door.

"so we starting with the bars on the main strip?" asks Holly

"may as well, then we should be at the arena in a couple of hours to see the events, don't think there's archery this year though"

Walking through the bar Isis turned to the bar keeper, "we'll be back just after night fall i think"

Once outside the bar, Bobby was placed on the floor and so the three of them began walking, Isis and Holly paying attention to what they see, Bobby sniffing the ground as he walks looking for new scent trails.

Bobby's nose, as a canine nose, would be able to catch the many different scents of a Selkie-City.
Flowers and food, especially breadrolls at a morning like this (and meats of a lot of kinds kinds), people by the dozen and hundreds and thousands, from little males to big females, from those, who wore additional odour to mask their own a bit, from people, who had to do with animals to those, who didn't and those, who had to do with machines... but also a lot of other animals.
From horses to pigs to cows to the odd sheep, the most normal scents were there, but also new scents: Of animal species, which were endemic to the Free Lands. Grey Wolves, who left their scent marks at every corner. Grey Cats, who roamed and roved all over the city. Guarding Foxes, in their own territories. A Scaled Bear, which belonged to the Petting Zoo. Red-White Eagles and other avians, which flew their circles in the sky.
And, most likely most intimidating for the little terrier were a smell, which he knew from the Inn already, of the Alpha Wolf amongst the Alpha Wolves: Bricliath, the Grey Wolf of General Finn Niochan of the Tribe of Cork, a beast of a wolf, scraggy, scary and with a scent to match. Even other Grey Wolves were respectful as soon as he was around.
The closer to the Petting Zoo the two holders of the terrier came, though, if they strayed in that direction, the more prevalent the smell of another animal. The Star Lynx Ayden was in town again, the large feline predator having a strong scent as well, but that one might be unknown to Bobby as he had only came into the city early in the morning.
All in all, Bobby had quite a few natural enemies.

[AHSCA]

Leonard smiled at the explanation.
“Oh, you are not boring me, quite on the contrary!”, he said with a shake of his head. “I think its very interesting. The junk sounds a lot like a Selkie-vessel, the Capall na dTonn, the Horse of the Waves. In use since the 16th century, they were used in shallow waters and on the high seas, for cargo transport, transport of persons and, of course, war and piracy.” His smile turned sheepish. “Though I must admit, that my knowledge of nautical matters mostly stems from the Spirit of Fire-novels...”

"Aha no matter, some only know what they read and others like me can speak from experience. And I'm always happy to share what I know, even if someone is just curious! My mother always told me, a curious mind is someone who learns and she was right. Because I asked my father about his little boat and now here I am, a skilled sailor myself!"

Branwen didn't care, what she had said when taken out of context – she knew the context and that was, what counted.
Shizuka's blush and wide smile made the Spiorad smile as well, press her closer to her body.
“I hope so, too.”, she whispered to Shizuka, “I want to get to know you, both through your writing and you personally. And maybe even closer then that...”
Now it was Branwen's turn to blush.

"heee well wonderful then, Branwen! Such a pretty name, I have to use it for a new story soon! But until then, are we about close to our destination?"

[Danceria]

The waitress smiled, either not noticing, that he was not telling the whole truth or simply not caring - his question spoke of genuine confusion.
"Today, the Bainis happens. That is the ritual of marriage of an Envoy of a God to said God... or Goddess, whichever it may be.", she explained, "In today's case, it's Mona Beag of the Tribe of Louth, who is married to Lodan Lir. It's a huge occasion, as Mona will then ascent to a spiritual leader of the Selkie, in particular of the Cult of Lodan Lir, and will be living symbol of our connection to the Gods." Her smiled turned a bit sad. "However, burdening such a young soul so much... but we're all standing behind her, with mind, soul and prayers, but also deed."

The concept of asceticism wasn't unknown to him, nor paganism. He had never however, equated the two together, for his native Muslims were too poor to be anything other than dervishes. It was clear, by his complexion that he was an out of towner, and thus could be forgiven for some semi-blasphemous ribbing. "Hopefully the good Mr. Lir had taken the priestess out for a few dates, and got the approval of Mr. Beag of the Louth Tribe." he chuckled. "Had I known a wedding was up and coming, I would've sent my card and a few gifts. I'd rather be an official photographer than do something potentially...well, uncouth." he paused, and jotted down the information that he received. "Thank you Miss. Do you know when it's going to happen?"

[Port Ember]

The older Gwen smiled, acquainted with the gesture - she was a businesswoman of an internationally active company - and giggled at his humour.
"The honour is mine, Mister Breytenbach.", she said and smiled, "Please, call me Gwen."
"That might get confusing...", Jan's Gwen said with a smile of her own.
"Hm... point.", the older woman agreed. "We'll figure something out! In any case... you two look cute together." Gwen blushed lightly. "You remind me a bit of me and Fynn... when Tyran was on his way."
The older woman shrugged.
"Granted, we were married at the time already...", the older woman added and wanted to say more, when a bark interrupted her. "Oh, of course! I forgot Gwenny's stout protector!"
She knelt down, petting Srol, who was visibly happy with that turn of events.

Jan Breytenbach with Gwen

Jan smiled softly, appreciating Srol's interuption tactics. He was pretty sure what the older Gwen was about to say, and he did not care for it. Jan understood that their current situation was a bit looked down upon, having child outside marriage is indeed a little taboo on an international level. Add the fact that they are from oppisite sides of the planet, and that they have literally known each other for a single night, ...complicated matters for society. But then again, Jan did not care about the opinions of the global society. His and Gwen's situation were their own, and theirs alone. He did not wish to be rude, but he wont stand for judgement either.

"Why thank you Gwen, but then again, even an ogre could look quite when placed next to the beauty of Gwen." Jan smiled softly, he has not lost his flattery skills. Deciding to steer the conversation away from the possoble judgement, "Srol manages to steal the show wherever he goes. Such an impressive animal!"

[The Chuck]

Jeremiah Colton

When Finnegan grabbed his arm, Jeremiah was a bit relieved. He always enjoyed meeting fellow blacksmiths but he hated getting his hand squashed into pulp with the handshake. While the others started into the building, he quickly grabbed his tool belt and leather apron from the wagon and carried them in tossed over his shoulder. As he walked inside with Finnegan, Jeremiah spoke,

"It's a pleasure to meet you Finnegan! Mistress Banphrionsa was explaining to me earlier that you work in tandem with her company? Is that correct?"

[Mediama]

Fiona sagged, both at the entire situation and at Kathleen's harsh, but true words.
This had been a 'No shit'-Sentence.
"The baker is putting on a kettle.", she said, motioning to the bakery behind her, "I... I don't think, that that's a conversation for the public."
Around them, a few curious ears were sharpened already.

The young woman and her black mare were indeed good to watch, an ideal example of Selkie-Horsemanship: Close and intimate between rider and ridden. Soft. Comfortable, as rider and ridden usually endured the same, together, being raised, ideally, from a very young age together.
The woman was Younger Militia.
And much like her fellow Militiawomen, she figured, that Miranda needed time to herself and let her be.

Kathleen nodded, and followed the Selkie into the bakery. While she was awestruck at the variety of food and drink that was available on the storefront, the current matter at hand weighed heavily on her conscience.

The fact that for some reason, her friend had ran off.

Miranda admitted to her herself that she had at least some sort of girl crush on the Selkie. And that was the most she got out of her when it came to her own romance. Though she made it a habit to talk about what was and wasn't romantic in the literary sense, she had hardly, if ever, mentioned her own part in the romantic drama in Queen Victoria Girl's Academy.

Still, that didn't mean Kathleen had no idea what she preferred. Being a friend of Dorothy's herself, she kinda had a general idea the moment she noticed that Miranda, normally a chatty girl when she's in her environment, fell silent when the conversation turned to boy talk.

Eventually, she came clean with Miranda, and they briefly became a little more than friends for a few months. She introduced her to Cassandra and Valerie, both older seniors who were also like them, and so they created their own little group.

Of course, then somehow the staff found out about Cass and Val, and that scared Miranda back into the closet.

She abruptly stopped her train of thought as they arrived to the back of the bakery, where the kettle was on. She put a hand on Fiona’s shoulder and cut to the chase, “Now that we’re somewhere private, what happened?”

---

Back in the equestrian commons, Miranda looked briefly at the militiawoman who was keeping her distance and minding her own business. She looked back down at her notebook, and wrote down some words, maybe a sentence or two, as a short story began to fill her head.

Of course, she was gripping her pencil too tightly, and she was still jittering around.

She was trying to figure out what to do.

More importantly how to get back, if she wanted to get back.

But all she can do, was focus on her writing, and the surroundings before her.

---

Liv smiled as she led Kat into the shed.
"Oh, it's a normal tool shed, which, as they say, also serves to praise Searc... Searc, who is the Goddess of Love...", she said and let the door close behind her, reaching up to the strings holding the sleeves in place, her fingers playing with one end seductively. A moment later, the sleeves slid to the ground, exposing her shoulders. Liv made a step to Kat. "...She is the only Goddess, that is allowed to be praised in any Temple."
And as her lips met Kat's... we leave them for a bit to their privacy, fading to black.

Minutes passed by... maybe hours, Kat wasn’t sure of it herself. Time seemed to pass quickly in the shed. As she fixed her dress, she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

They had their first time, and despite the awkwardness... well, it was just something for them to think about and for us not to know for the sake of their privacy.

And with that, all Kat could do was sigh as she laid next to Liv, processing what just happened and letting time pass by in the shed with a dark, scarlet blush. Though, her mental clock was aware there was so much other stuff to do, but that was a bridge they’ll cross maybe later.

As for now, a comfortable silence was in the air.