A Harvest Festival in the City of Iron (IC, OPEN)

by **Ezhara** » Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:50 am

The Selkie wrote:Lady, if you want to look scary...

Dolgae looked up at the woman as he leaned against his mother's side; the other didn't seem all that impressed with his mother's baleful gaze, but it was mainly only for these sorts of situations, when some other rambunctious Talent or Idol got too close to him when he'd rather sleep. A bluff mainly to dissuade the youths than a proper military glare, but that was something more up to the nun with a gun or her special forces daughter. A stupid grin briefly formed on his face as he imagined one of those two death staring, followed by Illapa cowering behind Omi, but he pulled his hoodie up to hide it.
"I'm fine," he said. "I just get tired easily, that's all. I'm a night person."
Gyeongju smiled. "It's a terribly early morning for both of us," she said. "But it's a nice change of pace, I suppose." She paused to glance over the menu, or displayed breads, depending on how the bakery arranged its goods. "You wouldn't happen to have any recommendations, would you?"

"Hotteok..." Dolgae mumbled, seemingly half-asleep already.
"He's thinking of a pancake," his mother said, glancing down at her son. He had taken his medicine... maybe he didn't sleep well, and it took Illapa's boundless energy to get him to realize that. The Idol wasn't called a Stormbringer for no reason.
Nearby, Omi and Illapa sat at their table, a couple pastries in front of them; the latter looked sullen, but in the sort of faux-humorous way that one would see out of a comedy. His head was on the table, and he munched away at a half-eaten piece of bread in his hand. On the other side, Omi played with his hair with one hand, while the other ate a similar pastry.
"Kibi-kibi-daan..." Illapa mumbled, just barely audible to Imogen. It was one of his iconic songs, of a Radhikivian or Suzuraigan lad of some sort who used millet dumplings against demons, and his energetic voice still managed to come through like a building storm, devestated as he was. Still, what he meant in his song, or whether it was just nonsense that sounded nice, was another matter that would not be aided at all by the energy of his voice, and he'd never answer questions of meaning in a way that'd make sense.

"You're such a mess, Illapa," the other said.
"I'm just trying to find some fun and happiness..." Another munch of his pastry.
Dolgae watched them through half-awake eyes. "Sometimes I forget he's older than me,"

by **The Selkie** » Sat Jan 23, 2021 3:39 am

Nora Scriúire of the Tribe of Cavan.
I grinned at his words about talking to me and cars were far more exciting then high-profile people – it was a compliment. His next words made me exhale.
Oh, boy..., I thought.
“It is complicated, you know?”, I said and made a gesture to our surroundings, “For one thing, there is the thing with the virus, yes, it has changed a lot in how we interact with each other, but for the other...” I grinned. “Many people skipped breakfast to have an empty stomach for all the goodies offered. So, priority one, acquiring some food!”
We had passed two or three lines of people waiting in front of bakeries and similar stores to acquire something to eat, all standing there not packed tightly together, but decidedly closer then 1.5 meters. With the stores themselves only allowing access to a limited number of people, there were bound to be lines.
We were getting closer to the showroom, too.

Muciarana Girls' High School.
The Muciarana Girls' High School was not too far away from the Gurléit's shop, so getting from one to the other wasn't too hard. There were even helpful guides for those, who were lost, young women between 16 and 19 Springs in blue sailor suit style school uniforms, who's sole job was to direct those interested to their school.
The school itself was, thus, not far from the city centre. It was also a rather functional building, built in a style known as the Modern Selkie Architecture. There was a main building, four storeys high, with a side wing of two storeys and a gym out back, all reachable after one crossed the large forecourt of the main building, which was occupied by booths and displays, where one could take a look at the works of the different clubs and societies, which decided to present themselves in the open air. The Gardening Club had decided to bring in the harvest and cook for the guests (technically for free, but they would not shun a donation), while the Literature Club had, together with the School Newspaper, published a special edition of the school newspaper, filled with poems and short stories in half a dozen languages. The Sports Clubs had taken up the Gym and the track field by it, where one could hear the odd cheer at good passes or goals from the football team, which was warming up for a friendly match against the team of the Fuarán High School. While the School had a Marcach Team, it would not show off today on its own, instead opting to support the Younger Militia Display.
That might be the most interesting display for both Selkie and foreigners, as the Younger Militia Contingent of the Muciarana Girls' High School enjoyed a huge reputation. Before the skill demonstration would start, however, their display was manned by nine young women, an older woman and three horses. Three of the girls were dressed in chainmail armour and armed as the Muciarana Lancers were known to be, with their lances, swords and small, round shields on the back, while their horses only wore their barding and no armour. The remaining half dozen were dressed as Pikegirls, swords on their hips, the gloves of unequal length on their belts, their characteristic weapons on a rack near one of them. Their attending teacher wore a Geansai in the Red and White of a Priestess of Carman Fea, watching from the sidelines with a certain bit of pride.
Once one passed through the arcades holding up the overhang of the upper floors and entered into the Main Buildings Assembly Hall, the show was still going on. The roundabout five hundred students of the Muciarana Girls' High School had pulled out all stops for this Open House Day and one could feel that.
On either side of the assembly hall, stairs went up into the upper floors, onto galleries with doors leading into class rooms and to the displays there. Visitors could take looks into the chemistry lab, where a few students from the Chemical Society were explaining experiments, similar to what had been set up in a physics lab. In another class room, visitors would be seated in the chairs of the students and have to live through the torture that was a history lesson by the History Club, topic being their school's history. Another room, an empty physics lab, was prepared for the premier of the Movie Club's Movie, according to the flyer a student romance.
Another larger room, on the fourth floor, was a classic for such festivals: A Maid Cafe, though with a twist as not only 'maids' were present, but also a few girls dressed as butlers and, almost most excitingly for the majority of the visitors, three Kyrenaian students dressed as Handmaidens from their homeland. One of them would later even show off her skills in Sworddancing, as the programme said.
A set of stairs next to the Maid Cafe led up to the roof, where visitors could also enjoy the Cafe's services with a splendid look over the city, although the maids and butlers there were also dressed a bit warmer.
A hallway attached to the Assembly Hall led into the side wing, where, among other things, the art rooms were located. A rather eccentric teacher and her Art Club had decided to teach willing visitors a lesson in drawing people, with some other students serving as models... including one, who was only wearing socks (and this room wasn't the one with the most students). Of course, the different groups and their teachers were located in different rooms, so that no one was disturbed in their work.
The upper floor of that side wing was occupied by the music rooms, where those, who were not part of the concert at the Ionadhála Convention Center later had set up shop and presented the different musical styles they played. One of the highlights was, of course, Cluanaichi, a Selkie-Rock Band formed by four of the students, who were still hoping for their big breakthrough. They, too, would give a concert later, though in the assembly hall of their school, not at a larger venue.
And in the orderly chaos, the Student Council and the Attending Teachers were keeping everything on schedule and orderly.

Amy Socheo of the Tribe of Navan.
The Private shrugged. “Depends on how close you want that look to be.”
“To my knowledge...”, I said and jumped to the young man's aid, “...admiring from afar is okay, asking the crews present questions is okay, but climbing on, or even into the vehicles is strictly forbidden.” I shrugged. “To quote one of the officers, This is not a car showroom.”
The Private nodded and motioned to me.

Imogen Teithiwr, of Cefnffordd Descent.
As the two bantered, I was reminded of words of a Priest I knew centuries before – a Priest from Dousatel, of the Cult of the Tree of Life, if I remember correctly: Do not tempt the Gods, they have their ways of paying you back in ways you wouldn't believe.
I was sure, though, that Moricil would keep an eye out for them.
In Moricil's Hangout, though, the waitress nodded, a smile on her face. “Indeed you are. Please follow me.”
And that we did, through the Hangout's interior. It had no issue with spacing the tables apart appropriately for these times, but that was mostly because the tables were in alcoves to both sides of the main room, with the, from our entrance, far side occupied by a small, empty stage for a troupe of musicians, a dance floor in front of them. A door by a small bar led into the kitchen, another door into a small hallway with backrooms, where one could hang out in more peace and quiet.
Not many tables were occupied, though I recognized two of the other guests, both nodding as I smiled at them behind my mask.
Then we were at our table, the waitress motioning for us to sit, while she said: “Please be seated. You can take off your masks in your alcove, but please put them on again once you leave. If you would please excuse me for a moment, I'll get you a menu.”
The alcove was cozy, the table in the middle fixed to the ground, while a comfortable seating bench was almost wrapped around it. Behind the bench, a small sill was adorned with potted plants.
I took a seat and took off my mask.
Blasted things..., I thought, but they were necessary.
“So...”, I said, “You two came here by boat? Impressive.”

Felicia Leathchúpla of the Tribe of Navan.
While her friends went separate ways, one of the Pergamonians (I had no idea, where they came from) came to me and complimented my dress, to which I bowed my head slightly in gratitude, a compliment, which I would relay to the designers.
And she asked me, why my dress was not designed more towards a 'Christmas Sentiment'...
I smiled, as I replied: “Two reasons, actually. For one, neither the designer nor myself are Christians, so we neither celebrate Christmas nor do we tailor clothes specifically for it. It's BI-Policy.”, I gave as a first reason and it was true: I was Selkie-Pagan, the designer was Macha Sáraigh, who was a Clonmel from the Great Woods, she was a Spiorad-Pagan. And tailoring something specifically for a festival of a religion one wasn't part of was a surefire way for disaster, not to mention, that there were few Christians in the Free Lands or in other countries of our markets in the first place. “The second reason is far simpler... both Macha, that's the designer, and myself agreed, that it would look better in dark grey on me.” I made a twirl. “If I may say so myself, it does hold true.” I looked at the woman. “We have one in a lighter grey and in white, though, but the thread is different in both cases. If you want, I can show them to you on a mannequin.”
On me, especially the white one wouldn't look good.

Leonard Rualacha of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I breathed a sigh of relief, glad, that there were no older brothers, but only one younger. Seventeen, huh...? Maybe I knew someone, who might be interested in meeting him...
As we walked, Athena linked to my good arm, the way before us more or less clear, I asked: “How are they? As persons, I mean?”
As said, potential siblings in law were always fun!

Ezhara wrote:
The Selkie wrote:Lady, if you want to look scary...

Dolgae looked up at the woman as he leaned against his mother's side; the other didn't seem all that impressed with his mother's baleful gaze, but it was mainly only for these sorts of situations, when some other rambunctious Talent or Idol got too close to him when he'd rather sleep. A bluff mainly to dissuade the youths than a proper military glare, but that was something more up to the nun with a gun or her special forces daughter. A stupid grin briefly formed on his face as he imagined one of those two death staring, followed by Illapa cowering behind Omi, but he pulled his hoodie up to hide it.
"I'm fine," he said. "I just get tired easily, that's all. I'm a night person."
Gyeongju smiled. "It's a terribly early morning for both of us," she said. "But it's a nice change of pace, I suppose." She paused to glance over the menu, or displayed breads, depending on how the bakery arranged its goods. "You wouldn't happen to have any recommendations, would you?"

"Hotteok..." Dolgae mumbled, seemingly half-asleep already.
"He's thinking of a pancake," his mother said, glancing down at her son. He had taken his medicine... maybe he didn't sleep well, and it took Illapa's boundless energy to get him to realize that. The Idol wasn't called a Stormbringer for no reason.
Nearby, Omi and Illapa sat at their table, a couple pastries in front of them; the latter looked sullen, but in the sort of faux-humorous way that one would see out of a comedy. His head was on the table, and he munched away at a half-eaten piece of bread in his hand. On the other side, Omi played with his hair with one hand, while the other ate a similar pastry.
"Kibi-kibi-daan..." Illapa mumbled, just barely audible to Imogen. It was one of his iconic songs, of a Radhikivian or Suzuraigan lad of some sort who used millet dumplings against demons, and his energetic voice still managed to come through like a building storm, devestated as he was. Still, what he meant in his song, or whether it was just nonsense that sounded nice, was another matter that would not be aided at all by the energy of his voice, and he'd never answer questions of meaning in a way that'd make sense.

"You're such a mess, Illapa," the other said.
"I'm just trying to find some fun and happiness..." Another munch of his pastry.
Dolgae watched them through half-awake eyes. "Sometimes I forget he's older than me,"

Imogen Céilt of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
The bakery had both ways of displaying their wares, a display window with fresh pastries and breads and breadrolls, but also two signs written on with chalk, which had special offers on them. It was quite a selection.
I did hear the other boy's sing-song at a nearby table, but I had more important matters at hand: “If ya want pancakes, lad, ya might want to try stumpai.”, I suggested and pointed at one item in the display window, a small griddle cake made of unsweatened batter of milk, flour and yeast. Both top and bottom were smooth, as they had both been cooked. “And to that, a bottle of Good Morning Tea.”
The line advanced one more. With the COVID-Restrictions, only a limited number of people were allowed inside so it all was a bit slower then usual.
But what needed to be done needed to be done.
In any case, I stopped for a moment, glanced over to the two boys by the table, Illapa and Omi – though I only had the sneaking suspicion, that Illapa was indeed the EDM Musician I liked. I looked at him, cocked my head, then shook my head.
Nah.
Couldn't be.
Although...
Get some tea into your system, Immy.

by **New Visayan Islands** » Sat Jan 23, 2021 5:51 am

Peter Turrija
City Hall Square, Ironcastle

"...I see what you mean," Peter said, seeing the lines on the way to the showroom. I am definitely buying a couple of trucks for deliveries, he thought, noticing how relatively close the people were. A part of him was horrified at how close most of them were, but he didn't show it; a different part of him understood that skipping breakfast would do that to anyone.
"Anyway, is that...the showroom?" he then asked.

by **AHSCA** » Sun Jan 24, 2021 1:31 pm

"Thank you kindly" Ichigo thanked their waitress as she sat them. Once sat and once given the go ahead the two women removed their masks. "Guess we best keep these handy" Ichigo folded them and tucked them into her pockets

"Yup yup." Hikage handed her mask over to Ichigo and responded "And right as rain, we sure did! I mean it's pretty common for us maybe not as much for you guys here? Well I don't know but yeah we came all the way from the UIS by the mighty seas and the grace of the Goddesses we made it with little hassle. Only a little stormy the first leg of the trip."

"Yeah it wasn't too bad actually. Honestly it's been nice, the two of us stroll around the decks when there's sunshine, play games with little children if there's rain, enjoy the mystique of fog. Hikage is of course a rock, me I'm well..." She was a bit embarrassed to say she wasn't so good, seasickness wasn't as much an issue but she was afraid at times, the way some might be when they fly. "I'm just..."

"foolhardy, Ichigo here can put up with me and the long journey she's as much of tough gal as I am" Hikage stood up for Ichigo. "And frankly whatever brings her closer to me, is a win-win situation in my book!" She chuckled "Of course I work partly as crew. Lots of folks do to get a nicer private cabin or just because they got the experience and wanna help. And when there's a big ole' storm blowing ya around, all hands are needed I tell ya!"

by **Kuronami** » Sun Jan 24, 2021 2:01 pm

The Selkie wrote:Muciarana Girls' High School.
The Muciarana Girls' High School was not too far away from the Gurléit's shop, so getting from one to the other wasn't too hard. There were even helpful guides for those, who were lost, young women between 16 and 19 Springs in blue sailor suit style school uniforms, who's sole job was to direct those interested to their school.
The school itself was, thus, not far from the city centre. It was also a rather functional building, built in a style known as the Modern Selkie Architecture. There was a main building, four storeys high, with a side wing of two storeys and a gym out back, all reachable after one crossed the large forecourt of the main building, which was occupied by booths and displays, where one could take a look at the works of the different clubs and societies, which decided to present themselves in the open air. The Gardening Club had decided to bring in the harvest and cook for the guests (technically for free, but they would not shun a donation), while the Literature Club had, together with the School Newspaper, published a special edition of the school newspaper, filled with poems and short stories in half a dozen languages. The Sports Clubs had taken up the Gym and the track field by it, where one could hear the odd cheer at good passes or goals from the football team, which was warming up for a friendly match against the team of the Fuarán High School. While the School had a Marcach Team, it would not show off today on its own, instead opting to support the Younger Militia Display.
That might be the most interesting display for both Selkie and foreigners, as the Younger Militia Contingent of the Muciarana Girls' High School enjoyed a huge reputation. Before the skill demonstration would start, however, their display was manned by nine young women, an older woman and three horses. Three of the girls were dressed in chainmail armour and armed as the Muciarana Lancers were known to be, with their lances, swords and small, round shields on the back, while their horses only wore their barding and no armour. The remaining half dozen were dressed as Pikegirls, swords on their hips, the gloves of unequal length on their belts, their characteristic weapons on a rack near one of them. Their attending teacher wore a Geansai in the Red and White of a Priestess of Carman Fea, watching from the sidelines with a certain bit of pride.
Once one passed through the arcades holding up the overhang of the upper floors and entered into the Main Buildings Assembly Hall, the show was still going on. The roundabout five hundred students of the Muciarana Girls' High School had pulled out all stops for this Open House Day and one could feel that.
On either side of the assembly hall, stairs went up into the upper floors, onto galleries with doors leading into class rooms and to the displays there. Visitors could take looks into the chemistry lab, where a few students from the Chemical Society were explaining experiments, similar to what had been set up in a physics lab. In another class room, visitors would be seated in the chairs of the students and have to live through the torture that was a history lesson by the History Club, topic being their school's history. Another room, an empty physics lab, was prepared for the premier of the Movie Club's Movie, according to the flyer a student romance.
Another larger room, on the fourth floor, was a classic for such festivals: A Maid Cafe, though with a twist as not only 'maids' were present, but also a few girls dressed as butlers and, almost most excitingly for the majority of the visitors, three Kyrenaian students dressed as Handmaidens from their homeland. One of them would later even show off her skills in Sworddancing, as the programme said.
A set of stairs next to the Maid Cafe led up to the roof, where visitors could also enjoy the Cafe's services with a splendid look over the city, although the maids and butlers there were also dressed a bit warmer.
A hallway attached to the Assembly Hall led into the side wing, where, among other things, the art rooms were located. A rather eccentric teacher and her Art Club had decided to teach willing visitors a lesson in drawing people, with some other students serving as models... including one, who was only wearing socks (and this room wasn't the one with the most students). Of course, the different groups and their teachers were located in different rooms, so that no one was disturbed in their work.
The upper floor of that side wing was occupied by the music rooms, where those, who were not part of the concert at the Ionadhála Convention Center later had set up shop and presented the different musical styles they played. One of the highlights was, of course, Cluanaichi, a Selkie-Rock Band formed by four of the students, who were still hoping for their big breakthrough. They, too, would give a concert later, though in the assembly hall of their school, not at a larger venue.
And in the orderly chaos, the Student Council and the Attending Teachers were keeping everything on schedule and orderly.

Finding the school was indeed pretty easy for the three girls. They arrived at the grounds and it seemed a lot was unfolding here and it was busy busy busy. "Mmmm" Aoi pondered over the guide, boy there was a lot here to see.

"Well, what first?" Bocchi asked

"Well let's kind of walk around and see what we have to offer, there's a lot to see here. But I do want to give you two a chance to pick something fun so I won't have us stay long."

"Well ya wanna see what the school is like right?" Yasuko reminded "So let's walk around and see what it's like compared to our own."

"I guess. To be honest I kind of expected a little different. But then again, maybe I didn't know what to expect."

"Mmmmm" Bocchi thought she also looked over the guide. "This seems fun, they have a maid cafe on the roof. We could go up and work our way down and see a few things."

"All right, let's go." folding up their guide the girls made way all the way up to the maid cafe, well adjacent to the roof but it seemed they could sit and enjoy the view along with the girls in cute dresses and butler suits. Well no doubt the three kimono clad sisters stood out among the others who were gathered here but it was fine, the place seemed pretty welcoming.

by **Polish Prussian Commonwealth** » Sun Jan 24, 2021 7:33 pm

OOC: Post soon.

by **Astares Amauricanum** » Tue Jan 26, 2021 1:42 pm

"We understand perfectly." says Orem with a nod. "It's just like this back home in the same situation. So no remarks on our side. So, do you know which one of your colleagues we need to ask about that Armored Recon Vehicle over there?"

by **Seleucid Pergamon** » Thu Jan 28, 2021 2:22 am

"Oh, right. How can I forget. You guys don't celebrate Christmas," Efrosyni chuckled, "Anyways, I guess you do have a point," she nodded as she observed the twirl, "The color does look good on you. And sure, show them to me."

As Felicia went to grab the mannequin, Efrosyni motioned to ask one more question.

"Why are the threads different in those two dresses? What's the decision behind them," she could not help but feel like an eager child when expressing her inquiry.

by **Mervay** » Thu Feb 11, 2021 2:50 am

Athena Freezis
How are they as persons? Well, she could certainly go for a little while regarding her two silbings she loved deeply,; decided against it after thinking that they would be for hours talking about it if so. Even so, Athena decided to tell him an in-between description of them, not too short, but not too long neither.
As such, she spoke while glaring at Leo with a grin that was hidden by her face mask.

"Well, let me begin with Olivia; she's technically my step-sister and distant familiar, but I consider her my sister completely. Her parents died when she was too young, and as the family of her was close part of our distant family, my parents decided to take her in." She remembered that day completely they mentioned Olivia was her new sister and part of the family; as such she decided to care of her as a true sister would, growing a close bond with them, it made her smile as she remembered the fun times she had with her. "My sister is... An awesome person." She eventually spoke.

"She's the one who has always been on my side as I had been on hers, always being the complement of the other; the two of us separately were extraordinary people, but together; we were an outstanding duo. She's someone who always does her best and while teasing, she's always looking for us as much as I look for her and Jean; she's my right hand in the entire corporate affairs and the person who I trust to keep the entire Freezis Group with it's face looking up and proud as they advance." If she had to say more about her she would, but it was the most direct explanation without having to dive too much into details of her.

"As for Jean. Well; he's our little brother for us, we love teasing him with that name completely, but out of that, he's talented for his age; which I think should be expected considering he's a Freezis and I'm glad to know well he's having fun in school as he was in an temporal exchange out of Port De Devienne to Asteria to study for a year in Blackwell; making quite a few friends there." She was always proud of her little brother, supporting him on everything even if sometimes they clashed with the other for some small details they later laughed about it; Athena and him had that bond of an older and younger silbing completely too, like how they had it with Olivia. He was always someone she could be proud of, he was quite interesting too, as he wasn't that interested in the company compared to her and their middle sister, in fact; he was more interested in criminology, so much in fact he could be a perfect detective. "He's more interested in everything related to criminology and has plans for following that career as soon as he graduates." Athena looked foward to that day, it was one she would be happy to see with her family as their little boy was graduating from High School and entering to college, but then she decided to tease him considering he wasn't in a relationship even so the daughter of the Talbot's was clearly interested on him. Either he noticed and doesn't know how to respond for fear of breaking her heart, or it's because when it came to his romantic life he was a bit dense? He should ask him as soon as she gets to the hotel when the day ends or back when she's at home.

"If you know of someone who may be interested, please let me know since he's free." She said with a teasing glare.

A Harvest Festival in the City of Iron (IC, OPEN)

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