The Sun, the Beach and the Water Guns (IC, OPEN)

[Astares Amauricanum]

Vin Kardeel.
I smiled at the showroom... well, that was a bit of a misnomer, showbeach was more apt of a term as one third of the beach was taken up by us and our former tank landing ship, now mobile shop, Leiwand.
And while she still had to transport tanks from time to time, I knew for a fact, that Leiwand, the shipgirl, appreciated every moment of working for us. That had little to do with us having saved her from the scrapper's torch.
My wife was aboard, hosting the workshop for people, who wanted to look into the insides of water gun construction and maybe give it a go themselves, while my daughters were around here as well, Lien having visited the local administration to clear up the last things while Lucina was attending one of the shooting ranges.
Birkhild, Alwina and Elfi were around here somewhere as well, while Onno held down the fort in Teressien.
We had three shooting ranges, one for the long automatic water rifles, one for the water pistols, one for the squirt guns. We had an artillery range, for the Pom-Pom and the Squirt Naval Artillery. We had a driving course for the Wasserkampfwagen, basically the 'tanks' with water guns.
And we had three areas, where one could test the water guns in action, three 'maps', if you will.
It was less organized matches, which we were hosting there and more a fun free for all. Impromptu teams, sudden betrayals, friendly offers, all that and even more were going down.
Of course, we also had a shop, where one could purchase waterguns one liked, even at a little discount.
So, a TW-11 Assault Rifle in blue and yellow on a sling over my shoulder, I observed, available for questions and answers and maybe even a round or two. The presentation of our products was awesome and quite fun to watch, especially when children looked at the TW-13 or the Dogge with wide eyes and that certain glint in their eyes.
I couldn't help but smile. Those glinting eyes brought back memories, especially when Lucina joined them, with her own TW-11, the red and white banged up, old shooter she had since she was a girl herself, over her shoulder.
Of course, a lot of photographs were made as well.
I smiled and waved for one.

While walking towards the exhibition, Felicia and Alexis start to really take in the size of the event displayed before them.

"Wow, that's quite the demonstration. Where do you think we should start?" asks the pharmacist, a little lost, to her friend.

"I would gladly take the pistols and rifles to the range first, then we can test them. And after that, why not test the water tanks and the rest?" suggests Alexis.

"Good idea." replies Felicia, before the two of them approach a man. (Vin as one may guess.)

"Eexcuse me Sir," starts Felicia, "we would like to test some of your products at the ranges, the pistols and rifles. Would that be possible please?" she asks with a smile.

[New Visayan Islands]

Daryl Ulysses Estrella
Donrua Beach Bar

"Don't worry, I will." Daryl nodded at that. "Roland's 19, by the way. Starting his second year as a Psychology student; plans on having it as his pre-med once he graduates," he added. "We even joke about how he'll probably be picked up by the Army once he finishes med school, but he opted out of ROTC, so he'll be studying remotely." And knowing UPI Miagao, only the ROTC cadets would be onsite by the time classes start; Daryl knew his brother dated two men who took up the course--he was gay, but he would always be his brother--so he could imagine the entire situation not being to Roland's liking.

[Kyoki Chudoku]

Amy Mapa of the Tribe of Navan.
I had served another customer, the mother and son near a reserved table, and looked over my shoulder when I heard spewing, someone calling out in alarm – the Non-Spiorad-Milady had tried her drink.
Apparently, our worst was too much for her.
I was by her side immediately, concern in my eyes.
“Milady?”, I asked, “Everything alright?”
I pulled the chair behind her behind and directed her to sit down in it, concern in my eyes.
“Shall I call a paramedic?”, I asked.
Well, this was not the first time where the Horsekick kicked too heavily...

Miu Fuwa.
“Kyoki Chudoku...”, I mumbled, “I'm sorry, but it really doesn't mean anything to me. I won't pry, though.”
I gave her a sad smile. I had no idea, what kind of country Kyoki Chudoku was, but judging by her hesitance in talking about it, I figured, that it was not a place she was proud or fond of. Maybe it was a polluted industrial wasteland, maybe what she saw as bumfuck nowhere, as the saying went, maybe it just wasn't to her liking... whatever it was, I decided not to pry and I'd stick with it.
I fell into silence, watching my little sis as she played with a few other kids.
She laughed, they laughed, they had fun, unburdened and happy... until she bumped into a lad, both falling down into the surf in a heap of limbs and spray and laughter, especially after the two of them untangled themselves and sat between their friends.
I smiled.
The ball flew again a few moments later.

Konomi Kazetsuki

Clutching the table and clenching her teeth to keep her mouth shut as another burst of poison tried to shoot back out of her throat, Konomi took a few seconds to even realise someone was offering help.

“I…I’m…f-fiiiine-“

But she couldn’t even finish her protest before falling back into the chair, wheezing and reeling from the intensity of it all. Her fingers shook and trembled, and it felt like her innards were alight. Bravery was one thing, but she hadn’t expected to give herself a suicide mission like this. A strong part of her refused to concede to any foreign help, to show weakness in the slightest.

Another quake of her stomach rattled her.

She didn’t have much of a choice.

“I’ll…I’ll be…fine…I’m t-tough…” she groaned out. In a move of desperation she tried to pinch herself in hopes that the sharp pain would make her more coherent, only her hand felt like it was wading through water and her fingers refused to close until seconds after she’d ordered them to.

Yameko Horitaka

So she didn’t know.

A faint tinge of relief washed over Yameko, answering her worries. It was better that she was ignorant. Yet there was no way to explain, not in terms any outsider would truly understand. It was probably a stupid idea to even try. This stranger didn’t need her piling on her anxieties. But staying this much of a mess didn’t feel like a good option either. So Yameko just watched as children kicked a ball around in the distance. It was an inexplicable sight. One of those ridiculous games played in foreign countries. It certainly wouldn’t be allowed back home, where young ones were always kept on a tight leash- for their own good.

So many laughs and smiles, the innocence of childhood, and Yameko still had to resist the instinct to turn away from it because she’d spent her whole life under a nightmarish shadow from which there was no escape…

“…you’re happy for them,” Yameko said, unsure if she should be saying anything at all. “For your sister. The closest thing I have to a sister…”

She trailed off. The closest she had really was Konomi. They’d lived together for years, grown up under the same roof, even if it wasn’t one that was truly theirs. And she knew their spat was just that- a spat- but even so, she couldn’t help but let a touch of frustration rise at the mere thought of her right now. Yet guilt came along with her. Konomi was far too rowdy to leave all alone. If she got into any trouble…

“…forgive this awkward question, but if you had…no. It’s not the same. I don’t think my choice is one anyone outside of home would understand…”

[Ezhara]

Okay, that lad... creeped me out a bit, to be honest...

When Lorenzo saw the woman approach him, he immediately froze, his eyes wide and his hand briefly reaching for his water gun, more out of instinct at feelings of danger, but his hand released it just as quickly. Him getting a conversation with a woman was not in his plans — the most talking that he ever did were with female teachers. Or his mom. It wasn't that he was afraid of women in general, though; he just knew that Kaz typically had a better method that the athlete had not a clue as to how to replicate. It was the lacking optimization that frightened him, although perhaps he had miscalculated? Perhaps she was old and wise enough to feel that corrupt, consuming romance that emanated from Kaz, so maybe it was too much to ask a foreigner to tolerate him, or maybe this was just the wrong sort of person for Kaz's predilections.
"Yes, uh." He turned aside, and his gaze and head couldn't ever focus on her's and he kept shifting between nervous smiles and sharp inhalations. The conversation was more of a battle, one between his nerves, and he knew it was his own poor preparation that caused the issue. "I'm Lorenzo. Lorenzo Quispe of Ezhara— I'm, well, a Talent-Athlete, mainly for... not water guns— but I'd sure love to handle your— I mean a water gun of..." He looked at her equipment, his breath stolen. "I mainly do paintball! Yeah, that's what I was going to say, but water gun looks fun, too."

When Kaz saw Lien turn away to address Lorenzo, the Idol stepped away from both and turned away, but not behind her, and a burning sensation flickered and wavered in his chest. Jealousy or hatred, agony or joy, he could not name why or how or what he was feeling, whether it was a pleasure or a contrast, but it excited him in the way that preparing to rise on stage excited him, the way thousands of eyes and minds weighed him with judgment, attention, uncertainty, when he was their everything and could either fall or rise, and rise he always did.
Then there was recover. Defy. The only thing more exciting than an immediate convert was someone whose weakest point he could divine, could leverage, although some of course had traits that he could do little with, like Eiko's prudishness. The actor couldn't understand it; he was too boring and too moralistic, anyway, unable to understand his own form to empathize or sympathize with Kaz.
So now the next game was to figure out her, and not reveal too much, and so throughout all of his thinking, he was quietly muttering and pirouetting a song to himself.

Lorenzo saw Kaz out of the corner of his eye. "I... guess he must be pissed."
"Please, now why would I be angry?" he said, voice raised just a trifle beyond his typical whisper while his body balanced on one leg. "I can't win everything, so what can I say? Besides, you'll probably have more fun with her than I ever could have." He smiled like a roosting hawk, preening its feathers, that noticed a rat scampering across a field, and then turned back away, taking care not to show his face, still chiseled with its typical smirk, hiding the bubbling oddness within his body.

The two boys, Kasem and Eiko, who were here as friends, bickered like an old married couple...

Had either boy known that Kendra hadn't thought too hard about their original claim, they would've been thoroughly surprised, considering their tendencies. Still, that wasn't their focus; Eiko sighed. "Ah, there goes both of those plans." He turned to Kasem, who had just been focused on how similar the woman was to Eiko; something troubled her, and she was not apt to give it away.
The younger smiled sheepishly and glanced at the ground. "There's no way that I'm that linked to IOEP to get them to fix something like this just completely out of context, unless The Selkie joined them while I wasn't looking." There was also how... disconnected The Selkie felt. Not in a bad way, but more in the way that Ezhara was, with its decentralized cities that meant that Kasem's home was as united with its former motherland as it was to Ezhara itself.

"Well..." Eiko glanced at the altar, his voice and atmosphere still like a gentle hearth that had just been lit, and it now attained a further air of power, like a deity's presence had manifested within Eiko. Certainly, there was a presence within him before, but now it had become much more apparent, and an empathy, tinged by a fear of being forgotten, resonated in his voice. "If not the whole cost, I still think that a portion will do for a lady like her."
"Oh, same here."
It seemed that neither boy was willing to be outdone by the other.

[The Selkie]

Aither:
(Image)

Aither nods. “Ice cream does sound nice; I wonder if they have anything bamboo or mint flavored?” He rubbed the bottom of his chin pondering the many flavors.” Foot volley sounds… familiar, but how bout you refresh my memory as we walk to get some ice cream eh?” Aither’s world had something called soccer, and volleyball, but was more so wondering if it was more like Pok-A-Tok, than anything else. He smiled once more and looked over to the female guard. “I got the ice cream this time. My treat.” He chuckled softly.

Quinn Áibhligh of the Tribe of Antrim.
“I appreciate the thought, but I will pay for myself.”, I said as we turned towards the stall.
Enya giggled. “No, you won't.”, she said with a wide smile, “Someone else already paid for everyone – those Teressian water gun firm!”
I nodded. “Right... There was something, wasn't there...”, I mumbled, then shrugged, “Well, all the more ice cream for us.”
“Yay!”, Enya cheered.
I smiled as she led us.
“In any case, Kyrenaian Footvolley...”, I said, “Field, separated by a net into two halves, two teams of four.” The basics out of the way, I added: “The objective is to keep the ball airborne using football moves, kicks, headers and so on – no touchies with the hands, though. If the ball falls into the opponents half, be it by your own action or by the other team screwing up, you score. Depending on prior arrangement, the game is usually finished after a set time or when one team reaches a certain amount of points.”
I let a beat pass.
“You might want to watch a game or two before joining in.”, I added.

While walking towards the exhibition, Felicia and Alexis start to really take in the size of the event displayed before them.

"Wow, that's quite the demonstration. Where do you think we should start?" asks the pharmacist, a little lost, to her friend.

"I would gladly take the pistols and rifles to the range first, then we can test them. And after that, why not test the water tanks and the rest?" suggests Alexis.

"Good idea." replies Felicia, before the two of them approach a man. (Vin as one may guess.)

"Eexcuse me Sir," starts Felicia, "we would like to test some of your products at the ranges, the pistols and rifles. Would that be possible please?" she asks with a smile.

Vin Kardeel.
And as such things usually went, the Player Characters of course first approached me – not that I minded, it was my role here and today.
Meta-commentary out of the way because the lazy sod at the keyboard is lazy, I smiled at the two.
“That's what we're here for, Maidle.”, I said with a smile. Maidle was one of these Teressian slang terms, a term of endearment for young females, usually translated as 'girl'. If they knew that, though... “Come along.”
I led them the few metres over to the racks, where a few sellers were 'arming' prospective customers and explaining the basic functions. I went for one rack in particular, holding the TW-11s, water assault rifles.
A sleek bullpup design looking so much like a toy that mistaking it for anything but was reserved for the most stupid of people.
“I don't think you two want to start the day with the kiddy-guns.”, I said and picked out two TW-11s in white with silver highlights, plus a few reserve tanks and two simple webbings, basically belts with delusions of grandeur. “This is the TW-11, Mark V Model, twenty shot canister, 100 millilitres per shot, one blast per second, fully or semi-automatic firing modes, ten to fifteen metres effective firing range.” I smiled and lifted the canisters. “Loaded in the rear. You'll find little fountains all over the place, please use them to refill and not ocean water.”
I let a beat pass.
“Any questions so far?”

Daryl Ulysses Estrella
Donrua Beach Bar

"Don't worry, I will." Daryl nodded at that. "Roland's 19, by the way. Starting his second year as a Psychology student; plans on having it as his pre-med once he graduates," he added. "We even joke about how he'll probably be picked up by the Army once he finishes med school, but he opted out of ROTC, so he'll be studying remotely." And knowing UPI Miagao, only the ROTC cadets would be onsite by the time classes start; Daryl knew his brother dated two men who took up the course--he was gay, but he would always be his brother--so he could imagine the entire situation not being to Roland's liking.

Isla Nathaira of the Tribe of Cork.
Unaware of Roland being homosexual, I smiled.
“If he is as cute as you are, he'll be very welcome around here.”, I told him with a smile, threw in a wink for good measure. “But yeah... psychology... I'm quite far away from that, I'm afraid. My Dad's a businessman for the Báigh Mining around here, I plan to go to Fortham and study Engineering once I graduated in two years.”
I took a sip of my lemonade.

Konomi Kazetsuki

Clutching the table and clenching her teeth to keep her mouth shut as another burst of poison tried to shoot back out of her throat, Konomi took a few seconds to even realise someone was offering help.

“I…I’m…f-fiiiine-“

But she couldn’t even finish her protest before falling back into the chair, wheezing and reeling from the intensity of it all. Her fingers shook and trembled, and it felt like her innards were alight. Bravery was one thing, but she hadn’t expected to give herself a suicide mission like this. A strong part of her refused to concede to any foreign help, to show weakness in the slightest.

Another quake of her stomach rattled her.

She didn’t have much of a choice.

“I’ll…I’ll be…fine…I’m t-tough…” she groaned out. In a move of desperation she tried to pinch herself in hopes that the sharp pain would make her more coherent, only her hand felt like it was wading through water and her fingers refused to close until seconds after she’d ordered them to.

Yameko Horitaka

So she didn’t know.

A faint tinge of relief washed over Yameko, answering her worries. It was better that she was ignorant. Yet there was no way to explain, not in terms any outsider would truly understand. It was probably a stupid idea to even try. This stranger didn’t need her piling on her anxieties. But staying this much of a mess didn’t feel like a good option either. So Yameko just watched as children kicked a ball around in the distance. It was an inexplicable sight. One of those ridiculous games played in foreign countries. It certainly wouldn’t be allowed back home, where young ones were always kept on a tight leash- for their own good.

So many laughs and smiles, the innocence of childhood, and Yameko still had to resist the instinct to turn away from it because she’d spent her whole life under a nightmarish shadow from which there was no escape…

“…you’re happy for them,” Yameko said, unsure if she should be saying anything at all. “For your sister. The closest thing I have to a sister…”

She trailed off. The closest she had really was Konomi. They’d lived together for years, grown up under the same roof, even if it wasn’t one that was truly theirs. And she knew their spat was just that- a spat- but even so, she couldn’t help but let a touch of frustration rise at the mere thought of her right now. Yet guilt came along with her. Konomi was far too rowdy to leave all alone. If she got into any trouble…

“…forgive this awkward question, but if you had…no. It’s not the same. I don’t think my choice is one anyone outside of home would understand…”

Amy Mapa of the Tribe of Navan.
Tough she might be – the Hoofkick was tougher, it seemed.
I looked at her, worry clear in my eyes and face – I was not a good card player and I didn't even try it this time around. I was worried and I was concerned.
On the other hand, she had said to give her our worst.
She tried to pinch herself.
“Please hang on for a moment, I'll get you a glass of water.”, I told her and went, directing a colleague to keep an eye on her.
I returned a minute later, a glass of clear water in my hand, which I placed in front of her. Even if there would not be a sponsorship today, this one would be on the house.

Miu Fuwa.
I raised an eyebrow.
“You know, I might look like I'm nineteen, but I'm seventy-five. By the standards of my people, I'm very young. And still in High School.” I let a beat pass. “Before you ask, Minai is seven. And in Elementary School. Anyway...” I exhaled, then continued: “...I drag her around to learn about the world, much like I want to learn about the world, and yes, I am happy for her. She is... would I loose her, it would be as if my heart was ripped out of my chest, I think. Likely worse.”
I let a beat pass.
“If connected by blood or by circumstance, those we perceive as our siblings, be it brothers or sisters, are exactly that: Siblings.”, I told her, “I do not know your home. I do not know, what happened between you and your friend. I do not know, if she is 'just' a friend or not. I do know, however, that the two of you had a fight – and that's okay. It happens.” I motioned out to the group of kids playing with their ball in the surf. “Believe me, it happens. What matters is not the fight itself or what it was about, though.” I smiled at the neko. “What matters is making up.”
Life-lessons dispensed, I watched as the ball soared high into the air, only for one of the lads to play it with his head towards Minai, who braced it and played it towards another girl, a lot softer then she received it.

Okay, that lad... creeped me out a bit, to be honest...

When Lorenzo saw the woman approach him, he immediately froze, his eyes wide and his hand briefly reaching for his water gun, more out of instinct at feelings of danger, but his hand released it just as quickly. Him getting a conversation with a woman was not in his plans — the most talking that he ever did were with female teachers. Or his mom. It wasn't that he was afraid of women in general, though; he just knew that Kaz typically had a better method that the athlete had not a clue as to how to replicate. It was the lacking optimization that frightened him, although perhaps he had miscalculated? Perhaps she was old and wise enough to feel that corrupt, consuming romance that emanated from Kaz, so maybe it was too much to ask a foreigner to tolerate him, or maybe this was just the wrong sort of person for Kaz's predilections.
"Yes, uh." He turned aside, and his gaze and head couldn't ever focus on her's and he kept shifting between nervous smiles and sharp inhalations. The conversation was more of a battle, one between his nerves, and he knew it was his own poor preparation that caused the issue. "I'm Lorenzo. Lorenzo Quispe of Ezhara— I'm, well, a Talent-Athlete, mainly for... not water guns— but I'd sure love to handle your— I mean a water gun of..." He looked at her equipment, his breath stolen. "I mainly do paintball! Yeah, that's what I was going to say, but water gun looks fun, too."

When Kaz saw Lien turn away to address Lorenzo, the Idol stepped away from both and turned away, but not behind her, and a burning sensation flickered and wavered in his chest. Jealousy or hatred, agony or joy, he could not name why or how or what he was feeling, whether it was a pleasure or a contrast, but it excited him in the way that preparing to rise on stage excited him, the way thousands of eyes and minds weighed him with judgment, attention, uncertainty, when he was their everything and could either fall or rise, and rise he always did.
Then there was recover. Defy. The only thing more exciting than an immediate convert was someone whose weakest point he could divine, could leverage, although some of course had traits that he could do little with, like Eiko's prudishness. The actor couldn't understand it; he was too boring and too moralistic, anyway, unable to understand his own form to empathize or sympathize with Kaz.
So now the next game was to figure out her, and not reveal too much, and so throughout all of his thinking, he was quietly muttering and pirouetting a song to himself.

Lorenzo saw Kaz out of the corner of his eye. "I... guess he must be pissed."
"Please, now why would I be angry?" he said, voice raised just a trifle beyond his typical whisper while his body balanced on one leg. "I can't win everything, so what can I say? Besides, you'll probably have more fun with her than I ever could have." He smiled like a roosting hawk, preening its feathers, that noticed a rat scampering across a field, and then turned back away, taking care not to show his face, still chiseled with its typical smirk, hiding the bubbling oddness within his body.

The two boys, Kasem and Eiko, who were here as friends, bickered like an old married couple...

Had either boy known that Kendra hadn't thought too hard about their original claim, they would've been thoroughly surprised, considering their tendencies. Still, that wasn't their focus; Eiko sighed. "Ah, there goes both of those plans." He turned to Kasem, who had just been focused on how similar the woman was to Eiko; something troubled her, and she was not apt to give it away.
The younger smiled sheepishly and glanced at the ground. "There's no way that I'm that linked to IOEP to get them to fix something like this just completely out of context, unless The Selkie joined them while I wasn't looking." There was also how... disconnected The Selkie felt. Not in a bad way, but more in the way that Ezhara was, with its decentralized cities that meant that Kasem's home was as united with its former motherland as it was to Ezhara itself.

"Well..." Eiko glanced at the altar, his voice and atmosphere still like a gentle hearth that had just been lit, and it now attained a further air of power, like a deity's presence had manifested within Eiko. Certainly, there was a presence within him before, but now it had become much more apparent, and an empathy, tinged by a fear of being forgotten, resonated in his voice. "If not the whole cost, I still think that a portion will do for a lady like her."
"Oh, same here."
It seemed that neither boy was willing to be outdone by the other.

Lien Kardeel.
“I can't win everything, so what can I say? Besides, you'll probably have more fun with her than I ever could have.”, the other guy, who did look a bit miffed, told Lorenzo.
Teenaged shit. Girls were not there to... well, let's stop this rant before we get into uncomfortable territory. Be that as it may be, at home, the girls might like him, but around here, he would have a bit of a rough standing.
Selkie-Lassies were easy to look at, but hard to get.
Let's not start with Teressian Maidles.
I turned back to Lorenzo, my smile back on: “I see your friend is a spoilsport... or spoiled brat.”, I told him, then offered him an arm to link, “That being said, we were once thinking about expanding into paintball as well, but we dropped that for the time being. We did have some kick-arse designs for paintball armour in the works, though.”
The last was accompanied by a wink.
“I believe you'll like our water guns, though.”, I said and motioned forwards, “But we'll see in a minute.”

Kendra Cysegara of the Tribe of Wexford.
I had no idea, who IOEP was, but I figured, they were important to the two lads.
The green-haired, Eiko, he certainly had a strong aura around him, a strength of character and being in him. Not that his friend was a slouch or something, but he was either a bloody good actor, a very strong young man or both.
They then had the idea to cover a portion.
I nodded. “That's the idea behind the donation raising.”, I told them with a smile, reached into the rash guard to take a small box out: “All participate as a team, as far as they can or want to give – and teamwork makes the magic work.” I let a beat pass. “You'd both of us help us a lot with five Gil.”
And not to mention, they'd help Her and Her sacred grove.

[Katase]

Mara Urgharda of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
I smiled and Rona giggled.
“Yes, please, one after the other.”, she requested, then began to count off: “I got good at it by training. My Mom did teach me the basics of riding and how to take care of a horse, but I have been in the saddle since the day my feet could Sóisear's stirrups.”
She had been awesomely talented. I had seen that the first time I had seen her on her little colt, but now, with her skills not only developing, but developing at a rapid pace...
“Horsearchery came... kind of naturally to me.”, Rona then continued, “I always admired the Arrowmaidens for some reason...” She gave me a pointed stare, which made me smile. “...and tried my hand at it before I went into elementary school.” I nodded, that was true. “It was fun! Sóisear seemed to enjoy it, too, so we stuck with it.”
She let a beat pass.
“As for what it feels like to ride a horse...” She looked to me, I shrugged. “If you're still here tomorrow, we can meet again. Then I'll introduce you to Sóisear and maybe a few other horses and then you'd be able to experience it for yourselves!”

Galen Ainimh of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
I smiled slightly as we walked along.
She was... fifteen, sixteen, something in that ballpark. A sprightly young lass, quite pretty... I was thirty. Twice her age. The only reason why I went along with this was, that she reminded me of someone...
“I do have a bit of an extended family.”, I said with a smile, “Including a half-sister a bit older then you are.” I smiled. “You'd like her, I think. I would have loved to take her along, but she ventured to a different beach with a few friends.”

The Twins and Aunty Rena

"Wow real natural by the sound of it!" Shino exclaimed

"Almost like you were born and bred for it! That's so awesome!" Kano echoed. Next set of answers came rapid fire just as they asked them, Rona for being younger than them it was pretty impressive how much she'd already accomplished.

"Yeah, we're here all week so we'd really like to meet Sóisear, your trusted mount!" Kano nodded further. "Oh uh, Aunty, is that okay?"

"As long as you're careful and I'm sure you both will be, I don't have a problem with it."

Yuri

"Ah really, half-sis huh? Guess we're both from blended families huh? She sounds nice, we are here all week maybe I can meet her another day? You said she's a little older than me, what about you? A bit older, close to you or slightly younger? or am I just being too nosy for my own good?"

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
I smiled. “Right up ahead.”, I said and looked forward.
There was a small, rocky outcropping protruding from the cliff, a bit higher up, but reasonably easy to reach without much scaling and without equipment. The fact, that this outcropping was not a sheer drop to any side but had quite the rocks beneath it, prevented its usage as jumping off point for any teenager with delusions of grandeur, but it made it a pretty lookout.
And we would go there.
From what I could see, there was no one up there right now.
I smiled at Marie.

Lien Findehoof.
“Yep.”, I said with a grin, “We're Teressians! Best chocolate makers in the world!”
Aaltje nodded as well. “But it depends a lot on the ingredients as well.”, she added, “Without the good cocoa from Ridderli, we'd be screwed.”
I nodded with a grin. “Still delicious.”
“Never put that into doubt.”

Lucina Findehoof.
Kiah shook her head with a smile.
“Thanks, but I just had one. Too much and I'm going to develop reserve buoyancy!”, she joked, then sat down next to me. “Mind if I join you for a bit?”
“From my end, no.”, I said and smiled at my middle daughter.
Kiah was a pretty young woman, but she tended to sell herself short... she might not have Ida's mature beauty or Enya's... Enyaness, but she was beautiful. She also had no luck in matters of the heart, much to her disappointment. In that regard, she was a lot like me. She also came a lot after me in general, not only in the look-department.
If Tristina had any objections to her joining, she'd say so, I figured.

Marie Ernst Gluck
Marie returned his smile, and the foraged ahead. As the warm sand turned to rock beneath her bare feet, Marie paused, and, with a slight grunt, scrambled upwards.

If Yven was close enough, he would hear a sharp gasp as she admired the view in stunned silence. A new smile broke out on her face as her eyes swept over the beach, and she paused only to help Yven up.

"It's a wonderful view." she said at last, quietly. "Thank you for showing me this..."

---

Diana and Maria Bonilla

"Chocolate, eh? Not half bad." Maria smiled. "Hardly the worst thing a nation could be known for. One of the best, even."

Diana nodded in agreement. "Our nation produces some cacao beans too." She said. "We're fairly well known for our agriculture. In our part of the world, anyway."

Maria's smile faded at that, but she did not say anything.

---

Tristina Bonilla

Tristina seemingly took to Kiah's presence as easily as she took to Lucina's. "Oh, come on. One more won't hurt." She smiled. "But in any case...I have no issues with you joining us. For my end, really, it'd be an honor." She paused. "So, you two are from Teressien? I've heard many good things about that country back home. Would like to visit, some day."

[AHSCA]

Alaina Udh of the Tribe of Navan.
The woman behind the counter, scoop in hand, indicated to one ice cream: “I personally like chocolate on any day of the week.”, she explained, then indicated to another, “Together with vanilla, of course.”
She then indicated to another ice cream.
“And I also have straciatella.”, she added with a wink.
I also saw mango, banana, lemon, strawberry, mint, blueberry, pistachio, butterscotch, caramel (both normal and salted), cherry and coconut. It was a huge spread and she had huge waffles... and it was all free today.
I looked to my older sister, who looked at me and smiled slightly.

"mmm mm" she nodded all great suggestions though she didn't know the stracciatella that was a curiosity she'd have to explore some time but for now she still had to think. "Oooh!" she spotted a few flavors of home one of which she proudly asked for, "I'd like some coconut please! Papa, mama you can ask for some too!" She craned her neck seeing them standing behind her.

Veltuko nodded, "That's a good choice. Two" he requested of the gal. Shiho opted for plain Vanilla, some would say boring but something about the rich cream of regular vanilla was just as good as having one with all the fixings. Besides they would be here in the country a while, plenty of time to try other varieties later.

[Mirum]

Felicia Lách of the Tribe of Galway.
I smiled.
“You're welcome.”, I said and the barback agreed with a nod, placing the jar in front of us.
I pulled a Gil, a small silver coin, out of my pocket, and put it in. It gave a pleasant chime, as it dropped down. The barback smiled slightly.
Once both Varic and I had donated and the barback left for another customer, I smiled at Varic.
“Now... if I remember correctly, you bet, that I couldn't surprise you with some anecdotes about the issues at my old school, which I spent not even two days at.”, I said and took a sip of my own drink, “For starters, it was the Khan College for Noblewomen – how I qualify as a noblewoman is up for debate, but that's not the point. It is in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, quite a bit from here. Muslim country, very conservative, the whole shebang.” I let a beat pass to make sure, that he understood, what a phenomenally bad mix it was to let a Selkie at a noblewoman-school in a muslim country. “It was my Dad's idea.” I shrugged. “Anyway, one little anecdote from there... second lesson was PE, we were taught some martial art about dodging or something... they tested our knowledge by having someone fire plastic bullets at us at close range. One got injured.”
I let a beat pass.
“Not me, though.”, I added.

Felecia smiled at Varic, prior to placing a small silver coin in the jar with a chime.

"You're welcome. Now... if I remember correctly, you bet, that I couldn't surprise you with some anecdotes about the issues at my old school, which I spent not even two days at." Felicia began her tale, as Varic nodded. He had indeed bet that. She continued. "For starters, it was the Khan College for Noblewomen – how I qualify as a noblewoman is up for debate, but that's not the point. It is in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, quite a bit from here. Muslim country, very conservative, the whole shebang. It was my Dad's idea."

Varic nodded again, as Felecia waited a moment to let it sit in. She then continued once more.

"Anyway, one little anecdote from there... second lesson was PE, we were taught some martial art about dodging or something... they tested our knowledge by having someone fire plastic bullets at us at close range. One got injured. Not me, though."

Varic raised his eyebrows slightly. "...And this was day one? Seems quite extreme, if you ask me."

[Kyoki Chudoku]

Amy Mapa of the Tribe of Navan.
Tough she might be – the Hoofkick was tougher, it seemed.
I looked at her, worry clear in my eyes and face – I was not a good card player and I didn't even try it this time around. I was worried and I was concerned.
On the other hand, she had said to give her our worst.
She tried to pinch herself.
“Please hang on for a moment, I'll get you a glass of water.”, I told her and went, directing a colleague to keep an eye on her.
I returned a minute later, a glass of clear water in my hand, which I placed in front of her. Even if there would not be a sponsorship today, this one would be on the house.

Miu Fuwa.
I raised an eyebrow.
“You know, I might look like I'm nineteen, but I'm seventy-five. By the standards of my people, I'm very young. And still in High School.” I let a beat pass. “Before you ask, Minai is seven. And in Elementary School. Anyway...” I exhaled, then continued: “...I drag her around to learn about the world, much like I want to learn about the world, and yes, I am happy for her. She is... would I loose her, it would be as if my heart was ripped out of my chest, I think. Likely worse.”
I let a beat pass.
“If connected by blood or by circumstance, those we perceive as our siblings, be it brothers or sisters, are exactly that: Siblings.”, I told her, “I do not know your home. I do not know, what happened between you and your friend. I do not know, if she is 'just' a friend or not. I do know, however, that the two of you had a fight – and that's okay. It happens.” I motioned out to the group of kids playing with their ball in the surf. “Believe me, it happens. What matters is not the fight itself or what it was about, though.” I smiled at the neko. “What matters is making up.”
Life-lessons dispensed, I watched as the ball soared high into the air, only for one of the lads to play it with his head towards Minai, who braced it and played it towards another girl, a lot softer then she received it.

Konomi Kazetsuki

Told to hang on, Konomi took the instruction literally- gripping the table with as much force as she could muster as though holding on for dear life. And with the way the world was spinning around her, it sure as hell felt like it. Of course, she refused to admit defeat. Pride was in her nature. She was strong. Indomitable. Nothing could hold her back.

So it was her choice, solely hers, that she followed the advice given to her and kept still.

…specifically, the choice of her legs, because now they were shaking and wobbling too much to even stand up properly.

She held her breath. Tried to stay calm and not panic. Old lessons long forgotten came flooding back to her and she did her best to follow them. It had been mandatory at home to have some basic training on withstanding earthquakes- or missile strikes- or something along those lines, her blurred mind couldn’t put the pieces together in the moment- and she’d learned how to hold on and let go in accordance with the seismic rhythm.

…in other words, when she was dizzy she held tight, and when she was less dizzy she held loose.

Finally some water came around, and she chugged it like she had her drink, gasping for air by the end of it.

Even the water tasted fresher out here. Strange how foreign countries worked.

“…t-thanks. I guess…” she mumbled, trying to downplay how desperately she needed the liquid to keep herself in check. At least now the haze was a bit more dilute, and her stomach didn’t feel like it was about to implode…

Yameko Horitaka

It was certainly a surprise to hear that this young woman was…seventy-five? That such a thing could be true she believed, but it was such a difficult thought to process. To live for so long, yet still be in high school? She could not help but see it more as a curse than a blessing. But perhaps that was her Chudokuren heritage showing again. One lifetime’s worth of suffering was enough…

She wasn’t sure how she meant that thought, but she quivered for an instant at the treasonous undertone.

Yameko equally had not expected their little fight to be paid attention to, and she hadn’t at all assumed that a stranger would be here just to comfort her over it. That kind of gesture was just…alien to her. People weren’t kind to her before they knew her. So many suspicious stares or paranoid flares were thrust her way back home, people looking her over and deciding whether to pity her as a victim or disregard her as a fanatic…only her friends ever really tried to comfort her. And of those friends…

She gave a quizzical look when it was mentioned whether or not they were ‘just’ friends- what was Miu insinuating there? That were sisters, as she’d said? Or…lovers? She shook her head, then laid back in the sand.

“…I don’t want to talk about my home too much.” She tried to keep her tone level, but it ended up coming off as weak more than anything. “But I feel like most of my life has been spent…making up for something. I know our fight isn’t serious. Konomi- my friend- we shared a home for years as we grew up. There’s been much worse that we’ve recovered from than this. It’s just…”

She slowly lifted a handful of sand, then let it trickle out in a gentle flow as she stared into the distance. Her eyes focused on the strange ball game, then the waves beyond.

“I don’t want to be treated how I am back home. And she doesn’t want to be treated like she’s from our home…”

She sighed.

“…maybe we’re both ashamed, in our own way…”

[The Selkie]

The Twins and Aunty Rena

"Wow real natural by the sound of it!" Shino exclaimed

"Almost like you were born and bred for it! That's so awesome!" Kano echoed. Next set of answers came rapid fire just as they asked them, Rona for being younger than them it was pretty impressive how much she'd already accomplished.

"Yeah, we're here all week so we'd really like to meet Sóisear, your trusted mount!" Kano nodded further. "Oh uh, Aunty, is that okay?"

"As long as you're careful and I'm sure you both will be, I don't have a problem with it."

Yuri

"Ah really, half-sis huh? Guess we're both from blended families huh? She sounds nice, we are here all week maybe I can meet her another day? You said she's a little older than me, what about you? A bit older, close to you or slightly younger? or am I just being too nosy for my own good?"

Mara Urgharda of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
“You can come along, if you want.”, I offered, “Mavie and I are here with our horses, too, and the stables we have them at is a... well, sort of retirement home for old police horses.” I shrugged. “Yuri can come, too.”
Mavie nodded. “It might be to her liking to learn how to ride.”, she explained, then winked, “Plus, she might then be able to make a little riding tour with her friend.”
I grinned and Rona giggled.
“I'll teach you how to ride!”, she cheered.

Galen Ainimh of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
I did not have it in me to tell Yuri, that Fiona came from the fact, that my father couldn't keep it in his pants. Thanks to that, I had multiple half-siblings, actually, but Fiona was special to me.
Maybe we could indeed have the two of them meet up over the course of the week.
Anyway, she asked me through the flowers for my age.
Here we went. Here I had to be honest.
“I'm thirty, she's sixteen.”, I told Yuri with a smile, “So, there is a bit of a gap...”

Marie Ernst Gluck
Marie returned his smile, and the foraged ahead. As the warm sand turned to rock beneath her bare feet, Marie paused, and, with a slight grunt, scrambled upwards.

If Yven was close enough, he would hear a sharp gasp as she admired the view in stunned silence. A new smile broke out on her face as her eyes swept over the beach, and she paused only to help Yven up.

"It's a wonderful view." she said at last, quietly. "Thank you for showing me this..."

---

Diana and Maria Bonilla

"Chocolate, eh? Not half bad." Maria smiled. "Hardly the worst thing a nation could be known for. One of the best, even."

Diana nodded in agreement. "Our nation produces some cacao beans too." She said. "We're fairly well known for our agriculture. In our part of the world, anyway."

Maria's smile faded at that, but she did not say anything.

---

Tristina Bonilla

Tristina seemingly took to Kiah's presence as easily as she took to Lucina's. "Oh, come on. One more won't hurt." She smiled. "But in any case...I have no issues with you joining us. For my end, really, it'd be an honor." She paused. "So, you two are from Teressien? I've heard many good things about that country back home. Would like to visit, some day."

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
I smiled at Marie and nodded.
“It is... not as beautiful as you are, but... a second place.”, I told her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, smiling at her with a cheeky glint in my eyes. “Wanna sit down? Bask in the sun a bit, catch up...”

Lien Findehoof.
“Delicious Cocoa is something nice.”, I said with a smile, “What else do your people grow? Mangoes?”
“Pineapple?”, Aaltje added.
“Dragon Fruit?”
“Passion Fruit?”
“Jackfruit?”
“Uhm...”, Aaltje made, “...can't think of anything, which ends on -fruit...”

Lucina Findehoof.
“It is a good lemonade.”, I added, “Plus, not the sugar water with lemon taste we call lemonade.”
Kiah relented.
“Alright, one.”, Kiah said with a smile as she sat down and pulled her own thermos cup out of the bag. “Thank you. That being said...” She waited until Tristina was finished with pouring her one. “...I don't want to disencourage you from visiting Teressien, it is a pretty place, but technically I am not from there.”
“I was born in Hochheyde, married my husband there before he moved to Fortham for his job.”, I agreed, “Kiah was born there. As I am a Born Selkie, so are my daughters. My husband is Teressian, though.”
Kiah nodded. “I'm Half-Teressian.”, she said with a smile.

"mmm mm" she nodded all great suggestions though she didn't know the stracciatella that was a curiosity she'd have to explore some time but for now she still had to think. "Oooh!" she spotted a few flavors of home one of which she proudly asked for, "I'd like some coconut please! Papa, mama you can ask for some too!" She craned her neck seeing them standing behind her.

Veltuko nodded, "That's a good choice. Two" he requested of the gal. Shiho opted for plain Vanilla, some would say boring but something about the rich cream of regular vanilla was just as good as having one with all the fixings. Besides they would be here in the country a while, plenty of time to try other varieties later.

Alaina Udh of the Tribe of Navan.
The woman in the maid bikini nodded and went to work.
“Two coconuts, one vanilla, coming right up!”, she said.
The stinky, cootie-infected, perverted vermin that stood still to the side and had flirted with her before we had come seemed to really enjoy the sight as the ice cream maid bent forward to retrieve the balls of ice cream from her stall. She seemed not to mind.
A moment later, she handed over the three waffle horns, “Here you go!”, and turned to Ava and me, “What about you two?”
Ava motioned to me.
“One stracciatella, one lemon and one butterscotch, please!”, I said with a cheer and received my ice cream a moment later.
“One stracciatella, one chocolate and one mint, please.”, Ava ordered and received her ice a moment later. “The thing with the sponsorship...”
“...is real.”, the young woman confirmed with a smile, “Everything is for free today, including ice cream. But if you want, we are collecting donations for the Sacred Grove up the hill, it needs a renovation.”
Ava nodded and pulled out her purse, producing two Gils, the two silver coins clinking lightly in the donation box a moment later.

Felecia smiled at Varic, prior to placing a small silver coin in the jar with a chime.

"You're welcome. Now... if I remember correctly, you bet, that I couldn't surprise you with some anecdotes about the issues at my old school, which I spent not even two days at." Felicia began her tale, as Varic nodded. He had indeed bet that. She continued. "For starters, it was the Khan College for Noblewomen – how I qualify as a noblewoman is up for debate, but that's not the point. It is in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, quite a bit from here. Muslim country, very conservative, the whole shebang. It was my Dad's idea."

Varic nodded again, as Felecia waited a moment to let it sit in. She then continued once more.

"Anyway, one little anecdote from there... second lesson was PE, we were taught some martial art about dodging or something... they tested our knowledge by having someone fire plastic bullets at us at close range. One got injured. Not me, though."

Varic raised his eyebrows slightly. "...And this was day one? Seems quite extreme, if you ask me."

Felicia Lách of the Tribe of Galway.
I nodded, then took a sip.
“Yep, day one... and that's not even going into my... issues with a fellow student, the one, who was later wounded.”, I told him with a grin, “I just called her Miss Buzzkill Virgin Princess. She was the Princess of some country where a girl of my age would be a laying hen or something, but I did not remember the details. Oh, and I got arrested for skipping class and sitting on a park bench on day two.”
I shrugged.
“Ended with me paying a fine and being expelled from the country.”, I finished with a grin. I let a beat pass. “So, you're sitting with a dangerous, smooth criminal – better watch out, before I get you to sit on a bench!”

Konomi Kazetsuki

Told to hang on, Konomi took the instruction literally- gripping the table with as much force as she could muster as though holding on for dear life. And with the way the world was spinning around her, it sure as hell felt like it. Of course, she refused to admit defeat. Pride was in her nature. She was strong. Indomitable. Nothing could hold her back.

So it was her choice, solely hers, that she followed the advice given to her and kept still.

…specifically, the choice of her legs, because now they were shaking and wobbling too much to even stand up properly.

She held her breath. Tried to stay calm and not panic. Old lessons long forgotten came flooding back to her and she did her best to follow them. It had been mandatory at home to have some basic training on withstanding earthquakes- or missile strikes- or something along those lines, her blurred mind couldn’t put the pieces together in the moment- and she’d learned how to hold on and let go in accordance with the seismic rhythm.

…in other words, when she was dizzy she held tight, and when she was less dizzy she held loose.

Finally some water came around, and she chugged it like she had her drink, gasping for air by the end of it.

Even the water tasted fresher out here. Strange how foreign countries worked.

“…t-thanks. I guess…” she mumbled, trying to downplay how desperately she needed the liquid to keep herself in check. At least now the haze was a bit more dilute, and her stomach didn’t feel like it was about to implode…

Yameko Horitaka

It was certainly a surprise to hear that this young woman was…seventy-five? That such a thing could be true she believed, but it was such a difficult thought to process. To live for so long, yet still be in high school? She could not help but see it more as a curse than a blessing. But perhaps that was her Chudokuren heritage showing again. One lifetime’s worth of suffering was enough…

She wasn’t sure how she meant that thought, but she quivered for an instant at the treasonous undertone.

Yameko equally had not expected their little fight to be paid attention to, and she hadn’t at all assumed that a stranger would be here just to comfort her over it. That kind of gesture was just…alien to her. People weren’t kind to her before they knew her. So many suspicious stares or paranoid flares were thrust her way back home, people looking her over and deciding whether to pity her as a victim or disregard her as a fanatic…only her friends ever really tried to comfort her. And of those friends…

She gave a quizzical look when it was mentioned whether or not they were ‘just’ friends- what was Miu insinuating there? That were sisters, as she’d said? Or…lovers? She shook her head, then laid back in the sand.

“…I don’t want to talk about my home too much.” She tried to keep her tone level, but it ended up coming off as weak more than anything. “But I feel like most of my life has been spent…making up for something. I know our fight isn’t serious. Konomi- my friend- we shared a home for years as we grew up. There’s been much worse that we’ve recovered from than this. It’s just…”

She slowly lifted a handful of sand, then let it trickle out in a gentle flow as she stared into the distance. Her eyes focused on the strange ball game, then the waves beyond.

“I don’t want to be treated how I am back home. And she doesn’t want to be treated like she’s from our home…”

She sighed.

“…maybe we’re both ashamed, in our own way…”

Amy Mapa of the Tribe of Navan.
“You're welcome.”, I said with a bit of uncertainty in my eyes.
She really didn't look well.
She was neither confused nor vomiting, didn't seem to have seizures and although she breathed slowly, she breathed regularly – no alcohol poisoning, I guess. Low blood pressure?
Possible.
“Shall I get you another water?”

Miu Fuwa.
The young woman seemed to think a lot before she answered, she got me thinking.
The cat-eared woman didn't want to be treated like she was in her homeland, her friend did not like to be treated like people from her homeland were treated... that was complicated, it left a lot of wiggle room for things like national pride and cultural pride and all of the other fun stuff.
Fun in quotation marks.
How to help her, though?
Where I was from, people helped each other if they were in need, be it by lending an ear or with advice or proactively – it came to me as naturally as breathing.
She did not want to talk about where she was from, so asking how she was treated back home was out of the question.
Hm...
“That raises the question...”, I began, looked at her, “...how do you want to be treated?”

[Astares Amauricanum]

Vin Kardeel.
And as such things usually went, the Player Characters of course first approached me – not that I minded, it was my role here and today.
Meta-commentary out of the way because the lazy sod at the keyboard is lazy, I smiled at the two.
“That's what we're here for, Maidle.”, I said with a smile. Maidle was one of these Teressian slang terms, a term of endearment for young females, usually translated as 'girl'. If they knew that, though... “Come along.”
I led them the few metres over to the racks, where a few sellers were 'arming' prospective customers and explaining the basic functions. I went for one rack in particular, holding the TW-11s, water assault rifles.
A sleek bullpup design looking so much like a toy that mistaking it for anything but was reserved for the most stupid of people.
“I don't think you two want to start the day with the kiddy-guns.”, I said and picked out two TW-11s in white with silver highlights, plus a few reserve tanks and two simple webbings, basically belts with delusions of grandeur. “This is the TW-11, Mark V Model, twenty shot canister, 100 millilitres per shot, one blast per second, fully or semi-automatic firing modes, ten to fifteen metres effective firing range.” I smiled and lifted the canisters. “Loaded in the rear. You'll find little fountains all over the place, please use them to refill and not ocean water.”
I let a beat pass.
“Any questions so far?”

Unbeknownst to Mr Kardeel, Felicia had some of her family who originated from Mandanda, a country neighboring Teressien. So when Vin referred to her as Maidle, she understood exactly what he meant. That, and Teressian had been the first foreign language she had learnt back in school. So, while she was not a full bilingual, she had a very solid knowledge of the language.

So, with smiles on their faces, the two Astarians follow Vin to the racks. After the businessman has given them the explanations, the two friends look at each other, before they nod and turn back to Vin.

"No questions so far, it was very clear." answers Felicia for the both of them, but in Teressian, albeit with just a slight accent. "Thank you for the explanations Sir, and for the compliment. You're not so bad yourself." adds the pharmacist with a smile, and a mischevious glint in her eyes.

[European Federation Reunified]

Eileen Íseal of the Tribe of Conn.

I was unaware of the geopolitical and geocultural contexts of Europe and what it entailed for the two visitors, I'm just a Riverwood Girl, but I snorted in amusement.
“Not my doing. I'm just a listener, just as you.”, I told them once the music had finished, “Might have a bit of a background in the industry, though.” Oh, understatement was fun. I applauded with the rest of the audience. If it included the two in their deck chair, I did not look to see. In any case, I added: “Don't spent all energy now, they're warming up. The main concerts comes soon.”
I knew, how this would go very well.
It was not too long ago, as I stood where they stood now, a certain longing in my eyes... it was a fun time with Mhairi, and later with Mona, Juna and Livvie... and with Alaina and Layla, too.
Gods, I missed those days, especially when someone played our old songs.
The bassist gave a rhythm and the rest began to follow it, the lads soon beginning with the lyrics to NSB's The Best Reason to miss a School Day.
The answer was whiskey. The answer is always whiskey with those three.

After a few "warm-up" songs, the concert had begun to get into gear. The band had started playing what sounded like soul & blues music. It wasn't really their favorite genre but Vincenzo and Justine tried to appreciate the music of the boys on stage.

"They seem good to me," Justine said, trying to find some compliments.

"Yeah, I think..." Vincenzo said a little embarrassed, mostly because he didn't know the type of music. ""But I have to say that the lyrics of this song are making me want to drink 'Yankee drink'".

"Well, maybe later we can go back to the bar to have a few drops"

Vincenzo looked at her, feignedly amazed: "But if you can't handle alcohol! Look, then I won't carry you in my arms!"

Justine giggled: "I know, I know! I was just kidding! Damn, it seems that only you can joke here! Besides, I still want to take that walk along the seafront!"

Vincenzo made himself more comfortable on the deck chair and said: "Okay, but only when they're done here"

Meanwhile the song was over and the audience cheered. The European couple joined in the applause more out of complacency, having only heard half of it.

[Katase]

Mara Urgharda of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
“You can come along, if you want.”, I offered, “Mavie and I are here with our horses, too, and the stables we have them at is a... well, sort of retirement home for old police horses.” I shrugged. “Yuri can come, too.”
Mavie nodded. “It might be to her liking to learn how to ride.”, she explained, then winked, “Plus, she might then be able to make a little riding tour with her friend.”
I grinned and Rona giggled.
“I'll teach you how to ride!”, she cheered.

Galen Ainimh of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
I did not have it in me to tell Yuri, that Fiona came from the fact, that my father couldn't keep it in his pants. Thanks to that, I had multiple half-siblings, actually, but Fiona was special to me.
Maybe we could indeed have the two of them meet up over the course of the week.
Anyway, she asked me through the flowers for my age.
Here we went. Here I had to be honest.
“I'm thirty, she's sixteen.”, I told Yuri with a smile, “So, there is a bit of a gap...”

The Twins and Aunty

"I'm sure Yuri would like that, I'll have to ask her when she gets back but I bet she'd have a great time. I think you two will as well, learning to ride."

"Boy would we!" The twins with sparkles in their eyes of anticipation shouted in unison. "It'll be a lot of fun to teach us!"

"Yeah, for sure! And we'll ride into battle! Well maybe not quite yet."

"Hehehe we best start with the basics first."


Yuri

That moment the color flushed from Yuri's face. "Oh-oh my, you're 30 years old?" The color returned only to be a embarrassed blush. "My - I ... I'm sorry. I really didn't even think a second you might be that much older than me. I don't think mom did either....Maybe I did but honestly I thought at most a few years older like a senpai."

Well this was disappointing so much for a summer (or winter?) romance but now she was more worried about this not getting back. Galen was nice for sure, a fine man that any lovely woman would be lucky to have but Yuri certainly knew boundaries existed, maybe she could get away with a guy in early 20s, MAYBE.

"I'm really embarrassed right now, I bet you didn't really want to hang out with a kid today. Galen, thanks for humoring a silly boy crazy teenager like myself. Still if the chance arises, I wouldn't mind meeting your half-sister. Yeah it's great to be with my mom and all and well...Guess my cousins aren't SO bad, but it'd be nice to have someone my age to hang with while here."

[Alegeharia]

Quinn Áibhligh of the Tribe of Antrim.
“I appreciate the thought, but I will pay for myself.”, I said as we turned towards the stall.
Enya giggled. “No, you won't.”, she said with a wide smile, “Someone else already paid for everyone – those Teressian water gun firm!”
I nodded. “Right... There was something, wasn't there...”, I mumbled, then shrugged, “Well, all the more ice cream for us.”
“Yay!”, Enya cheered.
I smiled as she led us.
“In any case, Kyrenaian Footvolley...”, I said, “Field, separated by a net into two halves, two teams of four.” The basics out of the way, I added: “The objective is to keep the ball airborne using football moves, kicks, headers and so on – no touchies with the hands, though. If the ball falls into the opponents half, be it by your own action or by the other team screwing up, you score. Depending on prior arrangement, the game is usually finished after a set time or when one team reaches a certain amount of points.”
I let a beat pass.
“You might want to watch a game or two before joining in.”, I added.

Aither:

“Free ice cream is always good.” Aither smiled. “Seems luck is on our side today!” He chuckled and looked between the guard and the girl. “Watching is not a bad idea, always good to scope things out and figure out what’s what!” He chuckled, “I am a quick learner though, so maybe I can hop in after a few games, and have you cheer me on, eh?” He smiled and stretched some as they got closer to the ice cream vendor. “The game does sound similar to one on my own ho- hmm... in my country.” Aither decided based on how the guard reacted to him to follow their contact protocols and keep quiet about anything space related. “Though I will have to see this game in action to be a better judge, and maybe I can tell you about our game.”

[New Visayan Islands]

Daryl Ulysses Estrella
Donrua Beach Bar

"Huh," Daryl said, "Dad works with VinRail when he's not in active duty; he manages three teams of technicians assigned to maintenance of the Negros-Cebu underwater rail routes." All three teams in his unit had just completed the transition to a 9/3 rotation, with nine months "afloat," that is, stationed in self-contained underwater repair stations, and three months ashore; with his father on active duty--serving as a Captain in the Army, now--what Daryl knew was that Dad's deputy would take over. "When Captain Charles Anthony Estrella is in active duty," here, Daryl referred to his father by rank and name to distinguish the father from the soldier, "he's part of the staff for the 28th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, one of the units under the 4th ID."
At Isla pointing out her goals in two years' time, Daryl went on. "I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the UPI just recently. At the rate Roland is going, he'll be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology within the same time period as you. Oh, and before you ask: sorry, but he bends the other way." Not that I want to crush what interest you may have in him, but a fair warning is a fair warning, Daryl thought.

[AHSCA]

Alaina Udh of the Tribe of Navan.
The woman in the maid bikini nodded and went to work.
“Two coconuts, one vanilla, coming right up!”, she said.
The stinky, cootie-infected, perverted vermin that stood still to the side and had flirted with her before we had come seemed to really enjoy the sight as the ice cream maid bent forward to retrieve the balls of ice cream from her stall. She seemed not to mind.
A moment later, she handed over the three waffle horns, “Here you go!”, and turned to Ava and me, “What about you two?”
Ava motioned to me.
“One stracciatella, one lemon and one butterscotch, please!”, I said with a cheer and received my ice cream a moment later.
“One stracciatella, one chocolate and one mint, please.”, Ava ordered and received her ice a moment later. “The thing with the sponsorship...”
“...is real.”, the young woman confirmed with a smile, “Everything is for free today, including ice cream. But if you want, we are collecting donations for the Sacred Grove up the hill, it needs a renovation.”
Ava nodded and pulled out her purse, producing two Gils, the two silver coins clinking lightly in the donation box a moment later.

"Yaaay" Kara nearly jumped with joy at the chipper confirmation of their order and just as quickly as they asked there it was in all it's delightful glory. "Coconut, coconut" She took her first tastes of it, a little shudder ran down from the quick cold snap but it was certainly tasty. "Thank you kindly." Her parents thanked and indeed it was free wiht a little ask of a donation. "Oh of course! It'd be our pleasure to give a little." Shiho agreed with a nod from her husband as well. Counting out a few bills they had converted to the local currency "Here, again our pleasure to give a little."

[Ezhara]

“I can't win everything, so what can I say?”

"Ah, spoiled, er—" Lorenzo froze and glanced at Kaz, who betrayed nothing on his face, and that, Lorenzo knew, was indication enough that he was thinking, scheming. The paintballer had heard of Kaz's methods, the vague rumors that abounded him like mist, like how Eiko apparently had a drowning incident involving him, although whether Kaz had anything to truly do with it had never been confirmed by either boy. Nor denied, really.
So, Lorenzo hesitated, but upon seeing the offered arm, gasped, his eyes wandering just in Lien's general proximity for a few seconds like he had blipped out of existence and needed to find his grounding. He wasn't a fan of his grand, overexaggerated instincts, since it really felt... objectifying but that was all they were. Instincts — because he had rarely dealt with girls, let alone women, let alone one who seemed this friendly, but he figured that was just how the Selkie were.

Kaz continued looking upon the scene, still mumbling to himself some song, still listening in on the little deal the two of them were engaged in. By now, he had lost interest. Resigned? No. A small retreat for now, and he accepted, believed, knew no less. But still, if someone were to take his place, in which case he meant Lorenzo, the least that he could have was a well-kept place.
"Lorenzo," Kaz said, "have you no manners, you really must off—"
"I'm nervous, okay?" With that, he lunged back into the offered arm, slowed himself down, and gently linked his arm. Seemed it was a demonstration of his agility inasmuch as conversational obligation. "But anyway, paintball armor. If you happen to still have the rough designs — if they're public I mean — I think I'd love to see them. Er, if they're public, or something." His speech had changed from a bumbling fool to fast, energetic, impassioned, something like a salesman even though he wasn't selling anything.

Kaz glanced aside. "You scared of folks saying you cheat, Lorenzo?"
"Ugh, I stopped caring a long time ago," he said. "And keep that dirty laundry out of here, will you? And besides, this is just a round of water gun, not paintball. Do you really think I'd want to do something like that?"
"Can't say no, really."
Lorenzo grumbled. "I'd say go away to find someone else, but it unfortunately seems I'm the best person here to deal with your habits." He turned to Lien. "I wouldn't heed him. Whether I might be cheating or not, you'll have to see for yourself. No other way about it." There was an acrid echo to his tone, of a slash-and-burn smoke that encircled verdant jungles and pushed out all the little things, leaving just a cloud of lies where an ecosystem had once lived. The accusations after all, were known long before his reality.

I had no idea, who IOEP was...

"Right, then," Eiko said.
Kasem, meanwhile, was staring at the small box. "Uh, how'd that fi—"
Eiko's hand slipped past and deposited a denomination of six Gil inside, then stepped aside to let Kasem put his donation in.
"Uh, look, a wild-grown matcha set with fresh matcha powder!"
"I— what—"
That was enough timing for Kasem to sidestep past him and put his seven Gil in. When he returned, looking a little too proud for his mediocre achievement, Eiko stared back at him. "How did I fall for that?"

"Because it's too stupid to be true, very simple."
Eiko gently slapped both of Kasem's cheeks, but the right slap was just a little harder, just enough to push him aside. "Sounds." His left dove back into the kinchaku and picked up some eight Gil. "Just like you."
"Hey, another wild—"
"I'm not falling for that aga—"
"Kaz!"

"Wh— here?" Eiko spun around in the direction Kasem pointed, his hands curling downwards like claws and his eyes aflame, and the younger fumbled his way into nine Gil into the box, then turned back with his own smirk. "Kasem, I'm really about to throw you off of this cliff."
"Oh, can you?"
Eiko grabbed him from the waist, heaving him onto his shoulder with only mild difficulty, exacerbated when Kasem, realizing his situation, started to squirm. "God dang it, you've gained weight..."
His other hand struggled to grab a group of Gil, only to extract fifteen and dump it into the box, and then he turned, taking one step towards the sea before Kasem wiggled enough to tumble onto the floor.

"All right," Eiko said. "How much did our argument end up getting you?"
"Argument?" Kasem rose. "I thought we were just l— quarreling as always."
"Either works."

[The Selkie]

Unbeknownst to Mr Kardeel, Felicia had some of her family who originated from Mandanda, a country neighboring Teressien. So when Vin referred to her as Maidle, she understood exactly what he meant. That, and Teressian had been the first foreign language she had learnt back in school. So, while she was not a full bilingual, she had a very solid knowledge of the language.

So, with smiles on their faces, the two Astarians follow Vin to the racks. After the businessman has given them the explanations, the two friends look at each other, before they nod and turn back to Vin.

"No questions so far, it was very clear." answers Felicia for the both of them, but in Teressian, albeit with just a slight accent. "Thank you for the explanations Sir, and for the compliment. You're not so bad yourself." adds the pharmacist with a smile, and a mischevious glint in her eyes.

Vin Kardeel.
Albeit pleasantly surprised, that the lass spoke Teressian (I'd put her somewhere towards the east with her accent), I furrowed my brow. I was not bad at what? Selling water guns?
Maidle, what do you think I do for a living?
Shaking my head with a smile developing, I motioned towards where the shooting range for the water rifles was. It was a nice range, one, which was pretty average all things considered, only with a lot more sand, bikinis and swim trunks. And, of course, the firing distance was a lot shorter.
“Over there is the shooting range, if you want to get a feeling for the guns.”, I told them, “If you think you're fine without that, we have three areas, where you can test them in action. You'd only need one more player for a complete team, though.” I smiled. “Time to make friends, I guess.”

After a few "warm-up" songs, the concert had begun to get into gear. The band had started playing what sounded like soul & blues music. It wasn't really their favorite genre but Vincenzo and Justine tried to appreciate the music of the boys on stage.

"They seem good to me," Justine said, trying to find some compliments.

"Yeah, I think..." Vincenzo said a little embarrassed, mostly because he didn't know the type of music. ""But I have to say that the lyrics of this song are making me want to drink 'Yankee drink'".

"Well, maybe later we can go back to the bar to have a few drops"

Vincenzo looked at her, feignedly amazed: "But if you can't handle alcohol! Look, then I won't carry you in my arms!"

Justine giggled: "I know, I know! I was just kidding! Damn, it seems that only you can joke here! Besides, I still want to take that walk along the seafront!"

Vincenzo made himself more comfortable on the deck chair and said: "Okay, but only when they're done here"

Meanwhile the song was over and the audience cheered. The European couple joined in the applause more out of complacency, having only heard half of it.

Eileen Íseal of the Tribe of Conn.
If the two of them thought, that the actual music had begun, they were sorely mistaken.
The woman on stage shook hands with the two younger lads, pulled them both into a one-armed hug, her acoustic guitar in the way of a full hug. The two left and were replaced by a young man with an electric bass and an electric guitar.
The woman took the guitar with a grin, nodded to the lad, who took position a bit behind her.
“Alright, everyone!”, she called out, “Wanna do this in Selkie or in English?!”
There was almost a roar, that called for the native tongue of this land – once that subsided, someone to our right called out: “Tafod!”
The mentioning of the tongue of the Spiorad drew attention, especially since one could have heard the shit-eating grin.
“Cheeky git.”, the woman called out in good humour and in Selkie, “In any case... let's get this show on the road!”
And soon, the duo began to play songs in our native tongue – folk songs, drinking songs and, after four or five songs, there was a dancing song coming up.
A young man, light purple hair and scarred, well-trained body, came up to me and grinned.
“Milady Eileen, may I ask for this dance?”, he asked politely, with a cheeky, charming grin.
I turned to Vincenzo and Justine for a moment. “If you'd excuse me for a moment...”
And with that, I was on an improvised dance floor between the stage and the audience, together with a few other couples. I knew the lad as a good dancer and he certainly didn't disappoint as it came to the tips and twirls and pirouettes and all the other dance moves, which we put on the floor.
As the song was over and the cheering was going on, I took his hand and kissed the palm, him bowing his head in gratitude for the compliment and grace.
He sat down next to Vincenzo and Justine, between them and me, and gave them a “Hi, there.”

The Twins and Aunty

"I'm sure Yuri would like that, I'll have to ask her when she gets back but I bet she'd have a great time. I think you two will as well, learning to ride."

"Boy would we!" The twins with sparkles in their eyes of anticipation shouted in unison. "It'll be a lot of fun to teach us!"

"Yeah, for sure! And we'll ride into battle! Well maybe not quite yet."

"Hehehe we best start with the basics first."


Yuri

That moment the color flushed from Yuri's face. "Oh-oh my, you're 30 years old?" The color returned only to be a embarrassed blush. "My - I ... I'm sorry. I really didn't even think a second you might be that much older than me. I don't think mom did either....Maybe I did but honestly I thought at most a few years older like a senpai."

Well this was disappointing so much for a summer (or winter?) romance but now she was more worried about this not getting back. Galen was nice for sure, a fine man that any lovely woman would be lucky to have but Yuri certainly knew boundaries existed, maybe she could get away with a guy in early 20s, MAYBE.

"I'm really embarrassed right now, I bet you didn't really want to hang out with a kid today. Galen, thanks for humoring a silly boy crazy teenager like myself. Still if the chance arises, I wouldn't mind meeting your half-sister. Yeah it's great to be with my mom and all and well...Guess my cousins aren't SO bad, but it'd be nice to have someone my age to hang with while here."

Mara Urgharda of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
“Indeed.”, I told them with a firm nod, “You can't run if you don't know how to walk, now can you?”
Rona nodded. “Besides, for that, you'd need the proper equipment. Can't be in battle for long if you are unarmed and unarmoured!” She looked at the twins, cocked her head, then looked at me. “Mam, do you think, that Milady Mona would allow me to borrow Conny?”
I had to smile.
“You'll have to ask her that yourself.”, I said and turned to the three: “Milady Mona is... technically my boss, Conny is both her... well...”
I looked to my wife, who smiled at me in that unhelpful way that said, that I was on my own with that explanation.
“...Conny is Milady Mona's boyfriend!”, Rona said with a giggle, “And he's an excellent blacksmith.”

Galen Ainimh of the Tribe of Fermanagh.
“I can imagine.”, I told her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her down, “There was a time, when I would have been in a similar boat and...” I broke off and looked at her. “Gods, I sound old...”
Shaking my head, grinning, I let a beat pass.
“That being said, I don't think, that Fiona would mind meeting you and I can certainly play matchmaker.” I threw her a wink. “But until then, I do know a few lads around here, who are around your age... fellow Marcach of mine, though some just left the Youth League.” I let a beat pass. “Any preferences or shall I take a wild guess?”

Aither:
(Image)

“Free ice cream is always good.” Aither smiled. “Seems luck is on our side today!” He chuckled and looked between the guard and the girl. “Watching is not a bad idea, always good to scope things out and figure out what’s what!” He chuckled, “I am a quick learner though, so maybe I can hop in after a few games, and have you cheer me on, eh?” He smiled and stretched some as they got closer to the ice cream vendor. “The game does sound similar to one on my own ho- hmm... in my country.” Aither decided based on how the guard reacted to him to follow their contact protocols and keep quiet about anything space related. “Though I will have to see this game in action to be a better judge, and maybe I can tell you about our game.”

Quinn Áibhligh of the Tribe of Antrim.
There were a few things, which Aither didn't tell me, but I did not pry – he did not seem to have any criminal intent in mind.
That being said, as the stall got closer, a small family and a pair of girls departed, enjoying their ice creams, Enya rushing forward slightly towards the mobile ice cream sales spot and the girl manning it.
She was a pretty young woman, wearing a maid bikini. She turned to a lad standing by the side for a moment, told him something with a smile and turned towards Enya. The lad shrugged and made a step back, making the way free.
“Hello, there, searrach.”, she greeted and smiled at the little girl, then raised her scoop. “What can I get you?”
“Please excuse the return question, Miss...”, Enya said and bowed her head lightly and sheepishly, “...but what do you have?”
The young woman manning the store smiled. “Well, I have a lot.”, the young woman said, “I have chocolate, vanilla, mango, banana, lemon, strawberry, mint, blueberry, pistachio, butterscotch, caramel, both normal and salted, cherry and coconut.” She let a beat pass. “Straciatella is currently sold out, but if you can wait for a few minutes, a colleague should come with a resupply.”

Daryl Ulysses Estrella
Donrua Beach Bar

"Huh," Daryl said, "Dad works with VinRail when he's not in active duty; he manages three teams of technicians assigned to maintenance of the Negros-Cebu underwater rail routes." All three teams in his unit had just completed the transition to a 9/3 rotation, with nine months "afloat," that is, stationed in self-contained underwater repair stations, and three months ashore; with his father on active duty--serving as a Captain in the Army, now--what Daryl knew was that Dad's deputy would take over. "When Captain Charles Anthony Estrella is in active duty," here, Daryl referred to his father by rank and name to distinguish the father from the soldier, "he's part of the staff for the 28th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, one of the units under the 4th ID."
At Isla pointing out her goals in two years' time, Daryl went on. "I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the UPI just recently. At the rate Roland is going, he'll be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology within the same time period as you. Oh, and before you ask: sorry, but he bends the other way." Not that I want to crush what interest you may have in him, but a fair warning is a fair warning, Daryl thought.

Isla Nathaira of the Tribe of Cork.
I made a sour face.
“Just my rotten luck...”, I complained, not seriously upset, sighed and looked at Daryl: “Seriously, I have a tendency to pick out the guys, who are more into the bros. I don't mind, if they're happy, all the better for them, but an advance warning would be nice...”
Oh, I could tell you stories, frustrating ones, which betrayed my claim of not being frustraed by my rotten luck, but this platform is PG-13.
That being said, I took a sip of my lemonade, then looked at Daryl.
Hm...
“How about you?”, I asked, “Would there be an advance warning you'd have to give a lass interested in you?”

"Yaaay" Kara nearly jumped with joy at the chipper confirmation of their order and just as quickly as they asked there it was in all it's delightful glory. "Coconut, coconut" She took her first tastes of it, a little shudder ran down from the quick cold snap but it was certainly tasty. "Thank you kindly." Her parents thanked and indeed it was free wiht a little ask of a donation. "Oh of course! It'd be our pleasure to give a little." Shiho agreed with a nod from her husband as well. Counting out a few bills they had converted to the local currency "Here, again our pleasure to give a little."

Alaina Udh of the Tribe of Navan.
The girl manning the stall bowed her head lightly.
“Thank you very much, Sir, every bit helps.”, she said. “Have a good day, you all!”
Ava led us away, working on her ice cream with a smile. I was by her side, but I noticed something.
“Hey, Ava, our castle construction site is over there!”, I said.
She looked into the direction I was pointing at. A moment, then she nodded. “Seems that way, yes. Wanna take a direct route or take the scenic route?” I thought for a moment. She then added: “Maybe Ciaran is around at the Footvolley field?”
My face became as red as a strawberry, especially as Ava threw Kara's parents a conspiring wink.
I looked to Kara.
“...would you mind a little detour...?”, I asked carefully.

“I can't win everything, so what can I say?”

"Ah, spoiled, er—" Lorenzo froze and glanced at Kaz, who betrayed nothing on his face, and that, Lorenzo knew, was indication enough that he was thinking, scheming. The paintballer had heard of Kaz's methods, the vague rumors that abounded him like mist, like how Eiko apparently had a drowning incident involving him, although whether Kaz had anything to truly do with it had never been confirmed by either boy. Nor denied, really.
So, Lorenzo hesitated, but upon seeing the offered arm, gasped, his eyes wandering just in Lien's general proximity for a few seconds like he had blipped out of existence and needed to find his grounding. He wasn't a fan of his grand, overexaggerated instincts, since it really felt... objectifying but that was all they were. Instincts — because he had rarely dealt with girls, let alone women, let alone one who seemed this friendly, but he figured that was just how the Selkie were.

Kaz continued looking upon the scene, still mumbling to himself some song, still listening in on the little deal the two of them were engaged in. By now, he had lost interest. Resigned? No. A small retreat for now, and he accepted, believed, knew no less. But still, if someone were to take his place, in which case he meant Lorenzo, the least that he could have was a well-kept place.
"Lorenzo," Kaz said, "have you no manners, you really must off—"
"I'm nervous, okay?" With that, he lunged back into the offered arm, slowed himself down, and gently linked his arm. Seemed it was a demonstration of his agility inasmuch as conversational obligation. "But anyway, paintball armor. If you happen to still have the rough designs — if they're public I mean — I think I'd love to see them. Er, if they're public, or something." His speech had changed from a bumbling fool to fast, energetic, impassioned, something like a salesman even though he wasn't selling anything.

Kaz glanced aside. "You scared of folks saying you cheat, Lorenzo?"
"Ugh, I stopped caring a long time ago," he said. "And keep that dirty laundry out of here, will you? And besides, this is just a round of water gun, not paintball. Do you really think I'd want to do something like that?"
"Can't say no, really."
Lorenzo grumbled. "I'd say go away to find someone else, but it unfortunately seems I'm the best person here to deal with your habits." He turned to Lien. "I wouldn't heed him. Whether I might be cheating or not, you'll have to see for yourself. No other way about it." There was an acrid echo to his tone, of a slash-and-burn smoke that encircled verdant jungles and pushed out all the little things, leaving just a cloud of lies where an ecosystem had once lived. The accusations after all, were known long before his reality.

I had no idea, who IOEP was...

"Right, then," Eiko said.
Kasem, meanwhile, was staring at the small box. "Uh, how'd that fi—"
Eiko's hand slipped past and deposited a denomination of six Gil inside, then stepped aside to let Kasem put his donation in.
"Uh, look, a wild-grown matcha set with fresh matcha powder!"
"I— what—"
That was enough timing for Kasem to sidestep past him and put his seven Gil in. When he returned, looking a little too proud for his mediocre achievement, Eiko stared back at him. "How did I fall for that?"

"Because it's too stupid to be true, very simple."
Eiko gently slapped both of Kasem's cheeks, but the right slap was just a little harder, just enough to push him aside. "Sounds." His left dove back into the kinchaku and picked up some eight Gil. "Just like you."
"Hey, another wild—"
"I'm not falling for that aga—"
"Kaz!"

"Wh— here?" Eiko spun around in the direction Kasem pointed, his hands curling downwards like claws and his eyes aflame, and the younger fumbled his way into nine Gil into the box, then turned back with his own smirk. "Kasem, I'm really about to throw you off of this cliff."
"Oh, can you?"
Eiko grabbed him from the waist, heaving him onto his shoulder with only mild difficulty, exacerbated when Kasem, realizing his situation, started to squirm. "God dang it, you've gained weight..."
His other hand struggled to grab a group of Gil, only to extract fifteen and dump it into the box, and then he turned, taking one step towards the sea before Kasem wiggled enough to tumble onto the floor.

"All right," Eiko said. "How much did our argument end up getting you?"
"Argument?" Kasem rose. "I thought we were just l— quarreling as always."
"Either works."

Lien Kardeel.
I frowned.
“Sore loosers, the lot of them.”, I said decisively, “Just because the other one is better then you at something it does not mean, that the other one cheats. We had one such case at another showroom a few weeks ago, on one of the maps, where one team dominated – turns out they were just that good.”
I shook my head.
Kaz seemed to have switched his approach to wingmanning slightly, but Lorenzo seemed to be very nervous. He seemed to be the kind of guy, who rarely had business with women, let alone pretty ones (I do have self-confidence, thank you very much for noticing).
He was linked to me, though, so I used my other hand to put it on his in a calming gesture.
He also seemed to be passionate about paintball.
“As for the paintball armours, I can show you some of the design sketches.”, I said with a nod, “They might not be public domain, but they aren't company secrets either. I'm sure, that Dad wouldn't mind.”
He wouldn't... especially not as that was my responsibility.

Kendra Cysegara of the Tribe of Wexford.
I had lost count around halfway through, mainly because I had to stop myself from bursting out laughing.
The little box now a lot heavier, I looked at the two and said: “More then enough. May the Lady of Horses bless the humblest potted plant either of you ever gets himself.” I bowed at that lightly, then put the box away into a pocket of my rash guard. Rising again, I smiled at the two. “I'd normally invite you to a tea at the beach bar down at Donrua Beach, but with the huge festival and water gun showroom and so on...” I shrugged. “...I won't hold it against you, if you had something else to do.”
Not to mention, that we'd meet a lot of people, so if they wanted to stay as a twosome, I would not mind. The two seemed so comfortable with each other.

[Alegeharia]

Quinn Áibhligh of the Tribe of Antrim.
There were a few things, which Aither didn't tell me, but I did not pry – he did not seem to have any criminal intent in mind.
That being said, as the stall got closer, a small family and a pair of girls departed, enjoying their ice creams, Enya rushing forward slightly towards the mobile ice cream sales spot and the girl manning it.
She was a pretty young woman, wearing a maid bikini. She turned to a lad standing by the side for a moment, told him something with a smile and turned towards Enya. The lad shrugged and made a step back, making the way free.
“Hello, there, searrach.”, she greeted and smiled at the little girl, then raised her scoop. “What can I get you?”
“Please excuse the return question, Miss...”, Enya said and bowed her head lightly and sheepishly, “...but what do you have?”
The young woman manning the store smiled. “Well, I have a lot.”, the young woman said, “I have chocolate, vanilla, mango, banana, lemon, strawberry, mint, blueberry, pistachio, butterscotch, caramel, both normal and salted, cherry and coconut.” She let a beat pass. “Straciatella is currently sold out, but if you can wait for a few minutes, a colleague should come with a resupply.”

Aither:

Aither smiled at the lady when it was his turn and had some time to think about what to order having heard the options when Enya asked. “Banana ice cream sounds interesting; I will take that please.” He thanked the lady and still had another question. “Oh right, that last one, you mentioned that was out of stock. What exactly is the flavor of that one?” He was curious about it and decided to ask as he moved to the side to not take up any more space in the line since he had his ice cream. “I hope you don’t mind me asking.” He added for politeness.

[Sky Reavers]

"Yeah, so we just dragged lots of booze from back home... And discover, the beach bar is also stocked on it to the brim! With free booze!"-Sato said, as he returned from his "Intel gathering" mission on the beach. Judging from his manner of walking, he went above and beyond and also sampled the drinks.

-"Yeah! Awesomized idea, dude! We gonna have a nice party here! And I know, how to make it even awesomer... More groodalicious..."-Elise LeBarge then makes a gesture for two friends to come closer and adds quietly, so she won't be heared by others.-"Besides, I smuggled some weed. Good one, "Dryade" brand. Just, let's not smoke too much, so folks here won't get too suspicious."

-"I agree, I agree! Now, let's share da' blunts, hit the bar and then go test these water weapons! As we say, keep your rifle by your side! If ya' can't have regular guns here, then let's get some water guns instead! Free booze... These dudes know, how to win wanderer's heart!"-Seth Gorobets savoured thoughs about the beach party, he and his frieds will go to after a rather non-trivial road and arrival.

After smoking a blunt, Sky Reaver trio put on their swimwear and checked their supplies the last time. Outfits are "beach" enough... Can just take off shirts and call it a day. Towels... check. Sunscreen... Check. Put it on just in case of falling asleep drunk, because otherwise, such sleep would result in sunburns, which itch like hell, plus, it helps to cover up cannabis smell... check. Power bank for smartphones... check.
Also, not to forget Seth's combat knife, Elisa's switchblade and Sato's tanto... Check. This arenal resides in the bag, ready to be deployed at a minute's notice. Even if a minutemen trio had feeling, that there won't be a situation requiring violence, knives are still extremely useful even outside combat. They also didn't forget their food and a bit more. What if munchies catch them? And money. Just in case.

---

Some time later, the Trio had arrived to the beach, planning to raid and bereave the local beach bar. During this "raid", they decided to sample a variety of local stuff.

-"Damn!"-Elise got impressed. "Now, that's some hell of a stuff! It got burn and with bit of carbonation, it's gonna punch ya' in the head! Try too!"

-"Under sunshine.
Herbal potion I drink.
With alcohol in."-Sato attempted a haiku after having a drink too, while Seth went on a rant, that this bar has nice positioning from the perspective of level design and then decided to tell his friends a story about how his level designing tricks helped to optimize the game and fix a memory leak. Sato had another "Herbal potion with alcohol" and responded with his tale of cleaning a rat infested building. And Elise... Elise told how she managed to earn best grades on final exams, while being stoned. Not through hard studying, but through logic and brainpower.

Lots of drinks and several stories after, the Trio decided, that now, they should go to the water guns testing ground and brush up their gun skills. Here three drunks, who still could walk and even straight if concentrate, came to the "Water gun" part of the beach and finally get to the exciting part. The first move was to gather some intel and ask around about choice of water guns. They looked excited to participate in water gun fights.

[AHSCA]

Alaina Udh of the Tribe of Navan.
The girl manning the stall bowed her head lightly.
“Thank you very much, Sir, every bit helps.”, she said. “Have a good day, you all!”
Ava led us away, working on her ice cream with a smile. I was by her side, but I noticed something.
“Hey, Ava, our castle construction site is over there!”, I said.
She looked into the direction I was pointing at. A moment, then she nodded. “Seems that way, yes. Wanna take a direct route or take the scenic route?” I thought for a moment. She then added: “Maybe Ciaran is around at the Footvolley field?”
My face became as red as a strawberry, especially as Ava threw Kara's parents a conspiring wink.
I looked to Kara.
“...would you mind a little detour...?”, I asked carefully.

"Our pleasure." Kara's parents agreed and bid them a good day back. Kara nuzzling on her delightful coconut ice cream. "Mmmm let's take our time, our castle will be there when we get back and if it's not, we'll just have to rebuild it bigger and better than ever before! 'Sides, I wanna finish my ice cream before going back to building. It's hungry work! So yeah let's take a longer way 'round, you lead the way, Alaina!"

[Ezhara]

I frowned...

"Yes, exactly!" Lorenzo said, former anxieties now disintegrated against his vibrant swell of passion for paintball; he hadn't even looked or taken particular heed of her hand on his. "Course, a lot of the stuff that I do looks pretty improbable— but I did do it legit, and besides, half the time, I'm just praying on luck anyway. Most cases, they don't even notice when I do the exact same maneuver and it fails. It's only when it works every several dozen matches that anyone thinks it's cheating."
"The other half are from you performing unsafe maneuvers."
"Ah, they're not too unsafe since I know what I'm doing, and besides, how do you know? Didn't think you'd be one to watch my matches."
"I don't." Kaz feigned disinterest and glanced around. "I just hear of it, that's all. Never hard to hear of the dramas and intrigues that everyone gets wrapped up in."

The look that fell over him was a smug hunger, as though some trap had been sprung. "Ah, but this isn't the time for that, is it, Lorenzo?"
"I'd really rather not be bothered by the rumors back home, yes?" he said. "But even then, we're doing water gunnery here, so it's not like it'd be any good as, what, a warning? Or something like that." With that, he turned back to Kien. "Oh, that's great to hear. I'm not too well-versed on anything about paintball armor, since that's not where my main skills are, but still, I wouldn't mind seeing. Would be good to see what other folks can come up with, after all."
Kaz was still walking at their side, a few steps off, hands in his pocket. Silent. He wasn't thinking of anything in particular; he realized now that the flame burning in his heart wasn't quite as toxic as jealousy or rage, or perhaps he had long since controlled both of them, but then again, it had been quite some time since he felt either in any great effect. This meeting wasn't grand enough to be dignified with anything more than an instinctual flare.

I had lost count around halfway through...

Kasem looked to Eiko. "Do bonsai count as potted plants?"
"Aren't you more qualified to answer that?"
"Well, no I just mean I'd rather your potted plant that gets blessed is one that I buy, to, you know, make it special, but—"
Eiko gently rubbed his hand through Kasem's hair. "My cats would probably knock them down, anyway." He then looked towards Kendra and bowed, shifting in an instant back into his former, fiery power, like a well-tended fireplace, upon which a stew boiled, in a frozen winter. "And if she ever has need of a hearth, I'm sure Kagutsuchi will oblige with his own flames."
Kasem smiled. "If it's not obvious, he's acting. He—"

"I'm... sure she can realize that, yes. Kagutsuchi, forgotten god of flames... thankfully only a fantasy on a screen." He took a sip from his flask, but the rest of his body kept the deific pride alive and burning. "As for the tea, I would have loved to join you for it, but, well, the water gun festival sounds interesting."
"Weren't we invited?" Kasem asked, looking even more vibrant than before. At first, it seemed that he was excited about the water gun contest, but there was a different timbre to his happiness. "Why don't we get going?" He dashed down the path, then turned around.
"Hey, I'm wearing a yukata this time for a reason," Eiko said, turning back to Kendra; so it seemed, Kasem's happiness was less about the water guns and more something else involving them. "Anyway, if ever you happen to be in Suzurai, Ezhara, feel free to ask for me — Eiko Michori — and I'll try to make up for this missed opportunity, if that's fine with you."

[New Visayan Islands]

Daryl Ulysses Estrella
Donrua Beach Bar

"Well," Daryl said, "I would say my fair warning is that I prefer the age gap between me and my dates to be at most two years in either direction. I'm 22, for one thing. That, and I'm not looking for anything long-term at the moment." Which was true; a long-term relationship was not on the fresh graduate's mind, especially since he already had plans to return to academia once the crisis back home had passed. Until then, he felt the situation was too volatile to make a relationship viable.

[The Selkie]

Aither:
(Image)

Aither smiled at the lady when it was his turn and had some time to think about what to order having heard the options when Enya asked. “Banana ice cream sounds interesting; I will take that please.” He thanked the lady and still had another question. “Oh right, that last one, you mentioned that was out of stock. What exactly is the flavor of that one?” He was curious about it and decided to ask as he moved to the side to not take up any more space in the line since he had his ice cream. “I hope you don’t mind me asking.” He added for politeness.

Quinn Áibhligh of the Tribe of Antrim.
The girl behind the counter went to work, putting a generous scoop of banana ice cream into a waffle. As she did that, she explained: “Stracciatella is a simple milk ice cream with small chocolate chunks sprinkled in. Interested?”
“I am.”, I said with a smile and held up two fingers, giving Aither time to decide whether he was interested or not. “Two, please.”
“Got ya, Ma'am.”, she said and filled a second waffle cone.
My mouth was watering.
And it did not seem as if she minded the question.

"Yeah, so we just dragged lots of booze from back home... And discover, the beach bar is also stocked on it to the brim! With free booze!"-Sato said, as he returned from his "Intel gathering" mission on the beach. Judging from his manner of walking, he went above and beyond and also sampled the drinks.

-"Yeah! Awesomized idea, dude! We gonna have a nice party here! And I know, how to make it even awesomer... More groodalicious..."-Elise LeBarge then makes a gesture for two friends to come closer and adds quietly, so she won't be heared by others.-"Besides, I smuggled some weed. Good one, "Dryade" brand. Just, let's not smoke too much, so folks here won't get too suspicious."

-"I agree, I agree! Now, let's share da' blunts, hit the bar and then go test these water weapons! As we say, keep your rifle by your side! If ya' can't have regular guns here, then let's get some water guns instead! Free booze... These dudes know, how to win wanderer's heart!"-Seth Gorobets savoured thoughs about the beach party, he and his frieds will go to after a rather non-trivial road and arrival.

After smoking a blunt, Sky Reaver trio put on their swimwear and checked their supplies the last time. Outfits are "beach" enough... Can just take off shirts and call it a day. Towels... check. Sunscreen... Check. Put it on just in case of falling asleep drunk, because otherwise, such sleep would result in sunburns, which itch like hell, plus, it helps to cover up cannabis smell... check. Power bank for smartphones... check.
Also, not to forget Seth's combat knife, Elisa's switchblade and Sato's tanto... Check. This arenal resides in the bag, ready to be deployed at a minute's notice. Even if a minutemen trio had feeling, that there won't be a situation requiring violence, knives are still extremely useful even outside combat. They also didn't forget their food and a bit more. What if munchies catch them? And money. Just in case.

---

Some time later, the Trio had arrived to the beach, planning to raid and bereave the local beach bar. During this "raid", they decided to sample a variety of local stuff.

-"Damn!"-Elise got impressed. "Now, that's some hell of a stuff! It got burn and with bit of carbonation, it's gonna punch ya' in the head! Try too!"

-"Under sunshine.
Herbal potion I drink.
With alcohol in."-Sato attempted a haiku after having a drink too, while Seth went on a rant, that this bar has nice positioning from the perspective of level design and then decided to tell his friends a story about how his level designing tricks helped to optimize the game and fix a memory leak. Sato had another "Herbal potion with alcohol" and responded with his tale of cleaning a rat infested building. And Elise... Elise told how she managed to earn best grades on final exams, while being stoned. Not through hard studying, but through logic and brainpower.

Lots of drinks and several stories after, the Trio decided, that now, they should go to the water guns testing ground and brush up their gun skills. Here three drunks, who still could walk and even straight if concentrate, came to the "Water gun" part of the beach and finally get to the exciting part. The first move was to gather some intel and ask around about choice of water guns. They looked excited to participate in water gun fights.

The employees had been amused by the three Reavans, especially the waitress serving them. Layla, the Half-Kyrenaian waitress of the house, smelled the weed, but as they were polite, if a bit unruly, decided against calling them out – not to mention, that light recreational drugs were legal in the Free Lands. She had tried it.
And when they left, she looked to her boss and said: “They do remind me of my classmates.”
“School seems to have changed a lot in the past years...”, Miss Áife replied with a smile.

Siana Gualla of the Tribe of Cork.
And when the three came to the water gun section of the beach, they of course came towards me. It was reconnaissance and reconnaissance via conversation was even easier and more valid then reconnaissance via driving around in a Creachadóir.
They were drunk and that was obvious. Plus, they looked a bit like excited puppies.
I was similarly excited.
For one thing, it was summer, the sun shone, I was on a beach and that with my two friends: Viola Crugear of the Tribe of Cavan and Alaina Tufair of the Tribe of Galway were fellow Ensigns of the Naval School of the SDF-Navy, all three of us training to become pilot officers, all three on the Craiceáilte.
There was another Ensign around, Nora Cornail of the Tribe of Sligo, but she trained to become a navigator on a frigate.
Next year around this time, we would have graduated or be in the process of doing so. And then, after a few weeks of relaxation very much like these, we'd be off to specialist training – pilot training for us. But for now, the three of us would spent some time here, enjoying the fact, that my Dad was a Commodore and had gotten himself a house on Stíobharach Island, which we used as a homeport.
And here was on the part of the beach occupied by Tauwerk Water Gun Foundries.
Nora and Viola were climbing around on a Water Gun Tank – seriously, those Teressians were crazy – of quite the size, a Wasserkampfwagen II Königstiger, or WKW II. Both had been with the Naval School Sensha-Do Team during their time in school.
They both had been part of the same Mealltach Reconnaissance Tank, which was why and how we knew each other. That was why Nora stayed with us, too.
The three Reavans looked excited to participate in the games, just like us, but were looking, which of the many water guns Tauwerk offered for interested potential customers might be good. With the TW-11 on my lap and with two holstered TW-12s on Alaina's (otherwise bare) thighs, we were equipped.
Mainly the two of us were sitting in two plastic garden chairs watching the tank testing range (and out two friends climbing around and nerding around), waiting for someone to become Number Three in our small team so that we could have some fun on the maps.
The water guns were borrowed from the stalls around the place, where knowledgeable employees helped customers selecting their weapons of watery fun. Squirt guns and electric squirt guns were the number of their game, while specialized stations handled the squirt artillery, the squirt naval artillery or the water gun tanks.
I looked at the three Reavans and gave them a polite smile.

"Our pleasure." Kara's parents agreed and bid them a good day back. Kara nuzzling on her delightful coconut ice cream. "Mmmm let's take our time, our castle will be there when we get back and if it's not, we'll just have to rebuild it bigger and better than ever before! 'Sides, I wanna finish my ice cream before going back to building. It's hungry work! So yeah let's take a longer way 'round, you lead the way, Alaina!"

Alaina Udh of the Tribe of Navan.
“Yay!”, I said with a grin.
Kara had a few points, our castle would not run away, but the ice cream would.
And Ava did lead us the long way around, a parabolic arc taking us past the Footvolley Field. Young men, the same stinky, cootie-infected, perverted vermin Ava said she didn't like, were kicking a ball over a volleyball net, jumping up to make headers, even the odd bicycle kick. There were also a few young women playing, as well as a few kids.
One of them was a redheaded boy, eight Springs old, two years older then me. He had short hair, brown eyes sparkling like ambers and I was crushing on him. That was Ciaran.
Mam and Ava smiled about it, but for me, this was Serious Business.
He played in a team with a few older teenagers, performing on a similar level to some of them, much to their shared joy. Just as we walked past, he shot the ball up over the net in a high arc, giving the enemy team enough time to take position, their Lifter jumping up for a header.
His head collided with the ball, sending it towards the net, over it, where a teen was waiting with a bicycle kick.
Point for Ciaran's team.
And, apparently, Game, as the contestants shook hands and a lass from the team Ciaran was in, hugged him – there was a round of laugh as everyone realized that he barely reached her collarbone. I blushed red hot with jealousy, anger and embarrassment.
Ava placed a hand on my shoulder. “Give it a decade.”, she told me as she had her eyes on another teen, who was way out of her league.

I frowned...

"Yes, exactly!" Lorenzo said, former anxieties now disintegrated against his vibrant swell of passion for paintball; he hadn't even looked or taken particular heed of her hand on his. "Course, a lot of the stuff that I do looks pretty improbable— but I did do it legit, and besides, half the time, I'm just praying on luck anyway. Most cases, they don't even notice when I do the exact same maneuver and it fails. It's only when it works every several dozen matches that anyone thinks it's cheating."
"The other half are from you performing unsafe maneuvers."
"Ah, they're not too unsafe since I know what I'm doing, and besides, how do you know? Didn't think you'd be one to watch my matches."
"I don't." Kaz feigned disinterest and glanced around. "I just hear of it, that's all. Never hard to hear of the dramas and intrigues that everyone gets wrapped up in."

The look that fell over him was a smug hunger, as though some trap had been sprung. "Ah, but this isn't the time for that, is it, Lorenzo?"
"I'd really rather not be bothered by the rumors back home, yes?" he said. "But even then, we're doing water gunnery here, so it's not like it'd be any good as, what, a warning? Or something like that." With that, he turned back to Kien. "Oh, that's great to hear. I'm not too well-versed on anything about paintball armor, since that's not where my main skills are, but still, I wouldn't mind seeing. Would be good to see what other folks can come up with, after all."
Kaz was still walking at their side, a few steps off, hands in his pocket. Silent. He wasn't thinking of anything in particular; he realized now that the flame burning in his heart wasn't quite as toxic as jealousy or rage, or perhaps he had long since controlled both of them, but then again, it had been quite some time since he felt either in any great effect. This meeting wasn't grand enough to be dignified with anything more than an instinctual flare.

I had lost count around halfway through...

Kasem looked to Eiko. "Do bonsai count as potted plants?"
"Aren't you more qualified to answer that?"
"Well, no I just mean I'd rather your potted plant that gets blessed is one that I buy, to, you know, make it special, but—"
Eiko gently rubbed his hand through Kasem's hair. "My cats would probably knock them down, anyway." He then looked towards Kendra and bowed, shifting in an instant back into his former, fiery power, like a well-tended fireplace, upon which a stew boiled, in a frozen winter. "And if she ever has need of a hearth, I'm sure Kagutsuchi will oblige with his own flames."
Kasem smiled. "If it's not obvious, he's acting. He—"

"I'm... sure she can realize that, yes. Kagutsuchi, forgotten god of flames... thankfully only a fantasy on a screen." He took a sip from his flask, but the rest of his body kept the deific pride alive and burning. "As for the tea, I would have loved to join you for it, but, well, the water gun festival sounds interesting."
"Weren't we invited?" Kasem asked, looking even more vibrant than before. At first, it seemed that he was excited about the water gun contest, but there was a different timbre to his happiness. "Why don't we get going?" He dashed down the path, then turned around.
"Hey, I'm wearing a yukata this time for a reason," Eiko said, turning back to Kendra; so it seemed, Kasem's happiness was less about the water guns and more something else involving them. "Anyway, if ever you happen to be in Suzurai, Ezhara, feel free to ask for me — Eiko Michori — and I'll try to make up for this missed opportunity, if that's fine with you."

Lien Kardeel.
That Kaz was starting to get on my nerves, if I were honest... and he gave me rapist-vibes.
I instead focussed on Lorenzo.
“It would be my pleasure to show you... and to show you a few tricks with water guns. They're my area of expertise.”, I said and gave him a wink. “Though speaking of which...”
“Lienchen!”, a familiar voice called out as a brunette woman looking like in her mid-thirties came up towards us, throwing her arms around me. She spoke English, as she asked, “Everything alright with you?”
“Everything's alright, Frau Zeiser.”, I said and turned to Lorenzo. “This is Lorenzo, a paintballer, who'd like to have a taste of water. Lorenzo, my boss, Frau Zeiser.”
“Technically her Aunt Birkhild, but not while we are at work.”, she said and offered her hand for a shake. Not many people meeting her for the first time realized, that she was a mother of two daughters and in her mid-fifties. “It is a pleasure, Lorenzo.” She looked at him, cocking her head. She had noticed Kaz, too, but decided to follow my lead. “Do you two have a plan already or...?”
“I wanted to show him a few designs of paintball armours and the TW-20 prototype.”
“Very well, then.”, the other woman said with a nod, “Go ahead, you two.” She then turned to Kaz. “And how can I help you?”

Kendra Cysegara of the Tribe of Wexford.
I nodded.
“It would be my pleasure.”, I told them with a smile, “And thank you two again. Bonsais might profit from these blessings, too.”
I winked at them.
The chances of me ever coming to Ezhara were minimal at best, but it was the thought, that mattered.
Looking after them, I knew, that the path from the Grove would meet the main path at Mister Sipatiúil's shop (they might even meet his granddaughter Amy, a sweet girl). Then to the left, walk for a bit, and one met the corral for the horses and the parking lot, from there a small slope down and one was on the beach, a small walk further one was at the beach bar and the segment Tauwerk had reserved for themselves today.
They'd have fun, I knew it.
I, in the meantime, turned back to the altar.
“Bonsais do count, don't they?”, I asked the Goddess.
A breeze went through the trees, rustling the leaves. I had the feeling as if the Goddess of Fertility had replied ...uh... let me get back to you on that one...

Daryl Ulysses Estrella
Donrua Beach Bar

"Well," Daryl said, "I would say my fair warning is that I prefer the age gap between me and my dates to be at most two years in either direction. I'm 22, for one thing. That, and I'm not looking for anything long-term at the moment." Which was true; a long-term relationship was not on the fresh graduate's mind, especially since he already had plans to return to academia once the crisis back home had passed. Until then, he felt the situation was too volatile to make a relationship viable.

Isla Nathaira of the Tribe of Cork.
So, not looking for a long-term relationship, which was fine by me. I was neither.
22, five years older then me... I was seventeen Springs. He preferred a smaller age gap. Though two and five was not that much...
Hm...
“While we are at fair warnings...”, I said, thinking, that he could guess, that I was not in the two years plus/minus area he had outlined. I had already mentioned, that I'd graduate High School in a few years. “...I am also not looking for something long-term and I like the other part to have a bit of experience already, not being a boy with delusions of grandeur.”
I shrugged.
“Seems to me like you're fitting the bill on both counts.”, I said and smiled, “Meet you again after my shift is over?”