A Beach Feast (IC)

by **New Visayan Islands** » Thu Dec 26, 2019 8:50 pm

Gerald Vicente
At the Bonfire

"Two kilograms of Liberica Coffee, Miss Banphrionsa," Gerald replied with a bow of his own. "Particularly strong, especially with neither creamer nor sugar. The Royalists of the North--that is, the Kingdom of New Luzon--call this variant Kapeng Barako, but not all Liberica from the Philippine Islands is from New Luzon; in the Confederation, the Province of Mindoro is where Liberica is grown. Mindoro Liberica, as it is called, is the least of what fuels what we Visayans call Mindoro Man's Bizarre Escapades.

"But I digress," Gerald added as soon as he realized he was starting to meander into less familiar territory. While Mindoro Man was something that every Visayan was familiar with, chapter and verse was entirely different: it was something only a Mindorite (for it was only the generation that lived to see the Antebellum who still called the province's denizens Mindoreños) could give and understand, much to the befuddlement of the Boholano giving Miss Banphrionsa the coffee with both hands.

by **Mediama** » Thu Dec 26, 2019 10:23 pm

“O-Oh, don’t worry about that, I’m quite sec-“ a horn blasted through their conversation. Marion jolted in surprise as she turned and looked around to find the source of the sound, all the while she picked up her carpet bag to keep it close to her own person. “What was that?” Marion asked? The suddenness nature of the horn put her a bit on edge, as it wasn’t clear whether or not it signaled the beginning of something, or warned of something that was going very, very wrong.

by **Palmyrion** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 6:58 am

SLAYING THE BEACH

Feel my blood simmer...

Recommended listening.

Pléaráca Beach, Tearmann Island Resort
22 December 2019 1833H Local

Jerald and Evelyn rode on one of the last official rides leading to the party, with Kiana Rúisc accompanying them after they exchanged pleasantries while on the way. Evelyn had only arrived by noon and took nearly six hours to get settled in - that is, four hours of travel to the hotel, and two hours unpacking her things while totally not trying to break the 800mL bottle of Ardiente aguamiel she had brought just for this occasion - and with the sole purpose of sharing it with people Jerald was wishing to make business connections with. Evelyn soon got ready, wearing a one-piece swimsuit beneath a beach robe, alongside a beach hat on her head. Earlier, Jerald and Ruisc helped Evelyn unpack her things - all in a large polycarbonate trolley bag - after she arrived at the airport and went to the hotel room Jerald and Evelyn laid a reservation for.

Jerald and Evelyn walked among the crowd (and unknowingly got separated from Kiana), trying to get acquainted with the party as they weaved their way through the growing crowds. The night was only getting born, the daylight old and departing. A large bonfire licked to the sky as various revelers gathered around it, the DJ playing upbeat music for the gathered crowds to dance to. Jerald invited Evelyn to a dance, Evelyn still grasping the bottle of Ardiente aguamiel in her hand, as a few people approached her - one of them being Kiana who managed to catch up with them.

by **The Gristolian Imperium** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 1:09 pm

Miss Donatella Pintaral
Pléaráca Beach, Tearmann Island Resort
Conversing with Asteria

"Aw. Nice to meet you, Ga." Donatella offered her hand to the Lapa for a moment, waiting for the animal to signal she could pet it. The Lapa reminded her a lot of her own pet back at home, Bella. A small, brown Serkonian sausage dog, she had owned Bella since she was in primary school. Sadly, Bella was getting very old and she could barely play anymore. Seeing Ga, and being reminded of Bella, gave her a moment of homesickness.

She looked up at her new friend and responded, "And, it is also nice to meet you, Asteria." She wondered for a moment what a 'Tribe of Wricklow' was, but decided she would ask later. To be completely honest, Donatella did no research before attending this party and had really little clue about who was attending.

"So, why have you come to this party? Was it for the free food and drink?"

by **The Selkie** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 2:29 pm

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
I had followed the news, but apparently not the right ones, as I had no idea about what Marie had done or where Saranidia was.
I was shocked, though, at least a little bit. She looked so... harsh and jaded - yes, those might be the right terms. She reminded me a lot of the veterans of Operation Spartacus, which came home to Launceston.
When Marie introduced me to Adelheid, I bowed my head, then took her hand and breathed a kiss on the back of said hand. "Your Majesty, the pleasure is all mine.", I said, speaking to her in a similar manner to how I spoke to Kyrenaian Princes and Princesses (until they told me to go and fuck myself with the formalities). But, just in case, Khana Amina had taught us lads how to treat foreign, or at least Kyrenaian, Royalty, and that came in handy now. I rose to height again. "I do hope, that Her Majesty won't mind, if I were to kidnap your bodyguard for a dance or two later. I can reassure and guarantee personally, that no lad on this beach will let any sort of harm come to you."
I bowed my head lightly to Marie.
"And, of course, awaiting the agreement of the stalwart bodyguard.", I added with a wink at her.

Eileen Íseal of the Tribe of Conn.
Celina and I smiled as the three kids and Mhairi came up from the surf to join us.
"Kyrenaian Footvolley, actually, but the two are kind-of related.", I explained, "Instead of with the hands, you keep the ball airborne with the feet."
That was the long and short of the differences. Then, there were a few differences in team makeups and specific rules in normal, international footvolley and Kyrenaian Footvolley, but those were details. We didn't even have a net, so it was rather informal anyway.
The other four came up as well.
"So, introductions.", I said with a smile, "I'm Eileen, that's Mhairi..."
The woman with the short silvery hair gave a little wave.
"...these three are Liv, Mona and Juna...", I continued, the three saying, that they were charmed.
"...and that's Celina.", I finished.
"Pleasure to meet ya!", the blonde ended the merry round. "And who are you?"

Macha Taise, of Cork Descent.
I took Bianca's hand with a smile and led her off, together with Isabel, towards the horsemen. I had two specific targets, a green haired young man with soft features and a tall, middle-aged wardrobe of a man, who had arms like tree trunks and a serious face, as well as a muscled body in general. He wore a pair of swimming trunks and an open shirt.
However, his appearance, which might intimidate some, belied the tenderness with which he tended to his horse, a large, chestnut coloured mare, shoulder-height of at least 1.8 meters.
"Heya, Kean!", I called over and the men perked up, the large tower of a man waving back. I turned to the two kids. "Those are Kean and Galen. You might have seen them in the movies, but don't worry. They're quite nice, despite playing bad guys from time to time!"
Galen put his hands to his hips and looked at me with a grin. "Thank you for the vote of confidence!", he complained jockingly, then went down to one knee. "But yes, Kean and I are actors. We're also Marcach, mounted sportsmen." He smiled at the little girls, a bit like a big brother. "And who do we have the pleasure with?"

Lillorainen wrote:Gawain, while visibly delighted at realizing, that he was just talking to someone he had already met in these parts - and who had ended up being Amy's Intercontinental Ballistic Boyfriend for a while -, got interrupted by the horn and by Kira and Leo getting up, and motioned for the others to follow him, to help unloading, as they were already intending to.
Kira had noticed, that Soiprigh was visibly disappointed, thus had given him one last stroke for now, announcing, "We're gonna get back to you, no worries!" - before he got nuzzled by Garbh.
Chris noticed, that his girlfriend was occupied with Cammy, so it might just take a while until she would be available - but this wouldn't keep him from hugging and kissing the living daylights out of her for very long. First, there was a bit of work to do, though - unloading. Last time, they had helped unloading the food and drinks from the cart, too, quickly forming a supply chain which would have put a factory's production line into shame regarding efficiency. Would they manage to do this again now? It was tedious work, for sure, but no one would complain. And so far, it didn't look too bad.
Amongst the goods from the first cart, they wouldn't only find the pieces of the Bull Boar, but also beer of brands they would easily recognize.
And not only these.
Someone greeted Dragan in a brief, yet all in all friendly manner - and while Dragan was not surprised to meet Amy in here, he was quite surprised to meet her in here this soon. But if he had any problems with that - which there was no reason for -, he wouldn't have decided to show up.
He smiled.
"Zdravo, Amy!" - he said. She would be likely to remember the first term, simply meaning 'hello' in Serbian. "Long time no see!" He let a beat pass. "How've ya' been doing?"
Of course, she would recognize Chris and Kira, too; both smiled, while nodding - both as a greeting as well as to let her know, that they were just as curious as to how she had been doing as Dragan was. Sure, Dragan could be fairly straightforward, but that would be nothing new to Amy.
While passing a crate of beer and some pieces of meat on to some teenage lad who looked like someone from Shikonjima or some other place in that area, Leo greeted, too, though, although Amy wouldn't know her (however, Amy wasn't entirely unknown to Leo) - neither her, nor Kira's (and others') vague assumptions as to how close Dragan's friendship with his colleague truly was. But this wouldn't become a point of debate as of now. Maybe a couple of hours later ...?
Be it as it may - Dragan hadn't lost any bad word on Amy, either, so no one would have a bad impression of her.

Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
My haid had grown out by now again, bound back into a braid with a messy hair knot at the back of my head, I had grown a few centimeters, but I was still the same old Amy and Dragan was apparently still the very same old Dragan.
I joined the line, Cel's boss to my right, Dragan to my left.
I also wore a white side-tie bikini, the bottoms a thong, which were also multi-strapped with a second layer, which showed off my rear end without showing it off too much. Red and black highlights, especially the black back striped, made the bikini quite fun to wear and look at.
Then again, Dragan was intimately familiar with what it covered and as we stood side-by-side in the line, hefting boxes from the carts to the stockpile, I felt my heart flutter slightly...

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
I knew, that Chris had spotted me, and I assumed, that he knew, that I had spotted him, too, but the teary reunion had to wait for a moment. Cammy wanted to be tended to as well and he had performed well - especially when considering, that he was not a horse from this environment.
Some of the oats, which we had brought along, were brought up and we liberated our mounts from saddles and bridle, so that they could roam the beach by themselves, maybe catch a bit of the tuts of grass growing in places. They were smart enough not to stray too far and a water hole or two were nearby, so there was little problem.
I felt a pair of little arms hugging my leg with a happy cry of "Cel!", which made me grin, as it belonged to someone, who Chris could hardly object to hugging me, especially when her Mam joined.
Mommy Mhairin wore a green bikini, Little Enya a pink one-piece with frills, which looked absolutely adorable.
I kissed Mhairin, our Team Mom, onto her cheek and then lifted Little Enya up onto Cammy's bare back, my mighty steed letting both me and her do as we pleased.
Chris would, undoubtedly, watch from the line.
And I knew, that his eyes would not spent too much time on Mhairin, mainly because I wore a brown front-tie bikini top with halterneck, the side-tie bottoms hidden under a pair of black pants, a pair of thigh straps on my left thigh. Heavy boots and a brown ribbon completed the outfit.
It looked awesome!

Faye Donn of the Tribe of Wexford.
We joined the line with our new friends from the Khanate and the Principality, smiling and passing boxes and crates along, readjusting the line as the first cart was empty surprisingly quickly.
Leftenant-Quartermaster Ilia was hard at work, too.
He would make a fine company chief one day, I was sure of that.
Anyway, suddenly, I heard Liam's grin before he began to intone in a melodic cadence and in Selkie:

Pass the powders, mate,
Pass the powder, mate,
Pass the powder of my sister,
Before she learns of what we do!

I had to grin and so had some others, who recognized the song: Pass the Powder of my sister, one of the many songs of the mercenaries, which found its way into the canon of the Younger Militias and the armed forces and, from those two, into the inns and pubs of the Free Lands and abroad.
And one had to say, the hefting of the boxes indeed reminded me of hefting boxes for the Younger Militia.

Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!

The three-line refrain was by now sung along by some others, myself included.

Bought it save her skin,
To impress the Captain's Brother,
He's an arse, but prime the piece,
Mate, prime the bloody piece!

More and more in the line joined the song, then some outside of it. Greasing a gun had always been a huge pain for the artillery components of the Younger Militias and there were indeed a few cosmetic powders available, which, when one added water, could be used for that purpose.
It was the last ditch effort, though, for it was not a good grease.

Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!

And I could understand the Sister of the cannon mate, mainly because such powders were bloody expensive if you didn't know a friendly herbalist. The lassies of BI were in luck, they knew Macha Taise, but others were not...

Throw the fire in, my mate,
And the jar of powder right afterwards,
For if she lost it,
We can't have used it to grease the gun!

Throw the fire in meant throwing in the tismúdar, the fire powder - or, as it was known internationally, black powder or gunpowder. It was a smart move: If the sis could not find the powder jar, she most likely lost it, right?
No need to check the gun grease...

Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!

By now, the majority of the line was singing with reckless abandon and huge grins, the work going off without a hitch and better then ever.

Add the Paper on top of it,
Mate, cover it all up,
So that my sister may never learn,
That we used her powder to grease the piece!

Aside from being fun, the song also described how to load an artillery piece, a muzzle loader - maintain the gun well, including greasing the wheels on the gun carriage and other movable parts (the Gods may have mercy on the idiot, that greased the inside of the bloody barrel), then prime, put fire powder in, a wad of paper to close, ball on top of it, cover your tracks, light the fuse and the enemy would have a really, really bad day.

Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!

Granted, not many Younger Militia units had cannons, but it was fun to belt out during work. And singing made the work pass easier.

Put the ball in, my mate,
Put the heavy iron ball in the piece!
It's the only thing left
after we used my Sis' powder to grease the piece!
Oh, shit, here she comes!

The musical performance was ended in laughter.

Quen Minh wrote:"Rất đẹp," Loan replied, "And I say again, it's really good. The plotline, characters and prose. There's no reason to not make it sound exciting."

In response to her recent question, Hyùnh replied, "I see. And what do you suppose those carts are carrying?"

Branwen Blaidd, of Tralee Descent.
I shrugged.
"Beer, wine, meat, other foodstuffs and drinks, plus a few other supplies we might need tonight.", I said and smiled, my mouth watering already, "The boss is a good grill master as well, so look forward to some good food!"
Elin nodded. "Yes, he is a good at that... and I spotted him giving Ilia a few tips.", she explained.
My mouth began to water even more.

Lykke Blon.
The nearby bar turned out to be a series of camping tables pushed together, soon also working as a cooking surface, manned for now by me, Lykke Blon, and my Teressian kinswoman Fiete Kumma.
We were both Hausmädchen under the employ of Teressien's Fürst, belonging to the staff of Schloss Zyng, me a jack-of-all-trades, Fiete was a professional barkeeper.
We were like a well-oiled machine, so when the young woman came to us and ordered "Anything light, please, not too much, just little.", it was me, who got out a bottle of lemonade from one of the coolers, opened it with a flick of the opener and put it in front of her.
"A lemonade for the lady, then.", I told her and shrugged, "Alcohol will come out after ten." I let a beat pass, saw the traces of her having applied sunscreen shortly ago. "So, first time in the Archipelago?"

Brenda Iarnród of the Tribe of Louth.
People regularly on Piffle might know me, Brenda Iarnród of the Tribe of Louth - company heiress, student, model, Little Boss Lady of the Daoine as Cruach and passionate motorcyclist. Yet, as I shed my red motorcyclist outfit and stuffed it into the box on the back seat, revealing my striped blue-yellow-violet bikini, I could not help but regret taking my G 20 here.
The Gabha Motorworks G 20 was a sports bike, built for speed and handling, not for beaches. And while she was fun on some roads here on the Tearmann Island, she was generally unable to run wild and free.
Close to where the five of us had parked our motorcycles and were shedding the outfits, Fiona Scáineadh of the Tribe of Monaghan and Kayla Cuach of the Tribe of Wicklow were parking the tankette and its trailer, grinning as they jumped out. Of the seven young women assembled around the five motor vehicles, five were company heirs of some description, including Nolwenn Gluaisrothar of the Tribe of Wexford, company heir of Gabha Motorworks and having come on a G 10, together with Eithne Bairéad of the Tribe of Wicklow, her girlfriend and model for BI.
Nearby, a couple dozen meters away, a pair of people and a cat had dug out a fire pit, and a small ball, with which the cat and the man had played, rolled over - as I was a lover of cats myself, I picked the ball up and threw it back.
"Evenin'!", I called over.

Heardread Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I grinned at her enthusiasm, then waved him over.
He bowed his head to the mysterious girl, who looked after him with a dreamy smile, and was off in our direction.
I rose to my feet and stood upright as he came to a stop, grinning. "Hey, Dad.", he told into my wide grin, it only broadened, "Sorry for being late... the tankette had something to load up, which required a minute."
"No problem, Aonas!", I told him with a grin, then put my massive hands onto his shoulders and pulled him into a short hug. He was a lad like people imagined Selkie-lads, redheaded, muscular, tall, very good with the sword, friendly and a bit happy-go-lucky, within reason. "Ya look good, me lad! Deirdre wants a dance later with both of us, so keep your dance card ready!"
He nodded, then we ended the hug.
He noticed Ayla, looked to me.
"Aonas, if I may introduce Miss Ayla to you?", I said, "Ayla, this young lad is my son Aonas."
She extended her hand and Aonas took it with a smile, before breathing a kiss onto the back of it. He was very much the young gentleman, which I raised him to be, especially as he looked into her eyes, her hand still in his. "It is a great honour, Miss Ayla. I hope, that we can have a dance later tonight?"

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
Eithne and I listened with rapt attention, despite understanding little of what he told us on account of cultural differences. Still, it was interesting.
Miss Banphrionsa took the package with both hands, bowing her head.
"Thank you for this gift, Mister Vicente.", she said and smiled, "Might help us to stay awake when we bring the kids to bed!" I snorted with amusement. I had shown little interest in getting sloshed tonight, so I had volunteered to be babysitter later tonight, together with a few others. "Just because we say, that they need to go to bed, hardly means, that they will..."
I remembered my own childhood.
"But regardless of that, please call me Eithne. Everyone does.", Miss Banphrionsa offered.

Khalid Faris.
I smiled.
"No need to worry.", I said and gestured to the tree line, where the carts emerged escorted by horsemen, followed by the tankette and the motorcycles. "The last supply cart just arrived. Things are about to get going!"
I offered my arm for her to link.
"Would you like to join the rest of the group at the large bonfire?", I offered.

Kiana Rúisc of the Tribe of Waterford.
I rejoined them a bit out of breath after the guy with the long, green hair and his brunette wife (Finnegan and Enya, as I would get to know them later, both models of BI) had finished their warm up piece, a hearty dance of fiddle and flute.
Dancers had already enjoyed one, Jerald and Evelyn among them, but I had spent most of the time searching for them. Dance couples changed, I waved off a lad, who had wanted to ask Evelyn. He understood quickly.
"You gave me quite a scare, you two!", I told them, then grinned, "Come! Let's get acquainted with our host tonight and then we can chat a bit about the future. Sounds good?"

Asteria Aoibhiúil of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I smiled slightly as Donatella petted Ga, who let her and even enjoyed it.
He seemed to be really into it, too, but I also saw Donatella's bang of pain and homesickness. A beloved pet left home, missed dearly? Likely. Just as likely as said beloved pet having departed.
Back to the question.
"One of the reasons, yes.", I admitted a bit sheepishly, "A colleague of mine got invited on account of working for the company hosting it and she asked around, whether we wanted to attend, too, before the Mianach, and I agreed. It seemed fun - and free food and drink!"
I threw her a wink.

by **AHSCA** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 2:54 pm

The Selkie wrote:Heardread Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I grinned at her enthusiasm, then waved him over.
He bowed his head to the mysterious girl, who looked after him with a dreamy smile, and was off in our direction.
I rose to my feet and stood upright as he came to a stop, grinning. "Hey, Dad.", he told into my wide grin, it only broadened, "Sorry for being late... the tankette had something to load up, which required a minute."
"No problem, Aonas!", I told him with a grin, then put my massive hands onto his shoulders and pulled him into a short hug. He was a lad like people imagined Selkie-lads, redheaded, muscular, tall, very good with the sword, friendly and a bit happy-go-lucky, within reason. "Ya look good, me lad! Deirdre wants a dance later with both of us, so keep your dance card ready!"
He nodded, then we ended the hug.
He noticed Ayla, looked to me.
"Aonas, if I may introduce Miss Ayla to you?", I said, "Ayla, this young lad is my son Aonas."
She extended her hand and Aonas took it with a smile, before breathing a kiss onto the back of it. He was very much the young gentleman, which I raised him to be, especially as he looked into her eyes, her hand still in his. "It is a great honour, Miss Ayla. I hope, that we can have a dance later tonight?"

"Aonas, how pleasure it is to meet you." She offered out her hand to greet him and he gave it a gentle kiss. Such a gentlemen with a real classiness to him but she couldn't hide her cheeks glowing. It wasn't a common greeting in the islands but it wasn't as though nobody didn't like it when it did happen. "Dance huh? Yes that sounds lovely. And feel free to call me Ayla, no need for Miss. As far as anyone is concerned, I'm an ordinary tourist." then again was it likely anyone here knew she was Chief of her island? Well didn't matter she was here to enjoy some leisure.

by **Lillorainen** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:27 pm

The Selkie wrote:Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
My haid had grown out by now again, bound back into a braid with a messy hair knot at the back of my head, I had grown a few centimeters, but I was still the same old Amy and Dragan was apparently still the very same old Dragan.
I joined the line, Cel's boss to my right, Dragan to my left.
I also wore a white side-tie bikini, the bottoms a thong, which were also multi-strapped with a second layer, which showed off my rear end without showing it off too much. Red and black highlights, especially the black back striped, made the bikini quite fun to wear and look at.
Then again, Dragan was intimately familiar with what it covered and as we stood side-by-side in the line, hefting boxes from the carts to the stockpile, I felt my heart flutter slightly...

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
I knew, that Chris had spotted me, and I assumed, that he knew, that I had spotted him, too, but the teary reunion had to wait for a moment. Cammy wanted to be tended to as well and he had performed well - especially when considering, that he was not a horse from this environment.
Some of the oats, which we had brought along, were brought up and we liberated our mounts from saddles and bridle, so that they could roam the beach by themselves, maybe catch a bit of the tuts of grass growing in places. They were smart enough not to stray too far and a water hole or two were nearby, so there was little problem.
I felt a pair of little arms hugging my leg with a happy cry of "Cel!", which made me grin, as it belonged to someone, who Chris could hardly object to hugging me, especially when her Mam joined.
Mommy Mhairin wore a green bikini, Little Enya a pink one-piece with frills, which looked absolutely adorable.
I kissed Mhairin, our Team Mom, onto her cheek and then lifted Little Enya up onto Cammy's bare back, my mighty steed letting both me and her do as we pleased.
Chris would, undoubtedly, watch from the line.
And I knew, that his eyes would not spent too much time on Mhairin, mainly because I wore a brown front-tie bikini top with halterneck, the side-tie bottoms hidden under a pair of black pants, a pair of thigh straps on my left thigh. Heavy boots and a brown ribbon completed the outfit.
It looked awesome!

Amy joined the line, taking a spot between Dragan and Gawain. To Dragan's left, on the opposite side of Amy, Leo had taken her own spot, watching the scene without talking too much (which would be a convenient surprise for everyone who knew which place she was from) while dealing with the crates, boxes, and other stuff that needed to find its way to the actual party location, into Lt. QM Ilia's area of responsibility.
Indeed, Amy looked gorgeous in her white side-tie bikini, and it would also be fun to look at for many - and of course, Dragan also knew what it was covering, in every little detail. He also noticed how her heart began to flutter slightly ... also, she didn't answer immediately.
He somewhat was cool with the situation as it was like ... or he did a good job at persuading himself to be. Who could say for sure ...
In any case, there was work to do now.
Chris was already looking forward to reuniting with Cel, but he was just as aware, that the time for this would come a bit later. In any case, he noticed, that her beach style had changed a bit - she now was wearing a brown front tie bikini-top compared with black pants and thigh straps. To fit this outfit, she had replaced her blue ribbon by a brown one. Indeed, it looked awesome!
He immediately recognized the girl who who happily hugged Cel's leg - her leg, mind you, for she was nowhere near Chris' size. Little Enya, accompanied by her Mom, both of whom Chris knew well, had come along, and Cel now was busy lifting Little Enya on Cammy. There were many people who could have made Chris jealous a tad-bit - she was not one of them.
He kept watching, smiling, while receiving new boxes from Kira and passing them on to Leo.
Someone in the line started singing.

by **Shikonjima** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 5:28 pm

The Selkie wrote:Faye Donn of the Tribe of Wexford.
We joined the line with our new friends from the Khanate and the Principality, smiling and passing boxes and crates along, readjusting the line as the first cart was empty surprisingly quickly.
Leftenant-Quartermaster Ilia was hard at work, too.
He would make a fine company chief one day, I was sure of that.
Anyway, suddenly, I heard Liam's grin before he began to intone in a melodic cadence and in Selkie:
"Pass the powders, mate,
Pass the powder, mate,
Pass the powder of my sister,
Before she learns of what we do!"
I had to grin and so had some others, who recognized the song: Pass the Powder of my sister, one of the many songs of the mercenaries, which found its way into the canon of the Younger Militias and the armed forces and, from those two, into the inns and pubs of the Free Lands and abroad.
And one had to say, the hefting of the boxes indeed reminded me of hefting boxes for the Younger Militia.
"Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!"
The three-line refrain was by now sung along by some others, myself included.
"Bought it save her skin,
To impress the Captain's Brother,
He's an arse, but prime the piece,
Mate, prime the bloody piece!"
More and more in the line joined the song, then some outside of it. Greasing a gun had always been a huge pain for the artillery components of the Younger Militias and there were indeed a few cosmetic powders available, which, when one added water, could be used for that purpose.
It was the last ditch effort, though, for it was not a good grease.
"Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!"
And I could understand the Sister of the cannon mate, mainly because such powders were bloody expensive if you didn't know a friendly herbalist. The lassies of BI were in luck, they knew Macha Taise, but others were not...
"Throw the fire in, my mate,
And the jar of powder right afterwards,
For if she lost it,
We can't have used it to grease the gun!"
Throw the fire in meant throwing in the tismúdar, the fire powder - or, as it was known internationally, black powder or gunpowder. It was a smart move: If the sis could not find the powder jar, she most likely lost it, right?
No need to check the gun grease...
"Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!"
By now, the majority of the line was singing with reckless abandon and huge grins, the work going off without a hitch and better then ever.
"Add the Paper on top of it,
Mate, cover it all up,
So that my sister may never learn,
That we used her powder to grease the piece!"
Aside from being fun, the song also described how to load an artillery piece, a muzzle loader - maintain the gun well, including greasing the wheels on the gun carriage and other movable parts (the Gods may have mercy on the idiot, that greased the inside of the bloody barrel), then prime, put fire powder in, a wad of paper to close, ball on top of it, cover your tracks, light the fuse and the enemy would have a really, really bad day.
"Before she learns,
That we use her powder to grease the piece,
Gods it'll make her really mad!"
Granted, not many Younger Militia units had cannons, but it was fun to belt out during work. And singing made the work pass easier.
"Put the ball in, my mate,
Put the heavy iron ball in the piece!
It's the only thing left
after we used my Sis' powder to grease the piece!
Oh, shit, here she comes!"
The musical performance was ended in laughter.

While the first cart was empty surprisingly quickly, the line had to be realigned, which happened just as quickly, leaving no rest for Lt. QM Ilia.
Setsuko, Yelda, and Kazuo, standing next to each other in the line now, with Setsu forming the one end next near Faye and Liam and Yelda forming the other one, next to a girl who was most certainly Shamsiyyan, but had eyes suggesting some Sharulsi ancestry to Yelda (she made a note in her mind, reminding herself to ask that girl if she happened to have had any Ilkhan in her ancestry), making their part of the chain look like some kind of Oriental Front better not to mess with (especially not when bringing good food and drink to their destination was their current mission), some were surely to actually hear Liam's grin, too, before he started singing.
Of course, they didn't understand the lyrics, but it did sound like some soldiers', mercenaries', or Younger Militias' song (as they would learn later on, all three assumptions were correct), so they all hummed along while passing the crates and boxes on. It really made the work easier - singing during work was quite not uncommon where they were from.
When Liam finished, they resisted the urge to drop their stuff and clap.
Setsuko gave him a nod in approval and said, with a mix of smiling and laughing, "I might not be capable of judging as to how well your unit is performing in general - but I can say for sure, that your Commanders will be proud of your singing performance!"

by **Quen Minh** » Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:58 pm

When hearing the the word "beer," Hyùnh could not help but crack a grin.

"Beer, huh," she then replied, eyes narrowing, "Now, there's something to cool this baking stomach of mine."

Loan chuckles.

"Yeah, she can get a little carried away with beers, and alcohol overall," Loan added to Branwen, tilting her head and dragging a smirk.

"I can handle myself, Miss Loan," Hyùnh interjected.

"Sure you can," Loan nodded, "So, anyways, girls, what can I expect for the upcoming feast?"

by **Ard al Islam** » Sat Dec 28, 2019 2:08 am

The Selkie wrote:
Ard al Islam wrote:Zehra got up and picked up the ball, before whispering to her husband in Turkish.

"Dear, let's go play ball with them!"

Farouk was hesitant to be around scantily clad women, but his wife urged him to go and join their game. They were here to have fun, after all.

Farouk takes the ball from his wife, and the two walk, arms linked, to the people playing. Farouk speaks to them.

"This is volleyball? We'll join you."

Eileen Íseal of the Tribe of Conn.
Celina and I smiled as the three kids and Mhairi came up from the surf to join us.
"Kyrenaian Footvolley, actually, but the two are kind-of related.", I explained, "Instead of with the hands, you keep the ball airborne with the feet."
That was the long and short of the differences. Then, there were a few differences in team makeups and specific rules in normal, international footvolley and Kyrenaian Footvolley, but those were details. We didn't even have a net, so it was rather informal anyway.
The other four came up as well.
"So, introductions.", I said with a smile, "I'm Eileen, that's Mhairi..."
The woman with the short silvery hair gave a little wave.
"...these three are Liv, Mona and Juna...", I continued, the three saying, that they were charmed.
"...and that's Celina.", I finished.
"Pleasure to meet ya!", the blonde ended the merry round. "And who are you?"

Farouk introduced himself. "My name is Prince Farouk of the Land of Islam, son of Abdul' Hakim, President. This is my wife, Zehra Arslan. We have no idea how to play footvolley, but we'll try."

by **Hanoverian Great Britain** » Sat Dec 28, 2019 7:17 am

"Indeed, it is", before continuing, she stopped for a few seconds as she took the first sip out of her lemonade drink. "And it seems that you and your partner are locals? If available, I'm hoping for a free guide from either both of you", deduced her in a friendly tone while at the same time, she placed her drink down and simultaneously extended an open arm for a friendly greet. "Anyhow, I'm Alexandra Lauren Elizabeth William Hanover, its a pleasure to meet you", greeted the young British queen warmly.

by **Polish Prussian Commonwealth** » Sat Dec 28, 2019 8:54 am

Adelheid laughed. "Sure. It's no problem. Just don't run off and marry her while my back's turned. Also, feel free to cut the 'Your Majesty'."
Marie nodded. "I'd be honored, Yven..." She sighed and shook her head. "Been a year at least since we last saw each other. Time sure flies..."
For a moment, she seemed to be thinking of something else, before she terminated her own train of thought. "...regardless. Where to?"

by **New Visayan Islands** » Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:13 am

Gerald Vicente
At the Bonfire

"Your're welcome, Eithne," Gerald replied. "In that case," he added, "Gerald will suffice." He hoped that the coffee would be enough, even when accounting for the fact that not many people thought of Liberica when a cup of Joe was involved.

"In my experience, a cup of strong coffee is always a good way to stay awake short of...less savory...options." Here, Gerald made his opinion on the recreational use of stimulants considered controlled substances clear. "You could go overboard and down an entire liter of Liberica--I've seen this happen, and I'll be the first to advise against this--and even then you'd be better than some pill-popper hopped up on speed, coke, or whatever the stim fiends could think of taking."

by **Kuronami** » Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:40 am

The Selkie wrote:Macha Taise, of Cork Descent.
I took Bianca's hand with a smile and led her off, together with Isabel, towards the horsemen. I had two specific targets, a green haired young man with soft features and a tall, middle-aged wardrobe of a man, who had arms like tree trunks and a serious face, as well as a muscled body in general. He wore a pair of swimming trunks and an open shirt.
However, his appearance, which might intimidate some, belied the tenderness with which he tended to his horse, a large, chestnut coloured mare, shoulder-height of at least 1.8 meters.
"Heya, Kean!", I called over and the men perked up, the large tower of a man waving back. I turned to the two kids. "Those are Kean and Galen. You might have seen them in the movies, but don't worry. They're quite nice, despite playing bad guys from time to time!"
Galen put his hands to his hips and looked at me with a grin. "Thank you for the vote of confidence!", he complained jockingly, then went down to one knee. "But yes, Kean and I are actors. We're also Marcach, mounted sportsmen." He smiled at the little girls, a bit like a big brother. "And who do we have the pleasure with?"

Bianca smiled wide and bright seeing the lovely horses. "Wow what a pretty horse!" Bianca exclaimed

"Yes, very pretty." Isabel agreed. They were introduced to Kean and Galen honestly neither had seen them at least not their recollection but it's possible. "That's so cool." Bianca acknowledge them being both actors and mounted sportsmen. "Oh, I'm Bianca and this is Isabel. she's my best friend!"

"Yup, we're inseparable. Bianca really likes horses, I do too."

"Well advantage of living on a farm ya know." Bianca winked. "Anyway, Macha invited my big bro along and he invited the whole bunch of us. I mean I also inivted Isabel but I guess she would have been invited anyway seeing as her mom is really wealthy."

"Well more than just wealthy, Bee, she's also the head of a very important textile company." She said with a good degree of pride. "And this is a big party hosted by the biggest names of fashion this side of the world!"

"Hehehe so that's our story!"

by **Aurora Confederacy** » Sat Dec 28, 2019 7:20 pm

Jason turned to the voice and replied, "ya'raite?" he calls, as Marvin eyes up the ball as it came in.

With a leap and a bound, this little cat pawed the ball mid air, knocking it to the ground and over towards Karen, however it was Marvin's ball and he wanted it so ran after said ball, that is until the spool came to an end, stopping Marvin abruptly so Karen made her way down to the ball, glancing across at the motorcycles as she does so.

"Jase, wander how long it will be before one tips over in the sand?" asks Karen.

"before the end of the night I suspect", he replies, turning to the young woman who had tossed the ball over to Marvin, "Thanks for that" he says with a smile, sitting back up and reaching for the spooled out leash.

"come here you!" says Jason, slowly pulling Marvin back.

by **Mediama** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 12:11 am

Marion smiled back. Regardless though, she wasn’t appropriately dressed for the occasion, and since he had just said the festivities were beginning, she regretfully had to make her decision. “As much as I’d like to, I’m afraid I’m not quite appropriately dressed for the event just yet.” She motioned to the carpet bag she was holding which held her swimwear, the referring to the situation she was in when she got here in the first place, “I’d need to change first, wouldn’t want to get sand all over this dress. Do you know where I could change?”

by **The Selkie** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 4:56 am

Aonas Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
Let's switch from Father to Son, eh? Ayla blushed at my kissing of her hand, it usually had that effect, sometimes even in formal company, where one could expect such behaviour.
I once met Alechandro Nieto and his daughter Cariba, who were from formal Paisanchero-Society and the patriarch of the Nieto-Family had been quite smitten by my good manners - so much so, that he tried to pair me with his daughter, I think, but while Cariba was a nice young woman, and quite pretty, too, she and I didn't spark together.
Anyway, it was rude to think of another woman while talking to one.
Ayla was in front of me.
And she made an interesting remark...
"Oh?", I made with a cheeky grin, "What else should you be, other then a flower of a foreign land, who visits these Lands?"
I had no idea, that she was an Island-Chief from the UIS.

Lillorainen wrote:Amy joined the line, taking a spot between Dragan and Gawain. To Dragan's left, on the opposite side of Amy, Leo had taken her own spot, watching the scene without talking too much (which would be a convenient surprise for everyone who knew which place she was from) while dealing with the crates, boxes, and other stuff that needed to find its way to the actual party location, into Lt. QM Ilia's area of responsibility.
Indeed, Amy looked gorgeous in her white side-tie bikini, and it would also be fun to look at for many - and of course, Dragan also knew what it was covering, in every little detail. He also noticed how her heart began to flutter slightly ... also, she didn't answer immediately.
He somewhat was cool with the situation as it was like ... or he did a good job at persuading himself to be. Who could say for sure ...
In any case, there was work to do now.
Chris was already looking forward to reuniting with Cel, but he was just as aware, that the time for this would come a bit later. In any case, he noticed, that her beach style had changed a bit - she now was wearing a brown front tie bikini-top compared with black pants and thigh straps. To fit this outfit, she had replaced her blue ribbon by a brown one. Indeed, it looked awesome!
He immediately recognized the girl who who happily hugged Cel's leg - her leg, mind you, for she was nowhere near Chris' size. Little Enya, accompanied by her Mom, both of whom Chris knew well, had come along, and Cel now was busy lifting Little Enya on Cammy. There were many people who could have made Chris jealous a tad-bit - she was not one of them.
He kept watching, smiling, while receiving new boxes from Kira and passing them on to Leo.
Someone in the line started singing.

Shikonjima wrote:While the first cart was empty surprisingly quickly, the line had to be realigned, which happened just as quickly, leaving no rest for Lt. QM Ilia.
Setsuko, Yelda, and Kazuo, standing next to each other in the line now, with Setsu forming the one end next near Faye and Liam and Yelda forming the other one, next to a girl who was most certainly Shamsiyyan, but had eyes suggesting some Sharulsi ancestry to Yelda (she made a note in her mind, reminding herself to ask that girl if she happened to have had any Ilkhan in her ancestry), making their part of the chain look like some kind of Oriental Front better not to mess with (especially not when bringing good food and drink to their destination was their current mission), some were surely to actually hear Liam's grin, too, before he started singing.
Of course, they didn't understand the lyrics, but it did sound like some soldiers', mercenaries', or Younger Militias' song (as they would learn later on, all three assumptions were correct), so they all hummed along while passing the crates and boxes on. It really made the work easier - singing during work was quite not uncommon where they were from.
When Liam finished, they resisted the urge to drop their stuff and clap.
Setsuko gave him a nod in approval and said, with a mix of smiling and laughing, "I might not be capable of judging as to how well your unit is performing in general - but I can say for sure, that your Commanders will be proud of your singing performance!"

Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
I really didn't answer immediately, instead wondering what Dragan felt as we hefted boxes back and forth, if his heart fluttered, too, if there were still old feelings...
Fact was, that we separated on good terms, no big fight. We simply drifted apart, that was all... and we simply drifted apart on good terms. Maybe that was the problem?
When the song came, I sang along, mainly because I knew the song well enough: While I was part of the Crossbow Gals, the Roth High School of Bodmin had a small battery of Bore Hole Guns, Short Four Pounders. They had served with distinction at the Ridge of Anfa in 1903, so it was a mark of pride, the songs of the Younger Militia's Artillery Detachments being taught in Bodmin to Elementary Schoolers.
Setsu's (at that time, I did not know her name) praise let us all glow with pride we grinned as well - considering, that we came from all four corners of the Free Lands and beyond, as well as from professional military, we were hardly a unit, but it hardly mattered.
"Well, then, Setsu!", the guy, who started the song (I was tempted to say Captain Fearg, who commanded one of the Navy's Frigates - as a Captain, he was a bit of a celebraty, considering the nimbus the rank of Captain, both in the Army, Navy, Younger Militia and Sports Teams, had in our parts), "It is tradition among the Navy, that the one, who offers the most praise to the singers, sings the next song - fire away, me lass!"
We grinned with expectation as we were still hefting boxes around.

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
With Little Enya on the back of my steed and Mhairin hugging me, kissing my cheeks, I was a bit pre-occupied, until Enya spotted someone and announced that to us: She had used her high vantage point to spot Chris and Dragan, the latter of whom she had in fond memory from a package of Scipeáil shared on a carriage ride.
I smiled as she announced that, too, looked at the line and spotted Chris, waved.
Mhairi whispered something to me during the song, that made me giggle.
She was right, though, I had around three months of pent-up kisses to give him and he would receive them all!

Branwen Blaidd, of Tralee Descent.
I smiled as I replied: "Oh, good food, better music, being asked for dances by dancers of various skills and both genders, as well as games and an awful lot of fun!", I replied, "We aren't really uptight people, as you will soon learn."
Elin nodded at that as the twins, which had been silent so far, apparently spotted someone. They exchanged a glance and then looked to the group. "Sorry, Misses...", Nora (I think it was Nora anyway) said, "But we have to excuse ourselves."
"Sure, lassies, see ya later!", Elin said and smiled in the big-sister-way, which she could pull off so well. The twins seemed to like her even more for it, most likely because they had two older siblings, but that was another story.
Nora and Patty were off in a heartbeat.
"We'll have to wait for the food a bit, though, seeing that the meat has to still be grilled... salad should be available soon, though!", I added and implied an offer to get some, and something to drink.

Ard al Islam wrote:Farouk introduced himself. "My name is Prince Farouk of the Land of Islam, son of Abdul' Hakim, President. This is my wife, Zehra Arslan. We have no idea how to play footvolley, but we'll try."

Eileen Íseal of the Tribe of Conn.
Mhairi, Celina and I exchanged glances - Farouk looked nothing like the Princes we knew, neither from Teressien nor from Kyrenaia, but we all came to the silent agreement, that other places had different Princes.
What did make me raise an eyebrow was, that he called himself a Prince despite being son of a President, which was a bit of a contradiction - but then again, other places, other manners, and usage of terms.
Mona took up the conversation, the girl of fourteen Springs grinning as she said: "Don't worry, Eileen can't either!", she told them all, which caused me to blush and a round of giggles. She had the typical accent of a Selkie-Maiden, the dropped vowels and Rolling Rs, as well as the melodic cadence, which we never really lost, no matter where we went. "It's actually quite simple: Use football moves to keep the ball in the air. Like this!"
She took the ball, balanced it on her foot, then used that position to toss it up a bit and kicked it over to Liv with her sidefoot, the other young woman accepting the ball with her little chest (something, that would be impossible to me, to be honest), then tossed the ball for a moment on her thighs as the group spread out a bit.
I motioned to Farouk and Zehra to spread out as well.
Then Liv used her knee to kick the ball over to Celina, who passed it along with a header towards Farouk.

Lykke Blon.
I smiled and bowed my head slightly: "I'm Lykke Blon and that's Fiete Kumma.", I introduced both of us, my brunette companion and colleague waving. "But please, Lykke and Fiete is completely fine. This is a party, after all, not a ball."
"And we get enough of those at work!", Fiete called over before she turned back to three lads asking for one bottle of lemonade each.
"Yep, we work at Schloss Zyng in Teressien as Hausmädchen.", I explained to Alexandra, "For Fürst Alrich Himself. And, on the side, I model for BI and Fiete is a voluntary lifeguard at the Stadtschwimmbad Zyng."
Fiete was here on vacation, though, although she easily had a body, that could qualify her as a model. Hm... maybe something to propose to the boss?
"We're on the Archipelago for the first time, too, so...", I shrugged, "I can point you towards some nice lads, who would surely be more then happy to show you around."

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
I noticed, that something was gnawing on Marie, but I still grinned at her, glad, that she accepted my offer for a dance. Sure, she was not exactly dressed for the occasion, but maybe we could get her to drop the uniform jacket at least later? It would be better climate-wise and would maybe help her integrating better.
I had also bowed my head slightly at Adelheid's offer to leave the 'Your Majesty' out, which was greatly appreciated.
"Where to, indeed?", I said, "I know someone, who would love to see you again, Marie!"
Cao, who would one day be an ancient Spiorad like Milady Macha was, but for now, she was a seventeen year old young woman and had the problems of one (or at least I thought, that she had the problems of one - which man could safely say, that he understood women?).
"She would also love to meet you, too, Adelheid.", I added and motioned for both to follow me, then stopped. "Would you mind, if I were to call you Heidi? As a nickname, I mean?"

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
"Indeed.", Eithne said with a small smile, "Why take something chemical, when Dian Cecht provided us with many herbal solutions to many problems?" She shook her head. "My apologies, a bit of Selkie-Pagan Mindset. Dian Cecht is a God associated with Healing and Resurrection, but also herbs. I am but a laywoman, though, for specifics, you'd have to ask a Priestess."
I was not one, but I still took the package and set it onto the stockpile before telling Quartermaster Ilia about it, who took the new stock in with a smile.
"We'll cook it up later, but nothing for the kids!", Eithne said with a small smile, "We want them to go to bed and not run around like mad chickens!"
I snorted in amusement at the mental image.

Kuronami wrote:
The Selkie wrote:Macha Taise, of Cork Descent.
I took Bianca's hand with a smile and led her off, together with Isabel, towards the horsemen. I had two specific targets, a green haired young man with soft features and a tall, middle-aged wardrobe of a man, who had arms like tree trunks and a serious face, as well as a muscled body in general. He wore a pair of swimming trunks and an open shirt.
However, his appearance, which might intimidate some, belied the tenderness with which he tended to his horse, a large, chestnut coloured mare, shoulder-height of at least 1.8 meters.
"Heya, Kean!", I called over and the men perked up, the large tower of a man waving back. I turned to the two kids. "Those are Kean and Galen. You might have seen them in the movies, but don't worry. They're quite nice, despite playing bad guys from time to time!"
Galen put his hands to his hips and looked at me with a grin. "Thank you for the vote of confidence!", he complained jockingly, then went down to one knee. "But yes, Kean and I are actors. We're also Marcach, mounted sportsmen." He smiled at the little girls, a bit like a big brother. "And who do we have the pleasure with?"

Bianca smiled wide and bright seeing the lovely horses. "Wow what a pretty horse!" Bianca exclaimed

"Yes, very pretty." Isabel agreed. They were introduced to Kean and Galen honestly neither had seen them at least not their recollection but it's possible. "That's so cool." Bianca acknowledge them being both actors and mounted sportsmen. "Oh, I'm Bianca and this is Isabel. she's my best friend!"

"Yup, we're inseparable. Bianca really likes horses, I do too."

"Well advantage of living on a farm ya know." Bianca winked. "Anyway, Macha invited my big bro along and he invited the whole bunch of us. I mean I also inivted Isabel but I guess she would have been invited anyway seeing as her mom is really wealthy."

"Well more than just wealthy, Bee, she's also the head of a very important textile company." She said with a good degree of pride. "And this is a big party hosted by the biggest names of fashion this side of the world!"

"Hehehe so that's our story!"

Macha Taise, of Cork Descent.
Kean smiled, especially as Galen joined us.
Galen Lannaire of the Tribe of Louth was still a boy, if one only judged him by the looks - a good looking one, sure, but still a boy, and rather short, even by our standards, one at that. Still, he had the big-brother-aura, as I called it, especially when he worked with children.
And Isabel and Bianca certainly qualified as he joined our group with a smile.
Kean, however, nodded. "And what a story it is!", he agreed and I knew, that he made a mental note about something, his eyes, for but a moment, meeting mine. He assumed to know, why I invited the kids and if we thought around the same wavelengths, he was right. Still, despite the more business-oriented purposes, I also wanted to meet them in person, so there was that. "My story is a bit less grand, for I am actually a woodman and woodcutter before I am an actor or Marcach. Though, by my acting, I got to know many people, among them Amy and she is part of the company, that hosts this party. She invited me to come... don't know about you, Galen."
The green haired young man smiled slightly. "I saw the posters after arriving here and decided to come.", he said and shrugged, "Not the most glorious of reasons, but it works." He smiled at both girls. "Say, before we take off saddles and bridles, do you two want to ride a bit? Either alone or with us?", he offered.

Brenda Iarnród of the Tribe of Louth.
"Awesome!", I called back and my fellow girls grinned as they made the last preparations.
What there people might not know, was, that we were quite familiar with the problem of parking our bikes on sand and so, we had a few security precautions: For one thing, we had tarps to cover them, so even if the primary option failed, the greatest problem would be getting the blasted thing upright again.
And, secondly, we had base plates attached to the kickstands, so that we could rest assured, that it would need some force to let them sink into the sand.
We were young, that was true, but we were anything but stupid.
Ribin joined my side, dressed into a black bikini with an octogonal pattern. "A Gil says, that the cat will hurt itself before the evening is over.", she offered in Selkie.
I shook my head. "I don't do fool's bets.", I replied and the matter was closed for me, stuffing away the last of my stuff and adjusting the seat of my bikini. "Wanna go over?"
"If it's about the cat, sure - about them...", she trailed off and I looked at her with a questioning look. "I spot tatoos and piercings."
"Ah...", I made, "Well, I'm in it for the cat anyways!"
Ribin nodded and we went on over - needless to say, that I managed to keep the disapproval at Karen's body modifications out of my eyes and Ribin didn't even look at her as she knelt down by the cat and clicked her tongue to get his attention.
"So...", I asked, switching to English, focusing on Jason, not knowing either of their names, "...what's his name?"

Khalid Faris.
I smiled a bit sheepishly.
"If you are looking for changing rooms, I'm afraid, that I must disappoint, we don't have those here today...", I said, "I know, though, that many of the lads and lassies changed either in their rooms or here. Granted, they wore their swimming clothes under their normal clothes, when they came here..."
I nodded towards the tree line.
"However, in there should be a nice spot, where no one can peep.", I added and then said: "I'll wait here. Either for you or the screams when you find a nasty bug or something."
The last was accompanied by a wink to tell her, that I was joking about the screaming.
Watching her as she changed was not exactly high on my priority list - watching any woman while she was changing was not on my priority list, I must admit. I might be a photographer and I did produce some photographs showing artistic nudity, but I was not a pervert.

by **Palmyrion** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 7:27 am

Kiana Rúisc of the Tribe of Waterford.
I rejoined them a bit out of breath after the guy with the long, green hair and his brunette wife (Finnegan and Enya, as I would get to know them later, both models of BI) had finished their warm up piece, a hearty dance of fiddle and flute.
Dancers had already enjoyed one, Jerald and Evelyn among them, but I had spent most of the time searching for them. Dance couples changed, I waved off a lad, who had wanted to ask Evelyn. He understood quickly.
"You gave me quite a scare, you two!", I told them, then grinned, "Come! Let's get acquainted with our host tonight and then we can chat a bit about the future. Sounds good?"

Jerald and Evelyn meanwhile danced a bit as the music went live around the bonfire, then switching afterwards with other people. Well, Jerald may have been quite the lover boy back in his college days, but now that he was taken he flinched a bit from pairing up with a girl up front that he got paired up with after he initially paired with Evelyn, which the girl understood; he literally left some room for Jesus, so to speak. Meanwhile, a guy tried to flirt with Evelyn, but Evelyn flinched away from him, insisting that she was already taken.

Finally, after a while, Kiana caught up to the couple. Kiana was out of breath looking for them, and quite anxious. "You gave me quite a scare, you two!" Kiana exclaimed to Jerald and Evelyn, still locked in an embrace with each other during the dance. "Come! Let's get acquainted with our host tonight and then we can chat a bit about the future. Sounds good?" she added.

Jerald responded gleefully in approval, with Evelyn nodding in approval. "Sure! I'd love to expand my connections as a businessman..." said he as her chuckled, afterwards turning to Evelyn and asked her: "Tara, babe? Sama ka?" (Let's go, babe? You going with us?). Evelyn responded just as gleefully in approval, saying "Sige ba! Why not?" (Sure! Why not?), afterwards chuckling as Jerald wrapped his arm around her.

by **New Visayan Islands** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 7:51 am

Gerald Vicente
At the Bonfire

"Healing, Resurrection, and Herbs," Gerald repeated. "Sounds like quite the portfolio," he then added. "I'll be sure to seek a Priestess for chapter and verse." Bowing again, the man took his leave with Isla after a quick farewell and a knowing smile.

"Lead the way, Isla," Gerald said. The beach was starting to become more appealing by the minute.

by **Lillorainen** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 8:41 am

The Selkie wrote:Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
I really didn't answer immediately, instead wondering what Dragan felt as we hefted boxes back and forth, if his heart fluttered, too, if there were still old feelings...
Fact was, that we separated on good terms, no big fight. We simply drifted apart, that was all... and we simply drifted apart on good terms. Maybe that was the problem?
When the song came, I sang along, mainly because I knew the song well enough: While I was part of the Crossbow Gals, the Roth High School of Bodmin had a small battery of Bore Hole Guns, Short Four Pounders. They had served with distinction at the Ridge of Anfa in 1903, so it was a mark of pride, the songs of the Younger Militia's Artillery Detachments being taught in Bodmin to Elementary Schoolers.
Setsu's (at that time, I did not know her name) praise let us all glow with pride we grinned as well - considering, that we came from all four corners of the Free Lands and beyond, as well as from professional military, we were hardly a unit, but it hardly mattered.
"Well, then, Setsu!", the guy, who started the song (I was tempted to say Captain Fearg, who commanded one of the Navy's Frigates - as a Captain, he was a bit of a celebraty, considering the nimbus the rank of Captain, both in the Army, Navy, Younger Militia and Sports Teams, had in our parts), "It is tradition among the Navy, that the one, who offers the most praise to the singers, sings the next song - fire away, me lass!"
We grinned with expectation as we were still hefting boxes around.

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
With Little Enya on the back of my steed and Mhairin hugging me, kissing my cheeks, I was a bit pre-occupied, until Enya spotted someone and announced that to us: She had used her high vantage point to spot Chris and Dragan, the latter of whom she had in fond memory from a package of Scipeáil shared on a carriage ride.
I smiled as she announced that, too, looked at the line and spotted Chris, waved.
Mhairi whispered something to me during the song, that made me giggle.
She was right, though, I had around three months of pent-up kisses to give him and he would receive them all!

It wasn't easy to tell what Dragan might or might not have been feeling - in this very moment, not much. Sure, situations like these were much easier to handle with former couples separating with a big fight, for with these, the fronts were clear and the day had structure. Which was not the case in this instance - they had separated on good terms ...
Still, he couldn't have told, that there had been much. Dragan could look back to an impressive record of having good friends of the fairer sex he hadn't been sure about as to his feelings - and the next record entry stood right on the opposite site of Amy's, came from a city-state which people who had never seen it imagined like a place taken right out of some cyberpunk novel, had ashy-beige hair and brown eyes, spoke German with a funny dialect - and was, according to some of her friends, 'as romantic as a car accident'. This, next to Janina having found her love on the other shore, and other instances, had played into Dragan's habit of shrugging any allegations of feelings off as 'Jebi ga!' But was it the same with the ex-girlfriend he would probably still be in a relationship with, if long-distance relationships weren't this awfully prone to just drifting apart? Only Lada and Didilia knew for sure ...
At least there was one guy around who absolutely wouldn't need to worry about not being sure about his feelings, for everyone knew, that he would catch up with almost three full months of not being able to hug and kiss his significant other in the first moment he would be able to.
But for now, there were boxes to heft around, only interrupted by Chris and Dragan waving back to Little Enya.
Amy sang along the song, which didn't surprise Dragan a lot, for it wasn't entirely unknown to him. By tradition, it was now the job of the one praising the lad's singing the loudest to sing the next song - in this case, the one was a lassie referred to as 'Setsu', surely a short form of Setsuko. One would see in a moment, whether or not Dragan's educated guess as to where she was from was true or not ...

by **Shikonjima** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 8:44 am

The Selkie wrote:Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
I really didn't answer immediately, instead wondering what Dragan felt as we hefted boxes back and forth, if his heart fluttered, too, if there were still old feelings...
Fact was, that we separated on good terms, no big fight. We simply drifted apart, that was all... and we simply drifted apart on good terms. Maybe that was the problem?
When the song came, I sang along, mainly because I knew the song well enough: While I was part of the Crossbow Gals, the Roth High School of Bodmin had a small battery of Bore Hole Guns, Short Four Pounders. They had served with distinction at the Ridge of Anfa in 1903, so it was a mark of pride, the songs of the Younger Militia's Artillery Detachments being taught in Bodmin to Elementary Schoolers.
Setsu's (at that time, I did not know her name) praise let us all glow with pride we grinned as well - considering, that we came from all four corners of the Free Lands and beyond, as well as from professional military, we were hardly a unit, but it hardly mattered.
"Well, then, Setsu!", the guy, who started the song (I was tempted to say Captain Fearg, who commanded one of the Navy's Frigates - as a Captain, he was a bit of a celebraty, considering the nimbus the rank of Captain, both in the Army, Navy, Younger Militia and Sports Teams, had in our parts), "It is tradition among the Navy, that the one, who offers the most praise to the singers, sings the next song - fire away, me lass!"
We grinned with expectation as we were still hefting boxes around.

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
With Little Enya on the back of my steed and Mhairin hugging me, kissing my cheeks, I was a bit pre-occupied, until Enya spotted someone and announced that to us: She had used her high vantage point to spot Chris and Dragan, the latter of whom she had in fond memory from a package of Scipeáil shared on a carriage ride.
I smiled as she announced that, too, looked at the line and spotted Chris, waved.
Mhairi whispered something to me during the song, that made me giggle.
She was right, though, I had around three months of pent-up kisses to give him and he would receive them all!

Setsuko earned grins with expectation from all sides, including her friends, with a slight note of mischief, saying, Hah! Too bad they know about that tradition in these parts as well, eh?
But this was no problem for her - quite on the contrary. She immediately had one in mind, and she could have placed ten Ryous as a bet, that Yelda and Kazuo knew exactly which one, but she wasn't much into fool's bets.
She cleared her throat and hummed the first two beats to prepare, and in this moment, Yelda and Kazuo indeed knew which one would come now - a fairly famous Shikonjimanese Imperial March, pretty much the Shikonjimanese Wacht am Rhein, known since the mid to late 19th century, still taught in elementary schools by the end of the Shogunate, and even still taught in Middle Schools today as part of the Shogunate's history and heritage. It would hardly surprise, that singing it out loud in some former colonies wasn't much of a good idea, but in these parts, no one expected any strong objection towards it. It had accompanied the ISA during a couple of essential battles in history, including but not limited to the conquest of Pulau Impian in 1877, the successful strike on the uprisings in Fenchuikuo in 1908 and Tra Ly, Nho Quoc, in 1912. And, of course, the Colonial Wars in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. And although the former Shogunate wasn't much more than a Principality and its surrounding petty kingdoms as of now (even though Sayuri Ichigawa was one of those who missed the olden days), the song hadn't lost anything of its glamor and spirit.
Yelda had dedicated the song, which she had only known in the Sharulsi Mongolian version until then, an entire chapter in her travelogue.
Setsuko began, in Shikonjimanese, of course - singing out a bit more loudly, while Yelda and Kazuo sang along in a more low tone, in order to not steal Setsuko's show.

"We are the Imperial Army,
and our enemies are enemies of the Emperor!
The enemy general is a hero,
Equal to none in glory and victory!
And the men who follow are also stalwart,
And warriors who do not fear death!
Even though they are brave enough to frighten the Demons,
The Souls will not pardon their rebellion!"

The song started off smooth, but already at the speed bringing everyone into the mood to continue working. Yelda had always had to grin inwardly at the line referring to the enemy as a glorious and victorious hero. It was so typical Shikonjimanese politeness and respect, praising the enemy right at the beginning of a war march ... but a war march wouldn't be a war march without advising the enemy to better not be too optimistic about the mercy of the Four Souls.

"Those who have crossed the Emperor
Have never prospered!"

... see where we're going with this?
Setsuko breathed, with a breathing technique which could almost pass as professional. Mrs. Nakamura's singing lessons back in grade five were surely paying off right now!

"Until our enemy is destroyed,
Forwards, forwards, one and all!
Unsheathing the sword like a shattered gem,
We must go forwards, prepared for death!"

The chorus was fully loaded with energy. For a moment, it felt as if Setsuko herself had personally stood in the ranks of the ISA as a Commander, serving Yoshita-Shogun with all Imperial Pride she could come up with, ready to directly march onto the field and show the beasty rebels who they were, in all foolishness possible to humans, about to mess with!

"As it has been custom in this Imperial Land,
Swordmasters have protected like their very souls!
The sword which has been made
Obsolete in the Age of Powders -
Now it has been brought back!
So let friend and foe
Die under the blade!
And for those with Yonrei Spirit ..."

The second stanza, sung in the same tone as the first one, got back to the Sword, a metaphor quite a few around here could probably easily relate to - it was more than just a symbol when it came to the fights fought in the first days of the Clan Wars, the War of all Wars, the War that ultimately bound together what had been separate before, solely unified by the spirit of Yonrei, an old, and nowadays mostly poetic name for the Shikonjimanese. Of course, it was more of symbolic meaning - but still of an important one. Not only the enemy was prepared to die, but also the Fighters of the ISA, who still had been living and dying under the spirit of the old assumption, that a soldier who was attached to his or her own life couldn't be a good soldier.

"... now is the time to die!
Do not bring shame through delay!"

And yes, they were serious with that. There had been many options on the field - retreat had not been one of them.

"Until our enemy is destroyed,
Forwards, forwards, one and all!
Unsheathing the sword like a shattered gem,
We must go forwards, prepared for death!"

Especially the last two lines of the chorus had a grave, almost celebratory tone. Yelda and Kazuo couldn't help but had to smile.

by **Kuronami** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 1:06 pm

The Selkie wrote:Macha Taise, of Cork Descent.
Kean smiled, especially as Galen joined us.
Galen Lannaire of the Tribe of Louth was still a boy, if one only judged him by the looks - a good looking one, sure, but still a boy, and rather short, even by our standards, one at that. Still, he had the big-brother-aura, as I called it, especially when he worked with children.
And Isabel and Bianca certainly qualified as he joined our group with a smile.
Kean, however, nodded. "And what a story it is!", he agreed and I knew, that he made a mental note about something, his eyes, for but a moment, meeting mine. He assumed to know, why I invited the kids and if we thought around the same wavelengths, he was right. Still, despite the more business-oriented purposes, I also wanted to meet them in person, so there was that. "My story is a bit less grand, for I am actually a woodman and woodcutter before I am an actor or Marcach. Though, by my acting, I got to know many people, among them Amy and she is part of the company, that hosts this party. She invited me to come... don't know about you, Galen."
The green haired young man smiled slightly. "I saw the posters after arriving here and decided to come.", he said and shrugged, "Not the most glorious of reasons, but it works." He smiled at both girls. "Say, before we take off saddles and bridles, do you two want to ride a bit? Either alone or with us?", he offered.

"aaah" They both nodded at him explaining he was more of a woodsman and cutter first than actor. It made sense they supposed. Bianca's eyes lit up "Really, could we go for a ride?! That'd be fun. Do you think so, Isabel?"

If Bianca wanted to she surely wanted to. "Y-yeah, that'd be great."

"We don't mind riding with you, I'm not quite old enough to ride by myself, unless it's a pony but these are certainly not ponies! So yes, we'd love to go for a bit of a ride, if you'd please."

by **A m e n r i a** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 5:57 pm

Yali stretched her arms up high, letting out a sigh of relief. She closed her eyes and smiled as she basked in the all-too familiar tropical sun. She may be far from home, but the climate is just like that of the Imperial Harem she grew up in with her mother, her sisters, and their mothers.

She had her long, brown, wavy hair tied in a ponytail, the dark colour contrasting her bright skin. She was wearing a indigo rash guard with long, black sleeves, unzipped to reveal the black bikini top underneath. She also had a black pair of shorts on, showing off her long, slim legs and her Mark of the Starchild on her left calf, which looked like six indigo dot-like birthmarks, or birthmarks that look like the constellation Aries, if one is perceptive enough. She had a larger bust size than hip size, and one could wonder why she decided to cover her torso more than her legs.

"Ah..It's nice to breathe in some nice, fresh, tropical air that's not from back home, ain't it? Look, jiejie, many people have arrived already!" Yali remarked excitedly to her sister, Valeriya, in her southern accent. It's no surprise, as she was born from and raised by a Shenyang woman. Valeriya, however, was born from a different woman. She was the daughter of a Siberian woman, which explains why she didn't look much like Yali, but still looked eastern nonetheless.

"Yea, I getcha. Let's go then." Valeriya replied, nodding to Yali and walking with her to the scene. Her skin was even brighter than Yali, her figure taller and thicker, and her hair darker. She wore a frilled bikini, which matched the natural black of her hair. Like Yali, Valeriya also bore the Mark of the Starchild, which was silver and looked like the constellation Virgo - a proof of being Tianshi's daughter, on the lower left part of her belly. To the unfamiliar eye, it just looks like a bunch of dots, maybe a tattoo of sorts.

As they walked closer, they ducked slightly in surprise after hearing the loud horn, but figured out it was nothing, as the locals didn't seem so fazed. After all, if worse comes to worse, Valeriya could just turn into an aeroplane and evacuate the civilians. A few steps later, they saw a convoy consisting of a tank, some cavalry, some motorists, and some carts. "Huh. What's up with that?" Valeriya shrugged. "I dunno, maybe some ceremonial stuff." they continued on their way to the party.

by **Polish Prussian Commonwealth** » Sun Dec 29, 2019 8:14 pm

Marie Ernst Gluck-Adelheid
Marie had absolutely no plan of ditching her uniform. Period. It wasn't just a point of pride, but, quite frankly, she had no other clothes. Unless, of course, someone had spares...although getting Marie to wear whatever was offered to her might be a bit of an issue.
At the mention of an old friend, she perked up. "Hm? Cao, I'm guessing? Or is Irene here as well?"
Adelheid put her hand under her chin.
"Huh. Heidi. Sounds like some ditzy pop singer from Yankeetown...I guess, if Adelheid's too much of a mouthful to say...anyway, I assume she's another friend of yours, Yven?"

by **Mediama** » Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:05 am

Marion frowned at the news that there weren’t any changing rooms at this particular beach, she did have to think though, what about restrooms, there would have to be bathrooms here, it would be one heck of a party if the beach didn’t have any restrooms.

“Surely there must be bathrooms here... it might be a bit of an uncomfortable party otherwise...” Marion noted. Then she blushed and tried to scale herself back, she needed to make herself look flexible, he was working for the company she was trying to negotiate with. “I-If there isn’t though, I’d be fine with what’s on hand.”

Although Marion had a sense of modesty, and there were punitive public nudity laws especially in New London, with the exception of the one or two nude beaches and nudist colonies scattered around Mediama, she was comfortable with changing outdoors so long as there was ample cover.

Her main concern was whether or not Mother Nature would ruin her hard workmanship with the clothing.

A Beach Feast (IC)

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