A Beach Feast (IC)

[A m e n r i a]

"Extend your hands for him to smell!"

With a smile, Valeriya tried to decline the offer as politely as possible. "No thank you, we're not supposed to come in contact with canine saliva. Barrogi is cute though."

"Come, sit with us for a bit! We have lemonade!"

"Sure!" Yali responded with enthusiasm, before sitting with the couple along with her sister, who put a black, metallic box on the table. She still wondered if the wolf was really okay with being in a place so hot, but she decided to ask a different question for now. "So, ya guys work at BI or somethin'? Ya know anyone else around?"

[New Visayan Islands]

Gerald Vicente
At the Stall

"I see what you mean," Gerald replied. "Even after over a year my tropical backside still finds Traverse pretty cold," he added to another sip from his bottle. "A beach celebration like this, on the other hand, is a lot more refreshing." What was unsaid was that he was more in his element; the beaches of Panglao may be overrated for some, but they were popular with locals and expats alike for a reason. It just so happened that he was the expat in this scenario. An expat who was far more well-behaved compared to the stereotypical expat spending a stint in the beaches of Bohol, but an expat nonetheless.

[AHSCA]

Aonas Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
Dad laughed his loud and booming laugh and I had to grin, too.
My hand took Iliane's softly, the young woman from Nouvelle-Dunkerque seemed not too displeased with that development, although her face grew red.
Dad grinned, turned to Ayla. "Say, Ayla, if I remember correctly, the UIS are a bit more south then the Archipelago, not sub-tropics like here, but actual tropics - how do you think, that the two compare?", he asked, then raised a massive hand, "Though do not worry, Aonas and I are from the Northern Islands - tropics and sub-tropics mean warm weather to us!"
I grinned and nodded.

"Aha yes you know your geography well, it would seem. the UIS is indeed wholly tropical and well right now I can't exactly say what the major difference between this place and my home is beyond right now, my islands are in the rainy season. Maybe it's not quite as humid but even then I could just be here on an off day or haven't paid as much attention as I should. But if you good folks are from a colder northern climate then you must be enjoying the warmth plenty."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

20 years from today

OPERATION "ISOMER"
DATE: ██/██/2018
SECURITY CLEARANCE: A1 CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE ON 30/3/2040
SUBJECT: Infiltration of the "School of Insurgency" of the Sultanate of Saranidia.

Operation "Pumped Up Kicks" was authorized on ██/██/██, and was directed at the original "School of Insurgency" in the Kalliopolis Metropolitan Area, and was carried out by Agents ████ ████, of the 1. Fallschirmjaegerregiment and ████████ of the Freivolker Intelligence Agency. While hugely successful in many respects, causing several billion dollars in property damage and killing many students at the School, it still failed in it's primary mission-to it down completely.

To redress this, His Majesty has ordered a change in focus-to infiltrate the pool of cadets, as opposed to shutting it down. To this end, Gefr. Stanislaus Vyterski will infiltrate the School of Insurgency, along with ███████ ██████████ and ██████ ███████ of the Exodian Intelligence Ministry. Upon graduation, he will remain a sleeper agent until Operation "Singularity" is authorized by His Majesty, after which he shall do everything within his power to delay, hinder, and destroy Saranidan military assets, morale, and personnel.
This document may not be reproduced, transmitted, photographed, or otherwise released in any way, shape or form without written and direct approval from both His Majesty and the Director of the Abwehr.
Approved for public release by decree of Berengar I, King of Prussia and Poland, on 30/3/2040.

---

The Free Lands
A cold chill seemed to descend upon the streets.
Amid the tourists(local and foreign alike) hurrying through the streets, a single, young man walked on his own-surrounded by people, and yet isolated within his mind. His piercing blue eyes seemed to see everything and nothing at once, and his face seemed...well, blank. The blandest poker-face in existence.

He was a handsome lad, yes, but not strikingly so. The type you'd glance at and think "Huh, not a bad looker", before promptly forgetting.

The only thing notable about him was his uniform. It was the standard grey utility uniform issued to the footsloggers of the Reichswehr and had the insignia of the Landwehr-the regional militas of Prussia-Poland, usually populated by those who were too old or too young to serve, or were engaged in education at the moment. It was also the largest branch by size.

The man eventually made his way to the beach, and surveyed it, looking for something...or perhaps, someone.

[Mediama]

Marion pursed her lips for a moment in an attempt to figure out how best to explain this to a child. While she admired the handiwork of BI’s products, she had more immediate questions to answer,“I’m from New London, a large city with millions of people, in a country called Mediama, a country that’s across the Atlantic Ocean to the North of the United States.”

She leaned in conspiratorially, “We’re far up north enough to have polar bears.” She said with a playful smile. She leaned back “In fact, when I left to go here, it was still snowing and freezing.”

She then listened briefly to their reactions before she asked a question of her own, “And where do you young ladies come from?”

Nia Sneachtúil, of Cefnffordd Descent.
I smiled, seeing (and knowing) the confusion about where Mediama was. For children these days, it was more important to know, where Lillorainen, Kyrenaia, Shamsiyya, Mervay, the Commonwealth and Avisronia were, but, in time, the two will learn, that Mediama was only a cat's jump away, if one wanted.
The glories of modern traveling...
Anyway, Tea replied: "We're from Bodmin, Miss!", she said and grinned, "From the shores of Lake Iasc, at the edge of the Baile!" I thought, that this might be telling Marion about as much as these United States said to Tea and Meave. "It's a beautiful town! They should have quite a lot of snow there right now, too!"
I nodded. "The Mainland is far more to the North.", I explained to Marion.

“Ah I see.” Marion said, smiling. The two girls were were honestly, truly adorable. She decided to dig her hand into her carpet bag, and pulled out a brown paper bag, offering it out to the girls, “Would you two like some lemon drops? I can tell you two are so well behaved.” She looked back at Nia and smiled, “If that’s alright with your parents that is.”

Honestly, she’d understand if the couldn’t take sweets given that they were at a party where more sustaining food was available, but still, it was a good gesture.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Brenda Iarnród of the Tribe of Louth.
We both declined the cat biscuits - we didn't want to lure him in with such cheap tricks, not even when we were getting desperate. So, Ribin motioned to me, that she had an idea as as she went to her bike, I knew, what it was: Making a sound, that would awake his curiosity, lure him over that way.
Not much better, but a bit!
I, instead, looked at Jason: "Don't worry, you aren't the only one, who has to suffer from unreasonable customers... Dad has, too.", I said and explained: "Ya see, me Dad's Duncan Iarnród of the Tribe of Louth - as in the CEO of Ironcastle Ironworks." Well, there we were... let's see, how they would react to that tidbit. "He sells a lot of steel of highest qualities for various purposes to customers within and outside of the Free Lands. Let's just leave it at military customers being quite unreasonable when it comes to their toys of steel... and perverts, too..."

"back home, the military has its own transport wing so we don't get much military stuff, unless its coming from the civilian sector to the military such as catering supplies and the likes or spare parts for engines. The name Ironcastle isn't particularly familiar to me, probably because they dont send a lot of steel to the confederacy as our market is relatively small, not to mention that Project Aurora has a domestic monopoly on things"

Marvin was watching Karen's hand, or rather the kittybite she was holding, then pounced as Karen tossed the kittybite to him, munching the kittybite he returned to watching Karen again, letting out a meow,
"Hungry?" asks Karen, looking at Marvin who replied with a meow. Karen glances over to Ribin making her way to the motorcycle before returning her watch over Marvin, who is still on a leash to a pole to protect him and stop him from going for a wander. Karen then turned to Jason, ya wanna get the fire going to cook the meat in the cool bag?

[The Selkie]

As their lips parted, Alexandra still found no need to let him down, yet. Instinctively, as her eyes still focused on to his, she was clearly thinking of something complex in her mind at the same time. "Well, that was a good kiss wasn't it Finny? I'm genuinely concerned if it isn't", inquired her in a posh English accent, as she brushed his hair. Aside from the short tease, it definitely seemed that she had came up with her own nickname for Fintan. As she tenderly brought him closer, Alexandra gave him a quick kiss on the lips before having his head rested on her left shoulder, and she wasted no time stroking his neck and hair, in a gesture of returning the favor as the two continued to sway slowly to the music's rhythm.

As she gave a quick glance towards Fintan who's seemingly rested well on her shoulder, enjoying her strokes, she could not resist from kissing him again, this time with a short one on the neck. At the same time, she could only reminisce on her past relationship, to which when compared to this was a quite different experience. Though she and her former lover rarely kissed, the two kept the other entertained and pleased with gifts, ranging from necklaces to cars, all of them costing no more than below $500 million. She could also clearly remember the times of her speaking fluent Arabic at gatherings, and parties that she attended, but it's all gone now when her significant other revealed his true self, a true self that she could not justify to adapt to or to love. As she continued to stare at his neck, she could only feel that her "dominant" ways in regards to this would be the better choice. Besides, it's only natural for her, a 23 year old lady to take charge in regards to her 18 year old dance partner.

"So sweetie, where do you want me to carry you next? We can get a nice mat and cuddle while looking at the stars, or we can go back to the bar and have a regular drink, go to a fancy restaurant somewhere around here, or...", as she listed her suggestions in a thoughtful manner, her words seemingly froze at the last sentence. "Or we can go play in the water there? Let's see who's more durable in the water, shall we? Surely your two friends wouldn't mind me stealing you", as she let out a small grin at the end, Alexandra's mind could not resist from quickly scrolling through the imaginations of them doing either one of those activities. Surely, she would never cross the "forbidden" limits but should the two have genuine feelings for each other, she could have the chance to make her stay here memorable, for both of them.

Fintan Muc of the Tribe of Cork.
She did not set me down after the kiss, but we did continue the dance.
I felt, that she was remembering something as we swayed, but I was somewhere else: My face reddened, my lance was at a position of attention (if you catch my meaning) and my heart was pounding like a jackhammer.
I tried to get myself, my heartbeat and my lance, under control as she continued to stroke me.
It was natural and clear, that she would lead and I would follow. Not only was she older and more experienced, I was completely smitten - and I knew it.
And I didn't mind at all.
When she listed the options of what to do, I was tempted to say cuddle under the stars, but that could be misunderstood. I was unaware of her having forbidden limits, but I would respect them, if she said stop at one point.
The drink was a nice idea, as was a restaurant, but we had both here at the plenty.
Playing in the water, while fun, was... an interesting idea. I was not bad at Footvolley, so... and I thought, that there were a few people already playing. At least I'd seen something.
Hm...
"Maybe we could walk a bit along the beach?", I suggested, "Talk and see, where our feet carry us?"
I knew, that the other lads would not mind at all.

Chris received a grateful bow for his acceptance of Felicia's apology, and Cel, who was aware of what Chris had been thinking, decided to forgive her, too - but certainly wouldn't forget. As it appeared so often, they ended up along the same lines. With a relationship having manifested to the current degree, their bond indeed being stronger than ever, this was to expect.
Felicia bowed her head again, a bit too deep, but well. Then, she went off; Patty followed her. Nora thanked both of them - Chris nodded towards her in return -, and followed her sisters.
They obviously had understood what Chris had in mind - making peace with the past and letting this be the end of it.
Even though it seemed possible, that Nora was not going let this be the last word for today, given that she wasn't exactly as much in a hurry to leave as Felicia and Patty were ... but who could say for sure? Chris, in any case, couldn't, and even if he could have, he couldn't have said for sure, whether he would have been particularly keen on following them.
And he couldn't tell, whether or not Cel was.
He looked at her, kept standing, and said, shrugging and switching to Selkie again, "Well, that was that, I'd say."

After shaking heads and sitting down, Alya made Dragan aware of his reputation in here once again, confirming, that Amy had never lost any bad word about him, and likewise, he had never lost any bad word about her, and everyone was free to ask Kira for confirmation about this - for if there was anyone around who could tell, then her. Not only because she had an all but motherly intuition allowing her to predict romantic matches with people she knew (see Janina and Fenja), but also because out of all his friends he had talked to after his and Amy's (peaceful) breakup, Kira had been the one who had managed to get the most thoughts and feelings out of him. This was another advantage of her now being a citizen and permanent resident of the Federation - having a good listener and advisor around could never harm.
Although one particular point Alya mentioned caused Dragan having a remark on his tongue, he didn't speak it out. Although it would surely have been interesting to see Alya's reaction to the question, how she could be this sure, that he actually was free again and hadn't found a new relationship, or at least someone to be interested in starting one with in the meantime.
But truth was, and he surely wouldn't deny it even jokingly, that he hadn't shown any romantic interest whatsoever since he had become single again, and even though Kira still didn't want to dismiss that idea of trying to bring Dragan together with his Wiedheimer colleague together entirely, she also knew how vague this assumption was - too vague to consider another use of the magic hookah to be useful.
At least, she knew for sure, that wherever Dragan's next relationship would start off, it would definitely not be on this beach tonight. Dragan surely wouldn't reject dance offers tonight, but there wouldn't be much more than that. While he was a bit envious about Chris and Cel maintaining a relationship on distance this successfully, Dragan had learned, that this was nothing for him. If anyone was seriously interested in him, she'd better live within a reasonable travel distance away from Jillich in order to even be considered an option. He wasn't particularly keen on repeating history.
At least, that was the plan.
Therefore, he wasn't even remotely disappointed when Alya drew the line and made the fronts clear. Not only because this would prevent him from getting trapped in wrong ideas about a Kyrenaian Princess (arguably one of the less desirable situations to end up in on an occasion like this, or in general, for that matter), but also from getting himself into another relationship with the risk of living apart.
Of course, it wasn't gentle, but he didn't care.
While he took a sip of Na'na, ice-cold Kyrenaian mint tea, which he had received from Amy and nodded for thankfully, with his right hand, he made a dismissive hand gesture with his left one, swallowed his sip down, smiled, and said, "No worries about that! I'll surely be open for a dance or two, but that's about it."
He didn't specify whether this was only limited to Alya in particular, or would also include other lassies asking him, but the point was clear - Alya would have nothing to fear in that regard.

Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
Alya nodded.
"Then I would be very pleased, if you could keep a spot or two free on your dance card.", she requested and I felt at ease as I sipped on my lemonade. Then, Alya either decided to go a bit native or to do as it was a bit of a trend in Kyrenaia at the moment, to dance with a partner of the same gender, as she looked at the other two girls and me: "Of course, I would also like a dance with all three of you. No strings attached, of course."
Even if there was a rope attached to it, I smiled and nodded. "Sure, sounds like fun!", I said, "I know, that you won't crush my toes like a certain other someone..."
Alya giggled and then told us: "Yes, I have heard of the legendary dance-handicap of Mister Tuadóir!", she said and maybe it was no coincidence, that her free hand reached for her toes and massaged them. "He does seem like a nice gentleman, though."
I nodded - that he was indeed.

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
I nodded, still a bit unused to hearing Chris speak my tongue - but I was also pleased.
"Yep, that it was.", my boss' voice told us from the side in Selkie, him approaching us. I smiled, let go of Chris and hugged the ancient Spiorad from the other shoreline. "Hello, Cel - Chris, good to see, that your trip into the world of Younger Militia Logistics went well!"
I giggled - of course it was!
I rejoined my boyfriend's side. "Let's get something to drink, okay?", I suggested.
Of course we spoke Selkie.

Kazuo and Yelda nodded. Zaijia and Horai sounded like polar opposites when it came to the level of skill required to play - Horai would be the thing for the pros, with a solid intuition of how microing in the game worked, in order to get the units where they should be, and performing in any remotely satisfactory manner; whereas Zaijia seemed to be the nation designed for noobs, with (as for the current stance) pretty overpowered masses of trash units one only needed to spam enough of in order to simply overrun the opponent's base and units. It was to expect, that a slight nerf on the one hand, and adding new, strong counter-units like Mangudai and Janissaries on the other hand, would contribute to the game's balancing a lot.
With these comments, Yelda had to think of another Sharulsi expat in Lillorainen she knew of aside from Saran Kiyat - a guy named Iderbayar Oronar, a WhoTuber going by various channel names including IderKhanHD, IdreeLP, and Idergeddon, mostly focussed on commenting new games and other stuff related to gaming, and also making Let's Plays every now and then. While he was ethnically Sharulsi - not from the Khanate, though, but from the neighboring Free Republic of Fenchuikuo -, he had already been born in the Federation, living in Trinesholm in Rigesöer als the son of a marriage couple that had been tired of all the ethnic tensions back home after the independence of the Free Republic (finally a thing that couldn't be entirely blamed on the Shikonjimanese Colonial Empire!) and just jetted off to a place safer than that; he yet had to gain a broader audience, but with one of his channels being in English (which Yelda was happy about, considering her ... little trouble understanding Holsteinisch Platt), he would certainly do so very soon. Yelda made a note in her mind to see, if Idree might already have commented on Rúid! and the upcoming Add-on, or might be planning to do so.
(Plus, he had a nice voice, and, judging by his records using a facecam, he wasn't even too bad-looking, but that was another story.)
"Hm, sounds as if I need to reevaluate my stance on Wonder victories in AoE a bit" - Kazuo said. "At least, building a Wonder doesn't automatically result in a victory - one also needs the right type and amount of units to defend it. The possibility of winning for the opponent is still there, as well as the one of still fighting some epic, balanced battle. Not to mention, that they are likely to play an essential role in Fushigi no Jidai - even though as a normal objective for winning the game, not as an emergency solution. But in this case, Zaijia really sounds like a civilization people play, if they are truly committed to winning against a player they otherwise wouldn't be able to compete with."
Yelda nodded. Aside from Kazuo's usual, very polite way to call someone a noob, he did have a point - even though she still played by the motto, 'A dirty victory is still a victory!', she had at least needed to put some effort into achieving that back then.
"While I do think" - Kazuo continued, "that it is generally a reasonable thing to implement a civilization which is good at trash units and has some bonuses for these, plus has the advantage of being easily playable for beginners, I also think, it should be kept in moderation and not be hopelessly overpowered, in order to not spoil the fun for opponents. So, nerfing them a bit is a logical thing to do, for the sake of balancing."
"Horai, on the other hand, seems to be the civilization designed for the most experienced players" - Yelda added.
Meanwhile, Setsuko nodded. She would surely get to asking Raidri, as soon as they were done with their shoptalking about RTS games. But of course, she had heard about the plans SDY had, too - SDY's message of reorganization of their product offerings had reached many potential customers all over the planet.
"It does sound like a fun idea, indeed!" - she said. "And 45 knots is quite a number ... granted, I know, that there are speedboats which can go 80 knots or even faster, but these are mostly designed as speedboats, with the Navy having little to do with it - they are usually built by companies specialized on only that. I don't know if these are a thing in here, but with us, there is Isayama Naval Engineering Ltd. on Karishima Island, who are dedicated to precisely that. I also know of Kiuwong in the Yue Khanate and Staverup in Lillorainen, both doing the same. These are mostly sold to companies giving them out for rent, though, especially in tourist areas - for having some fun going insane speeds on the water. They are rarely sold to private persons, mostly due to security concerns."
She let a beat pass.
"As I said, former Navy ships often end up being repurposed and sold as yachts is common with us, too, though" - she continued. "As you've heard, the Nichibotsu-class Reconnaissance Ship - at least, the Nichibotsu I - has been widely popular as such during the time of its decommission, and still continues to be, provided they are still in an appropriate condition." She had to grin. "As you might have guessed, the Nichibotsu II will enjoy a similar popularity someday."

Raidri Gormchló of the Tribe of Fingal.
Áed smiled and then stated, almost bragged: "I am pleased to say, that I might not be a master of playing Horai, but I am very good at it!" His words were not only born out of misplaced pride, but he did have a certain amount of skill with it. "Their secret are the Monomi, their battlefield assassins, who replace the grenadiers, and their swordspeople, who replace the light infantry. Their pikes and musketeers are garbage, though."
He explained the technicalities of setting up a strategy based on the excellent infantry of the Horai, which could even defeat an experienced Zaijia-Player, how due to the not-so-good cavalry of the animal-eared folk, they were mostly relegated to scouting and intercepting enemy scouts, while one oneself creeped forward with infantry, artillery and secured every viable position and then some with towers, forts, fortresses and other defensive buildings, all while raiding the economy of the enemy with Monomi.
"After all, even Zaijia can not have a large army, if it lacks the resources to actually build and supply it.", he finished.
I nodded.

Faye Donn of the Tribe of Wexford.
I nodded.
"I can imagine.", I said, then added: "When the Lutetiian Armed Forces were disbanded, much of their equipment went to civilian hands, from uniforms to entire vessels. Quite a few corvettes and other small vessels went into private hands - demilitarized and rebuilt, of course. I know of a fellow merchant, who uses one of these corvettes as a representative vessel."
It were Esecutore and Alce, his assistant with the milk shop. Setsu most likely never heard of either of them.
"I also know of a guy, who bought a light aircraft carrier, as well as a few other ships, and didn't demilitarize them.", I said and smiled slightly, "He built a small diving resort, much like this, on one of Lutetii's islands and had these ships sunk in shallow waters basically right in front of them. It's very popular among wreck-diving tourists nowadays, with wrecks of different skill levels available."
It certainly paid off by now, one had to add.

Adelheid shrugged.
"Sorta. I just met them...Marie here, on the other hand..."
"We go a long way back." Marie finished. "Afternoon, Illia...Are your parents here?"

While Marie talked with Illia, Adelheid turned to Yven. "So...where exactly are we dumping the food again?"

20 years from today

OPERATION "ISOMER"
DATE: ██/██/2018
SECURITY CLEARANCE: A1 CLEARED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE ON 30/3/2070
SUBJECT: Disruption of the training of terrorists and insurgents by the Sultanate of Saranidia.

Operation "Pumped Up Kicks" was authorized on ██/██/██, and was directed at the original "School of Insurgency" in the Kalliopolis Metropolitan Area, and was carried out by Agents ████ ████, of the 1. Fallschirmjaegerregiment and ████████ of the Freivolker Intelligence Agency. While hugely successful in many respects, causing several billion dollars in property damage and killing many students at the School, it still failed in it's primary mission-to it down completely.

To redress this, His Majesty has ordered a change in focus-to infiltrate the pool of cadets, as opposed to shutting it down. To this end, Gefr. Stanislaus Vyterski will infiltrate the School of Insurgency, along with ███████ ██████████ and ██████ ███████ of the Exodian Intelligence Ministry. Upon graduation, he will remain a sleeper agent until Operation "Singularity" is authorized by His Majesty, after which he shall do everything within his power to delay, hinder, and destroy Saranidan military assets, morale, and personnel.
This document may not be reproduced, transmitted, photographed, or otherwise released in any way, shape or form without written and direct approval from both His Majesty and the Director of the Abwehr.
Approved for public release by decree of Berengar I, King of Prussia and Poland, on 30/3/2070.

---

The Free Lands
A cold chill seemed to descend upon the streets.
Amid the tourists(local and foreign alike) hurrying through the streets, a single, young man walked on his own-surrounded by people, and yet isolated within his mind. His piercing blue eyes seemed to see everything and nothing at once, and his face seemed...well, blank. The blandest poker-face in existence.

He was a handsome lad, yes, but not strikingly so. The type you'd glance at and think "Huh, not a bad looker", before promptly forgetting.

The only thing notable about him was his uniform. It was the standard grey utility uniform issued to the footsloggers of the Reichswehr and had the insignia of the Landwehr-the regional militas of Prussia-Poland, usually populated by those who were too old or too young to serve, or were engaged in education at the moment. It was also the largest branch by size.

The man eventually made his way to the beach, and surveyed it, looking for something...or perhaps, someone.

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
I wanted to reply to Marie, as Ilia looked up from Heidi.
"Over there, please!", he said and motioned to large stacks of crates, boxes, barrels and other containers, which were guarded by a lassie I knew very well: Macha Sáraigh of the Tribe of Clonmel, a lassie with long, light green hair as an unruly mane, green eyes shining as she watched us. She sat on one of the barrels, a little black fox on her lap and stroking it softly.
"Hey, Macha!", I greeted and placed the bags down, turning to take the load off Marie. "How's Finnegan?"
"Newlywed and happy as a clam.", the girl replied and watched us with a smile, "He said, that Enya and him have a bit of an announcement for later tonight, so..." She shrugged. "I have money on Enya being pregnant."
"Really?", I asked.
"Yep, there's a betting pool.", she explained to me and Marie, "Ya in? Mistress Banphrionsa is the bank."
I had to snort in amusement. That sounded very much like BI's lads and lassies!
Ilia, meanwhile, turned back to Heidi: "As for my parents, they're around here somewhere. Wanna speak with them?", he asked with a smile.
I did not know it at the time, but he had placed money on the round-the-world-trip.

Fiona Radharceolaíocht of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I was making a few photographs, a few images to remember the evening by, of Kieran and Eoin, who were putting the last touches on the Bull Boar's meat, before the large fire was not only ignited, but would also serve as a grill, when I noticed the man.
I had seen a lot of uniforms and uniformed men in my time and to be honest, after a few bad experiences in said time, my enthusiasm for uniformed men was... not exactly there anymore. Even if they did have handsome faces.
Or rather, especially, when they had handsome faces.
My daughter Iuna was a result of my enthusiasm about handsome men in nice uniforms, but while she was the best thing to ever happen to me, she was also the result of a one-nighter... I didn't even know her father's name. I was proud of her, though, and her accomplishments as gunner of Ronm-Dó, one of the Iris Boarding School Sensha-Do Team's Crogalls. She was somewhere around here, making friends, who might not be as enthusiastic about tanks as she was.
Anyway, I saw this man in uniform and took off my camera, revealing a pair of green eyes, green like emeralds, and blonde hair framing a nice face. I did wear a swimsuit, a rather modest bikini, with a utility bag slung around my hips.
I smiled at him.
"Excuse me, laddie?", I asked him, "Either you move to the side or you are okay with your photo being taken - either of the two, I wanted to make you aware of it!"

Isla Stiúrthóir of the Tribe of Fingal.
She was right - I had never heard of Aryan.
However, I saw, that there was more to her national pride then just pride - or at least I interpreted it. I still smiled as I put the second plate in front of her.
"Sounds like an interesting place.", I said, "Though, you are right, I never heard of it..." I smiled as we began to wait for her husband. "Though, that begs the question of how you found your way to our shores?"
I would consider myself an educated woman, thank you very much!

Roksana Esfahani

“Err…let’s just say a friend of ours who was the visitor to your homeland gave us some tickets to this beach.” Roksana replied, scratching her cheek sheepishly. “We just simply came through by air, ahaha~. It’s like we travel through dimensions, haha~.”

She isn’t sure if telling the Selkie about going through interdimensional travel by magical means is alright, but it’s not like Roksana is keeping secrets but she knew from experiences that outsiders didn’t react well to interdimensional travellers. At least, she’s not lying about part about given coupons for the party and arriving in the Free Lands through air travel. The redhead is just being flexible with the truth.

Fiete Kumma.
I got him two bottles from the cooler.
"Sorry, no such luck...", I said and gave him the bottle opener along with both bottles, "...there ya go! Have fun!"
And with that, I was off to the next customer, quite a cute girl, a white haired, pale girl with ruby-red eyes, asking me for a total of five lemonades - she stood right next to Nasrollah.

Nasrollah Afshar

“Thank you.” Nasrollah thanked Fiete as he grabbed the lemonades, holding each in both hands. As the Aryanian turned around, he has accidently bumped into the said white-haired, pale girl next to him.

“Ack!” He yelped in surprise. Nasrollah nearly spilled the lemonade on the girl. He’s quick to apologize, “Ya Allah! I’m so sorry, miss. I didn’t notice you’re here.”

Isla Stiúrthóir of the Tribe of Fingal.
I raised an eyebrow.
This was a very, very awkward laugh and joke.
"Well, seems like a nice friend.", I said and shrugged, "My trips to the Archipelago are usually the result of me saving up for the whole year and my returning customer bonus." I smiled slightly. "And any other trip I make over the year are business trips. Quite a few, actually, and some far away." I smiled. "I won't complain, though. This is a nice reward for a year's work."

Fiete Kumma.
I was about to say "You're welcome.", when the man had turned around and had bumped into the girl.
Luckily, the bottles were still closed, so when the girl dropped some as she held her balance, the glass bottles fell onto the soft sand and didn't spray lemonade everywhere.
"Ya Allah! I’m so sorry, miss. I didn’t notice you’re here.", he quickly apologized.
Once the girl caught herself, she glared at him from her red eyes, a snarl on her face: "Du botschate Gwandlaus, hast wohl zu viel beim Dradiwaberl mitgespielt?!" I had to smile at this flippant display of Teressian dialect, vowels slightly elongated and an overdone enunciation. She sighed and picked up her bottles before switching back into English: "I'm fine. Have a good evening."

"Extend your hands for him to smell!"

With a smile, Valeriya tried to decline the offer as politely as possible. "No thank you, we're not supposed to come in contact with canine saliva. Barrogi is cute though."

"Come, sit with us for a bit! We have lemonade!"

"Sure!" Yali responded with enthusiasm, before sitting with the couple along with her sister, who put a black, metallic box on the table. She still wondered if the wolf was really okay with being in a place so hot, but she decided to ask a different question for now. "So, ya guys work at BI or somethin'? Ya know anyone else around?"

Donnchadh Saineolaí of the Tribe of Clonmel.
Ceili and I were a small bit confused by their words of not being allowed to come into contact with canine salvia - maybe an allergy? Well, it was not up to us to pry, and they did find Barrogi cute, so...
"Nah, we are here with her Mam.", I said and motioned to Ceili, who smiled and handed the two bottles of lemonade and a bottle opener, "We know a few people here, even a few from BI, but not many."
"Mam knows a lot of the people here, fellow industrialists and merchants. We'll have to have dances later, though.", Ceili said and didn't look too enthusiastic about it, "Ilia's cute enough, but Mister Folracht..." She shrugged. "It'll look ridiculous. Much like your dance with Miss Alce..."
At her wide grin, I blushed - that was right, we would have to have dances later tonight, myself having my dance card filled by the Ddeliwr-Sisters, who were quite cute, especially Carys, and Miss Alce and a few others... Miss Alce had knockers the size of my head.
Meanwhile, Mister Folracht was a man large and wide enough to hide wardrobes behind him.
"Well, do you know anyone here?", Ceili asked with a small smile.

Gerald Vicente
At the Stall

"I see what you mean," Gerald replied. "Even after over a year my tropical backside still finds Traverse pretty cold," he added to another sip from his bottle. "A beach celebration like this, on the other hand, is a lot more refreshing." What was unsaid was that he was more in his element; the beaches of Panglao may be overrated for some, but they were popular with locals and expats alike for a reason. It just so happened that he was the expat in this scenario. An expat who was far more well-behaved compared to the stereotypical expat spending a stint in the beaches of Bohol, but an expat nonetheless.

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I nodded with a smile.
"Indeed it is.", I said and nodded again, "First time I was here without my parents was last year, with two friends - we had won the tickets by winning a competition of crossbow-shooters. It was right around this time, too, so we spent the time in the warmth while our lads drowned in snow and shoveled."
"Do I hear a bit of Schadenfreude?", Amy asked, "I hope, that you at least did everything you could to keep the spirits up..."
I smiled. "Well, a lot of bikini-pictures of Amy went back home, but nothing too raunchy.", I said and our Amy here laughed about her name-twin.

Aonas Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
Dad laughed his loud and booming laugh and I had to grin, too.
My hand took Iliane's softly, the young woman from Nouvelle-Dunkerque seemed not too displeased with that development, although her face grew red.
Dad grinned, turned to Ayla. "Say, Ayla, if I remember correctly, the UIS are a bit more south then the Archipelago, not sub-tropics like here, but actual tropics - how do you think, that the two compare?", he asked, then raised a massive hand, "Though do not worry, Aonas and I are from the Northern Islands - tropics and sub-tropics mean warm weather to us!"
I grinned and nodded.

"Aha yes you know your geography well, it would seem. the UIS is indeed wholly tropical and well right now I can't exactly say what the major difference between this place and my home is beyond right now, my islands are in the rainy season. Maybe it's not quite as humid but even then I could just be here on an off day or haven't paid as much attention as I should. But if you good folks are from a colder northern climate then you must be enjoying the warmth plenty."

Aonas Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I smiled and nodded.
"I indeed do.", I said with a smile, preempting my father, who nodded to me, both in agreement and as a sign, that he let me speak. "Around this time of the year, the cold winds of the north will have frozen the harbour and the seaplane port, ice on the swamps and so on... not really suited for human habitation, but we have a little trick: Most of our homes are under the earth. We don't really need to venture out much and we usually only do so when in absolute need." I let a beat pass. "Compared to this here, I take the Archipelago every time of the day!"
"For me, it's a bit like home.", Iliane spoke, my Dad and I looked to her. "Nouvelle-Dunkerque is in the sub-tropics, too."

“Ah I see.” Marion said, smiling. The two girls were were honestly, truly adorable. She decided to dig her hand into her carpet bag, and pulled out a brown paper bag, offering it out to the girls, “Would you two like some lemon drops? I can tell you two are so well behaved.” She looked back at Nia and smiled, “If that’s alright with your parents that is.”

Honestly, she’d understand if the couldn’t take sweets given that they were at a party where more sustaining food was available, but still, it was a good gesture.

Nia Sneachtúil, of Cefnffordd Descent.
Although I was not their mother, but their Big Cousin and caretaker tonight, both girls looked to me, too - while there were more hearty options to eat available tonight, and more healthy, the two girls had been good and surely deserving of such lemon drops.
I nodded.
"Go ahead.", I said with a small smile, which widened as the two girls cheered.
Both girls held out their hands, palm open, awaiting one for each, grinning widely. I knew, that they would thank Marion as soon as they had their sweets, and they would do it like only Selkie-lassies could.
And it would be adorable!

"back home, the military has its own transport wing so we don't get much military stuff, unless its coming from the civilian sector to the military such as catering supplies and the likes or spare parts for engines. The name Ironcastle isn't particularly familiar to me, probably because they dont send a lot of steel to the confederacy as our market is relatively small, not to mention that Project Aurora has a domestic monopoly on things"

Marvin was watching Karen's hand, or rather the kittybite she was holding, then pounced as Karen tossed the kittybite to him, munching the kittybite he returned to watching Karen again, letting out a meow,
"Hungry?" asks Karen, looking at Marvin who replied with a meow. Karen glances over to Ribin making her way to the motorcycle before returning her watch over Marvin, who is still on a leash to a pole to protect him and stop him from going for a wander. Karen then turned to Jason, ya wanna get the fire going to cook the meat in the cool bag?

Brenda Iarnród of the Tribe of Louth.
Hm... seems like someone was unaware of the industry in the Free Lands... well, not my problem, they didn't seem to be here to talk about business anyway. I did note the words of 'small market' and 'domestic monopoly', though - I knew, that, if and when the time came, quite a few businesspeople would love to break that monopoly into a million tiny pieces.
If my father would be among them... I was not sure. But first, reconnaissance.
"Oh, what might Project Aurora be?", I asked with interest, "A new type of steelmill in development?"
Well, it was a bit on the nose...
Ribin returned with a pair of small, in-ear headphones, bound them together near the end so that they could easily click together in flight - I knew, that this worked splendidly with my cat - and let it click a bit, swinging it.
Let's see, how this new 'toy' would do.

[New Visayan Islands]

Gerald Vicente
At the Stall

"So," Gerald asked, "what's say we hit the beach proper? I figure a good swim would be pretty useful right about now." All he had to do was find a place to set his things--preferably within his line of sight, though he wouldn't mind a security booth--and he was ready for a swim.

[Aurora Confederacy]

Hm... seems like someone was unaware of the industry in the Free Lands... well, not my problem, they didn't seem to be here to talk about business anyway. I did note the words of 'small market' and 'domestic monopoly', though - I knew, that, if and when the time came, quite a few businesspeople would love to break that monopoly into a million tiny pieces.
If my father would be among them... I was not sure. But first, reconnaissance.
"Oh, what might Project Aurora be?", I asked with interest, "A new type of steelmill in development?"
Well, it was a bit on the nose...
Ribin returned with a pair of small, in-ear headphones, bound them together near the end so that they could easily click together in flight - I knew, that this worked splendidly with my cat - and let it click a bit, swinging it.
Let's see, how this new 'toy' would do.

"Project Aurora is a state owned commercial entity, they own Genesis Aerosystems, Diamond Star Automotive, as well as an electronic appliance company, they own part of Trans Polar Rail, Trans Polar Airlines as well as other arms, from ship building to steel works a well as the state owned TV and radio networks and one of the main cell phone network provider in the areas where you can actually get a signal, only about four percent of the landmass has cell coverage so most use CB radio or satellite phones. Through South Sands Nuclear they deal with electricity production and nuclear recycling, fuel production and re processing as well as power station management" replied Jason."There are loads of small businesses however steel is all done by PA at the moment. a nation with eight million people, most foreign groups have not seen the investments worth it for the returns from such a small market"

Marvin had seen Ribin walking back to the group but was currently more interested in playing catch the kittybite,

[Kuronami]

Galen Lannaire of the Tribe of Louth.
I smiled.
"Eight years old...", I said and nodded, "You could have fooled me - I thought you to be of nine Springs!"
Although it was a joke, it was also a bit of truth behind it, with that truth being, that she was quite mature for her age, at least in my mind. Kean nodded.
"When I was of eight Springs, I began as a logrider.", Kean told us, "During the weekends, I would ride out with my father and his men on the back of my horse..." He petted his steed's side of the neck for emphasis. "...and when they felled trees and removed the branches, they tied it to us and we dragged it out of the forest to the lumbercamp. It was nice pocket money - a Gil a day!"
I whistled with respect - that was indeed very much money.

Bianca giggled a little, it was a little appreciated to be regarded as a little older and thus a little more mature. "Wow you had to do a lot when you were eight like me! But it's good to have extra pocket money to spend right? That makes the work worth it. And I get to earn a little allowance too. So I can also have fun with Isabel and she doesn't have to pay for everything for me." Isabel blushed a little, not like she minded. "And you got to ride solo? Wow." Her eyes were wide with amazement because as mentioned she wasn't allowed to ride solo yet, not until she was older and had more experience.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
I wanted to reply to Marie, as Ilia looked up from Heidi.
"Over there, please!", he said and motioned to large stacks of crates, boxes, barrels and other containers, which were guarded by a lassie I knew very well: Macha Sáraigh of the Tribe of Clonmel, a lassie with long, light green hair as an unruly mane, green eyes shining as she watched us. She sat on one of the barrels, a little black fox on her lap and stroking it softly.
"Hey, Macha!", I greeted and placed the bags down, turning to take the load off Marie. "How's Finnegan?"
"Newlywed and happy as a clam.", the girl replied and watched us with a smile, "He said, that Enya and him have a bit of an announcement for later tonight, so..." She shrugged. "I have money on Enya being pregnant."
"Really?", I asked.
"Yep, there's a betting pool.", she explained to me and Marie, "Ya in? Mistress Banphrionsa is the bank."
I had to snort in amusement. That sounded very much like BI's lads and lassies!
Ilia, meanwhile, turned back to Heidi: "As for my parents, they're around here somewhere. Wanna speak with them?", he asked with a smile.
I did not know it at the time, but he had placed money on the round-the-world-trip.

Fiona Radharceolaíocht of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I was making a few photographs, a few images to remember the evening by, of Kieran and Eoin, who were putting the last touches on the Bull Boar's meat, before the large fire was not only ignited, but would also serve as a grill, when I noticed the man.
I had seen a lot of uniforms and uniformed men in my time and to be honest, after a few bad experiences in said time, my enthusiasm for uniformed men was... not exactly there anymore. Even if they did have handsome faces.
Or rather, especially, when they had handsome faces.
My daughter Iuna was a result of my enthusiasm about handsome men in nice uniforms, but while she was the best thing to ever happen to me, she was also the result of a one-nighter... I didn't even know her father's name. I was proud of her, though, and her accomplishments as gunner of Ronm-Dó, one of the Iris Boarding School Sensha-Do Team's Crogalls. She was somewhere around here, making friends, who might not be as enthusiastic about tanks as she was.
Anyway, I saw this man in uniform and took off my camera, revealing a pair of green eyes, green like emeralds, and blonde hair framing a nice face. I did wear a swimsuit, a rather modest bikini, with a utility bag slung around my hips.
I smiled at him.
"Excuse me, laddie?", I asked him, "Either you move to the side or you are okay with your photo being taken - either of the two, I wanted to make you aware of it!"

Stanislaus Vyterski
The man glanced at her, nodded, and went off to the side without a word. He had the slightest feeling that she probably didn't like military personnel.
After awhile, he abruptly stopped. Something was nagging at the back of his head.

He turned back around, squinting his eyes.
"What the..." He muttered, before approaching her again.
"Sorry to bother you, miss. I think we've met...or at least, I've met someone who looked like you."

---

Adelheid and Marie
Adelheid nodded in response. "Aye, I'd like to, if I could. More the merrier, anyway."
In the meantime, Marie handed Yven Adelheid's bag...which was surprisingly heavy. If he bothered to open it, he would find a disturbing amount of pierogi stuffed inside.
She set down her own as well. Judging by the dull thump it made, it probably had a similar cargo as well.

Marie shrugged in response to Macha's question. "I don't deal with games of chance, miss. Sorry...but if I did bet, I'd guess...pregnancy. You're one of his friends, I presume?"

She said it with such confidence that it would be difficult to believe that she was shooting in the dark.

[Democratic Exodian Territories]

Amy Ramallae of the Tribe of Monaghan.
After helping with unloading the carts, I was free again. Filly had spotted a friend and so I was on my lonesome, but I didn't mind. I had spotted a man, handsome face, slightly tanned, his shirt unbuttoned.
There were certainly worse-looking people.
And he was a foreigner.
Still, he was looking nervous - maybe even intimidated? I could understand him, when I began as a model of BI in 2011, I had been surrounded by so many beautiful women and men, and crushed on some of them, that I froze up. If it hadn't been for someone literally taking my hand and dragging me in, I would have had a short career here...
Granted, back then I had been 20 and he looked a bit older, but that was another story.
I stood next to him and smiled: "Good evenin'.", I said.

Moseley turned around to face the voice, and blushed slightly as he noticed the appearance- “appearance” was a massive understatement- of the speaker. Smiling warmly but trying to act “natural”, if ‘natural’ could even be achieved while talking with the gorgeous Selkie in front of him.

“Good evening to you,” he responded nonchalantly, steeling himself and trying not to stare. He’d had his share of women approach him, but he normally wasn’t desperate or interested enough to care, and those he did crush on he considered far out of his league- kind of like the girl next to him.
He reasoned with himself silently, telling himself he didn’t have a chance anyway and how nice it’d be to meet so many more people at the event, like herself.

[Atkemri]

Wells Family

The Wells family was having some wells earned down-time from their usually hectic lives. Lucky and Karen were laying down on beach chairs half-asleep and the 14-year-old Hadrian was using a computer typing something though his expression showed no sign of what exactly it was he was doing. Lucky finally finding a reason to stand dragged himself out of his seat leaving it creaking after the change in weight and began moving somewhere, though the destination was unimportant as he found himself tripping on the sand face leaving a large cloud of sand rising from the ground as he rose he saw that he had fallen in front of two Asians, a dog, it's owner and someone with pink hair. "Is the sand in this area usually this slippery?" Wells let out a little awkward laugh while on the ground and tried to dust himself off the best that he could as he stood himself up. Trying to relieve his own embarrassment he flashed a quick somewhat uneasy smile and attempted to strike up a conversation "Uh...so how are you guys doing?"

[Hanoverian Great Britain]

When Fintan gave his own suggestion, Alexandra was a bit surprised but was not put off by the idea. As she gave a quick thought of it, she came quick to agree to the said idea. "Well then, I can agree to that but are you sure that you dont want to be carried, Finny?", inquired Alexandra as she finally, and reluctantly let him down gently after cradling him for some time. Before the two would walk along the coastline, Alexandra lowered herself slightly as her right hand softly caressed his chin. "If I am to suggest, how about if we walk and get a boat for ourselves at the marina around here? We'll do a coin flip to decide the captain, alright?", suggested her with a small but tender kiss on the left cheek in order to soften him more. As Alexandra gave out her suggestion, she could already eye the outskirts of the surrounding islands nearby, waiting to be explored or ventured. Personally, though Alexandra had already travelled a lot as she is the queen of multiple countries around the globe, those islands could certainly hold something different than anything else she had seen, whether it be in New Zealand, Jamaica, Malaysia, or anywhere similar.

[Mediama]

“Ah I see.” Marion said, smiling. The two girls were were honestly, truly adorable. She decided to dig her hand into her carpet bag, and pulled out a brown paper bag, offering it out to the girls, “Would you two like some lemon drops? I can tell you two are so well behaved.” She looked back at Nia and smiled, “If that’s alright with your parents that is.”

Honestly, she’d understand if the couldn’t take sweets given that they were at a party where more sustaining food was available, but still, it was a good gesture.

Nia Sneachtúil, of Cefnffordd Descent.
Although I was not their mother, but their Big Cousin and caretaker tonight, both girls looked to me, too - while there were more hearty options to eat available tonight, and more healthy, the two girls had been good and surely deserving of such lemon drops.
I nodded.
"Go ahead.", I said with a small smile, which widened as the two girls cheered.
Both girls held out their hands, palm open, awaiting one for each, grinning widely. I knew, that they would thank Marion as soon as they had their sweets, and they would do it like only Selkie-lassies could.
And it would be adorable!

Marion smiled back at Nia, and giggled as the little girls cheered. She gingerly tilted the paper bag over and gave each girl first a napkin and then a handful of lemon drops. “Now don’t ruin your appetites by eating them all at once you hear?” As she heard their responses, and their thanks, Marion couldn’t help but feel her heart truly melt as they did so in an adorable fashion.

Truly, she was starting to feel relaxed. When she first got here, she was a little panicked and stressed at getting ready to present ideas and designs for B.I. It was truly nerve-wracking.

But here, sitting with a god-knows-how-old-but-also-very-cute wolf-girl and two children, at a sunny beach away from the freezing cold of New London, gave her nothing but a sense of comfort and relaxation. She turned to face Nia, and she felt like she didn’t want to leave, despite the fact that a certain photographer was probably waiting for her. She wanted to ask questions, but she didn’t know where to start.

That was the dilemma of slightly love struck, but very much flustered girl.

[Mervay]

Enya Cíochach of the Tribe of Navan.
We smiled gently.
"Yes, Cuan and the Lake Mór Region in general have a split relationship to the Black Foxes.", I said with a sad smile, "Luckily, there are enough people, who think differently, not as pests, but as companions... and when you say 'a group of friends' of Black Foxes in Cuan, we might have an idea as to who you mean..."
Kiah nodded. "Yes, Celina and her boss are nice people. When Pfote hurt himself during the Spring Festival, Mister Folaíochta immediately helped and he didn't even ask for something in return.", my older sister said and then shrugged. "I could get him to accept a hug and a thank-you-kiss."
I smiled. "He's cute, though.", I said, redirecting the conversation to Dilly and glanced to the bowl, where the ice cubes had melted. I smiled and placed the little bowl closer to the two. "And we would be delighted to have a drink or two with such a cute lad and his owners!"

Leonard Rualacha of the Tribe of Wicklow.
Oh, so she was a merchant of some sort? I had no idea about the scale...
"Indeed, it does.", I said and nodded, "You seem to have an awful lot on your plate..." I smiled. "I take, that you are from Mervay?" I smiled in a way, that assured her, that if she didn't want to answer, I would not hold it against you. And if she asked, how I knew that, or came to that conclusion, I would have to improvise, because this was a shot into the dark. "I was a part of the Escort during the Signing Ceremony - a huge honour to me. One of 150 men and women chosen by Marla Cróimiam Herself, from all corners of the Free Lands. I think, I even saw the Queen of Mervay from afar..."

Aurora Alce.
"Siore Toschya, it is a pleasure.", my boss said with a light bow of his head, "And no, you weren't interrupting anything. I am Silvio Esecutore, this is my apprentice and assistant, Aurora Alce."
I smiled and extended my hand. "It's a pleasure, Siore Toschya.", I said, "Please, call me Aurora."
"We work for the Casa di Commercio dei Viticoltori a Fortezza, CCVF for short, as well as a number of other casas.", he explained - he did not mention the LCN with one word. Those, who suspected, that we worked for them, would call us out on it. "If I may ask, where do you work?"

Lisolette Devienne and Lucas Walker
"Yeah... Mostly they seem to hate them and call them pests... Which to be honest they aren't... But well. You can't stop people from believing that it seems there without having to make a big cultural change there, at least there is a group that doesn't think that like the majority." Clearly Lise was hurt about the little foxes being seen as pests needed to take care of there of, still it was a matter of time that wiew changed for the majority, hopefully.

It seemed those girls knew of which friends she was talking about and sparked her ears as she heard those names to be said the three sisters with Ida speaking about her cat hurting himself and Gawain helping her mascot without asking in return, well in the end he was convinced to accept a hug and thank you kiss, but still it showed how much they cared for animals entirely and that was the example.

"So you know them too I guess, well that's surprising. And yeah Gawain is like that for what I remember a very good person." She grinned at the thought of it, last time she saw Gawain was in Cuán as for Cel and Chris on Launceston, all like six and three months ago. Clearly they would be close nearby with the their friends and with her boyfriend.

Meanwhile Dilly noticed the cold water and went to the bowl and drink it, not wasting time. Meanwhile the rest kept talking.

"And we are delighted and grateful of you three inviting us." Lucas smiled warmly at them as his girlfriend rested her head on his shoulders.

"So how's is to work as a model for BI?? Good and complicated I believe right??" Lucas asked curiously at them.

Athena Freezis
"Yeah. A lot... And with Horai we're trying to find a way of having a win-win situation where the locals and us see the benefits, mostly because of their economy and that, not like we want a win-win on all our markets but in some is more complicated than others." Clearly it was all a issue of work and work, and for now she didn't wanted to talk about work for a time.

Then she heard Leo saying if she was from Mervay, which it was a hit entirely. But still it made her smile a little.

"Yes how did you came to the conclusion??" She asked curiously and smirking at him.

Of course after that he told Athena about him being part of the Escort of the day when the Treaty was signed to create and make the SEA Official, heck even seeing Her Majesty from afar. It made her blush more again as she kept her cool at the sametime, a complicated task.

"So you were in the celebrations as escort huh?? And how did you felt being part of history?? Because that's what that day everyone made. History."

Vladimir Toschya

”It is a pleasure Mr. Esecutore..." He bowed his head back in respect to Silvio as then as soon as he noticed Aurora extending her hand, he kissed it and smiled. "So it is a pleasure to meet you Ma'am Aurora."

He was a gentleman it seemed with how he acted, clearly he had manners. Then he heard them working for CCFV, the cover of the LCN, that was a rumor or so it was heard from the police on everywhere and those on the underworld, well can't blame them, he does have front companies too.

"Ohh that. I have a series of businesses from where I come from with my most important company being a PMC. Trans World Operations, a company regarded on being the solution to many of our clients for certain operations in Bolgiano. However this company is in need of more weaponry and I believe you guys could help me on it, like if you know people that sell a good amount of guns??."

He now gave the hint, so hopefully they would understand why he came to them too.

[AHSCA]

Aonas Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I smiled and nodded.
"I indeed do.", I said with a smile, preempting my father, who nodded to me, both in agreement and as a sign, that he let me speak. "Around this time of the year, the cold winds of the north will have frozen the harbour and the seaplane port, ice on the swamps and so on... not really suited for human habitation, but we have a little trick: Most of our homes are under the earth. We don't really need to venture out much and we usually only do so when in absolute need." I let a beat pass. "Compared to this here, I take the Archipelago every time of the day!"
"For me, it's a bit like home.", Iliane spoke, my Dad and I looked to her. "Nouvelle-Dunkerque is in the sub-tropics, too."

Ayla shiver at just the discriptions about the icy cold landscape they called home. She was born in the tropics and would surely live her whole life there. One day she might dawn a parka and brave a colder climate but for now that was enough. "You should come down to my little slice of home sometime. Admittedly AHSCA is often joked as being two seasons, wet and wetter but when the clouds are parted and the sun is out, it's truly a lovely sight. And always very pleasant. Snowbirds as they call them, a fair few from Mervay are starting to frequent the islands during their winter. I think that's where it is but to be honest most of the tourists flock to the big island, Aurora or Animalpolis more than they come to my little Corona."

[Minroz]

Isla Stiúrthóir of the Tribe of Fingal.
I raised an eyebrow.
This was a very, very awkward laugh and joke.
"Well, seems like a nice friend.", I said and shrugged, "My trips to the Archipelago are usually the result of me saving up for the whole year and my returning customer bonus." I smiled slightly. "And any other trip I make over the year are business trips. Quite a few, actually, and some far away." I smiled. "I won't complain, though. This is a nice reward for a year's work."

Roksana Esfahani

“You earned it, my friend. We all need a break from our work. What better way than to vent out stress than some good partying~?” Roksana remarked, smirking. “I do admit I’m sort of a party-animal, haha~. I do like a good drink from time to time. Say, do your countrymen drink wine?”

Red wine is Roksana’s favourite alcoholic beverages. It helped that wine has played an important role in Aryanian culture and history ranging from administration of the earliest empires to religion and Aryanian literature, even a lot of Aryanian Muslims drink wine.

Fiete Kumma.
I was about to say "You're welcome.", when the man had turned around and had bumped into the girl.
Luckily, the bottles were still closed, so when the girl dropped some as she held her balance, the glass bottles fell onto the soft sand and didn't spray lemonade everywhere.
"Ya Allah! I’m so sorry, miss. I didn’t notice you’re here.", he quickly apologized.
Once the girl caught herself, she glared at him from her red eyes, a snarl on her face: "Du botschate Gwandlaus, hast wohl zu viel beim Dradiwaberl mitgespielt?!" I had to smile at this flippant display of Teressian dialect, vowels slightly elongated and an overdone enunciation. She sighed and picked up her bottles before switching back into English: "I'm fine. Have a good evening."

Nasrollah Afshar

Frowning, the Aryanian was tempted to make a comeback at her but hold his tongue. He is a nobleman of Great Aryan, one of Iclamia’s ancient kingdoms. Nevertheless he’s too disciplined of the guy to do so, considering his background as the imperial guard. His military discipline kicks in and suppressed his irritation at the flippant display. On other hand, he doesn’t like to fuss over petty things. Besides, he’s not his first time dealing with flippant individuals. This one is tame by comparisons.

“Again, I do apologise.” Nasrollah said in response, speaking English and managed to sound polite. “Have…a good evening, miss.”

He gave out his polite bow and turns away, carrying the two lemonades. Nasrollah walked towards where his wife and Isla is.

[Lillorainen]

Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
Alya nodded.
"Then I would be very pleased, if you could keep a spot or two free on your dance card.", she requested and I felt at ease as I sipped on my lemonade. Then, Alya either decided to go a bit native or to do as it was a bit of a trend in Kyrenaia at the moment, to dance with a partner of the same gender, as she looked at the other two girls and me: "Of course, I would also like a dance with all three of you. No strings attached, of course."
Even if there was a rope attached to it, I smiled and nodded. "Sure, sounds like fun!", I said, "I know, that you won't crush my toes like a certain other someone..."
Alya giggled and then told us: "Yes, I have heard of the legendary dance-handicap of Mister Tuadóir!", she said and maybe it was no coincidence, that her free hand reached for her toes and massaged them. "He does seem like a nice gentleman, though."
I nodded - that he was indeed.

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
I nodded, still a bit unused to hearing Chris speak my tongue - but I was also pleased.
"Yep, that it was.", my boss' voice told us from the side in Selkie, him approaching us. I smiled, let go of Chris and hugged the ancient Spiorad from the other shoreline. "Hello, Cel - Chris, good to see, that your trip into the world of Younger Militia Logistics went well!"
I giggled - of course it was!
I rejoined my boyfriend's side. "Let's get something to drink, okay?", I suggested.
Of course we spoke Selkie.

Chris and Cel kept standing for a moment - a moment in which Chris' little remark got responded to by another familiar voice. He had to grin. Gawain really had a unique talent at suddenly showing up out of nowhere.
Chris nodded. Indeed, the little trip into the world of Younger Militia Logistics had went awesome, and the sophisticated planning and efficiency thereof simply never ceased to amaze him.
Cel joined his side again, making a fairly reasonable suggestion - to say the least.
He nodded, noticing, that he had indeed gotten quite thirsty. Of course, he was aware how sugary the lemonade would be, but Selkie and Lillos had a long tradition of competing at ruining their teeth with their respective drinks. "Sounds like a plan!" - he said.

Dragan nodded at Alya's request. She would get her spot or two on his dance card - of course, the proverbial one, even if he was aware, that the tradition of having literal dance cards around was quite a thing in Teressien. While he hadn't been awfully curious as to what had been going on at the ball at Schloss Zyng last summer for personal interest, his professional ethics demanded accurate knowledge on any information his colleagues could have gotten, judging by what the Teressian press had been allowed and willing to inform the world about - not to mention the long tradition of Shikonjimanese Royalty getting involved wherever one expected that the least.
Kira and Leo nodded, too. Whether Alya was just adopting the local customs for tonight, or following a general trend in Kyrenaia, could only be speculated about, but she would get her spot on their respective dance card in either case.
Dragan knew who the legendary Mister Tuadóir was, and he also knew the legend of his little dance-handicap. He had to grin.
"Now, whoever might examine the permissible bearing load of your toes again tonight, be sure, it's not gonna be me!" - he said.
Leo laughed. "So there isn't much that can go wrong - at least in theory!"
"Yeah, in theory." Dragan had to laugh, too. "That doesn't spare me from getting introduced to people who happen to have two left feet!"
Leo shrugged. "I don't keep record on the dancing skills of every friend I meet once in a while ..."

[Shikonjima]

Raidri Gormchló of the Tribe of Fingal.
Áed smiled and then stated, almost bragged: "I am pleased to say, that I might not be a master of playing Horai, but I am very good at it!" His words were not only born out of misplaced pride, but he did have a certain amount of skill with it. "Their secret are the Monomi, their battlefield assassins, who replace the grenadiers, and their swordspeople, who replace the light infantry. Their pikes and musketeers are garbage, though."
He explained the technicalities of setting up a strategy based on the excellent infantry of the Horai, which could even defeat an experienced Zaijia-Player, how due to the not-so-good cavalry of the animal-eared folk, they were mostly relegated to scouting and intercepting enemy scouts, while one oneself creeped forward with infantry, artillery and secured every viable position and then some with towers, forts, fortresses and other defensive buildings, all while raiding the economy of the enemy with Monomi.
"After all, even Zaijia can not have a large army, if it lacks the resources to actually build and supply it.", he finished.
I nodded.

Faye Donn of the Tribe of Wexford.
I nodded.
"I can imagine.", I said, then added: "When the Lutetiian Armed Forces were disbanded, much of their equipment went to civilian hands, from uniforms to entire vessels. Quite a few corvettes and other small vessels went into private hands - demilitarized and rebuilt, of course. I know of a fellow merchant, who uses one of these corvettes as a representative vessel."
It were Esecutore and Alce, his assistant with the milk shop. Setsu most likely never heard of either of them.
"I also know of a guy, who bought a light aircraft carrier, as well as a few other ships, and didn't demilitarize them.", I said and smiled slightly, "He built a small diving resort, much like this, on one of Lutetii's islands and had these ships sunk in shallow waters basically right in front of them. It's very popular among wreck-diving tourists nowadays, with wrecks of different skill levels available."
It certainly paid off by now, one had to add.

Kazuo and Yelda nodded along, when Áed explained the set of units, profound build-up strategy, as well as scouting, intercepting, and defense tactics of the Horai, also, by intuition, following their home countries' cultural habit of low-voiced, aspired signal words in their mother tongues - hai and tiim ee, respectively -, to indicate, that they were listening. Kazuo had to grin at his final statement.
"Yeah, that's a point some players, especially those less skilled, tend to forget about" - he said. "It may be awesome to have the advantage of playing a civilization that has a bonus on cheap infantry - in AoE, the Teutons and Goths would come into mind, even though both aren't remotely as overpowered as Zaijia sounds to me -, but that helps you little, if there is only a weak economy behind. Of course, it does take time to find one's ideal plan to set an eco up, and it might take even longer to find one's ideal defense strategy, but relying on one's army strength alone won't get one anywhere." He let a beat pass. "At least, this was a thing Yelda did a fairly decent job at back then, despite her pretty audacious way of carrying the victory home." He grinned.
As did Yelda. She had a cheeky comment on her tongue, but she kept it for herself. It had taken one and a half years to get the praise on the economic efficiency and defense structure of Yelda-Khana's Mongol Empire out of Kazuo, and she didn't want to ruin this moment.
Instead, she said, "Yeah, there's a bit that belongs to that - of course, also luck with the resources and where they are located. The availability of only one particular type of resource can already be determining the course of the game, and ultimately the outcome. It depends on more factors than one might wish to believe."
Setsuko nodded.
Indeed, Esecutore and Alce wouldn't really ring a bell with her as of yet, but depending on where she might end up after finishing her studies of Economics, chances were, that this would change in a few years ...
"I can imagine!" - she said. "That's probably the advantage of a country's decision to disband its military. Our own is still there, of course, but Shikonjima quite reduced its stock a bit in 1988, when the Old Shogunate was dissolved and the military doctrine got changed - with the last colonies gaining independence, there were considerably fewer reasons to keep a huge Navy up, and in the 1990s and 2000s, there were many measurements of modernization of the RSA and RSN. Both events were pretty good occasions to sell some old vessels and other equipment out."
She took a sip of lemonade. By the Four Souls, this stuff was sweet ...
"We do have a few diving resorts from those days, too" - she said, "even though we can't come up with something as awesome as an old aircraft carrier as of now. But should the days of the ISN Yoshita ever be numbered, I already know what I would do with it!"

[The Selkie]

Gerald Vicente
At the Stall

"So," Gerald asked, "what's say we hit the beach proper? I figure a good swim would be pretty useful right about now." All he had to do was find a place to set his things--preferably within his line of sight, though he wouldn't mind a security booth--and he was ready for a swim.

Isla Saighead of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I smiled and nodded.
"That sounds like a fun idea!", I said and turned to Amy, "You in as well?"
Amy nodded. "Sure, why not? Food tastes best after a bit of activity!", she said and grinned with enthusiasm, then looked at Vicente. "Do you play Footvolley?"
We turned towards the beach and made our way there.

"Project Aurora is a state owned commercial entity, they own Genesis Aerosystems, Diamond Star Automotive, as well as an electronic appliance company, they own part of Trans Polar Rail, Trans Polar Airlines as well as other arms, from ship building to steel works a well as the state owned TV and radio networks and one of the main cell phone network provider in the areas where you can actually get a signal, only about four percent of the landmass has cell coverage so most use CB radio or satellite phones. Through South Sands Nuclear they deal with electricity production and nuclear recycling, fuel production and re processing as well as power station management" replied Jason."There are loads of small businesses however steel is all done by PA at the moment. a nation with eight million people, most foreign groups have not seen the investments worth it for the returns from such a small market"

Marvin had seen Ribin walking back to the group but was currently more interested in playing catch the kittybite,

Brenda Iarnród of the Tribe of Louth.
Ribin was a bit disappointed, pouting, which made me grin lopsidedly, which also served excellently at hiding my slight disappointment. Dad would be indeed uninterested in such a market, not because it was so small (eight million was still respectable and we had made deals with smaller nations, I knew that), but a state owned company was hard to dislodge from its monopolies because the state of course was quite interested to preserve these monopolies...
...and the corresponding revenue.
"Ya aren't much of a cat-herder, now are ya?", I asked Ribin and she sighed, packing up the headphones. "Don't worry, Ruathaire still loves ya!"
Ribin looked at me and smiled slightly.

Galen Lannaire of the Tribe of Louth.
I smiled.
"Eight years old...", I said and nodded, "You could have fooled me - I thought you to be of nine Springs!"
Although it was a joke, it was also a bit of truth behind it, with that truth being, that she was quite mature for her age, at least in my mind. Kean nodded.
"When I was of eight Springs, I began as a logrider.", Kean told us, "During the weekends, I would ride out with my father and his men on the back of my horse..." He petted his steed's side of the neck for emphasis. "...and when they felled trees and removed the branches, they tied it to us and we dragged it out of the forest to the lumbercamp. It was nice pocket money - a Gil a day!"
I whistled with respect - that was indeed very much money.

Bianca giggled a little, it was a little appreciated to be regarded as a little older and thus a little more mature. "Wow you had to do a lot when you were eight like me! But it's good to have extra pocket money to spend right? That makes the work worth it. And I get to earn a little allowance too. So I can also have fun with Isabel and she doesn't have to pay for everything for me." Isabel blushed a little, not like she minded. "And you got to ride solo? Wow." Her eyes were wide with amazement because as mentioned she wasn't allowed to ride solo yet, not until she was older and had more experience.

Galen Lannaire of the Tribe of Louth.
Kean nodded. "Indeed, I rode solo.", he said, "Though, one should mention, that this brave lassie here..." He smiled at his horse. "...was younger and smaller then she is nowadays. It was good riding exercise."
I smiled at that, nodded. "I grew up on a cattle ranch near Anfa.", I said, "I helped out on that ranch since I was little. Protected the cattle on the grassy plains, herded them, trained mounted archery, too."
"You still dream of competing against Leonard, don't you?", Kean asked.
I nodded. "Sure do." I addressed the the two girls with a smile: "Leonard Lách of the Tribe of Galway is the best mounted archer currently in the League.", I explained to them, "And he's actually quite a nice guy. Cattle Ranch Son like me!"
Kean nodded.

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
I wanted to reply to Marie, as Ilia looked up from Heidi.
"Over there, please!", he said and motioned to large stacks of crates, boxes, barrels and other containers, which were guarded by a lassie I knew very well: Macha Sáraigh of the Tribe of Clonmel, a lassie with long, light green hair as an unruly mane, green eyes shining as she watched us. She sat on one of the barrels, a little black fox on her lap and stroking it softly.
"Hey, Macha!", I greeted and placed the bags down, turning to take the load off Marie. "How's Finnegan?"
"Newlywed and happy as a clam.", the girl replied and watched us with a smile, "He said, that Enya and him have a bit of an announcement for later tonight, so..." She shrugged. "I have money on Enya being pregnant."
"Really?", I asked.
"Yep, there's a betting pool.", she explained to me and Marie, "Ya in? Mistress Banphrionsa is the bank."
I had to snort in amusement. That sounded very much like BI's lads and lassies!
Ilia, meanwhile, turned back to Heidi: "As for my parents, they're around here somewhere. Wanna speak with them?", he asked with a smile.
I did not know it at the time, but he had placed money on the round-the-world-trip.

Fiona Radharceolaíocht of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I was making a few photographs, a few images to remember the evening by, of Kieran and Eoin, who were putting the last touches on the Bull Boar's meat, before the large fire was not only ignited, but would also serve as a grill, when I noticed the man.
I had seen a lot of uniforms and uniformed men in my time and to be honest, after a few bad experiences in said time, my enthusiasm for uniformed men was... not exactly there anymore. Even if they did have handsome faces.
Or rather, especially, when they had handsome faces.
My daughter Iuna was a result of my enthusiasm about handsome men in nice uniforms, but while she was the best thing to ever happen to me, she was also the result of a one-nighter... I didn't even know her father's name. I was proud of her, though, and her accomplishments as gunner of Ronm-Dó, one of the Iris Boarding School Sensha-Do Team's Crogalls. She was somewhere around here, making friends, who might not be as enthusiastic about tanks as she was.
Anyway, I saw this man in uniform and took off my camera, revealing a pair of green eyes, green like emeralds, and blonde hair framing a nice face. I did wear a swimsuit, a rather modest bikini, with a utility bag slung around my hips.
I smiled at him.
"Excuse me, laddie?", I asked him, "Either you move to the side or you are okay with your photo being taken - either of the two, I wanted to make you aware of it!"

Stanislaus Vyterski
The man glanced at her, nodded, and went off to the side without a word. He had the slightest feeling that she probably didn't like military personnel.
After awhile, he abruptly stopped. Something was nagging at the back of his head.

He turned back around, squinting his eyes.
"What the..." He muttered, before approaching her again.
"Sorry to bother you, miss. I think we've met...or at least, I've met someone who looked like you."

---

Adelheid and Marie
Adelheid nodded in response. "Aye, I'd like to, if I could. More the merrier, anyway."
In the meantime, Marie handed Yven Adelheid's bag...which was surprisingly heavy. If he bothered to open it, he would find a disturbing amount of pierogi stuffed inside.
She set down her own as well. Judging by the dull thump it made, it probably had a similar cargo as well.

Marie shrugged in response to Macha's question. "I don't deal with games of chance, miss. Sorry...but if I did bet, I'd guess...pregnancy. You're one of his friends, I presume?"

She said it with such confidence that it would be difficult to believe that she was shooting in the dark.

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
The green-hair snorted in amusement.
"Yep, that she is.", I said, "Macha, that's Marie - Marie, Macha Sáraigh of the Tribe of Clonmel."
She waved. "Hi, Marie!", she said, got up and looked Marie up and down. "Kinda drab clothes, ya know... and yes, I see, that it's a uniform." She looked Marie in the face, grinned. "Still, this is a party - don't ya wanna try something lighter?"
I smiled and watched Ilia signal his mother to come over.

Fiona Radharceolaíocht of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I looked at the man, gave him a very close neutral smile and said: "My apologies, but that'd be impossible.", I said. "And I'd try a better pick-up line if I were you, laddie."
With that, I turned and looked for my next motive.
It offered itself with almost reckless abandon, a lassie of sixteen Springs, light brown hair and violet eyes. She had my nose, was my daughter... and unlike me, she was quite flat in the chest-department, the slim built of a sportswoman. And Iuna was one, she practiced Tankery, was gunner on one of the Crogalls.
She was talking with a dark-skinned young man, white hair, red eyes - he was quite a looker and very much uninterested in the fact, that she was anything but... especially when compared to many of the women here.
I snapped an image as Iuna was laughing at something Prince Elian had just recounted to her.

Amy Ramallae of the Tribe of Monaghan.
After helping with unloading the carts, I was free again. Filly had spotted a friend and so I was on my lonesome, but I didn't mind. I had spotted a man, handsome face, slightly tanned, his shirt unbuttoned.
There were certainly worse-looking people.
And he was a foreigner.
Still, he was looking nervous - maybe even intimidated? I could understand him, when I began as a model of BI in 2011, I had been surrounded by so many beautiful women and men, and crushed on some of them, that I froze up. If it hadn't been for someone literally taking my hand and dragging me in, I would have had a short career here...
Granted, back then I had been 20 and he looked a bit older, but that was another story.
I stood next to him and smiled: "Good evenin'.", I said.

Moseley turned around to face the voice, and blushed slightly as he noticed the appearance- “appearance” was a massive understatement- of the speaker. Smiling warmly but trying to act “natural”, if ‘natural’ could even be achieved while talking with the gorgeous Selkie in front of him.

“Good evening to you,” he responded nonchalantly, steeling himself and trying not to stare. He’d had his share of women approach him, but he normally wasn’t desperate or interested enough to care, and those he did crush on he considered far out of his league- kind of like the girl next to him.
He reasoned with himself silently, telling himself he didn’t have a chance anyway and how nice it’d be to meet so many more people at the event, like herself.

Amy Ramallae of the Tribe of Monaghan.
Yep, he was nervous and me talking to him didn't seem to make it better, despite him trying to act natural. It was a good try, one had to give him that - and I really appreciated, that he tried not to stare.
With Cealg near my feet, I extended my hand - it was a bit of an awkward gesture to me, we Selkie didn't really shake hands, but I smiled.
"I'm Amy.", I introduced myself, then pointed to the Lapa by me foot, "And that's Cealg."
Meeting new people was always fun, indeed.

Wells Family

The Wells family was having some wells earned down-time from their usually hectic lives. Lucky and Karen were laying down on beach chairs half-asleep and the 14-year-old Hadrian was using a computer typing something though his expression showed no sign of what exactly it was he was doing. Lucky finally finding a reason to stand dragged himself out of his seat leaving it creaking after the change in weight and began moving somewhere, though the destination was unimportant as he found himself tripping on the sand face leaving a large cloud of sand rising from the ground as he rose he saw that he had fallen in front of two Asians, a dog, it's owner and someone with pink hair. "Is the sand in this area usually this slippery?" Wells let out a little awkward laugh while on the ground and tried to dust himself off the best that he could as he stood himself up. Trying to relieve his own embarrassment he flashed a quick somewhat uneasy smile and attempted to strike up a conversation "Uh...so how are you guys doing?"

Donnchadh Saineolaí of the Tribe of Clonmel.
Our conversation with Valeriya and Yali was interrupted by a guy tripping and falling, Barrogi rising and moving to protect Ceili in case trouble arose - neither did he snarl nor did he bark, though.
As he rose, the man asked: "Is the sand in this area usually this slippery?" He then laughed awkwardly, then flashed an uneasy smile. "Uh...so how are you guys doing?"
"Quite well, thank you.", Ceili replied with a smile, her hand on Barrogi's shoulder. "How are you? Everything alright?"

When Fintan gave his own suggestion, Alexandra was a bit surprised but was not put off by the idea. As she gave a quick thought of it, she came quick to agree to the said idea. "Well then, I can agree to that but are you sure that you dont want to be carried, Finny?", inquired Alexandra as she finally, and reluctantly let him down gently after cradling him for some time. Before the two would walk along the coastline, Alexandra lowered herself slightly as her right hand softly caressed his chin. "If I am to suggest, how about if we walk and get a boat for ourselves at the marina around here? We'll do a coin flip to decide the captain, alright?", suggested her with a small but tender kiss on the left cheek in order to soften him more. As Alexandra gave out her suggestion, she could already eye the outskirts of the surrounding islands nearby, waiting to be explored or ventured. Personally, though Alexandra had already travelled a lot as she is the queen of multiple countries around the globe, those islands could certainly hold something different than anything else she had seen, whether it be in New Zealand, Jamaica, Malaysia, or anywhere similar.

Fintan Muc of the Tribe of Cork.
I smiled and nodded, both happy and unhappy about being on my two feet again - on one hand, I was not a baby anymore, on the other, it had felt nice... weird...
Her hand on my chin felt nice, though.
I offered her my hand to take for the stroll.
"That sounds like a fun idea, Alexandra.", I said and as we began to move first to the shoreline and then alongside it, towards the north and the Fiántas Cliff and its old watchtower, I knew, that the marina she talked about was far more north. I also knew, that there were a number of quays and jetties along the beaches of Tearmann Island, where one could, with some luck, find a boat and rent it for a bit.
Or already have one, for that matter.

Marion smiled back at Nia, and giggled as the little girls cheered. She gingerly tilted the paper bag over and gave each girl first a napkin and then a handful of lemon drops. “Now don’t ruin your appetites by eating them all at once you hear?” As she heard their responses, and their thanks, Marion couldn’t help but feel her heart truly melt as they did so in an adorable fashion.

Truly, she was starting to feel relaxed. When she first got here, she was a little panicked and stressed at getting ready to present ideas and designs for B.I. It was truly nerve-wracking.

But here, sitting with a god-knows-how-old-but-also-very-cute wolf-girl and two children, at a sunny beach away from the freezing cold of New London, gave her nothing but a sense of comfort and relaxation. She turned to face Nia, and she felt like she didn’t want to leave, despite the fact that a certain photographer was probably waiting for her. She wanted to ask questions, but she didn’t know where to start.

That was the dilemma of slightly love struck, but very much flustered girl.

Nia Sneachtúil, of Cefnffordd Descent.
As expected, the two girls thanked Marion in their adorable way, thanked her for the advice, too, and put one lemon drop each into their mouth, smiling happily.
I knew, that they would share them with their friends later.
I looked into her flustered face and I knew, that she wanted to ask something... and I saw, in her eyes, that she liked me. Liked as in liked.
We were all relaxing, the weather was nice, the company both adorable and fun, the topics were nice, too.
Yet, Marion had trouble finding the right words to start.
"Who taught you how to sew that good?", I asked, indicating to the swimsuit. It was really well made!

Lisolette Devienne and Lucas Walker
"Yeah... Mostly they seem to hate them and call them pests... Which to be honest they aren't... But well. You can't stop people from believing that it seems there without having to make a big cultural change there, at least there is a group that doesn't think that like the majority." Clearly Lise was hurt about the little foxes being seen as pests needed to take care of there of, still it was a matter of time that wiew changed for the majority, hopefully.

It seemed those girls knew of which friends she was talking about and sparked her ears as she heard those names to be said the three sisters with Ida speaking about her cat hurting himself and Gawain helping her mascot without asking in return, well in the end he was convinced to accept a hug and thank you kiss, but still it showed how much they cared for animals entirely and that was the example.

"So you know them too I guess, well that's surprising. And yeah Gawain is like that for what I remember a very good person." She grinned at the thought of it, last time she saw Gawain was in Cuán as for Cel and Chris on Launceston, all like six and three months ago. Clearly they would be close nearby with the their friends and with her boyfriend.

Meanwhile Dilly noticed the cold water and went to the bowl and drink it, not wasting time. Meanwhile the rest kept talking.

"And we are delighted and grateful of you three inviting us." Lucas smiled warmly at them as his girlfriend rested her head on his shoulders.

"So how's is to work as a model for BI?? Good and complicated I believe right??" Lucas asked curiously at them.

Athena Freezis
"Yeah. A lot... And with Horai we're trying to find a way of having a win-win situation where the locals and us see the benefits, mostly because of their economy and that, not like we want a win-win on all our markets but in some is more complicated than others." Clearly it was all a issue of work and work, and for now she didn't wanted to talk about work for a time.

Then she heard Leo saying if she was from Mervay, which it was a hit entirely. But still it made her smile a little.

"Yes how did you came to the conclusion??" She asked curiously and smirking at him.

Of course after that he told Athena about him being part of the Escort of the day when the Treaty was signed to create and make the SEA Official, heck even seeing Her Majesty from afar. It made her blush more again as she kept her cool at the sametime, a complicated task.

"So you were in the celebrations as escort huh?? And how did you felt being part of history?? Because that's what that day everyone made. History."

Vladimir Toschya

”It is a pleasure Mr. Esecutore..." He bowed his head back in respect to Silvio as then as soon as he noticed Aurora extending her hand, he kissed it and smiled. "So it is a pleasure to meet you Ma'am Aurora."

He was a gentleman it seemed with how he acted, clearly he had manners. Then he heard them working for CCFV, the cover of the LCN, that was a rumor or so it was heard from the police on everywhere and those on the underworld, well can't blame them, he does have front companies too.

"Ohh that. I have a series of businesses from where I come from with my most important company being a PMC. Trans World Operations, a company regarded on being the solution to many of our clients for certain operations in Bolgiano. However this company is in need of more weaponry and I believe you guys could help me on it, like if you know people that sell a good amount of guns??."

He now gave the hint, so hopefully they would understand why he came to them too.

Enya Cíochach of the Tribe of Navan.
I smiled.
"It's fun!", I said and was my bubbly self - my sisters let me do the talking with smiles of their own. "Sure, hard work, too, but also a lot of fun. You get to wear a lot of nice clothes, meet new and cool people, travel around a lot - it's fun!"
Kiah nodded. "Indeed, that is the long and short of it.", she said, then smiled at the two: "And it's good pocket money... Ida and I are studying and Enya here will soon start."
I nodded.

Leonard Rualacha of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I nodded.
"It is a humbling experience to have even only such a little part on that day. Indeed, history was made.", I said and I knew that to be true. SEA would be a path to a good and better future for my generation and the generations following us. "As for how I could tell you are from Mervay..." I shrugged with a slightly lopsided grin. "A shot into the blue. And a golden hit as it seems."
My admission was the truth, deciding for it because truth was always the best.

Aurora Alce.
Yeah, this was more then a hint... this was a concrete brick to the face.
And I knew, that my boss thought similarly as he raised an eyebrow but a smidgen. He was indeed Silvio Esecutore, the man, who sold quite a lot of things, which may or may not be legal or illegal in the country they entered.
He turned slightly.
"Let's walk for a bit, Siore Toschya.", he suggested as a better setting for that particular kind of conversation, "The ocean has ears and the sand has eyes." He nodded to me, thus giving me the signal to join his far side. "I hope, that you don't mind my apprentice coming along?"

Aonas Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I smiled and nodded.
"I indeed do.", I said with a smile, preempting my father, who nodded to me, both in agreement and as a sign, that he let me speak. "Around this time of the year, the cold winds of the north will have frozen the harbour and the seaplane port, ice on the swamps and so on... not really suited for human habitation, but we have a little trick: Most of our homes are under the earth. We don't really need to venture out much and we usually only do so when in absolute need." I let a beat pass. "Compared to this here, I take the Archipelago every time of the day!"
"For me, it's a bit like home.", Iliane spoke, my Dad and I looked to her. "Nouvelle-Dunkerque is in the sub-tropics, too."

Ayla shiver at just the discriptions about the icy cold landscape they called home. She was born in the tropics and would surely live her whole life there. One day she might dawn a parka and brave a colder climate but for now that was enough. "You should come down to my little slice of home sometime. Admittedly AHSCA is often joked as being two seasons, wet and wetter but when the clouds are parted and the sun is out, it's truly a lovely sight. And always very pleasant. Snowbirds as they call them, a fair few from Mervay are starting to frequent the islands during their winter. I think that's where it is but to be honest most of the tourists flock to the big island, Aurora or Animalpolis more than they come to my little Corona."

Aonas Folracht of the Tribe of Wicklow.
I looked to Iliane and smiled at her.
"What do ya think, Iliane?", I asked, "Wanna overwinter on Corona with me next year?"
Dad laughed as the young woman flustered and blushed, stuttered something out, that sounded like a preliminary approval - at least until school started again, she added.
Dad, meanwhile, grinned at Ayla. "That begs the question of whether or not you might be interested in receiving more tourists, Alya. It all had two sides: On one hand, more tourists mean more money and revenue, on the other, more tourists mean more traffic and that might damage the environment... you'll have to carefully choose."
"And don't forget the gawkers.", I added from the side, referring to the tourists, who would just stand around and gawk like idiots - mostly standing in the way and begging for accidents to happen.
"Aye, can't forget those.", Dad agreed.

Isla Stiúrthóir of the Tribe of Fingal.
I raised an eyebrow.
This was a very, very awkward laugh and joke.
"Well, seems like a nice friend.", I said and shrugged, "My trips to the Archipelago are usually the result of me saving up for the whole year and my returning customer bonus." I smiled slightly. "And any other trip I make over the year are business trips. Quite a few, actually, and some far away." I smiled. "I won't complain, though. This is a nice reward for a year's work."

Roksana Esfahani

“You earned it, my friend. We all need a break from our work. What better way than to vent out stress than some good partying~?” Roksana remarked, smirking. “I do admit I’m sort of a party-animal, haha~. I do like a good drink from time to time. Say, do your countrymen drink wine?”

Red wine is Roksana’s favourite alcoholic beverages. It helped that wine has played an important role in Aryanian culture and history ranging from administration of the earliest empires to religion and Aryanian literature, even a lot of Aryanian Muslims drink wine.

Fiete Kumma.
I was about to say "You're welcome.", when the man had turned around and had bumped into the girl.
Luckily, the bottles were still closed, so when the girl dropped some as she held her balance, the glass bottles fell onto the soft sand and didn't spray lemonade everywhere.
"Ya Allah! I’m so sorry, miss. I didn’t notice you’re here.", he quickly apologized.
Once the girl caught herself, she glared at him from her red eyes, a snarl on her face: "Du botschate Gwandlaus, hast wohl zu viel beim Dradiwaberl mitgespielt?!" I had to smile at this flippant display of Teressian dialect, vowels slightly elongated and an overdone enunciation. She sighed and picked up her bottles before switching back into English: "I'm fine. Have a good evening."

Nasrollah Afshar

Frowning, the Aryanian was tempted to make a comeback at her but hold his tongue. He is a nobleman of Great Aryan, one of Iclamia’s ancient kingdoms. Nevertheless he’s too disciplined of the guy to do so, considering his background as the imperial guard. His military discipline kicks in and suppressed his irritation at the flippant display. On other hand, he doesn’t like to fuss over petty things. Besides, he’s not his first time dealing with flippant individuals. This one is tame by comparisons.

“Again, I do apologise.” Nasrollah said in response, speaking English and managed to sound polite. “Have…a good evening, miss.”

He gave out his polite bow and turns away, carrying the two lemonades. Nasrollah walked towards where his wife and Isla is.

Isla Stiúrthóir of the Tribe of Fingal.
"A few do.", I said and shrugged, "Not really our cuppa... we Selkie are more whiskey- and ale-drinkers, when it comes to alcohol, although beer has become a bit more popular, especially from Lillorainen."
I shrugged.
"Wine is more drunk by the Lutetiians.", I added as her husband returned, "We should have a few bottles around, mind you... but that's only after the kids are in bed at ten." I threw the two of them a wink. "Have a good appetite!"

Chris and Cel kept standing for a moment - a moment in which Chris' little remark got responded to by another familiar voice. He had to grin. Gawain really had a unique talent at suddenly showing up out of nowhere.
Chris nodded. Indeed, the little trip into the world of Younger Militia Logistics had went awesome, and the sophisticated planning and efficiency thereof simply never ceased to amaze him.
Cel joined his side again, making a fairly reasonable suggestion - to say the least.
He nodded, noticing, that he had indeed gotten quite thirsty. Of course, he was aware how sugary the lemonade would be, but Selkie and Lillos had a long tradition of competing at ruining their teeth with their respective drinks. "Sounds like a plan!" - he said.

Dragan nodded at Alya's request. She would get her spot or two on his dance card - of course, the proverbial one, even if he was aware, that the tradition of having literal dance cards around was quite a thing in Teressien. While he hadn't been awfully curious as to what had been going on at the ball at Schloss Zyng last summer for personal interest, his professional ethics demanded accurate knowledge on any information his colleagues could have gotten, judging by what the Teressian press had been allowed and willing to inform the world about - not to mention the long tradition of Shikonjimanese Royalty getting involved wherever one expected that the least.
Kira and Leo nodded, too. Whether Alya was just adopting the local customs for tonight, or following a general trend in Kyrenaia, could only be speculated about, but she would get her spot on their respective dance card in either case.
Dragan knew who the legendary Mister Tuadóir was, and he also knew the legend of his little dance-handicap. He had to grin.
"Now, whoever might examine the permissible bearing load of your toes again tonight, be sure, it's not gonna be me!" - he said.
Leo laughed. "So there isn't much that can go wrong - at least in theory!"
"Yeah, in theory." Dragan had to laugh, too. "That doesn't spare me from getting introduced to people who happen to have two left feet!"
Leo shrugged. "I don't keep record on the dancing skills of every friend I meet once in a while ..."

Amy Laoch of the Tribe of Dundalk.
We laughed with Dragan and his friends, which felt good.
"For me, there are certain members of Royalty one better avoids at balls.", Alya said with a smile, "And then there are those, who just need more practice. Funnily enough, Crown Prince Ilia falls into the latter category. I know from Aurelia, that she often offers him to dance with her, but he never has time."
Alya shrugged.
"Well, that was, what dance shoes with iron reinforcement were invented for.", Alya added.
"They'll be of much use tonight, eh?", I asked and looked at Alya's feet, which were both good-looking and bare.
The Princess shrugged with a smile. Can't have everything in life, now can you?, she asked nonverbally.

Celina Treoraí of the Tribe of Louth.
And with that, with me linked to my boyfriend and my boss on my other side, we began to move, a mob of Little Black Foxes on our feet, Cladhaire still in my arm.
And with a glance around, I saw quite a few coolers already occupied and our bar maids working like mules... but there was one cooler, where only two women, one a mother, and her little girl sat... well, as they spotted us, it was only the two women, who smiled with delight as the little girl came running towards us.
"Chris!", one could hear Little Enya call out happily from afar.
I smiled softly as I allowed her to jump into my boyfriend's arms - she was one of the very, very few girls, who were not a Spiorad, who had that permission. The sight allowed me to, for but a moment, to ignore, that my mother was sitting with Mommy Mhairin.
And that we were on a course to meet.
Still, one had to give it to my mother, that she was still a beautiful woman, even after giving birth to three children, and was in no way inferior to the far younger models of BI, which were around. Her high-leg one-piece even accentuated her mature beauty.
She smiled softly and she did not seem to hold any ill intent as she reached for the cooler.

Kazuo and Yelda nodded along, when Áed explained the set of units, profound build-up strategy, as well as scouting, intercepting, and defense tactics of the Horai, also, by intuition, following their home countries' cultural habit of low-voiced, aspired signal words in their mother tongues - hai and tiim ee, respectively -, to indicate, that they were listening. Kazuo had to grin at his final statement.
"Yeah, that's a point some players, especially those less skilled, tend to forget about" - he said. "It may be awesome to have the advantage of playing a civilization that has a bonus on cheap infantry - in AoE, the Teutons and Goths would come into mind, even though both aren't remotely as overpowered as Zaijia sounds to me -, but that helps you little, if there is only a weak economy behind. Of course, it does take time to find one's ideal plan to set an eco up, and it might take even longer to find one's ideal defense strategy, but relying on one's army strength alone won't get one anywhere." He let a beat pass. "At least, this was a thing Yelda did a fairly decent job at back then, despite her pretty audacious way of carrying the victory home." He grinned.
As did Yelda. She had a cheeky comment on her tongue, but she kept it for herself. It had taken one and a half years to get the praise on the economic efficiency and defense structure of Yelda-Khana's Mongol Empire out of Kazuo, and she didn't want to ruin this moment.
Instead, she said, "Yeah, there's a bit that belongs to that - of course, also luck with the resources and where they are located. The availability of only one particular type of resource can already be determining the course of the game, and ultimately the outcome. It depends on more factors than one might wish to believe."
Setsuko nodded.
Indeed, Esecutore and Alce wouldn't really ring a bell with her as of yet, but depending on where she might end up after finishing her studies of Economics, chances were, that this would change in a few years ...
"I can imagine!" - she said. "That's probably the advantage of a country's decision to disband its military. Our own is still there, of course, but Shikonjima quite reduced its stock a bit in 1988, when the Old Shogunate was dissolved and the military doctrine got changed - with the last colonies gaining independence, there were considerably fewer reasons to keep a huge Navy up, and in the 1990s and 2000s, there were many measurements of modernization of the RSA and RSN. Both events were pretty good occasions to sell some old vessels and other equipment out."
She took a sip of lemonade. By the Four Souls, this stuff was sweet ...
"We do have a few diving resorts from those days, too" - she said, "even though we can't come up with something as awesome as an old aircraft carrier as of now. But should the days of the ISN Yoshita ever be numbered, I already know what I would do with it!"

Raidri Gormchló of the Tribe of Fingal.
"Zaijia...", I began, "...is balanced by the same mechanism as any other civilization is balanced: Units cost a continuous upkeep in food, gold and supplies. Once that runs out, the units either cease to fight, desert or starve."
"More then one Zaijia-Player lost entire armies without fights because he forgot that!", my son added with a grin, "Might have been, that I helped along with that..."
I grinned, remembering one particular game. "As it is, with the ease one can spam as Zaijia, one often overestimates that boundary... and with an army of deserters marauding through your base, you quickly learn that."

Faye Donn of the Tribe of Wexford.
"I would know that, too...", I said and grinned, "...let the fingers off of that!"
I took a sip and, too, was gulping at the sweetness.
"No offense to Shikonjima, its Navy or its shipbuilders, but such ventures always bear high risks and while that sometimes can mean high reward, I would call the result that Mister Tuffatore achieved, more a stroke of good luck then anything else.", I said and shook my head, "No, I don't think, that such a thing would work again nowadays, unless the Yoshita was a very special vessel, in which case it might be better served as a floating museum."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Retconned.

[Hanoverian Great Britain]

Alexandra was certainly overjoyed at Fintan's agreement to follow ahead with her proposal but luckily, she did an excellent job of concealing it to herself. "Excellent choice, and before we go further, I just wanted to compliment you on your efforts in our kiss earlier. You were certainly going for it, Finny!", commended Alexandra spontaneously as she "rewarded" him with a short, yet reassuring kiss on the left cheek as a "well done". However, oddly enough, as they turned to walk, Alexandra politely turned down his offer, teasing him instead with a "keep it to yourself for now". As she looked ahead for a few seconds before turning back to Fintan, she could see that their destination, the marina is a bit distant from where they currently are, offering them much needed space to talk with each other.

With her hands crossed behind her back, she decided to again take charge by initiating the conversation between them. "So Finny, I'm genuinely interested...", as she seemingly paused for a few seconds, she also did not waited for an answer from Fintan himself, yet as she regained her words just about that moment. "If I could recall my memories right, when you were about to ask me for a dance, you seemed to had been observant, but at the same time, you seemed worried. Anything that's been troubling you that I can help with?", as much as how directed the question was, Alexandra certainly did not want to cause him unintended anxiety in giving an answer.

Deep down, she is certainly trying to slowly crack open the shell inside that held Fintan's thoughts about their encounter, and Alexandra, the young and blonde British lady is certainly ready for it all, whether they be both good or bad in nature.

[New Visayan Islands]

Gerald Vicente
At the Beach

"Sorry Amy, I don't," Gerald replied. "Besides, 'Footvolley?' From the name itself, I'm thinking of a soccer-volleyball hybrid..."

As the trio stopped, he could see the Spirit of Diamond from afar. One hundred and twenty meters didn't look like it from a distance, but he knew that the yacht was close enough that as long as he knew which part of the beach allowed for watercraft he could be picked up by yacht tender; the Indomitable Spirit-class came with two covered tenders and two rescue tenders.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Yven Barriall of the Tribe of Monaghan.
The green-hair snorted in amusement.
"Yep, that she is.", I said, "Macha, that's Marie - Marie, Macha Sáraigh of the Tribe of Clonmel."
She waved. "Hi, Marie!", she said, got up and looked Marie up and down. "Kinda drab clothes, ya know... and yes, I see, that it's a uniform." She looked Marie in the face, grinned. "Still, this is a party - don't ya wanna try something lighter?"
I smiled and watched Ilia signal his mother to come over.

Fiona Radharceolaíocht of the Tribe of Westmeath.
I looked at the man, gave him a very close neutral smile and said: "My apologies, but that'd be impossible.", I said. "And I'd try a better pick-up line if I were you, laddie."
With that, I turned and looked for my next motive.
It offered itself with almost reckless abandon, a lassie of sixteen Springs, light brown hair and violet eyes. She had my nose, was my daughter... and unlike me, she was quite flat in the chest-department, the slim built of a sportswoman. And Iuna was one, she practiced Tankery, was gunner on one of the Crogalls.
She was talking with a dark-skinned young man, white hair, red eyes - he was quite a looker and very much uninterested in the fact, that she was anything but... especially when compared to many of the women here.
I snapped an image as Iuna was laughing at something Prince Elian had just recounted to her.

The man initially seemed confused, but then seemed disgusted.
"How does 'Not what I meant, but okay, buddy' sound?" he snarked.
He turned around and shook his head. "I swear I saw Erika." he muttered under his breath, as he left.

He found himself a good, quiet spot far from everyone else, and leaned against a tree trunk. After some rifling around in his bag, he found what he was looking for-an MP3 player, a pair of earbuds, a sketchpad, and a set of pencils.

ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: Сектор газа-ГУЛЯЙ, МУЖИК!
──⚪───────────────────

◄◄⠀▐▐ ⠀►►⠀⠀ ⠀0:10 / 3:10⠀⠀

As he listened to music, he continued working on a little sketch of his, to pass the time.

---

Marie smiled. "Hullo, Macha...I would change into something else, but I don't have anything to spare...Do you have anything I could change into, perhaps?

Adelheid turned to Illia as she waited.

"Say..." she started. "What's a young lad like you doing here? Just curious."