Celebrating a good Harvest (IC, OPEN)

[Lillorainen]

Lise was surprised when Cel appeared behind her and she just grinned and proposed with an mischievous look, an prank.
This made Devienne go full for the idea and the same mischievous look appeared.

"I'm all ears" she said nodding and preparing to listen Celina's proposal for the prank.

"A prank?" Ana had a slightly uneasy look on her face. "What kind of prank are you thinking of? I'll do it, but with two conditions. First, nothing illegal. I don't have the cash to pay a fine, or bribe my way out of jail. Second, nothing dangerous, either for me or others. Fair enough?"

Irene leaned in at the mention of a prank.? "Oh? A prank? Count me intrested."

Irene sighed. "Ana, this isn't Portugal. Noone's going to shoot you for a practical joke."
She smiled. "Besides, you're a Prussian-Polish citizen with a goddamn ceremonial officer's commission to boot. If something happened to you Kaiser would be raising all kinds of hell."

Marie smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Cao."
Karl hobbled up to the trio, leaning on his crutch. "So, Yven, this is your sister?"

Uachtair Inn.
Klaus walked briskly behind...Rona. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke. "...You look rather young to be working. Aren't there child labor laws here or something?"

Filleadh House.
Knowing, that we were attracting a bit of attention, I first looked to Ana, smiling.
"Irene has one point, I have another: It will neither be dangerous, nor illegal.", I told her, looking at my co-conspirators, "And if someone complains, then they'll have to answer to me and they will not like that. Shouldn't happen, though. Now..."
I let a beat pass, everyone hopefully reassured.
"...my plan is this.", I began, "We'll be making a bit of music. I'll sing, the three of you will be playing your instruments. We'll be making said music, when Yven and Marie return. And we'll be performing the myshiest and soppiest love song we all know." I grinned, before I amended: "That of course depends on which said song is... I nominate My heart will go on."

Main Street.
Fred and Hilda grinned. Guessing from Marla's grin, she quite could imagine - although they could not know about Marla's errand in Lillamala; had they known, they would have warned her in advance.
She was quite proud of training Leonard's sword skills, and indeed could be.
"And this is what it ought to be like" - Hilda said with an agreeing nod. "People who aren't much into sports tend to believe that we must hate the living guts of each other, and they are often surprised that the opposite is the case."
"Maybe it's because it doesn't sell as nicely in the media" - Fred said.
"Maybe ..."

Main Street.
"Indeed.", Marla said, remembering one memorable instance, "But really, this is how it is like with us Marcach: On the field, we are bitter opponents and rivals, but off of it..." She smiled at an old story. "After I was born, my Mam and I spent two weeks in the hospital to make sure, that everything was alright. On the second day, we already received visitors, a few friends of my Dad. Bitter competitors of his on the field, one of them a veritable tower of a man, who got to hold me." She grinned. "There's even a picture of this two metres tall person, with shoulders broad as a cupboard, carefully holding me, cradling me in his arms... nowadays he is my competitor as well and I still call him Uncle!"

[spoiler=PPC-Quote]

Karl and Marie looked at each other for a few seconds before breaking out into laughter. When it died down Karl shook his head. "Nah, nah, if anything her boyfriend's this lucky bastard." At this he slapped Yven's back playfully.
Marie nodded. "Karl's more of an...older brother, I suppose."
Karl smiled. "In any case, my name's Karl Störtebeker von Danzig."

Cao looked from Marie to her brother, then back to Marie.
The ears on her head twitched.
"Huh.", she made and, her eyes not straying from Marie, waved Karl to make a few steps back. Yven rushed forward to help him, for he knew, what was coming: Cao began, in slow, measured steps, to round Marie, looking at her from every angle, not speaking as she almost inspected her. She finally stopped after her third round. "Huh."
A pause.
"Cao?", Yven asked.
The young woman spoke something in Selkie, which made Yven blush, before the young woman turned back to Marie. "Alright... let's see, where this will go.", she said and smiled slightly.
Yven slung her arms around her from behind, smiling as he kissed Marie's crook of the neck.
Cao nodded and turned to Karl, leaving her brother and his girlfriend to their privacy.
"So...", she said and joined his side, "...lean onto me and we'll leave the lovebirds to their fun!"

Filleadh House.
Cel knew that the girls now were pretty much in the center of everyone's attention - and indeed, Chris was quite curious what she had planned again. He knew her, after all, better than anyone in this round (hopefully so, that is).
A bit of music, that was what turned out to be the plan. Chris knew exactly, from all these nights in Dumhach, what this was most certain to end up like, and he was not even entirely wrong with his first guess.
Chris would probably have suggested Comptine d'un autre été by Yann Tiersen, another piece for piano with a romantic flair - but firstly, he didn't want to interrupt their plannings, and secondly, and more importantly, he couldn't pronounce the title ...
He got up - not for the purpose of joining in, but rather for that one of getting himself a new bottle of lemonade.
From the distance, he overheard some pieces of conversation from rather the opposite side of the garden's gate, Cao asking something about boyfriends, which resulted in Karl and Marie bursting into laughter. Then, some other pieces followed - followed themselves by a moment of silence.
Despite not having understood a lot, Chris knew that this could only be the moment Cao realized that her brother obviously had a girlfriend.
He did not hear a lot more, as he had gotten his lemonade and taken his seat back.

Main Street.
"Doesn't seem that extremely different from what it's like in our parts" - Fred said after hearing Marla's story with her 'Uncle'. "Maybe it's a tad bit less close with us, but it seems to go into a similar direction. It's quite known with football players at least ... for example, it often appears that players who play for the FC Pontrath get close friends with those from Spielvereinigung Jillich, or even happen to marry into each other's families - and on the field, they traditionally hate the guts of each other as much as people expect it from a derby match. Both teams have had a traditional rivalry pretty much since their founding, and yeah, twice a year, they have to fight each other bitterly."
Hilda nodded. "You might get the principle - it's the same everywhere, in any sports."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Cao looked from Marie to her brother, then back to Marie.
The ears on her head twitched.
"Huh.", she made and, her eyes not straying from Marie, waved Karl to make a few steps back. Yven rushed forward to help him, for he knew, what was coming: Cao began, in slow, measured steps, to round Marie, looking at her from every angle, not speaking as she almost inspected her. She finally stopped after her third round. "Huh."
A pause.
"Cao?", Yven asked.
The young woman spoke something in Selkie, which made Yven blush, before the young woman turned back to Marie. "Alright... let's see, where this will go.", she said and smiled slightly.
Yven slung her arms around her from behind, smiling as he kissed Marie's crook of the neck.
Cao nodded and turned to Karl, leaving her brother and his girlfriend to their privacy.
"So...", she said and joined his side, "...lean onto me and we'll leave the lovebirds to their fun!"

Rona and Klaus.
The girl looked at him a bit oddly, then nodded.
She had quite a bit of experience in her job of waiting. It was not all smiles and sunshine, she knew that already. In any case, the bad days were few and very far inbetween.
"My Dad always says, that the Navy and the Water Polices are to thank for, that the Seas are safe and pirate-free. That was not always the case, he says, and fisherman once was a dangerous job not only due to storms.", she said and smiled at Klaus. "So, you and your fellow seamen keep the seas of your homeland safe and pirate-free. That is important!"
She nodded wisely.

Filledeah House
Marie's cheeks went scarlet for the...4th(?) time that day. "y-Yven! Not in front of everyone, please!"
Karl shook his head. "Nah, it's fine." He smiled. "So, is Yven usually this...affectionate with his lovers, or is just something about Marie? I me-ouch."
He frowned at the cutlass pommel digging into his side. "...on a second thought I might take you up on that offer."


Meirdreach Inn
Anne went downstairs, now wearing a slightly faded sweater and trousers.
She went up to the receptionist. "...say, do you know where a Captain Klaus von Stortebeker is? I'm his wife, and we haven't seen each other for awhile, and I'd be grateful if you could tell me where I could find him or get in touch with him."

Rona and Klaus
Klaus sighed. "Sometimes, for the sake of the greater good, you must become a pirate to prevent pirates. And there's places where you can't tell who's the pirate, you or the other guy. What do you do then?"

[The Selkie]

Kenny's father smiled, as he saw his son help Billie onto the railing and a sense of pride and paternal achievement formed in his chest. He was so proud of his son!
He saw in his wife's eyes, that she felt similarly.
And then, he heard the yell.
His head snapped back, the last thing he saw being Billie's foot vanishing behind the railing.
The next thing he knew, was, that he looked at the pile of limbs that were his son and his girl, one foot on the railing himself.
No doubt, his boy had lost his balance and dragged her with him, her head now resting on his chest as he rubbed a spot on the back of his own head.
"Kenny!", his wife shouted, jumping over the railing, kneeling by her son, "Are you alright? Billie, what about you?"
"We're okay, Mam, only a slight bump on the back of my head. I protected Billie.", he said with a bit of pride at the end, before he looked to the girl, hugging her to his chest. His face beet-red, he asked: "I did, didn't I?"

Billie felt like she was gliding with Kenny leading her along because she was as the two took a tumble onto the boat deck. But Kenny in a snap instance was able to shield her form the brunt of the fall. Her Hero! At least they didn't plunge into the water. Sitting up her face just as red she nodded "Oh yeah! I'm okay!"

Billie's own parents ran up a bit amused at the sight but making sure she was okay too. "My my, you took a little spill but you're okay." Charlie patted her little one's head. "Glad Kenny was able to keep ya safe there."

"He did! Thanks Kenny!" she hugged him again in gratitude. She stood up again helping him to his feet as well, pushing her messy red hair from her eyes showing those cute baby blues of hers. "Ya know, I did tumble quite a lot on the trip over here! So, guess I'm kinda used to fallin' over my feet 'bout now!" She giggled

Kenny was, for a lack of a better pun, floored as Billie hugged him.
Her smell, her warmth, it all was in there, it all carried through, including her thankfulness. Standing, he looked into her beautiful, baby-blue eyes, cute and alive and well and, most importantly, unhurt.
Her giggling chimed in his ears like the tolling of a hundred little silver bells.
Kenny smiled, softly.
"I'm glad you are okay.", he said, almost whispering, a blush colouring his cheeks. Some part in the back of his head asked himself, how it would feel to be hugged for longer by her...

Filleadh House.
Cel knew that the girls now were pretty much in the center of everyone's attention - and indeed, Chris was quite curious what she had planned again. He knew her, after all, better than anyone in this round (hopefully so, that is).
A bit of music, that was what turned out to be the plan. Chris knew exactly, from all these nights in Dumhach, what this was most certain to end up like, and he was not even entirely wrong with his first guess.
Chris would probably have suggested Comptine d'un autre été by Yann Tiersen, another piece for piano with a romantic flair - but firstly, he didn't want to interrupt their plannings, and secondly, and more importantly, he couldn't pronounce the title ...
He got up - not for the purpose of joining in, but rather for that one of getting himself a new bottle of lemonade.
From the distance, he overheard some pieces of conversation from rather the opposite side of the garden's gate, Cao asking something about boyfriends, which resulted in Karl and Marie bursting into laughter. Then, some other pieces followed - followed themselves by a moment of silence.
Despite not having understood a lot, Chris knew that this could only be the moment Cao realized that her brother obviously had a girlfriend.
He did not hear a lot more, as he had gotten his lemonade and taken his seat back.

Main Street.
"Doesn't seem that extremely different from what it's like in our parts" - Fred said after hearing Marla's story with her 'Uncle'. "Maybe it's a tad bit less close with us, but it seems to go into a similar direction. It's quite known with football players at least ... for example, it often appears that players who play for the FC Pontrath get close friends with those from Spielvereinigung Jillich, or even happen to marry into each other's families - and on the field, they traditionally hate the guts of each other as much as people expect it from a derby match. Both teams have had a traditional rivalry pretty much since their founding, and yeah, twice a year, they have to fight each other bitterly."
Hilda nodded. "You might get the principle - it's the same everywhere, in any sports."

Filledeah House
Marie's cheeks went scarlet for the...4th(?) time that day. "y-Yven! Not in front of everyone, please!"
Karl shook his head. "Nah, it's fine." He smiled. "So, is Yven usually this...affectionate with his lovers, or is just something about Marie? I me-ouch."
He frowned at the cutlass pommel digging into his side. "...on a second thought I might take you up on that offer."


Meirdreach Inn
Anne went downstairs, now wearing a slightly faded sweater and trousers.
She went up to the receptionist. "...say, do you know where a Captain Klaus von Stortebeker is? I'm his wife, and we haven't seen each other for awhile, and I'd be grateful if you could tell me where I could find him or get in touch with him."

Rona and Klaus
Klaus sighed. "Sometimes, for the sake of the greater good, you must become a pirate to prevent pirates. And there's places where you can't tell who's the pirate, you or the other guy. What do you do then?"

Filleadh House.
For a short moment, I grinned to my boyfriend, saw him getting himself a lemonade and motioned for him to get me one, too, please - with an appropriate reward waiting for him, of course.
Get your minds out of the gutter.
Looking to Ana, and reviewing her need for a piano once more, I nodded.
"I believe, that I saw one in the living room. Wouldn't want to move it, though, so we would have to open the windows for it to be heard..." I looked at Ana. "That's actually not a bad idea. If we fail, we could always pass it off as us singing a song or two for old time's sake!"
I let a beat pass, looking to Lise.
"Still aboard, ladies?", I asked with a grin.

Meanwhile, Yven smiled at his girlfriend, still hugging her.
"I'll try to remember it.", he whispered into her ear. "But I'll make no promises... I like the way you feel in my arms, Marie. I hope you like being in my arms as well."
With that, he placed his head on her shoulder, enjoying the feeling.

Cao helped Karl along raising an eyebrow in bemusement.
"He is someone, who loves to cuddle, that's all I'll say.", she replied to the question, ignoring the interaction between Karl and Irene. Once they were a bit out of earshot from the young lovers, her bemusement vanished. "Alright... tell me everything about her what I want to know."

Meirdreach Inn.
The receptionist looked at the woman with a bit of amusement.
"Ma'am, do you believe, that we have a network of inns, where we report who booked where?", he asked with incredulity. "If you are his wife, you should know, where he is anyway."
He tapped where his heart was.
"Corny one-liners aside...", a maid, maybe nineteen, deep red hair and blue eyes, who had just brought the receptionist a glass of water, interrupted, "...do you have his mobile number or something? We could simply call him."
The receptionist nodded.

Rona and Klaus.
"That's easy.", Rona said, her eyes getting a dangerous glint, "I do it like my ancestors: I become the pirate, raid, pillage, plunder and weasel my deep, black soul out and get my hands on a letter of marque from basically everyone. So, if I am stopped, I get out the appropriate letter and show it to the authorities, hiding the others."
She let a beat pass.
"And if that doesn't work, I search for the next Navy Post, send a few people there, and offer my services as a mercenary.", she finished, then shrugged. "That's how my ancestors did it anyways and they lived quite well."

Main Street.
"That is very true.", Marla agreed and smiled, "We'll have to drink to that later... after the tournaments, with the local sheep milk spirits."
Leonard nodded as well. "I know, where we get a few good bottles. But first..." He raised his voice: "...Eoin! How far is it?"
"Call it ten minutes!", their guide through Shella's streets announced, "Might be fifteen with the traffic rising... but we'll be there in time!"
Marla nodded. "Yes... we will be there in time for the Remembrance.", she confirmed.

[Kuronami]

Kenny was, for a lack of a better pun, floored as Billie hugged him.
Her smell, her warmth, it all was in there, it all carried through, including her thankfulness. Standing, he looked into her beautiful, baby-blue eyes, cute and alive and well and, most importantly, unhurt.
Her giggling chimed in his ears like the tolling of a hundred little silver bells.
Kenny smiled, softly.
"I'm glad you are okay.", he said, almost whispering, a blush colouring his cheeks. Some part in the back of his head asked himself, how it would feel to be hugged for longer by her...

"All thanks to you. If I had fallen into the water, i sure would have been done for I must say. Can't swim, least not yet, know papa's been tryin' but anyway...." She looked at just the small distance between her and the water and how close she did come to falling into the water she had to hug him again for saving her, her tightest of hugs she gave for when she was usually scared. She whispered into his ears "This is my hug when I gets real scared by somethin' like one of them angry Thundercreek storms we get, so it's extra special for savin' me, Kenny."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Filleadh House.
For a short moment, I grinned to my boyfriend, saw him getting himself a lemonade and motioned for him to get me one, too, please - with an appropriate reward waiting for him, of course.
Get your minds out of the gutter.
Looking to Ana, and reviewing her need for a piano once more, I nodded.
"I believe, that I saw one in the living room. Wouldn't want to move it, though, so we would have to open the windows for it to be heard..." I looked at Ana. "That's actually not a bad idea. If we fail, we could always pass it off as us singing a song or two for old time's sake!"
I let a beat pass, looking to Lise.
"Still aboard, ladies?", I asked with a grin.

Meanwhile, Yven smiled at his girlfriend, still hugging her.
"I'll try to remember it.", he whispered into her ear. "But I'll make no promises... I like the way you feel in my arms, Marie. I hope you like being in my arms as well."
With that, he placed his head on her shoulder, enjoying the feeling.

Cao helped Karl along raising an eyebrow in bemusement.
"He is someone, who loves to cuddle, that's all I'll say.", she replied to the question, ignoring the interaction between Karl and Irene. Once they were a bit out of earshot from the young lovers, her bemusement vanished. "Alright... tell me everything about her what I want to know."

Meirdreach Inn.
The receptionist looked at the woman with a bit of amusement.
"Ma'am, do you believe, that we have a network of inns, where we report who booked where?", he asked with incredulity. "If you are his wife, you should know, where he is anyway."
He tapped where his heart was.
"Corny one-liners aside...", a maid, maybe nineteen, deep red hair and blue eyes, who had just brought the receptionist a glass of water, interrupted, "...do you have his mobile number or something? We could simply call him."
The receptionist nodded.

Rona and Klaus.
"That's easy.", Rona said, her eyes getting a dangerous glint, "I do it like my ancestors: I become the pirate, raid, pillage, plunder and weasel my deep, black soul out and get my hands on a letter of marque from basically everyone. So, if I am stopped, I get out the appropriate letter and show it to the authorities, hiding the others."
She let a beat pass.
"And if that doesn't work, I search for the next Navy Post, send a few people there, and offer my services as a mercenary.", she finished, then shrugged. "That's how my ancestors did it anyways and they lived quite well."

Irene smiled. "Still in, Cel. If I knew this was going to happen I would've asked Helena to come as well-girl's got the voice of a nightingale."
Marie smiled. "I do...but, well...I never watched a single romance movie, but even for me, that's corny...it's fine though...You're almost at good at hugging as you are at kissing."

Karl's sighed.
"Let me start from the top. Orphan left with a covent, raised in covent, until 10 never been outside covent, and that was a student exchange, which is how she met both me and Irene. Doesn't figure out how sex works until a few months ago. As expected, innocent, naive and sheltered, and me and Irene make sure she stays that way, or at least to ease her in to what the real world is like. In short; typical adoptive younger sister things."

Meirdreach Inn
Anne sighed. "No, I don't know his number. We were...separated over differences 18 years ago. Friend in the navy told me he came here, wouldn't say for what though. I heard he had cancer too, so I want to try to...turn back the clock a little before we both die."

Rona and Klaus
Klaus stared at her.
He began to laugh. "Little girl, you remind me of my namesake."
He ceased laughing. "But do you know what I did to pirates?"

[San Prospero]

*RETCONNED*

[Lillorainen]

Filleadh House.
For a short moment, I grinned to my boyfriend, saw him getting himself a lemonade and motioned for him to get me one, too, please - with an appropriate reward waiting for him, of course.
Get your minds out of the gutter.
Looking to Ana, and reviewing her need for a piano once more, I nodded.
"I believe, that I saw one in the living room. Wouldn't want to move it, though, so we would have to open the windows for it to be heard..." I looked at Ana. "That's actually not a bad idea. If we fail, we could always pass it off as us singing a song or two for old time's sake!"
I let a beat pass, looking to Lise.
"Still aboard, ladies?", I asked with a grin.

Meanwhile, Yven smiled at his girlfriend, still hugging her.
"I'll try to remember it.", he whispered into her ear. "But I'll make no promises... I like the way you feel in my arms, Marie. I hope you like being in my arms as well."
With that, he placed his head on her shoulder, enjoying the feeling.

Cao helped Karl along raising an eyebrow in bemusement.
"He is someone, who loves to cuddle, that's all I'll say.", she replied to the question, ignoring the interaction between Karl and Irene. Once they were a bit out of earshot from the young lovers, her bemusement vanished. "Alright... tell me everything about her what I want to know."

Rona and Klaus.
"That's easy.", Rona said, her eyes getting a dangerous glint, "I do it like my ancestors: I become the pirate, raid, pillage, plunder and weasel my deep, black soul out and get my hands on a letter of marque from basically everyone. So, if I am stopped, I get out the appropriate letter and show it to the authorities, hiding the others."
She let a beat pass.
"And if that doesn't work, I search for the next Navy Post, send a few people there, and offer my services as a mercenary.", she finished, then shrugged. "That's how my ancestors did it anyways and they lived quite well."

Main Street.
"That is very true.", Marla agreed and smiled, "We'll have to drink to that later... after the tournaments, with the local sheep milk spirits."
Leonard nodded as well. "I know, where we get a few good bottles. But first..." He raised his voice: "...Eoin! How far is it?"
"Call it ten minutes!", their guide through Shella's streets announced, "Might be fifteen with the traffic rising... but we'll be there in time!"
Marla nodded. "Yes... we will be there in time for the Remembrance.", she confirmed.

Irene smiled. "Still in, Cel. If I knew this was going to happen I would've asked Helena to come as well-girl's got the voice of a nightingale."
Marie smiled. "I do...but, well...I never watched a single romance movie, but even for me, that's corny...it's fine though...You're almost at good at hugging as you are at kissing."

Karl's sighed.
"Let me start from the top. Orphan left with a covent, raised in covent, until 10 never been outside covent, and that was a student exchange, which is how she met both me and Irene. Doesn't figure out how sex works until a few months ago. As expected, innocent, naive and sheltered, and me and Irene make sure she stays that way, or at least to ease her in to what the real world is like. In short; typical adoptive younger sister things."

"Is that a German song?", asked Ana. "Well then, I'm afraid I won't be able to sing that. German is all foreign to me. But if you can give me the sheet music, I could probably play it on the piano. Hopefully the symbols aren't too different from what I learned."

Filleadh House.
Chris received his girlfriend's motion right before he was going to retake his seat. He placed his own bottle onto the floor right before it - carefully, of course -, then returned, took a second bottle, opened it, and handed it to Cel, bowing down a bit and pecking her onto the lips - again, without any tongue involved, just short and loving. The one that never got old.
This time, he didn't hear much from the conversations of Yven, Marie, Cao, and Karl. And even if so, there would be more sense and decency in just leaving them the privacy they now needed. They would have a full load of stuff to talk about.
Irene mentioned Helena again - the cousin she had talked about back then in Purgatio, obviously another excellent singer.
When Ana said that she wouldn't be able to sing Lilli Marlene, only play it on the piano, granted that she could read the sheet music, Chris now just got into the conversation, saying, "I think the symbols you've learned follow a common global standard nowadays. At least if I'm not entirely mistaken. The ones I know do."
He decided to look for the sheet music of the song he had in mind later on.

Main Street.
Hilda had smiled and nodded - drinking to that after the tournaments later, with some good local spirits definitely sounded like a plan, and sheep milk spirits sounded interesting. Trying something new couldn't harm.
Fred obviously had the same thought, judging by his grin.
It was also good to know that they would be there in time, despite traffic rising. Fred said, "At least if the roads in here are designed for a traffic density like this. But as long as there's no traffic jam ..."
Hilda laughed. "Mah, storebror, this isn't Lysköping, the city that never stands still - except for every year in late December, at the Julfest, when people suddenly forget how to move on and cause a traffic chaos."
"I'm aware of that. Nice to see that people in here are less of lunatics when coming for a festival."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Irene grinned and pulled out her flute. "Count. Me. In!"
For emphasis she started playing the first few bars of Hohenfriedberger Marsch, before abruptly ceasing. "Wrong song, sorry. As for suggestions...I suppose "Lilli Marlene" could work, although not as well as "My heart will go on"."

"Is that a German song?", asked Ana. "Well then, I'm afraid I won't be able to sing that. German is all foreign to me. But if you can give me the sheet music, I could probably play it on the piano. Hopefully the symbols aren't too different from what I learned."

irene shrugged. "Karl might have the notes. But I'm not sure, and he's occupied at the moment. Maybe when he's done talking to Cao you could ask?"

[The Selkie]

Kenny was, for a lack of a better pun, floored as Billie hugged him.
Her smell, her warmth, it all was in there, it all carried through, including her thankfulness. Standing, he looked into her beautiful, baby-blue eyes, cute and alive and well and, most importantly, unhurt.
Her giggling chimed in his ears like the tolling of a hundred little silver bells.
Kenny smiled, softly.
"I'm glad you are okay.", he said, almost whispering, a blush colouring his cheeks. Some part in the back of his head asked himself, how it would feel to be hugged for longer by her...

"All thanks to you. If I had fallen into the water, i sure would have been done for I must say. Can't swim, least not yet, know papa's been tryin' but anyway...." She looked at just the small distance between her and the water and how close she did come to falling into the water she had to hug him again for saving her, her tightest of hugs she gave for when she was usually scared. She whispered into his ears "This is my hug when I gets real scared by somethin' like one of them angry Thundercreek storms we get, so it's extra special for savin' me, Kenny."

Kenny, for a moment, was overwhelmed by the sensation of Billie hugging him. Her smell, her small frame, her tightness and closeness to him...
It nearly made his heart stop.
And after a moment, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer, even tighter against his chest.
"This is my hug, when I want someone to feel safe.", he whispered to her, "And if I want myself to feel safe, too. Secure and snug..."
Then, he decided in a split second to turn his head lightly, to softly press his lips onto her cheeks, hoping, praying to the Gods, that he was not going too far ahead of himself.

Irene smiled. "Still in, Cel. If I knew this was going to happen I would've asked Helena to come as well-girl's got the voice of a nightingale."
Marie smiled. "I do...but, well...I never watched a single romance movie, but even for me, that's corny...it's fine though...You're almost at good at hugging as you are at kissing."

Karl's sighed.
"Let me start from the top. Orphan left with a covent, raised in covent, until 10 never been outside covent, and that was a student exchange, which is how she met both me and Irene. Doesn't figure out how sex works until a few months ago. As expected, innocent, naive and sheltered, and me and Irene make sure she stays that way, or at least to ease her in to what the real world is like. In short; typical adoptive younger sister things."

Meirdreach Inn
Anne sighed. "No, I don't know his number. We were...separated over differences 18 years ago. Friend in the navy told me he came here, wouldn't say for what though. I heard he had cancer too, so I want to try to...turn back the clock a little before we both die."

Rona and Klaus
Klaus stared at her.
He began to laugh. "Little girl, you remind me of my namesake."
He ceased laughing. "But do you know what I did to pirates?"

Irene grinned and pulled out her flute. "Count. Me. In!"
For emphasis she started playing the first few bars of Hohenfriedberger Marsch, before abruptly ceasing. "Wrong song, sorry. As for suggestions...I suppose "Lilli Marlene" could work, although not as well as "My heart will go on"."

"Is that a German song?", asked Ana. "Well then, I'm afraid I won't be able to sing that. German is all foreign to me. But if you can give me the sheet music, I could probably play it on the piano. Hopefully the symbols aren't too different from what I learned."

irene shrugged. "Karl might have the notes. But I'm not sure, and he's occupied at the moment. Maybe when he's done talking to Cao you could ask?"

Filleadh House.
I smiled as my boyfriend brought me a lemonade, but I was a bit surprised by the kiss.
Not in a bad way, mind you, but surprised. If he continued like that, he would get a reward...
He even added to our discussion, which was appreciated - with a very correct point. Sheet Music followed certain standards these days, which even we adapted to. I could read sheet music. I nodded to him, indicating, that he was right.
Lilli Marleen, while a classic, was not what I had in mind, though. Too sad.
In any case...
"I could show you the piano, Anna.", I said, "And we could get warmed up for..." I smiled at my boyfriend. "...someone maybe giving us the signal to start? And maybe snapping a picture or two of their reactions?"

Cao nodded.
"Do not worry about her.", she told him, "With Yven, she's in safe hands."
She led him a bit further.
"Which does not mean, that I do not worry. Quite on the contrary, he is my brother and I worry greatly.", she added, then sighed, the ears on her head folding down. "Seems like I need to learn about the world as well... how does Purgatio factor into it?"

Meirdreach Inn.
One could say about the Meirdreach Inn and its staff many things: That it had a shady reputation. That the maids and butlers on occassion also performed 'additional services' (for a fee, of course). That they could be arseholes.
But one should never say, that they didn't have a heart.
The receptionist looked to his colleague.
"Not much we could do...", he mumbled, she returned his look. "...hm... I could call around a bit. If he is an officer, he's certainly not in this House nor in the Íochtair... the Teampall can be excluded as well... right, I'll call around a bit. Finny, can you get the lady a tea? Coffee?", he asked Anne, "It's on the house."

Rona and Klaus.
"You are Navy.", she replied with a grin of her own, "So unless you hired them, you most likely hunted them down and killed them." She shrugged, the street bending upwards by now. "Happened to other ancestors of mine. Some got stone bags attached to their feet and were thrown into the water, some were hung, beheaded, shot... the list goes on for a while."
They were getting closer.

Main Street.
Marla and Leonard laughed out loud, almost fell off their horses, which confused the poor animals to the point of making them stop.
Wiping a tear of amusement from the corner of his eye, Leonard said: "You never saw Spring Festivals in Fortham! Like a pack of hungry wolves, the people sick and tired of winter descent upon the Fort of Ham, and it sounds as bad as it is. The only way through the crowd is by weaving as good as a Kyrenaian Handmaiden or by helicopter, simply flying above!"
"Add in the obligatory carts with broken axles and other disasters and I could swear, that we can measure ourselves with Lysköping at Yul!", Marla agreed.

[Solisian Union]

Selkie

The lad smiled, nodding as he was red, putting the card into his pocket.
Then, he gathered up all of his courage. There was a girl he liked back home, a pretty lass, but he never had the bravery and guts to tell her, that he liked her, freezing up, never telling her... neither by deed, nor by word.
But that lass and his home were hundreds of kilometres away, so...
"Wait a moment, Alicia!", he called after the woman, Alicia according to the card, running after her and stopping next to her. He took a breath, then spoke: "I'm Finnegan. If you want, we can look around a bit together... I mean, I am sure, that I could learn a lot from you."
He was proud of himself for not freezing up, but his nervousness was all too obvious.

The Solisian woman chuckled as she turned around and studied the young man again. She made a good grin and told her, placing her hand on the young mans shoulder and saying

"Well, if that is what you wish, surely I can accept your invitation. You are nervous, I can see, but I like that. Nervous men who ask their girls out are nicer than men who don't ask at all. But wouldn't a young man like you have your own girl too rather than the company of an older woman? Well, unless that is your thing, I'd take that as a compliment."

[Kuronami]

Kenny, for a moment, was overwhelmed by the sensation of Billie hugging him. Her smell, her small frame, her tightness and closeness to him...
It nearly made his heart stop.
And after a moment, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer, even tighter against his chest.
"This is my hug, when I want someone to feel safe.", he whispered to her, "And if I want myself to feel safe, too. Secure and snug..."
Then, he decided in a split second to turn his head lightly, to softly press his lips onto her cheeks, hoping, praying to the Gods, that he was not going too far ahead of himself.

Billie embraced the hug back from him, despite her loud upbeat and cheery personality, Billie was a tender little soul. Courage more found her when she needed it and her little fall knowing she could have fallen into the water was a little scary to think about. Kenny clearly liked that about her and she liked him. They were becoming peas and carrots the two of them. "And it's a nice one."

Charlie looked on a little lump in her throat seeing her little one already seemed to be growing up before her eyes but for now she let the two little ones be to enjoy each other's company.

[San Prospero]

*RETCONNED*

[Lillorainen]

I smiled as my boyfriend brought me a lemonade, but I was a bit surprised by the kiss.
Not in a bad way, mind you, but surprised. If he continued like that, he would get a reward...
He even added to our discussion, which was appreciated - with a very correct point. Sheet Music followed certain standards these days, which even we adapted to. I could read sheet music. I nodded to him, indicating, that he was right.
Lilli Marleen, while a classic, was not what I had in mind, though. Too sad.
In any case...
"I could show you the piano, Anna.", I said, "And we could get warmed up for..." I smiled at my boyfriend. "...someone maybe giving us the signal to start? And maybe snapping a picture or two of their reactions?"

"Yes please!", said Ana excitedly when Cel offered to show her the piano. "I can't wait to see and hear it. I'll even play a little tune for you."

"And yes, musical symbols are supposed to be the same everywhere," she answered Chris. "But in practice, every country and language tries to put its own touches in the written music. Something I still don't get today is why English music uses letters for notes. And whoever thought the scale should start from C instead of A, I think that guy should go back to preschool to learn the alphabet. Don't you agree? Sorry for this rant, but we've already got a perfectly good system for musical notes, and there's no need for another one. A-B-C is for reading, 1-2-3 is for counting, and Do-Re-Mi is for singing."

(OOC information for those who aren't familiar with music: in the Germanic languages, the 7 notes in the scale are called C-D-E-F-G-A-B or C-D-E-F-G-A-H. In the Romance languages and most of the Slavic ones, they're called Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si. Learn more)

Main Street.
Marla and Leonard laughed out loud, almost fell off their horses, which confused the poor animals to the point of making them stop.
Wiping a tear of amusement from the corner of his eye, Leonard said: "You never saw Spring Festivals in Fortham! Like a pack of hungry wolves, the people sick and tired of winter descent upon the Fort of Ham, and it sounds as bad as it is. The only way through the crowd is by weaving as good as a Kyrenaian Handmaiden or by helicopter, simply flying above!"
"Add in the obligatory carts with broken axles and other disasters and I could swear, that we can measure ourselves with Lysköping at Yul!", Marla agreed.

Filleadh House.
Cel, while looking a bit surprised about that kiss (the best things came unexpected, after all, right?), agreed to Chris' little contribution to their discussion. After she offered Ana to show her the piano, which the Portuguese girl looked forward to, she answered Chris, letting out a little rant about the lack of logic she saw in different namings for notes in various languages - which Chris did not hold against her, for she did have a point.
He took a sip of his lemonade, nodded, and said, "Indeed ... now, since in my homecountry, predominantly Germanic languages are spoken, we also entirely use C-D-E-F-G-A-H. I've grown up with that, so I'm used to that, just as much as I don't mind the major and minor scales being called Dur and Moll - yet, of course, you're right. It's still beyond me why they've decided not to start with A. You guys in the Romance-speaking area have more logic in it."
He let a beat pass.
"But for playing music from sheet, you won't need to care what it's called, right? I mean, the fifth note on the scale is always the same note on the sheet and the same tone on the keyboard, regardless of whether one calls it G, or Sol."

Main Street.
Fred and Hilda had to laugh, too.
"And now add cars to the scenario!" - Hilda interjected.
"I generally assume that moving along in crowded places during festivals no matter where you are" - Fred said. "In Lysköping, we indeed have the additional issue of motorized traffic - a clear disadvantage compared to the Free Lands in this case, I must say. One shouldn't believe it's possible to bring the entire traffic on an eight-laned thruway with hardly any intersections to a halt without doing so on purpose - yet it is. During the Julfest, large parts of the city, even main roads, are pedestrianized, which makes searching for a parking lot an additional challenge, but a necessary evil. Our Dad loves being stuck in between, trying to control that ... also, to give you a comparison between festival season and normal - local radio stations always give traffic information, with traffic jam warnings and such, every quarter an hour. Reading traffic news out for entire Lillöer-State usually takes about a minute - during Jul, only those for Lysköping already take like five minutes."
"So it, indeed, cannot harm to be a Kyrenaian Handmaiden, or sitting in a helicopter flying above" - Hilda added. "Or going under it by taking the Metro." She let a beat pass. "But honestly, traffic chaos is nothing we'd love to try beating other countries at."
Fred shrugged. "It just doesn't seem as horrible in here as I'd have imagined. But I might be corrected, should I ever see Fortham."

[The Selkie]

The Solisian woman chuckled as she turned around and studied the young man again. She made a good grin and told her, placing her hand on the young mans shoulder and saying

"Well, if that is what you wish, surely I can accept your invitation. You are nervous, I can see, but I like that. Nervous men who ask their girls out are nicer than men who don't ask at all. But wouldn't a young man like you have your own girl too rather than the company of an older woman? Well, unless that is your thing, I'd take that as a compliment."

For a moment, Finnegan contemplated one reply, then chose another: "I don't know, what I like yet, Alicia, except one thing: To spent more time with you." He took a breath to steel himself against the nervousness, succeeding partially. "You're nice and kind and... beautiful."
He took another breath.
"Please take this as a compliment as well.", he said and moved forward, softly pecking her onto the cheek.

Kenny, for a moment, was overwhelmed by the sensation of Billie hugging him. Her smell, her small frame, her tightness and closeness to him...
It nearly made his heart stop.
And after a moment, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her even closer, even tighter against his chest.
"This is my hug, when I want someone to feel safe.", he whispered to her, "And if I want myself to feel safe, too. Secure and snug..."
Then, he decided in a split second to turn his head lightly, to softly press his lips onto her cheeks, hoping, praying to the Gods, that he was not going too far ahead of himself.

Billie embraced the hug back from him, despite her loud upbeat and cheery personality, Billie was a tender little soul. Courage more found her when she needed it and her little fall knowing she could have fallen into the water was a little scary to think about. Kenny clearly liked that about her and she liked him. They were becoming peas and carrots the two of them. "And it's a nice one."

Charlie looked on a little lump in her throat seeing her little one already seemed to be growing up before her eyes but for now she let the two little ones be to enjoy each other's company.

Kenny sure saw the sweetness and softness and so did his parents, even as he blushed at his hug being called nice.
Áed leaned over to Charlie, whispering: "Come into the deckhouse. I'll make tea... and we can discuss what to do about our lad and your lassie."
He grinned at the last one.
Kenny, meanwhile, enjoyed a warm and fuzzy feeling on his stomach, when he inhaled Billie's scent. And a lovely scent it was!

Filleadh House.
Cel, while looking a bit surprised about that kiss (the best things came unexpected, after all, right?), agreed to Chris' little contribution to their discussion. After she offered Ana to show her the piano, which the Portuguese girl looked forward to, she answered Chris, letting out a little rant about the lack of logic she saw in different namings for notes in various languages - which Chris did not hold against her, for she did have a point.
He took a sip of his lemonade, nodded, and said, "Indeed ... now, since in my homecountry, predominantly Germanic languages are spoken, we also entirely use C-D-E-F-G-A-H. I've grown up with that, so I'm used to that, just as much as I don't mind the major and minor scales being called Dur and Moll - yet, of course, you're right. It's still beyond me why they've decided not to start with A. You guys in the Romance-speaking area have more logic in it."
He let a beat pass.
"But for playing music from sheet, you won't need to care what it's called, right? I mean, the fifth note on the scale is always the same note on the sheet and the same tone on the keyboard, regardless of whether one calls it G, or Sol."

Main Street.
Fred and Hilda had to laugh, too.
"And now add cars to the scenario!" - Hilda interjected.
"I generally assume that moving along in crowded places during festivals no matter where you are" - Fred said. "In Lysköping, we indeed have the additional issue of motorized traffic - a clear disadvantage compared to the Free Lands in this case, I must say. One shouldn't believe it's possible to bring the entire traffic on an eight-laned thruway with hardly any intersections to a halt without doing so on purpose - yet it is. During the Julfest, large parts of the city, even main roads, are pedestrianized, which makes searching for a parking lot an additional challenge, but a necessary evil. Our Dad loves being stuck in between, trying to control that ... also, to give you a comparison between festival season and normal - local radio stations always give traffic information, with traffic jam warnings and such, every quarter an hour. Reading traffic news out for entire Lillöer-State usually takes about a minute - during Jul, only those for Lysköping already take like five minutes."
"So it, indeed, cannot harm to be a Kyrenaian Handmaiden, or sitting in a helicopter flying above" - Hilda added. "Or going under it by taking the Metro." She let a beat pass. "But honestly, traffic chaos is nothing we'd love to try beating other countries at."
Fred shrugged. "It just doesn't seem as horrible in here as I'd have imagined. But I might be corrected, should I ever see Fortham."

Filleadh House.
I smiled as my boyfriend spoke - I must say, that we followed the same system, C-D-E-F-G-A-H-C, but then again, I knew most of the songs I sang because I had heard and memorized them, what came when, then studied playing them with friends and sometimes even family.
I was not sure, if I could even read sheet music, but that was another story.
In any case, I grinned.
"That all being said...", I said and rose from my kneeling, grinning to my boyfriend, then at my fellow musicians: "Let's go and inspect everything. You coming along, Chris?"

Main Street.
At the mentioning of the metro, Leonard made a face. He did not like to be underground.
When they had finished, though, he nodded: "You really should!", he told Fred, "The Fort of Ham is small, when it comes to capitols of the world, and it isn't really what other people would describe as a capitol, but it has a lot of charme."
He leaned over slightly.
"And charming lassies.", he added with a wink, before going back, catching Marla's exasperated sigh. He grinned. "And they have good food there, too."
"Especially the Síochánta Inn.", Marla added with a small smile, the small blush on her cheeks maybe being a trick of the light. "The waiters are nice, too..."

[Lillorainen]

Filleadh House.
I smiled as my boyfriend spoke - I must say, that we followed the same system, C-D-E-F-G-A-H-C, but then again, I knew most of the songs I sang because I had heard and memorized them, what came when, then studied playing them with friends and sometimes even family.
I was not sure, if I could even read sheet music, but that was another story.
In any case, I grinned.
"That all being said...", I said and rose from my kneeling, grinning to my boyfriend, then at my fellow musicians: "Let's go and inspect everything. You coming along, Chris?"

Main Street.
At the mentioning of the metro, Leonard made a face. He did not like to be underground.
When they had finished, though, he nodded: "You really should!", he told Fred, "The Fort of Ham is small, when it comes to capitols of the world, and it isn't really what other people would describe as a capitol, but it has a lot of charme."
He leaned over slightly.
"And charming lassies.", he added with a wink, before going back, catching Marla's exasperated sigh. He grinned. "And they have good food there, too."
"Especially the Síochánta Inn.", Marla added with a small smile, the small blush on her cheeks maybe being a trick of the light. "The waiters are nice, too..."

Filleadh House.
Chris knew that Cel was not really an expert on sheet music, but rather knew the songs she had learned by heart; it was essentially the same with himself - he hit the tones rather by intuition, and the accuracy increased the more, the better he knew a song. If at all, he figured the sheet music of familiar songs somehow ... although he had been doing okay-ish at Music Education back then in school, this was a particular part of it that had always appeared too theoretical to him.
Whatever ...
To his girlfriend's question, he nodded. "Sure, I'm aboard!" - he said.

Main Street.
Both Leverdals had to grin to Marla's sigh - although Fred was not really known to be interested in 'funny business' a lot (which had already turned out to be an advantage in the past), it was surely good to know.
Hilda nodded. "I even think that the quality of a capital should be measured by whether or not it serves the needs as a capital - not by its size, or its ranking on a World City Index, or the like. If it suffices, it may also be a small city with some charm. Not every country is in such a desperate need of a planned metropolis as Lillorainen, and some predecessor states of the Federation even had small capitals, too - by Lillo-standards, that is. Like Wettau in Marrania, or Lechelen in Fyleria. None of these are remotely as enormous as Lillamala, or Junaira - let alone Utica."
"The capital city thing was an extremely complicated issue with us, anyways" - Fred said. "There was even an application process back then, where several cities could apply for becoming the capital of Unified-Lillorainen-to-be. They even moved State Capitals for it, for the rule was that the city may not be both state and federal capital - so, the Rathland moved its seat from Kerkenich to Jillich, Nörishamn replaced Lysköping in Lillöer-State, and so forth. Our home city won, and then, they decided to erect Lillamala as a new capital, even as its own state, to create a compromise between the Lillo sub-ethnicities. Lysköping then became State Capital again."
"Even the concept of several 'rotating capitals', similar to the practice in Kuronami, was discussed ..." - Hilda added. "You see, we Lillos can really make complex issues simple - and vice versa."

[Kuronami]

Kenny sure saw the sweetness and softness and so did his parents, even as he blushed at his hug being called nice.
Áed leaned over to Charlie, whispering: "Come into the deckhouse. I'll make tea... and we can discuss what to do about our lad and your lassie."
He grinned at the last one.
Kenny, meanwhile, enjoyed a warm and fuzzy feeling on his stomach, when he inhaled Billie's scent. And a lovely scent it was!

"Tea sounds mighty right, about now" Charlie nodded "Talkin' our little ones too."

"That does sound mighty fine." Jamie also agreed taking his wife's hand.

Billie giggled a bit thinking how much she liked Kenny and how much he liked her. He found her cute now she wondered what else he'd find cute about her. "Boy now I'm wishin you could see me when I'm dolled up for school. I wear a cute blue jumper and mama parts my banes outta my eyes. Oh well guess I'll have to get a picture sent to ya sometime. Anyway maybe you can show me more of the boat here? Love to see more!"

[San Prospero]

*RETCONNED*

[The Selkie]

"Great!", said Ana. "I can even play you a little tune while we wait." She paused for a moment, then asked: "If I make a mistake, y'all won't beat me ... would you?"

For Ana, the memories of music class in Portugal were still fresh on her mind. She recalled an incident when a classmate messed up a single note on the violin, and was struck on the hand with a leather strap by the teacher. Or when another student had trouble following the sheet music, and was forced to kneel in the corner for the whole class. Fortunately, Ana was naturally blessed with musical talent, so she was very rarely the teacher's target.

Filleadh House.
Chris knew that Cel was not really an expert on sheet music, but rather knew the songs she had learned by heart; it was essentially the same with himself - he hit the tones rather by intuition, and the accuracy increased the more, the better he knew a song. If at all, he figured the sheet music of familiar songs somehow ... although he had been doing okay-ish at Music Education back then in school, this was a particular part of it that had always appeared too theoretical to him.
Whatever ...
To his girlfriend's question, he nodded. "Sure, I'm aboard!" - he said.

Main Street.
Both Leverdals had to grin to Marla's sigh - although Fred was not really known to be interested in 'funny business' a lot (which had already turned out to be an advantage in the past), it was surely good to know.
Hilda nodded. "I even think that the quality of a capital should be measured by whether or not it serves the needs as a capital - not by its size, or its ranking on a World City Index, or the like. If it suffices, it may also be a small city with some charm. Not every country is in such a desperate need of a planned metropolis as Lillorainen, and some predecessor states of the Federation even had small capitals, too - by Lillo-standards, that is. Like Wettau in Marrania, or Lechelen in Fyleria. None of these are remotely as enormous as Lillamala, or Junaira - let alone Utica."
"The capital city thing was an extremely complicated issue with us, anyways" - Fred said. "There was even an application process back then, where several cities could apply for becoming the capital of Unified-Lillorainen-to-be. They even moved State Capitals for it, for the rule was that the city may not be both state and federal capital - so, the Rathland moved its seat from Kerkenich to Jillich, Nörishamn replaced Lysköping in Lillöer-State, and so forth. Our home city won, and then, they decided to erect Lillamala as a new capital, even as its own state, to create a compromise between the Lillo sub-ethnicities. Lysköping then became State Capital again."
"Even the concept of several 'rotating capitals', similar to the practice in Kuronami, was discussed ..." - Hilda added. "You see, we Lillos can really make complex issues simple - and vice versa."

Filleadh House.
I grinned at my boyfriend as I got up to lead them to the piano and stopped at Ana's question.
I looked at her, admittedly, as if she had just grown a second hand.
"What?", I asked, then added, "No! I won't hit you for mistakes and if anyone else wants to have a go at it, I'll show them their own medicine!" There was a fierce fire in my eyes as I said that, Soiprigh, my little fox by my feet, agreeing with a yipp. "And he'll show teeth, too!"
Chris knew, that they could hurt - not by own experience, but by the experience of others.
And they did hurt.
His yipp also reminded me, that I needed to feed him in a bit.

Main Street.
"We technically don't have a capitol.", Marla spoke, "We have a place, where the Elders come together and where the Offices are, but that's about it. Fortham is not officially our capitol... especially not in this day and age, where traveling is so easy. The Elders come together where the Elders come together."
"Even if that sometimes is a little cattle farming village in the middle of nowhere.", Leonard agreed with a nod, "But you are right, not everyone needs a gigantic capitol like Utica, even if they rotate to some extend as well."
Soon, they would arrive.

Kenny sure saw the sweetness and softness and so did his parents, even as he blushed at his hug being called nice.
Áed leaned over to Charlie, whispering: "Come into the deckhouse. I'll make tea... and we can discuss what to do about our lad and your lassie."
He grinned at the last one.
Kenny, meanwhile, enjoyed a warm and fuzzy feeling on his stomach, when he inhaled Billie's scent. And a lovely scent it was!

"Tea sounds mighty right, about now" Charlie nodded "Talkin' our little ones too."

"That does sound mighty fine." Jamie also agreed taking his wife's hand.

Billie giggled a bit thinking how much she liked Kenny and how much he liked her. He found her cute now she wondered what else he'd find cute about her. "Boy now I'm wishin you could see me when I'm dolled up for school. I wear a cute blue jumper and mama parts my banes outta my eyes. Oh well guess I'll have to get a picture sent to ya sometime. Anyway maybe you can show me more of the boat here? Love to see more!"

Áed nodded, motioning for them to follow him as he approached the deckhouse, opening the door with a smile. It was a comfortable little deckhouse, with a small stairway leading down into the sleeping room and a small storage, with the deckhouse itself housing the wheel and a table with a bench attached to the wall, as well as a small stove.
The man lit the latter while his wife handed him a pot with water and a bit of tea, glancing outside for a moment.
"They are a bit like us two, aren't they?", she asked her husband, for a moment forgetting the guests.
Áed nodded.

Kenny nodded with a smile, before he reluctantly let go of her except for her hand.
"I would love to.", he said and blushed, as he told her: "I find you very cute already... I can hardly imagine you even cuter."
If he could have died from his blush then and there, he would have been in real trouble.

[Kuronami]

Áed nodded, motioning for them to follow him as he approached the deckhouse, opening the door with a smile. It was a comfortable little deckhouse, with a small stairway leading down into the sleeping room and a small storage, with the deckhouse itself housing the wheel and a table with a bench attached to the wall, as well as a small stove.
The man lit the latter while his wife handed him a pot with water and a bit of tea, glancing outside for a moment.
"They are a bit like us two, aren't they?", she asked her husband, for a moment forgetting the guests.
Áed nodded.

Kenny nodded with a smile, before he reluctantly let go of her except for her hand.
"I would love to.", he said and blushed, as he told her: "I find you very cute already... I can hardly imagine you even cuter."
If he could have died from his blush then and there, he would have been in real trouble.

Following their lead and making way into the deckhouse to enjoy some tea with their new found friends. Hearing the couple liken their children to themselves, Charlie felt the same. "A lot like us too, Jamie. They're very cute together."

enny nodded with a smile, before he reluctantly let go of her except for her hand.
"I would love to.", he said and blushed, as he told her: "I find you very cute already... I can hardly imagine you even cuter."
If he could have died from his blush then and there, he would have been in real trouble.

She giggled again being called cute always flattered her and people did say it a lot, for as tomboyish as she could be. "Then lead on, Kenny!" She smiled ear to ear waiting him to pull her along to give her the grand tour. How exciting it was to be on a boat like this especially for someone she liked a lot.

[Lillorainen]

Filleadh House.
I grinned at my boyfriend as I got up to lead them to the piano and stopped at Ana's question.
I looked at her, admittedly, as if she had just grown a second hand.
"What?", I asked, then added, "No! I won't hit you for mistakes and if anyone else wants to have a go at it, I'll show them their own medicine!" There was a fierce fire in my eyes as I said that, Soiprigh, my little fox by my feet, agreeing with a yipp. "And he'll show teeth, too!"
Chris knew, that they could hurt - not by own experience, but by the experience of others.
And they did hurt.
His yipp also reminded me, that I needed to feed him in a bit.

Main Street.
"We technically don't have a capitol.", Marla spoke, "We have a place, where the Elders come together and where the Offices are, but that's about it. Fortham is not officially our capitol... especially not in this day and age, where traveling is so easy. The Elders come together where the Elders come together."
"Even if that sometimes is a little cattle farming village in the middle of nowhere.", Leonard agreed with a nod, "But you are right, not everyone needs a gigantic capitol like Utica, even if they rotate to some extend as well."
Soon, they would arrive.

Filleadh House.
Chris had to grin, only for a few seconds.
Indeed, he had never had to experience how sharp vulpine teeth could be, but he was quite aware that Soiprigh's teeth could hurt a lot, if they were genuinely supposed to. And he was also sure that they wouldn't be needed in this case.
Besides, with his yipp, he rather insinuated that he was hungry for something else.
Although Chris had known Ana from Purgatio, he often needed a few moments to understand the concerns she had ... there was so much he wondered about when it came to the reassurance she needed - this wasn't Portugal, San Prospero surely wasn't Portugal ... not even Stella Dorata, which one could rightfully call a shithole, was remotely as horrible as the place Ana was from.
Okay, he had no direct comparison between Purgatio and the Ecclesiastical State ...
Anyways.
He said, "That won't even be necessary. No one would even get to the idea of hitting you for mistakes! How dumb would that be ..."

Main Street.
Again, Hilda and Fred nodded.
"Yeah, it may be a special case with us" - Fred said, "as you know about all our sub-ethnicities. They just did not want to prefer, or discriminate against a specific one. Just as much as there were times where the Selkie-Tribes had their issues with each other, the Lillo sub-ethnicities had theirs. They just moved the Meritocratic Council from Lysköping to the new capital to avoid tensions. Not that we Nordic Lillöer-Islanders appear to be privileged."
"This was in the 1980s, though" - Hilda added. "Today, this doesn't play any role anymore. But back then ..."

[Mediama]

"Oh, come on, lassie!", the redhead called with a grin, slipping into a broad country accent, "We don't bite! Do we, Livvie?"
"Nah, ya don't.", Liv replied and led Katherine closer. "Girls, this is Katherine, student from abroad. Katy, these are Asteria..."
The blonde nodded.
"...Lesley..."
"Charmed!", the redhead said with a wide grin.
"...and Meave, our Little Black Vixen.", Liv finished with a grin.
The mousy one gave a small smile, in which the mischief spoke, almost yelled.

Katherine smiled bashfully back. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She said. She looked bashfully down at her shoes “I’m just here for the sights.. and the sounds... and the history.” She looked back up. “Liv said you were doing the same thing as well, and you’re going to watch a school tournament after this. Do you have anything in mind to do while you’re here?”

[San Prospero]

*RETCONNED*