The Festival

"Ah! Indeed I am not, I am Derak Thunderhammer, Good to meet you." Derak said, bowing slightly

Ares backed away a bit more at the approach of the other were, trying to retract the quills again. Instinct was a hard thing to fight against, but having keratin-coated hairs that could easily detach and get stuck on someone was generally bad. She backed into the crowd and tried to remove herself from the man called Akaelin's sight though it was clear that people around here didn't even carry five foot spears. They would be able to find her again if they tried.

"First and last name, eh?" Vane replied. Very few people gave both their first and last names, if they even had one. He knew that Akaelin actually had four names. A first, two middles, and a last, but never once mentioned any one other than his first. Though once he had given his last name.

"Vane Scelaneska," he added, not bowing but giving a slight head nod. "And the angry little man behind you is Akaelin George Xavier Irahieta."

"I am not!" Akaelin snapped. Vane had gotten the first and last names right, but the middles were far from correct.

"Eh?" Vane peered around Galvad to see the girl called Ares backing away. "No need to be afraid love. Akaelins just a big puppy dog, all bark and no bite."

"Ah! Good to meet you Vane! Is it not common to say both first and surname around here...?" Derak asked, "I have read much about customs down here... I am the formost expert on the south in my village... but I guess books are no substitute for experiance..." Derak said, blushing a little bit, he obviously was not good at being modest...

"Sorry," Ares apologized, seperating herself from the crowd again. The one that called himself Vane didn't seem too bad. "I just get nervous around people sometimes. As for my name, I don't have a last name, or any middle names. I'm just Ares. It's the name that me and Bairon picked out when I was younger."

"Well, we all come from a mash of different areas actually," Vane answered. "Like...Akaelin and I come from the East. I think Kitai came from over...West was it? We haven't really lived here long enough to completely inherit customs. You'll probably even notice a bunch of different accents."

"I just get nervous around people sometimes. As for my name, I don't have a last name, or any middle names. I'm just Ares. It's the name that me and Bairon picked out when I was younger."

"Bairon and I," Vane corrected, not even paying attention to the actual statement. "Eh, sorry. I'm a bit of a grammar nazi sometimes. Force of habit. Unlike Akaelin, I find it nice to meet you."

"Oh merde!" Akaelin swore suddenly dashing off. Some idiot had given Rukia a sparkler. Last time the girl had one, she had put it in her mouth and burned herself severely.

"Annnnd...there he goes," Vane whistled.

((Oh merde is french for, 'oh shit'.))

((sorry for pouncing on that last post... I'm tired and really jumpy so I think I'm going to turn in as well...))

Derak watched as Akaelin stormed off suddenly, "A bit angry is he?" Derak asked, "so... where is the tavern? I really need to turn in, I have been riding for days now, this is the first town I've come apon that will acually let me in... something about being a harbinger of death since I'm a norseman... I am soo stiff from sleeping on the ground..."

"Ehhh...You might not want to go around saying that, especially to Akaelin," Vane warned. "If you want acceptance in here, just stroke his ego a bit right after he had an evening with Nathifa, and he'll purr like a kitten for you. Metaphoricly speaking of course."

((Alright. Me go bed too now.))

((I'm a grammar nazi too XD I thought it would be more in character for her to have bad grammar. But if you see me type something like "You want to come with?" it ceases to be a grammar thing and becomes a minnesota thing))

Ares relaxed when Akaelin left, although he said that he didn't bear any ill will towards her he still made her nervous. "I'm interested in finding a place to stay in too." she said. "Festivals usually attract thieves that prey on the travelers and I'd rather sleep with walls around me than in a tree." Porcupines were naturally good at climbing and she had that skill as well. There had been a couple times where she had killed the leader of a group of bandits and slept unnoticed by their comrades in a tree the same night. "Who's Nathifa?" She asked.

((We say that in Pennsylvania. We also add an s onto anyway and make it anyways. All of my characters say anyways. XD))

"There's an Inn at the Southern end of the town," Vane instructed. "As for Nathifa, she's Akaelins mate...wife, partner, whatever you want to call it." Though most weres, Elain, and Henkilo used the term 'mate' Vane had learned from experience that not everyone understood what the word meant. In some areas in the south east, they strictly used the word consort. In the middle east, it was mostly mate, and in the north west, partner. He had learned that mate was most common, but sometimes used other terms just for the hell of it.

Kitai went further into the festival, despite the fact that she felt more like crying than celebrating also. But one of the merchants had any good flowers she would have to bring them to Sai and Quill's graves as well as Yoko's memorial. She noticed a man with pale skin and red hair sticking close to Runihura, the dark-skinned boy. Runi was the child of Nathifa and Set to serve as a peace treaty between the Rebellion and Set's forces. He had taken his father's place in the Egyptian pantheon as the god of chaos. She wouldn't have recognized the red-haired man if the kid hadn't told her that it was his father in his true form. After all, it would have caused some commotion if Set showed up during the festival celebrating the defeat of the side that he fought on.

((finals, gah! This is the only post I have time to make tonight))

On this day, Jan didn't have much to celebrate, or mourn. He hadn't known Sai at all, Yoko and Quill barely. He had heard the story of Quills betrayal and then death. In truth, he felt more for Aodan than he did for the childs dead mother. No one really knew what had happened to Yoko. Or why he was killed rather. He couldn't see any reason for the fox's death. It wasn't like he had had enemies. The closest thing he actually had to an enemy had been Quill, and even then he had just pissed her off due to a missunderstanding.

Lost in his thoughts, Jan didn't notice the woman walking beside him until she cleared her throat. He lifted his head, murmuring a hushed apology, then stopped. The woman beside him was actually about half an inch taller than he was, with curly, dark hair that went just below her waist. Her face was angular, cat-like almost, and her hunter green eyes peeked at him through long lashes.

"Amilie?" Jan gaped in surprise. "I got your letter...but I wasn't expecting you for another week." He stopped suddenly as he felt two pairs of arms wrap themselves around his waist. The two young girls squealed with delight, their voices high pitched with excitement.

"As long as she doesn't hug me anymore," Akaelin mumbled under his breath. "Or rape Kieran I guess." He figured that the scigers psyche would be alright as long as the girl didn't start taking her clothes off. Not that he really cared about the mans psyche. He didn't know Kieran at all, since he stayed up with Jan and didn't say a word on the rare occasion that he came down with the human. He was timid and kept to himself, scooting away from people when they got near him.

"The no hugging's not exactly guaranteed, she seems like the type to pull a sneak attack hug." Nathifa said, wrapping her arms around her mate in her own hug. "But I don't think she would go as far as rape. I wonder who she was anyway?"

((XD just got finished sketching your birthday present. Nathifa: so i herd u liek......HOT SPRINGS!))

((I'm working on my own Akaelifa picture. The big bad wolf's after little reds picnic basket. XD))


"Yeah, I know several people who like to do that," Akaelin replied to Nathifa with a small half smile. "As for her name, I'm sure we'll find out eventually." Shades of red, green and orange flashed across the area as another round of fireworks was set off. "Come, you should enjoy the festival while it lasts," he encouraged, kissing her forehead.

"I come!" Nathifa looked down to see Mshai tugging on her dress. He took a big leap into the air to land on her shoulders. Nathifa laughed.
"Okay spider monkey, you come too." She said, turning around to hold a hand out for Runi. Even if she wasn't sure Akaelin wanted him around, it would be cruel for a mother to desert her own kid in the middle of a busy festival. He might have gone to hang around Kitai, but he otherwise didn't have any friends.

Akaelin didn't mind Runi's presence, as long as the boys father didn't come to join him. Then he'd definately have a problem. Hell, he'd have more than a problem, he'd have a temper tantrum. There was a man handing out sparklers and Rukia made a mad dash for them. Akaelin grabbed her by the waist and lifted her off her feet. "Nuh-uh. Not until you stop putting them in your mouth," he said firmly. She made a light whining noise, then quickly saw something else she wanted - a small box of unused fireworks. "Why do you always want to get into the dangerous things?" Akaelin mumbled to himself.

Runi got a sparkler from the man handing them out and was staring at it in wonder. He loved looking at the lights from the fireworks. He then had to duck as a little flying saucer firework passed just a few inches over his head.
"Why do they let those kinds of things in the festival?" Nathifa asked no one in particular, defusing the out of control sparking thing with a flick of her finger. "It could hit one of the little kids."

"Probably because there's only four of them, if you count Runi," Akaelin answered, wishing he had a leash for Rukia. "They're probably thinking that with so few children, the odds that they'd be in the wrong place at the wrong time would be slim." However with the little girl, it was diffent. She was a magnet for trouble, and her attraction to it didn't help.

"This place really doesn't have many kids," Nathifa pondered. "I wonder why that is? It's peacetime now and I don't forsee any coming trouble. It seems like a relatively safe time to have kids."

((*Is stuck a bit*))

"Well, there aren't many people who are mated here," Akaelin answered. Quill was dead, and most everyone else was unwanted. He had suspected something between Syn and Faorn, but hadn't seen the blue haired werewolf in quite some time.

((Gimme a little bit. I'll think of something here soon.))

((Oh **** that's right, I'm supposed to be controlling Faorn for her since she's been banned from taof))

"True," Nathifa said. "But at least we are." She heard a yelp of surprise from beside her and looked to see Runi with a bewildered look on his face holding a flying saucer. He had caught the thing as it sped towards him and the little propulsion thing was still trying to shoot the small firework at him even as he held it.

((Aww...what happened? Did her parents find out or something?))

Akaelin gave Runi a slightly baffled look. He knew that the little god would be okay, but still. He sighed and looked back in front of him...where Rukia had been just a second ago. He did a complete 360, scanning the area for the little girl. She was nowhere to be found.

((yeah))

"Oh, no." Nathifa said worriedly. She closed her eyes and tried to sense where the little girl was with her power, but there were so many people that it was an impossible task.

"What's wrong?" Syn asked from one of the merchants stands. He was leaning up against the stall with his hands braced on either side of him for support. "Lost Rukia," Akaelin mumbled quickly before shifting form to try and track her by scent. He already had several guesses where she might be. All he had to do was find the most dangerous place in the town at the moment and she would be there.