Central Plaza

The central plaza of Isra was quite unlike anything he had ever seen in the far eastern lands, thought a man whose entire appearance from his hair to the clothes he wore were in that foreign style. It was curious to him how these people had managed to create such a large and enduring city, when those that might have rivalled it in his own homeland had long since fallen to the five kings and crumbled into ruin. Well, there wasn't much point in lingering on such thoughts, so he pulled his light fur cloak around his shoulders and proceeded deeper into the plaza.

It seemed he had arrived in time for the winter festivities, which on the surface resembled so much his own home's equivalent. Fǎnhuí, in the old empire, celebrated the winter solstice and the return of the sun, but he wondered if in these foreign lands the festival was in honour of something else. So much seemed to be happening! And though he could understand their language, there were so many other things that he couldn't - like the spider woman, the dragon and other strange creatures that were allowed to wander so freely despite being so potentially dangerous! The spider woman especially resembled a kind of hostile demon that had taken over the homeland of his ancestors and through his culture he could not help but be wary of her.

He decided to steer clear of her for now, and focus on finding something to eat. There seemed to be a lot of food around, but as he looked he began to notice that there was even more gold... It had not been his original intention, but a little pilfering wouldn't harm anyone, would it?

@almaandnoonoo


 "Not interested in food are you?" He sat down, crossing his legs as he did so, not minding the cold ground on his bottom. "Do you want to play? Is that? Or do you want me to follow you?" He asked, though still figuring the pup wasn't understanding what he was talking about. 

Jun grinned. "Happy Yuletide. Oh, by the way, have you actually met my parents?" She let go and held her hands out to the two tillers next to her. "This is my dad, Raynor, and my mom, Ying-Na. My dad's the elder of the Celadine Clan, and my mom commands the Land-Tiller mounted archery corps. They're mostly from the Acacia Clan"

Raynor nodded politely. He was a stocky, burly sort with thick, almost matty beard and furs. He had a strong, but gentle magical aura about him, just like his countenance. He had a gnarled wooden staff with an amber gem set on top.

Ying-Na gave a rapid, enthusiastic nod very similar to Jun's. She was a lean, fit, older woman with leathery skin and a brazen smile. Unlike her calm, methodical husband, her movements were quick and cocky. Her eyes were thinner and more almond-like than her husband's too. She had no magical aura, but her confident bearing strongly suggested she didn't need it. She wielded a formidable looking longbow.

"So, Master Lum'Valia... who does your hair?" Ying-Na asked.

Jun rolled her eyes and started charging up some light magic for a spell.

Back in the plaza, the arachnae/eyeballs stand-off was still a thing.

The old man grinned. "Aye aye! Call me Nikau of the Dittany! Our tribe's been eating insects for thousands of years. Most outsiders are too squeamish to eat them. But that's ok. We brought the food we thought our friends here would like the most!"

The beetle in question would probably taste like scrambled eggs with a hint of black licorice. There were also traces of a white powder mixed in with a dark brown sauce coating the shell. This added a mix of salty, sweet, savory, and spicy tones to the beetle. Of course, that was all assuming the arachnae had taste buds that were remotely human.

Satisfied that the chitinous creature wasn't going to consume their cohorts, the other Land-Tillers shrugged and went back to serving their wares.

Grandma followed after Naoki as she wandered out into the crowd. Although it wasn’t exactly the safest move for the Empress to make, the Sentinels should be able to keep any typical troublemakers away from her. She was also the Empress now, a role that Grandma supposed required her to mingle with the common folk from time to time.

Offering those in the crowd that they passed a warm smile of her own, Grandma took note of who was present. Jun along with her family was here, performing the fireworks display. Lum’Valia had decided to come as well, her soothing presence something Grandma greatly appreciated for this event. There was also a rather curious figure in the square, part human part spider, that seemed to have garnered the attention of the nearby locals.

Striking her staff on the pavement forcefully sent a number of scarves flying out from her location, although where the old woman had been storing them was a bit of a mystery. In the spirit of the event, Grandma supposed she might as well dispense a few of her handknitted scarves. It was a shame lately she simply didn’t get the time to sit around in the Midnight Sun and knit like she used to.

Jun of the Celadine , Lum'Valia , Royal Fletcher , Keph , along with several of the townsfolk would find scarves floating down to rest upon their shoulders. Grandma briefly mused to herself if Lum'Valia could get much use out of the gift, perhaps in her angelic form it could be of use to her.

Attention drawn back to the others on the rooftop Lum's beatific smile shines out upon Ying Na and Raynor. The holy dragon smiles at each, in turn, reaching out to take their hands in her's shaking them two-handed. "A pleasure to meet you both. You raised a wonderful girl." The dragonesses voice throbs as she says this, tone swelling with happiness which almost seems to bleed into a melody.

Once introductions are out of the way she releases Raynor's hands and blinks in confusion. "Who does my hair?" She asks a tad confused. While she'd lived like a human she'd never really lived among them so there were a few aspects of society she was unaware of. For example, the concept of haircuts or styling. Running a hand through her glowing platinum locks she shrugs. "I grew it myself if that is what you are asking?"

Summoned as though by the cosmic powers of fate, a man came bumbling through the crowd. He wasn't too hard to pick out: not only was he robust, but the enormous, overstuffed rucksack on his back added to his bulk and was swinging around wildly as he wound through the masses.

The man didn't seem to be too well for wear. A rough mask pressed bandages to his right cheek, and if one were to look closely, one would be able to see the corners of raw, red flesh beneath it. Despite this, the man didn't seem overly troubled. He swayed this way and that, trading a word or two with every festival-goer he came in contact with. At some point, after Naoki's speech, the man stumbled forward and found his arm reaching upward to brace against the shoulders of a man of Eastern dress and countenance. Whether he was successful at this attempt or found himself on the ground, the man seemed to have a proposal.

"'Ey friend, you see that dame over there, right? Listen here, listen-" Flicking his wrist, two gold coins appeared between his knuckles, which he used to point toward the Empress. "Bets are, righ', I get one kiss on the dame's cheek, you buy me a drink. If the guards tear me a new arse, happy Yuletide to you, fren'. You'll be winnin' two gold coins. Bet's on, then, watch this magic, here."

Before the eastern fellow would have a say in the conversation, the drunk man stumbled away in the Empress' direction, bouncing into someone here and there until he came up to the guards. "Ey, lad, how's it goin'. Workin' on Yuletide? Ahhh! A damn shame. Here, enjoy yourself a pint, aye?"

It wasn't immediately evident where the man had found the pint that he attempted, successfully or unsuccessfully, to place in the guard's hand. Somewhere, though, between the Eastern man and Naoki's guards, there was a puzzled and frustrated festivalgoer.

The drunken fool continued on his path until he was able to stop in front of Naoki, giving her a rather sloppy bow that ended a bit too low and lingered a bit too long. "'appy Yuletide, Empress!" he blubbered.

As she built up her light magic, Jun was interrupted by the presence of an ominous magic. She was relieved when the fearful force did nothing more than deposit a warm scarf on her neck.

"Ah, must be Grand-"

POOSH!

Jun fell back, again, as the immaculate snowball exploded in her face. Ying-Na had been frowning, disappointed that she didn't have the genetics to obtain Lum'Valia's hair. But now she was overcome by a fit of giggling, surprisingly girlish laughter. Raynor grinned. "You're quite popular, aren't you child?"

Her focus interrupted, Jun's spell doesn't quite go as planned.

A form materializes a few feet over Keph 's head. It's big and bright. It slowly glides down, and if Keph were to touch it he'd find it was warm, smooth, and light as a balloon.

A giant light construct snowflake. At least, that's what it was going to be, as opposed to the neo-expressionist art piece gliding down near Keph.

Resolved to her fate of lying prone on the rooftop every 30 seconds, Jun starts making a snow angel.

The Varan would see @ailin and Ralf approach. They brought up their mugs and hailed the White Wolf, the future jarl of Valland, who responded in kind. They were quite friendly and welcoming to Ailin, despite her demeanor. The bartender's eyes lit up at her request, and he readily filled a large flagon from a nearby keg before passing it to her. Ralf grinned and nodded at the barman, "she's a friend," he said.

"Then it's on the house," he'd reply, happy to serve a friend of Vallad's future jarl.

Most of the Varan did their best to look away from Ailin, though they did not hesitate to observe her from the corner of their eyes. They wanted to see just how well she could handle herself with Varan ale.

Should she drink it, Ailin would find the ale quite delicious and excellently brewed, but also strong and powerful. These were desirable traits to the Varan, who required strong concoctions.

Ralf himself ordered a mug of ale and began to sip from it, gazing over the rim of his cup to see Ailin's reaction to the drink.

Keph smiled and punched his fist into the air above as it smacked directly into Jun's face! Now all he ne- wait... where'd she go? He could see her no longer! He heard the ball smack into her and he was quite sure she had fallen over... was she still lying down on the rooftop? He couldn't be quite sure! Drat! The whole point of that throw was to get her attention, but he may have happened to give it too good of a throw. 

As he readied himself to cover the rooftop Jun was now lying on in a barrage of snow in hopes of again, getting her attention (after all, he couldn't let her go without giving a gift of his own!) some odd form materialised over head; he poked it, unsure of what it was but but it didn't seem to do much. For now, he'd ignore it... but later he might just take it with him. 

The lad began making his ammunition, perfected due to his many years of snow-construct experience... after a small hill of them had been made, the young lad would rapidly begin to blindly chuck them onto the roof - not quite sure where Jun was lying or even if she was still there, but making sure that if she was, she'd at least get hit by one!