• PM To Join • [Sweetsong] Introduction to the Sweetsong Elders

[Kisaik]

After their powow and meeting on the Orchard's walk, where Kisaik introduced Nir'wei to the samples of spliced and altered plants and trees he'd devised so far, Kisaik led him down toward where the Administrative tent was set up currently, which was not far at all from the Sweetstone tree, but still long enough that they could have words along the way.

"Oh by the way, we do have a traditional no-hunting clause with the Oh'Deer of Sweetwine, during the entire season of Ashan, in thanks for their defense of Sweetsong during the Pirate Attacks. WIthout their help, we would've surely been overwhelmed from their hidden attack from the inland portions..." Kisaik informed Nir'wei. "And in general we are reverent to the Oh'Deer, even when we hunt them we make sure not to waste anything."

So having informed him of the sacrosanct nature of Oh'Deer in Sweetsong, he nodded and rode ahead with Slate, to ring the rest of the Sweetsong residents, namely the most prominent among these, Vega, Jasper, and of course Winston.

"Heya!" Kisaik waved his hands as he rode ahead, "The Councilor for Natural affairs is here! You'll all want to meet him and hear what he has to say!"

This said, he waited for his friends to arrive at the center of the camp, and looked around for their arrival. As he did so, he adjusted in his seat on Slate, who was staring intently at one of Nir'wei's companions.

[Nir'wei]

Nir'wei allowed Kisaik to lead the way, and one-by-one his wolves picked themselves up and followed suit. "I hope you don't mind," he mentioned casually while they walked, "but I think they need some fresh air." He didn't elaborate with words, but reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a wolf-pup. "Come on." A few trilling whistles and his coat began to rustle with activity. Another head popped out of a breast pocket, another at his side. A bulge wormed its way down his forearm and a head popped out of his sleeve, followed by the rest of a wriggling wolf-pup. They pushed out from his breast, dropped to the floor from his waist, and soon a small swarm of fourteen more wolf-pups joined their parents, awkwardly plodding along on too-short legs. Nir'wei just carried on walking, still holding one in his arms for idle rubs behind the ears while Kisaik spoke. The rest of his pack kept the pups in line and nudged them back into following every time they tried to wander off.

"The Oh'Deer protected you?" he asked, suddenly very interested. "Were there any sightings of a yellow mist around Sweetwine, while this was happening? And... they didn't attack the settlers here, at all?" During the pirate invasion, he'd activated... something. All the creatures had turned into a murderous blood-frenzy, only held back from tearing him apart thanks to a unique technique. He'd become, unintentionally, the eye of a storm. Could that storm have reached all the way out here? He couldn't imagine it. "I think it might be a good time to speak with one of them." One way or another, this was turning into a very lucrative meeting.

Shame about the lack of Oh'Deer pelts, though. He'd always wanted a few of those for himself.

He had to wonder how many councillors made visits, for a welcome that would apparently involve half the camp just for showing up - or whether that was just Kisaik being particularly eager. "Please, Nir'wei will be fine." He raised his voice a touch and cleared his throat. "Kura told me I should visit a Vega Creede. An officer training camp for the Elements and Rangers is being held here?" He glanced back to Kisaik for confirmation. "Regardless, uhh. Pleasure to meet all of you. I can't wait to hear all about Sweetsong and what interesting things you have going on." His wolves arranged themselves around him, pups crowded at his feet and his largest, Greyhide, sitting directly behind him to loom. "Oh, and these are my assistants. They're all well-trained and harmless."

[Winston]

Uhu. 'armless ferret-eating killin' machines. Got it.

Winston so loved having a chance to chat with his friends. It didn't happen often enough and it too often felt like the only reason that ever pressed them to converse was some kind of responsibility or emergency. As such, he was currently revelling in a chance to catch Vega and Jasper up on some of the events of late in the world of Winston.

"...an' dere wus dis GIANT spida! Nat jost giant far me. Noh-noh-noh. Et wuz like de size af an actual

'orse

an' toward ova me like de cat ova a mouse! Me only just managed tuh get outta dere widdout being eten!" Apparently this dice with death was of some great amusement to him as he chuckled.

Winston was just sharing a little story of his most recent exploits with Vega and Jasper as Kisaik whizzed past. "...Natural affairs?" He repeated to himself, trying to imagine what exactly that involved.

As they all made their way to where the counselor was, or where the ferret assumed he would be, he whispered into

Vega's ear as he shared a ride upon her shoulder

. "Me will be adaptin' Angela shartly." He shared with a barely contained look of delight. "She does nat know yet, an' me need tuh ask 'er ef she WANT's tuh live wid me lang term... but me es very excited." He gave a little giggle. There was nothing being requested in the statement, the ferret simply shared for the sake of feeling the need to share something bright and lovely with someone he he cared about. Truth be told, he looked up to Vega as a parent of many children, both her own blood and not.

As they reached Nir-wei, Winston moved a little to position Vega's ear between him and the group of large carnivorous, ferret-eating canids that surrounded the man. He was not making much effort to hide his nervousness, but Vega would recognise that Winston had adopted the same position he had in the past when they were fighting together... or more accurately, she was running, jumping and avoiding falling, flaming trees and he was holding on for dear life. He was not scared... as such. Mostly because he knew that while he was on Vega's shoulder, he was all but indestructible... this did however crystalise the importance of remaining ON her shoulder in his mind.

The friendly Cadouri gave the Councilor a welcoming and excitable wave, eying the wolves as he introduced them as 'harmless'. "Hi yuh!" He began with a very positive and curious tone. "Uhu. 'armless. Yus. Right-oh, noted." He blathered, making a note that they didn't harm you because they probably didn't chew when they swallowed you whole. "Meh name es Winstaaan. Winstaaan Milla! Welcome tuh Sweetwine!" Despite his caution surrounding the wolves, his tone and welcome towards the man was genuine and bright.

Once some others that wished to do so had introduced themselves, he continued with what appeared to be quite a pressing question. "Kisaik tells meh dat yuh are de Counsellar af Natural affairs? Dat sounds very impartant, meh es share dat Sweetwine keeps someone involved in 'nature' and 'affaires' VEEEERRY bussy." He smiled before adding. "Wat exactly IS a Counsellar af Natural affairs?"

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Pyrre Ej'qy

[Vega]

Introduction to the Sweetsong Elders

"Oh, I've met them, they're well gnarly," Vega said of the giant spiders. "An' yeah, they're big enough you could saddle 'em if needed. Did I ever tell you about the time I got pummelled by a giant snake?" She gave a grin and then turned in pleasure as Sir Chip rode into view, proclaiming that the Council Member for Natural Affairs was here. Vega knew of Nir'wei - of course, he was famous - but she knew of nothing that he had done as a Council Member.

That did not impress her - if he had the job he should do things with it. But, she accepted, maybe he had and she just didn't know about it so she determined to keep an open mind and then walked to where he was going to be. Vega greeted everyone who came to Sweetsong, making sure that they knew her, who she was and what the rules were here. She wondered if Nir'wei was going to be stopping for a night or so, that would be fine. But, what she knew of Nir'wei - which was mostly from the Echo Scrolls shared during the pirate attacks - told her that he was a lone wolf (and the irony of that phrase was not lost on her) and that he had a lot of wolves with him. One of them had gone to Haven, she recalled, and she remembered Elisabeth telling her how Nir'wei had left her abandoned and potentially facing a dragon.

So, thusfar, Vega was not what one could call impressed with the Council Member for Natural Affairs. His reputation preceded him and she'd heard of him as someone who acted recklessly and was not - at all - a team player. She didn't like that and that, coupled with her knowing of no actual thing he'd done in his professional role meant that he was on a back foot, as far as she was concerned.

As they made their way, though, Winstan told her about his plans for Angela and Vega beamed. "Oh, that's great news! I hope that she says yes. I bet she will an' it'll be amazin'. Oh that's well good news. Anythin' that I can do, you jus' say the word an' it's done, yeah?" That was the simple truth of it with Vega and ever would it be.

They got to where Nir'wei was and Vega nodded her head and smiled at him. "Wotcha," she said politely. "I'm Vega Creede. We 'met' durin' the pirate attacks, it were my echo scroll what we had goin' everywhere, because you all got given one to keep in touch with Joy, after the Forgin'. An' yeah, I've been trainin' the Elements - tactics, fieldcraft, teamwork an' a bit o'fightin' an' stuff. You wantin' to be involved?" Vega gestured in an expansive way, taking in Sweetsong. "An' yeah, this is Sweetsong. Short version of it is that it's a settlement with no permanents buildin's, where we work together in a sustainable way in harmony with Sweetwine - both the place an' the Induk. Huntin' an' gatherin' an' resources an'.. well, everything, we do in a way that means we don't over-use an' we replace an' grow as much as we hunt an' gather. We work as a community."

Of his assistants she gave a grin. "They're beautiful, each one. There's quite a few animals here, as you can imagine. Beside the usual ones you might expect, we've got dragonlings and dragonets, constellions, stuff like that. Jus' to pre-warn you." Of him and his menagerie? They'd be far from the most unusual, although their numbers alone made them interesting. "So, be welcome here. You're welcome to eat with us, to stay here an' all, but if you do then you'll be expected to chip in an' help out. Anythin' you particularly wanna see?"

[Kisaik]

Kisaik looked up at Nir'wei, when he asked about a strange yellow mist. "Yellow mist? No, I don't think so! I used a power I inherited from my Immortal father. It allows me to speak to animals, although I can't understand them back. But I can make myself understood well enough, and I beseeched Ol'Tuck and the Oh'Deer to help us. And they did. So we have a bit of a truce that is seasonal based."

Kisaik nodded. "Rebirth is the month when they're allowed to be off to their own. And so long as none of them threaten Sweetsong, we'll not threaten them." The tunawa frowned, "Even if one or more got aggressive, I would hope Sweetsingers would try to scare them off if possible, or else otherwise deescalate."

This said, Kisaik spotted Winston and Vega had arrived, and so teleported from the back of Slate, to an unoccupied shoulder of Vega. "Hello Lady Vega, Winston! This is the councilor." So he waited for them to make all their points, which were good ones, all told. "I told him about the special plants I've been creating, and propagating. He's given me permission and discretion to do with that skill as I like, isn't that wonderful!? As long as I don't create a monster, or a terrribly invasive version of another plant, he's okay with it!"

This said, Kisaik looked to Nir'wei, wondering what he or his wolves would have to make of the Sweetsong elders that were gahtered in front of him.

He took out a tomato from his domain bag, a sweetwine vine tomato. That tasted like anyone's favorite food, and handed a slice to Vega and Winston each through a small portal. "Here, have a sweetwine vine tomato!"

Once he made sure each of them either declined or had a taste, Kisaik would stand off toward the side, and watch the proceedings. Content to let the chief negotiators do what they were good at.

[Nir'wei]

"Speak with animals?" He paused for just a moment in his stride, blinking in thought. "I thought I was the only one." That explained a good deal though. Another thing to follow up on, at a later date; there seemed so much already that it was beginning to make his head spin, and this was only one settlement. Perhaps it could give a glimpse of a life shared alongside Hopetoun? "I... might have to ask around, about opinions on the Oh'Deer," he mentioned offhandedly, more to himself than Kisaik. "I never really thought it'd be possible for whole encampments to actually... share space, like this."

He was so lost in space that he needed to be brought back to the present, when brought before Vega, the one-and-only, and her... incredibly curious shoulder-companion. "Pleasure to meet you, uhh. Win. Win-staaahn?" He was probably butchering the pronunciation quite terribly! "And... yes, wouldn't call that much of a meet like this, but well-met." He'd imagined another Hopetoun, but this definitely wasn't shaping up the same way. She wasn't Darius, for one. "I'm here to pick out a few candidates for a special project. If any of them are interested, at least. It's a bit of an odd one." He still didn't really know how to explain what he was even trying to accomplish; it'd been hard enough just spelling it out to Kura. "A Natural Affairs training program."

Actually, Winston's question couldn't be better-timed, to extrapolate. "Important... is a strong word to use. Natural Affairs tends to cover whatever someone decides it should cover." He shrugged his shoulders slightly and threw a lopsided grin the shoulder-ferret's way. "Crops gotta grow. Fisherman need fish. Keep the orchards full, don't let the hunters run out of rabbits." As the list kept running on and on, he begun to count off his fingers to keep track. "Air Elements need their mounts fed and looked after, and trained, and replaced... horses for the Earth Elements, and whatever else they need besides. Deal with anything the Elements don't want to work with, wild animals, weird beasts, whatever." He tried to tap another finger, and suddenly realised that he had run out, looking down at both hands as if in shock himself of how much he'd listed, then back to Winston. "... and whatever else, I suppose."

He looked back to Vega, and then to Kisaik as well when he spoke next. "That's... sort-of the problem, actually. I've spoken about this at length with Kura. I'd like to take some of the Elements in training with you, and make them into something that can work better with nature." He gestured generally. "Well, like this. If that's not already happening."

Mention of other animals nearby earned a sharp nod, though her warning might have gone a different direction than she'd intended. "Understood - I'll keep these ones from causing trouble for them." He hardly needed to be warned about unusual beasts himself, of course. "I'll happily help wherever I'm needed, but uhh. I wouldn't want to intrude." If anything, he felt hesitant to step foot any deeper already. It was like Hopetoun all over again. Plus, well, they could see how much he'd brought. It'd be rude, entitled even, to arrive suddenly on their doorstep and expect them to accommodate the forty or so extra mouths, ranging from pups to larger-than-horses in size. "I'd like to drop by over the course of a few trials, if that's alright. For the Elements, and for whatever else you might need of me." He was, after all, supposed to be at their disposal as much as anywhere else in Scalvoris, though he'd done a poor excuse of such this far.

[Winston]

What does an Air Elemental ride?

Just for a moment, as Vega casually, perhaps jokingly, made reference to riding the eight legged beasts, his eyes looked off into space for a moment as images of giant spider riding cavalry units charged across Sweetsong. "Dat wud be soh coooool. Yuh cud walk an de cielin'..." Hi attention snapped back to the present as she went on about the giant snake. "Ooooo, noh, mun. Yuh will 'ave tuh. Dat sounds like sometin' me should avoid doh. 'Swallowed in one' es nat somet'ing me want an me epitaph." He replied with a grin.

He giggled when Vega asked if she could help with the adoption, but simple shook his head. "Noh tanks, bot will will let yuh know if meh doh."

When the tomato was offered, he gave a little gasp of entertained delight as he took it, sniffed it and then took a big bight. "MMMMmmmmm..... Toffy-turtle-apple-strudel-souffle-flaumbe..." He said as whatever that was, washed over his pallet.

As Nir'wei fumbled over Winston's name, the little ferret nodded happily, quite pleased with the attempt. How the Counselor would deal with Kisiak's full name was both an impish and almost painfully intriguing thing to wonder, but he said nothing of it. "Dat's de one!"

The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: Special MISSION?! OH! OOOOHHHHH! Pick-me-pick-me-pick-me!
Winston: Wait! We don't even know wat et es yet.
Curiosity: Who cares? It would not be 'special' if it were boring.
Winston: I don't tink dis es true.
Curiosity: Yeah-yeah, defo. Special missions are always cool, like secret spy missions!
Winston: Me don't tink dat yuh really know wat dat word means.
Curiosity: Tell him you'll do it! Do it. Do-it-now!
Winston: Shhhh....

It had to be said that the prospect of a 'special' anything cause the Cadouri some considerable excitement. The idea that there was some kind of project going on and that it involved learning of some kind firmly peaked the ferret's interest. "OOOooooo.... Es es a secret mission? Cun yuh tell meh? Yuh cun tell me. Me VERY gud at special secret projects and me soch a very quick learner."

As the wilderness man explained, the ferret's expression moved through interest, confusion and intrigue as the idea of having to deal with the elements confused him. "Wow... Me didn't know Air Elementals needed mounts... Huh." He shrugged, having firmly grasped the wrong end of that stick.

As the wolf-man went on and spoke with Vega, he let out a quiet little aspiration of enlightenment. "OOOoooohhhh... DE Elements... Right, dem fighter ones..." The words were mumbled to himself, more or less as they continued to outline the situation around him.

He waited for Vega to reply. She was both the Chief of Sweetsong and the so called 'elements' here. He didn't entirely understand what these people were, but they came up a lot whenever fighting or enforcing things were concerned, so he had assumed for now that they were something like 'the guard'... and thus avoided them in case they arrested him. Why they would do that, he was not sure, but getting arrested for looking at things he should not was the reason he'd moved out of Scalvaris Town in the first place.

He didn't really feel like it was his place to comment much, but nonetheless he made it clear he was there to help, if he could. "Well, me don't really doh weapons and stoff like dat, but ef me cun 'elp. Yuh need a blacksmith, chef ar alchemist, jost let meh know."

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Pyrre Ej'qy

[Vega]

Introduction to the Sweetsong Elders

Vega raised an eyebrow when Kisaik said that Nir'wei had 'given permission' for Kisaik to use his powers. It was entirely possible that this was just Sir Chip's way of speaking - but equally, it inferred a power relationship that gave Vega the beginnings of a flibberty in her gibbet. "Did he?" Vega said and gave a slight grin Nir'wei's way but said no more. She needed to be fair, after all.

Nir'wei, for his part, said that he was here to pick out some candidates for a project. It was the way he said it, Vega thought, rather than what he was saying. The power sat with him, he was picking and choosing. It didn't sound like a collaborative thing and that kind of talk put her back up. Yet, he explained it better as he went on. A Natural Affairs training program? He explained and Vega nodded, thoughtfully. Her mind moved, her thoughts clear. Vega wasn't good at tact and yet, she had developed her knowledge and skill enough to know that this was one of those times when she should at least attempt tactful.

Of course, knowing that she should didn't for one moment mean that she did any such thing. "Righ' well, you need to cut that out before it begins," That was in response to him saying that he didn't want to intrude. "Yer lookin' all hesitant' an' like yer worried that you're too weird an' too many an' too much an' too special for us. I can promise you that you won't be the weirdest ass what's sat round the fire, nor will you have the most stories to tell. So, come as you are, don't be coy, an' I won't feel the need to thump you. Your animals are welcome, o'course, an' we have plenty for everyone." In truth, when and if she found out how many animals, Vega would laugh - but even then there was a bottom line. Some could hunt, some could just stay and eat. Every mouth was welcome as long as they gave back what they could in terms of their skills.

As for what they needed of him? Vega gave a shrug. "We don't need anythin'," she said bluntly. "That's kind of the point. But you an' your animals - if you're goin' to stay, an' I say again yer all welcome - then we'll ask you to pitch in the best way you can. That way, you work to your strengths an' I'm not expected to jus' know where best to put you. We have huntin', gatherin' growin', sewin', makin', bakin', cookin' an' lookin an' jus' about everythin' in between. I can talk you through what I've done with the Elements, but it's been a whole settlement deal an' they've been washin' dishes an' helpin' out same as everyone else. So, best thing is that you speak to them."

Looking around, she considered. "We can give you the tour," she said. Just because there were no buildings didn't mean there was nothing to see - far from it. "The overseer tent, where we keep maps an' notes an' records of the local area. We ask folks who are goin' huntin' or gatherin' or whatever to sign out so we know where they're goin' in case they run in to trouble an' don't come back. You don't have to sign out, but if you don't, then we don't come lookin'." It was all about personal responsibility and community here. "An' the Oasis, an' the Sweetstone tree. Lots of things to show you. But come in an' lets sit around the main fire."

As for Winston's offer of helping, Vega gave a smile and nodded. "We've got the best folks in Idalos here. Sir Chip, Winston, they're examples of the best an' most useful kind of folks." Vega said. "So, you want to train the Elements to work with nature an' they're here doin' jus' that. What's the detail that's missin'?" Something was, certainly. After all, he'd just come from Kura and she knew what was going on here. So, that must mean that it was definitely something more. The secret mission, Vega thought, sounded like a lot of pomp and preening for something that was already happening but - having met him for just a few moments - she was at the very least prepared to be surprised.

[Kisaik]

"Oh yes," Kisaik confirmed for Nir'wei, "It's a special power, inherited from the one who gave me life, Aelig, also known as the Purple fairy." Kisaik said it as if it was entirely appropriate or normal to invoke the name of the fallen Immortal of Chaos. "My parents couldn't grow my sprout for all their efforts and so when Aelig offered them a special nimbus of life that would give me life, they jumped on the opportunity."

Kisaik smiled and then rode along on Nir'wei's shoulder as he approached the other two elders of Sweetsong, Vega, and Winston. Jasper was absent, but he had his hands full with a family, so it was understood.

While the rest of them spoke to each other, and Winston went on about something about a turtle apple strudle souffle, when tasting the sweetwine vine tomato slice, Kisaik took the opportunity to busy himself around them.

In fact, the area around him struck him as a perfect place to begin planting the Sweetwine Vine Tomato, since he'd already had permission to do so by the Natural Affairs Councilor.

He went to the base of various trees, setting the vine seedlings there where they might grow at the base of trees, and then rise to get some minimal sunlight as they grew upwards.

He planned the planting very meticulously, until the entire grove they were standing in was planted with a variety of sweetwine vine tomato seedlings.

By the time he was done, and much of the talking had abated, Vega giving her two coppers to Nir'wei about the way things were run around Sweetsong, and Kisaik came back into the conversation. She praised Winston and himself, saying they were among the most useful people she knew, which was flattering of course, coming from a person as impressive as Vega.

"Thank you Lady Vega!" Kisaik said. "Yes, let's gather around the fire now, and tell some stories?!"

This said, he blinked onto the other shoulder of Vega, taking a seat there as they went to gather up around the fire. "Who shall go first with a story then? I have a few new adventures to relate, I think..."