[Fairy Ring] A tea party!

[Winston]

Arc 722, 60th of Ze-da

OOC: Rules of the Game

OK, so lets have some fun with this colab. The rules are as follows:

• Thread-wide:
  • There is a two week minimum post cycle, but lets aim for weekly if we can (we are all friends, this is really just us all saying "If I can't make it, please carry on"). If you can't make it, then we will move forward and assume the missing player is 'engaged in the party' until they next post. If we post sooner, then lets just rock and roll!
  • Everything should be fanciful and Fairy themed (you may have noticed that I'm thinking 'Mad Hatter' ).
  • During the course of the thread, players should dev and use at least one form of Fairy-food/drink. There is no requirement to Dev tham and in fact, any number of free-form fairy food/drinks can be referenced, with fanciful affects without full development and approval, on the understanding that these may not be canon and only transient occurrences for this thread. Only the Dev'ed items will become lore.
  • This Tea Party (unbeknownst to Kisaik, Vega and Winston BEFORE they attend) is a very important diplomatic Fairy encounter. Its success, in some way' impacts the likelihood that Fairies will engage with the Sweetsong community in future. Sweetwine (the Induk) will consider the success of this party as a success in the integration of Fairies and mortals. As such:
    • During the thread, introduce a Fairy with a problem to solve (remember, problems for fairies can be outside-the-box, the wrong coloured sugar, who knows). You can solve your own problem, let another player do it, or do it as a group, it's entirely up to you (perhaps something cataclysmic happens!).
    • Dev of this Fairy as an NPC is an optional goal, but not required (they will otherwise be transient for this thread only).
• Per-post:
  • During each post, a player may feature a 'Fairy speak' word, without disclosing exactly what this word means (i.e. no definition). Using the context in which the word it used, the OTHER player should then guess what the meaning of this word is in their following post.
    • It must be made obvious which word/phrase is being offered up for the challenge. This can be done by RP or by OOC, whichever offers the best RP flow and style.
    • So, when you post, you are trying to guess the word provided by the previous poster, whomever that is.
    • This can be done in or out of character. Think of it as a fun quiz, not a requirement for you to crowbar interaction with a previous post.
    • There should be an attempt to give some context or hints dropped during the post to offer a clue as to it's intended meaning.
    • The words can of course be total nonsense and not make any genuine sense, as is the whim of the Fairies. It can be a thing, an action, or anything, as long as it can be defined.
    • The words do not need to be dev'ed, lets just make up some nonses and have some fun. Who says the meaning does not change with the season anyway?
    • There is no REQUIREMENT to crowbar a word into every post, but rewards will be based on your success at providing and correctly guessing them.
  • Success to engage in these rules (on a rolling post-by-post basis) and rewards (see below) should be reflected in the behaviour of the Fairies towards the player, i.e. if you engage and succeed, the Fairies like you more, if you don't engage or fail, then they do not. Note: Lets keep it fun, no need to be punished by the Fairies, but just imagine the party gets pumping the more success we display.
  • Within the above theme, lets rock and roll. Feel free to introduce new things, create situations, etc.
  Based on the player's success in the above rules, the following rewards will be requested during Thread Review (all will be at Peer Discretion of course, but it is the hope that the effort put in will justify the rewards).
  
  • For each Fairy-speak word challenge issued: +1 Renown with he Fairy Comunity
  • For each Fairy-speak word challenge successfully guessed: +1 Renown with he Fairy Comunity
  • For any successfully Dev'ed food/drink: Open access to and the recipe for said food/drink via your Fairy Companion going forward
  • For every 5 Renown won on thread conclusion: +1 Song Forged Point (due to improved mortal/fairy relations)
  • Presented a Fairy NPC problem: +1 Song Forged Point (the assumption being we would try to solve it, successful or otherwise)
  • Solved a Fairy NPC problem: +1 Song Forged Point (Yay! We helped!)
  • Deved a Fairy NPC: The Sweetsong settlement can claim this as a new settlement NPC
  • On completion of the thread: +1 Forged Diri Relationship Point.
  • Wildcards: Why not make something up?!
  Reminder: I'm just sharing the things we intend to try and claim for the thread. This is all subject to review via the various channels on completion.

The snow was heavy upon the ground and the wasters around Scalvaris had frozen over. If any time needed some joy, it might be now. Was this why the Fairies held this Tea-party when they did? Who knows? Whatever the case, Winston had received an invitation to join them, written up on a tiny Autumn leaf. He had assumed his Fairy-form and decorated his fur with tiny little leaves.

The Fairy Circle was a cold journey to make, but atop of chest, it was less difficult, though slow going.

For those that approached, the sound of merriment was the first thing they noticed. Bells and whistles played in the wind and eventually, the chattering of tiny little voices would be heard.

It would not be long before the sound of Fairies become evidence of them, as they fluttered through the branches, towards the circle. Some were carrying bunting, others were carrying food or drinks, but not a single one was

Blushy

as they arrived.

The Fairy Ring was no less snowy, but laid out in the middle of it was a table, suited and booted for a tea party of biblical proportions. The table was full-sized and set out to accommodate Vega and any other larger people that arrived. Set out atop this large table, was a complex arrangement of smaller tables and plateaus, where full-size, 4-teir sandwich and cake stands had been set out with tables and chairs for tiny little fairies. Some were even left open and were being used as dance floors.

There were teapots and cups to accompany them scattered all over, pots with sugar, powders and sticks of candy and foods of all kinds, from sandwiches and cakes, to less easily identifiable parcelled foods and other snacks.

All around, there were Tortoises made of snow and many were the subject of decorating and discussion as the Fairies engaged with them. The conversation might have been entirely one-sided, bu none the less fast-paced.

As Winston stepped into the circle, the chill left the air. It was not warm, as such, but it was no longer painfully cold. All around the Fairy Circle, it was the same. The snow didn't melt, but

it was also no longer freezing to the touch

.

Fairies continued to arrive in their dozens. Winston wondered what exactly

Kelpie

had gotten him into as he handed over a cake, some biscuits and a large bowl of tiny chocolate-covered balls. The balls were fairy-scaled and labelled 'Try me if you dare', which caused a lot of chattering amongst the Fairies as they were added to the banquette.

If they continued to arrive at this rate, there might be hundreds by the time things kicked off.

As Kisaik and Vega arrived (together or separately) Winston would greet them both with unreserved joy.

Joe

was floating around beside him, visible to all and ready to say hello. Winston had noticed him holding back a little in the run-up to the tea party and decided that he would come around when he felt like it.

[Kisaik]

Winter Theme

"What?! What do you mean you can't just change color?" Wendy demanded in a playful tone she always used around Kisaik, as she fluttered over his head. He was currently dressing his panhandler, Peter, in a warm winter sweater that he'd bought especially for him to keep him warm in the cold weather. Zi'da gave way from the amber tones of Vhalar, the leaves had descended and now winter was upon them. The Sweetstone Tree, however, bloomed brilliantly with a multitude of beautiful crystals and gems and minerals in its leaves and fruits. It was in its prime season now, although by dint of Ataja's sacrifice, it would always bear fruit throughout the arc.

"I demand to know why you refuse to change color, this very instant Sir Chip!" Wendy crossed her arms, while Lalia floated nearby, trying to hide her smirk.

"Well, Wendy." Kisaik began, as he slid Peter into a cozy compartment of Agatafral's saddle, "I could with some effort grow different colored flowers in my hair for instance? Maybe even change color with alchemy. But I cannot do so at will!"

"Nonsense!" She cried, "You just take a fairy form with that doodad on your finger, flopsie your old colors, and bosh a new one? Easy peasy Videnese!" She giggled at the rhyme she'd made.

Kisaik couldn't help but smile at Wendy, though he tried to understand, sometimes Fairies' minds, while they held the conviction of certitude, made absolutely no sense to his mortal mind. But that never stopped him from trying to decipher just what she meant. Afterall, it'd taken no less than three days for him to get the meaning of the invitation out of her, by hook and crook and several fairy books. He'd learned of the tea party, to be held by Kelpie. Kisaik did hope that Cage and the Blackberry would attend, he enjoyed them last he saw.

"Do you think there will be many other of your folk there?"

"Oh yes! All the fairies will be there, although not all will come. But they will all be there, at least in happatink." She put on a thoughtful pose, bringing a hand to her chin. "You must arrive in fairy form, of course. You may be very tall, but you won't have half as much fun if you were only a third as short." Kisaik mulled that riddle over in his head, trying to sort out whether she meant he should be taller or shorter, or... well he supposed she wanted him to be in fairy form. That much was evident at least.

So he activated his orange fairy ring+1, and turned into Kisaik the fairy. "Now! Try to flopsie your color and bosh a new one!"

Kisaik furrowed his brow, as he did a little stand and twirl, thinking the orange away from his wings. Strangely enough, it seemed to work! His wings lost all saturation. "Now bosh a nice color! Blue would look well lovely on you."

Again Kisaik tried the same maneuver, but this time in reverse, flying into the air this time to gather the blue spectrum around him. Then his wings turned blue, glowing slightly with ephemeral resonance that was part of his being as a Adored of Ashan.

"Oh how delicious. Yes, you look perfect now!"

Thus decided and sorted, he saddled atop his Sniffer Drake, Agatafral, and began flying off, after seating Lalia and Wendy on the back of his saddle. They were carried through the winter wonderland of Sweetwine, to the fairy circle that lay not too far from Sweetsong, in truth. And Kisaik was a fair flier. He'd been teaching [get-post=105632 excerpt=Agatafral]Agatafral [/get-post]to take passengers, and found that they were very good at it. They never tried to dump them once! Perhaps as part of its covetous and clingy nature.



They arrived on time, on the 60th of Zi'da at the fairy circle, where Winston and Joe and Kelpie were waiting.

Kisaik dismounted with a hop from the Sniffer Drake, which turned to look curiously at all it surroundings. Kisaik pat Peter as he sheltered in his shell for now. Perhaps Vega could help him later to get him to stretch his legs, but for now he was content to let the tortoise sleep.

Wendy of course was elated to meet everyone. "Oh my, it's Winston, and Kelpie! How do you do? Did you see Kisaik, he

flopsied

that horrid orange in his wings for a cool blue. Isnt he just divine and delicious in that color?"

She giggled. Lalia rolled her eyes as she flew down from the Sniffer Drake, to meet up with Joe. Lalia was also Kisaik's Song-Forged diri, and so probably wanted to gravitate toward the familiar spirit.

"Mister Winston Miller!" The tunawa took Winston's hand and gave it a good grip. Kisaik took a good look around after shaking Winston's hand vigorously. "Say, is anyone else coming? Wendy tells me that every fairy will be here but not all are coming. I believe... Lady Vega might also be coming? Did you know that she's my squire?" Kisaik puffed his chest out proudly. He was very proud that he'd gotten himself such a splendid Squire as Vega.

"Hello Kelpie!" He waved over to her, if he saw her, and then to Joe. "Come here now, don't be

Blushy

!

"Oh my, those must be the Snowpokes! And... my these chocolate balls look tasty. Do you think it'd be rude of me to taste them?" He asked nobody in particular.

[Winston]

Arc 722, 60th of Ze-da

OOC: Sorry for the delay[/size

Hi! I'm back after the Xmas period now.

For now, we are skipping Vega's turn due to her absence Please feel free to resume posting any time Vega, as we will simply assume she is mingling around the party.

OOC: Results so far

Blushy: Kisiak guesses it means shy

Nope! Sorry. NO dice! :-p feel free to continue to guess as we progress and new words get introduced.

In this post I have added a new word, guessed at yours and added a problem to solve

Winston beamed at Wendy and guessed at the meaning of the word 'flopsied' to be 'swapped'. He nodded in agreement. "Me es very gud tanks. Oh yus mun, 'im looks gud like dis."

Kelpie

fluttered over to Wendy and, should she be inclined, spun around in a little celebratory circle, holding hands. "Yippiiiiiie! It is splendiferous to see you again Wendy!" And as the two of them settled, Kelpie looked at Kisaik with a curious expression.

As Lalia floated down towards

Joe

, if all this fairy nonsense was not really 'her bag', then she would find herself in good company. He nodded and a worn smile. This was at least, about his limit where body language was concerned, having only a head to use. Nonetheless, he greeted her in what he hoped would be a shared expression of mild exhasperation. "I'm all in on a good prank, but Fairy parties are another thing altogether, right?"

As the two spirits conversed and the Fairies continued to arrive, Kisaik addressed Winston directly. "Cheeeeeep mun!" The hand-shake would lead to an embrace with a good back-patting. Winston considered them both somewhat thick as thieves at this stage and gave both Peter and the Drake a happy wave. "Oh, me don't know... Vega es your SQUIRE." There was a subcontiouse pecking order inside the fetterts head that was currently being re-shuffled...

The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: WHHHHAAAAAT?!
Winston: Wooooah!
Curiosity: VEGA is CHIP's SQUIRE?!
Winston: ... Af carse she es.
Curiosity: But ... Vega has a dragon and is well-hard and, and, so, if she's HIS squire then ...
Winston: See? Chep's an 'ero! Af de 'ighest order!
Curiosity: How the hell does that even work?
Winston: What?
Curiosity: I mean ... Imagin it. "Would you like help onto your stead Mr Lord Night Dragon-Slayer-Sir?" and what then? She picks him up between her index finger and thumb and plops him into the horse?
Winston: Well, me share dere es odda stuff tuh bein' a squire.
Curiosity: So he outranks Vega though!
Winston: Me really tink yuh need tuh get ova dat.

He smiled, internally resolving that of-course Chip was the boss. "'er must be a very gud squire, she es very dedicated." He agreed.

Kelpie was still watching him intently as he greeted her. She jumped a little and if the tinkling was anything to go by, became a little flustered. "Me? Blushy? Well I NEVER, I have brought some lovely Dandelion Squash for the party." She said with a nod that chimed lightly with her movement. She then gasped, placing a hand over her mouth melodramatically. "Don't tell me YOU have arrived blushy?" As in every way, the demeanour of the little fairy would never be considered genuinely upset, but there was an undertone of concern to her little voice.

Joe nudged Lalia with a little glee and whispered in a mocking tone. "Oh noooo he didnnnn't!"

If/when Kisaik looked around the party, it would be

obvious to him

that no one else we yet eating. As such, it would probably be poor form to be the first. That being said, the other Faries were giving the small chocolate balls a lot of attention and as soon as the note was read and the word spread, it was a matter of much speculation.

As greetings occured all around the Fairy Circle, the numbers continued to grow and so did the supplies. In fact, the amount of food being provided was extreme. There was bread, biscuits, pies and a great many other things neither of them might have seen before. Furthermore, there were hessian sacks sitting over to one side, from which additional supplies were being retrieved. Winston was intrigued by the variety and so much of it. As he, Kisaik and their various companions settled in and found their way around the massive table that was set out, Winston asked Keplie something. "Wow, Kelpie, where did this all come from? Did people really just bring all of this with them?"

A problem to solve!

This is my problem that needs to be solved. Based on the "Larceny!" event from the seasonal calendar:

/viewtopic.php?t=30285

With ships stuck in the docks, tensions grow in all coastal areas and fights break out between sailors who have been forced to be on land and locals who claim all sorts from stolen jewels to seduced daughters and wives. This escalates over the next few days and there are a lot of arrests made. The jails are overflowing.

How are we going to put this wrong right?

Kelpie giggled. "No, silly, we found it. It was just sitting in these big boats in the ice. All going to waste. It is a terrible shame for things to go to waste you know. So we put it to good use." Winston glanced at Kisaik for a moment and then back at Kelpie. "Yuh PAID for et, right, Kelpie?" His tone was laden with concern that he already knew what the answer to this question was.

Keplie made a tinkling sound of derision as if to dismiss the question as to be absurd. "Of COURSE we did silly ..." Winston visibly relaxed as the concern left his tiny fury body. "... the tooth fairies left them plenty of lovely teeth and a recipe for Apple Crumble." Suddenly the ferret's relief was struck down in it youth as Keplie, with all the innocence of a child, attempted to reasure him.

The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: BAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA! See?! THIS is what you get for accepting payment in body parts and cake recipes!
Winston: Oh nuh, mum.

Winston turned to Kisaik with a guilty expression on his face. "Dere es a CHANCE dis might be me fault ..."

Kisaik would get but a moment to respond before a cheer set off from the far side fo the Circle, followed by clapping. It spread across the entire attendance as someone arrived on a leaf being dragged by 4 of the mot peculiar creatures they might ever have seen. The blue, single-legged Peganots floated in and flew a ring around the entire area. They came to a final halt by the tallest of the cake towers with a little puff of glitter.

From the leaf, stepped down a couple, holding hands and blushing a wide variety of colours as they waved and thanked everyone. It was not made immediately obvious who they were, but should Kisiak ask, he would be told by Kelpie, if not Wendy. "Oh, it is such a joy to be introducing the most recently

Pledgified

couple. They will be together forEVER now that have made the pledge and until someone else get pledged, they can turn up to parties like THAT."

Food THEN began to be consumed, in joy and excitement. If Kisaik went to try one of the Chocolate balls he would find it a pleasant and warming treat as the chocolate melted just before body temperature. He was not the only person to try it though and others were not as tolerant of the hot and spicy powers the Ferret had added. Furthermore, after a few moments of faces being pulled, there was a *POP* as the popping candy exploded within the mouths of one of the faries. The little creature was so surprised, it leapt an inch off the ground and gave off a little cloud of sparkles as if it had farted glitter in it's shock.

This caused raucous laughter among the fairies, non of which were accustomed to being subject to the pranks of their OWN food, to which they were immune. Winston smiled happily at their delight and watched for Kisaik's reaction to the exploding sweets.

[Kisaik]

Winter Theme

Spoiler

You guessed right about Flopsy!

Wendy did a mid-air spin as Kelpie greeted her, and flashed a broad smile at Winston, “Yes! You look absolutely plinksy. You too Winston! Very

Plinksy

indeed.”

Kisaik busied himself with untying Peter from the drake’s saddle, after exchanging greetings with Winston. “Oh yes, she’s quite the talented squire.” Kisaik frowned as he saw the gears turning in the ferret’s head over the matter. Sometimes people had that reaction to hearing that Vega was his squire, so Kisaik felt the need to explain further. “That doesn’t mean she’s subordinate, not at all. Our knighthood doesn’t have an hierarchy as such. Just different roles. She’s the guiding light of my own knighthood. Squires is more of a inspirational role, while Knight is an acting role. If that makes sense.” Kisaik scratched his head. He’d not thought over this knighthood business before making it up once upon a time, but it made sense to him all the same.

“I’m not the boss, basically.” As much as Kisaik would’ve hated to disappoint or upend Winston’s expectations, it was always best to err on the side of honesty. “But yes she’s better than I deserve!”

Kisaik looked nonplussed by Kelpie’s reaction to his interpretation of the word Blushy. Apparently he was wrong. He only thought of one other word that it might relate to, and so he sought to correct his mistake. “Apologies Kelpie! I’m often

Blushy

to pick up on such meanings and subtexts. As many fairies as I’ve met, I still find myself marveling at your peoples’ complexity of society.”

They were walking over toward the refreshments table, and saw that they had been potentially stolen. Oh no! Kisaik looked at Winston, “No I’m sure it’s… oh boy. I can pay for it, for them! I will do so… Kelpie, which boat and which harbor did you take it from? I’d like to thank those boats personally for their generosity.”

So that settled, Kisaik sighed, possibly a little light in the purse for his

pledge

. “Wait, did you say Tooth Fairy?! From Yaralon? Or is this a different tooth fairy?!” Kisaik put on an astonished face as he heard the mention. “I gave some teeth to the tooth fairy of Yaralon to get some wells once… I still have that territe knocking around somewhere…”

It was quite an overwhelming experience, possibly as much as Kisaik’s visit to Jesine’s fairy court. The peganots pranced about, squirting the air with their glitter and such. Kisaik noted the

Pledgified

couple, and remembered his own wedding. “I remember when me and Rabu were pledgified. It was quite the experience, although we were soon run out of town afterward. I haven’t seen Rabu since.”

Kisaik became somewhat forlorn at the remembrance, but he tried to shake it off long enough to eat some of the food.

The chocolate ball swiftly heightened his mood, and was absolutely delicious, melting in his mouth just about. He handed one to Winston, insisting that he try some himself, “Here! Have you had any of these yet?”

[Winston]

Arc 722, 60th of Ze-da

OOC: Vega xxx

Suuuuup!

We are skipping Vega's turn due to her absence Please feel free to resume posting any time Vega, as we will simply assume she is mingling around the party if and when you are able to drop in.

OOC: Results so far

Blushy: Kisiak guessed "late". Nope, sorry again. :-p feel free to continue to guess as we progress and new words get introduced.

Pledgified: Kisaik guessed "Married" CORRECT!

Stolen Food: Problem SOLVED! Yay!

In this post I have added a new word and guessed at yours

Winston smiled at the word

Plinksy

, looking at himself for a moment. "Oh, me like bein' called dat, Wendy. Yuh es tuh kind."

As his friend explained about Vega's role in their relationship, he nodded slowly as understanding dawned. "AAaaaahhhh. Noh, dat make perfect sense." He replied as some Snowpoke began to make their way over to investigate the newcomer, Peter. "Vega es very insperashanal, dat's far shar. 'er singin' voice es sometin' special. She wud make a GREAT alchemist."

Kelpie still looked a little entertained by Kisaik. Winston often wondered whether they really ever used any of these words among themselves, or perhaps that they only did so when speaking to them in order to have fun. "Oh but isn't it just so glorificus? We have occasions for EVERYthing. Perhaps we will let you off this once, for being blushy." She scolded, playfully as they moved on.

As Kisaik made quick with the resolution of the theft situation, Winston let out a little sigh of relief and a broad smile at Kisaik's generosity. Kelpie and a couple other fairies that happened to be eavesdropping on them at the time, looked confused. "But we DID pay." Winston nodded and smiled apologetically. "Yuh, we know dis. But de ship onwas want coins." He said, gesturing to Kisiak by way of acknowledging his offer. "An yuh most ask first or... or da bigguns get a bit confused an' upset when dere stuff turns intuh teeth."

Kelpie let out a little "Oooooohhhh...." and there was some surrusation from the fairies all around them as they considered the remark. Kelpie brightened up again, as if a switch was flicked. "Then you have not come Blushy at ALL, Sir Chip! For you have brought coins and understanding to the party for us to share!" She did a mid-air cartwheel and there was clapping from nearby spectators. "I will have to tell everybody about this. We must ask first. Yes. The tooth fairies may have something to say about that..." She said thoughtfully to herself, before they moved on.

"Oh no, there are many tooth fairies. We have lots of different jobs you see, one mustn't be

Dodgy

, or nothing will ever get done. Nectar Fairies, Tooth Fairies, then there's the Sock Fairies (that take your left socks during washing to ensure you get new ones) and Wishes, and Godmothers, and Leaves, and Wind, and Song, and Dance, and Tea, and..." With each one, she bobbed in the air from side to side. "... and oh so many. We do ALL sorts of things. You see having jobs looked like so much fun, we decided we should give it a try."

When Kisaik mentioned the territe, the ferret's furry, fairy ears pricked up. "Oh, me gat some great ideas far dat in yuh shield by de way. Yuh shud 'old an tuh dat far latta." Now was not the time. sadly, for talk of shop. But Winston would lean in and whisper. "Me wus readin' dat dis stuff es gud far resistin' magical elements."

Then Kisaik dropped a keg of explosive Alchemical Power into the conversation...

The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: WHHHHAAAAAT?!
Winston: Oh my Imortals! Kisaik is MARRIED! Yay!
Curiosity: Who to?! Ask him how long! Why didn't he say? Where is she? OH!!!!! Mabey it's Aida?!
Winston: Wait, 'im es still...
Curiosity: ... OOooooooo... That's akwaaaaard.
Winston: *SNIF* *TEAR* *TRIES NOT TO CRY*
Curiosity: Where is she?
Winston: ...
Curiosity: Why is he here and not out LOOKING for her?
Winston: ......
Curiosity: Tell him we can find her!
Winston: Dats... Me don't tink dis es de right time.
Curiosity: Call yourself a friend?! Stand on you damn chair and proclaim a quest to retrieve his lost love DAMMIT!
Winston: Ma cannat just assume 'im dus nat 'ave gud reasan far nat going tuh find 'ere. Yuh know 'im es an 'ero. 'im 'as 'is own right tuh privacy... Yuh rememba wa 'appened wid Woe an' de slavery ting?
Curiosity: ... But.... Love... Triumphs... Over... All... Right? *QUIVER*
Winston: ............
Curiosity: This is going to be Woe all over again isn't it?

There was a gasp from the surrounding partygoers at this casual deposit into the conversation was made. As the only non-fairy attendees, they were subject to the vast majority of the attention and even if an attempt was made to downplay the remark, it was already subject to the spread of Fairy whispers.

Winston's emotions were like a goldfish in a glass jar most days. Right now, the fish had a little charcoal pencil and was writing on the inside of the glass in plain Common for all to read. He could see that Kisaik was affected by the memory, but all he could do was pant out single syllable words under his breath while attempting not to make proclamations about loves lost. "But ... why ... I ... um ... Could you not find her?" His eyes were affixed on Kisaik and they wobbled with the attempt not to bombard the poor sod with questions.

Kisaik attempted to lighted his mood with a chocolate treat.

"You have a lost love?" Said the female from the recently Pledged couple, both of whom had floated over to see them. She held her own beloved's arm in hers and caressed his hand as she spoke. Her voice was gentle and caring, as if such a thing was reason for such sorrow and so grave that it might threaten his very soul. "Would you tell us of her? Share her with us? Perhaps in the remembrance we can make good a thing that is bad? Heal a thing that does hurt." Other fairies in the area were nodding, as if that was obviously the right course of action.

There was something reassuring about her voice

, but the choice was of course Kisaiks.

He knew that the Fairies used stories, song and dance to express all their emotions and tackle just about every problem they faced, however it did not always come off well to the non-fay. If Kisaik was able to notice the wider surroundings right now, it would become apparent that others were also being drawn in to the revelation.

[Kisaik]

Off Topic

OOC Results:

Plinksy: You guessed wonderful. Nope, close but no cigar.

Peter crawled around for a bit, stretching his legs out of his shell and going to meet the snowpoke, somewhat curious of its strange composition, and possibly wondering if its center held any minerals for him to munch on. Kisaik watched over the panhandler turtle, wondering if it was a good idea to let him off the lead for a bit while he conversed with Winston.

Kisaik simply scratched his head, wondering what blushy really meant, but having not the faintest idea based on the syntax and context used in the note. Don’t be blushy? Often enough one signed their letter with a ‘Don’t be late, or don’t come

empty-handed

. Otherwise, Kisaik was content for blushy to remain a strange mystery word.

“Ahh! Then I haven’t come blushy? Thank you thank you.” Kisaik beamed, sure that he knew the meaning of the word now. Although he was somewhat skeptical that he’d been able to figure it out.

“This tooth fairy was a different variety than the kind you find in Sweetwine.” Kisaik explained, “They come from Emea, whereas you fairies are of Idalos, and the spirits, if I’m not mistaken. But perhaps it really doesn’t make a difference? I do wonder.”

Kisaik smiled at Kelpie regardless. “Oh yes, I like doing things too, it’s important to have a calling, or I’d be

dodgy

all the trials.”

Winston began to speak on the shield, and Kisaik was very encouraged by all the progress he’d reportedly made, especially about magical resistance in particular. “Oh did you know that most tunawa that don’t have magic, have an innate magic resistance? Of course, I lost mine when I found my magic, as you can’t have magic resistance and magic at the same time, for whatever reason. As for why tunawa are magic resistant, I have no idea! It’s a big mystery of our kind.”

Suddenly, however, when Kisaik dropped he knowledge that he’d been married, and lost his soul mate somewhere along the way, Winston got very emotional, or seemed to. Kisaik wasn’t the best at picking up on such subtleties, but he knew Winston fairly well by now, and thought he detected a change in demeanor.

When Winston asked why he couldn’t find ‘her’, Kisaik was about to correct him, when they were interrupted by one of the pledgified fairies. He was about to correct her as well, but was saved by the bell by Wendy, who informed them all that they were quite mistaken about one aspect of Kisaik’s mate Rabu.

“Oh! No no no. Rabu is not a her. You’re confusing their

woohoowattle

entirely! Rabu is a boy!” Wendy smiled beneficently to Kisaik then, and Kisaik felt the sap rising to his cheeks. Wendy added to Winston, "Rabu is a so very plinksy, with rabbit ears and very neat flowers growing from his hair."

Kisaik felt compelled to explain himself, although the truth of the matter ought to have been evident based on what was already said, “See, Rabu is a very special boy tunawa. I never thought I’d find my soul mate was boy, but there we were! Shall I tell you how we came to be engaged and pledgified?” Kisaik asked the fairies and Winston, “It’s quite the tale!”

So Kisaik told the whole story , of how a child had kidnapped a group of tunawa with the intent to turn them into action figures or soldiers or some such. He went into detail of how he fearlessly fought against the challengers, and inadvertently proposed to Rabu by the customs of Yaralon.

Nevertheless, although it was unexpected and unlooked for, Kisaik found that he really liked Rabu, and that he was happy to join him as soul mates. Kisaik sniffled a little to remember that occasion, and then went on to describe the events of their wedding.

“And that’s how Rabu and I were pledgified.” Kisaik said with a sigh. “And lost each other on the same day.

[Winston]

Arc 722, 60th of Ze-da

OOC: Hello!

Hi ALL!

We are skipping Vega's turn due to her absence Please feel free to resume posting any time Vega, as we will simply assume she is mingling around the party. We love you!

OOC: Results so far

Blushy: empty handed ~ Yes! Because there's nothing more embarrassing then turning up empty-handed.
Dodgy: lazy ~ YAY! Because lazy people dodge jobs at any opportunity.

YAY! You did it!

In this post I have added a new word, guessed at yours and accepted Kisaik's Quest Marker

Despite its appearance, the affects of the circle prevented the snow from chilling Peter to the bone, making the crunchy white stuff more of an inconvenience than an actual threat to his core temperature. The other turtles treated him with equal curiosity.

"DIFFERENT FAIRIES?!" Her face was painted with shock and wonder. "Well, it is 'fair' to say that we 'fairies' are all 'fairly' different and some every fury fairies!" He announced at last, after recovering from the shocking revelation that there might be and in fact were other communities of unknown fairies out there in Idalos.

Kelpie darts over to Kisaik, whispering conspiratorially into his ear. "I like to be a little dodge once in a while. On the first day of the hottest season, in a big Bell-flower full of warm nectar." She giggled and darted off again, having shared something she seemed to consider to be a personal secret.

As he spoke of the Tunawa resistances, Winston shook his head, showing his usual over eager, but nonetheless genuine interest in new facts. "OOOoohhh. A big mystery, yuh say? Noted." He said with a cheeky wink. If every mystery was a box full of policemen waiting to arrest nosy people, Winston would live exclusively within a jail cell.

The evolving revelations tumbled from the Tunawa's backstory, like water over a fall, but the fact that his companion was a boy and not a girl didn't really seem to register more than an 'oops' reaction in the ferret. His friend's choice of

woohoowattle

in his romantic interest seemed far less important than the fact that he had lost them! "S-sarry. Me shud nat 'ave assumed. Dem sound very

plinksy

." He replied, encouragingly, looking at his friend to continue... or kill him... Whichever put his curiosity out of its misery sooner.

The fairies, including the ferret-fairy, around him nodded in unison. The crowed was a mix of wonder, intrigue, sorrow, anticipation, encouragement... all positive and supportive, if perhaps a little overbearing.

As Kisaik recounted the events of those times, with combat, heroins, heroes and giants, the music started up again, rising and falling with the events of the story.

It added tension and support to the emotions behind the retelling

. If anything at all, the music seemed to encourage the telling of the story, allowing emotions to leave his body more easily. Like sap leaving a well treated pouring cup, they might pass with less disruption and residue upon himself.

Of all things, when Kisaik told of the accidental nature of the acceptance of the proposal, a raw of laughter came up from the fairies. It was not unkind in nature, far from it, but they clearly delighted in the topsy-turvy nature of the event. Winston did not yet respond with such joviality, the cloud of the inevitable parting looming over his awareness.

Of the whole story, the line "I vow to be loyal to Rabu and follow him wherever he goes!" seemed to cause the ferret most worry. The fairies however were rolling with the punches, giving little cheers and sighs of admiration as the tail was told.

When it became apparent that fairies had been present at their wedding, there was a joyful cheer, as if a new collection of heroes had turned up to save the day, but as their behaviour towards Kisaik and Rabu became apparent, quite a lot of "booooo" and "hiiiiisssss" were accompanied by comments like "Tsk. Them Yari fairies are such

dookie-dongles

".

As the story came to a close, Winston was not satisfied. The two were separated... Forever? The bracelet, which his eyes lingered upon, no longer worked?

The male of the recently Pledged couple had floated down at some point during the story to place his hand upon Kisaik's shoulder. His own true love a short distance from them, apparently compelled by the story to remain attached to her Pledged on the off-chance the retelling of this story some how whisked them apart.

The area was subject to the gentle tinkling of Fairy music, as the silence of the stunned crowd held fast. Kisiak's Cadouri companion's fur was wet, just beneath his doleful eyes.

The Devil on My Shoulder
Curiosity: But why has he not kept his vow? Why isn't he still searching? He didn't answer my question! Where is his true love? Oh My Immortals, I might DIE!
Innocence: He PROMISED to always...
Compassion: Have some CARE! He is heartbroken! Can you not see?
Sincerity: We know no-one with as much integrity as Kisaik. If we trust him, we must trust he is here at the end of a long and failed journey to find Rabu.
Curiosity: But what if Rabu is still out there?
Pragmatism: The bracelet no longer works. Rabu is probably lost.
Curiosity: Probably?
Logic: Probably does not mean definitely.
Winston: Hello? Me tink...
Compassion: We should comfort our friend.
Innocence: Yes. Make him feel better.
Pragmatism: Yes. Help him accept what cannot be changed.
Sincerity: Yes. He would do the same for us.
Logic: Yes. There is no point in denying the truth.

Hope: Nope! Noppady-doppady-nope-nope, no way, nuh-uh! Screw this. Wrong address mister! Screw you guys. Not on my watch. Even Hero's need saving sometimes!

SHAME on you, Logic! Jumping to conclusions without proof.
SHAME on you, Pragmatism! Fighting the inevitable is how change HAPPENS!
SHAME on you, Sincerity! He would? He really would just go 'Oh, too bad, never mind'!?
And Compassion?! Don't even get me started on you!

I AM FERRET HEAR ME RAW!

Generosity: We have no plans that cannot be cancelled.

Innocence: Yay! A field trip!

Curiosity: Aaaaaawwww giggady! I win every time.

Winston stood up and looked at his friend with compassionate yet unwavering resolve. The sorrow in his expression was gone, replaced with a stealy denial of the reality being painted before him. If he could will it not to be, then he would, but such things were not so easily come by. For great tragedy to be averted, it took great effort and sacrifice and if someone asked for Winston's arm right now in exchange for Rabu's return, they'd have it.

"OK." He said plainly. "Den we go! Chest? Me coat ef yuh be suh kind!" Chest spat out a cloak, tool belt and an energy bar, which Winston collected as they fell towards him. There was an air of curious anticipation around the Fairies of the party, as if something was about to happen, but no one really knew what. The ferret looked at Kisaik, the poor Cadouri might be deluded, snapped by the horror of the real world. Perhaps he was unable to cope with such sorrow, perhaps his innocent life was too fragile to cope with such tragedy...

This is not how Winston saw it. He was determined. He was absolutely certain that there was only one sensible course of action now. His world view included sorrow, pain and loss... but it also included triumph, heroes and hope.

"Yuh commin'? Ef dis gets me killed... well, wat better reason than far love?" He seemed to be going whether Kisaik followed or not. "Me 'ave nat seen enough af Idalos yet anyway, an' until we find Rabu, Chest cun keep us dry and warm." Chest had waddled its way into their immediate vicinity and seemed to be trying to nudge Kisiak gently with one of its many feet. Anyone with the capability to detect it, would see quite plainly that the Cadouri was resolved to set out with or without company. Kelpie fluttered over and landed on Winston's shoulder with a determined nod (which tinkled).

The pledged couple took each-other's hands, tears like pearls rolling down their cheeks. There was a power in the air. A love and determination so strong it was tangible.

Joe ephemerally nudged Lalia with a wink. "Every time, I tell yuh. Fairy parties are where it's AT."

[Kisaik]

Off Topic

You guessed your words right! Woohoowattle means gender. And Plinksy means handsome, but I'll accept Cute.

Kisaik glanced over to make sure Peter was getting along well, and behaving, but at least he hadn't tried to chomp down on the snowpokes... yet. He was behaving well and booping noses with them for the time being.

Then Kelpie shared a secret with Kisaik, and he nodded in appreciation. "That sounds splendid Kelpie, I can hardly blame you!"

But she was darting away almost as soon as she came into his midst. That the fairies of Sweetwine didn't know the ones from Yaralon... That was an interesting development, and one that Kisaik didn't know what to think of. Were they fairies of a different kind, or were they entirely different beings that were merely using the name of fairy? Or were the Sweetwine fairies that?

"Aye," Kisaik said to Winston of tunawa resistance to magic. "I suspect it might have to do with Ymiden's role in our people's birth perhaps."

Wendy seemed quite pleased with Winston's understanding of the fairy tongue, and exclaimed, covering her mouth for a moment, "Oh my Winston but your are so delicious!" And then she flittered over to him for a moment, and planted a kiss on his furry ear. Then she flitted away giggling like a mad fairy and going off to gossip with Kelpie.

"Did you hear?! There was a

Wibbleyonk

in the Sweetstone tree, and it was tossing rocks down at those boys..." But her voice trailed off as they went off to gossip among themselves.

As Kisaik told his story, it seemed to garner a good few gasps and exlcamations of shock. Then the fairies all concluded that the Yaralon fairies must be

dookiedongles

. Which Kisaik took to be a mildly rude word. He cleared his throat as he concluded the story.

Winston seemed to come to a decision all of a sudden, based on Kisaik's story. Find Rabu? But Kisaik had looked everywhere! How could he find him if he didn't even respond to the kindred bracelet's feeling? But then Kisaik remembered the words of Purple, who had been Aelig in disguise. The way to defeat evil was to never give up. And there was no greater evil in Kisaik's life than that which had separated him from his precious dusty flower, Rabu.

"Yes..." Kisaik said quietly, and then louder, "Yes! We will find Rabu! Let's go!"

So having decided, and following along with Winston, they would begin to get prepared.

Lalia, ribbed by Joe meanwhile, merely rolled her eyes, but smiled at him. "Fairies..." And then she sighed.

[Winston]

OOC: Results so far

Dookiedongles: Dicks/Dick-heads ~ Yes! How WOOWED!

OK, so with the turn this thread has now taken, this will be my last post and I will leave the thread for you to conclude with your final reply. As such, I have done a couple of things for you to guess at, but you need not add any new words in yours.

In this post I have added a new word, guessed at yours and made reference to the food I Dev'ed for this thread (the reference is vague atm, as it's pending approval and so needed to be left as something that 'may or may not exist' at this point in time)

With much booping and mutual curiosity the turtles played without attacking one another. In fact, several little Fairies, even by Fairy standards, were using Peter's shell as a slide and enjoying how unique he seemed to be within his current company.

Winston beamed at Wendy as she proclaimed his deliciousness. "Awwww, tanks, Wendy. Me soh love spending time wid yuh lat." He replied, giggling and feeling very chuffed with himself. He'd spend HOURS pouring over the Fairy recipes and trying to decifer their meeting. It was nice when your efforts paid of in ways you didn't entirely expect.

Kelpie gasped at the news of a

Wibbleyonk

in the Sweetstone Tree and giggled with delights as they floated off together.

As Kisaik agreed to the endeavour, a series of explosions, both audible, metaphorical and actual occurred all around the circle of gathered Fairies. There was Glitter and confetti, shouting and cheering, music and dancing and unless Winston and Kisaik resisted the frivolities, they would be dragged into dancing circles and lavished with necklaces made of clovers and flowers quite out of season for the time.

Winston was now playing the part of the hero as he was bolserred by Kisaik's agreement and the unfettered joy from the Fairies. The Fairies of Sweetwine were going to be talking about this Tea Party for Arcs to come and as they stood to leave he threw on his cloak, swishing it over his shoulder in a dramatic fashion and pushing out his chest. "Den we go, Sir Chip! Heroics an' adventcha await!"

Winston certainly did NOT resist the frivolities as they set off. Dancing skillessly, but happily in the air as the fairies flew all around them. Chest stood and followed as they went and there was a call from afar. "Bring out the Larger! It's time to get

Wilted

!" Whatever that was, Winston might never find out, for as they celebrated and moved on, there was barely a moment alone until the moment they eventually left and returned to the cold of Sweetwine, outside the circle.

As they went, once it was a little quieter and the jubilation began to ware off a little, Winston placed his hand on Kisaik's shoulder. "Me 'ave yuh back, front an' middle, Sir Knight. An' dat's a Winston guarantee."

!	Message from: Rewards Claimed
	Here!

[Kisaik]

Off Topic

Sniffer drake is correct. That's the fairy word wibblyyonk

Soon enough,

Agatafral

with Peter the Panhandler safely placed back in his saddle, emerged along with Kisaik and Winston from the strange tea party they'd taken part in. All in all, Kisaik had enjoyed it, although it seemed over all too soon. But then, he'd spoken of harrowing experiences, of marriages and pledgified couples so swiftly separated. Of the experience of the growth of the First Tree, and Kisaik's first pledgification to Rabu, and then their eventual marriage which led to a separation of fortunes.

It was all a bit much to take in, but Kisaik was happy to have shared those stories with good company. "Yes, Winston! Quite right, we must prepare with no delay. Perhaps Someone at Saoire's school may be of some help? I'm quite well known there, you know!"

He didn't mention the Naficula Adanu, yet. He'd save that for when they saw the magic tree. But for now, he was content to walk along with Agatafral and Winston, back toward their camp at Sweetsong, beneath the boughs of Sweetstone.

There was much preparation to be had, and though Kisaik would've loved to share in the fairies continued revelry, he had to keep his head and couldn't afford to get

wilted

. So off they went, to prepare for their quest!

It promised to be an interesting one, whatever happened, and wherever the wind happened to blow them toward.

So without much more pomp or circumstance, they departed toward the settlement. They'd of course need to make their goodbyes, and let people know where they were going, and that they didn't know exactly when they'd return. It'd be bitter sweet, but when adventure called, a knight did not resist it.