[Saoire Event 723] Rorom to Seira

[Winston]

Some time before The Gifting

It was the beginning of a new trial as Rorom awoke after a long night of dreams. As the world came into focus and the light around you dispelled the shadowy corners of 'the Dream', you spotted something beside your bed.

It was placed delicately atop whatever was usually beside where you sleep and had a bow on top, with a little note that read...

"Me taught yuh might find dis 'elpful far de coming season. Jost make share yuh use dis far yuh gift an don't tell anyone dat dis did nat come fram yuhself. Wateva yuh make fram dese will neva rost are tarnish."

Included in the box were the two ingots he had planned to use for his gift, only with some 'upgrades'. Once crafted into an item, said item(s) would never rust of become tarnished through age or weathering.

The specifics of the item above

The ingots are all imbued with the following properties and when crafted into something else, pass these properties to said items:
- They will never tarnish due to rust or weathering.

This is delivered at some time that would be convenient for you and the acquisition of the gift you are giving.

I know you might have powers that might prevent people sneaking up on you etc., so please assume that this gift appears in such a way that either it a) does not trigger defences as there's no ill intent or b) only serves to wake them to see the gift (as it's not there one moment but is the next).

Gifting Trial Arrives!

In the run-up to the Gifting, one Winston Millar had all but become a recluse as he spent his trials ferreting away at the preparations for what would come. A great many trials went by as his forge was operated by Cho as the Cadouri was nowhere to be seen. "Yup, dere... Noh, jost to de right a lit... STAP!" He commanded

Smokie

with an excitable energy he could barely contain.

As the gifter and giftie both passed through the doorway they chose to use to get to the Gifting, a world of enchantment was revealed as they stepped into what appeared to be the grand, stone-walled hall of a castle. A kaleidoscope of colors greeted them. The air was thick with the sweet scent of their favorite foods and the gentle melody of ethereal music played by invisible musicians.

For those able to see them, Fairies (Spirits) fluttered all around, placing decorations and plucking at musical instruments in a way that made the music feel like it was coming from the walls themselves.

The banquet hall stretched out before them, a dazzling display of festive joy. Glistening crystal chandeliers made of green and gold leaves hung from the ceiling, casting a warm, golden glow upon the room from their luminescent bulbs. The walls were adorned with tapestries depicting scenes of ancient legends and mythical creatures from Idalos and the Dreaming, making unleavable scenes of heroism and gift-giving.

A long, banquet table stood in the center, covered with a rich, emerald-green velvet cloth that cascaded to the floor. On the table, an array of dishes awaited them. Plates were made of delicate leaves, and glasses were of sparkling daffodil cups with an otherworldly iridescence. The air was filled with the tempting aroma of dishes both familiar and exotic – Delicate plates of shimmering fish, bathed in a citrus glow of lemon sauce, adorned the spread. Each succulent bite transported diners to the depths of enchanted seas, where the flavors of the ocean mingled with the zesty embrace of the Sylvan lemons. The air was alive with the aroma of dew-kissed fruits, their essence weaving through the banquet hall, a tantalizing dance of sweetness that harmonized with the celestial notes of the enchanted evening.

There was a wide array of alchemical fruits, strawberries that taste of oranges and apples that taste of blueberries.

At the head of the table, a ferret known to some as Winston stood, placing some finishing touches to one of the many dishes.

"Welcome, nobal guests, tuh de Gifting!" he declared, his voice full of a thick accent of the tiny creature's upbringing. "Com-com! Com en! Feast, dance, sit or talk. Dis place es yars totrial, as we celebrate de magic that binds us all and builds relashunships new an' old trough 'giving'." He gestured to the room around them. "Once yuh are done, yuh cun return 'ome, noooh prablem. Ontil den, yuh jost let meh know ef dere es anyting me cun doh tuh 'elp."

The words were undoubtedly practiced

, but delivered with the most genuine joy and intent. He was obviously uncontainable excited to be here, but with that, without leaving the room,

Winston adeptly made himself seem politely busy as his guests meet and greet each-other without his interference

.

Just then, the banquet hall erupted into a symphony of laughter and giggles. The fairies (should you be able to see them) gathered around the table, watching and listening as events unfolded. The air was alive with the fluttering of wings, the tinkling of laughter, and the soft susurrations of a great many playful beings.

As all of this sunk in, a figure made themselves apparent, a very finely dressed butler of impeccable manor bowed slightly to one side. They held a tray with daffodil glasses filled with delightful nectar and bowed.

Shinwa

gestured towards the tray to indicate that a drink could be taken, if so desired, after which he offered to unburden their guests of their coats or cloaks.

!

Message from: Winston

Welcome to your Saiore Gifting Event thread for 2023! How does this work? - So, this is your thread (the two of you) and you can get here via the magic portal, from where-ever you are and will be returned there once you decide to leave (unless I say otherwise! SHOCK! Secrets! AAAAAAAH!). This thread will be eligible for both skill points and knowledge, as long as the usual review requirements are met. It can be whatever you want, of course, but it is a modded event and so I control the surrounding and NPCs, so please don't assume control of them (unless, of course, they are yours). You can bring anything with you that you could reasonably be assumed to carry or BE carrying and of course your gift comes with you You may bring with you any flavour NPCs if you wish, but please either avoid making these a 'mass' of actual physical people (if you have a child or someone that you really feel like bringing, please do). Diri's, Spirits, small creatures/pets on your person, etc. that usually hang around you are also all fine. A 13 foot dragonling or horse, not so much What should you do? - Please post your first post in two sections: 1) "Some time before The Gifting": A section that describes the making or acquisition of your Gift. This can be anything from "Jeoff picks up the gift he made." To a fully fledged description of the shopping/making process. This can/should be a creative and enjoyable writing experience. Write something you enjoy, in any style you enjoy, IF it's something you will enjoy! The emphasis is on FREEDOM not requirement. Don't feel required to make a lenthy section here, but certainly feel free to (rewards will be issued for creative or well crafted gift sections). 2) "Gifting Trial Arrives!": Post your arrival! If you post first, you are there first. If you post second, you can assume you spot your companion on entering and respond to anything they provide for you in their first post. 3) When you have completed this thread, please place it up for review as normal. Once it’s been reviewed, post here to claim your event medal! Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Rorom]

Rorom found the chilling waters of Havardr refreshing in the early winter. Many of the villagers looked at him with a mix of amusement and confusion, but mostly mirth as most of them had little but good to say of the man who'd tried to revitalize their fishing industry. He swam out into the far sea shelf, ensconced in the echo of Breachfang's cold water resistance, as well as bolstered by the deference of elements.

As he swam out, and then held his place above the water, he heard an alarm call from further to the shore. Near the beach. Fearing some mischief, he turned to face the people who'd gathered there, who were now waving at him, pointing at the waters near the shore like he should know what they were about.

But the elements told a different story through a call. A disturbance, of warmth, air bubbles, and movement? Clams perhaps. Rorom swam back to the shore to join his fellows there.

"Shovel please." Rorom said to the nearest Havardeen, who swiftly fetched one, along with a rake, guessing his intent.

"The waters where its bubbling up are warm, very strange for these waters. Usually they're nothing but cold, and we know of no hot springs around these parts."

Rorom grunted, and then began to rake away at the sand, clearing it just enough to start to see pores in the surface of that subaquatic soil. Then he tooled around with the shovel, and before he knew what was happening a large red and shiny clam shell erupted from the sands, scattering the stuff across the water and obscuring it from vision.

But the elements were Rorom's ally, and he cajolled the watery elements to slow its progress through the water so he could dive down, and snap the clam shut, pulling it up over the waters. It was a rarity for these parts, a

Faldrass Fire Clam.

He brought it safely to shore, and without delay unsheathed the knife from his pocket. With it he shucked the clam open, and swiftly dispatched it, putting it out of its misery. There remarkably was a small four caret pearl, by the size of it. He marveled at its beauty, and knew it would be perfect for the gift he was planning to craft. Along with the shell, it would make a fine piece of sea-treasure.

After spending the rest of the day directing the fishermen about their other tasks on the shore, Rorom retired to bed, a long day's rest well deserved.

He awoke to the feeling of a feather on his nose. He sneezed, seizing up, and saw the package left for him. Two ingots, such as he wished to get for his intended gift-receiver. One silver, one gold. And the note claimed these could not tarnish or lose their polish. Quite the princely help indeed.

So he got to work, working the faldrass clam shell into cameo sculptures, jeweled and engraved with the names of the girl's pets. Once all of the cameo hearts were carved, along with the animal face and names in the middle of the hearts he set to crafting the chains, using his makeshift forge he had in Havardr.

The tags for her companions and pets were carved from red faldrass clam shell cameos, the marbling in red and pearlescent white came out rather beautifully as it was carved into the shape of a heart for each, with the name of each of her animals etched onto the heart, seven in total. The cameo hearts themselves were seated in silver charms. There were a set of matching charms, with the same Faldrass clam cameos identical to the tags, attached to a golden charm bracelet. The crowning feature for the golden charm bracelet was a brilliant, four carat Faldrass Fire Pearl, polished and set in a gold charm large enough to house the pearl.

These gifts having been prepared by the time the appointed day came around, Rorom went through the door designated to carry him to the celebration of sorts, and assured his fellow fishermen that he would return, as well as his crew. He went in alone, having considered bringing along Fortuna, but she had a history of not getting along with... other animals.


Rorom emerged, and smiled at the ferret that was speaking to them. "This looks like quite the spread," he commented, seeing his favorite fish fillets on offer, including the delicious blue fish. Tough shark steaks, and squid deep fried with tomato and lemon sauce.

He gave the Ferret a quick salute, and waited by the feasting table, with the box containing his gifts for the girl he was to meet today.

[Seira Shiryu]

42nd Zi'da, 723

Some time before The Gifting

After Seira returned from giving her gift to its new owner, she sat down to begin writing down her experiences so that she could share them with Seri when she returned home. She started by jotting down some notes about what she had just experienced. As she did so, the beautiful tapestries and the stunningly beautiful daffodil cups and plates made of delicate leaves came alive in her mind. She could almost smell the tantalizing scents that had filled the air around the banquet table. Seira couldn't help but smile to herself as she indulged in the memory. After coming out of her brief reverie, she realized that by writing notes about what she had experienced, she had made the memories even more clear in her mind.

Once she had finished writing her notes, she read them over as she tried to plan out what she wanted to write.

"Well when you think about it, every good story needs a beginning, a middle, and an ending to make it complete. So starting at the beginning makes the most sense." she told herself.

Seira knew that a song needed a good title to pull it all together, so it seemed reasonable that a story would as well. And since the title was the very beginning of a story, she decided to start with that. At first, she was stumped. "Gifting Trial," and other similar titles were a good way to describe the story, but they simply didn't appeal to her. In her opinion, they were too boring. As she wracked her mind for a fitting title, she finally came up with The Magic of Giving.

The next step was to actually start the story, and once again she found herself stumped. Did she start with buying the gifts she had given? Or was it better to start with describing what she had seen after she had passed through the doorway that had led to the incredible castle banquet hall? Then she remembered that a lot of the stories that she had read or heard after her mother had adopted her and Seri began with Once Upon a Time. Grinning, Seira quickly wrote that at the top of her page. That seemed like the perfect way to start.

Once she had begun writing down her memories into story form, Seira quickly fell into a writing zone. It wasn't until she saw her wall begin to glow, and a doorway form within it that she remembered that she had one more trip to make this trial; this time to receive a gift of her own.

Gifting Trial Arrives!

Upon passing through the doorway, Seira found herself in the same stunningly beautiful setting of a banquet hall in a castle. She almost jumped in ssurprise whae she felt something soft rubbing up against her leg.

"Ryu!" she exclaimed in amused exasperation.

"Did you decide that you wanted to join in on the fun too?" she asked.

Ryu looked up at her and purred. Seira swore that she had a smug expression on her face. She petted Ryu's head gently, then turned to the ferret Cadouri who was hosting the feast. Seira thanked him for putting everything together for them. Once again, the Cadouri plushie she had back home filled her mind for a trill, but she didn't mention it out of fear of embarrassing her host. After a few trills, she approached the banquet table. This time, she took a plate filled with a white fish dish that was covered in a delicious looking lemon sauce. She wasn't certain what kind of fish it was, but it looked too good to pass up. To this, she added some of the delicious Rharne scallops that she was now familiar with, and some fruits. Seira shared a bit of fish that wasn't covered with lemon sauce with Ryu, who showed her appreciation by purring even louder as she began to eat. After taking a bite of a strawberry, Seira found that it tasted like an orange. It was confusing to see what you thought was one type of fruit only to have it taste like another, but Seira thought that it was great fun as well.

Seira quickly noticed the tall grey haired man that stood at the banquet table.

"Hi. My name is Seira Shiryu, and this is Ryu." she said politely as she stroked Ryu's back gently.

"She decided that she had to come along with me totrial. Maybe she somehow guessed that there was going to be fish." she added with a smile.

"The fish is delicious, isn't it?"

[Winston]

Winston returned Rorom's salute with a curt salute of his own. Which it would be obvious was born of fancy and not any military training.

As his guests settled in and began enjoying the food and making conversation, he merrily organised things. It was with a slightly wary glance that he nodded at Ryu. He was not a fan of cats... Because by their nature, they tended to chase and try to eat him... But in this place, he knew he was safe from any such shenanigans. Even so, after a lifetime to this worry, he could not help but indulge the protective reflex to track where the thing was at all times.

It was among the first of the meetings where he really felt like he was surplus to requirements, something he embraced with great joy. It was his singular intention to facilitate this glorious event in the name of Saoire, and the more they enjoyed each other's company during the gifting, the better.

!

Message from: Winston

Yay! Nice posts! You guys seem to be getting right into it, so I didn't interweave at all. Please feel free to interact directly and assume things you would enjoy to eat and drink are there for you to have. Anything up to Tier 10 but not extraordinarily rare is up for grabs. Though Winston is more likely to have cooked an inexpensive dish from your fondest memory as a super-expensive dish packed with expensive ingredients. Whatever it is, it would be immaculately well prepared however. Please consider marking up 3 (or more) knowledges in your next post. The fairies around the room are equally as likely to interfere as they are to wait and watch with bated breath. Please feel free to include some inconsequential encounters should you wish to. Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Rorom]

Rorom wasn't a military person either, but his salute to the ferret had been more informal than anything. Still, it seemed like their host was content to let them have at the business at hand, and eat his food, drink his brews, then presumably exchange the gift. Rorom could get to know the famous ferret at a later date, perhaps. He seemed like a useful fellow to know.

"It's very good." Rorom said, offering a small sliver of fish flesh to Ryu, from the tip of his finger. He pondered the appearance of the cat, and thought he'd want to get a ship's cat for the Onyx Cascade. Dana would certainly love to have a small creature aboard, and they could deal with any rodent problems that cropped up. Plus it was said to be good fortune to have aa cat aboard. Malmada didn't quite count, Rorom thought with some amusement.

He felt the gift he'd brought burning a hole under his cloak, and was eager to share it. In any event, perhaps now wasn't yet the time. "That's a remarkable cat. I don't think I've seen one of its like before?"

The mariner let the cat eat off his hand, as it gorged itself on more flakes of fish. Rorom took with his other hand a swig of fine grog that had been provided graciously by their host. "I've heard you have a fondness for animals. Do any of them wear collars or shawls or kerchiefs?" Rorom asked not idly, but because he'd specifically gone and crafted bespoke tags for each of them from clamshells, in the shape of hearts. They were called cameos, and part of the gift he intended to give the small woman.

With that said, he withdrew his hand and reached into the cloak to bring out the wrapped gift, full of the charm bracelet socketed with a red, 3 carat faldrass pearl, and cameo shells matching each of the collars. Of course it was wrapped as of now, so Seira couldn't guess what the gift contained until opening it.

The gift

The tags for her companions and pets were carved from red faldrass clam shell cameos, the marbling in red and pearlescent white came out rather beautifully as it was carved into the shape of a heart for each, with the name of each of her animals etched onto the heart, seven in total. The cameo hearts themselves were seated in silver charms. There were a set of matching charms, with the same Faldrass clam cameos identical to the tags, attached to a golden charm bracelet. The crowning feature for the golden charm bracelet was a brilliant, four carat Faldrass Fire Pearl, polished and set in a gold charm large enough to socket the pearl.

[Seira Shiryu]

42nd Zi'da, 723

Ryu purred loudly, and rubbed herself against Rorom's legs if he allowed it in her appreciation of him feeding her some fish. Seira smiled at her antics.

"You've just made yourself a friend for life. Ryu loves fish." she told him.

"She's a tortoiseshell cat. I'm not really sure why cats with that color pattern in their fur are called tortoiseshell cats since the pattern doesn't really look like a tortoise's shell, but I think she's quite pretty." Seira added a few trills later in response to Rorom's question.

Trills after she finished speaking, Seira heard a soft high pitched female voice giggling over by the banquet table. Startled, she looked up to see that one of the daffodil cups was rocking back and forth. As she watched, a clear sparkling liquid spilled out over the rim of the cup. Then she heard the giggling again. She remembered seeing the fairies for the first time when it had been her turn to give someone a gift.

"Friends of yours?" she asked Winston curiously as she gestured at the still rocking cup.

Feeling a little guilty that she hadn't said anything to Winston after thanking him for hosting the gathering, Seira decided to try and include him in the conversation.

"Where did you meet them, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked a few trills later.

Seira turned back to Rorom when he asked her another question.

"I do love animals. They make wonderful friends and companions." she responded.

Sometimes better than people. she thought to herself.

"I do have collars for all of my animals, but since my cats don't go outside, I haven't given them their collars yet." she added.

Then her eyes shifted over to where Ryu was still happily eating the slivers of fish that Rorom was giving her.

"Although given Ryu's decision to come with me totrial, I should probably put them on just in case." she finished with a smile.

After a trill's hesitation, she asked a question of her own.

"Do you like animals?"

Seira didn't want to be nosy, but it seemed to her that asking a question would be a good way to keep the conversation going and prevent things from becoming awkward.

When Rorom gave her the gift he had brought her, Seira thanked him and opened it carefully. Inside were several cameos; one with the name of each of her pets and companions carved into the heart shaped tags.]heart shaped red tags made from some kind of shell. Each tag had beautiful red and pearlescent white marbling. And they each had the names of one of her pets and companions' names carved into the heart. With the tags was a stunningly beautiful gold charm bracelet with several charms. Most of the charms were identical to the pet tags, but there was a larger one that held a beautiful pearl.

Seira loved them immediately. Not only were they beautiful in and of themselves, they reflected the love that she had for the non human members of her family.

"I love them, Rorom. Thank you. They're very beautiful. Did you make them yourself?"

ooc

Sorry about taking so long to post

[Winston]

Winston's bright little features, fury around the edges and chipper in the middle, nodded at the woman as Seira asked him about the Fairies. "Hehe. Yus. Ef yuh able tuh withstand a littal chaos, every Fairy es a Friend-en-waitin'." Winston had never considered whether their were evil fairies or not. Based on the stories from his friend Kisaik, there certainly did seem to be, but they were not of Sweetwine and he'd yet tp meet a Sweetwine Fairy that was anything but playful. "C'mon..." He said to the tilting Daffodil with a joyfully encouraging tone. "De best games com fram de being seen."

With that, several tiny, winged creatures appeared in the daffodil. They were apparently lounging around in their pool of something resembling nectar as they watched the proceedings with impish attention.

"Oh, me first met dem at the Blackberry Picking. Dis wus a great event, where we 'ad tuh 'elp sulect de new Blackberry tuh lead de fairies..." He placed a hand over one side of his mouth as he let his two guests into a secret. "Blackberry es a tital.. Nat a berry." His manor might suggest that this fact was not obvious at the time of the picking. "Et wuz de first time me eva tried Fairy fud. Mun, dat stoff es gud fon." He gestured towards a corner of the table that was laden with lemon curd tarts, Deaf by Chocolate cakes and a whole host of other things. "Eva since den, me 'ave always been gud friends wid dem." He concluded cheerfully.

As the three of them chatted, one of the lounging Fairies, it's delicate and ethereal arm dangling, lackadaisical over the brim of the flower, giggled and whisperred something to her more upright counterpart.

"...I wonder if she'll eat some?" The first fairy wondered.

"Naaaaah. They look too knitty for that." Said the second fairy, quite convinced that if someone was going to eat fairy food, it was going to be by mistake or mischief.

"OH! No, surely not! Not knitty. Not THEM. That would be such a shame." She looked down at Rorom and Seira, pitty filled her eyes as if she was sad that such a trdgic truth would be so unkind as to rab them of their fun. "I think she will. Winston says that people do things sometimes to be polite."

"What's 'polite'?"

"It's a bit like a gift. You do things you don't want to, because someone else would like it."

"Sound's boring... Do they do things for you to? Like, in return?"

"Apparently. Winston says, if you are polite to others, then they will be polite to you in return."

"Oh ok. So a bit like that time to pranked Tikkle and then she stole your flossy, then the fairy-war of lunchen started?"

"Yeah."

"Got it!" The entire conversation was held in slightly hushed tones as if they could not be heard, but demonstrating causation anyway, just in case they got told off for it regardless.

!

Message from: Winston

Yay! Nice posts! In your next post(s), please accept a little (optional) side-quest: The fairies are playful and mischievous, not mean or unkind, but if you don't watch your step you will fall behind. Write some pranks, fun and play, that might be some fun, with you, your spirits or Winston Miller all are up for one. For this, feel free to control a few fairies (if you wish) and even apply a few fairy food magics. Have a little transient fun while you continue your chat. Play a prank on one another or yourself! Hre are a few established fairy food affects: Blueberries - Turns you blue. Huckleberries - Causes hiccuping and bouncing in the air. Cloudberries - Makes you completely weightless so that you might float and even blow away in the breeze. Youngberries - Turns you into a child, around a few archs old, just out of toddler stanges. Changes your size/mass to that of an average child of your race. Bearberries - Turns you into a giant, stuffed teddy-bear. Elderberries - Ages you to within a few months of your race's natural maximum life span, with all typical ailmnets (e.g. poor eye'sight and/or things like arthitus). Wolfberries - Turns you into a wolf. Your size/mass does not change. Buffaloberries - Turns you into a waterbuffalo. Your size/mass does not change. Deaf by chocholate - Make you Deaf. Leamon drizzle cake - makes you sweat lemon curd. As before, please feel free to interact directly and assume things you would enjoy to eat and drink are there for you to have. Anything up to Tier 10 but not extraordinarily rare is up for grabs. Though Winston is more likely to have cooked an inexpensive dish from your fondest memory as a super-expensive dish packed with expensive ingredients. Whatever it is, it would be immaculately well prepared however. Please consider marking up 3 (or more) knowledges in your next post. The fairies around the room are equally as likely to interfere as they are to wait and watch with bated breath. Please feel free to include some inconsequential encounters should you wish to. Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Seira Shiryu]

Seira smiled at Winston's words.

"Friends are always good to have." she replied.

As she thought of Picklio and the fun she had had with the fairy, her smile turned into a grin.

"And a little chaos can be fun at times."

When several fairies made themselves visible in the daffodil cup she had noticed rocking earlier, she turned to look at them.

"My name is Seira Shiryu. May I ask what your names are?" she asked.

Seira listened carefully while Winston told her about how he had first met the fairies. The Blackberry Picking event sounded interesting. Hearing about it made her wonder if the Blackberry was the leader of the fairies. If not, she wondered what the Blackberry was to the fairies, and what the Blackberry did for them. This was only her second encounter with the fairies but what she had seen so far made her fascinated about them. They seemed to be fun and innocent.

"What does the Blackberry do?" she asked curiously, realizing as she did so that asking questions was a good way to learn about something if the person knew something about what you wanted to learn about.

Seira was very interested in learning more about fairies, and Winston seemed to know a lot about them. She hoped that Winston didn't mind her question. And that Rorom didn't think that he was ignoring him while she was talking to Winston. It would be hard, but she would have to resist the urge to ask too many questions about the fairies now in her desire to learn more about them. That would be rude to Rorom, and to the fairies as well. She didn't want to be nosy and risk offending the fairies.

The mention of fairy food made Seira even more curious, and she glanced over at the corner of the table that Winston gestured to. She saw a number of desserts. Some were ones that she recognized like the lemon curds and berry tarts that she saw. But others were new to her. All of them looked delicious.

As they continued to talk, Seira heard a soft voice coming from where the fairies lounged in their daffodil cup bath. In the past whispered conversations might mean something bad for her, and old habits were hard to resist. She couldn't help but concentrate on the voice and try to hear what was being said. One of the fairies wondered out loud if she would eat any of the fairy food, and another fairy said she didn't think that Seira would. Seira didn't know what knitty meant, but that sounded like a challenge to her. She also heard a discussion of what "polite" meant, and a mention of the "fairy war of lunchen." The fairy war of lunchen sounded both interesting and possibly funny. Seira wanted to know more about it, but she resisted the urge to ask with a force of will. The fairies had not been talking to her, and their hushed voices suggested that they didn't want the other people in the room to hear what they were talking about.

The challenge though...that wasn't something that she could resist. Normally Seira didn't often feel the need to take up a challenge given by someone else. That was a good way to get yourself into trouble. But this was different. The way that Winston had spoken about fairy food suggested to Seira that it was different from normal food in some way. He had called it "good fun." This event was a lot of fun. And in the spirit of the moment, the temptation to try some of the fairy food was simply too strong to resist.

Seira glanced over at the fairy who said that she and Rorom were too "knitty" to eat the fairy food with a grin as she moved towards that corner of the table. She looked over the many different choices. All of them looked really good. After a few trills, she selected a berry tart that had some red jam leaking out of it. She recognized some of the berries that were on top of the tart, but some were new to her.

Seira grinned at the fairies once more, and took a bite. The tart was as delicious as it looked. Flavors burst over her tongue, and Seira found that the red jam was raspberry jam. She also tasted mild tones of citrus and realized that the glaze on the tart had been made from oranges, lemons, and a bit of grapefruit. Combined with the flavors of the berries and the jam, it was one of the best desserts she had ever had. She certainly wouldn't forget that flavor any time soon.

She didn't have much time to think about it though because as soon as she finished the tart, Seira found herself shrinking. Her eyes widened as she quickly realized that she was a child again. She was also blue, and she was floating several inches off the ground. It was a very interesting feeling to put it mildly. But it was also quite fun, and Seira felt the childish pure joy she had felt at the earlier event when she had given her gift to Makar coming back once more. Seira looked at the fairies and giggled. She reached up and was just able to pick up another berry tart despite her considerably shortened height. Floating above the floor helped in her efforts. The tart she had chosen was just like the one she had eaten trills before.

Seira glanced at Rorom.

"You should try one too. It's fun!" she told him happily.

[Rorom]

Rorom was mostly just quietly enjoying the company, as Seira had her exchange with the cadouri ferret. His thoughts drifted to Havardr several times throughout the day; to Malmada and Dana, and the rest of the crew. He thought about them, and as he did so, Rorom happened to pick up one of the biscuits shaped like a wolf, that happened to be infused with Wolfberry. This done, he tasted it, and found it tasted like sweet jerky, which wasn't at all a shock to his palate but quite pleasant. He enjoyed it enough that he ate it fully down.

But then, something strange began to happen. Something similar yet less painful, akin to the becoming transformation. He was turning into something, but not Breachfang, nor any other totem. He was growing four spindly but powerful legs, and began to turn into a wolf.

This was... what magic was this? "What have you done?" Rorom said, echoing his biqaj voice through the use of becoming magic. Otherwise he might not have been able to speak, given that wolves have no vocal chords. He turned to the ferret, growling, "What have you done? Stop this. This isn't funny."

The fairies meanwhile were laughing uproariously at the transformations their dinner guests had undertaken. But Rorom was confused, bewildered, and angry.

When Seira turned to him, and said it was fun, Rorom shook his snout, growling even deeper. "No, food is not a toy. It's not for playing. Food is survival. Food is life. It's not to be taken lightly."

Rorom growled, tempted to lose his sense of etiquette and upturn the biscuit tray. As he considered it, he turned to the ferret once more. "Either stop this, or release me, sir." He stared, glowering at the ferret, who he felt was partly responsible for this travesty of polluting the food with foul fairy magic.

"Please."

[Winston]

The woman's interest in fairies was a source of great delight to the ferret as he explained the purpose of the Blackberry. "Yuh know wat? Yuh cun neva be too shar wen Faries are consernned. Annual events might 'appen once a trial. positions of powa might come an' go wid de fallin' af de leaves." He shrugged happilly, as if to suggest this was all part of the charm. "Bot de Blackberry wuz, accardin' tuh Cage, very impartant and needed releasin'. Now dem protect Sweetwine." He concluded with a smile.

The ferret giggled happily as the woman shrank, floated and giggled. The fairies around then cheered with delight also, like a great victory had been attained. "YAY! See? Not Knitty at all!"

Meanwhile, their host took a bight of some lemon curd and began to turn bright yellow.

But things were about to turn sour as Rorom took offence at the games being played at their expense. Winston didn't blame the man, far from it, but still the idea that he was a prisoner was quite absurd. With an empathetic smile he gestured towards the door. "No one farced yuh tuh come an' no one staps yuh fram leavin', bot yuh doh 'ave me most sincere appalagies far causin' yuh offence. When yuh return 'ome, yuh will find all dese tings will be gan, like a dream." He explained reassuringly, whether the man took it that way or not.

He had every right to not like being turned into a dog and also every right to want to leave and could do so at his first convenience. In fact, he'd find that the moment he truly wished to leave, that he felt trapped or constrained, he didn't even need to make his way to the door as he was ejected harmlessly from Chest via the door through which he'd come, returning him to where he was before he came to the event.

The fairies around them whispered between themselves. "Knitty. So sad."

"Yeah. That one's terminal." Another tiny voice replied.

"Yup."

!

Message from: Winston

Yay! Nice posts! Rorom is ejected (unless he changes his mind), but Seira remains if she wishes. If you wish, this can be the conclusion of the thread, however I'm perfectly happy to continue the thread with either both of you or only yourself Seira if Rorom leaves. If you'd like to conclude this thread here, please just DM me and I'll review it for you both. Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.