Summer Beachparty Twenty Twenty One!

[Rebonack]

It's that time again!

Time to celebrate the passage of summer with a fantastic party on the beach! But with one very, very important twist this time around.

This?

Is a night time beach party. Why? Mostly because there hasn't been a moonlit beach bonfire before and definitely it has nothing to do with the Nexus recent influx of sunlight allergic vampires. Nope. Nothing to do with that at all.

The sky is clear, the stars are shining, and bioluminecent ripples shimmer in the darkness with each wave that laps against the shore. Several large bonfires have been set up for roasting hot dogs, marshmallows, and other tasty treats. And thanks to Trog's Tavern helping to sponsor the event this year a drink slash sandwich bar has been set up to serve the party-goers with beverages and snacks alike! Will Zee be manning the bar this year? Or will the apprentice bar-tender Selekhael be wetting her teeth on this event? Stay tuned to find out!

Speakers have been set up and music plays, a pleasant background noise mingling with the sounds of the sea. A volleyball net has likewise been readied with the extra fun distinction of employing a glow in the dark net and ball! Just don't smack into each other in the dark, right?

So drop by, nab a drink, get some food, tell a campfire story, float in the luminous sea, and have fun with this year's summer beach bash!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well would you look at that.

It's little Khannie Vallarm running down the dunes toward the surf in a one-peace girl's swim suit with a great big beach towel flapping behind her like a cape.

The last time she went to one of these parties it was weird because she was still a pokemon and her gift from Grandpa Koi had broken and she was trying to disguise herself and just ugh. It sucked the fun out of the whole thing. But this time- THIS TIME! She's ready to-

She stops and gasps when she spies the luminous surf gently lapping against the sand.

"Holy BEANS it's so pretty! ZEBES! Zebes do you know why the water's glowing?" she shouts at her father's familiar that is no doubt nearby.

If Khannie has learned anything over the years it's that Zebes has got all the answers.

[bc56]

What's that you say?
Zee's not manning the bar?
Selekhael is there instead? Where's Zee?
Zee's apprentice (sort of) looks very nervous. This is her first time serving at an event like this. She's got black hair in a shoulder length ponytail, and she's wearing a variation of her customary blue dress and Trog's apron, this one a little shorter skirted so it doesn't drag in the sand, but still plenty long enough to not be scandalous to her sensibilities. She's a normal human, definitely not anything unusual, just like her mentor/surrogate mother.

Meanwhile...

A nine-tailed fox girl lounges by the fire in a green bikini. Jade's here, and although she can't swim anymore, she can still enjoy herself at the beach. Were it daytime, she'd be out getting a tan, but since it's night, she's spread her towel where she can just soak up the heat of the fire and relax. A large pina colada rests on the sand next to her, and she takes occasional drinks. It tastes a bit funny though. Did the barmaid leave something out by mistake?

Meanwhile...

Two lizardmen are here. One is seated by the fire watching the other carefully. That other one, more a lizardboy than a lizardman, at least for now, looks about 11 and is splashing about in the glowing surf happily. Kothar and Achuak, paladin and son, are here. They're both good swimmers who enjoy the water, so a party like this is a natural place for them to be.

[Ironsmith]

Kyrie had come, of course, and all three of his charges with him. When he'd heard this party was rather pointedly being done at night, he decided it would be rude not to come if invited. After checking that the Blood Moon was still far, far off in the future, of course.

Kyrie himself is dressed to be on the beach, but not out in the water. He's wearing a sleeveless, paint-stained shirt and grey cargo shorts, quite possibly the most aggressively casual outfit he could muster.

Owena had gone a more showy route, arriving in a black bikini, if a rather conservative one. This had been the result of a compromise between herself and her uncle; Kyrie worried about her attracting too much unwanted attention, while Owena insisted the swimwear flattered her and she should be allowed at least one such outing. If anyone got close enough to her, they'd probably still be able to smell the dog hair from when they settled their differences and hugged it out.

Siana arrives in a simple one-piece swimsuit, which has a spiderweb pattern decaled onto it. She still has her cane, and probably isn't going to go swimming, but it's a beach party and nearly everyone else would be in swimwear. Why not her?

Arthfael shows up in red swim trunks and an old grey t-shirt, not nearly comfortable enough to go without the latter in public. He was also the only one of the quartet to bother with shoes; a pair of black flip-flops. No sandy soles for this partygoer.

Kyrie lays out a trio of ground rules for each of his charges before sending them on their way, turning to each of them for emphasis.

"No drinking." He says to Owena.
"No boys." He says to Siana.
"Stay where I can see you." He says to Arthfael.

And with that, the Ty-Maldwyns are loose on the beach.


Meanwhile, a distance away, Braeg had set up a little entertainment of his own. It was a Lesserwood clan traditional sport, the Cath Fili; a contest of wit between two feuding clan members, involving the impromptu composition of a poem. As the clan members were not allowed to use violence on each other, they would often turn to debate to settle their differences. The rules were simple; the challenger would go first, providing at least two rhyming lines, to which the defender would respond, which the challenger would then rebutt, and so on. After three such exchanges, the spectators would hold an informal vote to determine the winner. Aside from the use of force or mind-control magic, anything goes in this contest; intimidation, insults, magical embellishments, anything. Braeg himself is taking all comers, but the event itself is organized such that any two contenders who wish to verbally throw down, may.

He's a little disheartened to hear it referred to as a "rap battle", though.

[Fenric]

Keiko arrives, eyes glowing red in the dark. She is wearing a bikini that doesn't honestly reveal anything more than her usual garments do, and heads over toward the bar.

[bc56]

Bar
"Oh, uh, hi." The barmaid says to Keiko as she arrives. "Can I, uh, get you anything?" She looks really nervous. She keeps stacking and restacking glasses behind the counter. In other words, she definitely seems new at this. Her name tag reads "Selekhael."

[Rebonack]

[Surf]

Just not surfing.

Khannie lays out her towel in the sand near one of the bonfires (just not quite so close as to risk it catching alight) and starts jogging off through the sand toward the water. She'll wave and call out, "Hi Arthfael!" to the vampire kid who is HOPEFULLY going to be less of a stick in the mud. How could someone be so adverse to playing games, anyway? Maybe it's just a vampire thing. Anywho she'll be joining Achuak in the luminous waves! She laughs as she splashes through them, running her fingers through the glowing blue water.

"Haha this is so cool! Hey I'm Khannie Vallarm. Have you ever seen water do this before?"

Khannie sure hasn't.

This is a completely new experience for her.

She wades in up to her chest, giggling when a low wave nearly bowls her over.

This is so great she doesn't have to worry about people touching her on accident anymore!

[Deathkeeper]

"It's probably either bioluminescent algae or magical jellyfish or something." Zebes tells Khannie at her question. He is here to supervise Khannie and keep her from getting herself killed or overusing her magic and dying.
He also thinks that this reminds him a lot of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 but he does not say that to Khannie because he knows that would not go over well.
"You know this place looks a lot like that one beach in Kingdom Hearts 2." there, much better.

[Fenric]

Keiko grins, which may or may not be reassuring

Sure! I'll just have a Fox Cola for now, thanks.

She puzzles at the nametag for a bit

"Selekhael"? Did I say that right?

A muzzle can make pronouncing sounds from human languages challenging enough, but add the fact that the foxes frequently use sounds well above human hearing and it gets downright difficult. Then mix in words based on languages they aren't familiar with... it's probably not all that close.

[Ironsmith]

[Surf]

Was that...?

"H-hey, Khannie." Arthfael greets, getting up and going after her. Sure, she could be a bit fanciful at times, but Khannie was good company for events like this. At least, he thought she'd be. Reasonably so. Less awkward than hanging around his sisters, at any rate. Also, he didn't really see any of his other friends around here.

...Not that he had any other friends, mind.

Arthfael follows her down to the oceanfront and wades in up to his knees. He's not nearly as adventurous as she is, but the glowing water does look cool and he does enjoy being out in it.

This reminded him of something, too. What was it?

Oh, right!

"So, um... doesn't this look just like that one beachfront in one of the Pokémon games?" He asks, completely ignorant of Khannie's past and trying to make small talk.


[Party Plane Landing]

A distance up the beach, a familiar-looking shuttle touches down; far enough away that the disturbed sand won't, in turn, disturb anyone else.

Rose is the first to step out, wearing what was either a questionably legal swimsuit or the product of a few hours of work and a spare canister of dental floss. "Whoo! Party time!" She hollers, advancing on the festivities as quickly as she could go.

Vlad is right behind her, walking around in a pair of swim trunks that looked like they'd been converted from an old pair of jeans... and nothing else, which is a shame, because he isn't the type who looks good shirtless. He approaches the party with the same degree of enthusiasm, albeit a little more clumsily.

Next are Klaus and Eun, who are both wearing their usual outfits and appeared to be deep in conversation. Eun was wearing a pair of headphones; something to help with the noise, no doubt. Both of them will head straight for the bar, passing up the other guests in favor of free food.

Miranda will step out last, locking the shuttle door behind her. She's in a white bikini, which is cut in a way that shows off her well-toned build. Hey, it was a party, she could afford to flaunt and relax a little. As soon as the shuttle's secure, she heads down to the volleyball nets.

[Earl of Purple]

Several other people arrive! Not in a group, but as individuals.

First, a young human-ish woman- maybe twenty or so- with pale skin tanned by sun on her face, arms and feet, black hair and grey eyes, wearing a green one-piece swimsuit that is open at the sides and back, leaving room for a pair of black-feathered auk wings with eyes in the central joint. She's missing the little finger on her left hand, and also her shadow- but the relative darkness of the night makes that harder to notice. Slung over one shoulder is a leather satchel with a stylised crow or jackdaw branded into the flap.

Next, another young woman, this one a half-elf and so harder to age, with short brown hair and skin the colour of polished oak, with green eyes. She's got a ring in the side of her nose and mismatched piercings in her ears, as well as a stud in her bellybutton. She wears a white bikini as she wanders close to the fires.

Finally, another young human woman with ash-grey skin, a shaved head and black-grey eyes. She's wearing a rather modest yellow one-piece swimsuit and a pair of sandals made from recycled tyres. She has a canvas bag slung over one shoulder. Unlike the others, she keeps away from the fires, instead heading over to the bar.

...

Elsewhere, somebody else arrives. She's also a half-elf, but much younger than the first; she seems about seventeen. Her hair is dark green, her eyes shift colour- currently they're a deep purple- and her skin is very pale, with no signs of tanning. She's wearing a white shirt over a black bikini, though relatively modest by the standards of such things. She's looking specifically for her girlfriend, who should be arriving soon.

[bc56]

Surf
"Hi Khannie, Arthfael, I'm Achuak!" The lizard boy says. "I've traveled a lot with my dad, but I haven't seen anything like that."

Bar
That's a nice easy order. Selekhael pops a can of cola open, pours it into a glass, and hands it to Keiko. "Not quite, but, uh, you can call me Sek if you prefer." Then three more people arrive. The bald woman and the other pair talking to each other. "Uh, hi, can I get you anything?"

[Ironsmith]

[Bar]

"One rum and one root beer, if you please." Klaus says offhandedly to Selekhael, before turning his attention back to Eun. "I'm just saying, you haven't had a date in years. Once things get settled in VIGIL, you should start putting yourself out there again."

"...Right. This coming from the most committedly-single man I know." Eun points out. "How did you put it? 'I'd rather be dragged over a bed of superheated salt razors'?"

"That's different. I don't have those kinds of interests. But I've broken into your hard drive way too many times to think the same about you."

Eun blushes profusely, but says nothing.

"I know you don't like to admit it, but you're lonely. You really aren't happy without someone to spend time with. Someone who'll geek out with you over all those little discoveries you make."

"Like you."

Klaus shrugs. "...To a point. But trust me when I say, as much as I don't want a relationship, you'll want a relationship with me even less. So go on out there and find some guy to suit your needs. Or some girl. I won't judge."

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko grins as she deposits the appropriate coinage plus tip on the counter.

That's easy enough! Thanks, Sek!

then she takes her drink and looks around to see if there's anyone she recognizes...

Oh, there's Khannie way over there in the water already.

she looks around some more to see if there's anyone else who might be closer.

[Rebonack]

[Surf]

"I wish more algae glowed in the dark it looks really cool," Khannie says back to Zebes. "I bet lots of video games use glowing beaches like this because they look really pretty."

Khannie is great company! She's smart and imaginative and adventurous! Those are all great qualities to have in company. Just look at her having fun! Scoop up a handful of water and toss it into the air, watching it glitter like ghostly blue stars in the night sky. Then? She frowns when pokemon games are brought up.

"Um... I, uh, I didn't ever play any of the pokemon games," she admits. "So I wouldn't know."

And her village wasn't anywhere near the glowing beach Zebes is thinking of.

That's probably for the best.

Otherwise the beach would remind her of that place and it would be way less fun for her.

"What was it like where you came from?" Khannie asks the young vampire. "Were there any glow in the dark beaches there?"

Then?

Time to smile at Achuak. "I saw one of my friends playing a game once where they went underground into this place full of giant glowing mushrooms. The water sort of glowed but it wasn't anything like this!"

She swirls her arms in the water, the motion causing flashes of ghostly blue light.

"I wonder why they do that? Uncle Zebes thinks its algae or maybe jellyfish, but I don't see any-"

A luminescent comb jelly, its flanks flashing with rainbow iridescence, begins is scooting through the shallow water nearby.

[Ironsmith]

[Bar]

Keiko grins as she deposits the appropriate coinage plus tip on the counter.

That's easy enough! Thanks, Sek!

then she takes her drink and looks around to see if there's anyone she recognizes...

Oh, there's Khannie way over there in the water already.

she looks around some more to see if there's anyone else who might be closer.

[Bar]

Braeg casually sits down next to Keiko. "One Bloody Carny, hold the vodka." He says to Selekhael. The order was total nonsense, intended to keep her occupied while Braeg chatted up Keiko. He didn't much care what she actually brought back.

"Well, well. Look who's graced us with an appearance." Braeg says with a smirk. "Evening, Keiko. How's the temple been treating you?"

Surf
"Hi Khannie, Arthfael, I'm Achuak!" The lizard boy says. "I've traveled a lot with my dad, but I haven't seen anything like that."

[Surf]

"I wish more algae glowed in the dark it looks really cool," Khannie says back to Zebes. "I bet lots of video games use glowing beaches like this because they look really pretty."

Khannie is great company! She's smart and imaginative and adventurous! Those are all great qualities to have in company. Just look at her having fun! Scoop up a handful of water and toss it into the air, watching it glitter like ghostly blue stars in the night sky. Then? She frowns when pokemon games are brought up.

"Um... I, uh, I didn't ever play any of the pokemon games," she admits. "So I wouldn't know."

And her village wasn't anywhere near the glowing beach Zebes is thinking of.

That's probably for the best.

Otherwise the beach would remind her of that place and it would be way less fun for her.

"What was it like where you came from?" Khannie asks the young vampire. "Were there any glow in the dark beaches there?"

Then?

Time to smile at Achuak. "I saw one of my friends playing a game once where they went underground into this place full of giant glowing mushrooms. The water sort of glowed but it wasn't anything like this!"

She swirls her arms in the water, the motion causing flashes of ghostly blue light.

"I wonder why they do that? Uncle Zebes thinks its algae or maybe jellyfish, but I don't see any-"

A luminescent comb jelly, its flanks flashing with rainbow iridescence, begins is scooting through the shallow water nearby.

[Surf]

"Really? There're pretty good." Arthfael nods a greeting to Achuak.

"...Where I'm from? Um..." How was he supposed to explain that? He was a toddler when Maesda fell, and he remembered exactly none of the intervening time. "...I think so? Probably. Might be in a few places." He finally says, keeping it too vague to be contradicted.

Arthfael jumps about ten feet into the air when he sees the comb jelly and scurries back onto the beach. Ooooh no, he was not going to get stung by one of those brainless drifters.

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko smirks

Hello again.

She shrugs

This temple's pretty independant, really. There are enough lesser kami there that requests hardly ever need to go up the chain to a messenger. And what qualifies for "lesser" here would make folks in most places freak out, so they really don't need extra help all that often.
I suppose that's why my sisters send me: I can deal with the few things people actually need and they can just get on with whatever stuff they need to do.

No, they send Keiko to get her out of their hair.

Doesn't mean it isn't nice to get away from all the noise, sometimes. And while I'm pretty sure the Non-Interference Law doesn't actually matter here in the Nexus, it's a really great excuse to not listen if I'm not actually at the temple.

She chuckles and her eyes glow a bit brighter.

And who knows, maybe someone will want eating...

[Ironsmith]

[Bar]

Braeg nods his understanding. "I see. Well, glad to hear things are going your way." He smirks. "Now, if you happen to be in a favor-granting mood..."

He gestures to the other party-goers. "We seem to be suffering from a minor lack of entertainment. No party is complete without some frivolity, wouldn't you agree?" He chuckles. "Fortunately, I brought along a little of my own; a traditional contest of wit, the Cath Fili. Unfortunately, it seems the other attendants are rather... intimidated by the only participant to have signed up yet. Which would be yours truly. And those who aren't seem to be a little put out by the lack of sign-ups, which I can hardly blame them for. And we need at least one pairing if we're to have any hope of drawing a crowd."

"Now, the ideal contestant would be someone who is quick with her words and clever in their arrangement, and in this particular case, someone who catches eyes and ears. Someone lovable and already renown." He gives her a coy smile. "Now, would you happen to know a quick-witted, strikingly beautiful priestess in a fetching bikini who might be willing to lend her voice to such a contest?"

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko looks at Braeg with a bemused expression

Another. Poetry. Contest. I swear: they chase me around.

And since I don't think you went through all that trouble to butter me up just to get me to recommend Mei, I'm gonna assume you want me to join in. But I'm no priestess, fine sir: I'm part of the administration, when you get down to it. And I never did get a change to introduce myself properly when you visited the temple.

She grins, and bows politely

Princess Keiko no Mae, daughter of the eight-headed demon shadow dragon-king Yamata no Orochi. Youngest sister of Tamamo no Mae, the Lady of Shadows: goddess of the Nogitsune. I'm a Messenger when I'm being an official part of the temple... "archangel", I suppose, but there are a lot of connotations of that word that really don't apply to me.

Her grin settles to a smile

So... tell me about this poetry contest of yours.

[Recaiden]

Yet another person joins the party.

Anchor is a fairly short woman, with straight black hair, olive skin. She's got on a two-piece black swimsuit, a necklace of lion's teeth, and, as always, a pair of reflective sunglasses.
The shadows she casts in the flickering light of the bonfire don't look anything like her; they show someone taller, with a wild mane of hair, long claws, a waving tail. And beside that shadow is the shadow of a little bird, seemingly cast by nothing at all.

She heads slowly towards a bonfire, looking around to see who all has come to the celebration...

[bc56]

Surf
"I've seen the light-mushrooms," Achuak confirms. "They grow in the deep dark wet places beneath the mountains. Dad has friends down there." But then he spies the jellyfish. Unlike Arthfael, he has no compunctious. He dives all the way into the water and swims after it. "Hahaha! Look at it! That's so cool!"

Bar
Rum and root beer is easy. Since he said those separately, Klaus must want them in separate glasses, right? Two glasses are passed to him a moment later.
Next, after a moment of confusion about what a bloody carny is, Selekhael realizes Braeg must have misspoke. He wanted a Bloody Mary, right?
She pours out a glass of tomato juice and mixes in some ground pepper and other spices, before handing the incorrect beverage to Braeg.

[Ironsmith]

[Bar]

Keiko looks at Braeg with a bemused expression

Another. Poetry. Contest. I swear: they chase me around.

And since I don't think you went through all that trouble to butter me up just to get me to recommend Mei, I'm gonna assume you want me to join in. But I'm no priestess, fine sir: I'm part of the administration, when you get down to it. And I never did get a change to introduce myself properly when you visited the temple.

She grins, and bows politely

Princess Keiko no Mae, daughter of the eight-headed demon shadow dragon-king Yamata no Orochi. Youngest sister of Tamamo no Mae, the Lady of Shadows: goddess of the Nogitsune. I'm a Messenger when I'm being an official part of the temple... "archangel", I suppose, but there are a lot of connotations of that word that really don't apply to me.

Her grin settles to a smile

So... tell me about this poetry contest of yours.

Bar
Rum and root beer is easy. Since he said those separately, Klaus must want them in separate glasses, right? Two glasses are passed to him a moment later.
Next, after a moment of confusion about what a bloody carny is, Selekhael realizes Braeg must have misspoke. He wanted a Bloody Mary, right?
She pours out a glass of tomato juice and mixes in some ground pepper and other spices, before handing the incorrect beverage to Braeg.

[Bar]

Braeg smirks. "If we're indulging our full titles... you might know me as Lord Braeg of Lesser Wood, Prince of Trickery, Baron of Mischief and Mayhem... and undisputed Grand Master of Cath Fili." He chuckles a little.

"Well, the actual rules are simple. Minimal, even." Braeg begins. "One contestant would issue a challenge to Cath Fili, by saying as much to the other, much as I have done wirh you." He gestures toward her with his hand for emphasis. "The defender, you, would then accept by telling me so. The challenger would begin, by giving at least two rhyming lines, like so:" He clears his throat.

"I said what I meant, meant what I said,
You are as lovely as the rose is red"

"And then the defender would respond, similarly. After three such exchanges, the spectators call out the name of their preferred victor. Whoever wins over more of the crowd, wins the game." He idly scratches at his beard. "Now, when it's your turn, you can do pretty much anything you want... you can choose to sing your lines, add in music, magic, and so on..." He twirls his hand and produces a rose, which he offers her. "...with the singular exception that you may not harm or mind-whammy the other contestant or any of the spectators."

"As you can imagine, as the go-to method of solving disputes in our clan, the Cath Fili has produced many styles and techniques among its players. You have some who are deliberately terse, to keep their opponent from having time to think. Then there are others who use insults to shake their opponent and prevent them from competing at all. Then there are those with middling poetic ability who put more emphasis on spectacle. There are joke-tellers and heart-breakers, illusionists and minimalists, and all of it subject to the whims of the crowd. I seem to even recall a certain precocious young man who would win his battles by serenading his opponent; a crowd pleaser and unbalancing, all at once." He smiles knowingly and grabs his Bloody Mary, which proceeds to slap him across the face, thanks to his curse.

"...Right." He sighs through his smile, squeezing the drink from his beard.

-----

Klaus looks up from his drink at the ashen woman walking toward the bar. "Hello, who's this?"

Eun ducks down under the bar suddenly, hands over her face.

Klaus raises an eyebrow. "What's that all about?"

"You remember. That woman I told you about, Felicity?"

"Oooh, right, the one you ghosted on and have been avoiding ever since?" Klaus smirks and turns to Salekhael. "Go ahead and pour us another rum."

"...No." Eun shakes her head. "I know what you're thinking, don't do it."

"Hand's going up." Klaus smirks, raising his hand.

"Don't you dare-"

"Hand's waving." Klaus smiles and waves Felicity over.

"Niklaus Irving Quire, you stop that right n-"

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko nods politely, her eyes clearly betraying that she hasn't the slightest idea what Braeg's main title really means (though the rest sound fun). She takes the rose with a smile, and she looks sympathetic as he is accosted by his own beverage.

Sorry... I guess the divine favor tails off a little this far from the temple proper.

Um, so sure: I accept. Can't promise I'll be great at this - I am the youngest of the princesses which means I spent a lot of the court parties trying to avoid my turn in the poetry contests. And Myobi never has anything nice to say about my attempts at the full moon parties. And ours weren't usually couplets, so that's going to take some adjusting.

Then, something entirely unhelpful for her concentration happens: she spots Anchor, which is another name for...

LEAH! LOOK OVER THERE! LEAH IS HERE! HEY LEAH!

Keiko's tail flat-out wags as she waves her hand wildly to try to get Anchor's attention, Braeg's contest utterly forgotten for the moment.

[Earl of Purple]

Bar

Felicity is waved over and approaches Klaus and Dr. Eun. "Hi, I'm Felicity- what're you doing down there, Eun? Did you drop something?" Felicity frowns and looks down to see if she can see anything down there that could have been dropped.

Towards the Bonfire

Oh, that's odd. Jack feels... drawn over there. It's been a while, but she follows, and she sees Anchor and her shadow and heads over, a frown on her face.

[Ironsmith]

[Bar]

[Bar]

Keiko nods politely, her eyes clearly betraying that she hasn't the slightest idea what Braeg's main title really means (though the rest sound fun). She takes the rose with a smile, and she looks sympathetic as he is accosted by his own beverage.

Sorry... I guess the divine favor tails off a little this far from the temple proper.

Um, so sure: I accept. Can't promise I'll be great at this - I am the youngest of the princesses which means I spent a lot of the court parties trying to avoid my turn in the poetry contests. And Myobi never has anything nice to say about my attempts at the full moon parties. And ours weren't usually couplets, so that's going to take some adjusting.

Then, something entirely unhelpful for her concentration happens: she spots Anchor, which is another name for...

LEAH! LOOK OVER THERE! LEAH IS HERE! HEY LEAH!

Keiko's tail flat-out wags as she waves her hand wildly to try to get Anchor's attention, Braeg's contest utterly forgotten for the moment.

Braeg sighs and just wipes his face down. Hopefully, Keiko would still be this enthusiastic after stopping to gush over this Leah person. He settles in and decides to just watch events unfold for now.

Bar

Felicity is waved over and approaches Klaus and Dr. Eun. "Hi, I'm Felicity- what're you doing down there, Eun? Did you drop something?" Felicity frowns and looks down to see if she can see anything down there that could have been dropped.

Eun sits there in stunned silence for a moment, looking up at Felicity, wide-eyed and quite clearly internally terrified.

Klaus clears his throat. "Doctor Bu... my Old Earth etiquette is a little rusty, so I could be wrong, but I believe the proper seating at a bar is on the stool."

Right. She should fix that. Eun stands up and moves back into her seat.

"While we're on the subject, I believe the appropriate protocol at this point would be to offer our new guest a seat." He stands up and gestures toward his stool, surrendering it to Felicity. "Here you are, miss. You can have mine. I won't be staying."

Eun gives him a look somewhere between abject terror and cold fury. Klaus was leaving them alone?!

Oh, she was going to kill him.

[Recaiden]

It still gets Anchor's attention when people mention other people named Leah, thinking for a moment that that's her.
Plus she knows that voice. So she turns away from the bonfire.

"KEIKO!"
And flatly runs across the beach towards the [Bar], where she'll promptly wrap her arms around the princess in a hug.

"Ah, you're here, I mean, you're really here!"

---

Her shadows, unperturbed by the excitement, keep heading closer to the bonfire.
Oh, there's Jack - they know Jack! The shadow lifts a hand and waves, broad and deliberate in its movements.

I wonder if the bird part would fly back to its original partner, or stay somewhat aloof?

[Fenric]

[Bar]

Keiko wags even more at her step-daughter's hug, and she is so very excited

Yes, yes! I'm really here! Oh, man, it's so awesome to see you again! So many things to talk about: I went to this world with weird little kobold things that weren't kobolds but they lived in a little matriarchial village and they were trying to get rice so Inari sent them a messenger but that meant we got to have one too so they sent me and it was kinda fun and there was this chaos mage guy who did all sorts of stuff and we chased him through a really creepy version of the astral plane where this big scary chaos monster thing was and it turns out he had an evil chaos shadow kobold-thing matriarch with kobold-thing minions and there was a big fight and then they found a different village and started corrupting them and I've been really busy there.

Oh oh!

So, I was trying to help Khannie learn to cast charms, because all she could do was shadow-illusions, but I'm not so great at teaching and I decided to try posessing her and then casting while she watched but I didn't really think it through and we were out in the garden and this is Braeg: he was there and he thought something bad was happening so he exorcised me and oh my that was sucky but he got Khannie all mad and I withdrew the temple's blessings and the rocks and stuff started attacking him so I put it back and then Khannie went back inside and we got food and now there's a party and I was hoping you and maybe Cleo would come but Braeg was here and he's challenged me to a poetry contest and I think it's my turn.

She tilts her head

How's things?

[Earl of Purple]

Bar

"Uh... sure. Bye, mister." Felicity didn't catch his name, and now he's off. She'll sit down, and turn to Eun, quite desperate to get something out before they get any further."I'm really sorry about that date. Geneva sent me to a world where everything was fire and I followed a bird which tried to get me eaten by a flaming hill-thing, but we didn't know that until after I'd left and changed back out of the protective clothing." The clothing wasn't exactly to protect Felicity from the fire; it was more to protect Felicity's modesty, though she's gotten used to finding herself naked with little warning. And also provide protection from anything that might have tried eating her, but Felicity didn't think of that then. "I should have let you know, but I forgot and also I checked my Vigil communicator and I don't think I have your information on it." Felicity looks a bit nervous and really sorry, then realises something. "You... forgot about it too, didn't you? You're trying to hide because you thought you'd stood me up accidentally." And this is also the point where Eun may realise that Felicity thought it was a date, not just two friends getting together for a meal.

Elsewhere

Now that is the question, isn't it? Jack's going to walk to the shadows and try to reach out to her own, to encourage it back to her, but... who knows what the shadow thinks? It's been with Anchor for a while now, has it seen all it wants to see and is happy to go back? Does it miss Jack? Does it enjoy its new life in the Skullfort doing whatever it is shadows do when Anchor isn't paying enough attention?

[Ironsmith]

Bar

"Uh... sure. Bye, mister." Felicity didn't catch his name, and now he's off. She'll sit down, and turn to Eun, quite desperate to get something out before they get any further."I'm really sorry about that date. Geneva sent me to a world where everything was fire and I followed a bird which tried to get me eaten by a flaming hill-thing, but we didn't know that until after I'd left and changed back out of the protective clothing." The clothing wasn't exactly to protect Felicity from the fire; it was more to protect Felicity's modesty, though she's gotten used to finding herself naked with little warning. And also provide protection from anything that might have tried eating her, but Felicity didn't think of that then. "I should have let you know, but I forgot and also I checked my Vigil communicator and I don't think I have your information on it." Felicity looks a bit nervous and really sorry, then realises something. "You... forgot about it too, didn't you? You're trying to hide because you thought you'd stood me up accidentally." And this is also the point where Eun may realise that Felicity thought it was a date, not just two friends getting together for a meal.

[Bar]

(Un)fortunately, Eun is one of those people who would use "date" to refer to any generic outing; being out here in the first place was a "date", even though she hadn't brought a partner as such.

"...Yeah." Eun finally says, taking a deep swig of rum. Now that Felicity said it out loud, it sounded kind of silly. Childish, even. And this was within ten seconds of running into her again. Literally the first words out of Felicity's mouth were an apology.

And here she'd been, hiding under a bar, anxiously anticipating a reaction that was so far removed from reality it wasn't even funny anymore.

...God, she'd been a child. And that was worse than the stand-up in the first place. She almost wished Felicity would yell at her instead; at least then she would've had good reason to be nervous.

...Uh-oh. She's been sitting here staring at her rum for the past several minutes. Now Felicity was going to think she was mad. Which she wasn't. So she'd better say something quick, before the awkwardness ballooned any further out of control.

"...frenulum."

Goddammit. Work, brain!

[Recaiden]

[Bar]

"Keiko, savior of the kobolds!" Anchor lets go of Keiko to strike a dramatic pose on her mom's behalf.

"Things are ... good."
"Zophiel came back from fighting evil paladins in a world without time, which I honestly didn't expect to ever happen. Then we teamed up to fight a fallen saint who was trying to drown a whole city." Also Selekhael and Benedict were there, but that's less important. "That's been a little weird."
"And I got a friend's memories back, and broke into hell, oh I mean, I have so many things to tell you about."
"Not to mention all the magic."

"Hi Braeg. Why do rocks attack you?"

[Elsewhere]

There have been a lot of exciting times traveling with Anchor's shadow. They've gone all around the Nexus, and to a couple other worlds besides. Battling villains, traveling to underwater cities, organizing a prisonbreak, journeying through time, murdering dark wizards. To this, a shadow can either decide "That's more than enough adventure, I want to go home", or they can decide "This - danger, heroism, new vistas, cool magic swords - this is the life!"
The other consideration is the freedom, the capability. Shadows like them can go places no human, nor even jackdaw, could reach. Follow their own hearts, and not always mirror their depth-having projection. Plus, they can get Anchor to change things in the 3-d world for them, to affect the cast of light and dark. Or they can do they easy thing and just follow Anchor's movements; a shadow feeling lazy has no particular need for its original object.

But whatever else it may feel, surely the shadow does miss Jack. It takes on humanoid shape and seems to stretch out a hand towards her.

Anchor's shadow saunters around to almost the other side of Jack, closer to the fire.

[Rebonack]

[Surf]

"Wait the giant glowing mushrooms are REAL!?" Khannie gasps. "That's-! Okay maybe I should have guessed that since everything else is real in the Nexus. Even obviously pretend things like trucks."

Trucks were a fairy-type tale back in the pokemon world. A strange, mysterious artifact said to have been left behind by humans at some point in the distant past. No one knew what they were for, but legend held that if a pokemon was strong enough or clever enough to move one then a mew would appear to them.

Khannie watches the vampire LEAP out of the water and all the way to the shore. "Okay I'm giving that jump an easy eight out of ten but are you sure it stings? It looks weird and shiny and it doesn't do-"

The girl blows out her cheeks and does her best jellyfish undulation impression.

"-that thing."

Then the lizard lad dives under the water to catch it!

This proves to be extremely easy given that the creature isn't very fast and seems to be only dimly aware of what's going on around it at best.

It feels like grabbing a firm piece of jello. It also doesn't sting since comb jellies can't sting.

"There, see? Achuak is grabbing it and he isn't getting stung. You don't have to be afraid of one stingless jellyfish," Khannie argues.

Stingless it is, but it isn't one.

With his head under water Achuak will be able to see the rainbow rippling of HUNDREDS of comb jellies scooting into the shallows from deeper water. Before long the water will be absolutely alive with prismatic light.

Khannie's eyes go wide with wonder as the shimmering light beams up from the depths. Now that she knows what she's looking for her gaze turns one way down the beach, then the other. The whole sea is thrumming with light.

"Woah... They're so pretty... There's so many of them!"