[Wind Reach] The First Thaw Festival

[Kovac]

The Drudge surprised Kovac. He he had never considered someone of her caste would be so...spirited. A reluctant smile crept across his face. Reputation?. The smile faltered for a moment. He did not like to acknowledge the few occasions where, in a drunken fit, he had treated Drudges rather poorly. His smile returned in short order in response to her coy refusal to answer his medallion question. She had, after all, given him a viable clue, even though it was a bit cryptic and taunting. Kovac popped a juicy hunk of venison into his mouth, wiping a trickle of the broth from his chin as he paused to observe the new arrival. She was overtly concerned for the Drudge's well-being. He cynically wondered if she would have been as worried for the Dek woman yesterday or tomorrow. Probably...the artisan seemed genuine, so far. The archer's eyebrows lifted, mouth still full of meat when the glassblower answered his medallion question unsolicited. Caught off guard again by her introduction, Kovac stared blankly at her for a breath before choking down the half-chewed food. He wiped his hand on his bryda and tenatively extended it to grasp the woman's. "Uh...I am Kovac." He stuttered, struggling to regain his snarky composure. As a diversion, he turned his head to the Drudge. "And what do they call you?"

[Aislinn]

She was glad he had decided to sit with her. While the night was still young she had not had a conversation with anyone but for brief hello's. The man introuduced himself by saying "My name is Vanir, Aislinn." He then asked of his medallion turning around so she may see it.

He finished his drink as she wondered why he would ask such a question. He then said "May I say, it was very kind of you to let me sit here. Many people don't like the company of a Dek, and would prefer the one of a higher caste. It's sometimes very hard for us to be social, but thanks to people like you, we can."

She may be nicer and more appreciative of the Dek but he was beginning to go a little far in his ranting. He was also recieving glares from some of the other people on this side of the dance floor. She replied to his question by saying "It would not be used for cooking. Then in awnser to his brief rant she said "The Thaw Festival is a place to ignore to ignore castes so you shouldn't be looked down upon here. Though it happens anyways."

[Beau]

Beau looked over his shoulder to see who had tapped him, while he finished topping off his once empty cup. An Endal. Some childish excitement flared and would have made him trip over his tongue had he not double checked that his cup was not overflowing. His full attention was back on Amon soon enough, grinning peaceably. "Amon...Sakima, right? There are only so many paired Riders, names are easy enough to remember. I'm Beau." It might have seemed a little odd to know a person's name before a formal greeting but Beau tried to make it sound like he'd already met the man, and was trying to casually dredge up his full name again. In truth however Beau had seen his new acquaintance around before; it was hard to miss a haircut like his. At the mention of the medallion Beau had to lean around and take a quick glance, all the while wondering what in all of creation didn't like to fly. He thought briefly on the correct words to answer with and smiled at the response. "It is better suited for a life near siblings." He turned slightly to expose his own medallion. "Does mine have a caring family?" The answer would be taken in stride just like everything else in his life. The possibility of a prize was secondary to the actual game. Beau loved to try and find the most cryptic, or teasing, responses possible while trying do decipher any answers to his own questions. The truth was he didn't have much to his name and lived without common luxuries. He was happy with what he had, though more of anything was welcome, so he was motivated enough to figure out what was the infernal thing on his back really was. "And yes, I'm one of several trying for Alwin. It's different than I thought. I was half expecting some kind of test or obstacle course." Beau half spoke, half laughed out the last of his sentence. It had sounded logical in his head at the time but once he actually heard what he was saying his own stupidity was funny. "Yeah it is kind of exciting. More exciting that I'm actually being considered this time around, than actually staying up their with that lot." He looked at Amon and shrugged a little. "Well you know what I mean, you had to go through the same thing right? Anyway it's more the possibility that it could be Alwin than anything. I'll be a rider some day, just hope it'll be with Alwin." And once again the honest, free, smile broke across his face.

[Haya]

Haya squinted her eyes a little while she peered at the young woman´s medaillon. “No, it won’t get anywhere on it’s own,” she answered.

Until now, Haya had not given the contest much thought. Even if she were able to obtain a prize, chances were big it would not be in her possession for any longer than a week or so. But with these questions being asked, and the halfblood’s remark lingering in the back of her head, she did start to become curious herself. Despite that, she did not open her mouth just yet, but settled for patiently observing while the others introduced themselves.

The pause in Kovac’s sentence made her mentally chuckle. Had he really been caught off guard so easily, or was the mouthfull of meat he’d tried to swallow in one go still bothering him? No matter the cause, it was still a little amusing to watch.

Kovac wasn’t the only one though, Haya had to overcome a bit of surprise too when the halfblood turned his attention back to her. “Haya.” Her answer came too quick to be natural, but she was fast in adding her request. “Am I allowed to ask a question too, or are you of the opinion that ‘figures’ is sufficient enough to be considered a hint?”
Her tone was bold, but her smile betrayed she was starting to enjoy this conversation.

[Amon]

A brow quirked at Beau's response to his greeting, and he was just about to slap the man on the back in case he began to choke when he spoke. And his words made the Endal laugh all the same. "So you know me, I see?" He began, a smile creeping up on his lips. "Well then, I'm sure we met somewhere before. I feel quite flattered you recognized me. It's a pleasure to meet you, Beau." There was no condescending tone to his voice as he spoke. He was being genuine in his politeness, because he wouldn't, honest to the gods, mind becoming a Flightleader; a teacher of the younger initiates, and to bond with them in a way that was quite similar to a fellowship. When his question in regards to the medallion had been so generously answered, Amon brought his hand up to tap at his temple in false concentration. "Siblings, you say? I wonder if it has anything to do with plants." A grin, and he placed his arms on Beau's shoulders, turned him around for a fraction of a second to take a glance at his medallion then turned him back around to face him once more. "Oh yes, it has a very big, loving fiery family." For a second, he wondered if he gave too much away, but considering how vague he placed it, he was sure the young man wouldn't quite get it right away. There was a pause as he listened to his next words, and his eyes roamed the expanse of the gallery once more, catching, for a moment, the familiar face of Chemar. He brought his hand up to the air and waved for a moment, hoping this would catch her attention, but his next words were directed to Beau. "I thought you'd be used to it. Most kids go to the aeries to clean the far more nastier things off the ground, you see. At least that's what I did." He chuckled, bringing his glass up for another sip. "Alwin is a fine bird, so I'm sure you'd be a fine rider if he chose you. But keep at it. Sometimes they like to surprise you. Sakima did that, even though he can be quite a handful. What's your specialty, anyway? Are you decent with a bow?

[Kellan Lucia]

Kellan walked around to see that most people were broken off into pairs leaving him surprisingly alone. Kellan usually was extremely social but now when there were no alone people to talk to he felt sort of lost. He saw how much fun others were having and he knew if he was going to talk to someone he would need to seek them out. No one was going to come to him. This was a festival for meeting new people, not for waiting for others to talk to him. He thought for a while about everything that had been happening. The begining of trying to bond with Alwin. The altercations in the communal kitchen. Life was certinly anything but boring. He walked around until he finally decided to talk to Amon. He saw that Amon was talking with Beau and he felt bad interupting but he wanted to talk to him. He wanted to see what this seasoned rider was like. Kellan was sort of nervous about talking to Amon but he knew that he had to do it. Kellan walked up and smiled at Beau and Amon. "Pardon my intruption, I just cannot find anyone to talk to." he said. He focused on Amon "How is your eagle doing Amon?" he asked.

{ooc: sorry it is so short, I had an rping altercation and soI reall had nothing to build this post off of.}

[Vanir]

Being a Dek, there's so many cons of being one, and barely any pros. One of those cons are the fact that since you are barely social, when you finally get to talk to people, you usually will go overboard by saying everything that is on your mind and more. It's always hard to stop talking, when there is so much you have to say. By the time you learn that you should've shut up, the person you were talking to has probably left. He heard the girl answer his question, in his mind he noted that it had to be some animal they didn't eat, or some plant that didn't have berries.He then heard the girl say that Dek should not be looked down on during a time like this. "So true, but the Inarta have relied on us, as something to to laugh at, as some kind of slave. It makes me wonder what I did to go down this path...." Vanir seemed to be staring into blank space. Memories seemed to be the only thing on his mind. He just sat there, thinking about the choices he did to deserve such a hellish life. He had remembered so many things, the death of his blue bird, once when he tried archery and bombed at trying to shoot a simple target.Vanir just shook his head and then looked at Aislinn, he wanted to get his mind of his childhood.

[Cyrill]

Cyrill took a sip from her glass in an attempt to hide the smile playing on her lips. It was surprisingly satisfying to see the man slightly muddled. Cyrill nodded in response to Haya’s answer, filing away the information for later. This significantly narrowed down the list of things that could be depicted on her medallion. She felt a surge of excitement in spite of herself. This little medallion game had become a challenge and there were few things Cyrill appreciated more than a good challenge. “I’d say, that’s not really a full-blown hint,” she said, glancing at Haya's medallion.“Wouldn’t you agree?”

[Eidolon]

On her way to get a glass of wine, Amon did catch her eye. Her chin lifted toward him and her smile softened as she adjusted her course. An especially busy time for her, first thaw almost always prevented her from seeing those people she enjoyed so it was a very pleasant surprise to see her friend. Letting her eyes stray as she approached, she watched the interesting play of two women, who to the casual eye, seemed to be getting the better of their current male companion. A low chuckle sounded in her throat and she paused to watch them for a moment. The temptation was there to look a little deeper into their interaction but that would seem a little too much like work so instead she decided to make it a point to talk to them later. The two lads with Amon were clearly hanging on his every word and from the looks of them, they were just about the age where they would be searching for an eagle to bond with. They must be vying for the heart of Alwin. To give them some time to ply him with their questions, Chemar went to the lavish tables of food and drink first, fetching herself a full glass of fragrant red wine. A long wooden skewer holding a selection of fruit caught her eye and she slipped it from the plate, dragging a piece of melon free with her teeth. Glass in one hand, skewer in the other, she moved to join the three, the glass in her hair sounding as an accompaniment to her movement. Slipping next to Amon she leaned close and whispered a friendly kiss against his cheek, pausing to let her breath warm his skin. When she lowered onto flat feet she casually took a draw of her wine and looked at the two young men. A bright smile curled her lips and she stood with her shoulder lightly brushing Amon's. "New faces, please introduce me." Her eyes still squinted slightly, giving her a look of mischief as she sized up Amon's fan club.

[Aislinn]

As Vanir went on to say that the Dek were treated as slaves made Aislinn frown. It saddened her to think of the Deks living conditions. What he said was true, they were slaves although almost no one would admit it. She watched him for a few moments as he went silent remembering hurtful memories.

As he looked up at her she noticed his need for a new subject. Excitedly she said "I'm leaving here soon maybe next week or even tomorrow.. The roads are clear and now I can leave this place and the castes behind. My bags are packed and the only reason I stayed this long was for the festival, although I have yet to say my goodbyes." She paused for a moment then quickly said "Have you ever dreamed of the adventures awaiting us outside of this place? Going somewhere that castes don't matter? I think it would be wonderful." She grinned at the thought. She then started thinking of what the outside world would be like.