[Wind Reach] The First Thaw Festival

[Amon]

A small smile danced on Amon’s lips as Kellan relayed just about everything that occurred with him and Beau during the encounter with Alwin. It was refreshing to hear that not all birds were like Sakima at a tender age, although he cared for his eagle so much so that his heart ached for his company. Nevertheless, his attention was on the boy in front of him. “I’m glad that you two are getting along so well. To be honest, there are so many rivalries going on around here it’s hard to keep some heads screwed on. Keep at it though, and maybe one of these days I’ll give you some lessons on flight.” He winked, a mischievous glint in his azure eyes as he then turned to address the lovely Chemar. “I’m glad she’s doing alright, but you really must drag your sister out of that hole she’s cooped herself up in, it can’t be too good for her health.” He grinned then, placing the empty wine glass on the table. “Indeed it is. There’s more and more faces I don’t recognize, but I suppose that’s a good thing in the long run.” There was a chuckle as he witnessed two boys hollering obscenities at each other, nearly ready to enter into an all out brawl without hesitation. “Feisty children these days.” A pause, and his eyes flickered to the mixed blood and the two women cornering him. The grin he held earlier widened. “By all means, he’s just begging to have someone sweep him off his feet. Why not woo him with your charms, love?”

[Cyrill]

Cyrill watched the exchange between Kovac and Haya with interest. She wasn’t usually one to take such an interest in the interactions of people, preferring to work with glass on her own and…well working with glass was about it. But this was proving to be much more intriguing than she could have imagined. She couldn’t even classify the stance the two had taken against each other. There was certainly some verbal sparring, a degree of tension and something else. It was that something else that puzzled her the most. Cyrill nodded at Kovac’s reply to her question, feeling unreasonably satisfied. Her list had just shrunk by about half. “You two certainly have an interesting dynamic,” she murmured, partly to herself and partly to her companions. She took another sip from her wine glass, savoring the red liquid as it sneaked its way past her teeth. She looked up from the depth of the glass to see a couple glancing their way.

[Kovac]

Kovac's brow furrowed and he frowned when he saw Haya try to hide her giggling. He knew she was laughing at what he said. Agh, that's what he gets for being nice. He still didn't know why he said it anyway. For a moment, he knew he felt something disturbing...compassion. Gods, she was just a Drudge, she expected to be overlooked and unappreciated. Nevermind that she sported some intellect and spunk. Kovac mentally kicked himself for his momentary weakness. It was with great relief that he was able to turn his attention to the artisan's offhand remark. With is focus turned towards Cyrill, he almost choked on his second sip of wine at her half-spoken comment. Dynamic?! What was that supposed to mean? He took a step back, his eyes observing the glassblower over the rim of his glass. His eyes dropped to her bead-adorned Vintai, and its plunging neckline, before his greens darted off. Kovac lowered his cup, his gaze remained on something afar off when he replied. "I don't know what you are talking about." He raised the glass again to suck down another swig of wine, allowing himself to glance at Haya, to judge her reaction. Following Cyrill's gaze, he too saw the Endal and woman eyeing the trio. "Is it me, or are we starting to attract some attention?" He recognized the Rider. Amon. Kovac had never ridden with him, but he was quite well known. His companion, beautiful as expected, had a rather mischievous grin as she looked their way. The surly archer simply grunted and turned back to glance at both Haya and Cyrill. He had lingered with them longer than he would have liked, but they had proven to be entertaining, the limping Dek and her bead-encrusted champion. They were trying to get the better of him, he knew it. The Drudge just needed a reminder of the way things worked. Without much thought, Kovac nudged the tip of Haya's cane as it leaned against the wine table. It toppled to the floor with a clatter. Kovac, staring off at the crowd, stifled a malevolent grin and turned to look at the fallen cane. "Sorry, did I do that?" He retorted before turning to the table to refill his cup.

[Haya]

Kovac’s cool reply on Cyrill’s words made clear she’d pushed it too far. Haya evaded the halfblood’s glance, staring at the red liquid in her glass instead and wisely keeping her mouth shut. Yeah, she’d been pushing it, but it had been fun while it lasted. Everyone had their boundaries though, and she would avoid pressing too far beyond.

Haya had not, however, expected the following to happen. Her cane met the floor with the loud clattering of wood against stone, garnering the attention of many that stood nearby.
She had seen it happen, Kovac’s gesture being all too obvious, taunting, degrading even. It was clear he was intent on humiliating her in public, and it stung. Not even the slowest of mind would mistake the following of his words for being sincere. "Sorry, did I do that?"

“Probably not,” Haya gritted her teeth, her words loud because of the fury that fuelled them. “Only a Dek would act so klutzy, no?” The smile she offered him was cold, cynical, but it served as a facade for the words she had spoken, in the same way Kovac’s fake apology had allowed for his provocative actions. Haya did not wait for the man’s reaction, but put her glass upon the table and used it’s edge to aid her in kneeling down.

[Beau]

Beau followed the invisible line Kellan's finger made, through the crowd, and focused on the figure that had to be Delena. She was one of the only, if not the only, person to not be smiling at the festival. It wasn't going to be easy convincing her to dance but he liked the challenge. Still, a task that big needed a warm up before even approaching. His eyes flicked from face to face, picking out all the faces Kellan had lingered on during his deliberation. Beau's gaze fell on the vaguely familiar form of a dek. He knew he'd seen her around before, but naturally, not bothered to remember her name or anything else. "Deal mate. But I never said when. Just make sure you keep an eye on me, no cheating and saying you never saw the dance later." The mischievous twinkle began to shine in his eyes. Beau passed his wine off on some passer by, wiped his lips off for good measure, and headed off. As he passed Amon and his lady friend, practically skipping by now, he said something about not wanting to know him at the end of the night but the exact words were lost in the festivities and noise. He slipped between couples conversing, and groups of people guffawing, Avora in debates about the best way to do particular parts of their trade, and herds of dek pilfering the free food on the tables. For Beau if the music was playing, people were laughing, and drinks were in hand, all was right in the world; which lifted his mood into annoyingly happy. And so armed with his positive, unfailing demeanor, he slipped in front of the Dek he'd settled eyes on. Truth be told she wasn't all that undesirable for a dek but she was still a dek, it was merely an observation. Now if she could give him a good dance his opinion would change, his hope for a good time ruling out the obvious need of her cane for support. The fun loving smile stole onto his face. "You won't need the stick where we're going." His head jerked over his shoulder towards the other dancers and his fingers beckoned her forward. "C'mon, you and me. Say yes to just one dace?" He didn't find the idea of forcing someone to be his dance partner all that attractive. First of all it wouldn't be nearly as fun, but secondly, and more importantly, it would mean he couldn't even charm a dek into a simple luxury for their class. He pointed to his feet. "Tell you what, you won't even have to do the work. Step on and off we go..." Beau put on his best hopefully desperate stare, though the smile belied the look.

[Sira]

As Sira made her way to the courtyard her mind ran rampant with a mixture of excitement and dread. The First Thaw festival was always hit or miss for her. Either she would have a great time, or she'd spend the night miserable and alone, at least until she found a commoner to take back to her place to take her mind off things. She hoped this year would be different though. This year she was a hunter, practically an Endal though she wasn't technically one of the riders. Mabye she would find a true friend, or at least someone who didn't treat her like an outcast. Her nerves nearly got the best of her as she walked into the courtyard, but she was relieved when only a few people glanced her way. No awkward silence this year, thank the gods. Sira started to head toward the drink table when a young commoner stopped her, pinning a medalion on her back and telling her not to look. She'd almost forgotten about the game. Maybe she'd win something useful this year. The year before all she had won was a silk scarf... which she happened to be wearing as a sash around her waist. Sira was dressed in her best outfit.. which wasn't much really. She had never really worried about dressing up and so she'd never bothered to buy anything fancy, much to her regret as she looked about at all the elegant outfits the other women were wearing. Sira wore a simple strapless red vinati with a bit of gold trimming and a black bryda with red designs. On her feet were simple black sandals, and she wore the red scarf around her waist like a sash. She felt naked without her sword and bow, but this was a festive occassion, not a hunt, so she figured it would likely be best not to bring her weapons. After stopping to survey the party, she made her way over to the drink table, grabbing a glass of wine and quickly drinking it down to soothe her nerves, the picked up another and took a sip, turning to face the crowd as she did so. There were people dancing and she would have liked to join them, but nobody met eyes with her as she glanced around the courtyard and so she simply sighed and leaned against the wall. She could always grab a commoner or dek, but she wasn't that desperate just yet.

[Cyrill]

Cyrill’s eyes opened wide as the man jolted Haya’s cane, causing it to tumble to the floor. Cyrill had the naiveté to believe that most people had a basic sense of decency toward others. Sure, she wasn’t one to treat the dek with any special care. In fact, she hardly noticed them most of the time, usually too intent on her work to pay much attention to anything. But this was a holiday – a time for all of Wind Reach to come together and forget class biases. Except, this wasn’t even a class bias. This was simple cruelty. And just when she had begun to like the half-blood… Cyrill bent down next to the other woman, picking up her cane with one hand and holding out the other to help her stand. All the while, she was glaring daggers at Kovac. “You have some nerve,” she began, her voice cold and level. “It’s one thing to adhere to the caste system. It’s another to let one’s petty, arrogant nature interfere with the well-being of others. How much of a coward do you have to be to be so mindlessly cruel to someone who you know cannot properly defend herself?”

[Kovac]

The glassblower's indignant tirade caught Kovac a bit unprepared, having been so congenial just moments ago. Perhaps his tormenting of the Drudge was a bit too forward in light of the occasion, but he could not quite understand the artisan's fervent defense of the 'defenseless' Dek. "I thought she was holding her own pretty good," the archer retorted. The accusation of cowardice irked him, though it was not the first time he had received such strong reprimand. Though never in the defense of a member of Wind Reach's lowest class. Kovac strained to retain his casual demeanor, attempting to slough off the woman's self-righteous rebuke. He turned to give an absolutely sarcastic and insincere apology to Haya when he saw a young man hitting her. "Good luck with that." He muttered under his breath. The cynical Avora returned his attention back to Cyrill. "And I have found your company suddenly leaving much to be desired." He nodded with a sly grin and stepped away to get another glass of wine. Kovac spotted a loner leaning against the wall by the wine table. He recognized the fellow hunter. It was the freak. He used that term with some respect. He did not know Sira well, having only a few words with her before. She was not true Inarta, just as he wasn't, at least not full blood. People avoided her just as they avoided him. Granted, they stayed away from him because he was unfriendly, they stayed away from Sira because she was, well, a Kelvic freak. But she was almost as good an archer as he was, and a far better hunter if he was honest. The wine loosened the rusty, grumpy attitude, in spite of Cyrill's verbal attack, so he strolled over to Sira and leaned against the wall next to her. His eyes on the crowd, Kovac took a swallow of wine and spoke to Sira without looking at her. "Do you have any idea what is on your back?"

[Sira]

Sira was about ready to grab the nearest chiet and join the dance floor, for lack of anything better to do, when she was approached by a vaguely familiar face. After a moment she remembered who he was, the mixed blood, and she was both terrified and excited. Excited that somebody was actually talking to her; terrified that she would screw it up.

"Not a clue. Any idea what yours is?" Sira honestly wasn't all that interested in the medallion right then. She had all night to figure out what it was, but she only had a few seconds to decide whether this guy would be friend or foe tonight. What little she knew of the man, he usually wasn't the most sociable person, but she didn't know if that was through choice or because he didn't fit in. She hoped it was the latter. She considered skipping the formalities and asking him if he wanted to dance, but she decided against it. She wouldn't rush into things this time. She needed to talk for a change, have a conversation with somebody. It was usually all action for her.

OOC: :

I haven't gotten the PM yet, so don't ask me your question.

[Kadin]

At the first thaw festival, everyone always seems to be enjoying themselves immensely, yet there are always people who go home early, unsatisfied despite the free win and infinite prizes. This year round Kadin felt like she was one of those people. Being alone and having nothing to look forward to, it was borderline depressing to even come here. Kadin had lately assumed that she should probably start making some friends and stop being such a loner, usually hanging out at home or spending time with the birds. She hadn't dressed up at all for the occasion, and she was actually starting to feel a little glum about it. Considering she had nothing to do but watch people in shiny outfits walk around in the bustling crowd, she decided to improvise little. Taking a thick lock of hair from each side of her head, she brought them to the back of her head and tied them into a knot, sparing her bangs and leaving them where they were, leaving her face a little less covered by her hair. Maybe I should try winning some scarf or something, just to add to it.. Kadin's thoughts wandered off, thinking of all the things she could add to her looks without running home to fetch something else.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a drunk guy shoving her quite hard and running off without noticing. Kadin shrugged it off and looked around. Her eye caught a small group of people in which most of the people seemed as unfestive as she was. Well, that was probably because of all the tension in the air around them. Kadin assumed it was probably most of that mixed-blood's doings. When she was a kid, she had a small crush on him from afar, but as she matured she realized that probably one conversation with him would result in her stabbing him in the gut, or close. After all, he had quite the reputation of being a flat-out bastard.

After contemplating the situation the mixed blood was in for a couple seconds, she started on her way again, ready to head home. She concluded that this kind of place could only make you happy when you had high spirits to begin with. As she walked by a girl who happened to have an animal on her back, she realized something. She had completely forgotten about the game. It was designed solely for people to start socializing, so if Kadin wanted to meet anyone, this would probably be the place to start. Without thinking, she walked up to her and asked, "You playing the game?"

((edit: Ah shaizer Sira posted before I finished, didn't see. sorry D: ))