Closed [Rearing Stallion] Surprising Sayana (Various)

[Devi]

Devi smiled at Aren, amused at the thoroughly Akalak phrase. She had at least succeeded in making him laugh, chasing away what brooding thoughts had lingered on his expression, or seemed to on a surface level. The young woman would consider that a small victory to her budding social skills. She could also safely say that her Tukant had expressed something close to her intentions. As wordy as the language was, the slightest error could completely change the entire meaning of the sentence. She recalled one conversation in which she had unintentionally propositioned the Akalak she was conversing with rather than asking him politely about the weather. It was a useful phrase to know though it certainly wasn’t an appropriate one for this situation. That said, her mind chirped in, perhaps I should teach it to Sayana as a little bonus present.... Her eyes caught on someone familiar moving towards them in the small kitchen. She looked up to see Orin facing her and her face lit up in recognition, though the promising smile faltered somewhat as she took in the crossed arms and the disapproving expression on his face. As he pointedly ordered her to accompany him she couldn’t quite stop amusement from bubbling to the surface. Across the different occasions on which she had met Orin she had seen more facets to him than she had believed anyone could hold inside of them. It was unusual for a person to surprise her so, to defy her expectations of them so thoroughly. With that he marched off towards the other side of the kitchen, sparing not even a glance at her companion. She cocked her head curiously, remembering the brief spat between the two at Sayana’s New Year’s party. She smiled warmly at Aren as he gestured that she could follow Orin without being rude and promised herself that she would make an effort to get to know the giant sometime. Considering the way he and Sayana were with each other, she had a suspicion that he would be around for a while yet. Devi weaved through the guests chattering away in the kitchen. By the time she arrived at Orin’s side he revealed the food hiding beneath large platters and the delicious scent which had made itself known to her before engulfed her fully. Her mouth watered at the sight and smell of it all and Devi’s stomach growled at her aggressively. She sensed Orin come to a stop beside her and she lay a hand on his shoulder to stop him. With her eyes mentally calculating how much of this she could actually fit into a single serving bowl and eat without giving herself indigestion she voiced the first words that came into her head. “Don’t take this the wrong way Orin but I’m a little tempted to lock you in my apartment and force you to cook for me each day.” She chuckled a little, hand dropping to soothe her gurgling stomach. As she started gathering said gigantic bowl of food in reality she turned to look Orin in the eye, curiosity returning to the forefront of her mind. She spoke softly, knowing that this likely wasn’t something that he would want overheard. “What is it with you and Aren anyway? It takes a lot of effort to make someone that tall a non-entity in your mind.”

[Katelyn Marks]

OOCDon't worry about this until it's time for presents, obviously. I'm sorry I couldn't participate like I wanted to!

ReceiptLocket: -25 GM

While Katelyn couldn't make it to Sayana's party herself--for she had been called away on patrol with her patron--the squire had sent a small gift in her place. The box was tiny, no bigger than the palm of one of the Eypharian's hands. It was wrapped in plain brown parchment and tied off with twine. Inside, resting on a soft piece of folded cloth was a delicate gold locket. The necklace opened to provide a safe hiding spot for a single, small trinket. Folded and tucked neatly into this secret place was a note.

----------

Sayana,

I am sorry to miss your party. I wish that I could be there, but all I can do is hope this gift finds you happy and surrounded by friends. Happy birthday!

All the Best Wishes,
Katelyn M.

[Garland]

Garland gave a smile at Sayana, she seemed like she was having a good time. Orin had outdone himself yet again. Garland went over and grabbed a mug and filled it with ale. He looked at the orange liquid, seeing the refection in the firewater. A quick drink would quench his thirst for now.

Everyone seemed to be mingling with everyone, even the usually shy Orin was having two conversations with Devi and an old woman, he had seen her in the dorms before, but he had not talked to her or gotten to know her yet.

And he had lost sight of April yet again, probably off drinking to escape his lectures. As much as he loved her, she was quite the nuisance at times, especially with the baby on the way. She needed to stop smoking that temper too.

She was loving enough, but she had plenty of dirty habits that she needs to kick. He would indulge in the food later. Right now, it seemed that everyone was talking with everyone, and joining in a conversation might seem rude.

Usually he would join anyone in the conversation, but this was Sayana's party and he didn't want to seem rude. Instead he went over to the blue giant that was Sayana's lover. He grabbed another mug and filled it up with the ale Orin had provided.

"Hello there, Aren, right? Nice to meet you." He said and gave the blue man the hard drink. "I never had time to properly introduce myself, my name is Garland, and I'm fairly close friend's with Sayana over there." He said and looked at the birthday girl.

He had to be honest, despite how much Sayana liked this man, he couldn't help but worry about her, he did not like this man. Akalaks were known as gentle giants, but they were warriors, and powerful warriors, and men usually lose their tempers one time or another, and if he ever hears about him abusing Sayana, he would smash his head in.

[Isolde Seibold]

"Alright, listen up and I’m sorry to interrupt. Anyone with a present for Sayana can leave it there."

The Nuit looked up. Orin, once again, was speaking over the din of the crowd. He was saying something about food, about the menu, and Isolde looked curiously over at the small buffet. Of course she knew what pork and vegetables were, but curry... she wasn't certain if she'd ever had that. Orin said it was spicy? She couldn't remember if she liked 'spicy' or not; she couldn't even remember if she'd ever eaten spicy food.

When he turned to address her specifically Isolde nodded her head to let him know she'd heard and understood. He was busy, going over to talk to someone else, and she too busied herself with gathering her gift up into the crook of her arm and then patting her tunic's side pocket, checking that Katelyn's was still there. It was, and she stood, waiting for the armor to resettle around her in its familiar, heavy weight.

Nearby, a thing that might have been mistaken for a particularly hairy and misshapen rug rose from the ground in the corner, shook itself, and tilted its head in her direction, no doubt having heard her mail as it slid and clinked. Isolde snapped her fingers twice, a gesture that was becoming habit, and the big fuzzy dog oriented on her, ears pricking up. She'd nearly forgotten Galan was here, he'd been so still and quiet. She was still getting used to his constant presence, having only had the large dog --some sort of mutt-- for about eight days now.

From the start she'd been unable to leave him home. Though the other girls in the communal dorm seemed besotted with him, it still just didn't feel right. She hadn't really asked permission for him to be here at the party, but she'd figured... um, probably not a big deal, right? He was a good dog, harmless. Nobody seemed to have minded him yet.

Isolde gently grasped the loose loop of rope tied round the great dog's neck and side-stepped through the small crowd, avoiding getting too close to anyone, keeping Galan directly to her side. Most were people she didn't know though some she thought she'd seen before, perhaps with the knights. Aren, of course, she noticed right away, and it looked like Sayana had drifted over towards him.

Orin had said they could put the gifts over on the table... but Sayana had made it seem she wanted at least to see each guest independently, if only to say thanks. With a nervous twitch of her fingers, Isolde led Galan towards the Eypharian and Akalak... and whoever that third one was, a shorter man --well, everyone looked short next to Aren-- who she thought she'd heard introduced as Garland.

"Um, hey Sayana, Aren," the Nuit said, pulling up just short of them --somewhat reminiscent of the first time they'd met-- and smiling. She nodded at Garland, a thought passing through her mind that he might be one of the ones she'd glimpsed before in the dorms. If any of this group looked at her fuzzy new companion, Isolde would just explain, "Oh, this is Galan. He needed a place to live, so... well, you know, here he is. Anyways, he's friendly, don't worry." At meeting new people, the dog would wag his tail, ears perked at their voices.

"Anyways, I was just going to go hide over by Orin, but first thought maybe I should say hello to you guys. So hello." Another nervous smile, then to Sayana, "I got you this. I wasn't really certain what to get, but I hope you like it." Here the Nuit would hold out the flute in its case and baby sling. "And Katelyn Marks, my dorm mate, couldn't make it so I brought her gift, too." The other present was a small box, the contents of which Isolde didn't know. She'd also offer this to the birthday girl.

Once Sayana accepted and inspected the gifts, Isolde would say, "If you don't want to carry this stuff around, I could go put it on that table over there for you, like Orin said." Naturally the center of the party would probably gravitate towards Sayana, and that wasn't something Isolde was up for. Unless the others stopped her or tried to start up a conversation, the Nuit would wave a hand and take the opened gifts to the table, then drift over towards Orin and the food.

"Heya, Orin. Did you say this is curry? What is that exactly?" And, not one to be rude, the Nuit would then turn to the other woman, the young lady with the pretty dress, and say in a friendly voice, "Oh, and I'm Isolde. Your dress is lovely, by the way."

OOCWhoops, forgot to mention Galan in the first post, but whatever. Also I'm not certain if it was my turn or not, so sorry if I posted at the wrong time.

[Sayana]

“All Orin’s work? For a cook he’s pretty well organized.” She tried to keep the compliment toned down but she was rather impressed and quite flattered by all of Orin’s hard work. Soon Garland joined them. Excitedly she introduced, “Garland, Aren. Aren, Garland.” Even though their names had already been exchanged she was more than happy to gesture with her arms to solidify their names. “And this is Isolde,” Sayana spoke while still beaming as the nuit entered in the conversation. At the approach of the dog, the Eypharian bent down and petted its face and scratched its ears with her mid and high hands. “He’s adorable. Galan? Big dog, but friendly.” However, at the mention of gifts she immediately perked up again and carefully took the items Isolde offered. She opened up the little case to find a beautiful metal flute. She inhaled quickly and wanted to take it out right then and there. Spinning it around in her hand, she found the mouth piece and blew into it. No sound came out. With a frown she tried covering some of the holes with her fingers and tried blowing again. Not much luck. She tried one more time blowing really hard and trying to be precise and managed to get a quivering note for a tick before it faded out. “It’s beautiful Isolde. I’ll have to work at it but I really like it.” She put the sling around her body and admired the workmanship. “And the baby sling too. Thank you.” She stepped purposefully towards the nuit and without giving her a chance to step away, Sayana wrapped several arms around the woman in a hug. There was a chill to her but she was still very much Sayana’s friend regardless of it. Next, Sayana began carefully opening the gift from Katelyn. It was so sweet of her to have brought a gift even though she hadn’t been able to make it to the party. It was simply wrapped but once opened Sayana looked at it with an open mouth. “Look what Kat got me,” Sayana said as she held up the golden pendent. Wait no. It was a locket. She found the little hinge and opened it up. There was a little note inside and Sayana struggled to pick out the words. “Sayana.. sorry miss party… I wish… happy, friends… happy birthday. Best wishes, Kat…” Sayana muttered softly to herself. “Aww, how sweet. Thank you Isolde for bringing it.” It seemed like the woman was more than happy to retreat now that the presents had been brought, and Sayana didn’t make any further attempt to keep her there. She was sure that Isolde would find good company with Orin or at least with her dog. With the baby sling still around her, Sayana placed Orin’s cookbook into it and then clipped the locket around her neck. Two necklaces, a book, a flute, and not to mention the herbs that Nivel brought. Plus the baby sling… An idea suddenly came to her and immediately Sayana pulled out a chair to stand up on it. “Everyone listen up. I’ve talked to Aren but we still haven’t thought of what to name our baby, our son. So with all of right here at my party, I think it would be wonderful to get ideas from my dearest friends. Especially while eating Orin’s delicious curry.” With a grin she hopped back down and headed straight for the food. She doled out a generous portion of what could be none other than a delicious curry and began to tuck right in. Even with all her gifts she managed to hold everything and eat at the same time with her six hands. OOC : Just moving along with another plot point. And that's totally fine Isolde. I'd like to get things moving along so that we can finish things up soon. I think there are a couple of gifts, plus enjoying the food and thinking of baby names, plus Aren's 'stuff'. I don't think it has to be too long of a thread (just my opinion).

[Nivel]

Nivel bashfully looked to the ground as Sayana showed genuine interest in the present she gave her. "I'm glad you like it, Sayana" The Mage squire was glad she had taken her patrons advice, and and got herbs instead of silly old buttons. After Nivel was lifted from the tiny saddle and place on one of the kitchen, Sayana gave her thanks and threw the pycon up in the air. Nivel was prepared for this and preformed a daring midair somersault before landing back in the capable hands of Sayana The pycon was gently placed back on the table, before the multi armed dancer went on to greet her other guests.

Nivel was now free to explore the party, After hearing Orin’s announcement that there was now clay, she did a back flip off the table she was currently on and scurried through the small crowd to were the food was held. She hoisted one on her elongated arms up to the table and pulled herself up the rest of the way. The spread of bizarre looking tall folk food was quite a sight, she wondered what it tasted like. She could easily use autistics but it seemed like a silly reason to use magic so she moved on towards what she was really looking for. There was a reasonably sized ball of stoneware clay on a plate and Nivel could already tell it was of decent quality.
“Thank you for the Clay!” Nivel called out happily to her chef friend for his considerate act.

Despite her previous interest she wasn’t particularly hungry for clay and instead chose to play with it a bit. She took hunks of clay from the ball and crudely formed them into square bricks, which she placed next to each other until she had formed a complete circle. She added more layers until she had a fairly shallow looking clay tower. She sat cross legged in her cozy looking fort and Tall folk watched. When ever some one would approach the food table Nivel would look at them for a moment before saying in a comically stern voice “I am the guard of this table..State your business kind sir or madam”

Sayana made and announced meant about names and Nivel shook in excitement at the prospect. "I love names! How about Rexus, or Grick, or maybe Valumeus?" These were just random names that came to her and she soon paused to think of other names to shout out.

Mean while Patcha was on her own amongst the crowd and wasn’t really sure where her rider was. The tiny corgi Kelvic wandered around in search and eventually stumbled upon another canine. This one was much larger and older than Patcha but she still felt more inclined to start conversation with him than with any one else. After the other dog was done being introduced to Sayana by what seemed like his owner, Patcha hesitantly let out a bark of greeting. The Kelvic wasn’t sure if she was nervous from the social interaction or if it was just the strange smell coming of the perceived owner of the dog. What ever was the reason the poor Kelvic couldn’t bring herself to face ether of the three people she was in the presence of.

Credit for Boxcode goes to Estrellir Konrath

[Aren]

"Yes, I remember you," The giant's eyes were ice cold. He remembered, alright -all too well- just how Garland had behaved at Sayana's first celebration. He had taken the side of that... thing when the Eypharian had demanded that it leave her home. Even had her demand been completely unwarranted, which Aren did not believe, it should have been met with no opposition from her own guests. It was her damn house, and if she had suddenly asked them all to leave because she had chipped a nail, they should have all done so absent resistance or discussion. Although he would not presume to tell Sayana whom she could or could not share a friendship with, this Garland calling himself her friend left a sour taste in the back of the Akalak's throat. Perhaps his perception had been colored by the circumstances of their first meeting, and he understood it might have been an unfair reaction to have to a man he barely knew, yet all the same he couldn't help it. "Are you now?" The question the giant asked of the young human was more of a challenge, really. It seemed to express that a need for proof of the boy's statement was required, before it could be believed. Offering Garland a polite nod, Aren sought to extricate himself from a conversation that he knew would probably not end well if it went on too long. The human would likely grow annoyed by the Akalak's demeanor towards him, and since the Akalak would not much care, the situation would likely degenerate from there. Aren was just being honest, as he tended to be, but he understood that people didn't always want to know what someone really thought of them. Heading off towards Sayana, the azure warrior offered another polite nod to the Nuit that they had met at the beginning of their journey to Sunset Falls, not too long ago. This time, he even smiled. "Lady Isolde. Its good to see you again." Remembering their first meeting, he absentmindedly shifted to his infravision and noticed that she was as cold as ever. Aren seemed to have warmed to the woman since then, though, realizing that her nature was not something that dictated her actions. Striving to be a person who judged others by their deeds instead of by something they could neither help nor change, the Akalak was glad to see that his own prejudices and inherent sense of caution could be overcome by someone of sufficient character. His attention drawn to the animal that the Nuit had brought with her, Aren knelt and tentatively stretched his hand towards the dog's head. Isolde being correct, he did not seem inclined to bite or retreat away from the touch, and blue fingers slowly scratched the back of Galan's ears. "You're a good dog, aren't you?" Aren stood, gently patting the dog on the head as he did so, just in time to see Sayana get on top of a chair. "She wants to do this now?" The Eypharian had a bit of an unpredictable streak to her, so her announcement didn't come as much of a surprise, but the Akalak was truly worried as to what kind of names might be suggested by this motley crew of individuals. Almost as if in reaction to his concerns, a voice immediately shouted out some names that Aren really hoped Sayana wouldn't cling to. Rexus? Grick...? Who was trying to name his son that, the giant wondered, somewhat irked. He looked around, attempting to find the source of these "suggestions" but it seemed to defy detection. It didn't appear to belong to any of the people in the room, he thought, since he knew what all of them sounded like.

[Garland]

Garland looked at Aren with a tiny grin. "I just wanted to know that we're on the same page. It's a Sayana's party and I would personally like to meet the man that won her heart." He said and looked over to Sayana, who was standing on top of a chair.

“I am the guard of this table..State your business kind sir or madam”

Garland heard the little clay Pycon yell out and went over to the food table and watched Nivel's little clay fortress. She was being adorable again and looked so cute in her little clay building.

"Oh kind guard of the table of food, I seek passage for some of Orin's wonderful curry." He said with a little bow. He grabbed a plate and a spoon and filled up his plate with Orin's well-made food.

“Everyone listen up. I’ve talked to Aren but we still haven’t thought of what to name our baby, our son. So with all of right here at my party, I think it would be wonderful to get ideas from my dearest friends. Especially while eating Orin’s delicious curry.”

Garland had taken a small bite, and he could feel the heat and spiciness of the food. He quickly grabbed his mug of ale and quickly took a swig. He sighed a bit and took another bite.

"Da curreh ish gud!" He swallowed and coughed a bit. "The curry is good! Great even! As for the kid's name, well... I still have no idea for my child's name! Arena? Sounds like girl's name, Sayaren? No, that sounds dumb. I got nothing!" A random thought entered his mind, he didn't know much about Akalaks, only that they're all male(or the females are hard to come by, he had heard rumors of female Akalaks before), but what if she had twins? She would need two names.

"Hey, Sayana! I think it would be best to get two names, who knows, you might get a second child along with the first one. It would be unexpected, but not improbable!" He said, he wasn't quite sure on what that word meant, mostly because he rarely uses big words like that, and the few times he did, he was sure he got it wrong, but sometimes the possibility of looking and sounding smart defeated the possibility of making a complete idiot of himself.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin couldn't help breathing a sigh of relief when Sayana cheerfully accepted his present. He knew that she had been working hard on improving her cooking abilities and he'd been helping her along with that. And with the baby on the way Orin figured that she could use a few dishes that were especially suited to pregnant women. Although, now that Orin was thinking about it there was a better than average chance that human and Eypharian pregnancies were different. Still she had seemed incredibly happy and so Orin grinned back at her. "It is indeed a book of recipes. It's stuff that's, according to Remi, good for growing babies and their mothers. So I guess it's from her as well." Orin couldn't help but chuckle as he realized what she must have been thinking when he asked after what types of food a pregnant woman would prefer. He'd have to make sure she knew that he hadn't actually gotten anyone pregnant. His conversation with her took on a whole new light. "Well these should work. If you have questions though, please ask. I think the instructions are clear enough but I'm not much of a writer. Oh, and you're welcome." Orin gave Sayana a friendly nod but she had already drifted towards Aren. Since Orin still had no idea how things stood with the two of them, he was planning to avoid the Akalak like the plague. Since Sayana was currently still receiving guests and Aren seemed content to stay near her, Orin would just stay to one side. He didn't mind when Sayana insisted on seeing all her presents. Now that the surprise had gone off without a hitch Orin had no problem with Sayana dictating the course of the party. This was all for her and while Orin had planned it up to this point it wasn't as if he had anything particular in mind for the rest of the afternoon. Orin would go along with whatever would make Sayana happy. He'd just been trying to be a considerate friend and rational about Sayana's ability to juggle all her presents.

Finally Devi left Aren's side. Seeing as Isolde had heard his invitation but seemed caught up in giving her gift to Sayana, Orin was more than happy to spend some time in the good doctor's company. She seemed inclined to some light-hearted banter, which wasn't Orin's forte but he could always give it a try. If it failed, well, Devi probably should already know that Orin was strange and not at all adept at social situations. Still, this was Orin's place, practically his home and definitely his sanctuary. For some reason or another Orin felt supremely confident here, both in himself and in his abilities. So maybe that would help him from making a complete fool of himself. "If you keep patching me up and taking as good care of me as you have been, feel free to lock me up and force me to do whatever you'd like." Orin smiled at Devi but it quickly slipped as he ran through what he'd just said and realized the other implication of his statement. He blushed a furious red and tried to stammer out an apology. "I, I, I didn't meant anything, I mean I meant anything but not that type of anything if you know what I mean." Placing his hands on the table Orin forced himself to take a deep breath before continuing in a more coherent manner. "I didn't mean to imply anything I was just being friendly. And trying to be humorous. I'll leave the jokes to others, if it's all the same to you."

Orin was just about ready to hide in the pantry after that particular slip. He really had thought he'd been getting a bit better with people and so had let go of the guards he usually kept on his tongue. No longer, though. Orin would be sure to double check every word before it left his mouth. He was so mortified that Devi's next question caught him completely off guard. Orin's mouth opened and closed several times as he considered his response. He hadn't realized his dislike for Aren was quite so obvious. If Devi had spotted it then chances were Sayana knew about it as well. If that was the case, Orin knew he had to do a much better job of hiding it in the future. Finally Orin replied in as neutral a voice as he could manage when it came to the topic of Aren. "Let's juat say the two of us have had a few disagreements and now we get along like oil and water. Which is to say, not at all although we try and be pleasant for Sayana's sake." Orin had probably said too much. But on the subject of Aren it was hard for Orin to be reasonable. The man had almost killed Orin and that wasn't something Orin was sure he could ever fully forgive. Therefore, avoidance was the best policy.

Luckily, Orin was saved from having to elaborate further by the arrival of Isolde and her dog. Orin immediately sank to his knees and gave the mutt, whose name was apparently Galan and who obviously belonged to Isolde, a good scratching behind the ears. ”Whose a good boy. You are, yes you are.” His voice was the one people typically reserved for speaking to very small children and pets. Orin quickly straightened up, not wanting to embarrass himself. Or, humiliate himself further that is. Orin quickly set out plates of food as people drifted by and started picking them up. As he worked, Orin hastily introduced Isolde and Devi. ”Oh yes, Devi, Isolde, Isolde, Devi. Devi is a wonderful doctor, Isolde. And Devi, Isolde is a mage squire.” Orin had some vague memory of Devi disliking the Knighthood, so he didn’t want to mislead her on that matter. He didn’t know the source of the doctor’s distaste, but he wanted to try and control any possible incidents. Not only did Orin not want a repeat of Sayana’s New Year’s Party, Orin also had a vested interest in keeping his kitchen intact. So that meant no fighting of any kind. He off-handedly mentioned a few ingredients of curry as his hands arrange the plates to his liking. ”It’s a mix of spices, vegetables, rice, and in this case fish. Try some, both of you. It’s spicy but delicious.” Orin laid a little mix of it out for Isolde, who could only taste the food, not actually ingest it. Then, suddenly, Orin glanced at Isolde. He didn’t know how much of an open secret it was that Isolde was a nuit. It wasn’t exactly easy to hide, but as Orin also knew, it wasn’t readily apparent. So Orin held his peace. He would let Isolde tell Devi the truth, since Orin respected Isolde’s privacy and the trust she’d shown him by giving him her secrets. The gods knew that Orin had his own.

Movement on the table drew his eye. Orin watched incredulously as Nivel took the clay and shaped it into brick like shapes. Soon, the Pycon had her own little fort or castle or tower. And she sat there, enthroned and imperiously claimed that everyone coming to the table had to go through her. Orin had to laugh. ”Didn’t your parents teach you not to play with your food?” However, the smile died on his lips as Orin remembered that his own parents hadn’t exactly taught Orin his manners. No, those had been painstakingly learned under the disapproving eyes of his various guardians. Orin had been forced to gain impeccable courtesies, for Mithryn at least, because he’d been on thin ice already and any excuse those fostering him could find would result in Orin being lectured on his shortcomings. Suddenly choked up, and with the sting of tears in his eyes, Orin bowed his head. He disguised his sudden sadness by sinking down to play with Galan. If burying his head in the dog’s fur disguised brushing the water from his eyes, so much the better. And Galan’s enthusiasm was more than enough to help Orin reclaim the cheery mein he held onto with a death grip to disguise the pain inside. Finally, Orin felt ready to face the party again.

He reemerged just in time to catch the tail end of Garland’s compliment. Orin was about to wave it off, since the food was just adequate, and Orin really hadn’t done that much, but there were more pressing concerns. Sayana had announced to the party that she and Aren were taking suggestions for baby names. And everyone seemed to have their own idea as to the best names for the child. Garland even suggested that Sayana might be carrying twins. Where the squire got that idea, Orin would never know. Orin tried to clearing his throat, but nobody seemed to notice so once again, Orin forced himself to speak up in front of everyone present. He tried to keep his voice reasonable, and forced himself not to look at Aren. The Akalak seemed to take offense at basically everything that came out of Orin’s mouth and Orin didn’t have the patience or the inclination to deal with it anymore. ”Perhaps it would be best if Sayana and Aren told us if there were any naming customs we should be aware of before we start throwing suggestions out there?” Orin didn’t necessarily think this should be done in an orderly fashion, but Aren would probably blow up if he got the impression people were not respecting him or his child. And Orin knew almost nothing of Eypharian and Akalak naming customs, but Sylirans certainly had ideas on what constituted a proper name. In fact, Orin didn’t even know if Sayana and Aren had family names, and that would be as important to the child as the first name. So Orin settled in to wait. With any luck, Orin would find out a bit about other race’s culture as well. Orin voraciously devoured news about the wider world in the same way people seemed to be wolfing down his food.

OOCI think I got the order of events right. And if I missed someone or an interaction, please, let me know.

[Sayana]

For a moment or two, Sayana savoured the curry. The rich spices tickled her tongue and brought such intense flavour, and flame to her mouth. That cook always seemed to be outdoing himself, and she was glad it was at her expense. She gulped down a few more bites and grinned as she watched Nivel making a clay fort on the table. With the suggestion of names, Nivel was quick to pipe up.

“Velumeus,” Sayana repeated slowly. “Might be a little long, though we could shorten it to Vel. And Grick? We’ll call him Grick when he’s acting up. ‘Hey Grick, you little skyke! Get back here!’” She gave a snort at the idea of her son misbehaving and wondered what sorts of things an Akalak boy would get up to. At Garland’s suggestions, they seemed more like mish-mash versions of Sayana and Aren’s names. She pensively thought about it for a moment and then replied, “Arena is more like… you know that place where chariots run around?” She made a circling gesture with her hand and she recalled chariot races back in Ahnatep. “And Sayaren? If we gave him any nicknames things might get confusing between the three of us.”

Sayana then tried to remember the couple of names that she had come up with. “I was thinking about the name Toraz. Strong manly name. And then I really liked Serend. Someone once told me there was a blue gem called serendibite and Serend would be a nice short form for that.”

It was then that Garland suggested the possibility that she’d need two names in case she had twins. Her bright cheerful manner vanished as terror flooded her face. Her gut sank and her hands clenched upon the plate of curry she was holding. No, no no. I can’t have two. I need all the help I can get to survive just one. I need to be strong and he’ll need a mother. I want to see him grow up…

Fortunately Orin interrupted her panicked state by asking a simple question. Taking several deep breaths Sayana forced herself to calm down. This was her party and these were her friends. She was going to be strong, a strong mother for her son. Her son. There should only be one. Not even his second spirit would be present for his birth. “Just think of names that sound nice and are manly. He’s going to be strong like his father.” Sayana looked fondly over to Aren and after setting her plate down moved over to him to seek comfort in his presence. “And not too long, or at least with a nice nickname we can shorten it down to.”

Back at Aren’s side, she wrapped a mid arm around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. She still had numerous presents about her person but they were either ones she was wearing, like the necklaces and the baby sling or she held them in her free hands. Her mood had calmed significantly from her earlier scare and as she realized something, she looked up at the Akalak with a grin.

“You know, you still haven’t gotten me something,” she teased her lover. “Or do you have something special in mind for tonight?”