A Child's Party|Vara, New Anarlina

[Kender Bard]

Aurora glanced around eagerly as they arrived at the Diokles manor.

Snowflake smiled and brushed down a few errant curls with her fingertips. "What do you do now, Aurora?" she prompted.

"Thank the host," Aurora answered, even though she was busy looking for Sunlight.

"Well go on then," Snowflake urged, giving her a gently nudge in the right direction. Moss Diokles stood at his father, Narciso's, side now dressed green and yellow, the House's colors.

Aurora walked over and bowed to both, thanking Narciso for inviting her and her family and congratulating Moss who accepted it with a nod of his head. Her duties done, Aurora continued hunting for Sunlight.

There were many children her age or near it here already. The whole Diokles family, of course, which accounted for a lot of the children. There was also Bohdan Barrera, and the children of high standing men and women in the Diokles province. Aurora paused to greet her peers if she caught their eye but otherwise didn't pay them much mind.

[Darastrix]

Despite the prospect of meeting his friends there, Sunlight still hadn't been all that enthusiastic about attending the party. Being able to choose his own clothes had helped, though. Rather than don his own House colours or even something pale and more appropriate to the season, he stood out in deep blood red and gold. When he noticed Aurora, his expression brightened and he walked toward her.

"Am I glad to see you," he murmured, clasping her hands.

[Kender Bard]

Aurora giggled, leaning forward to give Sunlight a peck on the cheek. "You look nice!" she exclaimed. "And I'm glad to see you too. I don't see the Wintersongs yet and still aren't sure if they're going to show up." She nodded towards Moss. "There's the knight in training." She grinned impishly. "Is it just me or does it look like he really wants to do something else?"

Moss did look considerably bored. He hadn't yet been given permission to go talk and play with the other children and so he shifted his weight from foot to foot and tried not to frown.

[Darastrix]

"Can't say I blame him," Sunlight said as he glanced over. "It's got to be awfully dull just standing in one place to greet everyone. I wonder what kind of things he likes to--oh! Here are the Wintersongs."

Both lords of Widor had entered with their children. Autumn, living up to her name in a dress of deep copper, was all smiles as she went to curtsy to Narciso and Moss.

[Kender Bard]

Shyamal had elected to to wear light grey with a pale lilac trim, a pale contrast to his sister. He went to Moss and made his own greeting and congratulations before scanning the children like Aurora had done.

Aurora grinned and waved them over. "Here, over here," she said. Beaming, Shyamal went to join them.

"Aurora," he greeted, taking her hand and bowing over it. "You look very pretty." Aurora giggled with delight. "And my prince." He bowed to Sunlight. "It's good to see you."

[Darastrix]

Autumn was a little less formal than her brother, hugging Sunlight and Aurora in turn.

Sunlight grinned. "It's good to see you, too. Both of you. We weren't sure whether you two would be coming."

"I always want to come to a party," Autumn declared. She lowered her voice and added, "Even if it is just about someone training to be a knight."

[Kender Bard]

"I think that just makes it more fun," Aurora giggled.

Moss was relinquished from his post and he joined the children, who were beginning to group up.

"Thank you everyone again for coming," Moss said to them all. "I'm really excited about my squirehood. So I thought to start things off we might play a little game... How about Princess In The Tower?"

Shyamal looked confused. "I've never heard of this game," he admitted.

Aurora grinned, clapping. "It's a fun game! One person is the 'princess' and she has to stand prisoner in the camp of enemies. Morilantans, monsters, it can be anything. The other team are all the knights and they have to rescue the princess. If a monster tags them first, they die. If they tag a monster first, they win. But if the monsters run around and leave the princess unprotected, a knight can grab her and run off to the 'castle' with her. If they do, they win the game. If the monsters kill all the knights, they win."

[Darastrix]

"Where's the castle going to be?" Sunlight asked Moss.


"Can I be the princess?" Autumn put in. She didn't think she'd be able to run around very well in her skirt.

[Kender Bard]

Moss considered the question. He led the interested children outside and pointed to a tall tree in the yard nearby. "That's the castle," he said. Then he walked a short distance away where a large, rounded boulder was embedded in the ground. "And this is the monster camp. And you can be the princess."

"I'm a knight," Aurora said quickly.

Shyamal considered the options. "I'll be a... Monster."

[Darastrix]

Autumn giggled quietly at the thought of her brother as a monster. He was too sweet and too cute. Nicest monster in the world, she thought.


"I'll be a knight, too," Sunlight said, stepping closer to his cousin. They were sure to win on the same team!

[Kender Bard]

Aurora flashed Sunlight a smile, thinking much the same thing.

"Well it's only fitting if I'm a knight too," Moss said.

In the end, with a bit of ordering about from Moss, they managed to get somewhat even teams (there were still more knights than monsters) and everyone went to their respective place.

"I'll guard your back," Aurora promised Sunlight.

In the monster camp, Shyamal was grinning at his sister. "If we win," he said, reaching out to tickle her, "then I get to eat you in a stew. Rawr!"

[Darastrix]

"And I'll watch yours," Sunlight said. He looked toward the "monsters." "What d'you think we should do? Jump right in and fight our way through?"


Autumn squealed and jumped back a couple of steps from Shyamal, wrapping her arms around herself. "Sunny and 'Rora will save me," she declared. "Then I'll help them make you into a rug!" She darted forward to tickle him back before jumping away again.

[Kender Bard]

Shyamal laughed loudly and darted away. "I'd make an ugly rug. Do you really want to look at this all day?" he told her, pulling his mouth wide with his fingertips, crossing his eyes and sticking out his tongue.


"No," Aurora said, glancing at their peers. Most of them looked ready to race at the given word. "Let them charge in first. We'll either go around the side or slip through the middle."

"Go!" Moss declared and both monsters and knights ran forward to begin chasing each other around in the center of the field.

[Darastrix]

Sunlight held back with Aurora, watching the two groups rushing each other. "I think we should go around the side," he said. "There's too much in the middle."


Autumn bounced lightly on her feet, waving her arms at the knights. "Help me, save me, help me!"

[Kender Bard]

Shyamal was sticking close to Aurora; he also wasn't eager to jump right in the middle of things and figured someone should be guarding the 'prey.'


"Right," Aurora agreed and began making a wide loop around the right side. They managed to pass oblivious (although one child started to come after them, stopping after seeing Sunlight and suddenly becoming interested in another knight.) "Heh heh. It's just Shyamal. Want me to distract him while you grab Autumn?"