Welcome to Gaia! ::

STEP RIGHT UP LADIES AND GENTLYMEN! It's the show you've all been waiting for, right here on my very own stage, taking place right here in your very own forest, using, who else, but your very own selves! That's right everyone, it's AMELIA'S AMAZING TRUNK OF PURE AMAZINGNESS! This trunk has been in the making for years, and you won't find a trunk more amazing, stuffed with more amazing things... you get my drift? Good! I knew you were all smart little beasts!

So here's the deal kiddies, Come and see the show, sit in the audience and watch until your eyes pop out with delight! There's antics and puppet shows and a chance for you to be on stage! That's right little missus and little mistahs, you could be my next assistants if you want to be... Just ask Amelia here, I mean, sure she's my niece and all (adopted of course me lovelies), but she used to be a plain little mouse, just the same way that you're a plain little hog, or you're a plain little bird. Then one day she says to me, "Uncle Bale, tell me how I too can be amazing!" and I told her that all she needed was a piece of apparel.

THAT'S RIGHT KIDDOS! Apparel! And Amelia's trunk here is just choc full of it all. So STEP RIGHT UP! Step on up here and get a paw in that trunk! Pull out whatever costumery you feel suits you best, sahalap 'er on yer little selves and have a seat here on one of these benches. The show will begin shortly!



(( Here's the deal. Bring your kid to Amelia's show (both Amelia and Bale are here) and help yourself to a costume of your choice from Amelia's trunk. Describe it well, because if you make it through to the end of the rps, you will get to keep your costume piece. ^_^ Have fun!))

Another market day, and as usual Mossflower was a bustle of exciting activity. The little ferret trotted down the rows of creatures vending this and that, stopping to admire the colorful things that often attract youngsters. Life was good. As usual, Lir had let him go off on his own for a while after helping set up their own area and sell a few things. Lir was cool like that, he didn't mind if Zander went off and explored on his own a little. The little ferret liked it a lot, and he did his best to keep out of trouble.

Zander heard the barking for the show almost right away. He'd seen the colorful rabbit once or twice around Mossflower, and he had always wanted to see what the colorful fellow was about. As he heard the hullaboo and saw the gradually growing crowd of kids, he hurried over to take a look, hitching his satchel further up on his shoulder, a small beat up mandolin strapped to his back. Wow! A chance to join the show! This was just too good an opportunity to pass up, so Zander carefully forged his way through the wandering beasts and up to the stage, grinning with delight. "We can pick anything from the trunk?" he asked, maybe just a -bit- shy.

He looked into the trunk, and was swept away by something he saw almost immediately. It was a cape and a matching half-mask, like something you might wear to a costume party. The cape was a deep blue on the back, and covered in shiny silver stars of varying sizes and the inside with trimmed with shimmering silver fabric. It reached down to about his tail, the perfect length, long enough to swoosh around, but not so long that it would drag or trip him up. The mask was just as neat, covering his nose and one eye. It was that same dark blue, with wild black and white feathers glued to the edge of the face, and some silvery stars here and there on the mask itself. "Wow! This is awesome!" he cried, and let out a giddy laugh as he tried it on.

Finn ran through Mossflower while his guardian was off being boring and trying on shoes. He darted around, looking to see if anything interesting was happening- maybe some merchant was giving free samples, or two people were having a bugfight with some beetles. But nothing caught his ear quite like the familiar voice of Bale the rabbit, one of the forest's most famous performers. He'd seen Bale's shows before here in Mossflower, and they'd always been good. But a show that he could be in? That sounded fantastic! He quickly moseyed over to where Bale and a young mouse were touting the costume bits in a giant trunk. That was all the encouragement the little squirrel needed. He dove right in, admiring the pieces that other kids had found.

What was best in this trunk for him? A really cool hunter green vest with silver bits embroidered on it- ooh, that was neat! And then a fantastic silvery cloak that looked as if it was meant to go with the vest- yes, that would be nice, too. But... something was missing. Digging past hats, skirts, scarves, ties, dresses, and jackets, he looked for the piece that would complete his costume. He was developing a character in his head, a dramatic villain who flounced around, but it would be no good if he didn't have the right costumery...

And then there it was.

A glorious fake moustache. What was this even doing in a girl's dressup trunk? It was a sandy brown color and looked as though it was made of real hair. Creepy... but kind of cool. It had a little clip that secured it right under his nose and the back was slightly gummy to help it move with his speech. Clearly this was the greatest advancement in disguise that there had ever been. He pressed it to his face and grinned. Stomping around, he gave an experimental villainous laugh. This moustache needed to be his. The rest of his ensemble was wonderful, too, but there was just something about the moustache that made it the best thing ever. It completed him. Turning to a nearby ferret, he practiced making faces that put the focus on his new facial hair. "Oi, how do I look?" he asked.

At that moment, Finn stopped caring about the little ferret's opinion. His villainous heart leaped in his chest- not that he'd ever admit that, mind you- as a familiar flash of red fur came into view. As his brother fitted some plaid fabric around himself, Finn got a running start. "Tuck!" he shouted, tacking the be-kilted squirrel. He hadn't expected to get to see one of his brothers so soon! "I shoulda known you'd pick a skirt. Where ya been, Tuck?"

Rhys wasn't really sure why he had come with Trix on her visit to Mossflower. It could have been a great day (well a day) at home alone with out the annoying little mouse bothering him all day. He had come up with a few reasons, like Trix was stupid and she was liable to get eaten if she went on his own and he didn't want to lose his brand new minion, but he was probably just trying to make himself feel better. The point was he was here now.

Trix had wanted to come just to look around. She hadn't seen much when she was here last, only the orphanage and what she saw on her way out. She had heard about the market and other stuff that went on in the city and she had wanted to see it as part of her epic quest to see the world. It was Trix who heard the cries about the 'amazing trunk of pure amazingness!' and how could she not want to go and take a look? It was pure amazingness!

"Rhys, Rhys, over there!" she squeaked with delight as she grabbed on of his paws and tugged on it. "Let's go look!"

The squirrel let out a sigh. The direction she was pointing in was crowded with a bunch of people, not really his kind of thing, but he nodded anyways. It was easier to agree than to disagree because she would whine and get loud and generally annoying.

Trix squeaked again and scampered over to the chest that all the others were looking through. It was brilliant, so much stuff. Brightly coloured skirts, and hats, things that shone and had feathers, she had never seen something quite so incredible. She couldn't decide what to grab, every time she thought she had decided, she saw something else that she thought she was incredible. Finally her eyes fell on a black band. It seemed to sparkle a little in the light and it might not have been anything special if it weren't for the large orange feather that was attached to it. She had never seen anything like it before and she snatched it up for herself. It took some trying to figure out how it would best be worn until she decided that the black band would go around her head in such a way that the feather would stick up in the air just in front of one of her ears.

Rhys followed behind and while he watched his little, uh, friend, look through the trunk, he decided that he too would take a look. A lot of the stuff looked stupid, really stupid, Like what Trix had found for example. Something caught his eye though. It was a bandana, with a black, white and bright blue pattern on it. It was well worn, a little rough around the edges and had some strings hanging off of it. He picked it up and tied it around his neck, it was a little big on him, bunching funny and covering part of his face, not to mention the brightness of the blue, but he liked it none the less.

It was as Rhys was adjusting the bandana so that it would sit better that he heard the familiar voice from near by. His ears perked up as he looked around quickly trying to find the source. Could it be? Was it really...? Then he found it, not far away, one squirrel tackling another. It was! He ran quickly over to where his brothers were and jumped on adding to the pile. "Tuck! Finn! You both look like idiots!"

Tuck was so distracted by making sure that his kilt was just perfect that he hadn't realized that there was someone familiar in the group. He had only a moment's warning of his name being shouted before a brown blur collided with him. "Oof!!" The squirrel fell backwards, grinning as he recognized his attacker.

"Finn!!" He thumped his brother on the shoulder. "It's not a skirt!" Well, it wasn't, right? It was a long piece of fabric you wrapped around you. Skirts were already together like pants... right? He had no time for anything else as another form collided with him.

"We're the idiots? You're the one covering your face!" Tuck retorted, grinning even more at his other brother. The trio was reunited! Onlookers beware!!!

The shouts and clamor associated with it had captured the attention of a small blue wren within hearing distance. He was quick to investigate such an interesting occurrence, and not just for childlike curiosity. Oh no, where there were creatures and goings-on...there could be shinies. To be more specific, shinies that might soon become his.

Much like the shiny coin he'd snatched from the poor mouse's hat the night he'd made his escape from the orphanage, Tarke had been slowly, but surely, working on expanding his collection of shinies. His mostly-ill-gotten goods were stored away in his secret hiding place that he'd staked claim to for himself in Fangroot, but he ventured out to new areas from time to time to search for more, sometimes wearing his treasures, like the coin he looped around his neck.

Yes, totally for that reason, not because he was worried about anyone he'd stolen from tracking him down for hunting in the same areas again, no.

Today though, he wore nothing, leaving his treasures at home in the hope that he would find so many lovelies, that he'd need space to carry them all home. Yes! And as he neared the crowd, close enough now to make out what was being said, his heart soared even higher. They were giving things away? Really? It sounded too good to be true...but he wasn't about to let that stop him!

He worked his way into the group, ignoring the other creatures for the most part as all his senses were centered on the treasure chest of goodies in the center. Would he get lucky? Surely, there had to be something good in there!

As he neared, he thought less and less rationally, paying less attention to those around him. All that mattered was the chest, and what possibly lay within. Once close enough, he hopped up and practically dived beak-first into the trunk, like an osprey going fishing. He shoved the bits of thread and cloth around, that's not what he wanted...he wanted shinies, lots of shinies! They were here, he knew it...somewhere!

Aha!

Snatching the shiny bit in his beak, he flapped and scrambled backwards to haul himself and his prize out of the trunk. From his beak hung a small silver chain, or more like a series of them, each with tiny silver discs, something like coins, hanging from them. He had no idea what the object was supposed to be, but eagerly wrapped the chain around his neck, letting the loops dangle loosely. The silver coins glinted brightly against his chest feathers, and he turned this way and that, admiring himself for the grand spectacle that he knew he must be.

((*giggles* I totally pictured him finding something like a belly dancer's chain, like this or this, but then trying to wear it around his neck instead. XD ))

Rose slowly edged her head around the tree bark. Her red eyes calmly took in the crowd of children swarming the colorful rabbit promising a show. Rose remained where she was, like a ghost blending into the browns of the forest. She was mildly interested in the commotion, but not interested at all in the mass of animals that was involved in the event. She lurked on the sidelines, reluctant to come forward. She didn't need people, she didn't need colorful clothes, she just needed the Great Tree. It was the one that had all the magic and all the power and looked over the forest... how could people compare to that? They couldn't that was the whole point of the the Great Tree being all powerful.

Rose took this thought and wrapped it around herself like a comforting shawl. She clawed her tiny paws through her fur, as if simply being within sight of the crowd had messed it up and she had to correct it. That's right, she didn't need other children she didn't need a stupid rabbit or stupid clothes. She glanced up one last time to look at the trunks and the children, just as a gust of wind blew by and ruffled up a few pieces of fabric within the trunk. A thin piece of partially see through fabric, drifted up in the wind.

Pretty... Rose thought practically entranced.

She stuck a few furry fingers into her mouth, sucking on them and she cautiously and quickly trotted out from the tree. She slipped around and between the other children easily due to her small size, though she stumbled several times due to her own child-like clumsiness. When she stumbled to a stop at the edge of the trunk she reached a paw in and pulled out the piece she had seen.

It was a veil, well, a piece of semi-translucent fabric that was sewn into a stretchy band embroidered with fading flowers. It was obviously used, the edges of the veil were tattered and full of holes. It looked a bit ratty, but to Rose the shear and shimmering fabric and fading flowers looked beautiful. She slid the veil onto her head, pressing it past her ears and around her forehead. Her right eye actually peered through a hole in the tattered veil, but in the other half the world was thrown into a hazy cloud of white behind the veil. Rose smiled.

The veil covered Rose's face just past her nose, she felt invisible behind it, and even her siblings would have trouble recognizing her. She stood silently in the middle of the group of children, not approaching any of them and simply watching. She stuck her paw in her mouth again and began sucking.