Solo or RP Format Counts as 5 RP growth Points Solo word minimum is 750, RP post minimum is 7
Tis the season for gift giving, a sense of celebration as the year comes to an end. You get all the gifts you expect, and give some out as well. However, a strange, unmarked gift has arrived. You have no idea who sent it, or what it might be. Is it something from an admirer, or possibly a bit more sinister?
[ Your character receives an unexpected gift. Feel free to answer this prompt exploring the thoughts around such thing, the suspicion or confusion, maybe even resolving it with finding out who the gift giver was. Maybe it's someone you know, but it's a surprise. Maybe it's a mistake. The only way to find out is to open the present. ]
Being in the hub of Belrean activity had stirred something inside of Siel which had been curiously dormant these past few years. He was a happy man with no regrets, but admittedly there were aspects of life he didn't feel comfortable sharing with his children. When they were grown he would show them the beauty of any given cities night life, but for now they were best kept at home, safe in their beds with full stomachs and fuller hearts.
If his sister hadn't so graciously 'volunteered' to watch the kids for the night he would have been back with them, waiting until the last little one konked out for the night before having some time to bond with Quiana. As it stood he'd been able to grab a room at an inn - close enough that if Lutana needed help they could easily get there - but also far enough away that it was just the two of them.
It was a time of celebration; of family togetherness and love. And as Siel walked along the chilled streets, with their lanterns so bright and cheery, he felt it.
Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 12:46 pm
[Sabra via Discord]
Before exploring the world and finding Siel, Quiana would have never expected to see herself casually walking down the city streets like this. Yet she didn't feel awkward in the bustling Belrean area, and rather the Elidae thrived in it. She loved the attention that her unique features gave her, the woman sashaying her hips and leaning closer against Siel after playfully grinning towards Belreans that took a double-take when the foreign pair waltzed through the street. "Do we have directions this time or do we wander until we can't wander any more?" She teased Siel, the Elidae's green gaze bright as she looked around and appreciated the beauty of the paved streets with the warmth of the lantern lights cascading around them. The taller buildings didn't even intimidate her any more, if anything she liked to peek up to see if anyone was looking towards them from above so that she could boldly grin at them as well. Perhaps she had a bit too much energy after taking a night off from the children, the Elidae adoring their little family but also thankful that Lutana was around to help give them some time together without needing to chase another youngling through the streets before they dove into the nearby stream or anything like that.
There still was a bit of an adjustment though, Quiana tucking her shawl closer around her shoulders as the chilly Belrean air swept through the city streets. She was just thankful that she also had a companion that she could press against, the Elidae relying on Siel's warmth as she wandered next to him with a soft hum escaping her throat.
Painted Moose
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Painted Moose
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Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2025 12:54 pm
[2]
"I heard a few women on the street yesterday talking about a light display by the waterfront. Something about black powder and magic? It sounded exciting." At least from the way they described it. Their eyes were practically glowing when they found out he hadn't seen last years show and while it would have been nice to bring the children, he selfishly wanted to watch it with just Quiana instead.
Siel tightened his hold on the Elidae and tucked her as close to him as possible; maybe a little too close, since their easy pace was now a goofy saunter. He may have been tall by earthling standards thanks to his own Aishan bloodline, but not compared to his lady love. Not that it mattered; they were lovingly mismatched and yet perfectly fitted.
"They'll have vendors with food and little stalls, but the main event happens after dark." And, being Siel, he couldn't help the grin that followed. Main event indeed.
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 9:42 am
[Sabra via Discord]
"A light display? Do they create rainbows or bring out the stars early?" Quiana pondered what all that entailed, the curiosity making her even more eager to check. "Surely it must be stunning if so others are talking about it with so much excitement." She purred, the smile not leaving her lips as she managed to keep her pace with Siel as if they were doing some sort of unique dance while moving down the paved streets. She didn't mind leaning on him, not when it could lessen her height some especially now that she was sporting heeled Belrean boots with her layered skirts swishing around her legs from the slits that she had cut into the cream colored material much to the dismay of the shopkeeper. It was far too stifling to have so many layers and not leave room for movement, even she couldn't ignore that feeling as an Aishan despite veering so far from the attitudes of her more battle hardened sisters. At least she had left the sleeves on the top, the material off shoulder but still covering her arms to help protect from the evening chill.
Quiana's hip bumped against Siel lightly as she laughed. "Is that so? But what about the lights?" She teased as she started to notice that there were indeed more people starting to wander in the direction of the waterfront that her partner had mentioned. "Ah, unless you meant the lights are the main event. I suppose that makes more sense if it's a special occassion and not something we can do at any time." At least when they used to be able to play around without worrying about smaller beings in their same household interrupting. The thought brought another laugh to her lips as she pointed towards what appeared to be the first row of stalls. "If they have games set up then we should win a prize or maybe just settle for food first?" She was curious though what type of games the Belreans enjoyed. Would they be too difficult and not worth the effort or could it be something that she could easily earn a victory with?
Painted Moose
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Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 9:55 am
"Just because we have the night off doesn't mean we have to sleep." Siel grinned ruefully. Honestly just a night of mischief, whether it was in a bedroom or not, sounded like a such a treat. A little snippet of time just for the two of them.
"Definitely a game or two before food. A glorious victory will just make anything I eat taste better." He waved a hand in the air, as if that were the most obvious thing. Siel had gone to a few Belrean festivals with his nephews, mostly his broodier one to get him out of the flat, but enough so that he'd picked up on the rhythm of games. Was it an unfair advantage? Possibly.
Did he care? Absolutely not.
There were a few smaller games which were primarily meant for children and a few more difficult ones. Tossing a ball into a tilted barrel, darts, some activities for magic users with raising water and an archery stand. That one he knew he'd never stand a chance at. "What about the barrels? Or darts?"
Posted: Mon Jan 20, 2025 8:55 pm
[Sabra via Discord]
"Even if sleep is a luxury now?" Teased Quiana even though she was very much invested in the idea of playing around for an entire night with Siel, something that was rare for them now that children were in the mix. She had always adored naps even before becoming a mother and the idea of just lounging about in a bed full of pillows was still an ideal afternoon for the Elidae. It just happened to conflict with her curiosity of the Belrean cities which made adventuring a worthwhile investment of her energy despite Quiana's preference for lazy afternoons.
"Is that so?" Quiana let out a soft laugh as she agreed with Siel's decision. "So I can rely upon you for some prizes tonight? Though I'm not certain anything can already beat that prize that you currently have in your arms." She pressed in closer, the Elidae basically purring the words as she placed a light kiss along his jawline before pulling back to avoid risking a tumble along the path. "I've never seen a game with barrels before. Could we try that one?" She offered, interest making her gaze gleam in the lamplight. "And I do suppose that I could make some effort and participate in archery, if you would like that."
"Madam, I am a connoisseur of degenerate activities. Street games are just gambling for family events so I can absolutely guarantee you a prize." Why, he and Morain had practically grown up sneaking out onto the docks at night in Matori, shooting dice with some of the grown folk his fathers had very much warned them away from. In hindsight it had been incredibly stupid and risky, but who hadn't done a poorly thought out thing or two in their youth?
He only broke away from her when they reached the barrels and a gnarled, lanky sort of Lightning uncrossed his legs from where he was leaning against the podium. His smile was genuine, even if a few of the teeth were missing and after Siel handed over the proper amount of coin he handed over the 'weaponry'; three solid, heavy balls.
"Get yer ball in any of the barrels and win a prize. Get the one in the middle-" Which was the smallest by far, "-and win the big one."
Siel wasn't even sure what the big one was but he knew he wanted it. All he had to do was get the toss right and snag it; simple, right? "The first one's always a miss," He said over his shoulder to Quiana, "so you can judge how they'll go." And predictably, he missed, narrowly avoiding hitting the attendants foot.
But then the second missed too; this time skimming the rim before falling to the wayside. With his confidence chipping away bit by bit, Siel concentrated on his final toss before having the ball fall in...only to slide right back out.
"Seriously?!"
"Sorry sir, lucks not with ya tonight."
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 10:57 am
[Sabra via Discord]
Oh my. Quiana sucked in her bottom lip as she watched Siel tossing the balls towards the barrels. "Seems like the barrels are a bit trickier tonight." She finally acknowledged with a light shrug. "Could it be sabotage? Maybe." Her green gaze slid over the display, the assortment of wooden toys and larger plush ones that were up for grabs along with some trinkets and smaller jewelry pieces as prizes. "I don't mind if you want to try again since that was just a warm up round, get them to lower their guard while you get the right swing of things." She commented even though her lip twitched slightly as she held back a smile to try to appear more serious, Quiana not wanting to embarrass Siel as she played along with him. It was endearing how he was trying and she didn't want to ruin his confidence. So she looked to the vendor and held out more coin. "We're ready for round two." But as she waited for the vendor to retrieve the balls another younger Belrean ran up to them with flushed cheeks and held out a satchel bag.
"Miss, miss! There's packages in here as well for another coin!"
Blinking in surprise, Quiana looked towards Siel before looking back to the child. "Is that so?" She asked the girl, her antenna twitching as she studied the satchel and tried to see what was inside.
"Yes, yes! You're a lucky winner, I'm 'sposed to pick out people to deliver too and so I can give ya one if ya want."
"Why not?" Quiana grinned as she flipped a coin to the child and took out a wrapped box for herself. "Is it strange to pick out gifts like this? I do enjoy a surprise though....oh, look the balls are here." The Elidae nodded towards the vendor who was holding out the balls and looking between the couple with the child bouncing on her feet as she waited with the satchel bag at the ready just in case. "We're still going to play, right? Do you want a mystery gift too, Siel?"
Painted Moose
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Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 11:06 am
[5]
Siel had already started to roll up his cuffed sleeves when the younger Belrean approached. For a moment he wasn't sure if it was some kind of trick or a diversion to get some more coin from them, but one look at the vendor knocked the thought away. The man looked just as curious as they were.
He slowly lowered his arm, one sleeve rolled and cuffed while the other was still buttoned at the wrist. The hybrid watched Quiana first, making sure there wasn't anything in the satchel to snap at her, before shrugging. "Might as well. Maybe it's part of the event?" Siel offered up a coin and dug down through the satchel before bringing up a box for himself. "And yeah, we'll still play. I still have a prize to win, remember? I just...What do you think are in these?"
Anyone with a shrewder mind might have worried over potentially targeting foreigners. Siel, however, was just hoping it was something cool like a new earring or something tasty.
Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 12:04 pm
[Sabra via Discord]
"Maybe?" Quiana mused before her smile returned. "If that's the case then this really is a fun festival."
"I call 'em strange gifts since you never know what's inside or who prepared 'em!" The girl chirped with excitement as she pocketed her coins and thanked both Siel and Quiana. "I hope ya enjoy! Happy festivities!" And before Quiana had even a chance to question things once more the little Belrean was darting through the crowd with her satchel bag bouncing around her petite body as she went to find her next chosen winners who could buy presents from the mystery bag.
The Elidae simply stared for a moment before a laugh burst from her lips. "That was....pretty cute." She admitted after she calmed down and glanced towards Siel. "I suppose we'll find out soon enough. I do hope it's something that we can keep as a memory for tonight. If not I'm sure there will be other memorable events." That little coy expression crossed her face again as she nodded towards the barrels and the ever patient, if not slightly confused vendor. "As it is I think you have a prize to win, right?" More motivation for Siel to conquer this and win something since now they had a mystery box each with each second making Quiana more curious about what was inside.
"Right?" Siel couldn't help chuckling. "She probably tricked us and there's just a wad of spit in here or a stick." Which would be one of the lesser 'pranks' he could think of. Still, it didn't keep him from grinning as he lifted the box and gave it a little shake. Something was definitely inside; but what?
"Yeah yeah, we haven't forgotten about you." He turned to he vendor and flashed a winning smile, perhaps a little too theatrical though if the eyeroll had anything to say about it. "Go ahead and open yours, love. It might be little mittens to keep your antennae warm. Like socks." He lifted an imaginary antennae near his chin and mimed the act of putting on 'socks' before reaching for the balls.
Three more balls and three more failures. He was getting progressively more frustrated so that was definitely playing a part in all of it, but seriously?! Why were they just leaping back out every. single. time?!
"Do you think so?" Quiana quirked a brow before peeking closer at her box. Was it simply a prank? But then again they took so much time and effort to wrap up the box like the other Belrean gifts with their colored paper that had ribbons twisted across it. She could only shake her head at the idea of little socks for her antenna, as amusing as the thought was Quiana could only imagine how frustrating it would be to try to keep something like that on her antenna and from bothering them. They were simply too sensitive as Siel should well know. She peeked towards him, shaking her head once more before opening the box and promptly closing it with a slight flush across her cheeks. How amusing! "I think we'll save that one for later when I can show it off properly." She proposed, holding it out for Siel and hoping it could serve as a distraction while she went to grab balls to toss. Would those tiny pieces of silk that were properly arranged be enough of a distraction though if he could just use his imagination for how she could look in it later? But even more so...how did a child get a wrapped piece of lingerie like for a gift? Someone must have been picking out obvious couples for these prizes...or some friends would be having an awkward conversation later if they shared gifts. The very thought brought another laugh from her lips as she gently bumped a hip against Siel before she raised her hand to toss the first ball.
Thwack. It echoed around the inside of the barrel before staying put and Quiana shrugged as she peeked back towards Siel. "I played a trick on some Sisters once. We tilted the bottom of the training target just ever so slightly which made the balls bounce out and frustrated others." She looked pointedly towards the vendor before tossing a ball like normal, the ball bouncing out like others that Siel had tossed before. "But if you twist your wrist slightly like so you can angle it so that the force isn't as much. Though it must simply be my luck here because surely no good vendor would rig a game, right?" And the third ball went in, the echoing sounds of it rolling around making the vendor flush as Quiana looked to him again. If it wasn't so cold he might even be sweating nervously beneath those layers of clothing as the Elidae studied him, her expression very point on as she fully knew what had happened.
"A-ah, so congrats! How about you pick whatever prize you want? That last hit was dead center so it's obviously a grand winner!"
Mmmhmm. Quiana had a little bit of a sashay to her movements as she walked closer to look at the prizes before waving Siel over, hoping that her other little surprise gift that she had passed to him wasn't that distracting still. "Oh look! What do you think about matching accessories?" There was a pair of bracelets, obviously something that wasn't meant to be easily won, but the intricate and twisted metal sported gemstone beads in colors that reminded Quiana of their children and there was even a dangling gemstone in the center that would press into the other bracelet to make a heart. Was it too cheesy? She held up the pair towards her companion, the bracelets shinning in the evening light as she waited to see how he would respond.
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Painted Moose
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Posted: Tue Jan 21, 2025 2:20 pm
[7]
"Oh yeah?" He tried to keep his tone light, but the flush on his own cheeks wasn't out of shock. It was downright agitation. Or maybe embarrassment? At this point they'd already wasted enough coin to shame him, especially since he saw children at other nearby games winning in similar activities. It made the tips of his ears burn.
So, he forced himself to look away from the vendor toward Quiana and - why did she look like that? What was in that box? He took it as she passed, shifting it in his arms to cover his own and while she stepped up to the game the hybrid lifted the lid - then grinned. What kind of mad lad would have done this? How - why? It was even the perfect color for her too. Making sure she was properly distracted, he poked a finger into the box and lifted the bit of cloth. It looked like it was even Aishan sized so it couldn't be completely random.
He quickly shifted the boxes and opened the lid of his - only to quickly shut it. Oh that...that was positively devious. There was absolutely no way this could have been random, meaning they'd been targeted, but by who? And really...did he care? It wasn't as if the gifts were sinister more just...unexpected.
The thwack of the first ball caught his attention though. He closed the lid to her box, eyes widening as he watched. "Wicked," He murmured, half in shock and half in utter awe. As much as it burned that he wasn't the one to get it in, seeing Quiana figure out the trick so quickly and then easily shame the vendor, all while looking utterly breath taking - "You seriously are the best prize here."
As he walked up to her, he ever so casually handed over his own box, nodding his head toward it as he took up a bracelet instead. It was the sort of matchy couple thing his siblings might have teased him about in his youth, but right now, Siel was happy to take it. "I think they're perfect."
Posted: Wed Jan 22, 2025 8:30 am
Painted Moose
Quiana couldn't hide the bright smile that crossed her lips at Siel's acceptance of her childish request. It wasn't as if she was claiming him because she more than anyone else believed in freedom of the spirit, something she had fought for ever since growing up in such a restrictive area, but it was nice knowing that they had something that connected them. A little memento to show how far they've come since their first meeting...as cheesy as it might seem. It made her want to swing him around in delight, but she settled for kissing him on the spot instead as to try not to attract too much attention. "Do I dare ask what you received from your box?" She murmured as she pulled away from him slightly, the Elidae still pressed close enough to feel the warmth of his body as they moved away from the vendor with their prizes in tow. Though she had the feeling that if they had indeed been targeted on purpose that based on her gift his would also raise some eyebrows from others, Quiana grinning mischievously at the very thought. It wouldn't surprise her if one of Siel's relatives, maybe even his darling sister, had somehow managed to pick them out from the crowd with the mysterious gifts. Not that she minded since it made for even more fun on this remarkable evening that would end with colorful explosions in the skies and possibly more throughout the rest of their date night together.
