[ORP - PLOT] The Faunies, Welcomed to Laisidhiel

[Fea Line]

Luna turned to see her sister, nodding her head in thanks as she came to her side. "Thank you sister." She listened to the strange creature talk about losing his home and how his queen was attacked. It seemed to her that they weren't really that different beneath. But she was still on guard as he was. He wasn't the only one with people to protect. "Your apologies are much appreciated.... Captain Turin." Yet another strange name. She paused a moment, the words not easily flowing off her tongue. "I am Princess Luna and this is my sister, Princess Celestia. Back home in Equestria, we ruled side by side, one over the day." she said and gestured to her sister. "And one to the night." she said, pride still glimmering in her eyes as she gestured to herself. "I think we can speak for all of us when i say we are not here to bring trouble." she said and shifted her wings, if anything, in a manner to try to show that they were harmless. Fighting was not on their agenda, just... a new home.


Cadence had watched from the sidelines, glancing to Faroth when he seemed to appear in a flash. She smiled at him before bringing herself to the front line to stand next to her aunts. She gave the same warm smile to Turin before glancing to the two sisters as if to ask permission to speak something she felt Luna had failed to say. Something she felt needed to be said. "Captain Turin, I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, though many call me Cadence. I just wanted to thank you for your understanding and allowing us to rest here on the beach." she said with a nod before bowing her head and taking a step back so as to not intrude. Though she was a Princess, if mostly to the crystal ponies, she did not want to step on hooves nor try to do the job of Celestia and Luna. Right now she felt calm spirits and minds were going to get everyone their rest faster than conflicts.  

[Mutilated Moogle]

Gypsy followed the others to the beach, after having a est from her ordeal she decided that she had to tell their guide but that could wait a little till she had seen what was going on down there.

Upon reaching the shore line she noticed...fish? Talking fish...? Alright, so they wern't exactly fish but either way she was curious about them, they looked rather interesting, she settled down and watched the scene before her.  

[Twitchapher the 3rd]

Midnight Strike had been hoovering around the odd strangers as their Princesses spoke to them..Huh..Fish? He called himself a Naiad...And they had lost their home too? Maybe they had more in common that she could have thought. She landed behind her princesses and prince, bow to them as she moved forward and smiled to him, putting her hands behind her back to show she had no malice intentions despite being a winged one. "Perhaps you would like to join us, Captain, for a meal? If there are no arguments..." She looked to Faroth who seemed to be keeping his distance before smiling back to Turin. "We've never seen anything like your kind and I'm sure a few of the ponies would love you hear some of your tales as you have traveled like we have." Her tail flicked slightly. "I'm sure our gatherers will have plenty of food with leftovers. A few more mouths to feed among our numbers wouldn't be any trouble. "  

[DaemonGabrielle]

Thunderlane made sure that Fluttershy returned to the group unharmed. Afterwards, he flew through the group, stopping briefly to check on his fellow faunies, grab a bite to eat, and chat. Then, still munching on his fruit, he wandered up to the front and took his spot behind Midnight Strike.

"Wha' I mith?" he asked, mouth full of berries.  

[Teigra]

Two Princesses, ruling during different times of day? How...odd. Though, the Captain had to remind himself, he was sure that many of the Naiad traditions would seem strange among these beings as well. Like...princesses as acting rulers rather than queens.

A third female, similar in form to the first, but colored, well...much like himself, joined the group, introducing herself with a name he couldn't hope to remember on the first try. Thank the Waters for the second option of a shorter name that she'd given. He offered her a bow as well, inclining his head politely, "If I may also address you as such, Princess Cadence...as stated, you are welcome to rest here, though the beach be not ours. Still, you have nothing to fear from the waters while you rest here." As long as they proved no threat to the waters, of course.

The Captain kept any outward reactions subtle, though he was properly startled when one of the flying ones without horns landed nearby, shortly joined by a second. There really were a lot of these beings, weren't there? He kept his instinct to guard himself and his troops subdued, though so many of these creatures crowding around could be considered concerning for more nervous types. He trusted his troops though, and the Queen trusted his son and this new woman as hunters in training, so...that would do for him.

The invitation came as a bit of a surprise though. They called themselves 'ponies' then? Interesting. He'd never considered himself an ambassador or emissary of any sort, but it seemed that was the role he was to play today. "I'd not take food from the mouths of those who are hungry and weary from travel," he said graciously, continuing with, "But, we will partake of your hospitality for a bit. Perhaps some time to sit and commune, to learn a bit about one another?"
 

[Seruta]

Shicala

It reassured him to hear Mo had not in fact gone unaware of the missing acorns. He certainly could not fault the male for the lapse in memory, there was so much that had happened over the course of time. Even now with all he had to do with his tasks he kept his eyes open for the acorns as he patrolled the land.

Gulliver watched all that Mo did to create his telescope, it was in fact a good bit of knowledge to have, and he would remember it for the future. He followed the male near the cliff keeping an eye open as he always did for anything that he needed to be aware of, any dangers that could be a harm to him or his kindred. Gulliver looked out over the landscape not seeing a lot below them of much interest, at least until Mo spoke up "What is it brother? What do you see with your creation?" he looked up the tree towards Mo and as a second thought he too scaled the tree stopping just below Mo and turning to look out over the landscape once more.

Mo was stumped...

With a clearly puzzled and stumped expression, Mo lowered the "spyglass" and continued to stare off into the distance a moment.

"Do we know of any sort of creature that can produce Rainbows and Lightning from trees?" he asked, clearly baffled beyond all reason. He quickly offered the "spyglass" to Gulliver before a reply could be made. "Have a look! On the other side of the lake, over the treetops..."

((*This is a continuation from an RP taking place long before the group reaches Laisidhiel.*))

 

[Seruta]

Seruta

((*This is a continuation from an RP taking place long before the group reaches Laisidhiel.*))

Shicala

Gulliver reached up to where he held the 'spyglass' and took it from him, he looked it over then looked through it in the direction Mo had "No I'm not familiar with any creature which does that, not even one" he had a concerned frown on his face as he watched the sight. After a few minutes of observation tot he sight he lowered the spyglass and looked down towards the foliage below, then up towards the faun above him. "This may need to be investigated, for all our safety"

Mo nodded with his own concern. How the heck was he to bring this up to the Chief?!

"Well, you've already sent some scouts ahead." he started then reluctantly began his descent from the tree. He wanted to look through his "spyglass" some more, but he also needed to get back to Laisidhiel and report to Chief Rais of his findings thus far...

"All we can do now is wait and tell Chief Rais what we've seen. You have capable fauns on your team, brother. I have faith in them. One scouting group should be enough for now until we talk to Chief Rais. We'll let him decide if another team should follow."

His hooves hit dirt and he sighed happily. He loved nature and - having lived in a tree for some time now - enjoyed climbing trees, but nothing beat the feeling of dirt beneath one's hooves.

"You should probably alert the rest of the Rangers of the situation. Let them know to not be alarmed, but to be on alert regardless. If Vanya's words are true, then we have nothing to fear, but that doesn't mean we can just..." he sighed, knowing full well that Gulliver knew what he meant. "Just... remember to tell your men to keep it hushed for now. Those in Laisidhiel are already buzzing about something coming, but I don't want fear rising in their spirits as well."  

[Daisicle]

Teigra

Smiling softly, Celestia turned to watch the others' curiosity, glad they were feeling more of themselves than they had before. She gestured away from the water and towards where the others waited with an arm, her wings folded against her back. Warmly she addressed him directly, assuming he would in turn give the orders to those behind him if they were to join as well, "It would be our pleasure to do so, Sir Turin. After you?"  

[Teigra]

Turin inclined his head politely towards Celestia. "Thank you. Allow me to have a word with my men, then I shall be along shortly to join you." He bowed briefly, then took a few steps back towards the water, gesturing to Itsaso and Anatolio. "Send a short message back to the temple of what has transpired thus far. It seems I'm to be a diplomat for the evening. You're welcome to go, or stay and send word back through one of the other scouts. I'll leave it to you both to make your own decisions." With a swift, business-like nod to the pair, he turned to rejoin the royal figures back on the sands.

Lots of Pae talking down by the water! And some of them looked different; they had fins like fishies instead of hooves. Well, not that he had hooves either, but they were more familiar to the little faun's eyes. Fins and scales were not; therefore, they were exciting and new and needed to be seen up close. Leaving the Ponies behind, the faun child went scrambling over the sands towards the brightly colored man who was closest.

Bounding over on light paws, the child bounced to a stop, grinning up at the Naiad Captain, tail swishing happily behind him. "Hi!"

Faroth had been trying to keep his distance to allow the Ponies to handle their own diplomacy without outside interference, but as the fuzzy little faun 'pup' went dashing by, he groaned and nearly smacked himself in the head. So much for keeping a low profile. Thanks, kid.

With no other choice present, since he couldn't just leave him be, Faroth moved to step in and 'save' the Naiad Captain from an over-exuberant, fuzzy child. "Ranuin!" He hid a somewhat-satisfied feeling when the child jumped and turned to look sheepishly over his shoulder. "Leave the man alone, would you?" He stepped over, easily sweeping the child into his arms to rest on his hip. He turned an apologetic look to the Captain...Turin, was it? "So sorry to bother you. My son," he chuckled and shrugged by way of explanation.

To be quite honest, Turin had been momentarily perplexed by the small, fuzzy child at first. Faun were definitely furrier than most other land Pae, he recalled, but didn't they normally have hooves? And short tails? Well...it wasn't that strange, he supposed. Not from the point of a water-dweller. The boy's father was quick to step in, reaffirming in words what Turin had assumed already. Rather than bothered, he was actually a bit amused. With a wry smile, he pointed back over his shoulder at the brightly-colored male Naiad he'd been speaking to moments before. "Mine."

The two fathers shared a look, then seemed to visibly relax. "So, I notice neither of you seem to be one of these...Ponies, I believe they called themselves?"

Faroth shook his head. "Nope. Just an ordinary Faun from Laisidhiel. Nothin' special." He glanced back up the beach, starting to walk in that direction once more, the Naiad Captain keeping pace. "I was out here with Ranuin, happened to run into these folks. They seemed a bit lost, though, I got the idea they were heading for the Tree." He glanced back at the other male. "They meant what they said. We're just here to rest for the night, then we'll be on our way."

Turin weighed the Faun's words, then nodded, sensing no falsehood. "Of course. And my word holds as well; you will be safe with the waters at your backs this night. Forgive our earlier wariness, but these are troubled times of late."

"No kiddin'," Faroth responded without a thought for such proper speech, then chuckled awkwardly at himself. "Sorry. Like I said, just a normal Faun. I sorta' suck at all this 'proper royal' protocol stuff."

Turin found himself relaxing a bit more at the Faun's simple, honest nature. "No worries, friend," he found himself saying. "It's not all it's made out to be, really. Well, best not keep the princesses waiting, but...I suppose we ought to at least know one another's names. Turin," he offered simply, no titles, just holding out his hand to the other.

The grey dappled Faun smiled, shifting his son to one arm, to free the other to take the Naiad's offered hand with a firm grip. "Faroth. And this is Ranuin. Err, also, if you see a wolf running about with my coloring, her name's Raina." He chuckled at the bewildered expression he got in response and nodded up the beach. "Lets join the party."  

[Teigra]

((As this RP has lingered much longer than originally intended, we're going to skip ahead a bit, so that we can cover the important RP information related to the Ponies arrival at the Tree. I apologize if anyone was wanting to continue here, but as there hadn't been any activity in a while, I assumed we were all ready to move on.))

-----

The Naiad Captain spent some time with the Ponies that evening. While not going into much detail, he related the story of how the Aernyn's home had been destroyed when the Isle crashed into the sea, and upon arriving to investigate the Isle, they had discovered that their Queen was the reborn Queen of all the Naiads. They had been separated long ago from the Isle, and created their own society in the ocean, but now, they'd found their home back on the Isle with their long-lost kin.

After hearing the Ponies' story in kind as well as exchanging some small talk, the Naiad Captain and his company had excused themselves for the night with best wishes to the traveling company that they remain safe on their trip to the Great Tree. They left, reporting back to the Queen with the details of their discovery.

The rest of the night beside the lake passed peacefully. In the morning, the caravan packed up their belongings, and led by Faroth, continued on their journey towards the Great Tree. Even though it was visible on the horizon, it was still far enough that they had to camp out two more nights in the forest along the way. On the third day, they finally reached the bridge that connected the main Isle to the land where Laisidhiel rose over the land like a mountain.

-----

The Faun Chieftain stood at the base of Laisidhiel, his eyes turned towards the path that led to the bridge connecting them to the Isle. Both his mother, and the seer, Vanya, had assured them that the new arrivals would be here today. The preparations had been made for the feast, but it would be up to Rais to explain to them who they were, and to welcome them officially to their home. Yet...he did not know the whole story either. He'd been filled in that some of the lost acorns were making their way back home...but how many? What had happened to them exactly? That much, he could not say. He only knew that his brethren were returning home.

As the traveling party came into sight, however, the Chieftain was momentarily taken aback. There were...so many... Glancing up at the Great Tree in concern, he took a moment to worry; was Laisidhiel prepared to house them all?
 

[Mutilated Moogle]

Gypsy carried on with her fellow Fauny and walked towards the tree, looking around her she smirked a little, it may not be her caravan back home but it will do and to think of all the unsuspecting fools Faun she can scam from, this place will be PERFECT for her! It may not allow her to travel but at least it will allow her to see what she can and can't do and if she doesn't like how things run here she will move on but first she will see what this place has to offer.

Lotus stuck close by to her sister as they traveled to the Great Tree and hoped, silently, they could talk to the leader in allowing them to open their own health spa here, she knew it was a long shot but her sister and herself wanted to work and the only thing she was great at was making potions and masks and the like and treating others to them, she didn't want to give up her job doing that when it brought so much joy to others so she just hoped their new leader would let them.  

[Daisicle]

Celestia, walking at the front of the pack with her sister and their guide, smiled softly as the tree grew closer and closer. Finally... Finally! They would be arriving! Looking to her sister, she said with enthusiasm, "I believe we near our arrival," before looking back to the tree. This had to be it; its calling just grew stronger and stronger with each step closer.

Turning to the fauny closest to her, Twinkleshine squee'd and grabbed their hands, jumping up and down for a moment. "Look how close it is! Can you believe it! I knew the princesses wouldn't let us down!" Grinning at them for a moment, she let their hands go as she stared happily at her new home.  

[Dementia Requiem Asumi]

Belvah approached Rais quietly. He had been worried, she could see it in his posture. Her soft hand slid onto his arm, trying to reassure him.

"Rais, dear.." The silvery gray female smiled. It was long past time for the missing faun to have made their way home. There were more than she had expected, by a lot. All the more reason for her husband to be stressed.

She smiled to herself. The tree would be very busy for quite some time. For the better hopefully.

"You should relax. At least a little. What good will it do if you were to greet the new comers while stressed?"

 

[Fea Line]

They were finally reaching the tree. Luna looked up at the grand tree before her with a mixture of relief and much discontent still for having to have left their homes and all they knew. This land was proving to be so different and still she felt a bit of uneasiness. But Celestia seemed brighter than ever, and so Luna did her best to share that hope. "I believe you are right sister. Our travels will soon be at an end." she said, finding a bit of confidence in her words.


Cadence smiled brightly as the tree grew closer in the distance. She walked back aways from Celestia and Luna, her arms linked with Shining Armor's. She could just make out the slowly growing figures of someone standing in welcome and a grey female by his side. Were these the faun's leaders? They already looked regal by their posture, much as Celestia did in her palace. "What do you suppose their leaders are like?" Cadence said to Shining, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.