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By the time Leshya'e had finished dressing for the event, and gathering what she thought might be needed, many more gypsies had arrived. She stepped out of Varekai and closed the door, then walked back to where she had been previously seated. She smiled as she watched some of her friends dancing. Lifting up her tambourine, she called out to Caroline and shook it, smiling and laughing slightly. She then put it down and picked up her drum, moving closer to the fire, hammering down a firm beat with the heel of her hands.

Although she had strolled quite a ways from the wagon circle, Anezka could still hear all the merry-making. She glanced back and then down at her hands. "I...I suppose I can stop searching for a bit...I ought to get back before Shy worries." She slipped her tri-rune into it's secret pocket and jogged back to the circle.

Veshengo sat some ways from the circle, resting on the steps of Valelldia's wagon. All the goings on had caused the normally somber and subdued man to feel happy and uplifted, almost to the point of smiling. He glanced around at all the newcomers and, for the first time, considered the possibility of introducing himself.

"ahh haff mno ireah whu oo arr talkinn abooo" Zak wiped his arm across his face after spraying the food gypsy with crumbs "uhh, so where did ya' uhh, where are you from?" Zak asked in an attempt to salvage his dignity.
Rana seeing an opportunity or distraction snagged a basket of buns and removed it delicately clasped in her teeth from the table to chow down on underneath with guilty snorks and snuffles at the butter saturated baked goods.

"It certainly is good food grandmother." Tamlin said in between bites in response to the old woman who had commented at her. "I have no complaints about the fare you spread. M'names Tamlin Sorcha, grandmother, what bring you to our caravan? Unless I'm mistaken I've not seen you 'round before."

Alais in the meantime had already established that the food from this wagon tasted as good as it smelled, she had sampled everything of course. She now hopped off of the ladies shoulder where she had been taking inventory of the table. The shiny glint of fire on the silverware was enticing and she jumped gracefully upon the table and wound her way over to the pile and began examining a fork that took her fancy.

"oh dear, I hope you counted your table settings. The little fluffball over there is Alais, she seems to have adopted me for now." Tamlin laughed as she saw the little 'coon inspecting the silver, "Don't worry to much, I'll bring back your stuff should she make off with it."

Baptiste nods at the other drummer and smiles. He jerks his head in a "come over here" sort of gesture. "C'mere so we can hear you!" He continues his quick, light, danceable beat.

Caroline laughs and slaps hands with Leshya'e. "Welcome, sister!"

Rojiza watches everyone. She'd tried the dancing thing as a child, but she doesn't have much in the way of rhythm. She keeps a close eye on Solas, and after the dog deserts him, she picks him up and situates him back in her lap.

Solas claps his little hands with the music, laughing at his mother and her friends dancing, delighted in all the sounds and colors.

Valelldia had watched the arival and interactions of her wanders with a smile on her face. Though the Meij had more bad things to say than good, the band of gypsies in front of her had weathered the last year rather well. There were even new friends and family amoung them and several of the children had grown into themselves more. It filled her heart with joy to see them as such, and helped her keep a good attitude for what would surely come.

"Brothers and Sisters! Welcome to the newest of our members, and welcome to the oldest... welcome to all of you in between." She grinned at them all. "Welcome to fortu, welcome to banya, welcome to young, and welcome to old." She took a few steps into the midst of them, closed her eyes, listening to the meij around them. It had a few messages, some good, some bad... and she could feel someone approaching the firelight, scared and unsure. It would be a short while before the woman came close enough to address, and until then she would keep the party going.

With a wave of her slender tanned hands, the fire roared upwards into the now dark sky, tipped with blues and purples, and as those died away, the tips of the flames went green. "We have a long journey ahead of us. The Meij continue to press their insistance that we all travel north again, and I have the highest confidence in our ability to do so. I have consulted the magics around us, and as those of you who are more in tune to such matters... it is more likely for us to have good fortune in northernly travels." Her face became solemn as she addressed them all now. "It is true that the fortunes on the wind lately have been full of dark meanings and warnings, but fear not my family, for a warning is a way to avoid the dangers... and avoid them we shall."

She turned to the fire once again and stood as if she were confronting it, not moving an inch, but rather standing firm and strong against it. As she did so, the fire calmed and melted back into something more pleasant and celebrational. Returning her attention to the fortu and gypsies involved with a grin, she let her hands wander into her pockets, from which she pulled short round strands of coloured beads. The neckalces were small and simple, one colour bead to a strand.

Val smiled and strode towards the first gypsy she saw... Leshya'e... and drapped four strands of beads in seemingly random colours around the woman's neck. Then she turned to Caroline standing next to her and repeated the gesture... then to Ro, and then to Tamlin and Zak... she draped a necklace around the neck of Rana the dog, and smiled warmly to Mekah as four more necklaces found their mark around the gypsy's neck. It seemed an impossible number of trinkets to fit in the dark haired woman's pockets, but every time she dipped her hand in more necklaces emerged wrapped up into her fingers for a brief moment only, before becoming the newest of adornments on a caravaner's neck.

Val continued around the circle making sure that each person and Fortu old enough to understand got four necklaces each. To each fortu smaller than a child, or still in animal form, Val awarded one necklace...

When each member had four (or one) necklace, she pulled one last one out of her pocket. There were red bead neckalces around the necks of some of the people around the fire, but no necklace before this one had been this colour... the last necklace, which Val placed around her own neck, was blood red. With a sad and knowing smile, Val addressed the troupe again.

"Aquaintences... friends... lovers... husbands... wives... mothers... fathers... siblings, brothers, sisters, daughters, sons.... family. We are all a family. That is the most important thing you can remember as a gypsy. the whole world is full of wandering souls lost, each one destined to a certain place... you are all destined here. Whether it makes you happy or not, that means that you're all family here, and tonight during the newest of our wagon ordering ceremonies, I challenge you all to remember that. I ask now that you share your 'gifts' with your family members... take what I have given you and give it again... know that I consider you all my family, and show your brothers and sisters here around a shared fire that you think the same of them as I think of you... then take what you've recieved and give it again... and again and again as the mood strikes."

She turned suddenly, feeling the presence of the other soul, the woman too scared to come to the fire... not close enough to see, but close enough to hear... soon.

"Family... is the only way we're all going to get through whatever it is that lies ahead." then she turned and made herself busy tending the fire quickly...

((The colours of necklaces you recieved are up to you, please feel free to give them to other members as you see fit.... Val will come to you personally if she has something for your character ))

Rana disliked the thing on her neck it had that itchy scritchy sparky feeling to it and it messed up her fur and she wanted it off. Now. she nuzzled hard against the bunny girl who was the person nearest to her and looked imploringly up please take it off me Rana's brown doggy eyes shone with pathos, puhleassssseeee? she thought.

Zak fiddled with the four necklaces around his neck as the glazed ceramic beads shone in the light of the fire. brown that shone to a darker black, green speckled with lighter green, acidic pink, and a pure bold cobalt blue. good thing I'm supposed to give them back, dunno what I'd do with a strand of woman's jewels like this. he took them off his neck and held them in one hand looking around the fire.

" Uhh, we may have gotten off to a bad start" he said to the disconcerting snack-gypsey who kept calling everyone cousin "so I suppose I might owe yah these?" he handed her the dancing spring green beads.

Almost thankful for the shoulder tap's distraction, Zak turned before the food-gypsy could offer him any beads in return. he didn't really want beads, all rudeness aside. he turned around and looked up, it was the tallish quiet girl who seemed to be attempting to hide behind her own shadow despite the baby on her hip and flamboyant bluebird on her shoulder.

"oh hi" Zak gave a little wave and walked a half step backwards, narrowly missing the table of food. just talk! be cool! he thought "uhh that's a" there was a slight pause while brain over wrote what it's eyes told it "a cute kid, 'izzit yours?" Zak asked

"ahh he's your baby brother?" he frowned they didn't look a whole lot alike and the kid was around a year old and he'd never been seen by Zak before I suppose the old stories about gypsies stealing children were truethought Zak frowning a bit but I guess he looks happy so who cares? aside from his vengeful parents/aunts/uncles/and endless streams of varrying degrees of cousin?, perhaps that was the reason that the caravan was set to leave the island so soon

Zak snapped back to reality "oh no, no thank you, I don't need beads" he said throwing up a hand "I figured I'd just give these to Ki and these to your Ma for picking me up and for uhh keeping me here" got no way else besides working to pay my stupid rent he thumbed past the dark brown and the pink strands in his left hand. then Zak slipped the blue off onto his right hand

"but I guess I could give you these though" Zak said proffering the blue strand of beads to the tall girl.