Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Uh uh," Caleigh said as she took the yellow apple with its' kelly-green spots on it before she marched up to Rais, waiting her turn. There was another female in front of her that was explaining about the shield and the protectiveness of it. "Quite cool," she said, beaming before it was her turn to step up. "Um, hi, your lord?" the female offered unsure.

"I was not quite sure if I should intrude or not, but do you know apples are known to be mystical. If you are talent, you can use one to see the initial of your future love," the spotted hyena said, beginning to smile widely once again. "I see you really like how that girl looks. The one with the long mane?" she suggested. "Her name is Belvah. She's really nice and tries to keep her nails clean. Very pretty voice. She wants to give you this apple," she said, holding the big yellow apple with its' kelly-green spots on it out to Rais, looking hopeful.

Artemis glanced around the meeting hall, watching the developments, even noting some of her companions paying attention to the imposing figure on the dais. She had to admit, she wasn't entirely surprised, given that even she herself could feel some pull that had brought them all to this place, apparently at the whim of this male at the center of everyone's attention. The pull on her companions must be strong indeed. Ah well, even if the call came from the male with the staff, Artemis had to admit, she'd felt no animosity towards her companions in the area, and the Tree itself, well...'impressive' was too weak a word. It seemed a nice enough place, and she couldn't deny her companions the right to explore a bit. Afterall, they were free to come and go as they liked...until now, they'd just liked traveling with her instead.

Saddening as it might be, she was starting to wonder if she might have to leave some of her little ones here. Though, she supposed they weren't really all that little anymore, not really. They weren't her children in the typical sense of the word, not by blood. But they might as well be, in spirit. She'd gathered them and watched over them, raising them as her own, protecting them as they grew...but every mother one day has to say goodbye to her children as they strike out on their own. Just have to make sure that they always know they're welcome to return home.

Smiling a bit at the thought, she decided to move on for now. "You'll have to excuse me, dear," she said to Amadorine, patting her arm lightly. "It was a pleasure to meet you, but I must keep moving. Perhaps we'll talk again before this is all over." With that, she slipped away into the crowd as the young woman headed towards the dais instead. Her wild companions had dispersed throughout the room, yet somehow she seemed to be able to track the positions of each of them at once. She moved through the crowd like a hunter, gracefully, with ease, so when she brushed shoulders or hands here and there, the gesture was purposeful. To some, it was a reassuring touch, meant to comfort those who seemed anxious, and to others who seemed only eager or excited, a simple acknowledgement and passing greeting.

As she passed a pair of females, their conversation caught her attention, and her ear twiched lightly in amusement. Ah, silly girls. Though, just because she chose not to take part in such silly endeavors, she couldn't deny them their fun. She watched the spotted one head off for the stage and predicting her plans, the deity allowed herself a chuckle. Such silly games. Leaning in to speak to the grey and white female, she offered a passing comment. "Just remember, girls. Behind every important man is a wise woman telling him what to do." With a wink and a chuckle, she nodded to the blushing lady and moved on her way.

((Ok peeps, Seda needs to talk. LOL Any takers?))

Seda watched more faun pick items. She was still unsure on weather she was one of these reborn brothers...well she was a girl after all. She really couldn't be a brother.

Seda some females flirting with the Chieftain, how bold! She could never do that. She wandered near them and the pretty glowing female. She looked at pile of items still curious.

Standing was probably a good idea. Might help him see a bit better. With a small murmur of thanks, Vangelis accepted the hand offered, bringing himself to his feet. He was a bit shorter than the other, a bit younger than he was, but he still had a rather good view of him. Where did he come from? For that matter, how did Vangelis even get himself here? He never spent much time at the tree--he never wanted to spend much time at the tree--but he could recall feeling like he absolutely had to come to this place. Did this man feel like he absolutely had to come here, too?

Well, the tree was full of people. It was likely that he was just a tree-dwelling faun and didn't have to go very far like Vangelis had. Still, the answer the new faun gave did not explain much. 'Council?' Was this some thing the tree-dwelling faun knew a lot about? Vangelis certainly did not, and the word simply caused him to look at the faun beside him with knit brows and a rather perplexed expression. 'Council?' He knew a council could be a ruling body, or a group of people who performed the actions of counseling others. He needed neither of those. He managed fine with his circle of people he knew. So why was he here, then?

Vangelis turned his attention back into the tree, unable to help the way he cringed and scooted himself just a bit closer to the taller faun beside him at the sight of the milling crowd in front of him. From what he could see, there were various faun approaching the two more elaborately decorated faun, one with vines across her body and the other who looked vaguely familiar. Was that... Rais? Texas said Vangelis had met Rais when he was very young, and had tried to describe the chief of the faun to his son before. Rais, at least, looked like the man from the descriptions he heard.

So what did a council have to do with offering Rais various gifts and... describing them? Was that what they were going? From this distance and with the cacophony of various noises, even Vangelis' well-used ears had trouble picking up much of anything that anyone was saying. Still, some were making wild noises and gestures with items, then leaving them with the chief or... taking them away? These faun made no sense. Were they making offerings or were they just describing items?

Either way, despite the pull to go try it himself, whatever it was, he, in an intellectual sense, found all of this a bit nonsense, and chose to ignore the pull instead. Plus, he refused to go near there. Not with all those people. He would stay out here. Still, he would like to have some idea of what was going on in there...

"You'll have to forgive me; I don't live here." With another pause, he pursed his lips as if pondering over what he needed to say, before gesturing towards the dais where Rais and the faun were gathering. "I do not know what this 'Council' business is, nor what anyone is doing."

Maybe this tree-dwelling faun would be willing to break things down? Of course, if this was a typical event in Laisidhiel, what on Telrunya was he doing out here?

Alistair would make a great Grand Geomancer!

As far as Alistair was concerned, he had no business throwing himself into this “council” deal. It was obvious that this was something important to these fauns, something almost sacred. What did he know about any of it? He was an outsider. What did he know of their stories? Their ways? He’d grown up on a different island entirely! His parents were business types and he was the product of a rather pampered lifestyle, thanks to their success. He may have had high ambitions but none had involved such a position as this council had called for. He was an entertainer, a singer...not a brave warrior or wise scholar.

Still, he felt compelled to approach the table. Ever since he’d arrived at his great tree city, he’d felt an energy he’d never experienced before. Almost like an electric current that flowed through him. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling but it made him restless, moved him forward, and filled him with wonder and exhilaration.

He came to a sudden stop, though, frowning. It wasn’t nerves that stopped him, however. Nor was it the crowd of fauns or Rais. He was just fine with large crowds and people who were considered to be of high standing rarely ruffled his feathers. No. It was how to present himself to this faun ruler and his rather imposing mother. He’d been around enough to know that some races had their own nuances, small actions they considered rude. Alistair was used to performing to the social standards of polite society on the island but what about here? He most certainly didn’t want to start off on the wrong hoof, especially if he wanted to stay and learn more about his race and their culture.

Hmmm. Well, Rais, from Alistair had seen of him, didn’t seem like the type to take offense easily nor did he seem the type to commanded a lot of fan fair. He could wing it. After all, good manners, at their core, were universal weren’t they?

Stepping up to the table, he turned to face Rais, smiling. “Hello, nice to meet you…” he gave the faun chief a curt nod, before turning to face the table again. There, not so hard!

Now, about selecting this item. Chocolate eyes flicked over the table, appraising each trinket. Some were impressive, some weren’t. Ranking anywhere from fine, elaborate pieces of weaponry to simple clods of dirt. He’d always considered himself a faun of good taste. “Good” of course, depending on who you asked. Some would say his taste was…gaudy.

However, part of him felt that what he was looking for was less grandiose than what he would normally like. And there it was! He knew it, he didn’t know how he knew, he simply just did. It was a vine, worn and gnarled, covered in several thorns, all ranging from large and intimidating to mere pointed stubs. Gingerly he plucked up the vine, about half as long as him, and wound it carefully, letting it fall comfortably in his hands.

Turning back to Rais, he held it up slightly, about chest level. “I...choose these thorns because they represent protection through offense to me…” he grinned, confident in his bravado. “Natures own form of offense. They can be found on delicate flowers and mighty trees. Numerous, well hidden at times and of varying sizes fit for all different kinds of creatures who would pray on a plant” Yes, the thorns certainly were inspiring, weren’t they? Having them in his hands only increased his spirit.

“An unsuspecting creature could stumble into them and easily be injured by several of them, as often you’re sure to be injured by more than one. They can embed themselves in skin, they can rip flesh if one were to struggle hard enough. Often times being covered in dirt, they can cause infection to a wound. Why, some can even be poisonous and even deadly if one were to find themselves unfortunate enough to be stuck by a great many of the poisonous types all at once" he went on, shifting the thorns in his hands now, feeling the weight and rough texture of the vine, pleasant yet having so much potential to cause discomfort.

“They’re sleek and elegant in appearance and attached to the plant they are bound to protect. They won’t go down unless the plant dose, protecting their mother plant is their sole purpose," he couldn't help but chuckle at himself, at how enraptured he had become with the vine and it's many pointed guardians, "any that would wish harm to the plant would certainly be very surprised and unhappy if they dismissed them as a simple obstacle to overcome, yet to others their appearance would indicate a clear message to stay away from the plants they protect and even more would think twice about harming other plants in possession of their own thorns, after a run in with them.”

He smiled, looking down at the vine, shifting it in his hands carefully again. “Even now, I’m afraid of handling them too roughly for fear of being stuck and I mean them no harm!” he laughed, giving the vine one last look over before turning and setting it carefully back on the table, in clear sight so no other fauns would happen to hurt themselves on them “they’re certainly not something to be taken lightly, despite their size.”

Clearing his throat, he turned to face Rais again. “Thank you!” he gave the chief faun and his mother a quick bow and stepped down and into the crowd of fauns. That had most certainly been exhilarating! The vine of thorns had felt…almost powerful in his hands, natural, even. They had managed to stave of his feeling of alienation somewhat, like he'd seen a familiar face among the crowd of strangers. Council member or not, he’d certainly have to stick around and learn more about his home land!