Welcome to Gaia! ::

Styx's big eyes lidded slightly as she considered his words, putting her full attention to picturing and processing what he'd said. Even something simple, like this, was more difficult to do in public, especially when she considered how many peoples' eyes on her....

She nodded decisively as the crux of his answer finally pierced the anxious fog in her brain.

Oh! Of course. If they lived in hiding in one elven city, bloodlines needed to be carefully-curated, otherwise, there could be terrible consequences. She nodded gravely, considering this for a moment, before finally realizing that she was sitting quiet in front of one of the microphones.

She finished with a "That makes sense. Thank you," and stepped back, letting someone else have their bit. It was good to know, at least, that the infertile among the Sluagh's numbers weren't unable to have children.

Icarus had been completely mystified by Daedalus’ sudden and straight-shooting speech. He knew Daedalus well, and had been wondering when the lunar cherub would finally speak up. He did not disappoint.

Icarus took a page out of Daedalus’ book to absorb the words that followed – from the crowd, and from Cillian. A cultural exchange might prove to be an invaluable experience, and with the promise of a Naga party and with such a wonderful geist offering their assistance, it seemed hard to find reasons to argue against it.

The naga and the geist were not the only ones to volunteer. It seemed as if most of the voices that had spoken up before were now offering their times, their homes, their ways to the sluagh and cherubs. Hmmmn … it … certainly left an entirely different taste in his mouth – one far sweeter than the previous flavour he had experienced after his foot-in-mouth comment.

Icarus almost felt … moved.

Tears welled up in his eyes, raising clasped hands just under his chin and the cherub breathed in deeply, as if inhale some sort of delicious aroma. ”Yes, I think a cultural exchange is a grand idea! I would love a chance to see more of the cultures here, if the Academy approves with our shadowing!”

The cherub’s eyes watered for an entirely different reason as somebody made the grave mistake of mentioning food. Icarus sniffed. ”S-snacks … ?’

Now his mind couldn’t focus on anything else. He was absolutely ravenous! Icarus really wanted to talk about the solar courting rituals. It was a great question that had been asked, and honestly, courting was Icarus’ favourite thing to do when growing up. But the hunger was causing his stomach to grumble and growl, almost loud enough for the microphone to pick it up. Thankfully it wasn’t quite loud enough, else Icarus might have died from embarrassment!

Ooh! Food. Food was a great topic, with so many right answers. What to suggest, though? What would they like, what would curry favour with the three of them? It had been a while since Chaesh had attended the academy, and they didn't have the fondest memories of the food available there.

Chaesh grinned as a spark hit them, leaning forward into their pace as they walked towards the mike decisively, making someone else stop lest he bump into them. "There's a festival going on outside. You should look around and get all the fried foods and candies while they're available– they're a limited-time thing!"


Nepsah

Styx had finally calmed down now that the idea of an exchange of students had been brought up, thinking of a few people that would like to do such a thing. Now she was back to her emotionless expression, letting out a sigh before speaking again ", There are plenty of places to go and eat, and like it has already been said there is a festival going on at which has lots of food."

There was one thing that still bugged her about all this though, their world seemed to be flogged with limited freedoms in the name of safety and security. Limits that as of right now in this world were not needed. War was over, so why continue? Was it fear of something new? Whatever it was, she knew now wasn't the time to ask. That and she had classes to get to soon.

Zoey had been standing toward the back of the auditorium and watching the Q&A session. She was very interested in meeting these new individuals that had traveled so far in the name of those stones who had been awakened in Below and were their's. This was starting to look like it could be similar to what had happened with the Grimm all those years ago. She was worried those kids that had found homes would be taken away, especially when the conversation took a little turn for the worst.

It was understandable, this came at a rather shakey time for Below. They had just avoided one disaster and everyone was on edge. Everyone was sensitive, but Zoey could understand the laws these Cherub had in place. They were to be respected, she could understand that despite having a very diverse family herself.

Things had settled down a bit now and it was mentioned that an exchange program could work well to possibly interrogate themselves into a new culture. The idea of going to Elysium and teaching a Dance class sounded like an amazing idea. It finally felt like the right time for her to speak up.

"An exchange sounds like a wonderful idea. My name is Zoey, and I'm a teacher here at the Academy. I would love to have you all in my class, if it's something you would like. It would be fun to go to your city, Elysium and teach as well. Maybe even have one or your teachers in my class? It would be just a wonderful learning experience for my children. I love teaching them all different aspects of Dance." Zoey was definitely passionate about her students.


nepsah


Embi-lamb


Cerl Temius

It seemed that the large-handed Sluagh wasn't particularly concerned with food at the moment, and that was ok. But Sesha did worry about these strangers. They all appeared so tired and worn, but he wouldn't force anyone to eat, of course. He was about to put the basket of snacks away when Icarus seemed to brighten. Wait... were his eyes watering? Sesha's large ears twitched upwards a little. "Ah... Yes..." He hesitated before slithering up to the stage, mindful of toes, tails, and freshlings. He held up the basket. "I made snacks, and you... are more then welcome to have them." Should he get up on the stage to hand them to the poor cherub? Well, why not? He looked uncertain, his multi-eyes looking side to side before he hefted himself onto the stage and handed Icarus the basket. "Please enjoy." He said hurriedly before starting to slinking away.

With all the commotion, Odessa had retreated to her seat again, very nervous about everything that was going on. When things did finally settle down again, she did return to the mic, looking up at the ambassadors. "I, honestly, would love to visit your city, if that would be allowed. I think the exchange is a great idea!" She tried her best to reign in her excitement over the whole thing, but even with her normally quiet demeanor it was easy to hear in her voice.

To the other thing that was said, Odessa actually smiled, seeming even more excited at the prospect. "I do love to cook! I would love to make you guys a proper meal after you've had some snacks to tie you over." She noted that a Hallowed Naga had already offered them some treats and was sure they'd partake of them with the way they were seeming so hungry. "If you'd like, that is? Otherwise, I do work at a really great restaurant that I could point you to." She wasn't the head chef there, but she was definitely working her way up quickly through the ranks.