Welcome to Gaia! ::

River smiled at the others. "He's been with our family since Ninako was a little girl," she explained. "He takes care of us, and he keeps an eye on us when we're away from our families, and he lets our family members know if something is happening, or if we're in danger or something like that. He doesn't come here often, but when he's needed he always shows up."

"It is," River agreed. "Especially since he always comes back to us after his rebirths."

She climbed down from the bench. "Come on, let's go see what else is going on," she urged the others.

When she saw Miyuki with her plate, River remembered that hers was on the ground, and she knelt to pick it up and put it away with Miyuki's. As she looked around, she saw that there was a swimming race getting underway, and that her great-grandfather was coming around the corner of the house, a grin on his face.

River wondered briefly what was up before she called to Naida and Miyuki, "I think the swimming race is starting! Do you want to watch?"

River squawked as Naida grabbed her and dragged her off, but she soon got her feet under her and started running to keep up. This was something - she Naida was more excited for this than River had been for the archery tournament!

There were no benches by the river, so they simply joined the crowds at the riverside. One of the fighters from the ranch was leading this competition, and he was standing on a log in the middle of the river, arms outstretched, while the contestants stood on the dock, waiting for their signal to jump.

The finish line was several hundred yards downstream, near the bath house, and there were two more fighters there to take note of who would win the race.

There were also four others who were venturing to compete in the race, each of them fighters from the ranch. The others knew Feng and Ryu too well.

"On the mark!" shouted the elf who was directing the race. "Set! Go!"

He thrust his arms down on the go, and in a moment the racers were off.

For the rest of the racers, the path of least resistance meant keeping themselves as much as possible above the water, but even so not a single one of them could swim as fast as either Feng or Ryu. The best that any of them could hope for was a third place.

Still, all of them swam their best, pushing themselves as fast as they could go. They would do their best, even in impossible odds.

The moment Ryu first reached the finish line, one of the elves that were there raised his hand and shouted, "The winner!"

There were cheers and claps, and River grinned at Naida. "See? I told you it would be one of them!"

The prize was awarded, and the girls spent the rest of the day watching one competition or another. At one point Ulrich invited them to see the surprise he had prepared. Behind his and Ulani's house was a large playground, reminiscent of the one from Amon Darthir, with climbing and slides and monkey bars and ropes and everything a child could want in a playground.

Towards the end of the day, though, everyone was getting tired, and people began drifting back to their homes to rest for the night. There was no meal prepared for dinner - with all of the food at the celebration, there hadn't been a need for it - and while most people ended up going to bed, those who would be leaving on their trip prepared for it instead.