LadyAnnaLee

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Ridahne’s suggestion was sound, but Darin found herself saying, “Children.” She smiled as she reclaimed the trinkets, “They can come closer.” She indicated a place just about her chest, “The ones that are this height. Well I suppose that height is a bad indication. So maybe no older than about to start an apprenticeship.” She smiled at Ajoran, “I’m not sure how old that would be. In humans it would about 13, 14, 15.” She smiled, “It still surprises me how much older Ridahne is than me. Just talking to her I would assume she was at most a few years older than me.” She whispered as imparting a deep secret, “I’m only 20.”

That was the end of that conversation as they reached the shore. Darin forced a smile to her face as they disembarked. Her attention was grabbed by the sound of Taja announcing his presence. The hawk circled over the three of them for a moment before coming in. Darin held out her arm and bent her knees to help disperse the momentum his swift dive created. Darin heard the shocked gasps at the bird’s display, but the human didn’t care. Her smile was certainly less forced and more genuine as Taja flapped his wings again. Darin tossed her arm upwards to help him take flight. He circled again before disappearing again. He left a few feathers behind that Darin ignored.

Then she told Ridahne, “Coconut trees. I would like to see them.”

The human followed Ajoran and Ridahne to their destination. She couldn’t do anything about the crowd that was following her, so she took her sister’s advice and ignored them. Darin wanted to see these trees without branches and try her hand at climbing them. Based on how Ridahne had described them she was imagining something similar to spring poles used for dancing back home. She didn’t think that climbing them would be easy, but hopefully her belt would go all the way around. If so, she had a plan. If her belt did not go all the way around, she might be in trouble.

Occasionally a child would make it pass the guard set by Ridahne and Ajoran. Darin took the trinkets as she ruffled hair and laughed with them. A boy with closely shorn hair handed her a grey stone shot though with streaks of white which had what Darin knew was the symbol for Astra on it. A girl that only came up to Darin’s waist handed her a carefully done wood carving of a star. A boy with dark solemn eyes held out a sheet of blue stone so thin that when she held it up to the light, she could almost see though it. Darin was worried about what would happen if she dropped it. A set of near identical girls came with a circle woven out of some sort of leaf that Darin didn’t know. She solemnly knelt to let them place in on her head. It was slightly too big and tilted to one side. Before they could get too upset about it, Darin swept them up. They giggled as she spun them around before running off when she put them down. It was shortly after they left that they stopped before a tree. It was mostly branchless, but the trunk lent towards the ocean. She could see leaves up above and knew what her circlet was made of now.

Knowing she was being watched she made sure to speak only to Ridahne, “I didn’t think you were lying, but I’m not sue I believe that there were trees without branches until this moment.” She hopped around on one foot as she removed her boots, “This may be tricky.”

She exclaimed as she almost tumbled over from the bouncing on one foot. She started to laugh as she regained her balance by suddenly grabbing Ridahne’s arm. Soon, for the second time that day, Darin was barefoot. She removed her belt and tossed it around the trunk. It just reached with just enough space for her to grip the ends. Darin would have liked a little more room, but it would be alright. She started to grin. This may not be bad at all. Tossing the belt up to a little above her head she braced her feet a little way up the trunk and started her climb.

It was not an easy climb. She basically tossed the belt up while resting her weight on the balls of her feet. She would then hop a little further up the trunk. It gave her arms a workout, but if she could push a plow and swing a sickle she could and would do this. Darin slipped once about halfway up and then again towards the top. Each time she had a brief moment of panic. Then she recovered before continuing her adventure. At one point her circle of leaves fell off and she could only hope that someone caught it for her. She wasn’t sure how long it had taken but soon enough she was where the leaves meet the trunk. There were circular fruit Darin could only assume were coconuts.

She called down, “Hey Ridahne!” She carefully readjusted her grip, “How do I tell if the coconuts are ripe and ready for picking?” She careful pressed against the trunk to tie herself to it with the belt as she muttered to herself, “I really should have asked that before coming up here.”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I ended my post there because I'm not really sure what would happen when Darin got off the boat, so I left that for you. You can have them dock and disembark and go wherever you think they need to go next.

Also! HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I'm sending you lots of cheer.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin put up with the formality as much as she could, but when Ridahne stood back up she wrapped her arms around the taller woman’s neck and let out a shriek of laughter. Darin had laughed a lot today, but she felt inclined to do so, especially after the events of this morning. She pulled away from the warrior to look at the now calmer waters. People may not get a full day’s work, but they would get some. Absently reached her hands up to undo the braid that was currently a mess after her dive into the salt water. In fact, she was coated in salt. The human could even taste it on her lips. She almost regretted the bath last night as she wasn’t likely to get one tonight. Ah well, she had survived worse than being coated in salt.

She worked on redoing her braid as she turned her attention back to the docks, “I believe there is more of the market to discover, not to mention the trees without branches, and I suspect there is much gossip and plenty of rumors taking flight in Tasen right about now.” Darin finished tying her hair back, “We should put some of them to rest. I doubt we will be able to do much about all of them though.” She gestured to the docks, “So Captain Rheisun! Please return us to the docks.”

As they journeyed back towards land Darin pulled her boots and leathers back on. On good thing about being The Seed-Bearer was that she didn’t have to wait to dry off. The Sky was more than happy to toss her around and in return she was dry in moments. Darin had to admit that The Sea had a point. It was nice to talk to Astra, to The Sky, The Sea, The Stone, without having to worry about the results of her conversations being spotted. It was nice to see what she was capable of asking for. It was nice to know that she didn’t have to worry about holding back. It was nice to play and to laugh and to have fun with Astra. Still, people have lives and she couldn’t be selfish enough to prevent them from trying to make a living.

The closer they got to the dock the more Darin could spot people either gathering at the water’s edge or watching warily. She wasn’t sure how many people spotted her being thrown out of the ocean or how many had seen the wind slow her descent, but it appeared to be enough that people had managed to figure out which boat she was on. Darin couldn’t see for sure, but she thought she the beginning of a crowd. She didn’t feel uneasy about the crowd, but she did feel apprehensive. The people weren’t hiding anything. She didn’t think the Red Hand was going to take advantage of the crowd to try something. It was just a little more than slightly unsettling to realize that all these people were gathered for her.

Darin found herself taking a step back form the boat’s railing where she had been leaning. She supposed that was the con of having people know that she was The Seed-Bearer. The last time she had been recognized was thanks to an Eluri prophecy and then the Eluri mostly understood that she didn’t want to be known and respect that. The last time she had been lauded in public was at The Farm and there they knew that she was really just one of them. Here? Darin wasn’t sure. Would any of the Azurei even realize what she meant when she said she was just a humble farmer? Was that even really true? How would they react to her once she left the [i]Sun among Rain[i]? Was she allowed to be nervous?

She whispered to Ridahne, “I find myself wanting to tell the captain to just moor his boat here, so I don’t have to deal with the fact that people know what I am.” She looked at her sister with her slight fear plain in her eyes, “What do I do? What do I say? I’m not really just a farmgirl anymore, am I? I am Ri'atal, Hope of Many, and I don’t even know what that means.”

Pixie Hollow at Night! A Disney Fairies RP. (Looking for a co-GM.)

Pixie Hollow, where all four seasons exist side by side, and the Fairies practice in order to prepare to bring the seasons to the mainland. In the Winter Woods Frost Fairies design dazzling blankets of frost while Snow Fairies carve snowflakes and no two are alike. In the Autumn Forests Leaf-Painting Fairies craft the perfect shade for maple leaves while Fast-Flying Fairies gather the fallen leaves into artful piles. In the Summer Glade Light Fairies help create beautiful rainbows and Animal Fairies help magnificent butterflies to fly. In the Spring Meadow Water Fairies practice calming rains and Garden Fairies plant the flowers that will soon bloom. Even in Tinker’s Nook the Tinker Fairies are hard at work invent all sorts of useful things and in the Pixie Dust Tree Dust Keeper Fairies make sure everyone receives their daily supply of Pixie Dust. All day, all across Pixie Hollow, Fairies are hard at work doing what they love to do best.

Then, when the sun begins its descent, when dusk paints the sky a beautiful twilight, and the day-time Fairies take their rest, play at the end of the day, and find their beds, the nocturnal Fairies come out to do their own jobs. There are not as many of them as there are diurnal fairies, but they still eagerly wake to do the jobs only those of their Talents can do properly. Starlight Fairies help the stars dazzle just right. Moonlight Fairies ensure that the moon follows the phases just right. Nocturnal-Animal Fairies teach owls to fly and racoons to scurry. Nocturnal-Garden Fairies prompt moonflowers, evening primrose, and morning glories to bloom at the correct time. Dusk Fairies paint the sky as the sun goes down while Dawn Fairies paint the sky as the sun wakes up. Even Darkness Fairies do their part to ensure that the shadows are were the are meant to be and that the world has time to rest. Flying on near silent wings and dressed in darker shades of blue, purple, grey and black the nocturnal Fairies flit about to give the diurnal Fairies rest that they sorely need. Working together they will do their part to keep Pixie Hollow running smoothly to make sure the seasons come to the Mainland on time.

--

Hello! LadyAnnaLee here! I hope the title and the little summary enough is a decent enough explanation. I figured I would post an interest check to see if there was any interest. A few things, I want to keep this to a small group for now. That being said I have no plot whatsoever! Right now, it’s just the idea of what if there were Nocturnal Fairies in Pixie Hollow. I think it would be a nice slice of life slash sandbox thing. I do know that I would like it to be mostly fluff. I mean it’s based on a series of children’s movies. I would like to keep this role-play PG or G. Drama is fine, but it needs to be problems that are fixable with a guaranteed happy ending. I know people can find it boring so if you aren’t looking for cute fluff with easy drama you might want to look elsewhere.

I have a list of seven Talents that I came up with and since I would like to play a character I am looking for, at most, six other players. I think we could make it work with at least three to four players. One of those would be co-GM to help me come up with basic plot points to help the players have something to work with. I have never GMed before, so I would love having help. The co-GM would get second pick for which Talent they want. I get first pick. I know I’m all kinds of greedy, but I don’t plan to be a main character. If I actually managed to get this role-play to last longer than three months, I might recruit more players with more Talents, but I don’t know yet.

Speaking of Talents, the list of Talents are Starlight, Moonlight, Dawn, Dusk, Nocturnal-Animal, Nocturnal-Garden, and Darkness. I claim Darkness. I have a character in mind that will basically play the role of Queen Clarion in the movies, not a main character, but the one that people report to and get guidance form. Like I said the co-GM would have second pick. I don’t really care what type of character you play, but I don’t need a cast full of emo-angsty Fairies. These are Fairies that love their Talents, love helping create the seasons, and love life and living. They don’t have to be overly cheerful and they can be grouchy most of the time, but just because they are Nocturnal Fairies doesn’t mean they are all gloomy all the time. I hope that makes sense. Other than that I would like it if the Dawn and Dusk Fairies were born of the same laugh, aka siblings, but that is completely up to the players.

As for gender, orientation, and appearance that is completely on you. Fairies are a pretty diverse group even among Talents. That being said, Fairies of the same Talent all dress in the same colors. Garden Fairies wear pink. Tinkers wear green. Animal Fairies were orange. You get the idea. Nocturnal Fairies were dark grey, almost black outfits, with dark purple, dark blue, dark red, or white accents, depending on personal preference and specific Talent. A Starlight Fairy might wear white accents while a Dusk Fairy would pick blue. Their wings glow silver instead of gold and are near silent when they fly. They speak in whispers and even have their own sign language.

I’m not looking for advance players or even people that can post every day. I would like at least 2 to 3 well written paragraphs, or 200-300 words if you are a word count person like me, at least once a week. This is supposed to be fun fluff filled writing and if it’s stressing you out it’s no good. If you can’t get a post one week, but you can tell people what’s up I’m not going to kick you out. If it becomes a habit I might because it wouldn’t be fair to the other players. I would like a group that can communicate and have fun with each other. It shouldn’t be that hard to get a small stable group going, but I’ve never done this before. What do I know? If you are interested in helping me GM or just playing post here in this thread. If I get enough interest, I’ll create a role-playing thread and a character sheet. Just a heads up I have personal issues with discord so I will not be making one for this role-play.

Anyways I look forward to seeing if I can get this to take flight! Talk to you soon!

LadyAnnaLee.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin had been smiling as Ajoran began his answer. Slowly though the smile fell as look that was a cross between concern and contemplation overtook her face. She had heard words like that before. She hadn’t realized that others said them. Well, they hadn’t been exactly the same, but the man’s words reminded her of her mother speaking of Martin. Suddenly, and without really wanting to, Darin remembered why she had Chained Ridahne to The Seed in the first place. She had thought her like Martin, abandoning Ajoran the way he had abandoned Talia. It hadn’t been long after that that Ridahne had decided that she was going to marry the Taja. Yet now, listening to him, Darin couldn’t help but be struck by how much like Talia Ajoran sounded. Still, Ajoran hadn’t given up like the human woman. He seemed sure that Ridahne would always return to him. Was that the difference? Darin wasn’t sure. She didn’t understand the whole love thing. Well, she didn’t understand the romance thing. Love was different. She thought, she wasn’t sure.

That didn’t keep her from letting a small smile grace her fingers as she told Ajoran, “Good.” She softly kissed his cheek, “If she makes you that happy, and I know you make her happy, I suppose I can allow the marriage.” She let go of his arm as she moved away, “Just treat her right.” She turned her attention to where Ridahne was taking to what looked like a captain, “Taja Torzinei! Have you found us a ship?” After receiving confirmation Darin bowed slightly to the captain, “Thank you for lending us your boat Captain Rheisun.” She entered the boat with a slight step as she pointed out towards the mouth of the harbor, “I need to get out that way. If you wouldn’t mind.”

It wasn’t long before the boat was in motion. Darin use the time to take off her boots and roll up her pant legs. She also shrugged her shoulder to convince Taja to take flight. He flew off and was lost to view as he hurried off to look for a snack or mischief on dry land. Darin waved goodbye with a bright smile as she moved to pull of her leathers. She didn’t know if she would be able to have this conversation with just her legs in the water or if The Sea was going to want her dive down deep. Darin believed in conversing with Astra, not just bossing Astra around. There had been Seed-Bearers that had done that in the past. Those Turns of the Cycle didn’t last very long at all. Darin had been given a head start by both The Gardener and The Tree. She wasn’t going to waste it. Her Turn would last a long time, almost as long as the last Gardener, if not longer.

When they got to a good spot Darin happily called out, “Here’s good!” She took in a deep breath as she moved to the edge of the boat, “It’s perfect.” Sitting on the edge she realized that her toes would barely graze the water so she turned to Ridahne with the smile still on her face as she handed her the trinkets from the children for safe keeping, “I’m going to have to dive in Taja Torzinei! I’ll be back soon.” She laughed, “Well as soon as I can.”

With another laugh Darin took in a deep breath as her eyes slipped closed. The Sky knew what was happening and for a moment The Seed-Bearer seemed to be breathing in light instead of air. She exhaled the light before taking an even deeper breath of yet more light. Then Darin pushed off the side of the boat in fell into The Sea. She kicked down a little bit before turning and opening her eyes. The corners of her eyes wrinkled as she smiled without letting her mouth opening and letting all the air our of her lungs. Darin was always amazing by how wonderful the world looked under water. She nodded as she turned back to kicked herself deeper under the waves. When she was at what she felt was an acceptable depth she let The Sea carry her to where It wanted her to be. Then, they started to talk.

It wasn’t a conversation with words. For one thing Darin couldn’t talk with releasing the air, or rather, light, in her lungs. For another it wasn’t like The Sea spoke common. That didn’t mean The Seed-Bear couldn’t ask The Sea what It thought it was doing by being all excitable and keeping people from an honest day’s work. The Sea responded with amusement and asked The Seed-Bearer how she thought It shouldn’t be excited. The Seed-Bearer wasn’t in hiding. Not that hiding was a bad thing. Safety was good. But now The Seed-Bearer was known! This was incredible! It needed to be celebrated! The Seed-Bearer laughed in response. Alight, fine, being excited was understandable, but not at the expense of good people’s living. The Sea had to reluctantly concur, but still wanted to dance and sing. Well, could The Sea at least give The Seed-Bearer some warning next time so she could warn people? Well, that was fair. In fact, The Sea could give her plenty of warning, a day’s worth. At least, but It would get to plan something big! Something grand! Something with The Sky and The Stone. Something that would be talked about and sung about for ages. The Seed-Bearer took a moment to call out to The Sky and The Stone. They were agreement, One more grand moment! They would give The Seed-Bearer a day’s notice. A solem promise. The Seed-Bearer laughed in agreement, but not the day of the wedding. Oh no! Of course, not the day of the wedding! It would before they left Tasen. The Seed-Bearer nodded once. The discussion was concluded just in time. The Sea seemed to pull back for a moment and the human braced herself.

Darin was practically flung out of the water and into the air on a geyser of water. She exhaled with a laugh as the water dropped down, leaving her high enough in the air that the boat that Ridahne was on seemed small. She laughed again as The Sky took over for The Sea. Darin dropped down in a spiral of air that simultaneously dried her off and guided her to the boat. She landed with a gentle thump and a twirl that brought her face to face to with her sister. There was no way that most of Tasen hadn’t seen that stunning display of her exiting the water, but Darin really couldn’t care. She felt so alive. She always did after taking to Astra. That was her job, well, at least an important part.

She smiled at Ridahne before turning back to the Captain, “Thank you Captain. Let’s head back to shore.” She turned back to the warrior, “It’s time to spread the word that it’s safe to sail, at least for now.” She looked up at the sun, “I was under the waves for longer than I thought, “An hour, and we still have so much to do today.” She linked arms with her partner, “Isn’t that right Taja Torzinei?”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Darin reclaimed the stones from Ridahne as she thought about that. It didn’t surprise her that the children knew. Children tended to be better listeners than people gave them credit for, and they certainly listened to The Tree better than adults seemed to. It wasn’t the first time that a child had realized that she was more than she claimed to be. Thankfully that hadn’t led to gifts like it was here. If the gifts kept coming it wouldn’t be long before an adult saw it and bribed the child with a treat or something to tell them why they had given that foreigner a gift. What happened next depended on what the child told them. It might also depend on what happened during her conversation with The Sea.

Now that she was standing by the port proper Darin could see the choppy waves that were keeping some of the sailors in port. She couldn’t blame them. Istaerih’s actions early today were in no way something that The Sea normally did. No one wanted to fall to an early grave when the warning signs had been clear. There were a few ships that looked that they were getting ready to head out. They looked like outsiders or younger Azurei, people who hadn’t had the time to learn the lessons that the older sailors knew by heart. It looked like a few younger sailors were heading the words of their elders. Darin didn’t think anyone would come to harm today but wasn’t sure and the ships preparing to set out were making her nervous.

She did laugh at Ridahne’s definition of nicely, “Yes. I suppose you are right.” She linked arms with Ajoran, “Why don’t you see if you can find someone to ask very nicely? Someone older who will need the business today. Ajoran and I will stay here. It will give me time to see if I want my sister to marry him.” She smiled brightly at the Taja, “It’s a human tradition to toughly examine your siblings’ potential partners. It’s one I did not think I would take part of. I am an only child, but not that I have a sort of sister I plan to interrogate you severely.” She winked at Ridahne, “Don’t worry sister. I won’t scare him off too badly.” Once Ridahne had gone to inquire about boats to rent she turned to Ajoran, “Tell me Taja Teleisun. Do you love Taja Torzinei? And if you do, what are your intentions towards her?”

She had used the title Taja for Ridahne on purpose. If she was to be Astra-Sol then that would make her guardian a Taja, if Darin understood it correctly. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to be Astra-Sol, but to be honest, Hanasha-Sol’s attempts to seduce Ridahne to her side right in front of Darin, did not sit well with Darin. Ridahne was her Seed-Chained. One day, sooner or later, Ridahne would be her Seed-Honored. Yes, that meant that Ridahne would be free to make her own choices again, but her first loyalty would have to be to The Seed, and by extension, The Seed-Bearer. Darin was selfish enough to not want to share with another, especially a woman who smirked at her. It was petty of her and Darin knew that, and her pettiness made her insides squirm uncomfortable, but she didn’t know what else to do about it.

She spoke again, “She won’t be able to stay after the two of you get married. She has a responsibility to The Seed, to see to its safety. You have responsibilities here. Are you okay with her leaving, this time by choice?”

As she was speaking another child came up. Darin accepted the small token with a smile and a ruffle of the boy’s curls. He giggled as he hurried off. This time it looked like a piece of small driftwood that had been carved into a rough heart shape. Darin couldn’t help but run her fingers over the grain smoothed by its time in the ocean. She could see the rough tool marks and could only assume that the child had done the heart himself. Looking up Darin saw a woman who looked older than Ridahne looking at her with question in her eyes. When she realized Darin had caught her looking, she hurried looked away. Well, it seemed that her identity wouldn’t be a mystery for much longer. Darin was surprisingly okay with that.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Thank you.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

I would like Amaiera-Sol to remember Khaltira's name. If that's alright.

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

Well, that hadn’t been what Darin had been planning at all. She certainly hadn’t expected Ridahne’s question to Ajoran or his answer. Had they really forgotten Khaltira? How had they forgotten her name? Had Darin done that? If so, how had she done that. She hadn’t meant to do that. She hadn’t known that she could do that. She honestly just expected the false Sol’s name to be forgotten over the years. She hadn’t expected a grand dismissal from everyone’s mind. Was it everyone’s mind? Or was it just Ridahne’s and Ajoran’s? Was there a way to find out? Darin was biting her lip in worry as her sister came over to hug her. She quickly smoothed all signs of her worry away to accept the hug. When the Azurei pressed their foreheads together Darin actually smiled. She could worry about this strange occurrence later, much later.

She shook her head, “No, I need to speak to Istaerih. The Sea has been rowdy since I got to Azurei.” She cast a look towards the port beyond the market. I need to figure out it It’s just excited I am here or if something else is going on. People have livelihoods, that can’t be meet if The Sea responds to everything I say and do.” She bit her lip in confusion, “I don’t understand it. Usually Istaerih is much better behaved.” She smiled at Ridhane as she linked her arms with her sister, “Come along. Just know that I will probably be distracted as we walk though the market.” She linked her other arm with Ajoran as she turned to him, “It’s a failing of mine, “If something interests me, I just stop and start asking far more questions than I probably should. Ridahne knows this. I have yet to figure out if she’s annoyed by this or not.” She laughed as she tugged them towards the market and the port beyond, “Not that it matters. I do what I want.”

With that being said she let go of both of them to begin her hurry towards the market. Taja let out a screech as he appeared from wherever her had been hiding to take his place on her shoulder. As she got to the market, she realized that people were whispering about what The Sea had been doing this morning. People didn’t look at her beyond noting that she wasn’t Azurei, so despite the rumors that The Seed-Bearer was in Astra, it didn’t seem like people had connected her to that position of power. That was alright. Darin wasn’t going to call attention to herself. She wouldn’t lie when asked about it, but she didn’t want to be suddenly noticed. She found herself flitting when stall to stall to look at the different vendors. She found herself asking the woman selling pottery how she got just that shade of blue. The fishmonger was worried about how the strange storm earlier in the day would affect business. There was a pair with a collection of leather gloves and vest that seemed concerned about it as well. Darin was in the middle of asking the leatherworkers about the stitching on a vest when she felt a tugging on her pant leg. She turned to see a child who was a little taller than her knees.

That was odd, but didn’t stop Darin from crouching down and asking, “Yes?” She made sure to smile, “Can I help you?”

The girl looked at her with awe in her face as she pushed something into Darin’s hand; her voice was barely a whisper, “For you Astra-Sol.”

With that the girl was gone, running into the market, and being lost to sight. Darin back up as she watcher the girl scurry away. Darin wasn’t completely worried. Ridahne had told her how Azurei children would band together to form little gangs and roam while their parents worked. Darin had to assume that it was relatively safe. She took a moment to look at the object she had been given. It was a black stone that Darin didn’t recognize but there was a curling carving in it. It took her a moment to realize that the child had carved a simple expression of a crashing wave. Darin looked back in the direction the girl had run off in as she considered. Once again, she had been called Astra-Sol, by a child no less. Darin wasn’t sure that she wanted that, but she was becoming less sure that she could stop it.

She turned back to the leatherworkers as she pocketed the small treasure, “What does the world Sol mean to you?”

The first one responded immediately, “A woman of honor and power.” If he was caught of guard by the sudden change of conversation, he didn’t let it show, “She is charged with the care and the protection of her people.”

Darin let out a noise of question, “Now, I am an outsider, but didn’t Azurei just have problems with one of their Sols recently.”

The other leatherworker scoffed as the first one turned to spit on the ground, “That woman.” He paused for a moment as he thought, “What was her name?” He gave he head a shake, “No matter. She was not an imposter.” His brow wrinkled in confusion for a moment, “The humans had a phrase … snake in sheep’s clothing?”

Darin corrected, “A wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

He nodded, “Yes, that is her. A wolf, not the best example of a Sol. She serves only as a warning as what not to do.”

The other mentioned, “Hanasa-Sol is doing much better. She seems to be learning form her predecessor’s mistakes.” It was his turned to be confused, “What was her name?

Darin shook her head as her hand came to run her fingers across the small stone in her pocket, “It doesn’t matter.” She pointed at the stiches, “The stitching?”

They returned to the previous conversation and it wasn’t long before Darin was making her farewells. She wasn’t inclined to go to another stall and found herself standing in the middle of collection of stalls. It seemed that Ridahne and Ajoran weren’t the only ones that had forgotten Khaltira. She wondered what that meant. She also needed to figure out what she was going to do about the people calling her Astra-Sol. She might not be able to stop it. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to stop it. It seemed like a lot of work for a petty reason. She fished the stone out of her pocket to look at it. Besides, what did it even mean to be a Sol, a proper Sol. Darin wasn’t sure she had the best examples. She wasn’t sure what to do. This was the first time she had been addressed my a title other than Seed-Bearer.

Another child, this one was about the height of Darin’s waist, ran up to her. He bowed clumsily as he thrust something out at her, “For you Astra-Sol.”

She took the stone and he hurried off. This one was red, almost the same color as the disk Ridahne wore around her neck. It looked like a flower was carved into it. The human was suddenly reminded of the mayor of Lively’s mother. She was older and her health was shaking. She only left the house at festivals. When that happened the children of Lively would press flowers into her hands and scurry off as quickly as possible. Was this the Azurei version? Darin wasn’t sure. The human had never heard of the tradition in other places. She needed to ask Ridahne.

She quickly found her sister and dropped both stones into her hands, “Two children, they were young, I think, gave me these. What are they supposed to be? Am I supposed to do something with them?”

The Tree of Astra (LadyAnnaLee and Blackfridayrule)

So you know how in movies and books the children will go up to the princess or the king or the whatever and give them flowers. Is there an Azurei equivalent? If so what is it?