Closed The First Year

[Ricky Maze]

The First Year
Autumn 85th 514 AV; 14th Bell
Location: The World's End Grotto

The couple had to have a bit of an earlier start today to make sure they could get everything they wanted prepared, as they wanted as many people as they knew to come and celebrate one of their most special days. See it came as a shock even after he'd managed to count the days for so long, but after the considerable memory of what today was plus the attempt to recount all those said days Ricky knew for sure, today had in fact arrived and with it the dawn of a new year in the life of the child that came into their world. Exactly a year ago Martin had been born on the eighty-fifth day of autumn and ever since then both Ricky and Telion had their lives changed dramatically, which led them to become the parents of Zeltiva's most adorable one year old. This morning Ricky woke up to greet the little wonder and get him out of bed, and left him with Telion as he had a few errands to take care of for the day.

Those errands involving the set up of a small but humble celebration that any and all would be welcome to, as they wanted to host a feast to congratulate their son as he finally reached the first year mark in his life. It took a bit of convincing but the proprietors at the Grotto were actually rather fond of the idea, as it would no doubt bring much joy and enlightenment to all of those that decided to join in on the celebration. Much of the day was spent preparing for this feast, which is where Telion picked up for Ricky seeing as he had a job that he needed to do. It'd only been a few bells of patrol time but overall there was still a little bit before the actual feast would begin, by the time he'd got back in his casual wear most of the food had already been cooked as as the cook nearly finished what all was left. There'd been quite a selection of foods and drinks for the people that came to participate in this event, so the party guest could choose from whatever they fancied as they were able to dine freely.

Things like clam chowder and stew had been brewed as well as other wonderful Zeltivan delicacies, which ranged from grilled sand fish to filleted baked salmon along with a few roasts done as well. Nothing fancy was really made here but there was definitely plenty to go around, and the thirsty could find themselves able to be supplied with a bit of wine, ale, or even water if they so chose. Ricky had to thank the Gods that Kelp Beer was left out of the party, as he'd rather not have obnoxiously drunken rabble about when the birthday boy was present. He reached the area of the Grotto where all the guests would be able to sit and eat, the whole room bare and empty as only staff members of the Grotto made sure the place was prepared. Telion however sat in of the chairs near a table with Martin in her lap, a great amount of love shown between the mother and child as they interacted with one another.

"Well love, t'days de day! Everyt'in ready fer de guests?" He asked as he approached the two, an excited look on Martin's face as he bounced in Telion's lap.

"Mmhm," She nodded with a short giggle, "Everyone in the Grotto is ready so we'll only be needing the guests now. Then we can make this a real celebration." She enthused as she handed Martin to his father, a groaned sigh left his lungs as he raised the boy up to rest in his left arm.

"Ooooh boy! Our lil' son's already gettin' big, before ye know it he'll be ten." He mused as he turned to look at the entrance to the Grotto. "Now, all we need is guests an' we can git dis shindig started." He repeated as he hoped to see some familiar faces walk through the door, or hopefully a group of people that might've decided to join in the celebration.

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

Nothing was too good for his nephew. Jad remembered the culinary expertise the woman at the market had displayed when she'd whipped up a number of specialty dishes for his spontaneous picnic plans with Black the season before.

There was the apple and carrot salad, the pea, bacon and cheese dish, the crisped fish, the fantastic "whipped yolk" egg halves and the bottle of fine wine, all on custom-made crockery serving platters. It had cost him over twenty gold, and if not for an intrusion of filthy Yukmen, he felt sure that he and Black would not have finished much more than half of it, except for the wine.

Still, they had escaped with their lives that day, thanks in large part to a mage named Aoren, and Jad was more than ready to call that a bargain. Still, he wanted to fully enjoy those treats again.

So when he found out that his nephew's birth day was approaching, he'd gone back to the woman in the market and piqued her memory of that picnic array she'd engineered. This time though, he wanted it tripled. He thought it was likely that others would be bringing food as well, but that was no reason to scrimp on festivities for such an occasion. Perhaps not all the attendees were currently able to provide such amenities. He would take up the slack.

Since the woman was simply multiplying the same processes, she did not feel compelled to truly charge him triple for what was only about double the effort. Jad had been prepared to offer her sixty or seventy gold mizas for the fare, but she'd scoffed. For a first birth day she was even proposing making it a gift. Jad would hear none of that. and they finally settled on fifty, which included the special crockery, not a bad gift in and of itself.

Satisfied with the culinary offering, he was somewhat at a loss for what to buy for the boy himself. Getting a promise for the food to be ready on the day of the party, he still had a few days to find a gift for Martin. He didn't know where to start, though. This was his first experience with such an outing.

His mind began to go in circles as he considered different things. Some of them with the expectations of Ricky's approval, man-stuff, and others with the thought of his wife's approval. There he was really at a loss. 'What would a woman like me to get her child, her son, for his first birth day?' He racked his brain, trying to come up with color schemes that both a man and woman would like.

More than once he found himself standing in the middle of a Zeltivan street, slowly spinning in place, the shop fronts becoming a blur as a sort of mild desperation set in.

"S'the matter, son? You drunk?" a voice called. Jad turned to see a pair of Wave Guard passing him, hints of grins on their faces. He explained what his dilemma was and got immediate sympathy from the two men. "Sounds like a goo' cause t' go and GET drunk ta me. Goo' luck to ya, 'less ya want us t' run ya in, give ya' a 'scuse ta give it a miss." the man winked.

The other man gave a low whistle, "Aye, shoppin' ta please a woman...Not a job fit fer a man. If'n ya ask me, I's sayin' buy whatcha would'a liked yerself, as a lad."

"But he's only a year old." Jad whined. "I can't remember what I would'a liked at that age."

The guardsman paused to think, "Din'tcha never look inta yer ma's baby chest? Old memory stuff? Probly little boots and blankets. Maybe a leather chewie for when 'is teeth come in."

The other guard gave his partner a scowl and smacked his helm. "Are ya daft? A leather chew toy? Wha? Ya think he's a preachin' hound, ya damn fool?"

The two men set to debating the issue. Jad ignored them, not really wanting to explain his bizarre childhood, instead finding his eyes drawn to a man walking his son down the street. They were dressed the same, the boy's clothes a match for his father's. 'A tribute...' he ventured to himself, '...a son following in his father's footsteps...it's perfect!'

He thanked the two arguing guardsmen, who ignored him, and hurried down the street, intent on seeing if there were any legalities involved in having a set of clothing made for an infant-sized Wave Guard outfit, complete with shield, if possible.

x

[Black Onyx]

Black stood before the man known as Halabin, his grey hair and brown eyes almost seem to glare at her with a warning the moment that he slid the small sheathed dagger over the wooden counter. Her own brown hues stared back at his as she lifted her right hand to gently pick up the weapon. Once she had stashed the weapon into the belt of her pants, she brushed back her black locks and gave him a smile before she one by one, gently placed the gold coins upon the counter. She flashed the man another grin before she turned and exited the General Store, the door gently closing behind the woman. Yes, she already had a dagger, one of her own that she had bought a year or so ago for her own safety, not that she was ever good with it, but hey, this new one she bought wasn’t for herself, it was for someone else. The young equine had been informed that she had been invited to a birthday party for young Martin Maze, the child of Ricky Maze and the little nephew to her bondmate. It was an odd relationship that she had with her bondmate’s family and what made it even weird, was the fact that she was a thief and Ricky was a Wave Guard.

The young woman stopped upon the Docks and looked out at the ocean and she bit down upon her bottom lip, mostly in thought however as her gaze watched the rolling waves make the ocean gently rock. She lifted her right hand to gently slide it into the pockets of her black pants and she rocked back onto the balls of her feet. This season had been a whirlwind, from almost being killed again, to having some kind of support system. Black had been thinking a lot lately and she just didn’t know exactly how she felt about it all. She had survived for most of her quick life, stealing and picking pockets, something she had enjoyed when the targets didn’t catch up to her. Slowly, she drew in a long breath before she exhaled and she did this a couple of times to push back her nerves. She had grown used to being alone, to living alone with no true friends and now? Now she had family, apparently. The only family that she had ever had, had been living in Kenash, far far away from her and now she had more by simply loving a man that she had never expected to ever love.

In all honesty, the situation felt a little too good to be true and she half expected for all of it to fall through on her. Her right hand slipped out of her pocket to brush through her black locks as she turned to make her back way towards The Grotto. Upon reaching The Grotto, she pushed into the door and was surprised about all of the food and drink that seemed to be laid out. The young woman hesitated in the doorway and she automatically began to think about just how much of a mistake it was to come. While she did live at The Grotto, she should just go out and do what she did best, which was to steal. She felt like a horse that had frozen in fear at what they saw and was tempted to leave. Oh the woman had visited many large events, but they weren’t like this, this was more of an intimate kind of thing and she honestly felt like a fish out of water. Her nostrils flared and she turned with an intent on leaving the building.

LedgerDagger & Scabbard: -4 GM
Word Count613

[Algol]

Algol had taken to going on long walks. It seemed to be all he really could do right now. Keep moving down the same little streets, past the same shops, the same people. He didn't do anything constructive. At night he would sit in his room, avoiding the stare of the moon, and just think. He understood that come winter he would have to do something with himself. To get by in this world one needed funds, and he was running dry. Between eating during the day and paying board at the inn he was residing, he'd be as poor as the day he Fell soon enough.

When he returned to the Grotto, climbing to lazy hill to the top where the inn sat overlooking the sea, he was surprised by the scene laid out in the dining hall. Hunched there in the doorway he examined it all. A party was prepped and almost ready to go. There were a few people in the room--not nearly as many as usual on a normal day. It seemed to be a special occasion. It was enough to pique his interest, and for the first time since his return his lips twisted into the crooked ghost of a smile. The smell was enough to bring his mood around.

In this form he had to eat, and eat plenty he did. At over 600 pounds there was plenty to maintain. A woman was standing in front of him, blocking his path. He could just shove her out of the way, but it was too much trouble. She was turning back his way, taking a step toward the door, but he didn't move. He gave a single grunt, a deep rumble from inside his broad, black chest.

"You are indecisive?"

It wasn't necessarily a question. More of an offhand observation. Her posture bespoke of a nervous disposition. Algol's words were slow and deliberate, impossibly deep, and terribly indifferent. He wanted to go back to his room and sit a while, that was all. The shadow of a smile that had bloomed for a quick, wonderful moment was dead and gone. His broad, ape features were dark and solemn once more.

[Ricky Maze]

For just a little while there seemed to be no signs of life or activity around the entrance, thus Ricky decided to go ahead and have a seat after he'd placed Martin on the table. The child sat close to edge so that way he couldn't freely wander elsewhere on the tabletop, hence risk a fall by carelessness brought on by the father for being so plainly distracted. Not that there was anything to distract him at the moment, other than the fact his wife just looked so damn beautiful. He noticed that Martin decided to lean forward which brought a jolt out of his body as he placed his hands around the front and back of the child's torso, a nervous chuckle to follow as Telion giggled at him so quietly. "Ye gonna learn t' be careful son, one way or de ot'er." He mused with a finger wave towards his son, the boy only gave a wide smile with a laugh to follow.

Then it finally happened, the first guest came by the sound of it, as the family happened to hear the sound of a door swinging ajar. With a look over his shoulder in his chair Ricky's eyes curiously wandered directly to the origin of the sound, as there just so happened to be not one but two guests that decided to show up to the celebration. Finally! Oi was gettin' worried people weren't gonna show. He smiled as he looked to his wife, "Watch him fer a tick?"

She gave a gentle smile back and nodded as they took a moment to watch Martin respond to her calling his name, a wave of her fingers towards her suggested for the child to crawl his way over to her across the table. He did so eagerly of course while Ricky watched warily until he was safely in her grasp, relaxation in his posture once more as he chuckled with a single shake of his head. Once he'd rose out of his chair he ran his hands across Martin's head gently, and then walked onward towards the entrance to greet the two that had just entered. One of them had their back turned like they were wanting to retreat while the other, unexpectedly a Jamouran, seemed to have blocked her way out just in the nick of time. Ricky couldn't help but send a thought of silent thanks to that one after he came to realize who the woman was, an amused smirk on his face as he then arrived to greet the both of them.

"Well now, good t' see we've a couple o' guests t' join us! Welcome t' de party, dere's food an' drink in plentiful stock, an' yer welcome t' however much ye like. Black," He looked to the woman as he called her out, "Oi'm glad ye could make it. Really means a lot t' 'ave ya 'ere t'day." When he spoke to her he did so in a humble tone, a warm grin on his face as his eyes rose from her to the larger creature behind her. "And welcome t' ye as well mate! Glad ye could join us in de celebration, d' ya mind tellin' us yer name so we know what t' call ya proper? Oi'm Ricky," He pointed to himself with a thumb, which was then cast on over to the two he'd left at the table, "Over dere is me beautiful wife Telion an' our son Martin." He figured an introduction served proper since they were pretty much the hosts of this feast, as there was little doubt that the two had arrived to eat as well as join in the celebration.

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jadlin Hayes

It was the day of the party. Jad was a nervous wreck on the job today, constantly going out to check the progress of Syna across the sky, practically counting the chimes and bells. He'd gone to the tailors at 'The Saville', the same day he'd put in the order for the food, with his gift request: 1 fine wool and light leather rendering of a Wave Guard uniform, in toddler size.

The assistant, Reginald, did the figuring, smiling at the thought of how it would look. With virtually every item being tripled at the outset for fine wool, then a half again to be dyed, but then cut in half for the children's size, it came to 2 silver, 3 copper for the shirt; 6 silver, 8 copper for the vest; 6 silver even for the leggings and 11 silver, 3 copper for the mittens. All told it was 2 gold, 6 silver and 4 copper for the wool pieces.

Then for the light leather pieces, after being doubled at the outset, then halved again for dying and again priced down to child's size, the booties came to 4 silver, 5 copper and the cap, styled to resemble a guard's helm, was an even 3 silver. This seven silver and 5 copper was added to the wool total for a grand total of 3 gold, 3 silver and 9 copper. To put a priority on the order, Jad offered to round it up to 4 gold even, then doubled it to 8, with a 2 gold tip to make an even 10 gold.

Jad could tell by the way Reginald's eyes widened at the generosity that they would make a sincere effort to complete the order on time. He said it was fortunate that they had the sufficient pre-dyed stock on hand. They compared creative concepts as far as matching the livery and color scheme of the uniforms. Reginald suggested that the shirt and certain parts of the leggins be gray to match the look of the mail. The vest would then have the actual uniform coloration. There was not going to be any cloak, as both he and Jad agreed there was too much of a choking hazard with that.

That left only the shield. Reginald advised Jad to see the toy crafters, Bohrnn and Goldwoerth, for the shield. he further counseled being sure to take the matter up with Isulla, the record-keeper for the business. He knew from experience that she was very persuasive, and would adore the idea. She would see to it that the matter was accomplished.

When Jad got there that day, she had quickly determined that she had a large rubber gasket, an extra, used to seal pipe connections in various gadgetry applications, that would be ideal as the outer circumference of the shield. The soft, resilience of the material would make for a serviceable teething ring. She assured Jad that if this was the child's first birth day, he was already in need of such a thing.

All that was left was to create and insert a glazed round platform to be the interior of the shield. This would probably have to be metal, so it could survive the heat of the glazing process, which would be required to apply the Wave guard color pattern to the shield.

On the day of the party, Mr. Pelthes let Jad off early, knowing he had some running around to do if he was going to get all the items in time to make it to the party. He let him take the shop cart as well, deciding that his employee had arranged far too much to carry himself. Jad picked up the outfit and the food, paying the agreed price, and went to the Toy makers, unsure of what the woman would ask for the shield.

She came to the counter quickly with a smile and the toy shield. She told Jad that there would be no charge. Jad was about to protest, but Isulla held up her hand to stop him. She handed him a sheet of figures, telling him it was her estimates of the profit and loss on making the shields as a regular item. Jad stood for a moment, staring at the figures. Then he started to laugh.

She started to laugh along with him, and eventually they shook hands, hugged and wished each other luck. Jad pocketed the "prototype" toy and hopped back up on the running board, slapping the flanks of the horse with the reins and headed back to the Grotto with the food, the outfit and the shield. He couldn't wait.

x

[Black Onyx]

The moment that Black had turned to go back through the door of The Grotto, she found it blocked by something quite large and… Furry? A brow perked as her gaze trailed upwards to view the face of the man? No, it was not human, this the young equine was sure of, for a human did not have a body covered by fur. No, it was an animal of some kind and she angled her head slightly to the right as her gaze viewed the man’s face while it grunted out a handful of words. If they could even be considered a handful, she silently told herself before she was forced to take a step back to put some space between the two. It made her feel very uncomfortable when someone like that was close to her own form. Was he..? No, he couldn’t be..? Could he? A frown creased her pale facial features as she glanced over the man again. Was he a kelvic? She shook her head, pressing her lips tightly together before she whispered in a chastising tone, ”What the heck do you think that you are doing walking around in your animal form?” Indeed, the woman had not seen a Jamoura before, if that wasn’t at all obvious. Those that bluntly admitted to being kelvics, she would try to stay away from them, for she did not want to be known as one herself, for she didn’t want her parent's killer coming back to kill her.

Before she could further probe the mind of the one that appeared to be in an animal form as to how they could talk like a human being within it, she heard other approaching footsteps and she turned to force a smile to her lips. Her brown hues noted the amused smirk upon the Ricky’s lips and a frown creased her forehead briefly as she wondered if the animal man was a friend of Ricky’s. However, the way that he spoke to the man that appeared as an animal of some kind, it seemed like that they didn’t know each other. Strange, she thought to herself as she forced a smile upon her lips. ”Yeah well, Martin is Jadlin’s little…” Wait, what was that word again? The equine paused in her words for a moment as she tried to chase up the right one. It wasn’t brother because Ricky and Jadlin were the brothers, but what was… Oh! That’s it, she exclaimed to herself before she smiled once again. ”Nephew, Martin is Jadlin’s little nephew. It would have been rude of me to not show up.” She said, regardless of the fact that she had been in complete retreat before the animal man showed up and essentially blocked her way out of the Grotto.

Black lifted her right hand to nervously rub at the back of her neck, a small chuckle upon her lips. This was the first time that she had done anything like this and it really threw her off of her normal behaviour. In fact, she was beginning to think that nothing would ever be normal, especially considering that she had accepted the fact that nothing would ever be the same since she had met her bondmate. ”Well, I uh… Got Martin a present, seeing as it would be rude to not give the little one something.” She shifted nervously upon the spot before her right hand dropped and grasped the sheathed dagger from the position that she had tucked it into. Silently she held it out to Ricky, a smile upon her lips. ”Here, my present for Martin.” She hesitated again before she continued, ”It’s for protection of course.” The woman nodded her head for a moment, clearly out of her element. Where was Jadlin?

Word Count629

[Dulute Jadesmith]

Duluute was busy wandering Zeltiva's streets when his nostrils picked up the scent of a feast. He was headed to his favorite district to grab a bit of sand fish at the time. As the sweet smell wafted into his nostrils, he stopped in his tracks and rose his nose into the air. It was an instinctual habit, which he had picked up after spending so much time in the Fish Market.

Whenever there was something better than fish to smell, he had to raise his nose to get the full scent. It was his best method of separating the everyday scents from the better ones. Taking in a deep inhale, a wide grin rose across his face. He recognized that smell anywhere. "Sandfish..." His mouth watered just at the thought of it.

Turning around, he followed the smell like a dog tracking prey. To his surprise, it was coming from the World's End Grotto. "Perhaps the Grotto has an afternoon special." Following his nose, Duluute began to take in even further smells. This was beyond a simple food special. It looked like they were having an entire buffet. "Why go to all this trouble?" Duluute couldn't make since of it.

Eventually, his nose led him to a doorway, which was being blocked by what looked like a large furry door. He thought it was a strange touch but walked up to it anyway. Strangely, he felt heat radiating from the door. It took him a few moments to realize this "door" was actually alive. "H-hello?" he hesitantly asked in confusion.

[Algol]

His first reaction was to the woman. Algol's nostrils flared with a loud snort, and his lips twisted in annoyance, but also curiosity. Large eyes peered down at her from high above, and the Ethaefal stooped down toward her.

"I am not an animal," he rumbled in the low, deep bass of a Jamoura.

That was all he could think to say to her. Her eyes flitted nervously like she wished to flee the building, and he could feel her unease rolling off of her like waves. Algol felt she was about to speak again until a stranger approached them, beaming and greeting them excited. He knew the woman--Black was her name--it seemed. A fitting title. When attention was turned to him, the Ethaefal peered at the man before them, intent with curiosity and struggling with his accent.

"Ricky," he repeated, voice rolling like thunder over Matthews Bay.

"My name is Algol."

The Ethaefal had decided on the name a few days after his Fall, after long meditation and reflection on his current situation. He looked over at the other two--Ricky's wife and son--and nodded his big head.

"What is this?" he asked, attention again on the human man.

The smells he had to admit were mouthwatering, and he could feel the stirrings of hunger as the aromas filled his lungs. He frowned darkly at the sensation, seeming to stare off in space for a moment. This mortal seeming held all the cravings a living creature would have. Only at night could he escape them and meditate in complete, uninterrupted peace. A voice from behind him pulled him from his brooding, and without thinking the Jamoura shuffled out of the way so that he might turn and look. Another human stood in the doorway, looking confused and a little unnerved. Algol frowned at the stranger--his usual expression.

"Hello," he returned.

OOCSorry for the delay. Multiple PCs and work.

[Ricky Maze]

Rick's smile never once faded when Black mentioned that she was here because Martin was Jadlin's nephew, even if that were her reasoning for showing up he still felt there was more, perhaps even the possibility that she came here out of feeling that she was his aunt or something. It was pretty much legitimate granted that she was Jadlin's own lover, and Martin had already started to show signs of attachment to the woman. "Well eit'er way Oi'm glad ye're 'ere." His expression changed to one of excited awe when she suddenly pulled out a sheathed dagger, a smile on her face as she offered it as a gift for the boy. Oooooh petch no! His eyes darted from the gift over to Telion then as he knew good and well her look said it all, she had a definitive amused smile about her but Ricky knew what crossed her mind, and it was that there was no way in Mizahar Martin was going to lay a hand on that weapon.

Least not 'til he's ol' enough. He mused to himself granted that it was in fact a gift, it definitely was considerate of Black even though she'd probably little idea what to get him in the first place. "Wow!" He cheered with a grin on his face as he admired the dagger she handed over. "Dat was very considerate o' ya lass, we could always do wit' one o' dese when he's big enough t' learn how t' use it." He assured her with the promise of it pretty much secret, he definitely wasn't going to be a poor sport about the idea. When Algol then decided to introduce himself Ricky gave a respective nod towards the bigger mammal, the Jamouran appearance not as foreign to him as it once was. Granted he lost a finger that same night he definitely found the company of a Jamouran favorable, though he really hadn't the chance to meet with and interact with another one since that specific night.

"Well m'sir we've got a bit o' a feast goin' on 'ere, t'day is me son's first birthday so we're wantin' people t' come an' celebrate de occasion wit' us." He explained before a muffled voice from behind the large furry figure sounded out loud enough for the small group to hear. When Algol finally moved over to reveal yet another guest, Ricky's simple smile transitioned into yet another friendly grin as he decided to welcome the newcomer to the party. "Ahoy dere mate! Glad t' see anot'er t' come an' join our festivities," He turned to the other too first before he decided to address the newly arrived alone, "Black, Algol, please feel free t' help yer selves t' any o' de food. We're all 'ere hopin' t' make it a fun feast 'fter all." He nudged them forward with the dagger he received from Black in his pocket, a pat on it followed with a wink to Black as he chuckled. She knew he'd probably present it to him and Telion soon, after he finished welcoming this man and anybody else who might've decided to show up.

"Now den, please come in mate! Me name's Ricky an' as Oi said, t'day is a celebration fer me son's first birthday, feel free t' make yer self at home an' enjoy some o' de food provided fer de feast." He offered as he waved for the younger man to enter the premises, he was keen to allow the male to introduce himself now that he'd come to partake in the event. While that went on Telion would be polite to wave to the other two as they came further in to help themselves to whatever they desired, be it food or drink that fell entirely all on their own shoulders. Martin of course watched them with huge interest as the appearance of a Jamouran had been a first, his eyes wide with intense curiosity as he pointed at Algol with the mutter of "Bikooo!" to follow.